Am I the only one that remembers it’s Black History Month? I we finally have a black president, but does that mean we don’t have black history month anymore? Last I checked, it’s still on the calendar. If you do want to celebrate black history month, you may enjoy watching a few great films regarding race and our society. I know everyone thinks of Malcolm X, Amistad and The Color Purple when they think of African American films, but here are five great movies that tend to get overlooked.

Bulworth

The Basic Plot: A white senator [Warren Beatty], sick of politics and life in general, takes out a life insurance policy on himself and hires a hit man to whack him. Since he doesn’t care what happens to him, he starts speaking to people about the truth of politics, for example, if you don’t donate money to your representative’s campaigns, they won’t represent you. In the process of exposing Washington corruption, he finds a new interest in life when he falls for a beautiful black woman from Compton [Halle Berry]. Now he needs to avoid the hit man, win his lady and deal with the media frenzy his new “campaign tactic” has created.

Why Was It Underrated: People either thought it was going to be a stupid movie about a white senator pretending to rap, or they heard about the politics of the movie and were turned off. Either way, this movie is constantly listed as one of the top underrated films of the 90’s.

Why You Should See It: It is damn funny to see someone tell movie executives they wouldn’t be criticized about decency standards if they just made better movies. Aside from the humor though, there are some great political points about what happened to the leaders of the black community, why so many black youths enter gangs and more.

More: Bulworth at Amazon | Wikipedia

Bamboozled

The Basic Plot: An African American television writer [Damon Wayans] is criticized one too many times by his white “not racist” boss [Michael Rapaport] for not being street enough. As a way to get back at his condescending boss, he proposes a modern day minstrel show, complete with black actors in black face. Amazingly, the show not only is approved by the executives, but becomes a nation-wide success leading to legions of fans running around the streets in black face. As you could guess, things could only go downhill from there…

Why Was It Underrated: Some people found the whole concept rather offensive, completely ignoring the fact that it was a satire created by a black man. Other people simply don’t look to Spike Lee for humor, though if they did, they may be pleasantly surprised.

Why You Should See It: It’s a funny movie filled with some of the best, biting satire of the last century. You’ll find yourself laughing awkwardly and not believing your eyes at points of the show. At the same time, you’ll realize that the show isn’t much of a stretch for modern television.

More: Bamboozled at Amazon | Wikipedia

Men of Honor

The Basic Plot: The true story of the first African American U.S. Navy diver. Carl Brashear [Cuba Gooding Jr.] must not only struggle to become a diver, but to live through the harassment and racism of his fellow trainees and the trainer [Robert DeNiro] determined to see him fail. In the end, he not only wins the respect of other soldiers, but manages to become the first black diver and the first amputee diver.

Why Was It Underrated: Maybe it was Cuba Gooding Jr. - after all, a lot of people consider him to be about as “black” as Colin Powell. Maybe it’s diver-discrimination and people would much rather see a movie about black fighter pilots than a black diver. Whatever the reason, this moving film received little attention, especially when compared to the George Lucas Tuskegee Airmen film, Red Tails, expected to come out sometime this year.

Why You Should See It: This is a touching story showing the ugliness of racism and the strength of the human spirit. I know it sounds kind of cliché, but it is a good movie depicting how many obstacles we can pass when we set our hearts to doing something.

More: Men of Honor at Amazon | Wikipedia

Dead Presidents

The Basic Plot: Three young black men are recruited to join the Vietnam War. After serving duty, the three friends all end up back home in New York. After finding it difficult to adjust to modern society outside the army, the group sets up an armored car heist. The ensuing action is not to be missed.

Why Was It Underrated: Between Menace II Society and their later works like American Pimp and From Hell, this fantastic film directed by the Hughes brothers seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle. Additionally, many people didn’t know how if this movie was a heist movie, a Vietnam flick or a statement about racism in America. Since people often like their movies to be easily classified, this may have been the film’s downfall.

Why You Should See It: Although on the surface, it appears to be a heist movie, this film highlights important issues facing black veterans of the Vietnam War and the continuing racism they experienced when they returned home to a country still wrought with civil rights injustices. This early Hughes Brother’s film is a great display of their talent and a promise of the good things to come.

More: Dead Presidents at Amazon | Wikipedia

Higher Learning

The Basic Plot: When three kids from all walks of life start attending college together, they start encountering racial tension and personal problems like finances and personal insecurities. The main African American character [Omar Epps] is a young African American track star without an exceptional mind. The main female character [Kristy Swanson] is date raped and joins a feminist group to cope with her demons. She begins to become attracted to another woman [Jennifer Connelly] in the group. The main white character [Michael Rapaport] has a hard time fitting in with anyone until a group of white supremacists accept him as one of their own. Rape, racism, sexuality, education and more are all touched upon in this intense film depicting reality on college campuses across the nation.

Why Was It Underrated: Many critics found the characters to be a little stereotypical, but when there are so few movies actually exploring these roles in depth, is that really a problem? Another reason it may be underrated: how many people expect a deep-thinking movie to involve Tyra Banks?

Why You Should See It: There is an all-star cast in this film and it does an excellent job depicting relationships of all types –student/teacher, woman/man, woman/woman, white/black and more. Additionally, it’s one of the few college movies that moves beyond grades, booze and money and depicts a student’s path to self-discovery.

More: Higher Learning at Amazon | Wikipedia Do you think I missed any? If so, please let me know in the comments.

Psycho - Shower Scene (may not be suitable for younger audience) [YouTube Link]

Motion picture decency standards in the 1960 didn't allow for things like nude women being stabbed to death in showers. Consequently, Hitchcock was forced to create the impression of nudity and violence without actually showing a breast, a buttock, or a knife puncturing skin. The result is a terrifying masterpiece of a montage. And even though it's probably the most analyzed (and parodied) 45 seconds in film history, we're willing to bet the following tidbits slipped past you.

Forget the bloody corpse in the bathtub: what really got "Psycho" censors worked up was the toilet. Just before stepping into that fateful shower, Marion tears up an incriminating note and flushes it. Hitchcock's close-up of the swirling commode water was the first ever allowed in an American film.

What looks like blood funneling down the drain is actually Bosco chocolate syrup. Hitchcock thought it looked more real in black-and-white than the fake stuff. Tastier, too.

The scene is composed of more than 90 shots seen in 70 different camera angles. It took Hitchcock and his crew an entire week to film it. To put that into perspective: The entire film took only six weeks.

The woman who played Janet Leigh's body double in about half of the shower-scene shots was named Myra Jones. In a sad case of life imitating art, Jones was stabbed to death in 1988. Her killer? A mentally disturbed handyman who targeted older women. He'd murdered at least one other before her - that police know about.

After the release of "Psycho," Hitchcock received an irate letter from a man whose daughter had refused to take baths after seeing the French thriller "Les Diaboliques" (in which a man is drowned in a tub). After seeing "Psycho," she refused to take showers as well. Hitchcock's reply? "Send her to the dry cleaners."

Although popular with most audiences, "Psycho" was reviled by ophthalmologists. Eye doctors everywhere pointed out that a corpse's pupil dilate, yet - in a stark close-up of her face after her supposedly deadly shower - Janet Leigh's eyes remain contracted. Ever the obsessed technician, Hitchcock listened, using dilating eyedrops for stiffs in all future films.

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The article above was written by Ransom Riggs, as part of a longer article Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho in the Nov-Dec 2006 issue of mental_floss, published here with permission. Visit mental_floss for more fun stuff everyday!

