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According to Wikipedia:
Saint Guinefort was a 13th century dog that received local veneration as a saint after miracles were reported at his grave.
His story is a variation on the well-travelled ‘faithful hound’ motif, perhaps better-known to Anglophones in the form of the dog Gelert. Guinefort the greyhound belonged to a knight who lived in a castle near Lyon. One day, the knight went hunting, leaving his infant son in the care of Guinefort. When he returned, he found the nursery in chaos – the cot was overturned, the child was nowhere to be seen and Guinefort greeted his master with bloody jaws. Believing Guinefort to have devoured his son, the knight slew the dog. He then heard a child crying; he turned over the cot and found his son lying there, safe and sound, along with the body of a viper. Guinefort had killed the snake and saved the child. On realising the mistake the family dropped the dog down a well, covered it with stones and planted trees around it, setting up a shrine for Guinefort. Guinefort became recognised by locals as a saint for the protection of infants. It was alleged by Catholic commentators, dismayed by the worship of a dog, that the locals sacrificed babies at the site.
The cult of this dog saint persisted for several decades, until the 1930s, despite the repeated prohibitions of the Catholic Church.
Thanks to Derek the Ænglican, commenting at Unlocked Wordhoard.
Code One Magazine, published by combat aircraft maker Lockheed Martin, has a special "Cockpit" issue. It features photos of cockpits from 32 military airplanes from the MB-2, the first US heavy bomber built in 1920, to the iconic F-117 Nighthawk (shown above):
The F-117 is the world’s first operational stealth aircraft. Through a combination of faceted surfaces, advanced materials, and other technologies, the Nighthawk is virtually undetectable to radar. With precision weapons, the F-117 can destroy heavily defended, high-value targets with impunity. Essentially designed by electrical engineers, the F-117 is inherently unstable and stays airborne through a sophisticated flight control system. The original cockpit design used many off-the-shelf components, such as F/A-18 displays. A complete set of standby flight instruments is included as a backup. Plastic glareshield extensions are used to minimize instrument reflections on the flat canopy side panes.
Link – Thanks Guru!
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We’ve heard of criminals talking to stool pigeons before, but a cat? Here’s the story of one David Henton, who was suspected of killing his lover but the police couldn’t prove it. So they bugged his house, and found this:
He was recorded talking to his pets and apparently let the cat out of the bag.
In one recording, the 72-year-old shouts: ‘Bloody woman,’ before adding: ‘I had to do something about it. I hit my Joyce,’ the pros-ecution claims.
At home next day, Henton was recorded talking ‘perhaps to his cats’, Paul Lewis QC told the jury, which has not heard the tapes.
"Black holes are where God divided by zero."
– Steven Wright, comedian (b. 1955)
What? But Jupiter is in the 3rd house and Pluto is 21 degree from ascendant and is square to Venus! How could that be? Link – via Cynical-C
Chest of Drawers by Stanislav Katz
Book shelves with a built-in bench
There are two reasons why we feature Stanislav Katz’s website:
1. The amazing furniture that he made, like the curvy Chest of Drawers and the bookshelf with a built-in place to sit back and read.
2. The title of his website: In Soviet Latvia, Design Makes You!
The American Marketing Association has taken upon itself to redefine the word ‘marketing.’ I’ve always thought of marketing as a corporatespeak for selling. Silly me!
Before the "upgrade," the word marketing was defined as:
"Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders."
Got it? Now, scratch that, because there is a new definition:
"Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large."
The AMA has this to say for the re-definition:
The new definition includes the role marketing plays within society at large, and defines marketing as a science, educational process and a philosophy — not just a management system. It also expands the previous scope of the term to incorporate the concept that one can market something to "do good."
"One of the most important changes to American Marketing Association’s new definition for marketing is that marketing is presented as a broader activity," says Nancy Costopulos, Chief Marketing Officer of the American Marketing Association. "Marketing is no longer a function — it is an educational process."
Link [news release]
In the spirit of contribution to the education process, let me refer you all to another word which you may have to look up: Weasel Word.
In the United States, pit bulls make up less than 3% of the dog population but cause more than 50% of serious dog attacks.
Most dog bites are from mutts (mixed breed), German shepherds and chow chows. Most fatal attacks are by rottweilers and pit bulls. (Source)
The Pink Tentacle blog has compiled a post with a series of beautiful pictures from the Japan HDR (high dynamic range) photo pool at Flickr.
The structure covers 538 square feet and travels 26 feet into the earth. In it’s construction, the colony moved 40 tons of soil. Billions of ant loads of soil were brought to the surface. Each load weighed four times as much as the worker ant, and in human terms, was carried over 1/2 mile to the surface.
In the video, the scientists pour ten tons of liquid concrete into the ant colony, wait several weeks for it to set then excavate it. Amazing! [YouTube via Digg]
This guy has lots of vegetables to play with. See the carrot pan flute at Kuromi
The Converse sneakers are making a comeback in the shape of a speaker, designed by 3F Studio.
