RelentlesslyOptimistic

Sometimes efficiency is not the goal!

From Criggo.

Logo Fail!

A relatively new site, YourLogoMakesMeBarf.com is just what it sounds like:

 

Yes, that does appear to be a drawing of some private parts in the tree there.

The musical note, and the yellow thing that the "eagle" is carrying the turtle with? Yeah, I don't know either. Note that it's even trademarked, so no one would dare to steal it.

Wouldn't you think that the Wisconsin Tourism Federation folks would have learned by now that they should never use their initials online?

Thanks Kathleen!

I have toast!

Toast is the perfect snack food in so very many ways.

From Sober in a Nightclub

May is National Pet Month!

Experts say it's the recession or something.

Be sure to read the comments at Criggo, from which this came.

"Semen is an exciting ingredient that can give every dish you make an interesting twist."

Am I going to be so immature as to ridicule someone's passionate effort to open minds to something new just for a laugh? Oh yeah.

From the author's Lulu page:

"No, I'm not joking and no, I'm not some sort of whacky freak. I'm just passionate about everything I do, including cooking with cum."

There was one line in the book's preview that was hard to swallow:

"Semen is inexpensive to produce and is commonly available in many, if not most, homes and restaurants."

Restaurants? Restaurants? Either the sous chef has more duties than at most establishments or you are supposed to produce your own (which will get you kicked out of a lot of places!). Definitely not a family affair.

It couldn't be a fast food place either, come to think of it.

Via Blame It On The Voices

What would you taste like to a cannibal?

I feel so insipid. I was hoping for bacon.

Created by Recipe Star

Via Woosk

I support Barak Obama a lot!

I'm thrilled to say that I have put most of my life on hold or handed it off in order to join the staff of Obama's Campaign for Change. I'll have no time to blog for a few months, though I'm sure I'll have plenty to say later.

Please volunteer for the campaign!

MoveOn.org is giving away Obama Buttons

The Daisy Girl in the Atomic Spotlight

Conelrad, a site devoted to ATOMIC CULTURE, recently published a fascinating story about the notorious and iconic Daisy Girl ad. The ad, which was created for Lyndon Johnson's presidential campaign in 1964, is credited by some as the reason for Johnson's landslide win over Barry Goldwater.

It ran as a paid advertisement only once. It became the subject of TV news stories, was discussed in a Time magazine cover article, and was condemned on the floor of Congress. Theodore H. White, author of the landmark "Making of the President" series (the first of which won a Pulitzer Prize), said that "…the shriek of Republican indignation fastened the bomb message on them more tightly than any calculation could have expected."

Bill Moyers, one of the leaders of the Campaign, later regretted the ad's role in launching powerful political commercials, saying that "The Frankenstein we helped to build is loose in the world."

The story includes interviews with all the participants in the strategy, approval, creation and airing of the ad, a rare, almost-exclusive interview with the Daisy Girl herself, and a treasure trove of related documents, tape and video.

Via PCL LinkDump

American Clown: Athletic Dance for Men or Boys

One of those tasks that I've been meaning to get to for awhile now is to add Bibliodyssey to my Blogroll. PK, the creator of the blog, posts images from old manuscripts from libraries around the world, which sounds far less fascinating than it actually is.

I couldn't resist this image out of the July 26th entry, which is from the1916 American Clown booklet of the title, part of a series of "Illustrated Athletic Dances for Boys and Girls" by the Athletic Dance Press of Milwaukee. The American Clown Dance is written for men and boys, so if girls take part the booklet instructs that "the leap frog and roll may be eliminated" and offers a substitute step appropriate for girls.

The Athletic Dance Press also published "Alabama Scare Crow: Eccentric Novelty Dance for Boys or Girls," "Amazon Triumph: A Spectacular Group Dance for Older Girls," and "American Farmer: A Character Dance for Boys or Girls" among many others (that list of titles is from Booknear.com). The American Clown booklet has an order form for those and additional dance booklets on page 11.

Other Bibliodyssey posts include images from old medical journals (the one below is from an Oxford University folio showing the veins, "produced in the late 13th century in England"), astrology, and much more. It's one of those sites you can get lost in for hours, even without following the links to other fascinating sites.

A four-letter word beginning with N

A friends' sister clued me in to this recent offering at Barnes and Noble: My First Puzzles: Fun with Words. What's wrong with this picture?

See if this helps

One of the clues leads to the word "goose." I'd be really bothered if another resulted in "step." The swastikas are actually reversed from the Nazi symbol, and I don't think it's really teaching children anything, but is this in any way a good idea?

I reversed the Hitler pic, which I got from the German Propaganda Archive, for effect.

Great lawn chair

Grow your own lawn furniture, but make sure you have it exactly where you want it, because moving it will be difficult! Just add soil and water.

The Grass armchair is self assembled, each pack contains 14 corrugated cardboard frames and 100g pack of grass seeds.

£65.00, about $114 from purves & purves. Via Make.

Vespa scooter will [not] be hybrid diesel!

This is great! Vespa will introduce a hybrid scooter that uses diesel fuel, opening the possibility of burning biodiesel. It will have a much faster top speed and cost only about $1300 more than the regular model.

Via Retro Thing, which has many more details.

Update: Oops. It turns out this was an April Fool's joke, but as the commenter below says, there are two non-diesel hybrid models coming out soon.