322 - Conspiracy

1. It's Die Hard in a Lincoln Continental Hot on the heels of his uncomfortably drunken performance at a NBA Playoff game, Bruce Willis is trying to enlighten Vanity Fair readers about what really went down in Dealey Plaza in 1963 and how JFK's true killers are "still in power, in some form."

2. Potter Conspiracy Is it possible that JK Rowling, the supposed author of the incredibly popular Harry Potter series is nothing more than a committee of hired writers churning out chapters under an umbrella pseudonym?

3. Conspiracy House Rock Media-opoly, carcinogenic nuclear pollution, corporate welfare, pocket politicians, weapons programs, technical difficulties.

4. Where There's Smoke It is clear that the battery industry is influencing the smoke detector manufacturers in an effort to force expensive, borderline obsolete, non-rechargeable, 9-volt batteries on the consumer.

5. Loose Screw Customer complaints (and probably the liberal media) have forced Virgin Airlines to reconsider its plans to include the September 11th conspiracy documentary, Loose Change, as a part of its in-flight entertainment program.

289 - with Links!

1. Solar Eclipse This is a really awesome video of the moon passing in front of the face of the sun. From Earth the moon and sun are virtually the same size. This video, however, was filmed from the Stereo-B, a satellite/spacecraft in orbit around the sun.

2. The Bishop Why haven't I heard about this unibomber-esque guy sending threatening letters and poorly constructed pipe bombs to the nation's financial institutions?

3. Operation Paperclip Would we have ever made it to the moon without the assistance of Wernher Von Braun and other Nazi scientists? America today might be an entirely different place had it not been for their influence. Plus, isn't Operation Paperclip an awesome codename? If you can't ignore the illuminati bullshit, the Wikipedia entry has most of the same information.

4. Jackalope The creepy, disgusting symptoms of a virus lead to the legend of the Wyoming thistled hare.

5. Smurf Amperestunde, jetzt diese ist sehr sehr das Smurfing gut.

275 - with Links!

1. Pastry Avalanche A rare combination of snow texture and air temperature conspires to create giant, rolling, mountain doughnuts.

2. Stringfever Bolero Ravel played by four dudes on one single cheesy see-through cello.

3. Do Not Fly/Read List One guy banned from two different flights on the basis of his in flight reading materials; Hayduke Lives! by Edward Abbey, a novel about an environmental terrorist and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the story of a young wizard coming of age.

4. Planned Squares Another one of these damn games that looks like it should be easy, but is actually pretty difficult.

5. Correlation Does Not Neccessarily Imply Causation It seems likely that Debbie Bird really does have some kind of allergy, but her conclusion that electromagnetic fields, microwaves, and gamma rays seems pretty far fetched. Unsurprisingly, "doctors say there is little scientific evidence to back up a link between EMF and poor health" and smart commenters on the article have suggested means of determining the cause of her condition.

269 - Vigeland

1. Vigeland In the 1920's the city of Oslo, Norway used its equivalent of eminent domain to take over the studio of sculptor, Gustav Vigeland. In a strange display of compassion, the city then granted the artist a new studio and funding for him to continue his work for the rest of his life.

2. Vigeland Sculpture Park In gratitude to the city for this arrangement, Vigeland vowed to donate all of his future work to Oslo be placed on display for the benefit of the public.

3. Vigeland Nee Frogner For the last twenty years of his life, Vigeland sculpted hundred of figures in stone and bronze which the city placed in an open exhibition in the vicinity of Frogner Park centered around the Vigeland fountain commissioned by the city a few years earlier. Eventually, Frogner Park became known as Vigeland Park.

4. Monolith the focus of the park became a giant monolith composed of 121 figures. The official theory claims that the statue depicts "Man's longing and yearning for the spiritual and divine... a feeling of togetherness, carefully holding one another tight in this strange sense of salvation." I wonder if Vigeland was pulling a fast one. To me they seem desperate and miserable, reminiscent of scenes from Dante's Inferno.

5. Censors The point of this post is to tell you about an incident that happened at the park yesterday. During the night someone snuck into the park and put censor bars over all of the exposed genitalia (of which there is plenty) on every one of the sculptures. Some citizens of Oslo are calling this an "act of vandalism that disrespected the artwork." I think it was more likely a tongue-in-cheek satire of prudishness and censorship. They've taken an existing work of art and changed it into something entirely different.

266 - with Links!

1. 30 Dead People Neatorama runs down 30 of the most fascinating deaths in recorded history, including the drowning at a lifeguard party, Christine Chubbuck's live TV suicide, and the woman that electrocuted herself while demonstration how her sister had electrocuted herself.

2. Bob Spongee Small press comic book self publisher, Troy Walker, is trying to get 1.6 million dollars out of Nickelodeon for stealing his idea for a talking sponge that lives in a "house concept." I know a lot of people that live in house concepts. Maybe I can sue all of them for stealling my house concept idea.

3. Catch 33 I like a game so simple that its instruction manual doubles as its title. Catch 33, it's as simple as that.

4. 13 Things The author of this piece on scientific mysteries seems to think the lack of understanding should be embarrassing to science. In fact, unanswered questions are the entire point of science.

5. Candy Jones Is it a true story of a government abusive use of power and brain washing, a sad tale of mental illness, or a fictional conspiracy theory concocted by opportunists? The world may never know.

