Killdozer!

Marvin Heemeyer

Have you dreamed this man?

In January 2006 in New York, the patient of a well-known psychiatrist draws the face of a man that has been repeatedly appearing in her dreams. In more than one occasion that man has given her advice on her private life. The woman swears she has never met the man in her life.

That portrait lies forgotten on the psychiatrist's desk for a few days until one day another patient recognizes that face and says that the man has often visited him in his dreams. He also claims he has never seen that man in his waking life.

The psychiatrist decides to send the portrait to some of his colleagues that have patients with recurrent dreams. Within a few months, four patients recognize the man as a frequent presence in their own dreams. All the patients refer to him as THIS MAN.

thisman.org

Sounds about right

Well, what about tomorrow?

Man selling glasses on the street: Would you like a piercing today?
Woman on phone: Hang on... What?
Man selling glasses: Would you like to get a piercing today?
Woman: Would I like a...? No, I would not like to get a piercing today. (back into phone) I love New York.

--St. Mark's St

Overheard by: Logan
via Overheard in New York, Oct 13, 2009

To serve and protect... and stuff...

Cop to guy in handcuffs: I swear to god I won't arrest you if you do 10 push-ups right now. Swear to god.

--28th & 2nd


via Overheard in New York, Oct 7, 2009

Bath!

Hand in hand

Winning their hearts and minds

We've come so far...

Black woman, looking at costumes: For Halloween I'm gonna be a slave.
Black man: For real?
Black woman: Will you be my master?

--3rd Ave & 25th St

Overheard by: Ivonna
via Overheard in New York, Oct 9, 2009

Hacking roadsigns

Mommy will protect you

Looks about right

Yes you do.

Girl to boyfriend: I mean, when someone says they're throwing an "Iowa State Fair"-themed wedding, you don't think twice about going!

--30th Ave, Astoria


via Overheard in New York, Oct 7, 2009

The Berlin Reunion

Earlier this week, 1.5 million people filled the streets of Berlin, Germany to watch a several-day performance by France's Royal de Luxe street theatre company titled "The Berlin Reunion". Part of the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Reunion show featured two massive marionettes, the Big Giant, a deep-sea diver, and his niece, the Little Giantess. The storyline of the performance has the two separated by a wall, thrown up by "land and sea monsters". The Big Giant has just returned from a long and difficult - but successful - expedition to destroy the wall, and now the two are walking the streets of Berlin, seeking each other after many years apart.

Via Boston.com

Official Site Here

Awesome vid:

Soviet Blair Witch?

In February 1959, a search was organized when nine Russian ski hikers failed to return from a trek in the northern Ural Mountains. After six days, their abandoned camp was found in a mountain pass.

All the hikers were dead. Two were found on the opposite side of the pass, near the remains of a fire; three others had died closer to camp, apparently trying to return; and the remaining four were found only three months later, under 4 meters of snow in a nearby stream valley.

Apparently the victims had fled the tent suddenly on the night of Feb. 2, tearing their way out from the inside and running down the mountain. Though the temperature had been around -25° C, all were inadequately dressed, some wearing only underwear. Though the bodies had no external wounds, one showed severe skull damage and two had major chest fractures. One woman's tongue was missing.

In the end, Soviet investigators could conclude only that a "compelling unknown force" had caused the hikers' deaths. That's all that's known.

I grew up near there... explains a lot, doesn't it?

When 5-year-old May Pierstorff asked to visit her grandmother, her parents had no money to buy a rail ticket.

So they mailed her.

On Feb. 19, 1914, May's parents presented her at the post office in Grangeville, Idaho, and proposed mailing her parcel post to Lewiston, some 75 miles away. The postmaster found that the "package" was just under the 50-pound weight limit, so he winked at their plan, classed May as a baby chick, and attached 53 cents in stamps to her coat. May passed the entire trip in the train's mail compartment and was duly delivered to her grandparents in Lewiston by mail clerk Leonard Mochel.

Star light, star bright..

