The Art Nouveau of scifi heroines:
Megan Lara enshrines science fiction heroines in Art Nouveau illustrations, transforming them from pop culture queens into goddesses and archetypal spirits of adventure.
Lara has many of these designs available as prints and t-shirts — and a “La Gateau est un Mesonge” shirt will be available soon.
[Megan Lara via Neatorama]
[io9]
Wherein I read things, laugh, and pass them on to you…
•READ: 10-year-old Canadian becomes the youngest person to discover a supernova: 
Kathryn Aurora Gray, aged 10, discovered a magnitude 17 supernova on New Year’s Eve, in the constellation of Camelopardalis. Gray had learned a 14-year-old was the youngest to find a supernova and felt sure she could beat that. Gray’s discovery, which was soon confirmed and announced by the International Astronomical Union, came as a result looking through 52 images on a computer screen, from amateur astronomer Dave Lane, who had emailed the images to her father. Gray’s father helped her check the discovery by helping her run through the list of current known supernovas and rule out asteroids.
•READ: Q&A: Sigourney Weaver on Why Aliens Rule: [27 Dec 2010]
Which is more deadly, corporate greed or acid blood?
I would say, definitely, that the worldview of corporate greed—sacrificing everything for shareholder interests or an edge in competition—has become more prevalent since we made the first Alien. You only have to read the papers to see profits put ahead of humans and other species on the planet. Corporations are much more dangerous than the individual alien.
•READ: Excelsior! Stan Lee to get star on Hollywood Walk of Fame TODAY: “I’m pretty proud of the fact that some of the stories I wrote so many years ago are still being read and hopefully enjoyed by the public and people are making motion pictures based on them, and television series and even a Broadway show.”
•READ: How Does Your Green Roof Garden Grow: 
Growing plants on rooftops is an old concept that has evolved from simple sod roofing to roof gardens and new, lightweight “extensive green roofs”. Modern green roofs have environmental and social benefits; they can reduce stormwater runoff, improve air quality, mitigate urban heat, reduce the demand for air conditioning and greenhouse gas emissions, and provide habitat for birds and wildlife.
Wherein I read things, laugh, and pass them on to you…
•READ: A first look at Buffy, Angel, and Spike kicking it old school:
Dark Horse Comics has provided us with an exclusive first glimpse at the cover of the upcoming Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tales anthology. The cover feature the series’ bizarre love triangle illustrated by Buffy cover artist Jo Chen.
Here’s the scoop on the collection, which hits stores January 19, 2011:
Before Season Eight, Joss Whedon brought generations of Slayers and vampires to comics with the help of his acclaimed TV writing team and some of the best artists to ever grace the comics page. Now all those stories, plus selected stories from Season Eight, are collected in one deluxe hardcover with a new cover by Jo Chen.
Joss writes multiple tales: a somber vamp tale, drawn by Cameron Stewart; the story of the first Slayer, drawn by Leinil Yu; and more.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tales also reprints for the first time new Season Eight stories written by novelist Jackie Kessler (Hell’s Belles) and award-winning cartoonist Becky Cloonan (Demo), featuring vampires living in the public eye, killing Slayers and killing each other.
This hardcover collects stories from MySpace Dark Horse Presents #31 and #32; Tales of the Vampires: Carpe Noctem parts 1 and 2; Buffy: Tales of the Vampires one-shot; Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tales of the Vampires #1—#5; Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tales of the Slayers #1—”Broken Bottle of Djinn”; Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tales of the Slayers TPB.
You can also check out the leaked cover for Buffy The Vampire Slayer #39 — the penultimate issue of Season 8 — which hits stores December 19.
•READ: First-Ever Sex Toy Drive-Through Opens in Alabama:
Pleasures, a sex toy store in Huntsville, Alabama (where sex toys are technically illegal), just opened the country’s first sex-toy drive-through service. I know what you’re thinking! “It’ll get so crowded!” Don’t worry—there are three lanes.
