Infocult: Uncanny Informatics

Another human flesh eating incident

Another day, another anthropophagy incident: this time another Florida (of course) man chewed on another's tasty arm meat.

[26-year-old Charles Baker] was screaming and wouldn’t calm down, then began throwing furniture around the home. Jeffery Blake, who lives in the home, attempted to restrain Baker, but the suspect bit him, taking a chunk of his flesh from his bicep.

Once again, we see the cannibal's inability to calm down:

Baker got up, but would not respond to deputies orders. The suspect instead faced the deputies, tensing his body, clenching his fists and screaming. Baker, still naked, acted like he was going to rush the deputies, according to the report.

Then we see technology applied against the cannibal suspect:

Deputy Wildt deployed his an electronic control device after giving a verbal warning. Baker fell to the ground, and then tried to get back up, so Deputy Wildt deployed the device again. Baker pulled the probes out, so deputy Blake deployed his electric shock device. Those probes were also pulled out, and Deputy Wildt deployed a second cartridge. By this time, several other deputies had arrived on scene and were able to hold him down and handcuff him...

(Was it a taser?  If so, why not say so?)

Infocult: chronicling the world's shift to a new diet, one meal at a time.

(thanks to Jesse "Picky Eater" Walker)

Creepy ventriloquism

io9 has a nice gallery of old-time and disturbing ventriloquists and their dolls.  I've picked several for your... enjoyment.

And

Even better, this one "has a wonderful way with the ladies":

Now relax with a Jonathan Coulton song.

(thanks to Jesse Walker)

Post-apocalyptic Dubai

Dubai is increasingly post-civilization, a nest of ruins heading towards entropy.  One artist takes things a little further, adding animals to the wreckage.  The effect is eerie, yet soothing:

(thanks to Ed Webb's Diigo subconscious)

One Castle Dracula

Atlas Obscura has a nice entry on Poenari Castle. This was one of Vlad Tepes' fortresses.

Gloomy, forbidding, glorious:

(thanks to Steven Burnett)

Horror films, a 1971 view

Robert Anton Wilson looks at American horror movies, way back in 1971.  It's a pleasant ramble through the genre, springing from classic RAW obsessions: depth psychology, King Kong, the limits of science, perversity, and contemporary politics.

The bitterness and totally irrational fury of current American politics—there have been over one hundred explosions since January 1, 1970, plus the still continuing series of sit-ins, demonstrations, fire-bombings, occupations (of Alcatraz Island, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, etc.)—is a measure, perhaps, of the awakening that has occurred, quite suddenly, in recent years. A man jarred abruptly out of his sleep is apt to flail about a bit wildly and irresponsibly before he is fully returned to his senses.

(thanks to Jesse Walker) 

Behold the Presidential blood

A bloody relic for American politics, this contain of Reagan's plasma:

Even better, it's from 1981, during Hinckley's assassination attempt.

One calls it a "true medieval-style relic", which suggests all kinds of Gothic alt-history.  Will the blood do tricks, like healing the sick?  Will we see collections of dead presidents' fingerbones?

(thanks to Todd Bryant)

The new snuff film

Snuff films used to be a fixture of urban legend, but have finally entered reality.  The Verge looks at true gore Web sites like Best Gore, GoreGrish, and The YNC.

Interestingly, mobile phones don't play much of a role in the article, despite their vital importance to easy recording.

(thanks to Steven Kaye)

Zombie Mubarak shambles onto Twitter

Zombie politics goes east with the appearance of Zombie Mubarak, the Twitter feed. 

For example,

Rumors abound questioning if zombie Hosni is really real or nope, Chuck Testa. Hosni say to come a little closer, find out for yourself.

One does not simply summon Hosni, @BostonAbrams. Hosni is no parlor trick Beetlejuice.

The sun has been up in Cairo for almost an hour. Yet again, Hosni is glad Hosni is not a vampire. Also because True Blood is terrible.

Very tempting, @rabelazy. Newt's already one of us though.

#insideman Dear @AMC_TV, I see your Walking Dead has an American Governor. I am an Egyptian President. My day rate's low and you'll save $$ on make up.

(thanks to Charles Cameron)

The internet not sole cause of obesity: shocking story

One medical team concludes that the internet is not the leading cause of obesity, dashing cyberfear advocates everywhere.  In fact, the obesity problem is, ah, bigger than it seems.  "In fact, the modern way of life is causing the decline."

For example, labor:

In some countries, physical activity has sharply declined in recent years due to the shift from farming to manufacturing.... Jobs and what tasks are required in an office have changed. More jobs are more sedentary and require less movement.

Or consider domestic life:

At home, how people cook and clean has also changed dramatically. Performing a task like cleaning the house requires a vacuum cleaner or some other aid that helps reduce the overall time spent doing physical work. If you are washing clothes, you can throw it in the washing machine or if you need to cook something, a microwave or stove makes that task even easier today than ever before.

Or turn to urban and sururban life: "Cars and mass transit has made walking less of a requirement as well, further aiding in global inactivity."

Once again we see social problems yawning before us in their full complexity... revealing the temptation to blame electronic media, because it's way easier.

(link via MetaFilter; photo via Little Green Hen)

Fear the toilet paper

Leave it to Japan to print horror stories on toilet paper.  "A horror experience in the toilet", says one account.

The story is "Drop", by Koji "The Ring" Suzuki.

(via Tyler Cowen)