Including a number of books available through Google and several fascinating articles about one of the Western magical tradition’s bright, shining lights- explore these links and get wise to this fascinating cat.

“Cops in L.A. have spent months tracking down a vandal who has caused thousands of dollars worth of damage by slapping “Who is John Scott?” stickers on buses, bus shelters and any other flat surfaces he could find.

Typically this is the domain of teenagers putting up ads for their garage bands, but this time, it was the work of a senior citizen. 73-year-old John Scott is officially the oldest person ever arrested in L.A. for street vandalism, beating the previous record holder who was 36.”

Full Story

“KOKONOGI, Japan — A blood-orange blob the size of a small refrigerator emerged from the dark waters, its venomous tentacles trapped in a fishing net. Within minutes, hundreds more were being hauled up, a pulsating mass crowding out the catch of mackerel and sea bass.

The fishermen leaned into the nets, grunting and grumbling as they tossed the translucent jellyfish back into the bay, giants weighing up to 200 kilograms (450 pounds), marine invaders that are putting the men’s livelihoods at risk.

The venom of the Nomura, the world’s largest jellyfish, a creature up to 2 meters (6 feet) in diameter, can ruin a whole day’s catch by tainting or killing fish stung when ensnared with them in the maze of nets here in northwest Japan’s Wakasa Bay.

“Some fishermen have just stopped fishing,” said Taiichiro Hamano, 67. “When you pull in the nets and see jellyfish, you get depressed.”

Read the full article at SeattlePi.com

“The remains of a mighty Persian army said to have drowned in the sands of the western Egyptian desert 2,500 years ago might have been finally located, solving one of archaeology’s biggest outstanding mysteries, according to Italian researchers.”

“Written by a Pennsylvania Dutch healer in the 1820s, this book is a rambling collection of rural home remedies and folk invocations. Pow-wow is a unique creole of Christian theology and a shamanistic belief system. It is still practiced in some rural areas of Pennsylvania. In spite of the name, it is not of Native American derivation. It is believed to have been brought over to America by German immigrants who practiced folk-magic.”

Here is a cure for warts: “Roast chicken-feet and rub the warts with them; then bury them under the eaves.”

By Allie Pruitt at Weekly World News

NEW YORK, NY – A paparazzo dropped dead after taking a photo of Lady Gaga!

Lady Gaga is a pop star who has become as famous for her outfits as she has her music. She wears a new and often bizarre outfit for every single event she attends, making her a prime target for celebrity photographers.

On Monday night, Lady Gaga attended the ACE Awards in New York City. Photographer A.J. Solkaner immediately took a photo of the singer, her face obscured in a spooky black veil.

[continues at Weekly World News]

Thanks to Raymond and Joe for putting up with two rather lengthy segments on a subject
that is as vast as the Planet itself. The Hollow Earth has long been a favorite
crypto-myth-consmology-theory of mine. Enjoy surfing these links as much as
I’ve enjoyed burrowing into this strangeness and sharing my notes.

All things must pass...

The WebUrbanist offers this handy countdown of the world’s most gorgeous (ghastly?) ossuaries.

At Amazon:

I wonder if this thing can shoot a pink beam of light?

PKD fans, start your Christmas lists early. This might be the best Philip K. set ever.

“The most outré science fiction writer of the 20th century has finally entered the canon,” exclaimed Wired Magazine when Philip K. Dick: Four Novels of the 1960s was published in May 2007. Now The Library of America has gathered all three volumes of Jonathan Lethem’s definitive Philip K. Dick edition in a boxed set sure to be a must for collectors and sci-fi fans.

Polanski famously fled the states following his trial for the statutory rape of a 13 year old girl in 1977. The incident occurred in his friend Jack Nicholson’s home during a time when Polanski’s friends found the director to be suffering from a deep, chronic depression following the murder of his then-wife Sharon Tate and their unborn child at the hands of The Manson Family.

Polanski famously accepted his 2003 Academy Award for The Pianist via satellite as his returning to the United States would mean an automatic arrest.

As of this time it is unclear whether or not he will be extradited to America.

This time around we dip deeply into the cinematic career of poet, novelist, philosopher, painter, designer, boxing promoter, drug-addict and visionary filmmaker, Jean Cocteau. Utilizing images, links, commentary and of course video, the good people at Insomnia order, examine, and present for your approval a total of FIVE invaluable documents of Coteaueana including:

1. Jean Cocteau: Autoportrait d’un Inconnu (Self-Portrait of an Unknown Man)

2. La Villa Santo Sospir

3. Le Sang d’un Poete (The Blood of a Poet)

4. La Belle et la Bete (Beauty and the Beast)

5. The Testament of Orpheus

From bio-doc’s, to home movies, to his classic films, this presentation is a potent primer for Cocteau neophytes, and an important reminder of the invaluable cinematic contributions made by this most important of 20th century artists.

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Take a quick trip to Interzone for the inaugural incarnation of the Sleepless Film Festival: an online series, organizing avant garde movies — along with biographical info, quotes, images, links and criticism — for the discerning cinephage.

This first series explores the work of WSB with three films:

– Arena: William S. Burroughs (a BBC doc)

– Naked Lunch (the entire Cronenberg masterpiece)

– Bill and Tony (one of WSB’s experimental films)

Stay tuned for the next installment: Once Upon a Time: The Films of Jean Cocteau

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