Of course, it could lead to this. The less said about it being a Crab Shack, the better:
•READ: Police: Woman hit officer with sex toy:
Suburban Chicago police said a woman who allegedly skipped out on a restaurant tab was arrested after allegedly attacking a police officer with a sex toy. A police incident report said Carolee Bildsten, 56, of Gurnee, allegedly left a Joe’s Crab Shack restaurant in the town without paying Tuesday and an officer went to Bildsten’s residence to investigate, the Chicago Tribune reported Thursday. Gurnee Police Cmdr. Jay Patrick said the woman attacked the officer with “a rigid feminine pleasure device.” Bildsten, who has been accused of not paying her check at the same restaurant in the past, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and theft of labor or services.
Wherein I read things, laugh, and pass them on to you…
•READ: Revolting food adverts from the land food-stylists forgot:
I don’t know what it is about those old cookbooks. I’ve got a few here and looking through it will offer a few good ideas, if not overly flavorful ideas. Bland was the flavor of the day, apparently. When that flavor wasn’t ketchup. But there are times when a cookbook or, better yet, a magazine insert, offered something so hideous, so ghastly, that I couldn’t help but find other people to show them and we’d all get the chills, the way we’d normally do with a really horrific scene in a movie. Some of that stuff is just plain terrifying.
The LiveJournal Vintage Ads group is holding a competition to dig out the grossest food advertisements of yesteryear. The competition is pretty fierce. I have to wonder, back in 1963 was it really true that Del Monte Green Beans Pizzarino made America’s mouths water? Or, God help us, 1952′s Del Monte Corn Pie (pre-vomited for your convenience!)?
•READ: This week, Firefly’s Shepherd Book finally gets an origin story!:
Derrial Book was one of the most enigmatic characters on Firefly, and almost a decade after the show premiered, we’re finally getting some answers in the good Shepherd’s very own graphic novel. Dark Horse’s Serenity: Shepherd’s Tale is penned by the brother team of Joss and Zack Whedon. Shepherd Book got the short shrift in Serenity, and this graphic novel fleshes out his backstory, including the time he found God in a bowl of soup. Ron Glass dropped some teasers about the character a while back, but it’s good to see the mostly awesomely coiffed guy on the Serenity get a backstory. You can read a preview here.
•READ: Baby seized after mother eats poppy seed bagel :
There is a real fear in the world – the fear that I’m going to be called some sort of drug addled wacko because of a poppy seed muffin. I love poppy seeds but blood tests and poppy seeds are something I really worry about. Supposedly romaine lettuce can trigger it too. Weird damned world. I hope they sue the ass off whoever made that call.
A lawsuit was filed Thursday in Pennsylvania after a mother’s newborn was taken from her by child services after she ate a poppy seed bagel, skewing the results of a drug test. NBC News reports that Elizabeth Mort’s blood work at a hospital tested positive for opiates because she ate a poppy seed bagel before having the baby. Three days after giving birth, Children and Youth Services came to Mort’s home to take the baby away. Little Isabella was returned to her mother five days after, when it was shown that Mort did not take any illegal drugs. “It felt like our heart was ripped in pieces,” she told NBC. “The most important person was missing, and we didn’t know when we would see her again.” The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of the parents against CYS and Jameson Hospital where the blood tests were analyzed.
Fans of loopy banter and insane violence rejoice — Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, of Zombieland fame, are writing the Deadpool movie. This means the “Merc with a Mouth” film could actually be clever.
Variety announced that Fox has selected Zombieland writers Reese and Wernick to bring Ryan Reynolds‘ Deadpool film to life.
While there’s “no timetable” set the trade speculates that if the script is done by the summer, Reynolds will already be in superhero shape from filming Green Lantern and has a window of opportunity, so what’s to stop a quick turnover? Well besides piling two Ryan Reynolds comic book movie releases on top of each other that is.
The writers stated that they wanted to stay true to the mythology of Deadpool, and if their previous Zombieland work is any indication of their wit, then they are a perfect fit for the fourth-wall-breaking, Bea Arthur-loving character.
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