It's Veterans Day in the U.S. (Remembrance Day in Canada) but today is also the day that commemorates another American tradition - it's the day Route 66 was established in 1926.

Picture from Wikipedia user Howcheng

Road of Many Names

It's known best as Route 66, of course, but the famous Highway has about as many names as its Route number. A couple of its other aliases: • Will Rogers Highway. The U.S. Highway 66 Association unofficially deemed the route Will Rogers Highway in 1952. There's a plaque in Santa Monica that says as much, and some more that tell the WIll Rogers story elsewhere along the route. • The Mother Road. John Steinbeck was the first to call it the Mother Road in The Grapes of Wrath in 1939. • The Great Diagonal Way. There's a very practical reason for this - from Chicago to Oklahoma City, the Route runs diagonal across the country. • The Main Street of America. This moniker was given to Route 66 by the U.S. Highway 66 Association. When the new Interstate Highways were starting to be built in 1955, the Association started to become worried that people were going to forget the history behind Route 66, so they started marketing it as The Main Street of America to try to keep interest alive. Unfortunately, they were right - Route 66 was decommissioned in 1985.

Humble Beginnings

When I say humble beginnings, I'm not kidding. In 1857, General Ned Beale (a Renaissance Man if there ever was one) was commissioned to figure out if camels were suitable for use as pack animals in the U.S. - in fact, Congress designated $30,000 for this project - a considerable amount of money then. The project was referred to as the U.S. Camel Corps. He led a pack from Fort Defiance to the Colorado River and was pleased that they needed so little water, plus they were strong and able to move quickly across all types of landscapes. So why aren't camels more widely used today? Well, it turned out that they were stubborn and temperamental, and were prone to scaring horses. However, the path that Ned Beale led them on proved to be an efficient route, and it eventually became part of Route 66.

The Father of Route 66

Certainly, we have Ned Beale to thank for the discovery of the trail itself, but Tulsa native Cyrus Avery was the true champion of the cause. He was the member of the federal board that created the Federal Highway System. The board was responsible for finding proper routes and marking them as Federal routes. At that time, Route 66 wasn't even totally paved. Thanks to his efforts, the U.S. Highway 66 Association was created, the whole route was paved (eventually - it took until 1938), and marketing efforts were undertaken to promote travel.

Promotions

OK, I consider myself an amateur runner (really, really amateur), but this just sounds awful to me: The Bunion Derby. It was a promotional race in 1928 that took runners from L.A. to New York. That's 3,455 miles. At about 40 miles a day, it took runners 84 days to cover all of Route 66. First place won $25,000; second took $10,000; third was $5,000; fourth was $2,500 and fifth through 10th places were each awarded $1,000. If you finished the race, the odds were nearly one in five that you would find one of the cash prizes: even though 199 runners started the race in L.A. on March 4, only 55 finished in New York City on May 26th.

Roadside Attractions

I love quirky road trip stops, so I wish Route 66 was still fully intact so I could see some of this stuff. A few of them are still around, but not nearly in the numbers they used to be. • Meramec Caverns. I know these caverns best as the spot where The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was filmed. But it also was supposedly one of Jesse James' hideouts. The story is that he and his brother holed up in the caves and the sheriff planted himself out front and waited for days. The caverns were so huge (4.6 miles) that Jesse and his brother easily found another way out, making the sheriff look like a fool.

• Red's Giant Hamburg (not hamburgers) in Springfield, Mo., claimed to be the first drive-through restaurant ever. Sheldon "Red" Chaney said that he decided customers probably didn't want to get out of a car, so he just had them pull up to a window and yell their order through. Red retired in 1984 and his legendary "Hamburg" (he didn't measure the sign right and ran out of room for letters) is no longer in service. The picture is from Birthplace of Route 66. • Meteor Crater is a stop near Winslow, Arizona. It's about 570 feet deep and 4,000 feet in diameter - in short, it's huge. It was created, oh, about 50,000 years ago. When people were doing research at the crater in 1906, a post office was even established there, since the nearest post office was an inconvenient 30 miles away in Winslow. • The Painted Desert. I'm sure you guys are familiar - it's an area of desert in Northern Arizona known for its gorgeous, brightly-colored landscape. Sadly, Route 66 is all but dead today. There are definitely some big chunks of it that are still in service, but as a major tourist attraction, it's dwindling fast. Several associations and societies have formed within the last 15 years or so to try to get some of the attractions along the route declared as historical sites, so maybe we'll see a revival. Got any good Route 66 stories to share? Leave them in the comments! We'd love to hear how it factored into your road trips.

I apologize for the lack of horror movie posts last week - I was on vacation. I'd like to tell you that I was visiting the Stanley Hotel or Sleepy Hollow or Gettysburg or some other haunted location, but I was actually at Disney World. I enjoyed lots of rides on the Haunted Mansion and the Tower of Terror, if that counts for anything. So, with the countdown to Halloween now in the single digits, let us continue with the horror movie trivia posts from the week before last.

The Shining

Classic Kubrick, classic Nicholson. Released in 1980, the Shining was one of the first films (and definitely the most famous of these early movies) to use the newly-invented Steadicam. It was a camera that was weighted, which allowed for smooth movement even in smaller spaces. Anyway... the trivia!

• Jack Nicholson's visitors on the London set of the Shining included Anjelica Huston, Mick Jagger, George Harrison, John Lennon and Bob Dylan.

• Other actors considered for the Jack Torrance part were Robert DeNiro, Robin Williams (can you imagine?) and Harrison Ford. Nicholson was always the first choice, though. DeNiro later said the movie gave him nightmares for a month. Stephen King didn't like any of those choices and tried to talk Stanley Kubrick into using Jon Voight or Jack Palance.

• Diana Vreeland is more or less the reason the movie was able to continue shooting. Jack's back was bugging him from a previous movie injury and he was popping all kinds of pills to try to alleviate the pain. Nothing worked and he was starting to get worried that his pain was going to have to halt production. The fashionista heard about this while at dinner and promptly left her meal and had Jack's driver take her to a pharmacy, where she purchased two back plasters. Then she went back to the eatery, commanded that Jack drop trou and applied the plaster right then and there. It worked, and the film was finished.

• Jack Nicholson claims he wrote the scene where Jack Torrance writes, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," over and over and over. "That's what I was like when I got my divorce," he said.

• It got baaaaad reviews: Variety said it was the "biggest box office disappointment since Exorcist II", the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner said it was "completely fake and banal" and the Wall Street Journal said it failed not only as a horror movie, but as any other genre as well.

• The famous "Heeeeeeeere's Johnny!" line was improvised.

• Although most exterior shots were done at the Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood, Oregon, all of the interiors were a movie set. Kubrick refused to film in the States if he had to, since he was an ex-pat. At the time, the movie set was the largest ever built.

• Stephen King didn't care for much of the Kubrick version, which is why he made his own T.V. miniseries version in 1997. Among other things, he didn't agree with the casting of Shelley Duvall as Wendy Torrance. He pictured Wendy as a blonde, cheerleader type who had clearly never known any type of hardship - pretty much the opposite of Duvall. He cast Rebecca DeMornay in the 1997 version, which, you have to admit, fits King's original vision much better.

Rosemary's Baby

This was really Mia Farrow’s breakout role. Prior to this she acted on Peyton Place but was mostly just known as Frank Sinatra’s wife. The film rights to the book were purchased before the book was even released because producer William Castle convinced Paramount that the book was going to be a huge hit – and it was.

