Submitted by Peter Markus:

The World’s Weirdest Restaurants
by Justine Sterling
Food & Wine
January 28, 2012

A380 In-Flight Kitchen; Taipei, Taiwan

This Taipei spot replicates the in-flight experience with an interior designed to look like an airplane cabin with servers dressed like flight attendants who wheel around food and beverage carts.

Fortezza Medicea Restaurant; Volterra, Italy

In Italy, one of the toughest restaurants to get into is this oddly situated one, set inside a prison and staffed almost entirely by inmates (don’t worry, the cutlery is plastic). One reason for the waits of up to two months is that it’s hugely popular; the other is that every diner needs to be screened by Rome’s Ministry of Justice.

(more…)

From Cheryl: 3D marketing stunt in Berlin from LG for the Optimus…

Cheetah the chimp is dead? Maybe not
by Bryan Alexander
USA TODAY
December 27, 2011

Cheetah the chimpanzee is dead. But whether the suddenly celebrated primate really was the co-star in Johnny Weissmuller’s classic Tarzan films will remain a Hollywood mystery.

On Christmas Eve, Cheetah died of kidney failure at the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor, Fla., setting off a flurry of international headlines mourning the loss. Debbie Cobb, 51, the sanctuary’s outreach director, claims that the chimp was a stunning 80 years old and had been the star of the 1930s Tarzan movies.

Many are skeptical. (more…)

John Chamberlain, Who Wrested Rough Magic From Scrap Metal, Dies at 84
by Randy Kennedy
The New York Times
December 21, 2011

John Chamberlain, who almost singlehandedly gave automotive metal a place in the history of sculpture, smashing and twisting together a poetic fusion of Abstract Expressionism and Pop from fenders, fins, bumpers and hoods, died on Wednesday in Manhattan. He was 84.

His wife, Prudence Fairweather, announced his death but declined to give a cause. He had spent his last years mostly in Shelter Island, N.Y.

In a restless career of almost half a century, Mr. Chamberlain worked with a broad range of materials, some as pliant as foam rubber and as ephemeral as brown paper bags. But he returned again and again to the more substantial stuff of the scrap yard, explaining the attraction as one of practicality. “I saw all this material just lying around against buildings, and it was in color,” he said, “so I felt I was ahead on two counts.” (more…)

Christopher Hitchens Dead: Legendary Writer Dies At 62
by Jade Walker
The Huffington Post
December 16, 2011

Christopher Hitchens died Thursday in Houston. He was 62. The legendary writer was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2010.

His death was announced by Vanity Fair.

Hitchens was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England in 1949. His father, Ernest, a commander in the British Royal Navy, and his mother, Yvonne, a bookkeeper, scrimped and saved so that he could attend the independent Leys School in Cambridge, and later Balliol College, Oxford. They were determined that he would receive a top-notch education and join the upper class, The Guardian reported.

During his time at university, Hitchens studied philosophy, politics and economics, but the more he learned, the angrier he became. Hitchens’ disgust with racism and opposition to the Vietnam War led him to the political left. He would eventually join the International Socialists, a faction of the anti-Stalinist left, and participate in political protests against the war.

(more…)

From Robert F:

Islamic Cleric Bans Women From Handling Bananas, Cucumbers & Other Phallic Produce
by Jim Hoft
Gateway Pundit
December 7, 2011

They could arouse women and make them think of sex.

An Islamic cleric in Europe says that women should avoid bananas, cucumbers, zucchini and other phallic fruits and vegetables. They may arouse sexual thoughts and that would be horrible.
Bikamasr reported, via ROP:

An Islamic cleric residing in Europe said that women should not be close to bananas or cucumbers, in order to avoid any “sexual thoughts.”

The unnamed sheikh, who was featured in an article on el-Senousa news, was quoted saying that if women wish to eat these food items, a third party, preferably a male related to them such as their a father or husband, should cut the items into small pieces and serve.

He said that these fruits and vegetables “resemble the male penis” and hence could arouse women or “make them think of sex.”

He also added carrots and zucchini to the list of forbidden foods for women.

The sheikh was asked how to “control” women when they are out shopping for groceries and if holding these items at the market would be bad for them. The cleric answered saying this matter is between them and God.

Bonfires, fireworks mark Guy Fawkes Day in the UK
Associated Press
November 5, 2011

London (AP) – Children and the young at heart across Britain are preparing fireworks and building bonfires to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day.

