Category:
Television

Vampira

Those end-of-the-year tributes to all who died in 2008 seem to be neglecting Maila Nurmi, aka Vampira, who passed away just a year ago. In memory, let's look at two short clips of the lady. She was weird enough, but when you add Liberace into the mix--!



Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 06, 2009 - Comments (2)
Category: Celebrities, Horror, Movies, Television, 1950s

The Number 47

47, as wikipedia notes, is "the natural number following 46 and preceding 48". There are some other interesting things about the number:
  • There exists a 47 society... which propagates the belief that the number forty-seven occurs in nature with noticeably higher frequency than other natural numbers, that it is the quintessential random number.
  • The number 47, its reverse of 74, or a multiple of 47 occurs in some way or other in almost every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation and its spin-offs Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise.
  • 47 is the telephone dialing country code for Norway

Posted By: Alex - Mon Dec 29, 2008 - Comments (6)
Category: Television

Schnappi

I feel bad that my Follies post today was somewhat lame. Therefore, I am making it up to our readers the only way I know how: with some juvenile German "humor."

For more about Schanppi, visit his Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Dec 08, 2008 - Comments (2)
Category: Music, Television, Surrealism, Children, Foreign Customs, Asia, Europe, Fictional Monsters

Destroyed in Seconds:  Bulldozer Rampage

Watch more clips from this Discovery Channel show here.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 05, 2008 - Comments (3)
Category: Destruction, Television

Fonzarelli Syndrome

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From a recent issue of the journal Neurology:

A 77-year-old man presented with a 1-year history of upper limb rest tremor, rigidity, and bradykinesia. He reported focal dystonia affecting the right thumb over the preceding 7 years, resulting in a constant "thumbs up" gesture reminiscent of the fictional television character Arthur Fonzarelli. Subsequent levodopa therapy reduced his bradykinesia and rigidity, but did not ameliorate the dystonia.

While foot dystonia is a common feature in late Parkinson disease (PD), dystonia may precede the development of PD by several years. Writer's cramp has been described as an early manifestation, with extension of the great toe also noted (the striatal foot).

Posted By: Alex - Thu Nov 06, 2008 - Comments (19)
Category: Medicine, Science, Television

Hoberman Arch

Six years have passed since the whole world saw the wonderfully weird portal created by Chuck Hoberman, but it's never too soon to admire it again.

Wouldn't you want a small version of this in your home?

Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 30, 2008 - Comments (10)
Category: Inventions, Sports, Technology, Television

Bernie und Ert

As long as we've been talking about German humor....

First the original, with superior voice-acting, then an English dub, for comprehension.



Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 28, 2008 - Comments (5)
Category: Drugs, Entertainment, Puppets and Automatons, Television, Foreign Customs

Bjork and Her Television

I really think the beloved and utterly unique Bjork should be the official spokesgal for WEIRD UNIVERSE.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Oct 21, 2008 - Comments (5)
Category: Aliens, Science, Television, Foreign Customs

Color It Clean

So long as we've started a toilet thread, let's all watch "Color It Clean," so that we appreciate the men and women who maintain our public lavatories.



This film reminds me of Barney Gumble's autobiographical entry in the Springfield Film Festival. I could find the clip only in Italian, but that adds a certain frisson to the viewing experience, I think.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Oct 03, 2008 - Comments (3)
Category: Bathrooms, Buildings and Other Structures, Bums, Hobos, Tramps, Beggars, Panhandlers and Other Streetpeople, Hygiene, Body Fluids, Excrement, Inebriation and Intoxicants, Television, Documentaries, 1960s

Smoki Bacon

image
And yet more bacon!

Smoki Bacon, that is, glamorous NYC and Boston socialite and literary bon vivant.

How could Smoki's Zelig-like presence at all the great intersections of literary history have escaped me till this very moment?

Sample the tasty Bacon yourself in this highlights reel from her cable-TV show with Dick Concannon.





Posted By: Paul - Sun Sep 28, 2008 - Comments (3)
Category: Celebrities, Literature, Writers, Odd Names, Television

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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.

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