Hell in Paris

The Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris opened its secret collection of erotic manuscripts and art to the public for the first time in nearly 40 years on Tuesday.

The collection, amassed over 170 years, ranges from manuscripts by the Marquis de Sade to pictures of naughty nuns and randy noblemen. The trove of licentious literature is known as L'Enfer or "Hell," a name it earned in the 1830s when the library was ordered to isolate its collection of "immoral works."

Video report:

I knew I liked him for a reason

Just sayin'

Da da da daaaaa

Twilight, right?

Ever get this bored?

From xkcd.com

Ebony and ivory

Tolkien was on to something

Diminutive humans whose remains were found on the remote Indonesian island of Flores in 2003 truly are a new species, and not pygmies whose brains had shriveled with disease, researchers reported Wednesday.

Anthropologists have argued, sometimes bitterly, since the discovery of Homo floresiensis -- dubbed "the hobbit" due to its size -- as to the identity and origins of these distant cave-dwelling cousins.

Via Discovery News

oh em eff gee

Holy Crapping Cute

Yes, more elephants. Deal with it.

Mine

rawr!

Wikipedia article

Awesome!

Great for Halloween!

And I *know* I know her...

Hyper teenage blonde: Hey, know what I just realized?
20-something blonde sister: Okay, wait. In the interest of saving time, I'm gonna pull my hand back like so before you start talking. Now you can go ahead and say what you wanted to say, but just know that if it's something ignorant or retarded, I'm gonna slap you out of your shoes and right off the sidewalk, and then keep slapping you until we get home. Is whatever you want to say worth it?
(long pause)
Hyper teenage blonde: No?

--Times Square

Overheard by: Really want to know what she was gonna say
via Overheard in New York, Feb 24, 2009

I'm pretty sure I know her...

Lady: Is that your girlfriend? She has beautiful eyes.
Guy with girlfriend: Yeah, you should see her ass. Baby, get up and show her your ass.

--B Train
via Overheard in New York, Feb 24, 2009

Valid point

Tourist dressed like biker: Excuse me, do you know where the dancing monkeys are?
New Yorker: (silence)
Tourist: Dancing monkeys?
New Yorker: You're in New York, they're on every street corner.

--Broadway & White
via Overheard in New York, Feb 21, 2009

Umm...

Guy #1: So how are things going with your new girlfriend?
Guy #2: Dude--she's not my girlfriend. We're just fucking. And, like... I don't know. She's been acting really weird.
Guy #1: Weird like what?
Guy #2: I don't know! Whatever, man. I guess she and I were better off as siblings.

--McDonald's, Times Square

Overheard by: ...that's what she said?

via Overheard in New York, Oct 5, 2009

Paper-cut sculptures

The bulk of Peter Callesen’s work is made from plain white sheets of A4 paper, chosen for the symbolism as well as the color and size.

"By taking away all the information and starting from scratch using the blank white A4 paper sheet for my creations, I feel I have found a material that we are all able to relate to, and at the same time the A4 paper sheet is neutral and open to fill with different meaning. The thin white paper gives the paper sculptures a frailty that underlines the tragic and romantic theme of my works."

Check out all the amazing work of Peter Callesen here!

The smallest things

It's a living (or not)

Hobo sitting on bench: Hey man, wanna buy some soap?
Yuppie: Nah... (walks away)
Hobo: Ma'am, would you care for some shoes?
JAP: Hell, naw. (walks away)
Hobo: Hey fella, want to buy some peanut butter?
Old Asian guy, happily: Yes, please!
Hobo: I'm sorry, brother, I don't have any on me. I just wanted to do some product research for a project I'm doing. (pulls out a roll of toilet paper and a sharpie, rips out one square of toilet paper, and writes "peanut butter")

--23rd St
via Overheard in New York, Apr 24, 2009

Some Useful Condescending Phrases

1. Thank you. We're all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view.
2. The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist.
3. I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce.
4. Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.
5. I have plenty of talent and vision. I just don't care.