• The book the movie was based on was written by Ira Levin, who also wrote The Stepford Wives. Strangely, he also wrote a play about a hillbilly who joins the Air Force - the play that launched Andy Griffith's career.

• The book, which was published in 1967, had the birth of Rosemary’s baby occur in June, 1966 (6/66).

• That creepy lullaby (title: “Lullaby”) that accompanies the credits is actually sung by Mia Farrow. It hit 111 on the Billboard charts.

• The movie caused a bit of marital strife for Mia Farrow and Frank Sinatra, who was her husband at the time. Filming and post-production ran longer than expected, which made Sinatra angry because he wanted his wife to appear in one of his upcoming movies (The Detective). He actually called the production offices and demanded that the movie wrap by November 14, 1967, because Mia was scheduled to be on his set by Thanksgiving. It didn't happen, and he told her that her choice was to be done with the movie or be done with him. She stayed with the movie after Roman Polanski convinced her she was all but guaranteed to win an Oscar (she didn't). Sinatra then had her served with divorce papers on the set of the film.

• Jack Nicholson and Robert Redford were both considered for the role of Guy Woodhouse - Redford was actually the first choice.

• When Rosemary calls the actor who went blind, allowing her husband to land the role, the actor on the other end of the line is Tony Curtis. Mia Farrow recognized his voice but couldn't quite put her finger on how she knew it, so the confusion you hear in her voice in that scene is Mia trying to place his voice.

• Lots of rumors plague the movie - that Anton LaVey consulted on the movie, that he wore the devil costume in the scene where Rosemary is raped, that Alfred Hitchcock was scheduled to direct, and that Sharon Tate was one of the party-goers in the scene where Rosemary throws a party to see her friends. None of them are true.

• Polanski was incredibly true to the novel. Ira Levin wrote in the book that Rosemary had her hair cut at Vidal Sassoon, so Polanski actually made sure that Mia Farrow's iconic pixie cut was shorn by Sassoon himself.

• Also - apparently a remake is scheduled for 2010. I'm horrified.

• Ira Levin published Son of Rosemary in 1997. Rosemary wakes up in 1999 after the witch coven put a spell on her to keep her in a coma. However, the last witch has finally died, freeing her from the spell. Her son with the devil is named Andy and was raised by Minnie and Roman Castevet, and he is now the CEO of a huge charitable foundation. There’s a big twist at the end, but I won’t reveal it in case you want to read it. I find it to be a cop-out ending, but I’ll let you decide for yourself. If you want to know now, here you go. • And a non-movie-related fact: after the divorce, Mia Farrow traveled to India to study with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who the Beatles were also studying with at the time. She brought her sister Prudence, who inspired John Lennon to write "Dear Prudence" for the White Album.

A Nightmare on Elm Street

We’re breaking into a new horror genre here, but I think that’s OK - Nightmare is a classic in its own way. According to the book Nightmares in Red, White and Blue, the movie was inspired by some articles in the L.A. Times. Apparently there had been a rash of cases where people had nightmares so horrific that they didn’t want to do back to sleep in case they fell into the nightmare again. So they tried to stay awake for as long as possible, but when the urge to sleep finally came over them, they died in their sleep. You can see why Wes Craven was inspired – that’s some pretty creepy stuff.

• When you’re watching movies like these, check out the posters on the walls in bedrooms and similar scenes. Wes Craven and Sam Raimi have a running joke with the posters. Here’s the whole story – and hang on, the Nightmare reference is in here, but it’s going to take a minute to get to. First, in Wes Craven’s 1977 movie The Hills Have Eyes, a Jaws poster can be seen in the background. There was speculation that Wes Craven specifically put that poster there to say that his movie was much scarier than Jaws, which had come out two years before. So, in Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead, he placed a poster of The Hills Have Eyes to suggest that his film was even scarier than Hills. Not to be outdone, Wes Craven referenced The Evil Dead twice in Nightmare - there’s a poster on the wall, of course, but it’s also the movie that Nancy watches to keep from falling asleep. Evil Dead II features Freddy Krueger’s glove hanging above the door to the tool shed – which, according to the DVD, is the real glove from the movie. I’d be willing to bet that the subsequent Nightmares and Army of Darkness contain more Craven/Raimi references, but I think I’ll stop there – it will give you something to look for next time you catch them on T.V.

• Robert Englund, the actor who plays Freddy, could have been in Star Wars. He was best friends with Mark Hamill in the ‘70s. Englund went to the studio to read for the surfer part in Apocalypse Now and ended up going across the hall to read for Han Solo. Rumor has it that he was the one who told Hamill to read for Luke Skywalker, but Englund didn’t actually address that part of the story. The interview is here if you want to read the whole thing – it’s pretty interesting.

• Johnny Depp’s part came down to Johnny and two other actors. Johnny got the part because Wes Craven’s daughter thought he was the cutest. I must say, that girl has phenomenal taste!

• Disney was one of the first companies to express interest in the film, but asked Wes Craven to tone down some of the violence and gore. He didn’t think that was in the best interest of the movie, so he held out. New Line Cinema picked it up and it really launched their company – prior to Nightmare, it was just a film distribution company.

• Two reasons have been given for Freddy’s red and green sweater – Wes Craven once said that he read those that color combination was the hardest for the mind to process, so he used that combo to achieve an unsettling effect. He has also said that Freddy was partially inspired by an elderly guy who scared him as a child that was wearing a similar sweater.

• More than 500 gallons of fake blood were used to make the movie. Sometimes it was just water tinted red (it flowed better during the geyser scenes) and sometimes it was a mixture of corn syrup and powder and dye.

• The name is said to have come directly from Wes Craven’s childhood bully – Fred Krueger. I think I'll try to squeeze one more in before the big day. The last post will focus on three of these six movies: Evil Dead, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Child's Play, The Blair Witch Project, Friday the 13th and Psycho. Or maybe the Birds. Hmmmm. Tune in to find out!

We're coming up on the anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe's 1849 death, which is rather fitting since we're coming up on Halloween. I know; Poe was more than the Cask of Amontillado, The Tell-Tale Heart and The Raven, but undoubtedly he is best known for his chilling tales. But I thought we'd delve a little deeper into Mr. Poe to celebrate his upcoming deathday. I somehow think he would prefer that people celebrated that instead of his birthday anyway.

Tamerlane and Other Poems

If you're looking for an almost one-of-a-kind Poe collectible, keep an eye out for Tamerlane and Other Poems. Poe was a mere 18 when it was released in 1827; only 50 copies were published, credited to "a Bostonian". The 40-page collection was paid for by Poe himself and definitely showed his age - most of the poems were about youth and the trials of it. At this point in time, it's thought that only 12 copies of Tamerlane still exist. You can find one at the Poe Museum in Richmond, Va., and most of the others in private collections. It has fetched as much as $125,000 at an auction.

Virginia Clemm

In 1835, Poe married his first cousin. Here's how that happened: after Poe was discharged from the Army in 1829, he went to live with his aunt and her family. For a while Edgar was pretty taken with the girl next door, a Miss Mary Devereaux. Virginia played Cupid for a while and carried messages back and forth between the two of them. It didn't pan out, though, and eventually Poe moved to Richmond to take a position at the Southern Literary Messenger. He hadn't forgotten about Virginia, though, and started to make plans to marry her. Another cousin heard about this and was not happy about the prospect and pleaded with Virginia's mom to consider the girl's education instead of letting her marry Edgar.

