Flyin' Digits!

More than you could ever hope to learn about... THE FINGER. The history of, how to give it (both here in the U.S. of A. and abroad), famous fingers, etc. Want more? Buy the book. Two thumbs (or fingers) up!

(via The Straight Dope)

A-Negative Message

Sure, there are those among us who say that words are fleeting and ephemeral until they're committed to paper, but if you really want permanent, you try getting Bloody Finger Email stains out of the carpet.

...I only went as the Village People Leather Guy because they were sold out of Village People Indian Guy

Worst Halloween costumes. Ever.

Funky Punkins

From the home page of ExtremePumpkins.com:

At what point did the carving of pumpkins turn into a "cute" event? When did boys stop carving pumpkins and moms start? Where did we lose touch with one of the years coolest events?

Today we will seize back this ritual. Today is the day we throw away those safe, cute carving tools. Today. We will buy a big, ugly, pumpkin so large one man cannot lift or move it. Today. We will carve that sumbitch into something ugly and plop it on the front porch. October 31st we will light it brightly enough to give visiting children suntans.

Puking pumpkins, pimply pumpkins, pyrotechnic pumpkins... get carvin'! More pumpkin creativity can be found at Phrenopolis.

Sweet & Sour

I was saddened and then delighted in the course of about sixty seconds.

The sad news is that Fred "Rerun" Berry died Tuesday. For those of us old enough to remember the 70's sitcom "What's Happening!!", it was cool to see him again in trademark red beret and suspenders last April in an episode of NBC's Scrubs.

Now for the part I like: Fred was one of the celebrities doing on-demand phone calls for the new service HollywoodIsCalling.com. For $30, any one of a number of Hollywood celebrities will call you or a friend and deliver a brief customized message. Okay, so most of them aren't exactly A-List (Ron "Horshack" Palillo, anyone?), but whaddaya want for thirty clams?

"Quite a few butterflies prefer urine... to flowers."

So says The New Jersey Audon Society. And they're not the only ones who think this. Apparently, butterflies enjoy the salts and minerals found in animal urine. And of course, where there's a need, there's someone like the guys at PredatorPee.com ready to sell to that market.

You wanna attract butterflies? Then you're gonna want to pick up ButterflyPee.

What's that? You don't care about creating a friendly environment for those Hickory Hairstreaks, Black Checkerspots and their Lepidoptera brethren? All you want to do is keep the neighbor's dog or cat out of your tomatoes? Sounds like you need maybe a little WolfPee or BobcatPee.

While you're out in your garden in a urine-soaked frenzy, put a little GrowPee on them 'maters, why dontcha? Better than Miracle-Gro, I hear... If you love the smell of pee in the morning (it smells like.... victory!), tear that pine tree air freshener off your rear-view mirror and put in one of these.

(via Bifurcated Rivets)

Spying By Numbers

Ever since I read in William Poundstone's Big Secrets about the mysterious so-called "numbers stations" found on the shortwave radio band, I've found them oddly fascinating.

For those who don't know what a numbers station is, Salon ran a fairly informative article on them several years ago. Here's a bit from the article:

Twisting the dial of your shortwave radio, you come across the most "experimental" sounding station you've ever heard. A glockenspiel tune is followed by the voice of a little girl speaking numbers and letters in what sounds like a random order. A techno DJ's pirate radio remix? Performance art? No, you've stumbled across a "numbers station," and the message inside the madness just wasn't meant for you. Somewhere in the world, a government spook, maybe CIA, MI6 or Mossad, is furiously scrawling down the numbers on a pad, a decoding key open at his side.

More details, links and audio clips (which I find unnervingly creepy for some reason) can be found here and here, for starters.

Albums minus words. Movies minus people.

In an effort to distract myself from the pain and depression of tonight's elimination of the Chicago Cubs from the playoffs, I tested my album cover artwork knowledge with the Album Cover Challenge over at meish.org. I managed to identify an anemic 11 right. How did you do?

If you are more of a film buff, try the Invisibles Quizzes at FilmWise. After taking of couple of the Invisibles Quizzes, personally, I'll stick to the album covers, thanks...

(via Sarcasmo's Corner)

Don't do the virtual crime if you can't do the virtual time

You say you're gonna be spending some quality time in one of the UK's fine prisons? But you're a bit anxious because you don't know what to expect? Well, fret no more, mate. The UK prison system offers a virtual tour of what to expect, from the moment you step in to the day (however far into the future that may be) that you get out. Funny, they seem to have left sodomization and taking a shank to the ribs in the yard out. Must just be an oversight... (via Techdirt)

And of course, once you arrive, it also helps to know the lingo. Enjoy your stay!

Not Atomic Kitten, but an incredible simulation!

Tribute City is a tribute page to... well, tribute bands. Entries include 41 Beatles knockoffs (personal favorite name: Beat The Meetles) and the usual assortment of Dylan and Doors clones. Not just one, but two all-female KISS tribute bands, and if you can sing, play guitar and fake a British accent, Spinal Pap needs a new (lead singer) Nigel Tufnel! Amazingly, the drummer position is still currently filled. You know how that band goes through drummers...

X-Ray Specs! Sea Monkeys!

Remember all those ads in the back of comic books when you were a kid? Did you ever order the ant farm (complete with stock of live ants!) or were you more the Junior Achiever-type that sold stuff to your unsuspecting relatives and neighbors for crappy prizes? Stuff like Christmas cards, the ever popular Grit magazine (go, Gritboy!) or maybe even salve. Yes, I said salve. Kids. Selling salve. Door to door. Salve.

And what's the deal with the miniature dogs and monkeys? Were these the real deal or were they just dolls or what? What did you really see when you look ed through those X-Ray Glasses? So many questions, so little time...

The one thing I do remember ordering was the Very Special People book. In fact, I still have it. Great stuff on John "The Elephant Man" Merrick, Robert Wadlow: "The World's Tallest Man" and Grace McDaniels a/k/a "The Mule-Faced Woman", and others.

(via Scrubbles)

"Hello, OnStar? This is Frodo Baggins."

Because GPS technology was notoriously unreliable in Middle Earth, Frodo most likely printed out walking directions to Mordor.

(via Margi Lowry)

VIRUS ALERT!!!1!!1!!

Finally, one of those email virus "warnings" I can enjoy...

(via defective yeti)