Infocult: Uncanny Informatics

Still more happy Easter from Infocult

Enjoy these unsettling bunnies, courtesy of The Macabre And the Beautifully Grotesque:

(thanks to Tammy Synder)

More happy Easter wishes from Infocult

What better way to celebrate Easter than to gaze into the horrific eyes of these terrifying giant bunnies.

Meditate on the childrens' expressions, and the lifetime nightmares to follow.

(via MetaFilter)

Zombie web comic from Italy

Undead Trinity is an Italian webcomic about a zombie attack on an industrial area.  It's ongoing, and recommended.

The story is admirably focused on the working class, and develops well. The art is quite effective:

So far we've seen emergency throat surgery, stolid milk delivery ladies, racism, and brutal zombie killing. I enjoy this point of view shot from inside a zombie's mouth.

Happy Easter from Infocult

Happy Easter from Infocult.

The preserved body of power

An American paper runs a small gallery of embalmed world leaders, in honor of (or in some sort of reaction to) the death of Hugo Chavez.

It starts with Lenin, then moves on for an odd kind of tour of the 20th century.  For instance, Ferdinand Marcos and his shoe-crazed, unpreserved widow Imelda:

Such strange bodies.  Interesting, too, to see how many of these are from Asian nations.

(thanks to Charles Cameron)

The recession's unburied bodies

It's hard to bury all of the dead during an economic downturn.  It's still the case as the American "recovery" staggers along, at least in Kentucky.

Counties across Kentucky, like much of the country, are seeing more cases of unclaimed bodies and families who can't afford to bury or cremate a loved one...

[T]he economic downturn has left many people without the money to pay for funeral services that can cost thousands of dollars, and it's falling on cities and states to cover the bills.

A sad case of real-life Gothic.

We first noticed a story about this in 2009, concerning Detroit.

(thanks to Steven Kaye)

Zombie business directors

Yet another use of the zombie metaphor: the New York Times calls some big business leaders "zombie directors."  These are company directors who keep on directing, no matter how badly they do.

Maybe these are The Zombie Years.  Or we should call our economy The Walking Dead.

(thanks to Kevin Barhydt)

Zombie politicians

If we live in a time of zombie politics, it's only natural that we are exposed to zombie politicians.

Disgraced politicians never die. They're like Jason from the "Friday the 13th" movies -- you just can't kill them. They keep coming at you like the political version of zombies.

To be fair,

a) We should expect most politicians to be zombies of one sort of another.

b) Obeidallah is referring to serial killer/monsters.

(thanks to Todd Bryant)

Rise of the gangsternet?

Call it the gangsternet. It's another way to fear cyberspace.

American gangs use the internet, sometimes.  And badly.  "America's street criminals lack the computer savvy of their international counterparts."  Yes, US gang members mostly use the internet to... Google other gangs.

But given the popular and policy frenzies that often accompany gangfear in America, perhaps we should expect to see some media and pop culture play for the gangsternet.

(thanks to Steven Kaye)

Zombie houses on the rise

Zombie houses - homes abandoned, but still owned - are on the rise in the United States.

Unsuspecting homeowners have had their wages garnished, their credit destroyed and their tax refunds seized. They've opened their mail to find bills for back taxes, graffiti-scrubbing services, demolition crews, trash removal, gutter repair, exterior cleaning and lawn clipping.

In some cities, people with zombie titles can be sentenced to probation, with the threat of jail if they don't bring their houses into compliance.

The zombie metaphor has become one of the most popular of our time.  Should we call our era The Zombie Years?

(link via BoingBoing; image by Abode of Chaos)