MORE ON THE SECOND SUN

Our pal Aeswiren who always has an excellent command of the facts writes that, even if the Betelgeuse event we talked about yesterday does occur, we will hardly be getting the twin suns of Tatooine

There's lots wrong with this "two suns" stuff.
1/ Betelgeuse is between 430-520 light years away.
2/ At that distance the Super Nova will certainly be very bright, as bright or brighter than the full moon... but it will still be a point source.
A really evil looking glow centered on something you couldn't look at-- a blinding ultra-violet "star". The spectrum for this will be jammed up in the blue white to gamma corner. The contrast with our friendly old yellow sun will be extreme. A genial old gent at the bar, suddenly jostled by a mad, bug eyed, crazed speed freak with just days to live, busily chewing his own tongue off.

Click here for The Velvet Underground

The secret word is Doomed

THIS SHIT MUST STOP

Yes, the bastards are killing wolves again.

"After traveling more than 1,000 miles from her Montana home, a female wolf from the Mill Creek pack (known as 314F), met a horrific fate in Colorado -- illegally poisoned by the deadly Compound 1080. Plagued with convulsions, dizziness and unbearable pain, her journey ended in a terrible death on a lonely Colorado road. But sadly, she is not alone. Compound 1080 -- one of the most lethal toxins known to humankind -- and sodium cyanide collectively kill thousands of coyotes every year. And often, these deadly poisons don't reach their intended targets, killing imperiled wildlife -- and even domestic dogs -- instead. EPA is deciding whether to allow the continued use of these deadly chemicals to kill wildlife. Take action now! Urge the Environmental Protection Agency to ban the use of Compound 1080 and sodium cyanide to prevent the poisoning of wildlife struggling to survive." Click here to help

ALL ABOUT ME

Vice magazine currently carries an interview with me about my book Speed-Speed-Speedfreak. Some of it seems a little disjoined. It was conducted back in LA and I think I may have been a little high at the time. It also seems to have annoyed a few people who think you have to be an academic to write about drugs. Click here.

GRATUITOUS FAITHFULL

THIS COULD DRIVE THEM TOTALLY ROUND THE TWIST

The idea that a second sun just might show up in the sky in 2012 fills me with a really unpleasant delight. A second sun on top of all the other dire predictions of apocalypse in December of next year – from the Mayans to Terence McKenna – could knock fundamentalists of all kinds clean off their plinths, and the world of humanity might even collapse in an orgy of irrational superstition. (I mean, imagine Sarah Palin running for President and then a second sun shows up. Boggle is hardly the word.) Our pal Wendy sent over the story. The only problem is that this Huffpo report was lifted from news.com.au, and the tabloid writer seemed to be having major problems understanding exactly what he or she was being told.

“Earth could be getting a second sun, at least temporarily. Dr. Brad Carter, Senior Lecturer of Physics at the University of Southern Queensland, outlined the scenario to news.com.au. Betelgeuse, one of the night sky's brightest stars, is losing mass, indicating it is collapsing. It could run out of fuel and go super-nova at any time. When that happens, for at least a few weeks, we'd see a second sun, Carter says. There may also be no night during that timeframe. The Star Wars-esque scenario could happen by 2012, Carter says... or it could take longer. The explosion could also cause a neutron star or result in the formation of a black hole 1300 light years from Earth. But doomsday sayers should be careful about speculation on this one. If the star does go super-nova, Earth will be showered with harmless particles, according to Carter. "They will flood through the Earth and bizarrely enough, even though the supernova we see visually will light up the night sky, 99 per cent of the energy in the supernova is released in these particles that will come through our bodies and through the Earth with absolutely no harm whatsoever." In fact, a neutrino shower could be beneficial to Earth. According to Carter this "star stuff" makes up the universe. "It literally makes things like gold, silver - all the heavy elements - even things like uranium....a star like Betelgeuse is instantly forming for us all sorts of heavy elements and atoms that our own Earth and our own bodies have from long past supernovi."

