16 November, 2010

Cyclops!


A Cyclops is the name for a member of a mythical, primordial race of giants, characterized by a single eye in the middle of the forehead. The Cyclops is also a pretty cool motherfucker, if only for his fairly unimpressive "special ability", which seems to really be just its large size. See, I might be wrong, but only having one eye would almost certainly be a disadvantage, right?

Nevertheless, they helped Zeus overthrow Chronus and the rest of the Titans, forging thunderbolts for use in the war. The Cyclopes have been thought to have designed many other mythical objects, including Apollo's bow (and arrows made of sun rays) Poseidon's trident, Artemis's bow and arrows (these are made of moonlight) and Hades's "helmet of darkness". HELMET OF DARKNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The best bit about "Cyclop Handicrafts" though, is this excerpt from the cyclops wikipedia: "The noises proceeding from the heart of volcanoes were often attributed to the forging operations of the Cyclopes."

Thats pretty awesome, man.

Spear Fishing


There's something so incredibly glorious about catching food this^^ way. Spearing a Fish. Yeah. Behaving more like one of nature's most wily predators, rather than the humans we've become used to being, geting drivethrough McDonalds. This is the way to hunt for food. Using tools that nature provides to you, making a weapon, and then impaling a fucken salmon with it. Then eating it.

That's fucking awesome. I want to try this one day, but only if you promise I'll catch something. And you have to gut it. I can't handle that shit.

05 November, 2010

That Lucky Old Sun


The Sun is a shining fucking golden champion. He's a Solar Deity. The Sun is the most powerful thing in our galaxy, probably. In its core, the Sun fuses 430–600 million tons of hydrogen each second. The Sun is a motherfucking beast.

The Sun gods of mythology had really awesome names... Apollo. Freyr. Sol Invictus. Helios. (a "Heliopolis" is a "Sun City". Boom) Ra. Check out Ra:


What a majestic badass! Look at the "dignified pose" he's striking.

Anyways, being "as powerful as the sun itself" is possibly the greatest thing one could ever achieve. I'm going to become that.

02 November, 2010

Air Force One


I'm gonna rise up
I'm gonna kick a little ass
I'm gonna kick some ass in the U.S.A.
I'm gonna climb a mountain
I'm gonna sew a flag
I'm gonna fly on an eagle
I'm gonna kick some butt
I'm gonna drive a big truck
I'm gonna rule this world
I'm gonna kick some ass
I'm gonna rise up
Gonna kick a little ass
Rock on! Flyin' eagle!


Air Force One is a 1997 Action/Adventure film starring (total badass) Harrison Ford, (total badass) Gary Oldman, Glenn Close and William H Macy. It follows the story of President James Marshall (Ford), who makes a career defining speech, heralding the USA's newly-bolstered stance against all things terrorism. Here's the trailer.



See, the thing I absolutely love about this movie (and something Luxury Wolf, the betrayer) quite rightfully emphasized for me - is this. Action movies, generally have a big, mighty macho dude saving the day against the odds. This character is generally known as "the Hero". And that's great. Air Force One has the motherfucking PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

The President is the Hero.

So not only is the James Marshall equipped with all the necessary combat skills to kick Gary Oldman's ass, and save the day, he's also the President of the United States of America. He's both. I've never witnessed a more brash example of "PATRIOTISM, FUCK YEAH!" in my whole life.

There's also this. It could be my favourite line in the history of cinema.



"GET OFF MY PLANE."

Valkyrie


The Valkyrie, man. What an awesome lady. Awesomely POWERFUL. The Valkyrie is known as the "chooser of the slain", in Norse mythology. Which relates to Norse beliefs about War, Death and the Afterlife.

The Valkyries are the mythical women who decide who will die in battle, and bring the chosen into Valhalla, the hall of the slain. Valhalla is ruled by the Norse god Odin. Holy shit, how amazing would it be to die in an ancient Nordic battle? You'd be whisked away by one of thse hot babes, into the "Hall of the Dead", to await Ragnarök, the "final destiny of the gods".

