Firefly update

So I've been working on a cost effective way to reproduce the firefly effect that is in the loading area of PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN ride at Disneyland.
There are a few online companies that sell firefly lights but they are at least $200.00 bucks for the base models.
I'm not about to pay that much for some stupid little lights so...
I'm makin' them myself.

I just completed the first three self contained battery powered fireflies for way less than $200.00
(Note: way WAY less than $200.00)

These things look so great. I was testing one out this eve and a neighbor commented on how good it looks.

I'll try and get some video of this soon. Its amazing how inexpensive these are and how damn good they look. I wonder why people haven't done this before?

My sister says I should sell these online.

I just might.
If you cant wait for my waaaaaaaay cheap version buy the silly expensive versions! Click on the title of this post to take a gander at the expensive versions.

Jabal at Tair (east of Java?)

Located in Yemen, Red Sea.
Volcano type: Stratovolcano
Last known eruption: 1883.
Sumit Elevation: 801 feet.
NASA file photo:


The basaltic Jebel at Tair (currently being spelled Jabal el Tair by Canadian media) stratovolcano rises from a 1200 m depth in the south-central Red Sea, forming an oval-shaped island about 3 km long. Jebel at Tair is the northernmost known Holocene volcano in the Red Sea and lies SW of the Farisan Islands. Youthful basaltic pahoehoe lava flows from the steep-sided central vent, Jebel Duchan, cover most of the island. They drape a circular cliff cut by wave erosion of an older edifice and extend beyond it to form a flat coastal plain. Pyroclastic cones are located along the NW and southern coasts, and fumarolic activity occurs from two uneroded scoria cones at the summit. Radial fissures extend from the summit, some of which were the sources of lava flows. The island is of Holocene age, and explosive eruptions were reported in the 18th and 19th centuries.


Ken Allan, a Navy spokesman, said a NATO fleet just outside the territorial waters of the island reported seeing a "catastrophic volcanic eruption" at 7 p.m. local time. The two-mile-long island is about 70 miles off the coast of Yemen.

"At this time, the entire island is aglow with lava and magma as it pours down into the sea. We do not have confirmation of how many people were on this island at the time of the eruption," Allan said in an e-mail.

"The lava is spewing hundreds of feet into the air, with the volcanic ash also (rising) a thousand feet in the air," Allan said.

Oil Minister Khaled Bahah told the news agency that the "increasing" volcanic activity in the island was first registered on Friday after a mild quake measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale struck off the coast of the mountainous island

Update 10/1/07 12:25pm
While the island has no civilian population it is home to Yemen military installations used by their navy. According to the AFP four soldiers were burned to death and nine soldiers are still unaccounted for in the aftermath of the eruption.

BBC b-roll of the eruption:

Disney shutters ride after accident.

An accident at Hong Kong Disneyland has forced closure of a ride called Autopia.

1 of the cars in the simulated driving ride came off its track and hit a surrounding barricade. The young woman at the wheel was not hurt.

The Disney spokeswoman says the Hong Kong government's Electrical and Mechanical Services Department has ordered the electric car ride shut down for an inspection.

Hong Kong Disneyland opened in September 2005. The Autopia ride opened last summer.

Butterhorn Patrol

Cast members are concerned about rumors that Disney is planning on outsourcing the security department. Some claim that the short contract is just to buy time for Disney to contract with some other company to take over. While existing contracts prevent a total outsourcing of the department, Disney is allowed to outsource up to 10 percent of the staff to outside companies, and can expand beyond that in certain circumstances. Layoffs or staff reductions as a result of outsourcing are explicitly prohibited. Any changes to that policy would require a modification to the contract. When asked about Disney's claims that there are no current outsourcing plans, one officer replied, “Many are suspicious, and have no doubt they will eventually try.”

It's time.

Time to get the house in Halloween order.

Last year was a little enemic. Here is video of part of the yard. It looks so crappy compared with how cool it will be this year. The floating candles were so cool but you just couldn't take pictures of them and have them resemble anything that looked like a candle.


New this year are Fireflies just like the ones on The Pirates of the Carribbean ride at Disneyland. Even more floating candles with dynamic floating motion. Anyone can "float" a candle but can they have them walk thru a graveyard? It's going to be a great Halloween!