255 - with Links!

1. Boston Bomb Squad at It Again After the Great Mooninite Scandal earlier this year you'd think the Boston Police department would more carefully check out suspicious "hoax devices" before blowing them up. In this case it turned out to be a totally innocuous traffic counter that pretty much any police officer should have been able to recognize.

2. Who's Gonna Pony Up the $2 Million And then they really, really go too far when dealing with this guy's hoax jacket.

3. I Need an Adjective News-Sentinel Staff Writer, Layla Bohm must have earned her degree from the Madlibs School of Journalism. "A jazz musician was injured Friday after jumping from a burning motor home driven by a one-time roller skating stripper from Lodi."

4. Whose Films Really? After spending time and money producing the promotional materials for a new website backed by the UK Film Council, somebody decided to check into whether or not the domain name was actually available.

5. I Scream for Malt Liquour Steve Harrison pleaded guilty to two offences of unlicensed alcohol sales after being caught using his ice cream truck as a undercover mobile liquor store.

248 - Google!

1. Find a Tattoo of a Weasel Today's post will include my favorite google searches that have led visitors to this site. Even though I think it is pretty funny, I won't include all the suckers that come here looking for The New Paris Hilton Sex Videos.

2. "The Secret" Positive Thought Christian My criticism of The Secret has really brought in a lot of viewers. Unfortunately, the majority of them are looking for the Christian angle on the subject. I doubt most of them care about the bad science for which "The Secret Crew" is responsible. I mean, come on, six days, virgin birth, talking snake, etc.

3. Sweet Operation Mincemeat By far, the largest number of google searchers that end up here are looking for images relating to Operation Mincemeat. Maybe because google images only supplies two pages of results. The real question is; why do so many people want to see pictures of a dead body after it has been recovered from the sea. Sickos!

4. Awesome Magician in Grocery Store My best guess on what he was looking for; Criss Angel: Grocery Store Magic.

Christian Art Prints with Hidden Messages and Cows This is my favorite one by far, and the one which made me think to compile this list. I see all of these topics gathered around the site so I understand why google sent this poor guy here, I just can't figure out what in the hell he might have been really searching for.

245 - with Links!

1. Robert Adler: Dead World class electrical engineer and inventor of the television remote control, Robet Adler, died of heart failure Sunday at the age of 93. After a small memorial, Mr. Adler will be buried somewhere down the crack between your couch cushions.

2. Arachnovis Ok geneticists, what happens if a four-legged duck mates with a six-legged sheep?

3. Single Camera Theory Blown to Hell New footage of John Kennedy in Dallas just seconds before his famous assassination has surfaced. Conspiracy theorists around the world bought new magnifying glasses.

4. That's an Expensive Omelette $420,000 worth of fossilized dinosaur eggs sold illegally to a collector in Florida to be returned to their rightful owner in China.

Rent and Copy Online DVD renter, Inteliflix, in association with OfficeMax, apparently condone illegal copyright violation and dvd bootlegging.

240 - We Have Your Pelicans

1. 15 Freaking Years In 1992, I saw this report on inside edition. I never really stopped thinking about it. Over the years some of the details faded and I couldn't remember the exact story. Thanks to the wonder of the internet, specifically Youtube, I've been able to refresh my memory.

2. Carotenoid Think flamingos are pink? Well they aren't. They are actually white birds that become discolored due to the food they eat. Think about sticking a carnation is a vase of colored water, and you'll get the idea.

3. Boner Mouth Beyond their fake pinkness, flamingos have another weird characteristic. Researchers at Ohio University discovered that flamingos have a type of erectile tissue in their mouths which engorges to assist with their unique method of upside down eating.

4. My Two Dads Britain's only gay flamingos celebrate fifth anniversary as a couple.

5. Flabongo Genius. Buy a flamingo lawn ornament for $7.95 , pull the legs off, and then sell it to dumb, drunk college kids for $19.87.

237 - Capricorn

1. Capricorn Two In addition to a bunch of other unlikely movie sequels in the works, it seems someone has finally recognized the need for a sequel/remake of the 1978 "classic" Capricorn One.

2. Capricorn One Capricorn One stars James Brolin, Sam Waterston, and O.J. Simpson as a trio of NASA astronauts ready to set off on the first manned mission to Mars. When NASA realizes there is a problem with the space capsule, the astronauts are forced to film a fake version of their landing. Then NASA tracks the three men through the desert trying to kill them, in order to keep the secret.

3. Hoax The basic premise of Capricorn One was clearly inspired by the notion, based on NASA photographs and film, that The Apollo moon landings were filmed on a soundstage right here on earth and that no man has ever set foot on the moon.

4. The Truth The plain fact is this; of course men walked on the moon! Besides the fact that every single one of the moon conspiracy theories is easily refuted by a basic understanding of practical physics and how photography works, simple common sense tells us that a conspiracy of this magnitude could not be kept secret. The president couldn't even get a blowjob without the entire world finding out. No credible person has ever come forward with a first hand account of involvement in creating a hoax.

5. See for Yourself Please feel free to watch Capricorn One. It isn't really a great movie, but it is kind of entertaining. Just remember that it is not reality, it is a piece of Hollywood fantasy. If you want to see the real thing, there is a ton of quicktime videos at the Apollo 11 Video Library and classic documentaries about many of the Apollo mission at The Internet Archive.