Full list here.

Just sayin'

Angel Oak

Reportedly the oldest thing -- living or man-made -- east of the Rockies, Angel Oak is a live oak tree aged approximately 1,500 years. Some locals simply call it The Tree. It stands in a wooded area along Bohicket Road of John's Island outside Charleston, South Carolina.

More here

Unquote

If I can’t get the girl, at least give me more money.
- Alan Alda

Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting.
- Alan Dean Foster

If Jesus Christ came back today, He and I would get into our brown corduroys and go to the nearest jean store and overturn the racks of blue denim.
— Ian Anderson, of Jethro Tull

Getting out of bed in the morning is an act of false confidence.
- Jules Feiffer

If we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair. We'd never have a friendship. We'd never go into business, because we'd be cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.
- Ray Bradbury

I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall live.
- Jack London (maybe)

The Valentine Phantom

Each year, in the early hours of Valentine's Day, someone scatters red hearts through downtown Montpelier, Vt.

When they first appeared, in 2002, they were simple photocopies, but by 2006 large banners were gracing the State House columns. Soon the decorations spread to the high school's chimney and a tower at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

"Currently, there are no leads and no suspects," joked police chief Dave Janawicz in 2007, when 14 inches of snow failed to stop the bandit. "But the investigation continues."

Vermont's capital is not alone in this — for years, the same thing has been happening in Portland, Maine, and in Boulder, Colo. No one knows who does it or why.

Via Futility Closet

Hellen Keller and Anne Sullivan (1930)

Korea

One of the tallest buildings in Korea (if not the tallest) is in North Korea! It's also the most grotesque:

The World's Largest Ruin? Ryugyong Hotel, The Pyongyang Ghost Tower - an unfinished hotel, looking very atmospheric early in the morning (a new haunt for Dracula, if he is still around).

More interesting Korean things here.

Atlantis?

Formerly, the Sun was the largest object in the Solar System. Now, comet 17P/Holmes holds that distinction.



Yikes

Okay... Comet "Holmes"? Really?

Well, that explains it then...

Band name origins:

10cc
The average man ejaculates around 10cc of semen.

311
Police code for indecent exposure.

10,000 MANIACS
Inspired by an old horror movie called '2000 Maniacs'.

ABBA
An acronym for the first names of the band members: Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Anderson and Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad.

Read the rest of the list here

I have the same issue

Mom: I've told you to stop cursing so much!
Daughter: And I've told you, if I stopped cursing all the time, the other words in my sentences would get lonely!

--Central Park

Overheard by: Katherine
via Overheard in New York, Aug 31, 2009

24 Tales of Ghost Towns and Abandoned Cities

What in the world could cause an entire city to be abandoned? Some become unlivable due to environmental disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis to nuclear meltdowns (as with Pripyat, shown below). Others become the center of military activity and remain contested and uninhabited as a result – or are simply left as memorials to the terrible events that took place in them. Still others are simply deserted when they outlive their usefulness as trade outposts or mining towns.



More here.

Water level 9.40 meters

Never. Mess. With old women. Never.

Little old black lady: Excuse me.
Metro guy in sunglasses with legs spread across three seats: (no response)
Little old black lady: Son! I know your balls can't be that big. Close your damn legs!
(other people laugh, and Metro guy closes legs)

--N Train
via Overheard in New York, Sep 14, 2009

You Will. And, for the most part, we have.

This was only 16 years ago...

Fail big or go home!

Hobo to 20-something girls: How about some money?
(girls ignore him and keep walking)
Hobo: How about a threesome?
Girls: Are you serious?

--SoHo

Overheard by: I don't think so

via Overheard in New York, Sep 28, 2009

Things You Didn't Do

1,000th post

Almost 3 months? Really?