I'm not sure what my costume will be.

I've narrowed it down to these two:


They are quite horrific by themselves but put them on a forty-year-old man and they are downright scary as all fuck!

Post 800 is about one funny Eastcoaster

Marlene is rolling over in her grave.

I pinched this from the blog of Julie Klausner. Now you know how I hate stand up comedy. Seriously why have people pay to see you do some sort of therapy on stage. Stand up has always pissed me off. Everytime I have seen a comic on-stage I half expect to get a check in my hand at the end for the "oh my live sucks session" I just had to sit through.

The only stand up routines are:

Gee it was sure tough growing up.
Gee it is sure hard to be me.
Gee it is sure hard to be you.
Hey you suck.
(and my favorite one) Hey have you ever noticed...?

Julie does not rely on these old chesnuts but seems to have something funny going on with her. Really funny. Honest to goodness funnienessess ss.

Being from the Atlantic side of the USA I was expecting some sort of suck funny. You know the type that talk about places you dont know like, oh I don't know... The Paramus mall. You know the shitty things they like to say about New Jersey. Ho no one's ever done that before! EVERYONE has! And guess what.. everyone that has is not funny!

Julie is funny. I look forward to seeing her on stage.

Click on the title of this post to check out her blog.
I have to get back to drinking now.

Miss Moneypenny

Miss Moneypenny, originally uploaded by malcyL.

Oh bad timing. The Lois Maxwell scarecrow created the same day as her death. I didn't cause her demise... it was the folks who created this haylegged monster.

Life-Like

Life-Like, originally uploaded by dogwelder.

Moneypenny

Moneypenny, originally uploaded by dogwelder.

Even keeping her mint on card could not save her from the grim reaper.

Goodbye Moneypenny.

Actress Lois Maxwell, who starred as Miss Moneypenny in a string of James Bond movies, has died aged 80.
Maxwell starred alongside Sir Sean Connery in Bond's first movie outing, Dr No, in 1962.
She played the role until 1985's A View To A Kill with Sir Roger Moore, who told the BBC she had been a "great asset" to the early Bond movies.
Aged 58 when she made her final Bond appearance, she was replaced by 26-year-old Caroline Bliss for The Living Daylights.
As well as her acting career, she also worked as a columnist for the Toronto Sun newspaper.
Her last film role was in the 2001 thriller The Fourth Angel, alongside Jeremy Irons and Jason Priestley.

Bob wept

While the local pie place is "Closed for repairs" Bob's was the substitute for the day.
Bob was stained with the tears he has shed for the millions of cows that have been served in this establishment.
I'm not talking about the food.


The good thing is we got to sit next to the booth the Beatles sat in once in 1965. So close yet so far. Check out the crazy plaque.
JOHN, P ALIL GEORGE & R INGO? Clearly R ingo is the lowest sunglass wearing note John and Palil are the connected notes, George is the loner facing the other way but who is the electric sperm before the fab four notes?

This guy is a jerkface too

I'm warning you:
Do not visit that website.

Ronald is a jerkface

Map of Humanity

Dead Cartoon Animals

Bugs Bunny's Skeleton.

Click on the title of this post to be taken to the galllery.



Oh and here lies the bones of poor ol' Daffy:

Limited run of only 5,000 in the year of our Lord 1963

If you are a collector of " Moon Robits" this must be the crown jewel.

I'm sure this is not the first time the following question has been asked:

"Why does Superman need a chair to get around?"

One simple picture...

...is better than an entire episode of Family Guy.

Get it kitty get it get it get it!

ANTS!

ANTS!, originally uploaded by scottyferguson.

These giant ants live under buddy's feet.

buddy

buddy, originally uploaded by scottyferguson.

Lil Buddy the tiny freakhorse. He belongs to my sister-in -law.

Cliff notes for a soul.

Thanks to the blog "I'm learning 2 share" for sharing the amazing life and tragic death of The Singing Nun. I urge you all to check out that blog. The link is to the right in the links list doncha know.


