Nightmare Before Christmas Gifts
It’s almost Christmas and that means just one thing in our house: The Nightmare Before Christmas, Tim Burton’s musical animation masterpiece. We have a tradition of watching The Nightmare Before Christmas before Christmas (as after or during is terribly unseemly). We don’t follow the tradition every year primarily because we’re forgetful but also we wouldn’t want it to become a ritual. From ritual it’s a short hop to religion and from there to religious wars with Corpse Bridists on one side and Jack Skellingtonians on the other, then schisms among the Skellingtonian followers as cults of Oogie Boogie Resurrectionists blossom. All of which is my way of leading in to highlighting Christmas gift ideas with a Nightmare Before Christmas theme. These are the sorts of things we’d love if they were bought for us, not that you’re going to as demographic studies of the website’s visitors show a distinct lack of Mysterious Wealthy Benefactors. Jack and Sally Nightmare Before Christmas Print 8″ x 12″ Lovely print (and ridiculously cheap) from Kia Wynne featuring my favourite character, the devilishly delicious Sally. There’s something about a woman with a knowing smile, eyes the size of tennis balls, and detachable limbs that just sets my heart racing. Nightmare Before Christmas Jack Skellington Comic Manga Heels – Made to Order No, they wouldn’t be for me. My missus, on the other hand, has a bit of a thing for shoes and this particular listing from Hero Chic Heels really appeals: your choice of shoe style, heel size, and one-of-a-kind Jack Skellington print all for a fixed price! 27×40 Nightmare Before Christmas – Full Size Retro Movie Poster – 1930s Vintage Horror Movie Inspired, Retro Alternative Pop Art If you know anything about me then you know I’m a fan of retro so this vintage-style movie poster for the film by Ehron Asher appeals highly to me. The other posters for sale in that shop would all make equally fantastic presents. Nightmare Before Christmas Tiles I’ll be honest and admit I’ve never really thought of artwork on ceramic tiles as something to desire but these particular ones for The Nightmare Before Christmas (there are 72 designs at the present time) from Terry Tiles are really quite lovely. Nightmare before christmas – Halloween Thong – Jack the Skeleton G-String underwear Again – and let me really stress this – these would not be for me. Not exactly. I mean, I’m not saying I wouldn’t get some enjoyment out of them but I wouldn’t wear them. Ugly Lightup Christmas Sweater – Sally – Doll Santa (link updated following comment 15/12/15) To finish with here’s something from...
ColdZyme
I just saw an advert on television for Boots promoting ColdZyme, the spray that fights off the common cold. Somehow. When all other attempts to ward it off have failed for decades. My skeptisense tingled. I searched online… Pop along to Coldzyme: a result of real science being left out in the cold for a look at ColdZyme and its apparent ability to perform a feat no medicine can perform (not “no other medicine” because it claims not to be a medicine for probably legal reasons (remember kids, always treat your illnesses and afflictions with things worded to get around legalities to stick it to the man)). The article takes a look at the science behind ColdZyme (so it’s not a terribly long read, obviously) and finds its claims lacking, as I’m sure you’ve already surmised, you not being a moron and all that. What is this breakthrough, miracle product that will powerfully break down viruses? Well, an enzyme called trypsin. An enzyme that merrily and plentifully kicks about in your digestive system, breaking down proteins. An enzyme which, for the purposes of this product, is inexplicabl[y] being derived from cod (which has meant that I have had to resist the urge to refer to it as somewhat fishy.) An enzyme which should be stored at temperatures of between -20 and -80 degrees Celsius, to prevent autolysis. Now, I’ve seen some fancy medicine packaging in my time, but never a simple mouth spray bottle that can manage such storage feats. So, if trypsin really is present in this product, then it seems fairly likely that it’s going to be inactive, unless the manufacturers have found a way of warping room temperature. Okay. The “fishy” pun has been taken but I think I can still use the word “codswallop” to feast upon a free boost of the smugness hormone in my body, right? Take that cold virus! Tissue box photo courtesy of David...