Girl with snake around her neck to stranger: He doesn't really like people or sudden movements.
Stranger #1: Then why the fuck do you have him out in New York City?
Girl with snake: Because he likes fresh air.
Stranger #1: I repeat, then why the fuck do you have him out in New York City?
Stranger #2: Well, my snake loves people! (grabs his junk)

--Greenwich Village

via overheard in nyc

The 2nd best idea they ever had

It's just a good policy in general

Feeding time

I was wondering what they were for

sound about right

Anti-hate

Irony, defined

In case anyone was curious

The Georgia Guidestones

The strangest monument in America looms over a barren knoll in northeastern Georgia. Five massive slabs of polished granite rise out of the earth in a star pattern. The rocks are each 16 feet tall, with four of them weighing more than 20 tons apiece. Together they support a 25,000-pound capstone. Approaching the edifice, it's hard not to think immediately of England's Stonehenge or possibly the ominous monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Built in 1980, these pale gray rocks are quietly awaiting the end of the world as we know it.

Called the Georgia Guidestones, the monument is a mystery—nobody knows exactly who commissioned it or why. The only clues to its origin are on a nearby plaque on the ground—which gives the dimensions and explains a series of intricate notches and holes that correspond to the movements of the sun and stars—and the "guides" themselves, directives carved into the rocks. These instructions appear in eight languages ranging from English to Swahili and reflect a peculiar New Age ideology. Some are vaguely eugenic (guide reproduction wisely—improving fitness and diversity); others prescribe standard-issue hippie mysticism (prize truth—beauty—love—seeking harmony with the infinite).

from Wired

I do this sometimes

via Janelle

From the deleted scenes

From xkcd.com

Don't say I didn't warn you

Good to know

Red Hot Riding Hood

wow. just wow.

On the next episode of John has an episode...

Man: You know...fuck that shit.
Woman: Chuck! I've never heard you use that word before.
Man: Oh, yeah? Fuck fuckin' fuckity fuck fuck!
Woman: Wow.
Man: Fuckin' motherfucker two-ball bitch! Let's get the fuck outta here.

--Starbucks, Astor Place

via Overheard in New York

She made it two minutes

Really need to go to New York

The Lost Tribes of New York City from Carolyn London on Vimeo.

brilliant

damn. just.... damn.

Short attention span theater

Little boy, pointing at Obama poster: Look, mommy it's Will Smith!
Mother: No, honey, that's not Will Smith. That's...uhmmmm... (to husband) What the fuck was his name again?

--Columbia University

via Overheard In New York

Henry David Thoreau:

"The heart is forever inexperienced."

Howard Cosell:

"Mommy, why does daddy cuss the TV and call it Howard?"

Where's Atreyu?

click for big

Meister Eckhart:

“The eye with which I see God is the same eye with which God sees me."

Tonga's out of virgins, apparently

click for big

R. Buckminster Fuller:

“Everyone is born a genius, but the process of living de-geniuses them."

Unquote

"Just go up to somebody on the street and say “You’re it!” and then run away."

- Ellen DeGeneres

and

"I have long known that it is part of God’s plan for me to spend a little time with each of the most stupid people on earth."

- Bill Bryson

Yes, he did!

Lanky white guy: Well, I'm still expecting my pony from Obama.
Female friend: He cured your leprosy. Stop complaining.

--187th & Broadway

Via Overheard In New York

Synthetic Life Form Grows in Florida Lab

Feb. 27, 2009 -- When NASA began thinking about missions to look for life beyond Earth, it realized it had a problem: how to recognize life if it were found.

Scientists came up with a definition for life -- a self-sustaining chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution -- but remained understandably fuzzy on the details.

It is still not known how life on Earth took hold, what happened to a bunch of chemicals that made them capable of supporting a metabolism, replicating and evolution. But a new field of science, called synthetic biology, is aiming to find out.

One of the most promising developments lies in a beaker of water inside a Florida laboratory. It's an experiment called AEGIS -- an acronym for Artificially Expanded Genetic Information System. Its creator, Steve Benner, says it is the first synthetic genetic system capable of Darwinian evolution

From Discovery News

anyone else think they should stop this now?

You know that saying? It's too late...