THE LIFE OF THE SINGING NUN: A BRIEF CHRONOLOGY

1933, October 17.....................Jeanine born in Brussels to a patissiere

1953..................................................Teaches high school art.

1953- 1956....................................Studies art with Paul Delvaux at La Cambre.

1959..................................................Buys her guitar, "Sister Adele"

1959, September.........................Enters the Fichermont convent in Waterloo. She takes the name Sister Luc Gabriel.

Composes the song "Dominique" for the Reverand Mother's All Saints' Day celebration.

1962..................................................Records the song "Dominique."
Philips executives dub her "Soeur Sourire" -- "Sister Smile."

1963-1964....................................."Dominique" and the album "The Singing Nun" soar to the top of the charts in the U.S.A., beating out Little Stevie Wonder and the Beatles.

She wins a Grammy Award -- the only nun ever to do so.

1964, January 5...........................Jeanine appears on The Ed Sulivan Show.

1965..................................................Jeanine and her convent close the doors on the stardom of Soeur Sourire and Jeanine concentrates on her studies at Louvaine.

1966..................................................Jeanine leaves the convent and moves in with Annie Percher, a childhood friend.
She resumes her singing career, only this time she will be known as "Luc Dominique." It is announced that her first album will feature a song with the lyrics "Sister Smile is dead... God is the only star" and another witty ditty, "La Pilul D'Or" -- "The Golden Pill," a song which gives praise to the birth control pill. Soon after, the Vatican comes out against the Pill and Jeanine pulls the song from the album. The album does not do well.

1967..................................................She tours Quebec with her music; at one particular low point she plays in a strip club.

1968..................................................She Publishes a book of inspirational thoughts, "Vivre Sa Verite." The book does not sell well.


1968- 1982....................................She is hit with a tax bill for the profits on "Dominique." She explains to the Belgian government that the money from "Dominique" went to the convent. The government holds her responsible for the taxes.

Annie and Jeanine open a school for autistic children. Jeanine begins to paint again, and also teaches guitar.

Jeanine suffers from depression and has "nervous breakdown after nervous breakdown."

1983..................................................Jeanine releases the disco version of "Dominique." It does not do well.

Unable to keep up with expenses, Annie must close the school. Soon Jeanine gets a pink slip from her job.

1985, April 1.................................Jeanine and Annie commit suicide in their apartment in Wavre, Belgium. As per their last request, they are buried together in holy ground. The tombstone contains both their names and the name of Soeur Sourire. There is also an inscription in French, possibly a quote from one of her songs: "J'ai vu voler son ame a travers les nuages."




"Jeanine... is in constant depression and only lives for me. I live for her. That can't go on. We do suffer really too much... We have no more place in life, no ideal except God, but we can't eat that. We go to eternity in peace. We trust
God will forgive us. He saw us both suffer and he won't let us down.

It would please Jeanine not to die for the world. She had a hard time on earth.
She deserves to live in the minds of people."

~Annie Pecher
from Jeanine and Annie's suicide note 1985

Although their death was by suicide they were allowed a church service.


"Dominique, oh Dominique
Over the land he plods along
Never looking for reward
He just talks about the Lord, he just talks about the Lord, he just talks about the Lord

At a time when John Lackland
Over England was the king
Dominic was in the backland
Fighting sin like anything

Now a heretic one day
Among the thorn forced him to crawl
Dominic with just one prayer
Made him hear the good Lord's call

Without horses or fancy wagon
He crossed Europe up and down
Poverty was his companion
As he walked from town to town

To bring back the straying liars
And the lost sheep to the fold
He brought forth the Preaching Friars
Heaven's soldiers brave and bold

One day in the budding Order
There was nothing left to eat
Suddenly two angels walked in
With a load of bread and meat

Dominic once in his slumber
Saw the Virgin coat unfurled
Over Friars without number
Preaching all around the world

Grant us now oh Dominic
The grace of love and simple mirth
That we all may help to quicken
Godly love and truth on earth"

Mime silenced

Marcel Marceau, whose lithe gestures and pliant facial expressions revived the art of mime and brought poetry to silence, died Saturday. He was 84.

