The Stuffed Owl

I'm reading a Mark Twain book currently, Following the Equator. In it, he mentions a notoriously bad poet, Julia Moore, a name I had not thought of in ages. Moore's fabled lack of talent produced scads of bad poetry. You can read about her career here.

Google has digitized at least one of her books, which you can read here. Be prepared to encounter such excruciating verse as this sample to the right.




Moore is included in The Stuffed Owl, a volume of the world's worst poetry. Wouldn't that make a swell Xmas gift for the literary type in your life?

A Familiar Fix

[From Harper's Young People Illustrated Weekly for May 21, 1889.]

Haven't we all been in this situation at one time or another?

Florence Foster Jenkins

Worst opera singer ever? Read about Florence Foster Jenkins here.

Then, if you want more, buy this CD!

Early Bodybuilding

And now, some Victorian Beefcake.

Early Slapstick and Boxing Cats

The more of these early Edison clips I see, the more convinced I become that the great inventor was a prankster nerd.

American Artifacts

Here's a neat site that offers lots of strange gadgets from the past, such as this "Radio Disease Killer."

Seminary Girls

Did you know that Thomas Edison pioneered the "Girls Gone Wild" theme?

Sunflower Carnival

What is weirder? The fact that our ancestors dedicated a festival to the humble sunflower, or the fact that we don't?

In any case, here are some shots from the 1899 Sunflower Carnival Parade, Colorado Springs, Colorado, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

As always, click to enlarge.

The Baron of Arizona

Bernie Madoff was a piker.

He stole a few score billion dollars.

But how much is a whole state worth? All the land, natural resources, and structures?

That's what James Addison Reavis stole--almost getting away with the theft too.

Last night I watched THE BARON OF ARIZONA, a 1950 film by Samuel Fuller and starring Vincent Price. It tells the true story of Reavis, who cooked up an incredible con job to lay claim to the entire territory of Arizona in the year 1883.

You can read a fascinating essay about it here.

This is one film definitely worth renting for those with a taste for weird history.

Follies of the Mad Men #64

A prosperous banker-type, an American Indian, a sailor (or is he a Turkish immigrant?), and what looks to be Uncle Sam, are all sitting around in front of a billboard, having a gay old chat, when out of a handy box pops the sexy cigarette fairy, who dispenses butts to all, even scattering them around in bountiful waste. Then a sign is unfurled, claiming WE ALL SMOKE.

Massive WTF attack, all thanks to Thomas Alva Edison!

All original content in posts is Copyright © 2008 by the author of the post, either Alex Boese ("Alex"), Paul Di Filippo ("Paul"), or Chuck Shepherd ("Chuck"). All rights reserved. The banner illustration at the top of this page is Copyright © 2008 by Rick Altergott.