It IS Christmas! (Or: Flight Of The Poison Chewin' Dino)

Oh Science, you knew just what I wanted!

Sinornithosaurus

Sinornithosaurus, a VENOMOUS dinosaur!

A feathered predator that lived 125 million years ago has been revealed as the first-known venomous dinosaur, which paralysed its prey with poison in a similar way to some snakes. – TimesOnline

I was a little concerned that the new understanding of feathered dinos wouldn’t catch on with the public, people just don’t want a softer dinosaur, but give them venom – and apparently teach them the crane kick from the end of The Karate Kid – and I think we’ve got a contender.

More from the article:

David Burnham, of the University of Kansas, said: “You wouldn’t have seen it coming. It would have swooped down behind you from a low-hanging tree branch and attacked from the back. Once the teeth were embedded in your skin the venom could seep into the wound.

“The prey would rapidly go into shock but it would still be living, and it might have seen itself being slowly devoured by this raptor.”

Meeeeerrry Christmas!

The Suicide King, and his friends

The Suicide King

This image of an early English playing-card shows the king of hearts wielding an axe. Due to poor copying by blockmakers the axe lost its head over the years and the shaft was turned into a sword which appears to be driven into his head, hence the nickname “Suicide King”. – IPCS

Interesting, and as a side note, I love the swagger the artist gave him – it’s certainly better than a simple mirroring of the top half of the card.

Some other card names I rather liked (nicked from here):

Queen of Spades: Black Maria (from the game of the same name)
Nine of Diamonds: Curse of Scotland
Seven of Diamonds: The Drinking Card
Jack of Clubs: pam (from the card game ‘pam’, in which this card is high trump)
Four of Clubs: Devil’s Bedposts

Which left me with questions, so I found more info on snopes, which has an extensive card article:

The Curse of Scotland: The nine of diamonds was supposedly christened thus after being used by John Dalrymple, Secretary of State and Master of Stair, to pass on instructions for the infamous Glen Coe Massacre of 1692. Whether or not he did write “Kill them all” on this pasteboard, the arrangement of the nine diamonds on its face bears some resemblance to the Dalrymple crest of arms, which can also account for the association of this card with that man

Frightenstein

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsaFDZfz8Lc]

I’m just starting to realize how much Hilarious House of Frightenstein, and the work of Billy Van specifically, shaped my childhood.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA0UsMPjyWk]

Frightenstein.com lists Billy Van as Count Frightenstein, Bwana Clyde, Gorilla, Grizelda, Librarian, Maharishi, Oracle, Pet Vet, Singing Soldier, and the Wolfman – and yet he sells each one. The site also mentions that he was the child of a vaudeville family, which certainly comes through in the gags – the non sequitur jokes, the two man setups, the character work. Was Hilarious House of Frightenstein the last gasp of the classic vaudeville formula [for children, in a low budget broadcast, on an educational station]?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjpS878VatI]

Disney Princesses (Yeah, and Maybe I'm A Chinese Jet Pilot)

Disney Wedding Rings

In Spring 2010 a new line of beautiful diamond engagement rings will be released from Disney. Each ring is inspired by one of the classic Disney Princesses.

The rings were designed by Kirstie Kelly who also designs corresponding Disney Princess wedding gowns for brides as well as bridesmaid dresses to go along with each brides dress.

Each engagement ring will have a matching wedding band. The current six rings that have been unveiled are for Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella, Jasmine, Ariel and Belle. – Disney Dreaming

Yugh.

And the price list from Screencrave:

  • Jasmine: $5,160
  • Sleeping Beauty: $4,960
  • Belle: $4,220
  • Cinderella: $3,980
  • Snow White: $3,580
  • Ariel: $3,280

At that point I’d be demanding my half of the deal be a new diamond chain – FOR THE SAW I’D JUST ATTACHED TO MY FOREARM.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr4PcOQYFAw]

Late Night Pictures

I was a boy who burrowed deep into his family’s basement. On weekends I would often creep out of bed and into the rec room, flip the set on low and hunker close to take in the ridiculous beauty of late night TV. Sure, I watched a lot of Weird TV, and that odd show about the fellow who has had his identity stolen by some corporation, but what I was really tuning in for was the 3am broadcast of Elvira’s Movie Macabre.

Earlier in life I’d been given pretty open access to a selection of terrible films via the Uncle of a friend of mine, but Movie Macabre was really my introduction to the beauty of trashy horror. Late-night-movie TV hosts are rare these days, but thanks to the internet bad movies are always on hand, and to quote such a film, it’s always midnight somewhere.

My two favourite torchbearers maintain the D.I.Y. feel while providing plenty of crap movies:

The Right Reverend Chumley has been sporadically releasing episodes of Cult Of UHF since 2005,and his film selections are an interesting mixed bag of ancient public domain mixed with newer (i.e. colour) horror, scifi and action b-movies.Count Gore De Vol

Count Gore De Vol‘s Creature Feature is a classic horror style show that puts out a film every week or two, but I find its website a little tough to contend with, so you may be interested in its (free) itunes podcast link.