Click here for Pink Floyd

The secret word is Turmoil

THINK ABOUT IT…

Or click here

DON'T YOU MISS THE 20TH CENTURY?

MARILYN SEZ...

“Get ready for the lawsuits, darling.”

And why does she say that? Just see what the Financial Times is reporting, gentle reader…

“Marilyn Monroe’s name and likeness will soon appear on lingerie, curling irons and handbags. On Thursday, the rights to the late film star’s image changed hands, with Authentic Brands Group, which manages the estate of reggae star Bob Marley, and NECA, an entertainment and merchandising company, acquiring the rights from Ms Monroe’s estate. Anna Strasberg, the administrator of the estate, will stay on as a minority partner. Jamie Salter, chief executive of Authentic Brands Group, called Ms Monroe “the most iconic personality in the world”. “Everyone aspires to be Marilyn Monroe,” he said. “Madonna, Lady Gaga, Lindsay Lohan, they all do.” Ms Monroe’s name did not appear on Forbes’ list of the top-earning dead celebrities last year, but sources close to the estate say it earned between $4m and $5m in the past year. The terms of the sale were not disclosed. However, people close to the deal said the new owners paid roughly six times annual revenues, which they said was the industry average for intellectual property rights for deceased celebrities, suggesting the price was in the range of $30m. “There’s a few brands that remain iconic and international and you’ve got to have both,” said Michael Sukin, a music industry lawyer who has worked with the estates of dead stars. “Marilyn is one, Bob Marley is another, and Elvis is probably the biggest of all.” Mr Salter said he would be aggressive in marketing Ms Monroe’s image, saying he would focus on merchandise including handbags, shoes and home care products.”

And then comes the real dubious sting in the tail of the story…

“He also said he was open to using computer animation to insert her image into new films.”

Click here for rare Marilyn videos (before they’re pulled off YouTube?)

The secret word is Violation

THE FROZDICK FAMILY

Uncle Ernie Frozdick did little to conceal his Goofy fetish.

TIME TRAVEL IS POSSIBLE?

That’s what they claim in this story from MrMR.

“Physicists at the University of Queensland in Australia claim to have discovered time teleportation no flux capacitors involved: Just like quantum physics allows for teleportation in space, they say that the same is possible in time. Time Travel to... the future! Now, hold on to your plutonium-proof underpants. This doesn't mean we are going to the 24-and-a-half century driving Mr. Fusion-powered DeLoreans. Their discovery shows that entangled quantum particles can travel into the future without actually being present during the time between now and the future. Before, we knew that quantum teleportation works in space. Two identical particles at different locations are linked in such a way that, when you change the state of one, the other one instantly changes in exactly the same way, no matter how many miles or light-years are between them. This is a phenomenon that defies our understanding of reality, and it just got even more complex with this discovery. University of Queensland's scientists Jay Olson and Timothy Ralph claim that the quantum entanglement is a fundamental part of the universe, and it works both in space and time, so changing the state of particle today instantly changes the same particle in the future, even while the particle will not exist between those two points.” Confused? Click here for more.

GRATUITOUS MARLON

WHISKY IN THE CAN?

This qualifies as a total anathema to a man who even insists that his beer comes in glass bottles…

“It is a sight that will have whisky connoisseurs spluttering into their drink – a dram in a can. A Panama-based company believes outdoor drinkers would prefer to crack open a tin rather than lug round a bottle of their favourite tipple. Now bosses at Scottish Spirits – which retains an office in Glasgow – is testing out the novelty on its Caribbean and South American markets. But last night the Scotch Whisky Association said it would try to ban the cans for breaching international labelling rules. A spokesman for the body said: ‘We are concerned that consumers may be confused whether or not the product is real Scotch and we will be investigating the matter further.’ Scottish Spirits launched the tins last week, the first time straight whisky has been sold in a can. Chief executive Manish Panshal said: ‘We are really thrilled with the idea – it’s going to be a part of every lifestyle and occasion.” (Click here for more)

