Seen this in a couple spots, I think Karen Healey was first to give it linky: perfume that makes you smell like a library.
via Nonwrestler: the Art of Penguin Science Fiction. Very nice. Love those late-60s Alan Aldridge covers.
via the Other Mr Ritchie, the one who didn’t just become a Dad, some incredible photos of atomic blasts in action.
A gay 15-year-old chose suicide to escape bullying recently, and Dan Savage of the Savage Love column/podcast responded.
Why are we waiting for permission to talk to these kids? We have the ability to talk directly to them right now. We don’t have to wait for permission to let them know that it gets better.
So they’ve started a YouTube channel to deliver this message to LGBT teens who need to hear it. Spread the word.
This week’s Star Wars: the secret origin of Chewbacca. Which is to say, pretty conclusive proof that the Chewie design was swiped. Really about the messiness of the creative process, and a good read.
I dunno if permissions will let people see these, but it’s facebook so presumably they will (ba-DUM-dum). It’s Dermot’s take on Star Wars In Cork (that’s the place in Ireland, not the thing that goes in bottlenecks)
via Hroethgar, tilt-shift techniques applied to Van Gogh paintings. Looks awful on some, but breathtaking on others.
Further sign of mainstreaming of geek concerns: geek fashionista collection based around sci-fi imagery. TARDIS dress anyone? (Back when I was a lad, this sort of thing could only exist in a MAD magazine parody. Now it seems odd that it hasn’t happened before. Which brings me to…)
“Team Unicorn”, a quartet of lady gamer geeks, produced this parody of the most-parodied-song-ever California Gurls. Its a “we are geek girls hear me roar” song. It has Seth Green rapping.
Geek and Gamer Girls Song – Watch more Funny Videos
In its wake this vid produced a small flurry of discussion. Anarchangel smartly discusses some of this reaction in terms of contested subcultural boundaries, and gives some awesome linky. Alternative/geek royalty Theremina expressed unease about the vid on Twitter, and was appreciative when someone pointed out this vid along similar lines:
There’s potential for a lengthy post on this and related issues. Anyone have time to write it?
Wil Wheaton considers the hairdo of the character he played on Star Trek, Wesley Crusher, in the face of an enthusiastically bad-language using celebration of same.
Tube map of modern science. Smart.
And finally, Wikipedia’s introduction to the world of Flirty Fishing – 70s-era evangelism-by-prostitution. Times have changed.
Book-tastic! Although my library associations with ‘le jeu de l’amour’ may differ from your actual library user… brrr.
Great Penguin covers though – it is clear that Wyndham is ‘bad art’-proof!
Dan Savage is brilliant. Is he still contributing to The Onion?
Re: Chewbacca – it seems that the more I look around these days, the more evidence I see of Walter Murch.
Too bad he only ever wrote & directed one movie of his own, but man the dude’s influence on modern American cinema has been huge.
Just for a second I thought the “penguin science fiction art” link was concerning science fiction about penguins….
jet: yeah, Dan is a regular on the AV Club and in his original home, the Stranger mag of Seattle town. His podcast is hugely popular too apparently.
Pearce: Murch is a great name.
samm: Festo’s flying penguins apparently feature in William Gibson’s new book…
OMG I read Chocky with the 1970 cover and Island with the 1966 cover and…
Tube map of science is very cool, and I have the urge to wiki all the names I don’t know, but think sleep might be a better plan
I love the “It gets better”s
And I enjoyed both the nerd and geek grrrls vids… and I am so over moralistic attacks on women for their clothing choices this week… actually… I may post about THAT