The list of lists, etc.

40 Signs of the Mike World Order:

27. New TV show: Pundit Deathmatch! Reigning champion – Ann Coulter!

How to identfy the Antichrist.

The upsides to an event earlier this month (you may need to scroll down a bit):

#7: Conservatism is inherently a tradition of complicity, satire, internal conflict, and cynicism. So with the Messiah as our next president, we’re in like Patricia Quinn!

A couple of jokes, one mathematical, one theological (the latter via René’s Apple).

Snape paper dolls to download and print. You can play with them while you read Joseph Bottum’s suggestions for revising the canon of children’s literature.

Marionettes and obsolete spaces

Halloween is approaching, so here’s another list.

Creepy, scary anime

1. Denno Coil, episode 19 — The series becomes darker and more intense in its second half. This episode, in which Yasako and Fumie are besieged by “illegals” while Kyoko’s cyberbody wanders in an obsolete space, is surprisingly scary for a show that began so playfully.

2. Mushishi, episode 4 — All of the stories in Mushishi are strange. A few are nightmarish, like this one about dreams.

3. Divergence Eve, episode 8 — The series is creepy from beginning to end, and I could reasonably pick any episode for this list. The eighth has perhaps the eeriest scene, in which Leblanc gives Misaki a tour of a room with unsettling specimens.

4. Vampire Princess Miyu OVA, episode 2 — Do you like dolls?

5. Serial Experiments Lain, episode 12 — Alice visits Lain’s home.

6. Hakaba Kitaro, episode 3 — Forget carnivorous plants. How about a vampire tree?

… no thumbs will be broken this month

Consider the Harding/Agnew ticket:

Remember when you vote that the Fringe Party, in matters of economics as in every other matter, stands in favor of good things and against bad things. No other political party can say that with a straight face.

(Via Erik and Mark.)

The advantage of dead guys in office: they might smell a bit, but they won’t screw things up any worse than they already are.

Update: Big steps require big feet: Bigfoot/Nessie ’08

(Via Dustbury.)

You got a light, Mac?

Apropos of absolutely nothing, here are lines from songs that have caught my fancy for some reason or another over the years:

“You probably think this song is about you.”

“His hair was perfect.”

“Grunt, howl, grunt, howl.”

“And.”

“… with a soulful, bounding leap ….”

“I’m dead but I don’t know it.”

“Pippikippippippi!” ((Not to be confused with “Pipiru piru piru pipiru pi.”))

“Someone get me a ladder.”

“Today, I am two separate gorillas.”

“Fridays I go painting in the Louvre.”

“What a pumpkin.”

“We can’t even think of a word that rhymes.”

“No, but I’ve got a dark brown overcoat.”

Update: How could I forget:

And so, I broke into the Palace
With a sponge and a rusty spanner.
She said: “Eh, I know you, and you cannot sing.”
I said: “That’s nothing — you should hear me play piano.”

Not to mention, “I didn’t realize you wrote such bloody awful poetry.”

Arrrrgh, etc.

I heard yesterday that one of the great progressive rock bands, Gryphon, has reunited to record a new album and perhaps give some concerts after disbanding more than thirty years ago. I just did a little searching to verify that. While the main Gryphon fansite does announce their reunion, their MySpace page states that it’s been suspended. Grrr.

Here’s an example of the sort of music I’d been hoping to hear more of, their “Glastonbury Carol”:

[mp3]http://tancos.net/audio/GlastonburyCarol.mp3[/mp3]

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If you have things to do and have absolutely no time to spare, don’t click here. (My best so far is 466 528 576 pounds of fish, plus logs, boots and cell phones.) (Via Dale.)

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Kids, be your favorite martyr for Halloween. (Via large furry animals.)

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Warmth. (Via a small furry animal.)

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To put the Democratic convention in perspective, read Dave Barry. His coverage begins here.