As we learn in this article from today's New York Times, conditions in hurricane-wracked Galveston, Texas, have begun to approach the scenario depicted in the latest remake of I AM LEGEND.
As crews hacked away at downed trees and replaced blown-out transformers and cut lines, state and local officials contended with a plethora of other problems, among them a tiger on the loose.
James D. Yarbrough, the Galveston County judge, said a pet tiger, well known to locals, had escaped during the storm and was wandering the ruins of houses on Bolivar Peninsula. “I understand he’s hungry, so we are staying away from him,” Mr. Yarbrough said.
You'll see Will Smith's similar encounter at approximately the one-minute mark in the trailer below.
On my recent trip to Oregon, I stopped at the Rogue River Gorge. And there I saw...
THE LIVING STUMP!
I did not snap a picture, but fortunately I could borrow one from El Sylvan's Flickr set.
The Living Stump is the remnant of a tree whose roots became symbiotically intertwined with a neighboring tree. So that when one tree was cut down, the partner tree continued to nourish the stump, which did not decay as any other chopped-down tree might be expected to.
Much of what we define today as "weird" looks to be weird simply because the context that surrounded its creation is no longer in place. As famously said, "The past is another country," and we all know that stuff that happens in other countries is quite often weird.
Once upon a time--in 1961--the staged documentary featured here seemed like the most sober-sided, commonsense bit of educational material. But now--
Eleven days ago I posted about Ángel Pantoja Medina who died and, as per his request, his body was displayed standing up at the viewing. In the comments, Big Gary noted that it reminded him of a photo he had seen in an anthropology book of a New Guinea tribe who smoked their dead and displayed the corpses sitting up. We now have that picture!
mummify their deceased relatives by smoking them over a fire. The ceremony begins with four days of mourning during which relatives wail, throw themselves on the corpse, eat dirt, tear their hair and beat their foreheads with stones until they bleed. Once the fire is lit and the body begins to dry out, the displays of intense sorrow taper off. After several days, the body is completely dehydrated and put in a place of honor.
Posted By: Alex | Date: Fri Aug 29, 2008 | Comments (1)
Category: Death
How weird is it that there are still Confederate Widows alive? Although one named Maudie Hopkins died just recently, experts claim there are still other women alive who were once married to men who fought for the Confederacy. Obviously this bestselling novel will still have relevance for some time yet.
Ángel Pantoja Medina died last week. But, as per his wishes, he was not lying down when his body was shown before the funeral. Instead his body was propped up in the corner. Susan Dilan (who forwarded us this interesting item from a Spanish-language paper) summarizes:
A 24-year old who died last week got his wish and was viewed before his funeral standing up. He had been friends with the owners of a funeral home and had a running joke that he wanted to be viewed that way. They found a way to stand him up in the corner of his home so his friends and family could say their final farewells
The accompanying video is classic. If you didn't know he was dead, you'd think he was just a guy chilling in the corner.
Posted By: Alex | Date: Mon Aug 18, 2008 | Comments (6)
Category: Death
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