Category: offbeat

Odd book titles of 2009

The Bookseller is back with another round of odd book titles. This year the six finalists for the Diagram Prize for odd book titles are the following: Afterthoughts…

Buried in Books

coffin bookshelves

Who says you can’t take it with you? Well, you might have to leave your books behind, but at least you no longer need to be separated from your bookshelves, thanks to William Warren’s “Shelves For Life.”

Oddest book title of the year

The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-Milligram Containers of Fromage Frais has won The Bookseller’s Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year for 2008. News:Lite has the details:

Albums of the year

The Passion of Saint Rudolph

Above: The Passion of Saint Rudolph, 2008, colored pixels, by Thomas Christensen and an unnamed Palin family photographer. . Instead of doing my traditional seasons greetings this year,…

Special offer: preview the Museum of Folly

If you are at all interested in the current arts scene, I’m sure you have heard a lot about about the imminent opening of the Museum of Folly;…

hobbit house

This handsome structure was built by architect Peter Archer for a client who collects Tolkien. According to finehomebuilding.com, “‘I came back my client and said, “I’m not going…

Seen on eBay

It must be the desk that ups the price. This “writhing desk” recalls Harry Potter, or maybe Lewis Carroll:”The regular course was Reeling and Writhing, of course, to…

My Sweet Lord

Looks like the Roger Smith Hotel in New York has caved in to demands from the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights to remove the art piece…

Swim, Swim, Swim!

Are you in shape for following step 12 in the instructions shown in the screen capture? Via Google Blogoscoped. While at GB, check out Raymond Chandler’s 1953 mention…

Invading Liechtenstein

On March 2 170 lost Swiss soldiers accidentally invaded neighboring Liechtenstein. But instead of claiming the principality for the Swiss empire, once they realized their mistake they simply…

“The Dumbing Down of America”

That’s how the source titles this page. It’s said to be actual courtroom testimony, taken down by “court reporters who had the torment of staying calm and quiet…

200+ U-Turns

Google Maps offers the following: Click image for more info.

Green pigs that glow in the dark

Just in time for the year of the pig, Chinese scientists claim to have genetically modified pigs using DNA from fluorescent jellyfish. “The scientists from Taiwan University’s say…

World’s Tallest Man Saves Pair of Dolphins

image via random good stuff Bao xishun, at seven feet nine inches, is said to be the world’s tallest man. But that’s not the item. The item is…

Note to Self

Will Self’s writing room. A 360 degree view in 71 photos by Phil Grey

Barbados Faces Invasion by Giant Snails

Barbados Faces Invasion by Giant Snails “We saw snails riding on each other’s backs and moving in clusters,” said David Walrond, chairman of the local emergency response office…