Weird Wedding by Weird Reverend at Museum of the Weird

So a lot of heavy stuff going on right now but in the midst of it, a rather amusing plus: I, Reverend Maggie, just contracted an officiant gig in June to marry two horror fans at the Museum of the Weird on 6th Street in Austin. They’ll drive up in a hearse and all that. Apparently, I get to dress up too, apparently. Then they’re off to run the Keep Austin Weird Festival +5K run after. The groom should do well as he’s a professional zombie/grim reaper stilt walker.

Definitely an interesting life…

OneSense: When a Simple “Please God Leave Me Alone” Just Isn’t Enough

So I have this problem on occasion where friends / acquaintances can get sort of annoyed with me because I say I need time and space to myself to recharge my batteries. This is usually met by pouts and admonishments of not spending enough time with them.

When the interpretive dance / puppet show illustrating the busy life of a single mom of a teenager working on about a gazillion projects doesn’t reach them, I wish I could be a lizard and fiercely display my red neck skin to make them leave me alone…

…until now. The OneSense by Joe Doucet!  It’s a (symbolic) immersive all-in-one  device that shuts out all annoying distractions to allow for some peace and quiet whilst simultaneously warding off intruders with nasty looking red warning spikes. High tech gone punk! (Or Geordi LaForge’s punk visor).

Original article in Tuvie posted here: http://www.tuvie.com/onesense-by-joe-doucet/

Ralph McQuarrie – Star Wars Portfolio

So I read today that artist Ralph McQuarrie had passed at age 82 a couple of weeks ago (another item missed during SouthBySouthMadness).

It takes a great “envisioneer” to help frame a dream and make it manifest, and McQuarrie was one of those who did it for George Lucas.

Both a shaman artist and a translator, he was able to see what Lucas saw in his mind and translate it to tangible form.

Those too young to remember (and pre-tech) couldn’t even imagine, I’m sure, how difficult it would have been Before Star Wars (BSW) for Lucas to present his vision to financiers, studios, etc. There simply was nothing else like it before.

I have had a copy of this portfolio since 1978 and enjoy poring over the production paintings every so often. I see it’s now worth about $100 and growing in value. Yeah for me.

Check out the 1977 Portfolio here in all its glorious color: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nerdcoreblog/sets/72157623503189436/

Image by Rene Walter.

Peter Weyland at TED2023:
I Will Change the World

A TEDTalk from the future as envisioned by Prometheus director Ridley Scott.

Very brilliant and very creepy… Weyland Industries – *shudder*.

The past comes alive – help needed to identify two sailors from the USS Monitor

Two of my favorite loves came together in this story – Civil War history and forensic recreations.

This is the face of one of two sailors recovered from the gun turret of the ill-fated USS Monitor which capsized and sank off Cape Hatteras on December 31, 1862.

The Monitor is famous as one of the first ironclad vessels, and its use during the Civil War marked the end of the era of wooden ships.

This sailor was gauged to be about 17-24 years old, while the other was in his 30s or 40s. Their faces were reconstructed by Louisiana State University’s Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services (FACES) Laboratory. Now the hunt is on to see if anyone sees a similarity in either to their own family line and can identify the two.

Full story here: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/weeklynews/mar12/monitor.html