Edgar was devastated and wrote a letter to his aunt, begging her to let Virginia decide her future for herself... she was only 13 at the time, but maybe 13-year-olds were more mature then. The clincher was probably when he offered to financially support not only Virginia, but also her mom and brother. The family was living in almost total poverty, so no doubt that was pretty appealing to the Clemms. They ended up getting married either in 1836... or it may have been 1835. They filed for the license in 1835 and it's believed that they may have quietly been married at the same time, but they didn't actually have a public ceremony until 1836. It definitely wasn't a normal relationship - Poe referred to his wife/cousin as "Sis" and "Sissy".

Some biographers think their relationship was more of a companionship sort of a thing, and that their marriage was never actually consummated. Regardless, they seemed very supportive and devoted to one another (despite some infidelity rumors), so when she died of tuberculosis at the young age of 24, Edgar was devastated. It's assumed by a lot of Poe followers that his famous poem Annabel Lee is based on her. As she was dying, she asked her mother to "take care of my poor Eddy - you will never never leave him?" And her mother made good on the agreement - she did stay with Edgar until he died in 1849. And how did that happen??

Death

On October 3, 1849, Poe was found wandering the streets of Baltimore, an absolute mess and completely delirious. It would appear that he was wildly drunk, and he was definitely wearing someone else's clothes. He was taken to the hospital, but never came to enough to explain what had happened, and his death certificate is missing so we don't even know what the official cause is, but newspapers reported "congestion of the brain" and "cerebral inflammation".

So what really happened? I Think the most interesting theory is this one: he was caught in cooping scam. In today's day and age, cooping doesn't happen. Gangs would kidnap drunks, homeless people and other innocent bystanders and hold them in a room (a "coop") during elections. They would force these people to vote for their man over and over again, beating them if they wouldn't comply and making them change clothes to vote over and over again in the same place. Was Poe a victim of this? We don't know for sure, but it's possible. The flaw in this theory, though, is that Poe was well-known in Baltimore at the time and would surely have been recognized if he tried to vote over and over again. But if he was dirty and beaten to a pulp, maybe not. Image from krichter

The Poe Toaster

This isn't an obscure fact about Poe, but it's interesting nonetheless. Since 1949, a mysterious person nicknamed "The Poe Toaster" has appeared at his grave in Baltimore to toast him with cognac. He also leaves three roses. The Edgar Allan Poe Society in town has helped hide the secret of the Poe Toaster's identity for years, although a man did confess to being behind the annual tribute. However, his story apparently has a lot of inconsistencies and holes in it, so it's believed that his "confession" may not be entirely true.

I was in band and orchestra when I was in high school, but sadly, no one I know ever played the helicopter, the cucumberphone or their own hands. Oh well. Here are five instruments that might have you rethinking your own musical aspirations.

The Vegetable Orchestra.

Technically, it’s called Das erste Wiener Gemüseorchester. I’m going to stick with The Vegetable Orchestra. And it’s exactly what it sounds like – everyone in the orchestra plays instruments made out of fresh vegetables. They invented the instruments themselves – the orchestra includes carrot recorders, pepper trumpets and cucumberphones, among other things. They’re always developing new instruments, so you never know what you’re going to experience when you go to one of their concerts. Every concert takes about 90 pounds of vegetables, but they don’t go to waste – afterward, some of the veggies are made into soup (“always different, but always delicious”). Some instruments go to the audience, and some of it is simply turned into organic waste. By all means enjoy their music, but don’t ask them if they’re vegetarians. Their answer, according to their website: “No we are not. Don’t ask again. We’ve heard this question three million times.” Pictures via the Vegetable Orchestra

Helicopters

You might think this is a euphemism for some instrument, but no: it’s literally four helicopters being used as musical instruments. The Helikopter-Streichquartett (the Helicopter String Quartet), written by Karlheinz Stockhausen, was first performed in Amsterdam in 1995. Here’s how it works: there’s a normal string quartet, and then there are four helicopters used as sort of the background instrument. The sound of the blades beating against the air create a backdrop. It’s very specific – the helicopters have to circle at a radius of six kilmeters (not quite 3.75 miles) from wherever the string quartet is playing, typically inside of an auditorium. The helicopters have to change altitudes so the song has the right rhythm. While the helicopters circle, the string quartet walks (or are driven) closer to the helicopter to get the desired sound. The song winds down as the helicopters descend and land while the string quartet walks back to the performance venue.

Manualism

It sounds a little dirty, but anyone who grew up with brothers is no doubt familiar with manualism – it’s basically making fart noises with your hands by making an air pocket between your palms and squeezing it out. Except some people are better at it than your little brother – a lot better at it. Varying amounts of pressure create different notes. The most famous manualist is probably John Twomey, who was on the Tonight Show in 1974 where he performed the Stars and Stripes Forever. He may have even invented the term “manualist” – it doesn’t seem as if the word existed before he used it on the show.

The Sea Organ.

Next time you’re in Zadar, Croatia, be sure to check this amazing instrument out. Hidden underneath marble steps that go down into the sea is a system of tubes and a large cavity that makes musical tones when the waves interact with them. Similarly, there’s a wave organ in San Francisco…

The Wave Organ

On the San Francisco Bay, you’ll find a big jumble of concrete pieces. But it’s much more than that – it’s one of the largest instruments in the world. The Wave Organ was co-created by the San Francisco Exploratorium’s artist-in-residence, Peter Richards. An old cemetery in the area was demolished to make way for new development, so the columns, stones and other leftover pieces were brought in to create the organ. The different pieces, combined with PVC pipes under the surface, act the same way the Sea Organ in Croatia does – when the waves and the water pass over the pipes, unique sounds are created. One visitor said it sounded like the “world’s largest seashell… punctuated by the cries of gulls and the barks of sea lions.” Photo via Wikipedia user Atlant

The daughter of redditor papachon sometimes wears his Oakley-brand sunglasses. She looks just like an action star with them. So, of course, she just walks away from explosions.

Link -via Geekosystem

This is the story of a daughter who thought that her parents liked her, only to find out years later that they really hate her. I am that daughter.

You see, I used to think my parents liked me. I know they love me, but I was also pretty sure they liked me too.  Now I know that I was wrong. Very wrong! My parents actually hate me. How do I know they hate me? This is how I know they hate me!



Yes, what you see in the picture is correct.  That is my 4-year-old daughter holding a child sized electric guitar with built-in amplifier. Next to her is my 3-year-old son banging away on his new drum set.  My wonderful parents purchased these gifts.  My kids think Nan and Papa are the greatest.  I'm too polite to tell you what I really think.

At first I didn't think much of the gift.  My Dad joked it was an investment in his future.  He thought the kids should start a rock band.  I should film the children playing in their rock band.  We should put the clip on You Tube.  People would see the clip and my children would become famous.  The children would be so grateful that they would buy their grandfather a Porsche convertible.  I actually laughed when he told me this story.  My Dad is very charismatic and has a flair for stories.

The events that have unfolded since the children received these gifts, however, have made me realize I was stupid and naive.  Obviously my Dad was really plotting against me.  I am now convinced this gift was pure and simple payback.  Payback for what?  For being forced to raise me.  This includes but is not limited to years and years of me breaking his stuff,  having to referee fights with my sister, and just generally being a pain in the ass.  Oh, he is a wise and devious old man.  How could I ever be so stupid as to underestimate him.