Click here for me

The secret word is Legless

CUTE

National Geographic tells is all this interesting scientific stuff, but Doc40 is really running the pic because it’s just too adorable to pass up…

“The golden snub-nosed monkey is one of five related species-remnants of once widespread populations whose ranges were squeezed by climate change after the last ice age. Enduring groups, living in territorial bands that can top 400 animals, are being squeezed again by logging, human settlement, and hunters wanting meat, bones (said to have medicinal properties), and luxurious fur. Many have been pushed into high-altitude isolation, where they leap across branches, traverse icy rivers, and weather long winters at nearly 10,000 feet, shielded by that coveted coat. About 20,000 of the golden variety remain on Earth. Some 4,000 inhabit the mountainous region where Chinese officials set up the Zhouzhi National Nature Reserve to protect the species.”

NOT CUTE

Yeah, yeah, give ‘em guns and canned scotch and really see the undergraduate fun begin…

“Arizona Republicans remain adamant that the shooting will not dissuade them from pushing their pro-gun agenda. They want new laws allowing college and university faculty members to be able to carry concealed weapons on campus, an issue that gained attention after the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech University. Only Utah has a law allowing concealed weapons on college campuses while 24 states have bans, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Sen. Jack Harper, a Republican sponsoring the campus-carry measures, said he didn't want to be seen as trying to take advantage of the Tucson tragedy by citing it as reason to support his legislation, but he said it was vital, given the deadly shootings on university campuses and the Arizona Board of Regents' policy banning guns. The board oversees the state's schools. "University professors are tired of feeling like sitting ducks,"

DOC'S PAPERBACK CLASSIC'S # 85

THIS BLOG IS STILL PROTECTED BY...

OPIUM EMPIRES

The next time you hear War On Drugs jargon about “evil drug kingpins” and even the tired classic “narco-terrorism” cast your mind to this snippet from our pals at Delancey Place.

"Franklin's grandfather Warren Delano had for years skulked around [China's] Pearl River Delta dealing drugs. Delano had run offices in Canton and Hong Kong. During business hours, Chinese criminals would pay him cash and receive an opium chit. At night, Scrambling Crabs - long, sleek, heavily armed crafts - rowed out into the Pearl River Delta to Delano's floating warehouses, where they received their Jesus opium under the cover of darkness. The profits were enormous, and at his death Delano left his daughter Sara a fortune that she lavished on her only son.
The Delanos were not alone. Many of New England's great families made their fortunes dealing drugs in China. The Cabot family of Boston endowed Harvard with opium money, while Yale's famous Skull and Bones society was funded by the biggest American opium dealers of them all - the Russell family. The most famous landmark on the Columbia University campus is the Low Memorial Library, which honors Abiel Low, a New York boy who made it big in the Pearl River Delta and bankrolled the first cable across the Atlantic. Princeton University's first big benefactor, John Green, sold opium in the Pearl River Delta with Warren Delano.
The list goes on and on: Boston's John Murray Forbes's opium profits financed the career of transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson and bankrolled the Bell Telephone Company. Thomas Perkins founded America's first commercial railroad and funded the Boston Athenaeum. These wealthy and powerful drug-dealing families combined to create dynasties." James Bradley – The Imperial Cruise (Back Bay)

Click here for Elvis

The secret word is Pipe

FIVE YEARS TO THE CLONED MAMMOTH

This story came from io9. What next we ask? T-Rex and raptors?

