Moral art

Forager writes a post on the necessity of moral instruction in art. Don't miss the comments, the conversation continues there.

Dirty secrets of Legoland

There's a topless woman looking for beads at Mardi Gras. There's a guy mooning the president. There's a drunken man at a table in Washington D.C. There's another man puking in a toilet. These are just a few of the residents hidden away in Legoland by the builders.

Jesus was gay!

Well, not really, but this article on what the Bible says about homosexuality does mention it. Toward the end, the article becomes a screed against Bush, but the discussion of Biblical rules and their interpretation is interesting.

Mars fight

Scientist attacks bizarre claims made by Richard Hoagland. Hoagland is that "Face on Mars" guy. Philip Plait has finally gotten fed up with Hoagland, who he has avoided commenting on in the past because he didn't want to give Hoagland more attention.

" 'Hoagland's claims irritate me because he is promoting uncritical thinking,' Plait told SPACE.com . 'He doesn't want you to think about what you're seeing. He's trying to bamboozle you into believing what he's saying.'
"Critical thinking is the foundation of science, but Plait thinks it's also an important skill for anyone trying to navigate modern society. 'Hoagland is eroding away at that ability.' "

Worst ... job ... ever

Greg West says he enjoys being a sewer diver.
"It's fun. it's adventurous. it's a rush," he said.
Using a specialized diving suit, West swims through dark sewer lines trying to find leaks and other problems.
"What's it like diving in sewage pipe? Dark, even with a light, West said. "You have no visibility. It's just all by feel," he said."
And the job is risky too:
"West figures some risks come with the job. "I've had a few mishaps. People accidentally shut off my air before ... a few broken legs.""

Giant Squid related

Thanks to a posting at the Night Shade message boards, I found these interesting giant squid related links. First is paintings by Skot Olsen that use the giant squid as a symbol. They look like some twisted take on Popeye.
The second link is TONMO, the Octopus News Magazine Online. It's set up as a message board and there seems to be a ton of stuff to look at.

Giant monster from Thailand

A new giant monster movie is being made in Asia: Garuda. There's a trailer for the film at the site. The Thai film looks like it's going to use a lot of CGI for its big winged monster.

Ellison on Schwartz

Harlan Ellison's Julius Schwartz obituary appears on his Web site.

Stranger than a $3 bill

Woman says she thought her $1m bill was real.

Dinosaur hunt

People on a Papua New Guinea island say they saw a 'dinosaur.' Armed police went out in search of the creature, but no trace was found. From the article:
"Eyewitness Christine Samei told reporters she ran for her life after seeing a three-metre tall, grey creature with a head like a dog and a tail like a crocodile which was as fat as a 900-litre water tank.
'It's a very huge and ugly looking animal,' Samei told local media. "

Cool music site

Last Plane to Jakarta is an interesting music review site (at least, what I've checked out so far are music reviews.) His take on death metal has won me over, now I must read further.
(Link found at another new site on my list, Rake's Progress.)

Godzilla toy news

There's a new toy company launching in Japan with a whole selection of new Godzilla figures. At that site is a large picture of some of the test figures, one of which is the Smog Monster! And he looks awesome! I rarely buy imported toys, but wow, these are tempting.

Help Charles L. Grant

A page has been set up for the Fresh Air Fund for Charles L. Grant. That page is part of a Grant's Web site.
Also, here is Grant's story Temperature Days on Hawthorne Street at SciFiction, if you want to get a taste of his writing.

Ninja lessons

Step by step lessons on how to be a ninja.

Step 7

Find yourself an interesting yet threatening ninja pose. As a ninja you obtain certain responsibilities such as kicking asses and looking cool and tough.

Ramsey Campbell's horror story list

Ramsey Campbell lists his 10 "crucial" horror stories. I reprint them here (but you really should check out his Web site anyway):

"Ten that I think are crucial:
"The Fall of the House of Usher" (Edgar Allan Poe)
"Carmilla" (J. Sheridan Le Fanu)
"The White People" (Arthur Machen)
"The Monkey's Paw" (W. W. Jacobs)
"The Willows" (Algernon Blackwood)
"The Colour out of Space" (H. P. Lovecraft)
"A Warning to the Curious" (M. R. James)
"Smoke Ghost" (Fritz Leiber)
"Running Down" (M. John Harrison)
"The Hospice" (Robert Aickman)
Whether these are the most terrifying is a moot point. Some certainly deserve the adjective, but I don't think it covers all the qualities of any of them. "

It's an excellent list. I've added hyperlinks to the stories that can be easily found on the Internet. (Harrison, Lieber and Lovecraft are all still under copyright.) I haven't read the Aickman story. I've been trying to find more of his works lately, but I don't think much is in print. "Smoke Ghost" is one of my favorite ghost stories ever.
Apparently there was a discussion of this list at The Third Alternative message boards, but I couldn't find it.
(Link found at The Write Hemisphere.)

Harvey Pekar news

Harvey Pekar has made a deal with Ballantine to publish three new graphic novels. The first will be about his experiences making the movie "American Splendor." The next two will be biographies of other people he met during the making of the film. (Maybe Pekar will start updating that blog now.)
(News found at Return of the Reluctant.)

Nazi raccoons

Nazi raccoons conquer Europe. What more needs to be said?
(This and other links from Fortean Times.)

Close call

One Norway family got real lucky. Two giant stones came down on either side of their house, one flattening the garage. Story includes pictures.

Masonic death

Man killed during a Masonic initiation. The event must have been unusual:

Carl Fitje, grand master of the New York State Freemasons, said in a statement Tuesday that guns do not play a role in any officially sanctioned lodge ceremonies.

Winged Cats

I haven't read this long, long article, but just its existence is fun. It's a report on winged cats. (For added fun, there's some bizarre pics at the bottom of the page of "abnormal elasticity of the skin.")
(Found at Undiscovered.)