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Comic via Brewster Rocket via Jay Lake.
Some good password advice
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Comic via Brewster Rocket via Jay Lake.
zombies
Halloween Link Wrap-up
I realize it is after Halloween, and I kind of missed the boat on some of this stuff. But I’m not saving it until next year, so I need to clean these out.
Check out this recipe for a creepy, edible “meat hand“:
The finger nails and bone sticking out of the back are onions. Most of the rest of it is like a meatloaf with cheese melted on top.
Link via InteractiveReader (on twitter)
Second off, check out this geeky pumpkin wrap up over on MegDesk.
Third, check out this clip from NPR Science Friday, that discusses important research into zombies and how their brains work. (The audio is about 15 minutes)
Link via my mother-in-law, who actually called me on the phone to tell me I should be listening to it live.
Finally, I know a lot of you readers are big Wizard of Oz fans, so I give you this:
Link via PlanetDan.
Did someone say Zombie Pirate Party?
Not really my type of music but, for what’s it worth, I seem to remember that my friend 85 liked Voltaire. I think they have a violinist. Anyway, the music seems appropriate to a zombie pirate party. I can buy the people in the picture as zombies, but they don’t look particularly pirate-y.
And here we are with Christmas just around the corner
So obviously all of my loyal listeners are wracking their brains trying to figure out what to get me for Christmas. Well, you can’t all get me bacon-of-the-month club memberships. On second thought, you could…packages upon packages of bacon arriving every month…but then again, if I’m too fat to type, you’ll miss my posts.
Well, if one person out there doesn’t want to get me bacon, how about Last Night on Earth, a zombie board game. $50 seems a little steep on the price, but surely it is worth $50 to try out various survival techniques. Also, you can play as the master of the zombies, and that just sounds cool. I don’t think I even need to mention the “epic CD soundtrack”, I think you’re already sold.
Okay, let’s be honest, ThinkGeek had me at the words “Zombies are officially the new black.” Truer words have never been spoken.
Nature is horrifying
I’m a sucker for any article with the headline “Zombie Ants Controlled by Fungus“.
So check this out, there is a fungus in this world whose life-cycle includes mind controlling zombie ants. Basically, the fungus somehow gets into the ants’ brain and takes control. It forces them to march to an area that is conducive to the fungus, in particular, the underside of certain leaves. Then it makes the ant bite down on the underside of the leaf, locking its jaws so that it will not fall when it dies. The fungus not only kills the ant, but it actually fills in weak spots in the ant’s carapace to make the “vessel” stronger. Eventually, the fungus feeds enough on the ant and grows enough, that it bursts out of the ant body and falls to the jungle floor below, hopefully snaring more ants to turn to zombies and start the process over again.
I don’t know if this is more or less horrifying than the Emerald Cockroach Wasp.
But that’s not all we have in horrifying nature updates, oh no. How about this doozy? This little parasite eats the tongue of a fish and then sets itself up to replace the fish’s tongue. That’s right, the fish actually lives on with a replacement parasite tongue.
Got your tongue!
I like how in the picture he just looks so happy, like he’s rubbing his little hands in glee.
More information here, including this wonderful quote:
“Eventually the fish’s tongue is reduced to a stub,” Brock said. “However, the parasite by now is large enough to replace the tongue and as it manipulates the fish’s food, it also dines out for free on food particles when the fish eats.”
More and more creepy things just waiting to turn this world into a horror movie. And, like I said with the rat eating plant, how am I just finding out about these things now?
Shane Halbach 