"Dr. Akira Iritani has announced that he is going to produce a living woolly mammoth baby by 2016. Although past efforts to clone mammoth tissue have failed due to the degradation of what small amount of tissue we have. Most of it has been frozen and partially decayed, leaving nothing suitable for cloning. Dr. Iritani is hopeful, though, due to a relatively new technique he hopes to use. It is based on a technique that successfully cloned a mouse from tissue that had been frozen for sixteen years. That pales in comparison to the thousands of years that mammoth DNA has been frozen, but it does give a glimmer of hope. For the cloning to go forward, Dr. Iritani will need a number of relatively hard-to-get things. First and foremost, he'll need a piece of frozen mammoth tissue at least three centimeters square from a Russian lab. He'll need the ova of an African elephant to inject the tissue into, and the elephant itself to carry the little mammoth baby to maturity. He'll also need a great deal of research done. The mammoth isn't around anymore for a reason, and if that reason includes environmental reasons, it will be a challenge to keep a baby mammoth alive. There will also be plenty of debate about whether or not to display it, keep it in a private facility, or even figure out how to breed it. Most of all, he'll need to keep to a tight schedule. The rate of successful cloning of mundane animals like cattle is only 30 percent, and the mammoth will have a gestation period of over a year and a half. That means Dr. Iritani will have only a little over two years to unfreeze the DNA, fertilize the egg, and knock up an elephant. The clock is ticking.

Click here for Toy Dolls (do yourself a favor, watch these maniacs)

DON'T YOU MISS THE 20TH CENTURY?

PAC-MAN WITH REAL LIVE MICROORGANISMS

Our pal Faux Smoke sent over this piece of weird which has a definite air of fucked-upness about it. One wonders when the paramecia might turn on us.

"Scientists have remade Pac-Man using paramecia—microorganisms that you can control with a real joystick while a digital microscope relays images to a computer screen. They call it "Pac-Mecium" and it is not the only game they are playing. The user control the paramecium by just moving the joystick, which is connected to a controller that "controls the polarity of a mild electrical field applied across the fluid chamber, which influences the direction the paramecia move." I wonder how they make Pac-Mecium turn into super-Pac-Mecium. And who is chasing the poor Pac-Mecium, anyway? Evil amoebas?" (Click here for more)

Click here for Dave Berry

The secret word is Unwise

LSD 1950's STYLE

The wonderful Wendy who gave us yesterday’s item on UFO hunting also sent this…

“The researcher, Dr. Sidney Cohen, was dosing volunteers at the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Los Angeles. Aldous Huxley, who first tried mescaline in 1953 and wrote about it in his seminal book, The Doors of Perception, got Gerald Heard interested in the spiritual potential of psychedelic drugs.” (Click here for more)

Click here for the video

DUCK NOIR

Click here for the 1945 origin of Jessica Rabbit

GRATUITOUS SUSANNAH YORK

SUNDAY BREAKFAST

No, I’m not fasting, losing weight, or starving for my art (although that might come). It’s just one of those Sunday mornings when it seems staying in bed might well be the best policy. Although I know I’ll be up before sunset. If I don’t see the light of day, I start to feel like a degenerate and we can’t have that, can we?

Click here for Dolly Parton

The secret word is Fretful

Susannah York – RIP

MARILYN SEZ...

“Give the man some more pills.”

THE HORROR, THE HORROR

(Clip by Munz)

UFO HUNTING WITH GOOGLE

Our pal Wendy sent us over this source of amusement for a slow Sunday in mid-January.

“Thanks to technology like Google Maps, we can all achieve a clear birds-eye-view of the secret facility conveniently linked with user-submitted telephoto images supplying a ground level perspective. Now anyone with a smart phone can be treated to an unobstructed view into the secret military installation that — officially — doesn't even exist. The base at Groom Lake, sometimes referred to as "The Dreamland Resort," has been used by the Air Force since WWII as a testing ground for all kinds of experimental aircraft. However, the government only tacitly acknowledges the facility's very existence. The airspace over the area is restricted and the perimeter is littered with signs warning that "photography is prohibited" and the "use of deadly force is authorized." Theories range from reverse engineering of the crashed UFO at Roswell to the setting of actual intergalactic sit-downs with visiting extraterrestrials. The conspiracy factory has been further energized by local reports of unusual phenomenon spotted in the skies over the area.” (Click here for more)

ISN'T THIS GETTING A BIT ABSURD?

