Eccentrics
Pelmanism
The Pelman Institutes of England and America apparently once claimed over half a million followers. But now they're long gone. Yet that has not stopped at least two folks from trying to resurrect the copyright-abandoned mind-strengthening course and claim and market it as their own. You can see their pages here and here.
Oddly enough, the last vestige of Pelmanism most people know, without realizing its true origin, is the card game we call Concentration or Memory or Pairs.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Aug 04, 2008 -
Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Products, Eccentrics, Fads, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Games, History, Historical Figure, New Age, Self-help Schemes
Perfectible Worlds
[Photo copyright by Sage Sohier.]
Posted By: Paul - Sat Aug 02, 2008 -
Comments (0)
Category: Eccentrics, Collectors, Geeks, Nerds and Pointdexters, Photography and Photographers, Books, Roleplayers and Re-enactors
Jetpack Dreams
That most silly and pointless and inutile, yet much desired of flight mechanisms, the jetpack, is back in the news. You can read a New York Times piece about the latest model here.And a review copy of this book recently arrived in my mailbox, portending lots of fun.
Yet such mechanisms pale before the magnificently insane accomplishment of Yves Rossy, who, a couple of years ago, basically turned himself into Iron Man. Watch his jet-powered flight below.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jul 29, 2008 -
Comments (4)
Category: Eccentrics, Flight, Inventions, Literature, Science Fiction, Movies, Obsessions, Pop Culture, Technology, Travel, Yesterday’s Tomorrows
Micronations
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jul 28, 2008 -
Comments (1)
Category: Art, Performance Art, Customs, Foreign Customs, Eccentrics, Government, Officials, Regulations, History, Law, Military, Obsessions, Patriotism, Politics, Travel
Spit-take
This museum actually wants them.
Two simple facts. Yet what a wealth of weirdness.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 27, 2008 -
Comments (0)
Category: Agriculture, Customs, Eccentrics, Hygiene, Museums, Obsessions, Regionalism
Ho, Ho, Ho, Hangman!
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jul 24, 2008 -
Comments (0)
Category: Celebrities, Crime, Stupid Criminals, Eccentrics, History, Historical Figure, Military, Movies, Cartoons, Prisons, Torture, 1990s
The Song-slinging Senator
Yes, that musical genius of the legislature, Orrin Hatch, is at it again. Read about his latest musical composition in this article.Then visit the site that holds all his marvelous music.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 20, 2008 -
Comments (3)
Category: Celebrities, Eccentrics, Government, Officials, Music, ShowBiz
eden ahbez and Nat King Cole and “Nature Boy”
I love the singing and musicianship and general personal integrity of Nat King Cole. Hearing him immediately brings me back to my childhood in the late 1950's, the height of Cole's popularity.Of course, like many popstars of the 1950's, Cole's star was eclipsed with the rise of rock 'n' roll, and the hippies, in the 1960's.
But curiously enough, Cole played a tiny self-defeating part in that very movement, with his song "Nature Boy."
The tale behind that song involves one of the first proto-hippies--a beatnik, I suppose--named eden ahbez.
 |
Ahbez is one of the twentieth century's bonafide wonderful weirdos, but pretty much forgotten these days.
Why not listen to "Nature Boy" to commemorate ahbez and King?
You might even want to pick up one of ahbez's CD's!
Posted By: Paul - Sat Jul 12, 2008 -
Comments (1)
Category: Art, Decades, 1950s, 1960s, Eccentrics, History, Historical Figure, Music, Weird Names
Nick Millard, Auteur
The history of the cinema is littered with kooks, talented and untalented. One such was Nick Millard. I will leave it to the reader to decide which category Millard falls in. But let me tell you in advance that his serial killer is an obese woman named Fat Ethel.Read a very entertaining synopsis of some of Millard's oevure, by one Joseph A. Ziemba, at his Bleeding Skull blog.
Then experience the majesty of Millard's cinematic style below.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Jul 11, 2008 -
Comments (1)
Category: Art, Crime, Stupid Criminals, Death, Domestic, Eccentrics, Guns, Hollywood, Horror, Movies, Sexuality, ShowBiz
France Gall’s anti-LSD song
The French have popstars no sane American has ever heard of. One such is certainly France Gall.Perhaps the most bizarre moment of her career was her anti-LSD anthem from 1967, "Teenie Weenie Boppie," penned by none other than
Serge Gainsbourg.
Watch it now, why not?
Curious about the lyrics? Listen to the English-language cover version by indie super group Free Kitten.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jul 10, 2008 -
Comments (5)
Category: Art, Customs, Foreign Customs, Drugs, Eccentrics, Music
| Who We Are |
|---|
| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |