Dog Bites Man

"Tillikum, nicknamed "Tilly," has a controversial past. The large whale was blamed for the drowning of one of his trainers in 1991 while he was performing at Sealand of the Pacific in British Columbia."

A controversial past? What?

You nicknamed a fucking whale "Tilly" and expected it to play nice? (The story in question.)

The Andaman Islands, Circa 2010

Kalyan Varma, one of the best wildlife photographers working in India, writes about Andaman and Nicobar Islands:

"There is very little of original, undisturbed, pristine rainforests left. The Andamans were the timber source for mainland India for many decades. In fact till recently, the largest saw-mill in Asia was operated out of there."

Who knew timber came from those islands? I always assumed it came from some ramshackle saw-mill shop down the road.

Read the full post here.

Uncle Sam Loves You More Than You Will Know

"Frustrated that people continued to consume so much alcohol even after it was banned, federal officials had decided to try a different kind of enforcement. They ordered the poisoning of industrial alcohols..."

According to this frightening little report in Slate (via Metafilter), the federal alcohol poisoning program killed nearly 10,000 Americans during the Prohibition years.

I am positive the deceased and their families appreciate the government's genuine concern for their well-being.

A Long Drawn Out Trip

Cartoonist, animator and artist Gerald Scarfe is known for such works as his animation in Pink Floyd's The Wall and his illustrations for the TV series "Yes Minister". You may have also seen his drawings in the New Yorker.

In 1971, while working with the BBC, Scarfe traveled to Los Angeles to study a new animation system and made a film about his experiences in the US, titled "A Long Drawn Out Trip".

Even though this was Scarfe's first film, there's no mistaking his voice and style. A skeleton pulls out a rib and it turns into a naked woman; flying bombs turn into a giant robotic hand; "Star-spangled Banner" plays (Hendrix's version naturally) while the image on the screen morphs from a jumble of inky squiggles into Nixon and Batman. (And finally, poor Mickey Mouse gets stoned.)

The full film is not available online but someone on YT has been nice enough to post some excerpts of the film, including a "missing scene". So enjoy this footage of Gerald Scarfe's A Long Drawn Out Trip. (Parts of the film are NSFW.)

The Vatican Approves Of Flashing The Devil Sign During Prayer

No they didn't, but its "semi-official" newspaper has published its own list of top rock albums. The Beatles' "Revolver" topped the list.

Go on, Ratzinger, say it. They were more popular than Jesus. Also, please don't encourage U2.

It's The #1 Item On My Wishlist*

EMI's Abbey Road studios are up for sale. Can you imagine owning the studios? And walking around the famed Studio 1?

* #2, 3 and 4 on my list are the Muscle Shoals Studio, the original Electric Ladyland Studio and the Rolling Stones mobile studio.

Ebert In Esquire

Mr. Ebert, sir, you are a class act.