The Converse Shoe design by 3F Studio is a large model of a Converse shoe that has incorporated speakers for listening to your favorite tunes while lying back on the shoe relaxing.
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Photographer Lewis Hine {wiki} spent a decade documenting child workers for the National Child Labor Committee in the early 20th century. His famous photos helped to outlaw child labor in America. Joe Manning has spent considerable time on a project to find out what happened to the children in the photographs, and is posting his findings. Among others is the story of how he uncovered the fate of Addie Card, described in a Hine photo as “an anemic little spinner”. Manning began his search inspired by the work of author Elizabeth Winthrop.
How long did she work at the mill? Did she finish school? Did she have children? How long did she live? Could she have living descendants? Had she been aware of Hine’s famous photo? That’s what Elizabeth wanted to know – and at that moment, so did I. As a historian, author and genealogist, I had experienced the excitement of the hunt and the elation of turning over the right rock at the right time.
Manning found what he was looking for in the case of Annie Card, and it’s a fascinating story. He’s had varying levels of success for the other photo subjects in this ongoing project. Link -via Metafilter
The Smurfs celebrated their 50th birthday (or rather, "smurfday") a couple of days ago – and that inspired Neatorama to smurf up some fascinating facts about the little blue creatures.
Here are ten of the smurfiest facts about The Smurfs:
The Smurfs became a worldwide hit after Hanna-Barbera featured them in an animated series in the 1980s, so it is quite natural to assume that they’re an American creation. They weren’t.
In 1947, Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford, better known as Peyo, created a comic called Johan et Pirlouit about a young boy and his faithful (if boastful and cheating) dwarf sidekick. In 1958, in the ninth issue of the comic, the duo met tiny, blue-skinned creatures called "Les Schtroumpfs."
First appearance of the Smurfs in the comic Johan et Pirlouit (Image via Lambiek.net)
These creatures, which later became the Smurfs, were such a hit that they got their own comic series.
According to the original magazine that published The Smurfs comics, there are 105 Smurfs. The two most famous are Papa Smurf, the leader of the Smurfs who always wear red clothes and has a bushy white beard, and Smurfette.
(Nanny Smurf image: Blue Imps Smurf Collection)
Note that Smurfette isn’t the only female Smurf. In fact, there are three of them! The other two are Sassette Smurfling and Nanny Smurf.
Oh, they may be "Smurfs" to you and me, but they’re called schlümpfe in Germany, törpök in Hungary, sumaafu in Japan, smerfy in Poland and pitufos in Spain. See the whole list here: The Smurfs in other languages [wiki]
There is an urban legend that the Smurfs represent the KKK. The Smurfs wear white pointed hats and are led by a leader who wears a red pointed hat (like the Grand Dragon or the head of the KKK).
In fact, the Smurfs wear Phrygian or Liberty caps. In Roman times, the cap is worn by former slaves to symbolize their freedom. During the 18th century, red Phrygian cap became a symbol of liberty.
The first female Smurf was magically created from clay by Gargamel, the Smurfs archvillain, to cause jealousy and stir trouble among the Smurfs. But his plan was flawed: Smurfette was ugly. Only after Papa Smurf took pity and did some plastic smurfery on her did she become a blond bombshell.
In the original comic, Smurfette left the Smurf village to restore peace (and all-male status quo). Because this ending didn’t suit America, in the animated TV series by Hanna-Barbera, she settled in the village and became a permanent character.
(Are Smurfette and Paris Hilton long lost twins? There are too many similarities to be coincidental!)
You’ve made it to pop culture stardom when Saturday Night Live made you into a skit. In this case, here’s a parody animation clip featuring Anna Nicole Smith as Smurfette:
Though the charges that The Smurfs are communists or a front for the KKK have proven to be false, it is true that Peyo drew Smurfette to be a sexist stereotype.
From The Straight Dope:
One theory does stand up. The character Smurfette undeniably embodies some unflattering female stereotypes, and does so on purpose. In a recent biography of Peyo, Hugues Dayez relates a story about the cartoonist’s negotiations with NBC for the upcoming Smurf animated series. Peyo apparently spoke little or no English. When the discussion turned to Smurfette, Peyo’s interpreter explains:
Peyo began by saying that she was "very feminine." They asked him to be more specific, so he went on to say: "She is pretty, blonde, she has all the characteristics of women…" Knowing the feminist spirit in the U.S.A., I diplomatically translated this as "all the qualities." I was banking on the fact that Peyo did not understand what I was saying (in English) and the others did not understand what he was trying to say. So naturally they asked him to expand. So he kept on going with: "She seduces, she uses trickery rather than force to get results. She is incapable of telling a joke without blowing the punch line. She is a blabbermouth but only makes superficial comments. She is constantly creating enormous problems for the Smurfs but always manages to blame it on someone else." I did my best to minimize the sexist nature of this description, but one of the participants at the meeting asked: "Would she at least be able, when the Smurfs are in danger, to take a decision that can save them?" When I translated this to Peyo, he looked astounded. "Come on now, do they expect me to make her a (female) gym teacher?" I obviously did not translate this remark. [Translation by Valteron]
[YouTube Link] – Warning: pretty strong content
The Smurfs might have been able to hide their village from Gargamel, but not from aerial bombardments! In a gruesome advertisement by United Nation Children’s Fund (Unicef), the Smurfs were used to raise money for the rehabilitation of former child soldiers in Burundi:
The short film pulls no punches. It opens with the Smurfs dancing, hand-in-hand, around a campfire and singing the Smurf song. Bluebirds flutter past and rabbits gambol around their familiar village of mushroom- shaped houses until, without warning, bombs begin to rain from the sky.