Wagner - Ride of the Valkyries






25 October, 2010

The 450 Splash

Yeah yeah, so I enjoy the current WWE product. So what? Go fuck yourselves.

Nah just kidding. But seriously, I haven't gotten over the loss of classic dudes like "Macho Man Randy Savage", "Brutus Beefcake" and "Typhoon" either... But none of the aforementioned could pull off anything like this.



Boom. The 450 splash. 450, because it adds another 90 degrees to what otherwise would just be a front-flip. Splash, because you let your chest smash down on the other guy as hard as possible. Then you pin him. Then you win.



Or, you can springboard it to the outside of the ring, like my boy here John Morrison. Boom. Somebody give this guy the strap already!

Anyways - yeah, wrestling is gay and whatever, but none of you "beat poetry" fans can do a fucking springboard 450. So yeah... Gladiatorial Athleticism, or something.

Total Badasses: Paul McCartney


Sir Paul McCartney. MBE. The most successful songwriter in the history of music. Musician. Activist. Total Badass.

I love Paul. I've always had a softspot for him, his songs always semed less pretentious and egotistical than those of his (equally badass and incredible) writing partner John Lennon. They were like the "Bert and Ernie" of groundbreaking 60's pop songwriting, and Paul is totally Ernie.

Anwyays, not only is the guy just obviously responsible for some of the greatest music humans have ever created (Let It Be, Hey Jude, Maybe I'm Amazed, etc), he also just seems like a totally realistic, genuinely nice guy. Maybe he's not or whatever, but still - to have been in the public eye your whole life and still come off like a fucking champion no matter what you get up to; is very impressive.

Plus, he's so incredibly decorated. Sir. Being a knight of the British Empire is awesome, especially if you got there by writing "Yesterday" and playing the bass. Awesome.

Here's one of my favourites from Paul's post-Beatles era.

Paul McCartney - Coming Up








It (no shit) brought John Lennon out of retirement.

For more total badasses, click here.

23 October, 2010

"Moonline"


Here's how I want to take my first trip out into the galaxy. Moonline!

Such an outlandish concept, but perhaps not completely unqualifiable. Actually, its probably extremely unqualifiable, but I don't care. Imagination has always been Science's cooler little brother.

Space + Train = Space train. Lets do it.

The artist, by the name of Shigeru Komatsuzaki, rules. He's also responsible for some of the more memorable depictions of the Thunderbirds (see below).


I love this "model set box" style of art work, the stuff you'd find on awesome toys, posters, merchandise, etc - back in the 70's. Great stuff.

13 October, 2010

Mist


Mist, man. Water droplets suspended in the air are the shit. They add an overall dramatic mood, and the sense that "some dangerous thing can happen at any time" to any situation. Reducing the real world's draw-distance is a really funny and awesome thing to do. Mist. Here's another thing:


THE Mist. The. Anyone seen this movie? I love this fucking movie. It stars Tom Jane, which is always a plus (check out "Arrested Development" and "Boogie Nights" to see why Tom Jane is a fucking badass) - and tells the story of a group of small-town residents who get trapped in a supermarket, after the town becomes shrouded in a mysterious mist.

What follows is more or less the usual Stephen King fare, with mysterious monsters attacking the shop from outside, whilst the mist-hostages enter survival mode, and the story becomes an agorophobic "islotation thriller". The fear of the outside world, ruled by mist - keeps the group of around 50 generic townspeople trapped in the shop, where they are left to form not only their own society, but also strategies and methods of escape.

Obviously, they cannot all agree - and the mini-civilization within the supermarket begins to crumble. The superstitious and religious townsfolk believe that god will save them, while the level-headed Tom Jane and his neighbours and friends, decide they have the know-how to get out of this alive.

Sure. That might've sounded pretty crap, but the real stylishness of this movie really is how simple it is. Monsters outside = don't go outside. Town shrouded in mist = nobody knows where to run. Simple.

But seriously. The phenomenon of "Mist" is great and all, but See this movie, if only for the ending. The ending of this movie will make you Blow. A. Cow.

07 October, 2010

Headdress


Headdress. Boom. This one is kind of awkward looking, but even still... This is what royal costuming should be. Kill a bunch of birds of prey, harvest those feathers, arrange them in some kind of epic hat, and away you go - leading a civillization.


