Fat Dogs’ Metal Song
Well, that was….wow.
Most unusual places to stay
Want to stay at some truly unique places around the world? How about an abandoned island fort off the coast of England, underwater rooms in the middle of a lake, drawbridge towers in Amsterdam, an oil rig turned into a dive center, an ice hotel, a harbor crane, a palace in Morocco, or over river bungalows in southeast Asia?
Go Unusual offers really unique stays and experiences all over the world.
Unsettling fractal
Motion designer Chris Lavelle created this short fractal animation Creation 1. It has a disturbing quality, especially for those who suffer from trypophobia
Though, personally, I think it looks more like a close-up of the iris of the average human eye…
Hydroforming
One way of making curved and round surfaces out of steel is to use hydroforming. By welding different shapes completely closed and filling them up with high pressure water – the incompressibility of water pushes on all the surfaces to bend them in unique ways.
But if water isn’t cool enough, one can always try explosives…
Infamous vending machines of Akihabara
I come to these vending machines every time I get to Tokyo and buy at least one thing from them.
In the past, I have gotten a written story (in Japanese and I still need help translating it), a wind up giant stag beetle, and numerous other trinkets I keep on my desk to remind me of better days of travel.
Here’s are two pretty good write-ups on what to experience if you decide to go yourself. But do be aware of the uncharacteristic graphic warning signs posted there.
If these items aren’t your fare, maybe find some of the exclusive vending machines that sell one of a kind and delicious, products.
Best Favorite Scary Stories for Fall
One of my favorite pastimes is reading and listening to classic spooky stories. There’s no better time for curling up with a spooky story than a cold, fall evening in front of the fire.
Here’s a collection of my all-time favorite scary stories by the best readers I could find:
- The Empty House by Algernon Blackwood
- The Tower by Marghanita Laski
- The Red Room by H.G.Wells
- A Haunted Island by Algernon Blackwood
- The Haunted and the Haunters by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
- Christmas Eve on a Haunted Hulk by Frank Cowper
- Five different haunted house stories by George Allen Upward. About estate agent Jack Hargreaves who specializes in dealing with haunted properties
- Dark Mummery by Thorp McClusky
- The House Among the Laurels by William Hope Hodgson
- The Whistling Room and one of the 5 other stories about Carnacki the ghost finder by William Hope Hodgson
- The Ash Tree by M R James
- Number 13 by M R James
- The Phantom Coach – Amelia B Edwards
- Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad by M R James
Scary-comedy
This is a unique group – and old stories of this genre are very heavy on dry British/deadpan humor and often require a little bit of understanding of the times in 1800’s England. I highly recommend.
- The Open Window by Saki. Besides this story check out all the other great humorous works by Saki – he’s a favorite of mine.
- The Ghost of the Blue Chamber (pt1 and pt2) by Jerome K Jerome
- My Adventure in Norfolk by A. J. Alan – The author tries out a possible vacation home only to have a unique encounter. Especially fun for the dry humor and malapropisms.
Plays/Dramatizations
- The Ghost Train – An excellent and fun ghost story that turns out to be something completely different. Best version of this story I have encountered. (Avoid the 1941 movie version like the plague – it is terrible)
- House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson
- The Thing on the Fourble Board – Radio Play
Good general scary classics channels on YouTube:
- Bitesized Audio Classics
- Washington Sawyer – Not the best narrator, but has a great collection
- ƬƛԼЄƧ Æ Æ‘ Æ¬Ð„Æ¦Æ¦Æ Æ¦
- Suspense and Escape – Old time radio programs
- Horror Babble
- Sherlock Holmes and other stories Magpie Audio
Books
Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories – Michael Cox, R.A. Gilbert
Playlists:
Honorable mentions/others:
Links:
Urban Campsite Amsterdam
Poor person’s Burning Man? Check out some of the strange creations made by these creative folks at Urban Campsite Amsterdam
https://www.urbancampsiteamsterdam.com/en/2017/installations/
More secret parties for influencers
Want to set up your super-secret Eye’s Wide Shut influencer event? Try Agency WATO. Facebook here.
You can also check out folks that attend these sorts of events – get tours from them.
Levitating clock
While expensive at $799, it’s a cool little design. Flyte developed a clock that has a hovering steel ball that circles the face.
Shader programming
If you’re interested in learning intermediate level shader programming, The Art of Code YouTube channel has some really awesome videos to get you going.
As a good example, here’s a really great introduction to programming a shader for a ray marching renderer: