James Lileks holds forth with a rather lengthy disquisition on those who presume to define that which is authentic.

 

Length notwithstanding, I encourage you to read the whole thing. This is a particularly good screed and gives some historical perspective on those who haets them some suburbia.

Be advised that there is initially some discussion of plumbing and pigments, but that's OK, 'cause it's Lileks.

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They warned you that "there will be a test:".

Well, the test is now.

Don is the inquisitor.

May God have mercy on your soul.

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...with some contraption that looks like someone crossed a xylophone and a zither to produce some bizarre and unnatural hybrid.

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Ben at Midnight Tease just revealed a dark secret about himself. However, we won't hold that character flaw against him as he has been doing an interesting day by day post of the battle of the Alamo. He's up to day 5: here, here, here, here and here.

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...between cute and terrifying.
...between Kawaii and Kowai.

Don continues to ask the important questions.
Now he needs your help as he ponders these things.

UPDATE: That first video over there actually precipitated a nightmare. Use caution.

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Quick!

Go to Boviate's and read to the end of this short post.

Then congratulate them!

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Wonderduck has brought back his Saturday night tunage feature with a holiday theme...

Me, I got nuthin'...here are two of the girls from Steins Gate.

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Steven Den Beste suffered a stroke recently, but he has recovered sufficiently that he has been discharged and is now home!

Go on over there and welcome him home.

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Only a little over a week after his stroke, Steven Den Beste has posted on his blog. He's still recovering but he seems to be making good progress.

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Today in Austin they held the first Formula One race in the US since 2007.
I completely missed it.
Wonderduck did not..

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...of the tabs.

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 History is neither preordained nor a straight line. It is a fiendishly complex game of billiards or perhaps a massive pachinko machine. The cascade effect of screwing with a few variables is inherently unpredictable as the tapestry of history is bound together with a collection of seemingly insignificant threads, the removal or reordering of which will unravel said tapestry in unknown ways.

  Pondering such things is often dismissed as silly fantasy or mental masturbation, but our future will soon be history, and it behooves us to remember what a near run thing our existence is. Such reflection might, for instance,  have made a great deal of difference in the August of 1914.

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^{Lucky*Stars Kagami by Atutagawa Manbou}

It's time for the ritual of the cleaning of the tabs.

First off, giant amoebas. Yes! GIANT AMOEBAS!
^{( Or baby shouggaths? You be the judge.)}
Marine biologists exploring the Marianna's Trench have discovered amoebas that are 4 inches across.

2005U55 an asteroid over 400 meters across will pass within the orbit of the moon on November 8. Unfortunately, due to the gibbous moon, it will require a telescope with an aperture of 6 inches (152mm) or greater.

Cosmic Butterfly.

I probably ought to be appalled... but this is the first time I've won an election....and at this typing it looks like a blowout. 

Ubu seems to like Ben-To. He gives many reasons, but I suspect it's the syllable count.

Um....Neither do I.

What the hell good is a tractor beam that doesn't work in a vacuum?
Wait....TRACTOR BEAMS!1?!

Ten more days.

Robert Stacy McCain (Magnificent Bastard) has jumped on the Cain Train with a brilliant and cunning plan that I wish I'd thought of.


The mice were feet down.
via

Gone to Amerikay is now in the dead tree version of Previews...so order it now!

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A clip from a 2006 Russian animated film about the legendary hero Dobrynya Nikitich.

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Intestinal bacteria are REALLY important.

Which relates tangentially to the fact that composting toilets are surprisingly versatile. ( 日本語 here )

Some things will never be known.

Wall Street is being occupied by Mercedes Benz.

Steven is soliciting assistance with a personal matter, and as a result so are his readers.

All this time, James Rummel has been blogging on dial-up. Bow before his determination and patience!

Ducks don't travel in a flock...but in a corps.

Wan Hu has been reincarnated and is giving it another go...with less 'splody , more choppy. (via)

Ubu has found his show.

And finally...

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Johnathan Tappan has put together a concise and informative series of posts on the histories and tenets of the various denominations of Buddhism found in Japan. Start here, then there are posts here, here, here, here and here. He also has a lengthy post on Buddhist in general and its representations in Japanese visual media.

^{The Great Buddha at Kamakura.}

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If any of you missed my earlier post on the subject, you may find it advisable, for art appreciation reasons, to bookmark this link and occasionally refresh the page.

 

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Watching the news I have to ask....
Where oh where did the world go wrong.
When did it go off the rails.

Best evidence now suggests 43 years ago.

Badum-dum tiss

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Brickmuppet Blog occasionally utilizes the services of an Emergency Backup Pervert to keep tabs on those things that require plausible deniability on our part.

This way no one will ever know that we have any interest WHATsoever in said things and our respectability is maintained.

Wait...did I think that or did I blog that?

No matter, he's on the case with a welcome distraction from what's happening in the world.

Note that the image below is unrelated to this post, the link or to current events.....and I'm OK with that.

Art By Aoi Subaru

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