When UK Steve passed on this piece of intelligence from Yahoo News my feelings were, to say the least mixed.
“Councillors in Stoke-On-Trent are reportedly considering erecting statues of Lemmy from Motorhead and Slash after being petitioned by rock fans wanting to honour local heroes.”
The following thoughts passed through my mind in rapid sequence…
1) Aren’t municipal statues the kind of thing we used to struggle against? As in part of the problem?
2) Even if we accept the statue thing, neither Lemmy nor Slash are exactly Che Guevara, Abe Lincoln, or he Duke of Wellington.
3) Okay so Elvis and Buddy Holly have statues in their home towns, but at least they’re dead.

Click here for Motorhead

The secret word is Huh?

THE FROZDICK FAMILY

When Sol Frozdick lurked, he lurked with intent.

SPACE OPERA

(Image by Alex Rafael)

ELVIS AND MORE ELVIS

I know I keep vowing to stop stealing stuff from Dangerous Minds but this was just too historic and I had to pass it along. We’ve all seen stills and short clips of the Elvis Presley open-air, velvet-shirt, homecoming concert on September 26, 1956 at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show, but, damn, here’s a full thirteen minutes of the show with the actual live sound. Fucking amazing, especially the way it degenerates into classic rock & roll chaos towards the end. Click here.

The secret word is History

INTERNET ID

Our pal Elf Hellion sent us the following. Although I do feel that whatever Google doesn’t have on us already is hardly worth having.

“Just before Christmas, the few right wing conspiracy groups I get mailings from hemmed and hawed that the FCC wanted to give control of the internet to the telecom giants--namely, Comcast, AA+T and Verizon. I thought they were being paranoid. Obama signed it away, despite the fact that over two million people petitioned against it. Now, Obama's administration is proposing a national ID system for anyone and everyone that uses the internet, which is basically everyone. Even the a**hole FCC chairman says this is useless and outrageous. Because the public said no to a national ID system, they're trying to find other methods to shove us further down the Big Brother black hole created since 9/11. DemandProgress.org has set up a petition... please sign and pass on:” Click here.

CODEPENDENT LESBIAN SPACE ALIEN SEEKS SAME

The title of the film was too good to ignore. Click here for the trailer.

GRATUITOUS BARDOT (Does this make up for yesterday?)

I HAVE TO GET OFF THE LONE GUNMAN BEAT

But before I do I feel the need to draw attention to the supremely twisted logic of an individual called Trent Humphries who is the co-founder of Tucson's Tea Party.

"A lot have taken as gospel that…this was caused by talk radio, by Tea Party extremists. I think it's done a lot of damage. It's given people the idea that somebody like my wife and I caused this murder. There's no evidence. And there's no evidence Sarah Palin caused this murder. The Democrats are using this opportunity to bludgeon their opponents. It's political gamesmanship. The real case is that she [Giffords] had no security whatsoever at this event. So if she lived under a constant fear of being targeted, if she lived under this constant fear of this rhetoric and hatred that was seething, why would she attend an event in full view of the public with no security whatsoever?"

Click here for Nancy Sinatra

The secret word is Squirm

MEMPHIS PSYCHOSIS

Back in December I posted how movie director called Kris Hipps was working on an  independent film based my old Tijuana Bible song/poem “Memphis Psychosis” and seeking funding via Kickstarter. She still hasn’t quite made her target and is looking for help. Above is Sara Michael, one of the stars of the proposed film. Click here to learn more.

DON'T YOU MISS THE 19TH CENTURY?