Fawkes plotted with other conspirators to blow up Parliament with explosives and install a Catholic monarch in the botched “Gunpowder Plot” of 1605.

The failure of the plot is remembered every year on Nov. 5 with fireworks and the burning of effigies known as “guys”.

Although not widely known outside Britain, the folk hero’s story has recently been gaining attention worldwide because many protesters from the Occupy Wall Street movement wore a stylized Guy Fawkes mask.

The design of the mask, with a clownish and sinister mustachioed smile, originated from the comic book “V for Vendetta,” a story about an anarchist movement.

Man who tried to turn his faeces into gold is jailed
The Belfast Telegraph
20 October 2011

Judge said it was an interesting experiment but doomed to failure

A Northern Ireland man who tried to turn his own faeces into gold by putting it on an electric heater has been jailed for three months.

The bizarre experiment, carried out by Paul Moran, 30, caused around £3,000 worth of damage to his Housing Executive home in a block of flats at Derrin Park in Enniskillen in July.

Upon his release he will spend a further 12 months on licence.

Moran admitted arson and endangering the lives of others.

His Honour Judge McFarland told him: “Rather bizarrely you were attempting to make gold from human faeces and waste products.

“It was an interesting experiment to fulfil the alchemist’s dream, but wasn’t going to succeed.”

While outlining the circumstances of the case at Enniskillen Magistrates Court, prosecuting counsel Robin Steer, told those present that at 7.12pm on July 24 last year the Fire Brigade was called to Moran’s flat at Derrin Park in Cornagrade, Enniskillen.

A police officer who was at the scene overheard Moran tell someone he had put “fertiliser” on a heater. (more…)

Submitted by Peter Markus:

Walk this way! Yiddish sign orders women to move over
by Aaron Short
The Brooklyn Paper
October 7, 2011

Why did the Orthodox Jewish woman cross the road? Because a Yiddish sign ordered her.

A bold new religious decree was bolted to street trees this week that orders women to move to the side when a man is walking towards her on the sidewalk.

The red, yellow and white plastic sign, first noted in the Jewish watchdog blog Failed Messiah, is roughly translated, “Precious Jewish daughters, please move over to the side when you see a man come across.”

Orthodox activists said the signs should not be taken seriously.

“There are some hard-core Hasidim in Williamsburg who think they still live in 19th-century Ukraine and they consider interaction between the sexes, in even the most casual, accidental manner to be licentious,” said bike shop owner Baruch Herzfeld. “They are enormous pains in the tuchis, and most people try to avoid conflict, so they often get their way.”

But Hasidic residents say that the sign is being misinterpreted. (more…)

From Erin: Hunter Thompson, who had his ashes shot from a cannon, would have loved this…

Turn Your Cremated Remains into Live Ammunition with Holy Smoke
by Brit Liggett
inhabitat.com
October 10, 2011

With all the talk these days about the destructive and toxic nature of modern day burials, sustainable ways to honor your deceased loved ones are popping up left and right. Now with the help of Holy Smoke, an Alabama-based company started by Clem Parnell and Thad Holmes, you can turn your loved one’s ashes into live ammunition and honor them with a bang. The founders actually started the company partially because of personal issues with the ecological costs of burials and are offering their services for just $850 — plus shipping and handling.

Read the rest here.

From Linda as seen on teleomorph.com: Magical engineering…

Scan and print industrial tools with moving parts in minutes. Great introductory video to 3D printing:

BBC’s ‘Goldman Sachs Rules the World’ Trader: Hoax or Our Worst Nightmare? [Updated]
New York Magazine
by Joe Coscarelli
September 27, 2011

A trader by the name of Alessio Rastani told a shocked BBC News reporter yesterday, “The governments don’t rule the world, Goldman Sachs rules the world.” He warned, “The savings of millions of people are going to vanish,” and said viewers should “get prepared” because the “economic crisis is like a cancer, if you just wait and wait thinking this will go away, just like a cancer it’s going to grow and it’s going to be too late.” He added, “I have a confession: I go to bed every night and I dream of another recession, I dream of another moment like this.” Such frank (psychopathic?) language earned Rastani attention from news outlets like the Huffington Post, the Guardian, and the Daily Mail, but the chatter on Twitter is crying hoax. (Update: It appears to be legit! See below for more info.)