Wearing white face paint, soft shoes and a battered hat topped with a red flower, Marceau — notably through his famed personnage Bip — played the entire range of human emotions onstage for more than 50 years, never uttering a word. Offstage, however, he was famously chatty. "Never get a mime talking. He won't stop," he once said.

Here was his human face.

Mimes all over the globe will have a moment of screaming.

The Brady House

The Brady House, originally uploaded by scottyferguson.

The house the Brady Bunch used to live in. I drove by it today and snapped this picture.

I'm sure you are asking yourself "How the hell can that crazy set fit into this tiny house?"
It can't.
Here are the blueprints for the bottom floor of the house. As you can see there is no way that set could possibly match up to this house but...
T.V. viewers are stupid.

Gone Ghostley Gone

Alice Ghostley, the Tony Award-winning actress best known on television for playing Esmeralda on "Bewitched" and Bernice on "Designing Women," has died. She was 81.

Ghostley died Friday at her home in Studio City after a long battle with colon cancer and a series of strokes, longtime friend Jim Pinkston said.

Ghostley made her Broadway debut in "Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1952." She received critical acclaim for singing "The Boston Beguine," which became her signature song.

Miles Kreuger, president of the Los Angeles-based Institute of the American Musical, said part of Ghostley's charm was that she was not glamorous.

"She was rather plain and had a splendid singing voice, and the combination of the well-trained, splendid singing voice and this kind of dowdy homemaker character was so incongruous and so charming," Kreuger said.

In the 1960s, Ghostley received a Tony nomination for various characterizations in the Broadway comedy "The Beauty Part" and eventually won for best featured actress in "The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window."

From 1969 to 1972, she played the good witch and ditzy housekeeper Esmeralda on TV's "Bewitched." She played Bernice Clifton on "Designing Women" from 1987 to 1993, for which she earned an Emmy nomination in 1992.

(no special glasses required)

Am I the only one who gets this?

Local forgotten monument and burial-site.

I was planning on doing a mega post on the burial place of James Lankershim but I just found a site that does a fantastic job.
This monument is hidden at the end of Nichols Canyon.
This location was just down the street from me when I was growing up. There used to be a nice set of stairs going up to this monument. Along the way (in the early 70's) there was a horse that lived to the west of the monument. I would sneak carrots out of the house and feed them to the poor old horse. The monument was maintained by the boy scouts during the 70's. It was a nice secret place to go and not get beat up by neighborhood kids. They didn't even know about it.
I went back there today and found that it is almost inaccessible.
The once well maintained stairs are gone. The metal rails that used to be in the center of the stairs remains. The stairs are long gone. The monument is still there marking the grave of James Lankershim. It is a sad place now. The good thing that remains is the smell of the wild hollywood fennel that grows around the base of this monument.
To see what this place once was please click the title of this post to be taken to a 10 minute slideshow about the Monument and the Boy Scout camp that once stood there.
Its nice to see what our world used to look like.

Eatin' the Plumb

I'm sure We'll have a few leaked items before Eve Plumb's book is released next year. I can't wait to find out just what exactly went on between the two one screen sisters. Apparently they were a little more friendly then we were ment to believe.

Eve has claimed that there was a little messing around while filming the Brady Bunch series.


What we all dreamed was true...
WAS TRUE!

Thirty years (and one day) old

The phrase "Jump the Shark" was born 30 years ago yesterday.

Here is that historic moment.

Ya wanna know what I think?

I think those pictures of Oscar De La Hoya are real.
Thats what I think.

(Click the title of the post to see the pictures)

Words combos that sound dirty yet mean nothing

babychum
boyclapper
ladyslack
stinkpunching
chalkhawker
bushflock
goosenoose
gymswirl

Giamantis

"oh what do you call it?"
"I call it Giamantis. It's a cross between giant and mantis."
"Leave it to a reporter to think of that."
(trust me if a reporter came up with that name now, CNN would sign them is a heartbeat.)

Gimantis first appearance in SON OF GODZILLA

mantakakie!

Mantis peas and rice. Yummy.

Making veggies looks like insects is a great idea.


Barf

Speaking of Mothra...