Here's another thing. It just oozes majesty... You'd believe everything this guy had to say about the universe.


One last one. Boo Yah, a fucking dynamite headdress for the greatest warrior to ever live, or something. If you see this king coming towards you, run fast. Run far. Like the wind.

Headdress.

King Cobra


Cobra Style! These snakes, man. Such kings of the reptilian civilization. This snake is clearly the easiest reptile to "worship". Something to do with having a naturally-forming headdress just makes these dudes fucking unstoppable. Cobra Style!

27 September, 2010

Blade Dance!

Anyone want to learn a cool dance? Ready? Go!


Man, I'm definitely doing this with my bride at my wedding.

ARCHAEOPTERYX


Archaeopteryx, I think we can all agree is a great example *Slides glasses up bridge of nose* of a "transitional fossil" between Bird and Dinosaur. He is also the fanciest and most "glam" motherfucker this side of the Cretacious Period. What a genius... Imagine being ripped apart by the Killing Claw of this fancy boy, he reminds me of "Vega" from the Street Figther series...


In that they both really brings a little "showmanship" to the art of Disemboweling a guy.

26 September, 2010

Whoa. Hive Mind!


Collective consciousness.... Swarm Intelligence..... Hive Mind. There are probably very specific and scientific details and levels to each of these terms, but I'm going to go an pretend they all describe the same thing. Basically, we're talking about a group of natural or artificial individual things (famously Bees) showing signs of collective thought or intelligence. In nature, this behaviour is seen in colonies of ants, schools of fish, livestock, birds, and bacteria.

Its more "mindblowing" though, if you think of the concept applied to human (or superhuman/extra terrestrial) beings. The ending of that new Indiana Jones comes to mind, where the council of Aliens were absorbing and sharing as much knowledge about the universe as possible. A portal to another world was opened when this stream of collective hyperconsciousness was interrupted....

I came up with a supervillain idea the other day, named "The Swarm" where the nefarious humanoid guy was actually just a swarm of collectively-conscious superinsects wearing a "man-suit". Shotgun the copyright on that one, suckers. (But let's face it, its probably already been done.)

Hills


The Hill. The smaller, more peaceful cousin of the Mountain, but with a certain serene dignity that makes them a dreamy addition to any large-scale landscape. Hills just chill out there, on the side of the road, just being totally cool with everything. Congratulations, hills - you're awesome.

Hills.

19 September, 2010

Death's Head Hawk Moth


Have four words ever met that made more sense to be together than these four? I think I've gone and discovered the most amazingly named animal in the entire living universe. The Death's Head Hawk Moth. HAWK MOTH! Holy fuck, look at this guy.

The actual species names for these moths are Atropos & Styx. If you're any sort of Greek Mythology wizard, you'll know that Atropos is the member of the three "Fates"... They controlled the metaphorical thread of life of every mortal from birth to death. Atropos is he one who cuts the thread of life. Boom. Styx is the name of the famed "River of the Dead". Boom.

What a fucking morbid moth! Best moth ever.

Total Badasses: Wario


Look at Wario, man. He has ALL the coins. Awesome. He probably got that treasure by doing some "nefarious deeds", or something. Wario pretty much follows the generic-incompetent-bad-guy-who-resembles-his-nemesis... villain formula, which in this case, relates to nemesis Super Mario. Resembles, in that they both appear to be middle aged, working class Italian men working for similarly uniformed plumbing companies. Regardless, in their historic confrontations, Wario always managed to fall flat on his face in attempts to get the best of Mario. This relationship stood, until he was credited with his own franchise, the WarioLand and subsequent WarioWear series.

Ever since, Wario has seemed like a favourite of the Nintendo creative team, taking on more of an 'antihero' persona, and generally starring in some pretty entertaining games. I like the guy.

He has such an amazing laugh, too:

Wario's Laugh








Great stuff. With a laugh like that, no wonder he gets all the treasure.

For more total badasses, click here.