Tiny Smurfs scatter and run in vain from the whistling bombs, before being felled by blast waves and fiery explosions. The final scene shows a scorched and tattered Baby Smurf sobbing inconsolably, surrounded by prone Smurfs.
The final frame bears the message: "Don’t let war affect the lives of children."
They may be just "three apples tall," but The Smurfs are a big business: they have been translated to over 30 languages, generate $5 to $12 million in royalties every year and are estimated to be worth about $4 billion.
We’ll be seeing more of the little guys (and gals): a computer-animated 3-D movie is in the works. And, according to Hendrik Coysman, head of Smurf rights holder, there will be "a greater female presence in the Smurf village and this will be a basis for new stories. This will probably turn upside down certain traditional situations within the village." (source)
Think that blue skin only happens to the Smurfs? Meet Paul Karason, the real life version of Papa Smurf. Paul’s skin slowly turned blue after years of taking colloidal silver (by the way, the condition is called argyria – previously on Neatorama here: The Blue Man of Oregon).
What happens if a famous Internet meme is smurf-ified? Here is the classic $20,000 Zig – All Your Smurf creation by Aaron Simpson of Pancake House Production:
A few days ago, we featured a fan-created model of Minas Tirith of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings made from candies. Now, here’s the fabled fortified city in LEGO, created by Brickshelf user Astuanax. Plenty more pics here: Link – via The Brothers Brick
Thanks Bailey!
Previously on Neatorama: Stop War Shadow Graffiti
I don’t have and probably never will have a Facebook account – so I don’t know what all the hoopla is about.
But I read Tom Hodginson’s op-ed about the phenomenon that is Facebook with great interest. Tom wrote about the "real" backers of the website, its role in an experiment of the capitalization of friendship, and its link to the CIA:
The US defence department and the CIA love technology because it makes spying easier. "We need to find new ways to deter new adversaries," defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in 2003. "We need to make the leap into the information age, which is the critical foundation of our transformation efforts." In-Q-Tel’s first chairman was Gilman Louie, who served on the board of the NVCA with Breyer. Another key figure in the In-Q-Tel team is Anita K Jones, former director of defence research and engineering for the US department of defence, and – with Breyer – board member of BBN Technologies. When she left the US department of defence, Senator Chuck Robb paid her the following tribute: "She
brought the technology and operational military communities together to design detailed plans to sustain US dominance on the battlefield into the next century."Now even if you don’t buy the idea that Facebook is some kind of extension of the American imperialist programme crossed with a massive information-gathering tool, there is no way of denying that as a business, it is pure mega-genius.
Before Lolcats became an Internet phenomenon, there was Married to the Sea. The comic, created by Drew and Natalie Dee, is basically irreverent and funny captions set to old prints. Somehow, it works!
We’ve posted about Married to the Sea before on Neatorama, but if you haven’t been to the website in a while (it’s updated with a new clip every night), you’re missing a lot of good stuff: Link
Seen at Trifter is a list of 7 political ideology and war-themed restaurants around the world. For example, this Khmer Rouge Cafe next to the once Khmer Rouge interrogation and torture chamber (better known as the Killing Fields) in Cambodia:
The Khmer Rouge Cafe is meant to remind the public of the genocide in 1975-1979 during Pol Pot’s era. The waitresses are dressed in the local guerrillas black uniforms. Most visitors may not be able to even
stomach the food as the "Khmer Rouge detainees set menu" includes rice water, corn mixed with water and leaves, dove eggs and tea, which costs $6 per set.
With a little more digging, I found an old news story about the Cafe:
Faithful to the Khmer Rouge era, when many victims starved to death after a disastrous attempt to transform the country into a peasant utopia, the waitresses are barefoot and clad in the black pajamas and red-white scarves of the guerrillas.
Speakers blare out tunes celebrating the 1975 toppling of U.S.-backed president General Lon Nol and the walls are adorned with the baskets, hoes and spades Pol Pot hoped would power his jungle-clad south-east Asian homeland to communist prosperity.
Recognizing that many tourists might not be able to stomach such a close brush with the Killing Fields, the "Khmer Rouge Experience Cafe" is also promoting itself to those wishing to shed a few pounds.
Links: The list at Trifter | News article about the Killing Fields Cafe (2005 – I think the cafe has closed now)
