Architectural Ghosts

First up tonight: Ghost Ads -- You see kids, back in olden times, before pop-ups, pop-overs, pop-unders, before banner ads and even before the internet (can you imagine?!) people used to advertise by painting on the sides of buildings downtown. Here are a few ghostly remainders. (via Lilek's)

Next up: Ghost Buildings -- Welcome to the sport of Urban Exploration. You're Columbus, and that creepy subway tunnel, that defunct hotel, that abandoned insane asylum, that's your New World. Links aplenty, but may I recommend starting with either the gorgeous Dark Passage or the sprawling website/'zine Infiltration.

Dogs, cats, fish -- on (and in) TV

Out: Buffy The Vampire Slayer

In: Fluffy, The Squirrel Slayer

Meow Mix cat food is introducing a new show devoted to programming "by cats, for cats and the humans they tolerate". Hosted by Annabelle and her feline pal Stinky on the Oxygen network, premiering tonight. Look for segments such as "Cat Yoga" and "Squirrel Alert".

On the other side of the coin, NPR's weekly This American Life spoke of an exciting new cable channel on the horizon: The Puppy Channel, which according to their website is just "puppies, puppies, puppies," accompanied by little more than relaxing, instrumental music. Nobody talks at you. In fact, you rarely see people, other than an occasional visit by a little child, or a heartwarming visit to a senior citizen.

Lastly (and least-ly) in our televised menagerie, Fish-TV, which frankly just looks all wet.

(Thanks to Dave for the MeowTV submission!)

Buy it, blog it

How many things have you yourself purchased today? This week? This month? This year? Kate Bingaman knows. She knows because she takes a picture of everything she buys, along with the total from the receipt and usually a little background or review on each item, and then posts it to her site, Obsessive Consumption. Charming, in its own obsessive-compulsive kind of way.

(Via Nuggets by Howard Sherman)

"'A'? What's an 'A'?"

Apparently, an "A" was something this person never got in Computer class. Read this excerpt from Computer Stupidities:


Tech Support: "Ok, you are in C:\WINDOWS. We need to get to the A: drive. So type 'A' colon and press enter."

Customer: "'A'? What's an 'A'?"

Tech Support: "It's the first letter of the alphabet. 'A' like apple."

Customer: "Ummm...what's an 'A'? I don't know what it is."

Tech Support: "Grade school, remember? The letter 'A'?"

Customer: "Oh, ok. Where is that?"

Tech Support: "Left side of the keyboard. Next to the 'S'."

Customer: "Ok...I think I found it. What do I do?"

Tech Support: "Press it. See what happens."

Customer: "Ok, I've got an 'A' now."

Tech Support: "Now press the colon. It's next to the 'L' key."

Customer: "How do I get it?"

Tech Support: "Hold down the 'shift' key."

Customer: "How to you spell that?"

Tech Support: "S-H-I-F-T. You have two of them. Near the space bar. Hold that down and press the colon."

Customer: "I can't find the colon."

Tech Support: "It's to the right of the 'L'."

Customer: "How do I get it?"

Tech Support: "Hold the shift key and press the colon key."

Customer: "Oh, ok...I think I've got it."

Tech Support: "Good, now hit 'enter'."

Customer: "Where's that?"

This whole conversation of two commands took almost an hour. I have no idea how this lady ever made enough money to buy a computer. It amazes me how someone can forget the alphabet. She's nice, but she's amazingly dumb.

Having worked in the tech support industry for a few years, I can attest that there are normal, intelligent people out there who become dumber than a bag of hammers once they sit in front of a computer.

Computer Stupidities is a huge site on the wonderful Rinkworks mothership, with tons of blood-curdling tech support stories. Check out Calls From Hell, Smoke and The Bleeding Obvious for starters...

for the flipside of the coin, you can check out Stupid Tech Support.

Natalie's life

Take a few minutes to see Natalie's Fotolog. Once there, click on the "About Natalie" link to learn about the origin of these pictures. Reader's Digest version: Someone found a set of photo albums (including a wedding photo album, which divulged that her name is Natalie) in a thriftstore in Brooklyn. Did she die? Get divorced? Who donates wedding photos to Goodwill? Nobody seems to know much else about her, but that hasn't stopped visitors from posting their own ideas. Gotta love the super-cool chain-wearin' perm-sportin' boyfriend pic...

(Via Traveler's Diagram)

I love you! You love Me!

Won't you please, please, please kill me?