14 September, 2010

Prism


Yeah yeah, Dark Side of the Moon and shit, but seriously - Splitting light up into its constituent spectral colors is the best fun ever.

This process probably has some real-world, important scientific applications - and that's great and all, but I'm just impressed that you can "do rainbows" with a Prism. Prism is a fucking remarkable word, too - doesn't even need very many vowels. Cool shit.

Apparently there's also something called a "Grism". Its a Grating Prism, and I believe its used in telescopes. Grism. That's funny.

"Mind Prison" anyone?


Holy shit, Mind Prison. Imagine being incarcerated in one of these... Its IMPOSSIBLE TO BREAK FREE FROM. I love concepts like this, because they're so ridiculous and leave so much unexplained. But still, there probably should be a 1984-esque movie where someone is sentenced to serve a life sentence in "Mind Prison" just because that shit sounds so good on paper.

"He paid the ultimate price... Imprisonment inside HIS OWN MIND."

Read my Demolition Man post for inspiration. I'm sure Lux (if he wasn't dead) could suggest a few obscure Science Fiction movies where this very thing has happened, but to my mind - I'm sitting on a Goldmine. Seems like a place the post-Matrix audience is ready to visit. :)

13 September, 2010

UFO Enthusiasts


I know I'm not the only one here, but I see UFO's as one of the more modern religions. I can see the appeal, too. Having a passion, or a belief that's so easily and readily discounted by the population, one that you truly commit to... Like... go ALL the way for, is just awesome. If we're being honest, is anyone who prays really praying to a more tangible/realistic/believable god than whatever this guy's got going on?



Ok so that guy was pretty great. Pretty harmless, too. This was from a show by Louis Theroux, a guy Luxury Wolf got me onto. Seriously, EVERYTHING Theroux did was amazing, but the video below could be the highlight.

In this episode, he travels into the Nevadan and Californian deserts, in search of evidence proving the existence of Extra-Terrestrial life. Here's Reverend Robert Short, one of the (best) guys (ever) Louis meets while visiting the "Blue Rose Ministry":



I know, right?

01 September, 2010

Total Badasses: Yoshimitsu


Yoshimitsu is the most enigmatic and mysterious character in (both) the Tekken and Soul Calibur game franchises. He is described as a "Space Ninja" and his appearance changes dramatically between releases. Despite this, He always fights wearing spectacular-looking armor, and weilding a "Cursed Blade". He's an absolute lunatic, his moveset is second to none, and his cut-scenes are always the most epic and outlandish (aside from guys like Mokujin, who i'll probably include in the blog later).

Yoshimitsu is able to spit out noxious gas, teleport, turn invisible, run at an amazing speed, and able to fly - by rapidly spinning his sword like a helicopter rotor.

I'm a huge fan of the Tekken series, but certainly not an expert on storylines. Here's what I could decode from my research:

Yoshimitsu is the (current?) leader of the Manji Clan. The blade wielded by Yoshimitsu is also called "Yoshimitsu"... presumably because it holds the spirits of all the former leaders. After a token "respect" storyline in Tekken 1 - Yoshimitsu enters the second Tekken tournament to rescue his friend Dr. Boskonovitch.


Yoshimitsu reappears in Tekken 3 (the best overall game in the series), trying to help Boskonovitch, whose daughter is suffering from a mysterious disease. In Tekken 4, he attempts to form alliances between the Zaibatsu and the Manji Clan.

In Tekken 5 - he seeks out Bryan Fury (another total badass, and my personal favourite Tekken storyline) - who had brutally slaughtered members of Yoshimitsu's clan. And in Tekken 6, Yoshi attempts to find a new sword after realizing that his current one is a cursed weapon driving him insane.

That was a mouthful. Just play some fucken Tekken. For more total badasses, click here.

Mayan Cosmos


Man, the Mayans had some the most mind-shattering ideas... This is just amazing. I love how non-chalant this seems with the labelling/captions on it. "Now, over here is the Sun Jaguar, which is just next to the Vision Serpent..."

Sun Jaguar.

Vision Serpent.