How much trouble could a drum set and electric guitar be?  Here is a summary of the events that unfolded from the time theses items entered my house to present:

1. My son wakes up before dawn. He runs into my room and demands to know where his father is.  I tell him his Dad is still on his business trip. He mulls this over for a moment.  He studies me. Finally realizing I am his only hope he asks me if I can put together his drum set.  At this moment I realize that even my 3-year-old knows I am incompetent when it comes to anything remotely mechanical in nature.  This is both depressing and liberating.   I no longer need to pretend that I know what I am doing.

2.  I agree to his request to build the drum set on the condition that we do it after his sisters are awake and we have all had breakfast.  The 3-year-old proceeds to wake his sisters up and demand that we eat and eat quickly.

3.  Breakfast is over and I must now do what I hate more than anything. I must read an instruction manual. I stumble through the single page instruction sheet and put together the drum set.  Something that should have taken a normal adult 5 minutes to do has taken me almost 40 minutes.  Yes, I really am that incompetent.

4.  The 3-year-old is beaming.  The other children are excited.  We are all happy for a brief moment.   The strumming and drumming starts.

5.  Suddenly, the other children realize that there is only one drum set.  They are no longer content to play with any other toy.  Even the electric guitar is cast aside.  A scuffle ensues.  The 4-year-old snatches one of the drumsticks. The Baby lunges for the other drumstick. The 3-year defends himself from the attack by hitting his baby sister in the head with a drumstick.  It's World War III!

6. The Baby is fine. She is pissed, but fine.  After a little cuddling she is back to planning her next attack.

7. I finally manage to stop screaming.  I try to go to my happy place.  I take a few deep breaths and visualize the sale rack at my favorite store.  I am OK again.

8. Now what the heck am I going to do with this drum set?  You need sticks to play the drums, but I can't give the kids the sticks back.  If I give them the sticks back they will just start beating each other with sticks again.  We are not a perfect family, but we certainly do not go around beating each other with sticks!  For a brief moment I fantasize about throwing the drum set out.

9.  It suddenly occurs to me that I may have been set up.  My Dad must have known this was going to happen.  He raised two kids.  He always said we would fight over everything and anything.  Throwing out the drum set is like admitting defeat.  I must come up with a plan!

10. The plan is to do a craft project. Everyone knows that craft projects make everything better.  (Bet you didn't see that coming did you?) Neither did the kids.  The 4-year-old and 3-year-old were both skeptical. They didn't think I could make them new drumsticks.  Ye little people of little faith. My craft kung-fu is strong.

11. Craft Project Drumstick commences. I am determined to make new, plush toy drumsticks that the children cannot kill each other with.  I frantically search the art closet in the garage. In the art closet I found dowels, gray felt, a small foam butterfly wing, and a feather boa. I told you, this closet is filled with random crap.



12. First, I cut the butterfly wing up and glue them to the top of the dowel.

13. Next, I cut the gray felt into strips and sew them into covers for the dowels. I admit that tan felt would have been better, but I was just using odds and ends that I found in the closet.

14. The kids and I insert the dowel with topper into the felt cover.

15. We proceed to stuff the felt cover with cut up pieces of feather boa (batting probably would have worked better, but I was all out of batting).

16. I sew up the bottom of the tubes.

17. I pull out my embroidery floss and sew the tops of the drumsticks. This is just to make them look more like drumsticks.

18.  Craft Project Drumstick is complete. I now test the drumsticks to make sure they work. First I hit myself with them. They don't hurt. Next I hit the drums with them.  The drums still make noise.  Yippee!



19. The kids are happy. Now if they ever dare to beat each other with drumsticks again, at least I know they can't really hurt each other.

When I told my parents this story they laughed.  My Dad is still feigning innocence. He insists that they don't hate me, but I know better.  All I have to say is, "I'm sorry for breaking all your stuff Dad.  Please no more evil presents."

(Video Link)

Those of you who haven't lived in Alabama may struggle to grasp the magnitude of the rivalry between the respective football fans of the University of Alabama and Auburn University. Suffice it to say that Alabamians take their football very seriously.

That's why the ultimate threat against a 4-year old Crimson Tide fan is to take him to the Auburn Store.

via reddit

Preschool time is just about upon us.  Go ahead and cry because your baby is growing up so fast.  Or, do the happy dance because you now have a few free mornings again. I will wait for you to finish. All done now?

The question now becomes do you have your preschoolers backpack all sorted out? No? Not, to worry. Here is a little cheat sheet on what preschool backpacks are all about, what to put in them, and what not to put in them.  Happy school days everyone.

PICKING A PRESCHOOL BACKPACK

Preschool backpacks are a bit smaller than regular backpacks. Some come with wheels, some without, some look like regular backpacks, and others are shall we say more interesting.    When picking out a preschool backpack you should consider your child's personality, what they are going to need to put in their backpack, and how are they actually going to end up lugging it around.

Backpacks with wheels are a bit heavier because of the plastic wheels. They are great for the preschooler who loves to drag their stuff on the ground. If your preschooler insists on wearing the backpack you might want to skip the wheels. If you frankly don't know you might opt for a backpack like the one above that allows you to do both. The monkey backpack from the NeatoShop has removable wheels for added flexibility.

WHAT TO PUT IN A PRESCHOOL BACKPACK

1. A change of clothes. When putting in a change of clothes you should keep in mind the changing weather. Lighter clothes for the end of summer and spring and warmer clothes for fall and winter.

2. A change of underwear. Accidents happen.

3. Something comforting. Separation can be hard for kids. Sometimes a little something comforting can help make the separation easier. This could be as simple as a family picture.

4. A sweater or jacket. Some little people are fussy when it comes to classroom temperature.  You might find the air conditioning to be set perfectly and they might be freezing.

5. A label. It's best to label all your little one's belongings including their backpack. This helps to ensure that you come home with your stuff and not some other kid's stuff.

WHAT NOT TO PUT IN A PRESCHOOL BACKPACK

1. Toys. Preschool is a time to learn the art of sharing, but just not with your toys. Toys from home can easily start a classroom war.  Avoid putting toys in a preschoolers backpack unless specifically instructed to do so by the preschool teacher.

2. Writing utensils (pens, crayons, markers). Most preschools like to control the distribution of writing utensils. This tends to keep little graffiti monsters in check.

3. Food. Allergies are a big concern at schools these days. It is best to only include a snack or drink in the backpack if your school requested it to be included. Don't worry most schools provide their own snacks.

4. Dangerous items. I think this is pretty self explanatory. Keep items that requires adult supervision out of the backpack.  Just because your kids is responsible and a genius doesn't mean that his classmates are as well.

CAUTION: CHECK YOUR PACKED BACKPACKS BEFORE SCHOOL EVERYDAY

Kids are notorious for hiding things.  You will want to recheck your kid's backpack before they leave for school.  If you don't you just may get an angry that your child's  roly poly collection has invaded the classroom.

I'm sure you've all heard of Bernard Madoff's $50 billion Ponzi scheme that fooled even the most financially savvy investors. But what do you know about Ponzi or pyramid schemes? Here's a quick (and fun) crash course at the 9 Most Brazen Ponzi Schemes in History:

1. Charles Ponzi and the Original Ponzi Scheme

Ponzi schemes are named after Charles Ponzi, an Italian immigrant who perpetrated a legendary scam. Actually, he wasn't the inventor of this type of scams - it was called "Robbing Peter to pay Paul" schemes - but his was so large that his name became synonymous with it.

Ponzi started a business buying and selling a type of postal coupon and promised investors a 50% return on their money within 45 days (compare this to an annual 5% interest for bank savings account at the time).