GRATUITOUS KATY PERRY

PALPABLE MADNESS

I don’t know if it’s simply because I’m watching it from a supposed safe distance, but the sense of something being very wrong in the USA seems as strong as ever. The scarcely believable don’t-look-at-me video released today by Sarah Palin does nothing to promise anything like return to sanity. (Click here to watch it in its mendacious entirety.) About the only encouraging note comes from Paul Krugman writing in the NY Times.

"Where’s that toxic rhetoric coming from? Let’s not make a false pretense of balance: it’s coming, overwhelmingly, from the right. It’s hard to imagine a Democratic member of Congress urging constituents to be “armed and dangerous” without being ostracized; but Representative Michele Bachmann, who did just that, is a rising star in the G.O.P. And there’s a huge contrast in the media. Listen to Rachel Maddow or Keith Olbermann, and you’ll hear a lot of caustic remarks and mockery aimed at Republicans. But you won’t hear jokes about shooting government officials or beheading a journalist at The Washington Post. Listen to Glenn Beck or Bill O’Reilly, and you will. Of course, the likes of Mr. Beck and Mr. O’Reilly are responding to popular demand. Citizens of other democracies may marvel at the American psyche, at the way efforts by mildly liberal presidents to expand health coverage are met with cries of tyranny and talk of armed resistance. Still, that’s what happens whenever a Democrat occupies the White House, and there’s a market for anyone willing to stoke that anger. But even if hate is what many want to hear, that doesn’t excuse those who pander to that desire. They should be shunned by all decent people. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been happening: the purveyors of hate have been treated with respect, even deference, by the G.O.P. establishment. As David Frum, the former Bush speechwriter, has put it, “Republicans originally thought that Fox worked for us and now we’re discovering we work for Fox.” So will the Arizona massacre make our discourse less toxic? It’s really up to G.O.P. leaders. Will they accept the reality of what’s happening to America, and take a stand against eliminationist rhetoric? Or will they try to dismiss the massacre as the mere act of a deranged individual, and go on as before? If Arizona promotes some real soul-searching, it could prove a turning point. If it doesn’t, Saturday’s atrocity will be just the beginning." (Click here for the rest)

Click here for Johnny Cash

The secret word is Weep

UN-HENGED

I was called away from my breakfast and when I returned I found that tiny aliens had built the above. The cat was staring in total disbelief and, if the that wasn’t bad enough those annoying elves Snap, Crackle and Pop had been abducted and were being anally probed. (No, this is nonsense. I actually don’t actually like Rice Krispies and the image is a piece of art by Brock Davis.)

OMG

SPACE OPERA

SO HOW DID THIS GUY…

…TURN INTO THIS GUY?

I guess now Jared Lee Loughner has three names and no accomplice that makes him a bona fide lone gunman.

Click here for Cate Blanchett

The secret acronym is MKULTRA

AND NOT A DEITY IN SIGHT

I love this stuff.

“How did a bunch of lifeless molecules transform themselves into living cells, turning the ancient, dead Earth into a planet teeming with life? It's an incredibly difficult question to answer, but a new model might explain part of the story. Before you can have life, complex organic molecules have to start replicating themselves in much the same way that cells reproduce. Molecules that can replicate themselves using only the chemicals around them are what we might call "protocells", a key transitional stage between a fully lifeless world and one dominated by living cells. But explaining how protocells come to be has proven tricky. Even if scientists can come up with a mechanism by which the molecules can reproduce, the process always involves lots of copying errors, or mutations. The occasional mutation will be beneficial for the molecule and increase its ability to reproduce - a rather rudimentary form of evolution, if you will - but the vast majority of these errors are just that, mistakes that leave the molecules unable to replicate properly. There's decades worth of experiments showing that these bad mutations will eventually win out and make impossible any further replication.” Click here for more

THE FROZDICK FAMILY

Caspar Lee Frozdick stockpiled his own WMDs.

NAVIGATION CAN BE CRUCIAL

DID SOMEONE SAY SOMETHING ABOUT COLD DEAD FINGERS?

Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s people who kill people.

Click here for Marty Robbins

The secret word is Packing