BBC Business Editor Robert Peston wrote this morning on Twitter, “BBC (& I) may have been hoaxed by YesMen,” referring to the culture jamming group that touts itself as, “impersonating big-time criminals in order to publicly humiliate them. Our targets are leaders and big corporations who put profits ahead of everything else.” Peston and the Internet’s doubters pointed to this Yes Men stunt, which features a fake Dow Chemical spokesman who bears some resemblance to Rastani, the trader.

Peston has since defended the BBC guest: “We spoke to the trader again this morning, & as far as we can tell he is a genuine independent trader, not a member of YesMen.” (more…)

Editor’s note: This article from ARTINFO brings to mind Joey Skaggs’ Crucifixion Performance.
As a young artist living on the Lower East Side of New York City, Skaggs created a two hundred pound sculpture depicting a naked rotting skeletal corpse with a human skull, barbed wire crown of thorns, long human hair, and a metal penis dangling between the legs to protest the hypocrisy of the Church and man’s inhumanity to man. From 1966 to 1969, on Easter Sunday, Skaggs dragged the crucifix to various locations in New York City causing a range of violent reactions and police actions. The crucifix was destroyed by the public.

“You Might End Up in a Casket”: A Q&A With Mideo Cruz on His Controversial Dildo Jesus Sculpture and the Perils of Political Art in the Philippines
ARTINFO
August 16, 2011

What is Philippines-based artist Mideo Cruz going to do now that his native country’s former first lady Imelda Marcos personally demanded that an exhibition of his work to be closed? Cruz’s installation “Poleteismo” at the Cultural Center of the Philippines plastered the walls with a dense assortment of political and religious imagery — as well as reliquary-like boxes and a large crucifix affixed with a dildo. It sparked the largest uproar over free speech of recent memory in the country, making international headlines, and leading the show to be shuttered amid rage from offended Catholics. Such was the uproar that even shutting the show wasn’t enough: an exorcist was called in to cleanse the space of “Poleteismo”‘s taint.

Cruz’s work has been branded little more than “shock art,” but the artist — who says he lived in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for a time in 2009, incidentally, at the PointB Worklodge — has a different take. Following the closure of the show, Cruz talked to ARTINFO about the meaning of “Poleteismo,” explained his take on the country’s political climate, and laughed at death threats from “people who call themselves Christians.”

Can you describe your piece and your inspiration for creating the artwork that has caused so much controversy? (more…)

Paranormal Phone Apps Like Ghost Radar Help Smartphone Users Seek Spirits
Huffington Post
August 13, 2011

Three “mists” appear at a reportedly haunted Revolutionary War fort in Stamford, CT. Eyewitnesses have often reported ghostly phenomena here. Also, Kodak Labs said the photo was not the result of bad exposure, film or camera problems.

If there’s something strange in your neighborhood, if there’s something weird and it don’t look good, who ya gonna call — on your smartphone?

When modern technology combines with good old-fashioned ghostbusting, the result is a series of paranormal phone apps that might help tech-savvy ghost hunters detect other-worldly presences without the need for costly equipment. (more…)

Local Man Arrested for Merchandise Tampering at Area Walmart
by Trailer
countrycalifornia.com
August 4, 2011

Local country fan Reginald Spears was arrested over the weekend for merchandise tampering at the new Super Walmart out on the bypass. The details of his infractions are unique, to say the least.

Third-shift electronics cashier Lena Johnston first noticed Spears rifling through the country CD section and filling a grocery cart with at least 100 discs before leaving the department. She thought he was just a rabid music fan until he returned 15 minutes later with the same cart and began slipping CDs back onto the shelves while looking around suspiciously.

Johnston walked over to Spears and asked if he’d decided not to make the massive music purchase. Spears responded “Yeah, yeah uh, yes ma’am” and began sweating profusely. He became spooked shortly afterwards and haphazardly threw the remainder of his CDs on the shelf before walking away.

Johnston investigated the country section and noticed that it was full of unwrapped, well-worn CDs that Spears had apparently brought from his home. Spears was apprehended by security, mostly without incident, before leaving the store.

“I looked on the shelf and where Rascal Flatts was supposed to be, that scruffy looking man had put Flatt & Smugs or something like that… and where Taylor Swift had been, he’d replaced it with Tanya Tucker. I guess he’d stole all them new CDs and tried to replace ‘em with his old junk,” said a perplexed Johnston. (more…)