Positive

May 29

The Tweet That Begins the Zombie Apocalypse

This is not the kind of Tweet you want to see from a feed that describes itself as “an automated Twitter feed provided by the Illini-Alert System” that is “not actively monitored by a human being.” In essence, we have a robot reporting to us that some kind of hazardous material — what, we don’t know and can’t discover — has been released within a biotechnology research center.The Institute for Genomic Biology has a wide variety of research programs including stuff like “host-microbe systems.”

For 52 minutes, that was all the information that was available. Then, two tweets came in fairly quick succession. The first said that the “spill” was “contained within the building.” The second said that the building had been safely evacuated and “The fire department is on scene.”[…]

This really sounds like the opening line of an updated version of the post-apocalyptic novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War or a plot point in Colson Whitehead’s Zone One. There’s something chilling about, “Escape area if able to do so.” Escape? From what? And why wouldn’t I be able to? WHATS HAPPENING?!?!

Ok, sorry. Carry on. I’m sure zombies aren’t closing in on Chicago or anywhere else.

All clear, everybody. Put those bug-out bags away.

[video]

May 24

“A Rant: Do I sound like a total babbling fanboy? If so, good; because I always hope I’ll be floored when I get to meet someone who makes great music - or a great artist, or a great writer, for that matter. Oh, and few things in life make me as happy as meeting someone whose music I respect and hearing “The teenage me is flipping out.” When you’re a musician, particularity a musician in an obscure punk band, you often wonder if any of those people who grew up on your music went on to make music themselves. And finding out that they made music you love makes a decade of riding in a smelly van and sleeping on sticky floors worth it. And when you meet a musician whose work you respect and they turn out to be a really decent human being, well…it reminds me to make an effort to be less of a dick.” — Rodney Anonymous, My Belated, Yet Totally Fuckin’ Awesome, Tour Diary Concludes

May 23

[video]

May 21

louobedlam:

Battleship (2012)

This movie is despicable. This movie is created solely to make money. Not to entertain, or enlighten, not to educate or even distract. This is a giant business deal given celluloid flesh. A golem, with Hebrew writing on its forehead that roughly translates as “MAKE MONEY MACHINE”.

May 17

nevver:

I feel fine/nothing

“Getting back on the highway this morning, there was a man at the side of the on-ramp with a sign that read ‘to the end of Rte 70.’ Jen wanted to pick him up, but we drove past him. As we passed by, our sound guy said ‘John Waters’ Luke said, ‘Yep, definitely John Waters.’ We got off at the next exit and circled back. He was still there. We pulled up, opened the door and asked where he was coming from. ‘Baltimore,’ he said. And we said ‘Get in, sir.’” — Hitchhiking Director John Waters Picked Up In Ohio By Indie Rock Band: DCist

May 12

[video]

May 10

“It’s hard to put people in prison in hyperspace, because there are so many directions that you can go to get out. Flatland prison cells have four walls; ours have six, if you count the ceiling and the floor. Hyperspace prison cells have 2000 walls, and each one is very expensive to build.” — The Universe of Discourse : Amusements in Hyperspace

May 03

“So apparently Romney hired A Gay to spout insane shit about Iran, and some Family Research Majority Silent Council Organization of Concerned Women for American Enterprise were like WHOOOAAAAA, buddy; you can’t have a gay man mouth bellicose slogans about distant foreign countries. That would be immoral! Now one of my nice liberal friends said of this episode that he just can’t believe any gay could ever consider himself a Republican after this incident; she was incredulous. Meanwhile, the moral questions about slaughtering thousands of Iranians for some reason or other remains un-addressed.” —

Who Is IOZ?: Bombs A-gay