I once read a story about a guy who was listening to a tape by Wham! on his car stereo when he got in an accident. According to the article (which was from The Weekly World News or some such, and most likely competely fabricated) the guy was pinned in his car for several hours as rescue workers struggled to free him. Of course, the entire time aforementioned Wham! tape was playing at full volume and the guy was unable to turn off the stereo. It'd get to the end of the tape, there'd be a few blessed George Michael-free moments while the tape player switched sides of the tape, then back for yet another round of "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go".

Well, the U.S. Army must be avid tabloid readers as well, because they have taken the music-as-torture schtick and moved it to Iraq, blasting uncooperative prisoners with hours of Metallica and, even more horrifying, songs from the children's show Barney.

My fave quote from the article was from one of the US operatives: "In training, they forced me to listen to the Barney "I Love You" song for 45 minutes. I never want to go through that again,".

(Story submitted by Lou, who rocks)

Aphasia

Aphasia is the term for that "I know it, but it's on the tip of my tongue" feeling.

The next time you hear some song playing and you just can't place it, help may be on the way. A service called Shazam will allow you to identify the song in question using your cell phone.

(Via Smart Mobs)

Moneymakin'

A twenty-seven year-old accountant aptly named Chris Moneymaker turned a $40 dollar investment into a $2.5 million win at this year's World Series of Poker. He only started playing poker three years ago after seeing Rounders.

(Via Metafilter)

No Schick!

Razor manufacturers are ripping men off, so fight back!

(Via Fark)

Blows bubbles good
Like a cigarette should!

You know what I got for Christmas this year? It was a banner [expletive deleted] year at the old Bender family! I got a carton of cigarettes. The old man grabbed me and said "Hey! Smoke up Johnny!" -- John Bender -- The Breakfast Club

A few weeks ago I mentioned an old TV commercial from the 60's with Fred Flintstone pitching Winston cigarettes. Gosh, we sure are lucky to live in a more enlightened age where we don't target kids in order to teach them some new vice.

Plus more awesome stuff on candy cigarettes and The Mystery of The Mysterious Hand!

(Via Cardhouse)

What's missing?

"Gadsby" is a 50,000-word story from 1939 with a particular thing missing. Can you find it?

Hint: It's also missing from this paragraph, and is amazingly difficult to do without if you do much writing.

Good luck!

Tattoo you

Picture this.

Classic rock radio station offers tickets and backstage passes for upcoming concert for anyone who put a temporary tattoo of the radio station logo on their forehead. Also offers $30,000 a year for five years to anyone who puts a permanent tattoo of logo on forehead. Yep, you guessed it. Someone did it, (photo!) and the radio station won't pay.

UPDATE: As if things weren't going badly enough for this guy, his roommates got tired of hearing him complain about his problems, and tried to "teach him a lesson" by trying to kill him. According to the police report, "Alcohol may have contributed to the incident, police said." Go figure...

(Via Waxy.org)

The Adventures Of Manuel Pacifico, Tuna Fisherman!

Comic Book Resources has a funny write-up in their Oddball Comics section on what may be one of the oddest comics ever. It chronicles the adventures of Manuel and his crew aboard the Breast O' Chicken. Published by none other than the Breast O' Chicken tuna company as a promotional giveaway in 1950. Not available on newsstands, you sent in two Breast O' Chicken tuna can labels to receive the comic.

From the article: Okay, I’ll be the first to admit that [it] isn’t much of a “story”, even for fifteen pages, but it’s jam-packed with some of the “gayest” images I’ve ever seen in a comic book -- mainstream, alternative, underground or any other kind of funnybook! Look, I’m not gay, and I’m certainly not a homophobe, but if you don’t believe me, just take a look at this. And this! And this!! And this!!! Not to mention this!!!! Hmmm, isn’t “chicken” also street-slang for underage homosexual sex-targets -- as well as for “Breast O’ Chicken” tuna? And while we’re posing such weighty questions, whose bright idea was it to sell canned tuna by calling it “chicken”?

(Via Pop Culture Junk Mail)

Humans! Git yer humans hee-ah!

As everyone knows, you can't put a price tag on a person. Each and every one of us is a priceless treasure of inestimable value blah blah blah blah...

Someone forgot to tell that to these guys.

And if you must know, I am currently going for the low, low out-the-door price of $1,755,732.00.

...And meaner than a junkyard duck

At least that's what one guy thought Jim Croce sang in "Bad Bad Leroy Brown". Tons of other misheard lyrics can be found at kissthisguy.com. The site name comes from a mishearing of Jimi Hendix's "Purple Haze" lyric, "'Scuse me, while I kiss the sky". Or does it???