Monkey See, Monkey Do

According to the Public Library of Science - Biology, monkeys in infancy can imitate their parents facial expressions. This was previously only thought to happen in humans (and possibly apes and chimps). That gets a little bit too fine for some us. . .we're all cousins! Click here to read the research article in PLOS Biology...

There's UFOs Over China "and I ain't too surprised"

Click here to see the video on Google. Thanks to Jeff Clinton for sending the link. . .
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The Beachles - A mashup of Pet Sounds and Sergeant Pepper

Clayton Counts has produced a "mashup" of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper and The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. . .two albums often in the running for the best rock album of the 1960's, and often they are both in the top ten for the best rock records of all time. (note...he also always has a lot of gem "lost" and weird MP3s on his web site). Clayton says:

"Below you will find a track-for-track mash-up of the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds with the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Of course, I say “mash-up” because I wouldn’t know what else to call it. It’s really more of an abstract record, but like some of my other projects it’s also a commentary on bootleg culture. "

"Some impolite halfwit was asking why people always compare these records, and so I’ll let Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson answer that question. Have a listen. If ever two records screamed out to be combined, it’s these two. This was created to entertain friends, and I’d be a total bastard if I didn’t give some credit where it is due. This was made at the suggestion of two friends of mine, Adam Wolak and Neil Keener. Sorry it took me two years to get around to it, guys. 100% of the audio here is taken from the two records and various session recordings, and none of it has been created from scratch.

"If you’d like to download the whole thing as a torrent, click here. Or, if you have an account at Oink’s Pink Palace, click here. Also, please be warned: this record is extremely noisy in places, and it’s not for everyone. If you can’t take a little dissonance, you may want to stay away entirely. It’ll probably be awhile before the cover’s done, too. Very happy listening, ladies and gents. I humbly present: The Beachles."

You can find the music in the links in Clayton gives above, or at http://claytoncounts.com/blog/the-beachles/
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The Smartest & Most Literate City In America?

According to a couple of measures, the smartest city in the United States is Seattle - 52.7 percent of its residents age 25 or older have completed a bachelor's degree or higher, according to the the U.S. Census Bureau. In fact, New York City would beat Seattle. . .if you only included Manhattan. The number of degree holders in Manhattan is 57%., but when you toss in Brooklyn, Queen, Richmond, and The Bronx, the number slides down to 32%--still high enough to make the top 25 list.

The education rankings were released this month by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Seattle has also been ranked as the most literate city in the United States by Central Connecticut State University, beating out Minneapolis, Washington and Atlanta

In the United States, the five most-educated major municipalities are also among the 25 cities with the highest median household income. Seattle for example, is the eighth and San Francisco is the fourth. So, there is something to the phrase "don't be a fool; go to school."
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Poem: Dream Of The Grey

In this dream
I see The Grey
Shrouded in fog

And I know
If I let him
Into focus,



I will wake up
On a gurney
On the tenth planet

With an implant,
And I won't remember
Coming, going

Or
Anything
In between.
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Poem: Torches & Pitchforks

With torches on,
And pitchforks raised,
The peasant horde

Marches ungoverned
Searching for real
And imaginary monsters.



The posse is a mindless beast
And the agglomerated mob
Brims with blood-lust

And madness. The whole
Is far less than the sum
Of its parts:

Each new body adds mass
And each fresh outrage
Diminishes the hive's brain.

One if by land; two if by sea.
They're coming for you.
They're coming for me.
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Painting: The Grey

click image to enlarge
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poem: the vault

You spend decades, slowly
Building the vault around your heart
With rebar walls and titanium lining;
But your loved ones are safecrackers.
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Painting: The acid bath

Click painting to enlarge.
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A salute to Radio Shack for innovation in firing 400 workers. . .by email

RadioShack Corp. notified around 400 workers by e-mail yesterday that they were being fired immediately.

Employees at the Fort Worth headquarters received messages Tuesday morning saying: "The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately, your position is one that has been eliminated." The Associated Press story can be found here. All This Is That salutes the innovators at RadioShack Corp. who made this process almost pain-free for the managers and winged monkeys whose duty might have been to look those employees in the eye as they were "letting them go."
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The Devil made them do it says The Vatican. Hitler and Stalin were possessed by Satan.

According to The Vatican's chief exorcist, a/k/a 'caster out of demons,' Adolf Hitler and Russian leader Josef Stalin were possessed by the Devil. Father Gabriele Amorth , Pope Benedict XVI's Chief Exorcist made his comments during a radio interview.

"Of course the Devil exists and he can not only possess a single person but also groups and entire populations.

"I am convinced," Father Amorth said, "that the Nazis were all possessed. All you have to do is think about what Hitler - and Stalin did. "

"That's why we need to defend society from demons."

According to recently released and long-time secret Vatican documents, the wartime Pope, Pius XII attempted a telepathic exorcism on The Fuhrer, which was never successful.

A Daily Mail article published yesterday evening made this curious relevation.
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President Bush performs encore of his Katrina song from one year ago, and as to the cleanup of New Orleans, declares "Mission Accomplished!"

Today, on the anniversary of the Hurricane Katrina landfall, President Bush reprised the same song he performed last year, and declared that the rebuilding of New Orleans and Mississippi was complete. He made a call to his old confederate "Brownie," reminiscing about the heady days last August and September when The President, in concert with F.E.M.A., hit the ground running and practically beat the hurricane to New Orleans, with a massive supply airlift, logistical support, and engineers. According to The President, the operation was nearly flawless.
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