Ponzi's early investors did get their money doubled and even tripled in a short amount of time. This, and glowing newspaper reports at the time about his company, the Securities Exchange Company (yes, the "SEC" - ironic, huh?), got him a lot of money from investors. At one point, Ponzi took in $1 million in a three-hour period from investors. All in all, about 40,000 investors invested about $15 million in Ponzi's scheme in nine months between 1919 and 1920 (about $174 million in 2007 value).

When it was discovered that Ponzi was paying old investors with money from new ones, his scheme collapsed and he was sent to jail ... for 5 years! After serving his federal sentence, Ponzi was sentenced by the State of Massachusetts for an additional 9 years, but he skipped town. Ponzi ended up in Brazil, where he spent his last years in poverty and sickness.

Before he died, Ponzi gave one last interview where he confessed to his crime "My business is simple. It was the old game of robbing Peter to pay Paul. You would give me one hundred dollars and I would give you a note to pay you one-hundred-and-fifty dollars in three months. Usually I would redeem my note in 45 days. My notes became more valuable than American money ... Then came trouble. The whole thing was broken." (Zuckoff, Mitchell, Ponzi's Scheme: The True Story of a Financial Legend, p. 313)

(For more detailed info, check out mental_floss' excellent post on Charles Ponzi)

2. Dona Branca, the People's Banker

Maria Branca dos Santos, or more commonly called "Dona" Branca, was a poor Portuguese woman when she decided that she would open her own "bank" in 1970. To make it attractive, she promised an interest rate of 10% per month, and got thousands of clients (including the working poor of Portugal) to give her their money.

The scheme lasted more than 14 years, and during this time she's known as "The people's banker." Dona Branca was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison. She died poor, blind, and alone.

In 1993, her crime inspired a Portuguese soap opera titled A Banqueira do Povo ("The People's Banker").

3. The "Double Shah"

In 2005, a Pakistani high school science teacher Syed Sibtul Hassan Shah went to Dubai. When he came back to his hometown of Wazirabad, Pakistan, he convinced his neighbors to give him their savings, which he doubled in just 7 days, based on a "stock program" that he had learned in Dubai.

Words soon spread of the "Double Shah" and people began investing with him. In 18 months, he took in over Rs. 70 billion (about US$880 million) from 3,000 people and was even considered to be the next political leader from the area.

When police arrested Shah on charges of robbery in 2007, thousands of people descended to the streets to protest against his arrest (Source). He is now in custody and his case is pending.

4. Lou Pearlman: 'N Sync and 'N Investors' Pockets

Usually, Ponzi schemes are run by people you've never heard of before - but this one is different: Lou Pearlman is a famous boy band music mogul who founded the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync.

In 1981 (incidentally, the same year that 'N Sync star Justin Timberlake was born), Pearlman started Trans Continental Airlines Travel Services, Trans Continental Airlines Inc, and 12 other companies. Problem was, they existed only on paper. For 20 years, he sold shares of the companies to investors and got loans from banks, to the tune of $300 million. To keep up the ruse, he invented a fake accounting firm Cohen & Siegel (he even hired an answering service to pick up the phone) and a fake branch of a bank in Germany. He falsified tax returns and other financial documents to appear legit (Source).

When his scheme unraveled, Pearlman fled the country and tried to hide. He was captured and was sentenced to 25-year in prison.

5. European Kings Club

In 1992, Damara Bertges and Hans Gunther Spachtholz founded the European Kings Club, a "non-profit" association that rallied against big European banks and promised to help the "little guys."

Investors buy a "letter," which was kind of a club share, for 1,400 swiss franc. This entitled them to 12 monthly payment of 200 swiss franc, which meant doubling their money in just a year.

The European Kings Club meetings were a hoot: they sang their own anthem, and the duo made a show of pressing money into the hands of the "club members."

When the scheme collapsed 2 years later, some 94,000 German and Swiss investors were bilked out of US$1 billion. In the Swiss cantons of Uri and Glarus, it was estimated that one in ten adults had fallen for the scheme. (Source)

But even after authorities raided the EKC offices and captured Bertges, her investors still believed that she was their champion. When Bertges went put on trial, her "victims" applauded so loudly that the judge had to clear out the room. (Source). For defrauding people out of US$1 billion, Bertges got 7 years and Spachtholz got away with less than 5 years in jail.

6. Bernie Madoff: How He "Made Off" with $50 Billion

Unless you've been living under a rock, you all should know by now that financier Bernard "Bernie" Madoff was arrested for running a Ponzi scheme. There are four notable facts about his operation:

1. It was the largest (dollar-wise)
2. It was the longest-running (known) Ponzi scheme in history. Investigators sifting through the record found evidence of hanky panky since the 1970s
3. It was perpetrated by one of the pillars of Wall Street - Madoff was a former chairman of NASDAQ
4. His victims are some of the most financially savvy and rich people in the world (you need at least $20 million to "invest" with him)

We're not going to talk about Madoff (this news is all over the Internet), but let me just re-print what his website used to say before it was taken over by authorities:

In an era of faceless organizations owned by other equally faceless organizations, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC harks back to an earlier era in the financial world: The owner’s name is on the door.

Clients know that Bernard Madoff has a personal interest in maintaining the unblemished record of value, fair-dealing, and high ethical standards that has always been the firm’s hallmark. (Source)

Find out more about Bernie Madoff's $50 Billion Ponzi Scheme at Wikipedia (or just open a newspaper, folks)

7. Yilishen Tianxi: Ant Farming Scheme

If you think the ponzi schemes above were brazen, take a look at this one. It ensnared a million - yes, you read that right, a million - people in China ... with ants! (Photo via Asia Sentinel)

In 1999, Wang Fengyou founded the Yilishen Tianxi Group and hatched a scheme so crazy it's brilliant: ant farming. He convinced poor farmers to give him 10,000 yuan (about $1,500). In return, they got a box of "special ants" and a list of very strict instructions: spritz the ants with a sugar and honey solution at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. every day, and feed them cake and egg yolk every three to five days. Under no circumstances were they to open the box. Every 74 days, workers from Yilishen would come by and pick up the ants to be ground up and made into an aphrodisiac. For their troubles, the farmers get 13,250 yuan, a 32.5% premium every 14 months. (Source)

By 2006, Wang was a very rich man. His company was featured in newspapers and on TV. He hired celebrities to publicize his company and hobnobbed with government officials. He even got the "China's Top 10 Entrepreneurial Leaders" award from the government. His ant aphrodisiacs were sold in some 80,000 pharmacies across China and by some accounts, over 1 million people bred ants for Yilishen, giving the company an annual turnover of 15 billion yuan (US$2 billion).

In October 2007, Wang's scheme collapsed. The company started to miss payouts and thousands of ant farmers descended on his company's headquarter and government offices. A month later, Wang Fengyou was arrested.

Unlike other Ponzi scheme con artists who got off after only a few years in jail, Wang's fate doesn't look good. In the same year Wang's scheme collapsed, the Chinese government started cracking down on 3,747 pyramid schemes. Wang's rival, who conned people with a similar ant-breeding scheme, was sentenced to death. (Source)

Oh, and did his aphrodisiac ants really work? Actually yes, but not because of the ants. His products contained sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra.

