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Big Bird does Beastie Boys’ ‘Sabotage’
07.05.2017
11:19 am
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I had a good time watching this one. The editing is excellent. Basically it’s the Sesame Street crew reenacting Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage.” It’s stupid-fun.

The mashup is by Adam Schleichkorn and you can follow him on Facebook and Twitter to see more videos like this.

 
via Nerdcore

Posted by Tara McGinley
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07.05.2017
11:19 am
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Smoking babies, toddlers with guns, sex doll love & other hilariously inappropriate stock photos
07.05.2017
10:37 am
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Just looking at these pictures makes me think a stock photographer’s life must sometimes be quite fun. For example, photographing strange and bizarre scenes that at first seem utterly inappropriate but once given a headline almost make perfect sense.

Toddler shoots Mom with loaded .45 found in her handbag

or

Jealous wife stabs husband over dirty texts from his lover

or

Shopping Mall Santa is a Serial Sex Perv!


You get the idea.

What I want to know is there a weird stock photography office where you can apply for this job? Do they have a photographic editor who sits chomping on a cigar like J. Jonah Jameson barking out demands for pix of “Granny Shoots Mugger” or “This Baby Smokes a Pack a Day Just like Daddy!” or “Evil Babysitters let Kid snort cocaine!”

These pictures all scream National Enquirer, if not the Daily Mail. Not enough aliens or Elvis to be of much use to the Weekly World News.

Andy Kelly is a video games journalist who, quite understandably, finds this kind of stock photography hilarious. One day while browsing through the “perfect, smiling models eating salad, high-fiving each other, and pointing at flipcharts in boardrooms” Kelly came across the image of an obese man by a Christmas tree cradling a bottle of booze and pressing the barrel of pistol against his head. The photo was intended to represent some very serious issue like say, seasonal affective disorder or maybe the rise in suicides at Christmastime. But, as Andy noted, the image was “presented so bluntly, in such an absurdly literal manner that it accidentally became funny.”

So was born Kelly’s Dark Stock Photos—“Extremely fucked up stock photography.”

Kelly started his Twitter feed last month. It already has a healthy following around 81k. Kelly’s careful as to which photographs he shares as many are just waaaay too depressing and a “disproportionate number” feature violence against women—which sadly reflects the kind of world we live in.

Yet, the darkly comic photographs Kelly does share raise plenty of questions like who buys this stuff? Why do they exist? and is there really a place where I can apply to get this dream job?

If this tickles your funny bone (and why wouldn’t it?) and you want to see more then follow Dark Stock Photos.
 
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More weird stock photo pix, after the jump…

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Posted by Paul Gallagher
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07.05.2017
10:37 am
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Mind-melting illustrations done in 1950 by a man tripping balls on LSD show his descent into madness
07.05.2017
09:32 am
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An illustration done by an artist 20 minutes after taking 50 micrograms of LSD. According to notes taken by the attending physician, Dr. Oscar Janiger, the patient “chooses to start drawing with charcoal and was showing no effect from the drug.” Not yet anyway.
 
Experimental psychiatrist Oscar Janiger was one interesting cat. After relocating from New York to Los Angeles in the early 1950s, he established his private practice. Later, Janiger would end up teaching his somewhat unconventional beliefs at the University of California-Irvine. While all that sounds pretty typical when it comes to the life of an academic, Janiger was anything but your average college professor. You see, Oscar Janiger was a hugely influential early advocate of the use of hallucinogens, and his experiments and research precede those of LSD’s most famous enthusiast, Timothy Leary. Janiger allegedly hooked up actor Cary Grant and author and author Aldous Huxley with LSD and was noted to have dosed himself with the hallucinogenic drug at least thirteen times, though his drug trips were taken in the name of science as Janiger was very interested in trying to establish a direct correlation between use of the drug and how it might influence creativity. Which brings me to the point of this post—an experiment conducted by Janiger in which he administered LSD to an artist who was armed with a box of crayons.

The goal of Janiger’s experiment was to chart how well the artist could cling to reality during his “trip” and his ability to draw the same portrait of a man before, during, and after taking LSD. There are nine pictures in all, and each is pretty telling when it comes to the long, strange journey Janiger’s high-as-fuck guinea pig went on. I’ve posted the pictures below that chronicle the various results of each stage Janiger’s patient traveled through during which he was administered 50 micrograms of LSD twice. Which, if you’re not acquainted with acid, is a pretty standard dose, although, the illustrations and their accompanying captions seem to say otherwise.
 

This illustration was done at the 85-minute mark following the first dose, and twenty minutes after a second, 50 microgram dose. According to Janiger, his patient seemed “euphoric.” He stated to Janiger that he could see him “clearly, so clearly.” He also sputtered out the following statement: “This… you… it’s all… I’m having a little trouble controlling this pencil. It seems to want to keep going.”
 