Materials In High Radiation Environments
If you’ve got any interest in future spacecraft design – real design, not the stuff of fantasy and science fiction – then Icarus Interstellar is a great source of information. As an example of the sort of thing you can expect to read why not take a look at this article on Materials in High Radiation Environments which explains the sort of building materials and shielding you’d need with near-future fusion drive systems: The use of controlled defects is the other important aspect of radiation resistance, since radiation can actually “cure” defects in certain types of materials (radiation hardening phenomena and radiation annealing effects). If we choose materials that can only be manufactured with a large number of defects in the first place, the basic properties of the material are known and the design can be done. Radiation then interacts with these defects and, if the materials are well chosen, these interactions can actually reduce the influence of the defects, increasing, rather than decreasing, the strength of the materials. […] If we instead started from perfect materials, the radiation would introduce defects that break down this perfection, making the materials weaker. The defects would be random, and might lead to catastrophic failure. By controlling the flaws in our materials and in designing for them, we have controlled and reliable properties: reliable mid range materials, rather than unreliable high strength...
Places I Can’t Afford In Spain
If you’ve ever wondered what sort of places currently for sale in Spain I’d like to live in but can’t afford because a lottery win and/or an obscenely rich uncle suddenly passing still eludes me then this article’s appearance may well form nearly a whole minute of your lucky day! Santa Ponsa, Mallorca Listing 9 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms make up this gorgeous villa but it’s the great-looking pool and those arched inside/outside lounge areas that really leap out. Well, those and the € 16.5 million price tag. I don’t have that many Euros on me right now so I can’t afford to buy this place. La Zagaleta, Marbella Listing Another villa with 9 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms – perhaps there’s some mystical reason for it – but this one’s in Marbella rather than Mallorca hence the far more reasonable asking price of € 15 million. For the record, I don’t have that sort of money either even though it’s a full ten percent cheaper than the first Spanish property. Bargain! This particular villa also boasts a staff apartment, sauna, heated indoor pool with jacuzzi, gymnasium, pool bar, wine cellar, and 8 car garage. It also features the thing in the image below which I couldn’t work out for ages when looking at it: a night club. A villa with a night club! How… odd! Courtyarded Villa on Hilltop, Marbella Listing Stunning views thanks to the high elevation of this Marbella villa but only 8 bedrooms and bathrooms. Eight? What sort of poor person only has eight bedrooms and bathrooms? The sort of poor person who can only afford € 9.5 million, that’s who. That’s not me, by the way. Still, the giant Van der Graaf generator in the courtyard is tempting. Santa Ponsa, Mallorca Listing Simple design and minimalism make this villa with sea views stand out and so does the asking price of a mere € 6.9 million. That’s still about € 6.89 million more than I can afford but at least it’s all heading in the right direction. Look at the marble flooring and tell me you wouldn’t slide through there in your socks. And nothing else! Yeah, you...
Floral Photography By Emi Nakajima
Another photographer I’ve come to appreciate from Google+ is Miyagi prefecture-based Emi Nakajima. Despite my fondness for street and industrial photography there’s still plenty of room to love photography of flora, whether taken with a macro lens or not, and with Emi hailing from Japan you know to expect gorgeous bokeh and occasional soft focus with high key. These first two photos show how different the leaves from possibly the same tree can look depending on the quantity of them and the amount of background light that comes through. I love the deep warmth that comes from the lower picture but no more or less than the more sparsely-filled photo above which seems to carry with it a quieter feel. I’m always happy to see a bit of lens flare or light leak and this one helps to pick out the bokeh too in this much cooler photo. What’s also nice – and most likely a happy coincidence – is how the circular bokeh patterns mimic the fruits on the tree branches. This shot by Emi is actually a crop of an earlier photo she’d taken and it’s a better composition for it in my opinion. Beautiful depth of field and a nice contrast between the richness of the flower and the pale background. I’ll be honest: I didn’t know marbles grew on tree. But now that I do know that this is a lovely, almost surreal shot from the Japanese nature photographer. And to finish from Emi’s collection a fruit in a natural cage. I love the detail in this picture and the glow from the bottom of the flower that lends this an ethereal feeling. If you’re on Google+ or just interested in seeing some more gorgeous, floral photographs then check out the rest of Emi Nakajima’s...
Lyme Regis
Lyme Regis is a small, coastal town in Dorset, England. The town's name literally means "misspelt, small, green, citrus fruit named Regis" and it won it in a game of poker with twinned Yorkshire village Lemmin Geoff. Lyme Regis is part of the south of England's famous Jurassic Coast, an area that stretches from Exmouth to Swanage most notable for existing simultaneously in our time period and a pleasant Thursday in the early spring of 153 million years ago. Lyme Regis is popular with tourists wishing to kill dinosaurs in Earth's distant past, skin them, eat them, then sell their cleaned skeletons in the town's many fossil shops. #dorset #thecobb #sooc #justkiddingaboutitbeingsooc Google+: View post on...
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