8. Sergey Mavrodi, the Scammer who Got Himself Elected to the Russian Parliament

Biletov or fractions of shares of the MMM Corp, bearing the likeness of Sergey Mavrodi (photo via PJ Symes, who wrote a fascinating article on the MMM Corporation)

Just one million people? Meh, said Sergey Mavrodi. His scheme duped two million people!

Mavrodi was a Russian scammer who along with his brother Vyacheslav Mavrodi and Vyacheslav's future wife Marina Murayveya, founded the MMM company in (the triple Ms came from the surnames of these three people). In the early 1990s, MMM promised dividends of 1,000%, promoted itself heavily in TV ads, and delivered on its promise. At its peak, Mavrodi's company was taking in more than $11 million a day from the public! Within 5 years, Mavrodi took in $1.5 billion from at least 2 million people.

When the whole thing unraveled and the police raided MMM offices for tax evasion, Mavrodi pulled another fast one: he convinced his "investors" that it was the government's fault that they lost their investment. He even ran for the Russian State Duma (the lower house of parliament) to get the government to initiate a "payback" program ... and he was elected! That was a good thing because he got himself a parliamentary immunity.

When his immunity was later revoked, Mavrodi went on the lam. In 2003, he was arrested , fined $390, and sent to a penal colony for four-and-a-half years (Source). That translates to about $38,052 swindled per hour in the slammer.

9. Social Security

President Roosevelt signing the Social Security Act of 1935. Photo: Library of Congress

Well, not exactly, but Social Security does have a few similarities to a Ponzi scheme.

But first, a little about Social Security. In 1935, President Roosevelt introduced a controversial "social insurance" to prevent the crushing poverty that hit many Americans in their old age during the Great Depression. As part of his New Deal, Social Security provided benefits to retirees and the unemployed, financed by taxes on current worker's wages.

The details have changed over the years, but the basics remain the same: just like in a Ponzi scheme, money from new investors (taxpayer) is used as payout to older investors (retirees).

From 1937 to 2005, Social Security has taken in more than $10.7 trillion in taxes and other income. In the same time period, it has given out more than $8.9 trillion (Source). The program is actually taking in more in taxes than it gives out in benefits (and invested it in Treasurys - this in itself is a complicated issue because it's akin to the government giving itself an IOU). It is projected to run a surplus until 2018, when the baby boomers are expected to retire and start draw their benefits. Though it's difficult to accurately predict, Social Security's own trustees expect the program to run out of money by 2040 unless big changes are made (Source).

There's one similarity between Social Security and Ponzi scheme that is irrefutable: the early investors/retirees get the better end of the deal. The first person to receive monthly retirement check was Ida May Fuller of Ludlow, Virginia. Ida retired in November 1939 at the age of 65 and started collecting her checks in January 1940. She lived to be 100 years old, and during her lifetime, she collected $22,888.92 in Social Security benefits. Ida put in a total of $24.75 into the system, thus giving a return of over 90,000%!

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I'll be the first to admit that we've skipped a lot of Ponzi schemes, such as those run by Reed Slatkin (who co-founded the ISP Earthlink), Tom Petters, and many others. Interested readers are suggested to check out Wikipedia's entry on Ponzi scheme.

If you like this article, please check these out:

• 10 American Financial Meltdowns in the Past Century
• T-Shirts About the Economy
• 5 Hoaxes That Fooled the World
• 10 Richest People of All Time and How They Made Their Fortunes

The luxury world of the couture is an interesting place. People are always on the search for the newest, most shocking art or fashion to impress their other rich friends. The culinary world is no exception. While there are still people who love their lobster and fillet mignon, many modern chefs like to experiment with the newest and craziest ingredients, while others like to reach back deep into the past -say, the middle ages- for inspiration. As a result, there are some gourmet foods that are just too out there for the average man and woman to even begin to comprehend. I invite you, my friends, to travel this weird world with me, the strange land of the couture gourmets.

10. Ortolan

Eating a roasted bird isn't really that crazy, but the process leading up to the roasting of Ortolan birds has actually caused France to declare it illegal for humane reasons. Ortolan birds are nocturnal, sparrow-like birds. To prepare them for cooking, the live birds are trapped in a dark box. The darkness messes with their eating schedule and causes them to continually eat until they are about two to three times their original size. After a proper level of obesity has occurred, the birds are drowned in brandy or other liquor and then, finally, roasted.

Funny how a country that defends fois gras even finds this practice too barbaric. If tortured animals make yummier meals, than this little guy must be quite a treat.

Source

9. Canard à la Rouennaise (Duck in Blood Sauce)

Have you ever ate a duck and thought, “I could get so much more out of those bones and guts?” If so, Canard à la Rouennaise is right up your alley. Basically, the recipe takes a nice roast duck, then places the carcass in a press and crushes the juice out of everything left over. The result is a very bloody, very rich “sauce” that can cost around $1000 a plate.

While the presentation may be quite interesting, as they crush the duck right at your table, I just can't understand paying that much for some blood. I know a lot of people love marrow, but isn't this just too crazy?

Source

8. Huitlacoche (Corn Fungus)

Corn smut is a fungus that destroys corn crops. Like many indigenous people, early villagers decided to make the most out of a bad situation and ate the fungus that took over their crop. Nowadays, the smut is considered to be quite a delicacy and sometimes costs more than corn itself.

This is the only thing on this list I have actually ate, of course, that's probably because I don't have the money to be a real gourmet foodie. Surprisingly, it's very delicious if you get it from a good restaurant -preferably one actually in Mexico. It's similar to mushrooms and quite has a nice aroma.

Source (Photo: Zampano [Flickr])

7. Durian

Many people claim durian is quite good. The smell however, is one of the worst things on Earth. It is said that you can smell the durian fruit stands from all the way down the street. Some hotels and airports refuse to let people bring the fruit inside for fear that it will chase away their customers.

While many people hate the fruit -smell is closely associated with taste after all, many people are quite passionate about their love of durian. The fruit is said to be strongly flavored and savory, with a custard-like texture. Anthony Bordain may have described it the best when he said, "its taste can only be described as...indescribable, something you will either love or despise. ...Your breath will smell as if you'd been French-kissing your dead grandmother."

Source (Photo: Sama Sama - Massa [Flickr])

6. Live Baby Octopus

[YouTube Link]

Here's a food that wouldn't be so strange if it was served in any other manner. Even other foods eaten alive, like shrimp aren't that strange, the main thing here is the whole life-threatening thing. Live octopi can choke you with their moving tentacles. It's a real-life kill or be killed situation.

Dipping your dinner in alcohol is said to help knock them out momentarily and make them less deadly, but that is to be debated. Truly skilled baby octopi eaters will barely chew their meals before gulping them down, but amateurs generally choose to chew them thoroughly -which can take up to 15 minutes. As you can see in the video, eating the treat can be quite a challenge for a novice.

Source

5. De Jaeger (Snail Caviar)

French foodies flip over a lot of things, but two things they hold close to heart are caviar and escargot. So a pair of snail farmers thought, “why not combine them?” The flavor is said to be delicate and quite nice, but from what I hear, most people still prefer caviar.

The process to making snail caviar is a carefully guarded secret by the couple who invented it. We do know it involves very happy snails getting freaky in a huge barn and a hand review all of the eggs to make sure they are up to par. Between there being only one supplier and requiring quite tedious harvesting, all done by hand, the price of the snail caviar is quite high -about $82 an ounce to be more specific.