At two hours and 30 minutes in Janiger’s patient appears very focused on the business of drawing. He then makes the following statement: “Outlines seem normal but very vivid - everything is changing color. My hand must follow the bold sweep of the lines. I feel as if my consciousness is situated in the part of my body that’s now active - my hand, my elbow… my tongue.”
 

Two hours and 32 minutes in Janiger notes that his patient seems “gripped by his pad of paper.” The artist notes he’s going to try to create another drawing saying that the “outlines of the model are normal, but now those of my drawing are not. The outline of my hand is going weird too. It’s not a very good drawing, is it? I give up - I’ll try again…”
 

Two hours and 35 minutes in Janiger says that his patient was able to produce another drawing saying that he would “Do a drawing in one flourish… without stopping… one line, no break!’ When he finished his illustration, Janiger’s patient started laughing then became startled by something on the floor. Sounds about right.
 

At the two hours and 45-minute mark, Janiger’s patient attempted to climb into an activity box and is generally agitated. He is slow to respond to suggestions such as if he would like to “draw more.” He has become mostly nonverbal but did manage to mumble the following: “I am… everything is… changed… they’re calling… your face… interwoven… who is…” He also appears to be attempting to hum a tune (according to Janiger it sounded like the 1938 hit “Thanks for the Memory”). He would then switch his medium from charcoal to tempera.
 
Much more after the jump…

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Posted by Cherrybomb
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07.05.2017
09:32 am
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London Calling: A look at vintage ‘tart cards’ used by English prostitutes
07.05.2017
09:22 am
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A vintage “tart card” that you would find inside a London telephone box.
 
During the mid-80s and 90s in London after the privatization of British Telecom, the telephone box was used by prostitutes to advertise their services. The boxes would be plastered with “tart cards” which were affixed to the box by professional “carders” who would routinely update the booths with replacement cards. “Carders” were also known for removing cards of competing prostitutes.

This form of flesh advertising would remain in place until 2001 when the UK made the act of posting tart cards inside telephone boxes punishable by either six months in the clink or a £5000 pound fine. The cards from the 80s and 90s included in this post were much like something you’d seen in a homemade fanzine—naughty illustrations along with some tongue-in-cheek catchy phrase (“Your pain is my pleasure” is a favorite) that were printed on brightly colored cards. Another interesting aspect of the old-school tart cards is that they were often devoid of full-on nudity, and preferred instead to imply certain services, such as an illustration of a female dominatrix holding a whip, stepping on a man with her stiletto boot heel along with her phone number. By the time 2002 rolled in, the cards were used as a means by police to track down the prostitutes and evict them from their apartments or homes as well as possibly deport call-girls who were in the country illegally.

The cards are such a memorable part of London counter-culture from that era that the neon-colored tart cards were prominently featured in the 2003 book Tart Cards: London’s Illicit Advertising Art. I’ve posted images of tart cards from the early 80s and 90s below for you to peruse which, as you can imagine, are NSFW.
 

 

 
More tart cards after the jump…

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Posted by Cherrybomb
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07.05.2017
09:22 am
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More darkly f*cked up comicstrip paintings from Joan Cornellà
06.30.2017
09:28 am
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Like Joan Cornellà? Check. Got the book? Check. Got the t-shirt? Check. Wanna see his latest solo show? Double check.

Well then, now you can.

Joan Cornellà has a series of solos shows exhibiting his hilariously dark, twisted, yet utterly brilliant comicstrip paintings planned for across the globe.

Most recently, one of Joan’s solo shows opened in Shanghai. Next month another opens at the Galerie Arts Factory, Paris, from July 1st-August 26th. This will be followed by one at the Josée Bienvenu Gallery, New York, from July 14th-30th. Then in September, there’s another at the Hoxton Arches, London from September 15th-October 1st. Joan will be present at all of these shows doing the book-signing and hand-shaking and probably head-nodding to your many questions.

If you really like Joan and one of his solo shows is a-comin’ near you—then you’d be a goddam fool to miss it.

Of course, if you’re nowhere near any of these prized metropolises, then you’ll just have to make do with this small yet beautifully formed selection of Joan’s recent and not so recent work. Enjoy!
 
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More surreal black comedy, after the jump…

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Posted by Paul Gallagher
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06.30.2017
09:28 am
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California’s bizarro ‘Flintstone House’ sells for $2.8 million
06.30.2017
09:16 am
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Some lucky schmoe just bought one of the coolest houses in the United States.

The Hillsborough, California home affectionately known as “The Flintstone House” which has been on the market since 2015, sold this week for $2.8 million—$1.4 million less than the original asking price.

The last previous sale of the home was for $800,000 in 1996.

The experimental home, built in 1976, was constructed using steel rebar and wire mesh frames built over large inflated aeronautical balloons and sprayed with high-velocity concrete known as gunite or “shotcrete.”

The home, also known as “Dome House,” “Gumby House,” or “Bubble House,” became more commonly known as “Flintstone House” when it was painted completely orange, from its original white, in 2000.

