More than 10,000 people were left disappointed in Ireland Saturday as the Virgin Mary failed to appear as predicted at Knock Basilica.
By 3 p.m. Irish time (10 a.m. EST) about 7,000 people had crammed into the Basilica with a further 3,000 people outside.
Dubliner Joe Coleman, the man who had predicted the apparition left the Basilica at about 4 p.m. saying he had seen Our Lady as anticipated.
Coleman, who says he is ?
Michael Panzner is the author of the new best-seller, When Giants Fall: An Economic Roadmap for the End of the American Era
Spotted over at Sociological Images, the Stuffed Jumpsuit With A Gold Bikini, “Because there is nothing funnier than a person, disadvantaged by the perfect storm of race, class, and gender, being forced to give lap dances to feed herself.”
To pick one up, or complain: Dee’s Fancy Dress.
Hilarious article from GOOD Magazine on people and their dog-obsession:
Kids chase fewer squirrels and postal workers than dogs, but the way we pamper our poodles and great danes and mutts has a lot in common with how we treat our toddlers and teens.
Though I try not to over-kid-ify my canine, the bounds of sane dog owner behavior are blurry. I frequently arrange playdates for my rat terrier Monkey, and, I hate to admit, once shoved him into a Dracula costume and took him to a dog party, which included dog cake, dog champagne, and a doggie masseuse (who terrified my pooch?
Devendra Banhart’s new album What Will We Be
I just gave it a listen; it’s pretty fun, kind of like summer barbecue music for ratty youth. There is very little of the somberness of, say, Cripple Crow, and also not much outside Banhart’s usual musical territory. But he’s continuing to polish and perfect his style, and the album is a strong, polished and mature effort from the artist. I dig it!
(Devendra Banhart: What Will We Be)
(Linked below: Banhart’s artistic pinnacle IMO, the “Carmensita” video w/ Natalie Portman.)
The original version of this ghoulish effigy is SOLD OUT! This “Extra Filthy Bloody” Edition a striking representation of GG ALLIN circa 1991 with added crud, blood, and cuts. The figure, limited to 500 numbered units, stands at 7 inches tall and is made of a lightweight polyresin. Loaded into a full color “splatter” box, here GG is accurately sculpted right down to the tattoos, and copious amounts of blood and filth.
This GG Allin toy can be yours for $16.95.
(via David Pescovitz over at Boing Boing)
Tonight brings a special guest post from Dangerous Minds pal, main Medicine man, and one of my dear childhood friends, Mr. Brad Laner:
Crass has always been one of my favorite bands. While mostly known for their brilliant iconography and lyrics, media pranks, and communal origins/existence, I think they made tremendously creative and musically interesting records. Drummer/lyricist Penny Rimbaud‘s drumming in particular is like none other I can think of. The man managed to work a bizarre martial uh…march feel into nearly all of their material, and therefore made Crass sound like no other “punk” band before or since.
I recently picked up Rimbaud’s autobiography, Shibboleth, and while there is precious little about the actual music, it’s a fun and informative read. An early moment finds teenage Jeremy Ratter (the future Mr. Rimbaud) crossing paths with The Beatles on Ready Steady Go.
As unlikely as that sounds, it’s thankfully preserved for all time on the YouTubes:
It also must be mentioned that Crass created the greatest lost feminist manifesto/concept album ever in 1981’s Penis Envy. I’d be hard pressed to come up with another band that was able to so beautifully marry great heaping mouthfuls of bitterly angry lyrics to almost jubilantly inventive music.
Bonus I: Crass’s Nagasaki Nightmare (fan vid)
Bonus II: Crass’s Bata Motel (fan vid)
On this day 40 years ago, the very first e-mail message (long before they called it e-mail, of course) was sent by UCLA’s Leonard Kleinrock over the ARPANET system from Los Angeles to the Stanford Research Institute, more than 400 miles away.
Kleinrock, while still a student at MIT, developed the principles of “packet switching,” which allows the basic data-transfer functions of the Internet. As a professor at UCLA, Kleinrock helped develop ARPANET, the interconnected computer network from which the Internet evolved. Today more than 1.6 billion people around the world are connected to the network.
What was that first momentous message, you may be wondering? It said simply “lo”—the message was meant to read “login,” but the computer crashed almost immediately.
Cross posting this from Brand X
This is one of those stories that, when you are confronted with it, seems like a parody from the Onion, but upon closer examination ... it’s not. No, it’s a “truth is stranger than fiction” kinda thing. Actually, it’s more a case of her truth is stranger than fiction. This is some real Michelle Bachmann-level goofiness going on here. What am I talking about?
I’m talking about the marvelous loopy opinion piece written by one Kimberly Daniels, founder of Kimberly Daniels Ministries International, who describes herself as “a recognized prophetic voice” (whatever that means, details were not forthcoming). Kimberly penned what might be charitably described as a “controversial” essay for Charisma magazine, published online at its website and also picked up by Pat Robertson’s CBN website but removed as the story began to receive ridicule on the Internet. What was her essay about that caused such a reaction, you ask?
Well, you see, Kimberly wants to destroy Halloween! That’s right—she wants to destroy Halloween because of the demonic candy handed out during the holiday. Not just any candy, but accursed candy, the worst kind!
From her essay:
During this period, demons are assigned against those who participate in the rituals and festivities. These demons are automatically drawn to the fetishes that open doors for them to come into the lives of human beings. For example, most of the candy sold during this season has been dedicated and prayed over by witches.
I do not buy candy during the Halloween season. Curses are sent through the tricks and treats of the innocent whether they get it by going door to door or by purchasing it from the local grocery store. The demons cannot tell the difference.
Sound the alarm! And be on the lookout for this evil, demonic candy! Why hasn’t someone alerted Fox News??!
Daniels goes on to write:
Halloween is much more than a holiday filled with fun and tricks or treats. It is a time for the gathering of evil that masquerades behind the fictitious characters of Dracula, werewolves, mummies and witches on brooms. The truth is that these demons that have been presented as scary cartoons actually exist. I have prayed for witches who are addicted to drinking blood and howling at the moon.
I’m not going to touch that one, but check out some of the other “secret, wicked, cruel activities that go on behind the scenes” during Halloween:
* Sex with demons
* Orgies between animals and humans
* Animal and human sacrifices
* Sacrificing babies to shed innocent blood
* Rape and molestation of adults, children and babies
* Revel nights
* Conjuring of demons and casting of spells
* Release of “time released” curses against the innocent and the ignorant.
Who knew? Now that we are aware of the problem, what are we, as a society, going to do about it?
Here’s Kimberly’s final advice:
There is no doubt in my heart that God is not calling us to replace fall festivals and Halloween activities; rather, He wants us to utterly destroy the deeds of this season. If you or your family members have opened the door to any curses that are released during the demonic fall festivals, renounce them and repent. I already have.
Cross posting this from Brand X