I would easily go for this belief system, based purely on the kind of shit these "Ancient Skywatchers" were churning out - its all so much cooler, more badass, and more vibrant stuff than anything Jesus had to offer. Anyways, here's a colourful version, because colours are fun.


Kind of an awesome way to summarize your entire existence, and keep your people in line. "Bird of Heaven, Cosmic Monster... You get it... Just obey them." Instant civilization!

31 August, 2010

Steam Power!

Steam power... Its the best. Completely changed the world. Check it out:

The first-recorded steam engine, designed in ancient Greece by a dude named "Hero of Alexandria". That's cool. It was created almost two millennia before the industrial revolution. He used the original (pictured) as a "rocket" style propulsion engine, and another to open Temple doors. All through the power of STEAM.

Around 80% of the electricity used by the entire planet is currently produced by use of steam turbines. Bam. Anything Nuclear (Submarines, bro!), also - Steam power. Here's the classic popularized steam engine:


Extra Steam, please! Steam trains are awesome. Such classic, timeless transportation. Steam Locomotives were the device "getting it done" from the start of the 19th century, until the middle of the 20th Century. A good honest run, for a good honest piece of technology.

I'd love to take a trip on the "fanciest" antique train journey I could find - like the Rocky Mountain way or the Trans-Siberian railroad, as long as the train and carriages are really luxurious and old. There'd be an "engineer" on board, with the whole getup on, and shit like that. ....Fat Controller? I dunno.

So, to summarize - Steam power. Yep. Now here's a lovely picture, just because sometimes its important to just look at a nice picture:

Flamethrowers


Flamethrowers. Real ones.

The image is of a German "Brennkommando" part of a specialty burning detachment of the German Army - destroying Warsaw during the "Planned Destruction" of the city.

I mean - when you pickup one in a video game, its great and all - but its actually a real weapon used in real-life situations... Sort of. There's lots of evidence of flamethrower-weilding footsoldiers in WWII - but its the Armoured vehicle-mounted throwers which REALLY own.

The British and Canadians fielded "The Wasp" in 1944, paving the way for the eventual "The Badger" and the "Oke", but the most famous flame tank was the "Churchill Crocodile" (Pictured).


Look the others up on Google Images.

El Toro


El Toro is a wooden rollercoaster located at the "Six Flags Great Adventure" park in New Jersey. Its the third tallest and third fastest rollercoaster in the world. That's a pretty honest effort. Its also got one of the steepest drops, at 76 degrees.

Anyways, I bothered to mention all of this, because a) Its named "El Toro" and that's the coolest name for a coaster ever. And b) Its wooden. There's something so traditionalist, old-school and just amazing about building such an epic thing, piece by piece, and out of wood. Wood is such a classy construction material.

Anyways. "El Toro" - I definitely want to ride this fucken thing.

"Wilderness"


Yeah... Wilderness. Just say it out loud, its just great. Pretty much, just places "not significantly" affected by human activity. But really, we're talking serious jungles, savannahs, rainforests, tundras, valleys, and all of the really great places in the world. Wilderness, motherfuckers.

Get out into it! .... and start affecting it with human activity.

I dunno.

24 August, 2010

"Gentleman"


The Gentleman is a timeless character throughout human history that I hope remains timeless. There is absolutely nothing unfashionable about being one of these. All of the "little details" and subtleties to the idea of a "gentleman" are works of just the most civillized genius.

Manners rule. Being neatly dressed rules. Courtesy Rules.

I hope at least a couple of people consider me one of these.

23 August, 2010

The Grim Reaper


This another one of history's "genius" legends. What a fucking badass the Grim Reaper is, man. The ONE guy who never takes any shit from anyone.... No wonder people listen to metal music - they want to have this guy on their side.

The personification of death has been told and retold in many forms - He is often portrayed as a bearded and winged man, but has also been portrayed as a young boy in Greek folklore. In Polish folklore, Death is genderless. The most popularized persona of Death, originating from Celtic folklore - is a skeleton weilding a scythe.

Nice. Check this out:


This is the cover of an 1892 issue of "Le Petit Journal". Imagine picking up your copy of the newspaper, and seeing THAT on the cover. Fuck.