According to Atlas Obscura, there have been many urban legends surrounding the home’s previous ownership. George Lucas was once rumored to have owned the house. It has also been speculated that O.J. Simpson made a bid following his 1995 trial and that several famous Silicon Valley investors have lived there.

The new buyer of the home has not been disclosed.
 

Photos via Alain Pinel Realtors
 

 

 
More pics after the jump…

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Posted by Christopher Bickel
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06.30.2017
09:16 am
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Professor Hindu, the corpse-reviving sorcerer who was once Fela Kuti’s ‘spiritual advisor’
06.30.2017
09:08 am
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DJ Jumbo Vanrenen’s flyer from Professor Hindu’s London show, via thisisafrica.me
 
A few years ago, Suzanne Moore devoted a column in the New Statesman to her memories of a special event Fela Kuti once hosted in London. Inside a small club in Belsize Park, Fela’s favorite sorcerer, Professor Hindu, was slicing out his own tongue; out front, men were digging a grave. “Some poor guy had volunteered to be killed and resurrected,” she writes. After doing some card tricks, Professor Hindu slit the volunteer’s throat and buried him in the cold, cold ground.

Moore didn’t return for the Lazarus routine two days later, but she heard about it from wonderful Vivien Goldman (who published her own account in NME) long after the fact:

Not only had she been there, but she’d gone back to see the dead man raised. He’d jumped out of the grave in a suit all covered in earth and propositioned her. “Being buried alive makes you horny,” he exclaimed. That makes sense, when you think about it.

Fela’s death and resurrection show made its debut at his Lagos club, the Shrine, in May of ‘81. According to Michael E. Veal’s Fela: The Life and Times of an African Musical Icon, during Professor Hindu’s first engagement at the Shrine, the magician “reportedly hacked open one man’s throat and fatally shot another.” In both instances, the victims were revived after apparently spending days and nights buried in the ground.

Continues after the jump…

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Posted by Oliver Hall
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06.30.2017
09:08 am
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I squid you not: H.P. Lovecraft inspired tentacle dildos are a thing
06.29.2017
11:14 am
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An example of the tentacle dildos made by Lovecrafters Toys.
 
These inspired and colorful dildos come from an Etsy shop called Lovecrafters Toys. It seems that the owner of the shop, Chae, has a thing for H.P. Lovecraft as most of the sex toys in her store are silicone tentacles which are made to order. According to the site, you’re able to trick out your toy in pretty much any color you want. Chae will even paint the “suckers” on the tentacles another color just in case having a tentacle dildo in one color scheme just won’t do it for you.

Depending on the colors you choose one will run you anywhere from $47 to around $72 bucks and can also be used as a strap-on. You know, because Cthulhu is probably into some pretty cosmic shit. NSFW images follow.
 

 

 
More after the jump…

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Posted by Cherrybomb
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06.29.2017
11:14 am
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You’ll poke someone’s eye out with those things: Bullet bras from the 1940s and 1950s
06.29.2017
10:30 am
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Here’s a fashion statement I never understood: Bullet bras. I know a lot people find the Bullet bra AKA the Torpedo bra incredibly sexy, but all I can think of is Ursula Andress in The 10th Victim where actual bullets fire out of her pointy bra. They’re just too pointy, in my opinion. But who the hell cares about what I think, right? People (men?) dig ‘em.

Here’s what Wikipedia has to say regarding the Bullet bra’s history:

Military terminology crept into product marketing, as represented by the highly structured, conically pointed Torpedo or Bullet bra, designed for “maximum projection”. The bullet bra was worn by the Sweater Girl, a busty and wholesome “girl next door” whose tight-fitting outer garments accentuated her artificially enhanced curves.

It appears the Bullet bra and Sweater Girl fad died out around the 1960s due to cultural changes including “counterculture, the Civil Rights Movement and the concept of free love that emerged in the United States.”

Okay then.


 

 

 
More after the jump…

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Posted by Tara McGinley
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06.29.2017
10:30 am
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Color Me Hip: The Hipster Coloring Book, 1962
06.29.2017
10:01 am
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Hipsters ain’t what they used to be. Once upon a time, hipsters were seen as unreconstructed Glenn Quagmires (“Giggity”), who lived in fashionable penthouse apartments with their serious hi-fis, their Formica-topped minibars, their circular water beds, tiger print bedsheets, and polished mirrored ceilings. They had no man buns, no Alice bands, and certainly no handcrafted and carefully tended facial hair. These hipsters thought of themselves as free spirits who only cared about an ice-chilled cocktail and a swinging hot young chick to share their bed. This, apparently, was your average urban hipster as discerned by Cavalier magazine in November 1962.

Boy, how times have changed...

Fortunately, Cavalier was so amused by the hipster phenomenon they produced a coloring book for readers to fill in while they rued their lack of good fortune in having such a swinging, happening life…
 
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More hipster fun, after the jump…

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Posted by Paul Gallagher
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06.29.2017
10:01 am
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