Source (Photo: Fr Antunes [Flickr])

4. Bird Nest Soup

Bird nest soup, as the name suggests, is created using nests created by the nests of cave swifts. These specific birds create their nest from their own saliva, which hardens into a sort of shell. When boiled, the nest creates a unique flavor and jelly-like consistency that is quite popular in many parts of Asia -at least, amongst those who can afford it. The nests are one of the most expensive animal products consumed by humans. Just one bowl of the soup costs between $30 and $100 American dollars.

Of the multiple species of cave swifts that create these nests, the most expensive nests come from in a red shaded and are said to have additional medicinal qualities. These health benefits range from curing asthma to boosting the immune system to aiding digestion. Like many medicinal meals from the East though, this has not been scientifically proven as of yet.

Source

3. Balut (Duck Fetus Egg)

Photo: Chadedwardxxx [Flickr]

Surely you've heard the urban legend that someone bought a carton of eggs, cracked one open and found a chicken fetus inside? Well, this is sort of the same thing, except it's not an urban legend and it's a duck instead of a chicken. Oh yeah, and it's on purpose.

Basically, you take your fertilized egg, boil it and there's your meal. Most people seem to eat the egg around the fetus and then snack down the baby duckling bones and all. The “ripeness” of the egg varies from country to country, but it can be eaten any time from being boneless and tiny to pretty much being baby ducks with tender bones and beaks.

Source

 

2. Kopi Luwak (Poop Coffee)

I must admit, it was hard to choose the ranking positions for this list. It's hard to compare duck fetus to corn fungus to killer octopi, but I have to say that coffee beans that have been partially digested definitely deserve a place in the top three. If the title or photo of this one hasn't given it away already, let me be clear. Kopi Luwak is a very popular coffee blend right now, despite the fact that the beans get their special flavor by being eaten and then pooped out by a civet -a cute mammal from South-east Asia.

The coffee is one of the most expensive brews in the world, selling for between $120 and $600 a pound. Because the digestive enzymes of the civets break down the proteins in the beans that ordinarily make coffee bitter, the blend is naturally sweeter.

Source

1. Casu Marzu (Maggot Cheese)

Casu Marzu is a sheep's milk cheese loaded with writhing, live fly larva. It is illegal in many countries for its obvious health dangers, but for some reason, foodies still actively seek it out. Even worse, the cheese can become toxic after the maggots die, so it has to be eaten while they are still very alive. The texture is rather creamy and it is generally served on Sardinian flat bread. Dinners are expected to keep their hands over the cheese as they place it in their mouth because these larva can jump up to 15 cm -potentially right into dinner's eyes.

This is one of the only things on this list that makes me want to throw up just by looking at it. I mean, this is one food that almost makes Gordon Ramsay puke -that alone says how disgusting this specialty is. Flies are filthy and eating the living bodies and excrement of their larva is just not right, regardless of where you're from.

Source

Have any of you ever experienced these foods? What did you think of them? If not, what was the weirdest thing you ever ate?

This Halloween, don't just settle for that ho-hum jack-o-lantern. Instead, make some fantasy pumpkins like this fantastic carriage pumpkin. Hallmark Magazine has the DIY guide: Link - via Ursi's Blog

Here are my "lazy, no carving required" pumpkins from a year ago: http://www.neatorama.com/2007/11/03/neatoramas-halloween-pumpkin-owls/

This past weekend was the anniversary of the death of a beloved Hollywood star. Yep - it was August 10, 1932, that Rin-Tin-Tin met his maker. So, in old Rinty’s honor, I thought we would revisit some of the world’s most adored canines – starting with the man (err… dog) himself, of course.

Rin Tin Tin

Rin Tin Tin was found in a bombed dog kennel by a soldier in World War I. Rinty and his sister were rescued by Corporal Lee Duncan; he named Rin Tin Tin and Nannette after French puppets that were given to soliders for good luck at the time. Nannette got distemper and didn’t make the journey back to California.
Tin Tin, however, was filmed at a dog show jumping almost 12 feet. A movie company paid $350 for the footage, and Corporal Duncan knew a star was born. He ended up making 26 movies before he died in 1932 and received 10,000 fan letters a week at the height of his popularity. His bloodline was retained – a lady in Texas purchased some of Rin Tin Tin’s descendants from Lee Duncan and her family has continued to breed them for years.

Bummer and Lazarus

I first came across Bummer and Lazarus in a Christopher Moore book and assumed they were products of his crazy imagination, but two stray dogs by the same name really did exist in San Francisco in the 1860s. Bummer, who was at least part Newfoundland, sort of adopted Lazarus, who was apparently wounded. After that, the two became inseparable. The town took notice of this unusual pairing; newspapers even reported on their whereabouts and escapades. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors even voted to let them roam the town as they wished at a time when all dogs were required by law to have a leash and/or a muzzle when our in public.

It was a very sad affair when Lazarus died in 1863; the town and Bummer mourned him. Bummer followed a couple of years later when he was kicked by a drunk. Mark Twain, a reporter for the Virginia City Enterprise, wrote an obituary for him.

Fala

Fala was Franklin D. Roosevelt’s beloved Scottie Dog. FDR actually named him Murry the Outlaw of Falahill, a Scottish ancestor, but I suppose that got too long to call out. Can you imagine? “Murray the Outlaw of Falahill!! Stop that right now!!”

Fala was totally spoiled – he got a bone every morning on FDR’s breakfast tray and he was made a private in the Army for setting an example by contributing $1 to the war effort every day one year. His likeness sits beside the FDR statue in Washington, D.C., and is the only White House pet to have his own official statue. He outlived FDR by about seven years but was buried next to him upon his death in 1952.

Greyfriars Bobby

The epitome of loyal, Bobby is said to have spent 14 years guarding his owner’s grave in Edinburgh, Scotland, until his own death. His master, a policeman with the Edinburgh City Police, died of tuberculosis in 1858. In 1867, when someone pointed out that a dog with no owner was supposed to be “destroyed” by law, the Lord Provost of Edinburgh renewed Bobby’s license himself. He died in 1872 and was buried not far from the man he was so loyal to. Greyfriars Bobby has lots of fans – he has been featured in numerous children’s books, the Dog Aid Society of Scotland installed a gravestone for him, and a statue of him stands in front of the Greyfriars Bobby pub in Edinburgh. It makes me think of that Futurama episode where Fry's dog waits for him outside of the pizza joint he worked at, not realizing that he is never coming back. It gets me all choked up every time.

Owney

Owney became famous when workers at the Albany, N.Y. post office discovered him snoozing on some mail bags in 1888. At the time, the mail was being carried by the Railway Mail Service, and Owney liked to ride around in the trains with the bags. No train he stowed away on was ever in a wreck, so post office workers were happy to have him. In 1895, he even made a trip around the world – from Tacoma, Washington, to Asia and across Europe and back to his Albany post office home. Post office employees would put tags and stickers on his collar when he showed up at their stop; Owney eventually collected 1,017 stags. Owney died in 1897, but both he and his thousand-plus tags can still be seen at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum.

Smoky

Toto’s got nothing on Smoky. Smoky was found in an abandoned foxhole in 1944 by an American soldier. Fully grown, she was a Yorkie that only weighed four pounds and stood about seven inches tall. She stayed with Corporal William Wynne while he continued to serve the next two years in the Pacific – she shared his C-rations, sat in his soldier’s pack and flew 12 rescue and photo reconnaissance missions.

When the war was over, Smoky came back to Cleveland to live with Wynne. She became a much-demanded entertainer at veterans’ hospitals until she died in 1957. “World War II’s littlest soldier” has been honored by two statues in the Cleveland area.