Fuck - a movie about a Young boy who becomes the grim reaper would be cool as shit. Shotgun copyright on that script!

Holy Shit


Holy Shit. Imagine if this was a documentary. Good god... He's slaying two lions. Two.

By stabbing them both in the head at once.

20 August, 2010

Ghostbusters II


Hey man, so Ghostbusters.... except, number 2.

Its the sequel, but as deserving if not more deserving of its own shrine on here. Check it out: New York City has been Ghost-free for 5 years, ever since the Ghostbusters originally did battle with Gozer. After being sued by the city for property damage, the Ghostbusters are all "squeaking by" in various fields of employment. Egon is a laboratory scientist, Ray works in an Occult bookstore, Venkman hosts "World of the Psychic" on public access television, Winston works kids parties as a "Ghostbuster Entertainer". Dana (Sigourney Weaver) works at the Museum, restoring old paintings, including one particularly creepy portrait of seventeenth century tyrant "Vigo the Carpathian".


Anyways, things aren't looking good, and New Yorkers are only getting ruder and angrier. Meanwhile, the Ghostbusters' interest in all things demonic is revitalized, when Dana's baby Oscar is whisked away in his stroller by a mysterious presence. This, combined with the discovery of an enourmous river of slime below the city - signals the return of dark forces to NYC.

Now, i'll let you watch the rest for yourself, but this movie is so underrated. It plays out as a "love letter to New York City" and encourages you to believe in working together with your fellow man, loving life, and that "good vibes can save the world".

Here's something the Ghostbusters do at the climax of the movie:


Yep, they bring the Statue of Liberty to life, and walk it around the streets of NYC. Pow.

18 August, 2010

NBA Jam: Tournament Edition


NBA Jam: Tournament Edition is the best arcade game I've ever played. I'd seriously pay the $3,200 or whatever ridiculous price, just to get one of these machines in my house. I'm seriously going to do it.

Basically, since the original "NBA Jam" was so successful, they released a slightly newer one - same gameplay, but with alot more "wacky" easter eggs and cool little tidbits. Here's a video of Raiden and Reptile from the "Mortal Kombat" franchise, playing against the Charlotte Hornets.



So anyway, in these games, you'd usually just play 2-on-2 basketball using your favourite NBA team. If you managed to string together 3 consecutive baskets with one guy, your guy would become "on fire", and start shooting/dunking a flaming ball to the basket, burning its net in the process. The effect only wore off if the opposite team scored. And yeah, if you watch the video - you can get some pretty "sick" looking dunks.

Anyways, the main reason this game rules, is the adorable cheesy commentator. Along with "he's on fire!" - which relates to the above scenario, there are some freaking great lines spouted by the commentary as you play. Check this out:

"Boom-shaka-laka!"
"The Monster Jam!"
"Jams it in!"
"Slam-a-jamma!"
"From Downtown!" - when you bomb up a huge "three pointer"
"Grabs the rebound!"
"The nail in the coffin!" - in the closing moments of play.
"Whoomp, there it is!"
"Puts up a brick!" - when you miss wildly
"Can't buy a bucket!" - when you keep missing wildly
"Is it the shoes?!?" - the commentator can't come up with a better explanation as to why you're playing so good!
"Tenacious D"
"Razzle Dazzle"

Anyways, if you see this game at an arcade or pizza place or whatever. Play it. Is so fucking awesome.

"Fountain of Youth, Motherfuckers"


The Fountain of Youth is a mythical natural spring that reverses the ravages of time, for anyone who drinks from it. Tales of such a fountain have been told and retold throughout history all over the world.

The legend was popularised in the 1500's, where it is suggested that the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León was searching for the Fountain of Youth when he traveled to what is now Florida in 1513. I guess he had a feeling it'd just "be there" or something.

Imagine discovering it. Would you keep it a secret? I fucking would, at least to most people. Everyone would totally "interfere" with my potential immortality otherwise.

Light-years


A light-year is a unit of measurement, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres. As defined by the International Astronomical Union, a light-year is the distance that light travels in a vacuum in one (Earth) Year.

