Science Fiction Book Covers
I’m a sucker for science fiction whether that’s in film form or literature. As such I follow a lot of science fiction-themed websites’ RSS feeds. One of the things I love discovering through these sites are vintage sci-fi books. Sometimes it’s the author or title that will stand out – someone who may only have had a small distribution in another country, for instance, or something so bizarre-sounding you wonder how it ever came to be published in the first place – and sometimes it’s the cover artwork that catches my eye. Sometimes it’s both and I’ve picked a few examples to show off below. Originally found via 70s Sci-Fi...
Ghost Chili
What happens when you eat a ghost chili? Does it hurt to eat a ghost chili? Should you drink copious amounts of milk to offset the searing pain that comes from consuming a ghost chili? I’ve no idea. Personally, I think you have to be certifiable to want to eat anything that will hurt you. I’ve got a scientific background and I’ve no interest in investigating these questions but your luck’s in if you’re keen to know just what level of agony eating a ghost chili will deliver as others are stupider/braver than...
Witchcraft In Tanzania
Yet again we’ve got poor education and superstitions (or convenient excuses) leading to the brutal deaths of mostly women, this time occurring in Tanzania. Horribly, there are two examples within a few weeks of one another. Firstly, from Seven Suspected of Witchcraft Burned to Death: Seven people accused of witchcraft have been burned alive in Tanzania, police said Friday, adding they have arrested 23 people in connection with the crimes. “They were attacked and burnt to death by a mob of villagers who accused them of engaging in witchcraft,” the police chief for the western Kigoma region which borders Burundi, Jafari Mohamed, told AFP. “Five of those killed were aged over 60, while the other two were aged over 40,” he added. Elderly women are the highest risk group and the brutal attacks are usually justified as responses to bad luck, infertility, accidents, etc. The logic of assuming that the elderly woman must be responsible is completely nonexistent as surely the “witch” would have cast her spells of misfortune earlier in her life but logic doesn’t get much room in the irrational brain. A possible factor in the late-in-life blaming of women is offered up in that article as some women start to get red eyes, a side effect of the cooking style employed. Differences are scary. In a similar vein albinos are often the targets of attacks in this and other parts of Africa. The second article, Two Women Accused of Witchcraft Hacked To Death, has this to say: Two Tanzanian women were hacked to death by men who accused them of casting spells that made them sexually impotent, police said on Friday, in the latest killings of alleged “witches”. The women, one aged in her 80s and her 45-year old daughter, were killed in the village of Ihugi in Tanzania’s northern Shinyanga province late on Tuesday. Three men slit their throats and then chopped their bodies up, local police chief Justus Kamugisha said, adding that their neighbour was suspected of carrying out the attack after he believed they had made him unable to have sex. Burned alive or a slit throat? Either way, until there’s reduced poverty and better education – which would ideally include a reduction in strong beliefs in any superstitious crap (including religion) – and a shift away from very dominant male-driven societal groups these sorts of gruesome murders will continue. So that’s Tanzania off the visit list...
Pete Bennett
Pete won Big Brother in the UK in 2006 since when he's written books, performed as a solo artist and with bands, got married, is getting divorced, and generally done all the other sorts of things that celebrities do. In addition to all that he campaigns for Greenpeace and it's in this capacity that my colleague and I spotted him in Chichester this week. I snapped a photo at distance which was spotted and this led to the amiable chap popping over to have a chat. Following some general chit-chat Pete then proceeded to tell me in fairly graphic detail how orangutans were sometimes shaved and prostituted out to perverts. I know how to bring out the odd in people. Very disturbing, and I suggested that he not lead with that story when approaching the old dears in the street to see if they wanted to sign up with the environmental organisation. I'm pretty sure he was going to, though. Breaking the habit of a lifetime (I'm very backward at coming forwards) I then asked if I could take a picture and he happily agreed. In hindsight perhaps waiting until after he'd finished his carrot might have made for a better street portrait shot. #StreetPhotography #StreetPortrait #StreetPortraiture #BigBrother #Celebrity Google+: View post on...
Tool Triple
You wait ages for any posts with a reference to the word tool and then two come along at once. Hot on the heels of the Ridgid Tools Calendars post comes this trio of music videos from American rock band Tool. Not a lot to say about the videos other than that they seem to perfectly fit the dark, brooding music and the styles of stop motion animation along with bizarre creature make up – the sort of things that wouldn’t look out of place in Pan’s Labyrinth – really appeals to me. Sober Parabola...
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