Infocult: Uncanny Informatics

Drug horror's limits

Terrifying quote from a drug cartel's hitman:

"I've killed about 250 people, and I cut many of them into pieces. But I don't know exactly how many," Popeye says. "Only psychopaths count their kills."

"As Escobar's head of security, Popeye was an expert at kidnapping, torture and murder."  Indeed.

The heads of puppets

Look right at ventriloquist dummies.  Get closer.  Gaze directly into their faces.  That's what Matthew Rolston is doing in his new book.

Unearthed from the intimate and obscure Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, Rolston used a rigorously formal photographic approach to bring out the power in the faces of these figures through a series of 100 portraits, or “headshots.”

Rolston shot a lot of celebrities, which does make him the idea photographer for semi-living, disturbing, animated entities.

(thanks to saramin)

A Tweet after death

Another postmortem Web service has launched.  Dead Social lets users set up social media updates for release after their death.

For example, you can arrange to

Send out a final message and / or a series of scheduled messages

Release unseen video and audio messages

Apparently a recent episode of Black Mirror offered a version of this.

(thanks to Todd Bryant)

A Tweet before death

We now have "famous last Twitter updates".  The Tweet Hereafter collects these tweets, pairing them with information about the author's death and life.

Each of these are tiny stories, loaded with meaning in the terminal context. For example,

 

Some are amazingly, dramatically timed:

(many thanks to the nice person who sent this on; I'm sorry I lost your pointer)

Creating zombie supercells

Today's mad science involves the creation of modified cells.  Cells stronger than their original material.

It's a Gothic thing, say the scientists:

Researcher Bryan Kaehr, a Sandia scientist, provided what could be the first ever scientific distinction made between a “mummy” and “zombie” cell.

“King Tut was mummified,” said Kaehr, “to approximately resemble his living self, but the process took place without mineralization [a process of fossilization]. Our zombie cells bridge chemistry and biology to create forms that not only near-perfectly resemble their past selves, but can do future work.”

How does this really work? By

placing free-floating mammal cells into a petri dish and coating them with a silicic acid solution. For reasons that the study says are still “partially unclear,” the silicic acid enters and embalms every organelle in the cells.

The result is super-strong.  Better than the original.  Waiting to be used in world domination a story.

(thanks to Jesse Walker)

Partisan zombies

Zombie political metaphors continue to be lively, as this example from leading pundit Paul Krugman shows:

[T]he G.O.P. reply, delivered by Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, was both interesting and revelatory. And I mean that in the worst way... What we learned Tuesday, however, was that zombie economic ideas have eaten his brain. [emphasis added]

Krugman has fun with this:

Mr. Rubio’s mind is zombie-infested.

Zombies 2, Reality 0.

It will be interesting to see if zombie rhetoric becomes the province of one side of America's partisan divide.  If so, will conservatives select an alternative Gothic metaphor?

(thanks to Ed Webb)

 

Protecting Canada from the zombie hordes

"Under this prime minister, Canada will never become a haven for zombies!"

Canadian politicians turn their attention to the possibility of a zombie invasion.  From America, of course.

(via the AFP list)

Walking dead in glorious black and white

The American tv series The Walking Dead is being rebroadcast - in black and white.  Nice!

Why black and white? For one, it makes the show's bountiful blood and guts slightly more palatable for the squeamish, but it also evokes memories of the film that kicked off the entire flesh-eating zombie craze, George A. Romero's 1968 black-and-white horror classic, "Night of the Living Dead."

(via the Filmflam email list)

New Sims patch shuts down some Gothic activities

The Sims has an update which wards off some creepy/hilarious behavior.

For instance, 

Sims can no longer “Try for Baby” with the Grim Reaper.

Children and Teens can no longer die from motive failure while on a Time Out.

Sims will no longer receive a wish to “Skinny Dip” with Mummies.

The Grim Reaper will no longer be prevented from reaping souls due to band affiliation.

Fixed a tuning issue so that Sims now vomit at acceptable levels.

We could interpret this as a sad day for Sims players.  Or see it as a spur to new ways of misusing the game, darkly.

(thanks to Todd Bryant; image by Eurritimia)

Listen to the hacked zombie alert

Following up on that story about a zombie emergency alert prank, an audio file is now available for your listening pleasure.

Consider this fine fodder for parties and music sampling.

(thanks to Thomas Burkdall)