Firstly, its "just under" 10 trillion kilometres. 10 trillion. That's hilarious.

Secondly for some probably really good reason, there is an organization called the "International Astronomical Union" (IAU). That's awesome. I'd love to be a member of that shit.

Thirdly, the closest star to the earth, not including "our" sun, is named Alpha Centauri. It is 4.3 light years away from the earth.

Fourthly, sorry about the picture. I just like pictures and wasn't sure what to use to "visually represent" a light-year. This is some gas, or something... photographed using the Hubble Space Telescope.

10 August, 2010

"Predator X"

Try this on for size. This awesome beast is the most fearsome marine creature in (pre)history. PREDATOR. X.



Predator X is thought (by scientists, not just me) to be a new species in the Pliosaur family. They excavated the skull of one of these fucking guys, in mid-2008 near the Arctic. The remains were a from a Predator X which (147 million years ago) was 15 metres long, weighed 45,000 kilograms, and had 30cm long teeth.

Experts claim Predator X to be "The most fearsome animal ever to swim in Earth's oceans." Experts put the full stop there, not me. So you know its a serious claim.

Labyrinth!


No, not the movie starring beloved rock god David Bowie - the actual thing! Labyrinths! They're basically mazes, but pretty epic ones.

The original Labyrinth, from which the name "Labyrinth" was taken was built (by legendary artificer Daedalus) in 27 Centuries BC, for King Minos of Crete. It is known as the "Palace of the Double Axe". Its function was to hold the Minotaur, a creature that was half man and half bull. Boom. I Love Minotaurs. It is said that Daedalus made the Labyrinth so cunningly that he himself could barely escape it after he built it.

Anyways, my favourite Labyrinth is the Reims Labyrinth (pictured above). It sits beneath the Cathedral of Notre Dame, in France. What's your favourite Labyrinth?

09 August, 2010

Wooden Ships


This kind of ship is best, man. Look how majestic and "supreme" this watercraft is.

Very, that's how. So yeah, ships made of wood - epic pioneering explorers, conquistadores, cartographers, tradesmen - at one point in history, going around the world in these babies. Such wonderful examples of technology (for the time) and craftsmanship (timeless). Beautiful. I would love to take a "voyage" on one someday.

Anyways, Listen to this song:

Crosby, Stills & Nash - Wooden Ships








Crosby, Stills & Nash (and Young) are cool as shit. Listen to this amazing song, these guys were right on the money. This is what a REAL supergroup does. These guys were part of The Hollies, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and of course, Neil Fucking Young. This track doesn't have him on it though. The first CSN "compilation" record So Far hit the #1 spot on the US charts, so I dunno... just listen to that or something.

Anyways, if you're not already listening to CSN regularly, its probably a good idea to start.

29 July, 2010

Pyramid

The Pyramid is a really awesome thing. All the best stuff is Pyramid shaped, because long ago - people realized that it was the best way to shape things. Triangle sides, man. Simple as that.

Now, I hate that my posts are beginning to regularly contain words from "Wolfmother" songs, but let's face it: the one thing those guys did was give their band a cool name. Anyways, best Polyhedron ever? Discuss.


This Pyramid is found on the Great Seal of the United States, for some reason. As far as I know, the USA doesn't have any notable Pyramids, but they get an "A" because they put one on their most common currency anyway. Its very mystic, very confusing - and most importantly, a very epic way to decorate your money.

Here's another guy:


I mentioned in an earlier post, that the Egyptians really knew cool ways of "being dead". This building, the Great Pyramid of Khufu is located in Giza, and was the tallest building in the entire world for 3,800 years. That's a way long time. Anyways, this Pyramid, as well as the Sphinx, and 2 smaller Pyramids - make up the "Giza Necropolis" - which quite literally means "City of the Dead". Holy smokes.

Here's the fucked up thing about ^^this particular Pyramid though... The corners point (within a ridiculously close margin) to True North, South, East and West. HOW THE HELL DID THEY KNOW HOW TO DO THAT? COMPASSES WEREN'T INVENTED YET!

How can I get myself one of these, not so much to die in, but to fucking live in!

Anyways, in closing - Pyramids.