Quote: The monkey is the only animal, except man, that practices this science; hence he is our brother; there is a bond of sympathy and relationship between us. Give this ingenious animal an audience of the proper kind, and he will straightway put aside his other affairs and take a whet; and you will see by the contortions and his ecstatic expression that he takes an intelligent and human interest in his performance.?
-Mark Twain, from his speech, Some Thoughts on the Science of Onanism, 1879.
Dated: 06.21 Comments: 0 Permanent link to this post: ≡ Email this post: »
Dearest Fingers. The typewriter, after centuries of dedicated service, is fading fast from the memory of men. These noble machines, once the trusted friend of novelist, philosopher, poet, lover, spy, and bureaucrat alike, have fallen on hard times. Today they sit in attics and shadowy back-rooms, confused and lonely. They know they still have so much to give, so much romance to kindle, so much tactile pleasure in their keys and mechanisms! But alas, Man is fickle. Man is thoughtless. Man is… cruel. If you listen closely you can almost hear them, softly clacking their final words, as the dust grows ever thicker… “Dearest Fingers, I’m lost without you.”
This design (see below for larger image) ought to look good on most apparel colors, light and dark. Check out all of your options for this Tee here, or see all the Nonist’s products here.
For extra large view click here.
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Thunder… Thunder… Thundereggs!
Quote: According to ancient Native American legend, when the Thunder Spirits living in the highest recesses of snowcapped Mount Hood and Mount Jefferson became angry with one another, amid violent thunder and lightning storms they would hurl masses of these spherical rocks at each other. The hostile gods obtained these weapons by stealing eggs from the Thunderbirds’ nests, thus the source of the name “Thundereggs.” -
Rock Hounding.
In 1965, the thunderegg (proud owners, one and all, of the greatest name ever bestowed on a rock by we fleshy types) was designated as the Oregon state rock. More info: 1, 2, 3, 4. More images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
Dated: 06.20 Comments: 0 Permanent link to this post: ≡ Email this post: »
AHHHH
CHOOO!
Quote: The Romans saluted the
sneezer with salve, or wished him health. With the Hindus
sneezing is connected with demoniacal Influence — a spirit entering or leaving the nose, or being expelled from it. With Muhammadans it is customary to wash the nose out with water because the devil visits it at night. In certain cases in Hindu belief
sneezing is ominous; if one is beginning work and hears another
sneeze, it is necessary to begin over again.
Sneezing at a threshold is unlucky. In mediieval and later folk-custom in different parts of Europe
sneezing was sometimes regarded as a momentary palsy. -
Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics (pg. 398) 1917.
Gesundheit.
Dated: 06.20 Comments: 0 Permanent link to this post: ≡ Email this post: »
Well, I see a slightly deformed pelvis, soaked in pomegranate juice and then smeared with wasabi. Whatever that means.
Dated: 06.20 Comments: 3 Permanent link to this post: ≡ Email this post: »
Today at the Nonist proper, I posted a piece on being an atheist in a world of Religious profanity, with special consideration for so-called minced oaths. I was hoping, with your help, to compile a running list of exclamations which eschew the usual “God!” “Christ!” “Holy whatever!” conventions that come so naturally. I’m interested in those oaths actually in-use, those inherited and particular to family or friends, as well as invented non-sequiturs coined for nothing more than comic effect. What say ye? Leave your contribution in comments, and if you can’t think of any… feel free to smash your thumb with a hammer… and then invent one!
Dated: 06.18 Comments: 36 Permanent link to this post: ≡ Email this post: »
Chinaski reading two of my faves, The Genius of the Crowd (Via headless) and Dinosauria, We, both of which (along with another fave Strongest of the Strange) can be heard on the audio collection Run With the Hunted.
Dated: 06.17 Comments: 1 Permanent link to this post: ≡ Email this post: »
Check out this Flickr set uploaded by Eric Carl: Collection of vintage logos from a mid-70’s edition of the book World of Logotypes. Great for inspiration seekers, shameless design thieves, and vintage graphics hounds alike. (Via Plep in NY)
Note: the image above was bent to my own purposes and is adapted from #3673, a proposed logo design for the Lyngby shopping center in Copenhagen.
Dated: 06.14 Comments: 0 Permanent link to this post: ≡ Email this post: »
With the news that NASA had awarded a contract to Oceaneering International Inc., for the design, development, and production of a new spacesuit system, dubbed the constellation spacesuit, for use during our next foray into manned planetoid-hopping I thought it would be an opportune moment to offer you, my most beloved space cadets, a round-up of spacesuit-related linkage from across the far reaches of the internet. Suit up and see below.
Dated: 06.14 Comments: 0 Permanent link to this post: ≡ Email this post: »
Quote: Sergeant L. M. Dey, signal officer at the summit of Pike’s Peak, wrote the editor of Scientific American in 1882 about the fascinating effects of electric discharge at high altitudes. The weather station equipment was covered with “brushes” of light. “In placing my hands over the revolving cups of the anemometer— where the electrical excitement was abundant— not the slightest sensation of heat was discovered, but my hands instantly became aflame. On raising them and spreading my fingers, each of them became tipped with one or more beautiful cones of light, nearly three inches in length. The flames issued from my fingers with a rushing noise . . . accompanied by a crackling sound. There was a feeling as of a current of vapor escaping, with a slight tingling sensation. The wristband of my woolen shirt, as soon as it became dampened, formed a fiery ring around my arm, while my mustache was lighted up so as to make a veritable lantern of my face”
-Handbook of Unusual Natural Phenomena, by William R. Corliss, 1986. Illustration by John C. Holden. Related: Mustaches of the Nineteenth Century.
Dated: 06.14 Comments: 0 Permanent link to this post: ≡ Email this post: »