On Nov. 4, 1909, English pilot John Moore-Brabazon put a pig in a basket, tied it to a wing, and took off.

The basket read I AM THE FIRST PIG TO FLY.

via Futility Closet

Yeah, but he's not Irish...

Hipster guy: I need some toothpaste and...what else did I say I needed?
Hipster girl, shouting: Condoms!
Hipster guy: Shhhhh!
(everyone in store starts chuckling)
Hipster girl: The extra small ones.
Hipster guy: Shhhh!
Hipster girl: With a juicy flavor!

--Rite Aid, 6th Ave & 11th St

Via Overheard In New York

Fragments of Ancient Egyptian Papyrus Found

Feb. 27, 2009 -- Some newly recovered papyrus fragments may finally help solve a century-old puzzle, shedding new light on ancient Egyptian history.

Found stored between two sheets of glass in the basement of the Museo Egizio in Turin, the fragments belong to a 3,000-year-old unique document, known as the Turin Kinglist.

Like many ancient Egyptian documents, the Turin Kinglist is written on the stem of a papyrus plant.

Believed to date from the long reign of Ramesses II, the papyrus contains an ancient list of Egyptian kings.

From Discovery News

What will Christina Aguilera do then?

Computer Zeroes in on Oldest English Words

Feb. 27, 2009 -- The oldest words in the English language include "I" and "who," while words like "dirty" could die out relatively quickly, U.K. researchers report.

Scientists at the University of Reading have used a supercomputer called ThamesBlue to model the evolution of words in English and the wider family of Indo-European languages over the last 30,000 years.

From Discovery News

Steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerike!

At the 1939 World's Fair, San Francisco Seals catcher Joe Sprinz tried to catch a baseball dropped from the Goodyear blimp 1,200 feet overhead.

Sprinz knew baseball but he hadn't studied physics — he lost five teeth and spent three months in the hospital with a fractured jaw.

Unquote

"There is only one success — to be able to spend your life in your own way."

- Christopher Morley

At least they didn't blow out the menorah

Female coworker #1: By that time I was drunk enough to run in there myself. So I bought one of 'em. It was like a regular condom, but it had these little pink things...
Female coworker #2: You bought a french tickler?
Female coworker #1: Yeah! So we blew it up at our table and started using it as a volleyball. It was really fun for a while, and then I spiked it into the priest's head and we were asked to leave the reception.

Albany, New York

Via Overheard In The Office

oy vey

In November 2006, 23-year-old David Fearn of Staffordshire changed his name to James Dr. No From Russia With Love Goldfinger Thunderball You Only Live Twice On Her Majesty's Secret Service Diamonds Are Forever Live and Let Die The Man With the Golden Gun The Spy Who Loved Me Moonraker For Your Eyes Only Octopussy A View to a Kill The Living Daylights Licence to Kill GoldenEye Tomorrow Never Dies The World Is Not Enough Die Another Day Casino Royale Bond.

It's the longest name in deed poll history.

Via Futility Closet

Everyone loves corn

always good advice

Just in case

i wish i could remember where i found this...

Tamed seal

In January 1819, in the neighbourhood of Burntisland, a gentleman completely succeeded in taming a Seal; its singularities attracted the curiosity of strangers daily. It appeared to possess all the sagacity of the dog, and lived in its master's house, and eat from his hand. In his fishing excursions, this gentleman generally took with him, upon which occasions it afforded no small entertainment. When thrown into the water, it would follow for miles the track of the boat, and although thrust back by the oars, it never relinquished its purpose. Indeed it struggled so hard to regain its seat, that one would imagine its fondness for its master had entirely overcome the natural predilection for its native element.

– Pierce Egan, Sporting Anecdotes, Original and Selected, 1822

Via Futility Closet

Worms in apples are bad enough

unquote

"It's a very exclusive list. How exclusive? Everyone look at the person sitting on your left. Now look at the person sitting on your right. None of you have my e-mail address."

President Barack Obama on his BlackBerry