American monster movie fans remember the choruses of 'Mothra, Mothra' sung by the Peanuts, but there was a second song also featured in the film, which, apart from the first few worldess bars, was cut from the US version of the film. The lyrics were about the homesickness felt by the twin fairies, and their premonition that Mothra was on her way to rescue them. Here it is presented full length in its haunting glory.

Ghidorah The three headed monster

Oh the unspoken dialog that only an audience can give to this film. I never understood why this film didn't catch on as a midnight movie.

I find myself alone, at night, yelling at this film. Heckling the film with my Mai-Tai in one hand and remote in the other. Replaying the horrible English translation over and over as cat moves to the other room because he finds me annoying.

Good times.

Mac

It's not a cult or a lifestyle, it's a tool and so are you.

Working out your inner demon

The way Star Wars should have ended

This still makes me laugh

Meteorite causes diarrhea and stuttering.

A meteorite has struck a remote part of Peru and carved a large crater that is emitting noxious odours and making villagers ill, according to local press reports.
A fireball streaked across the Andean sky late on Saturday night and crashed into a field near Carancas, a sparsely populated highland wilderness near Lake Titicaca on the border with Bolivia, witnesses said.

The orange streak and loud bang were initially thought to be a plane crashing. When farmers went to investigate, however, they found a crater at least 10m wide and 5m deep, but no sign of wreckage.

The soil around the hole appeared to be scorched and there was a "strange odour", a local health department official, Jorge López, told Peru's RPP radio.
Later the farmers complained of headaches and vomiting. Police who went to investigate the crater were also stricken with nausea, prompting authorities to dispatch a medical team that reached the site today.

"The odour is strong and it's affecting nearby communities. There are 500 families close by and they have had symptoms of nausea, vomiting, digestive problems and general sickness," said Mr López.

At least 12 people were treated in addition to seven police officers who required oxygen masks and rehydration.

The farmers expressed fears that what appeared to be chunks of lead and silver around the site could contaminate the soil.

Municipal authority, Marco Limachi, reported that after the unidentified glowing object fell from the sky, the citizens of the town of Carancas began to have migraines, nausea and diarrhea.

Limachi stated, "the animals aren't eating and some people are stuttering, it seems to be because they are frightened and worried about the impact."

A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Modesto Montoya, told the state press agency that a fallen meteorite did not present any danger unless it hit some structure on impact.

"None of the meteorites that fall in Peru and make perforations of varied sizes are harmful for people, unless they fall on a house," he said. Another meteorite fell to Earth in Arequipa province in June.

Where Do Losers Rent?

No more B.S.

Match Game vet Brett Somers passed away from stomach and colon cancer at her Connecticut home on Saturday. She was 83.

Somers, the grandmother of the Mary-Kate Olsen/Nicole Richie oversized sunglasses trend, was known for her dry wit and humor as one of the celebrity panelists on the memorable '70s game show, which experienced renewed interest in repeats on the Game Show Network.

Ms. Somers married actor Jack Klugman in 1953 and played his ex-wife on the long-running series, "The Odd Couple." Although they separated in 1974, the couple never divorced.

Somers is survived by Klugman, her two sons, Adam and David, and a daughter, Leslie.

He he Heeee.

U R MR GAY

Unintentional unusual cowinkydink with the new Mario Bros Galaxy box art.

Notice the letters with the stars/lens flares on them spell out U R MR GAY.


Wii owners will buy the game reguardless.

Pissed tiger shows up out of nowhere and leaps 12 feet onto elephants face.

These guys are trying to flush out a tiger using elephants and dart guns. That doesn't stop the disrespected cat from fighting back.

Amazon gives you the deal of a lifetime!

Why? Why Amazon Why? Notice anything odd?
Oh Amazon you are a dirty dirty birdy.

I don't even think they make videos for this fetish.
(click to enlarge any screen cap)


This one cracks me up because Amazon asks if you have one to sell.

This next picture is a screen cap I found online. I just noticed the name of the searching party. Creepy.


I just had to check a couple more items to see if they have a "used" option and sure enough they do.


This next one is just too horrible.
Finally, sadly, I do know they have two videos at the local pornoteria that cater to people who need used ones of:

I've wanted to find out who rents them. What kind of people are they?