Sunday morning weirdness
Category: Weirdness
Posted on: July 20, 2008 10:09 AM, by PZ Myers
I knew it. Bucky Katt is an ID proponent.
In related news, I was sent a photo of this odd billboard.
Be mesmerized by the mysterious Octopult!
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PZ Myers is a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris.
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Comments
For a second, I thought the Jesus cat might be in Minneapolis. There's that big mural of Jesus on one of the buildings as you cross, I think, the Fourth Street bridge--but I think that building is blue or something. Been a while. Damn, I miss Mpls.
Posted by: MAJeff, OM | July 20, 2008 10:13 AM
Obviously, you need to visit. Minneapolis Pharyngufest!
Posted by: PZ Myers | July 20, 2008 10:15 AM
Can we make it a funded conference?
things is getting spendy out here (I can't believe I used "spendy." I fucking hate that word):
Posted by: MAJeff, OM | July 20, 2008 10:19 AM
I love the octopult. Of course, as an engineer, Rube Goldberg is my hero.
Posted by: JoJo | July 20, 2008 10:21 AM
The "octopult" really looks like it was inspired by this:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5503582578132361295
Posted by: Phaedrus | July 20, 2008 10:25 AM
When ?
Will there be squid and beer ?
Crackers ?
What about making it into a big Pharyngufest for us Pharyngulites from the rest of the world, I wouldn't mind taking a flight to the twin cities if it'd be worth it... and with that cheap Dollar of yours, probably wouldn't cost more than a weekend to London, so, why not ?
Posted by: negentropyeater | July 20, 2008 10:36 AM
#5
I had the same thought. I have both the animusic DVD's, and that piece is one of my favorites.
Posted by: Dee | July 20, 2008 10:37 AM
LOL Cat Jebus?! Great billboard placement...
Quality!
~Dan
http://jazzsick.wordpress.com/
Posted by: Dan | July 20, 2008 10:49 AM
"You'll go down faster than a Portuguese soccer player on an ice rink" is now one of my favorite phrases.
Posted by: MAJeff, OM | July 20, 2008 10:51 AM
Apparently had to take it down. Too many complaints about poor taste.
Posted by: Mary Lupin | July 20, 2008 10:53 AM
Reminded me of those Animusic shorts they put on between Dr. Who episodes on PBS, except that the octopult wasn't totally lame.
Posted by: Dustin | July 20, 2008 10:59 AM
Mary, "Too many complaints about poor taste."
Yeah, our cats wouldn't eat kitekat.
Posted by: Richard Harris | July 20, 2008 11:01 AM
Posted by: Dustin | July 20, 2008 11:05 AM
Mary #10 "Apparently had to take it down. Too many complaints about poor taste."
Christians, eh. Absolutely no sense of humour. ;-)
Posted by: MH | July 20, 2008 11:09 AM
Get Fuzzy regularly has good satire slipped in. It's become one of my favorite strips, along with Dilbert and Doonesbury. I think panels 4 and 5 are the best, though.
Posted by: Mystyk | July 20, 2008 11:11 AM
Hey, I'm the real Cat here! Never mind that phony clown with the crackers hanging on the side of the building. You can pet me, and I can purr. That imaginary moronic clown can only offer crackers that supposedly turns into his piss and shit. My real likeness is all around you; that likeness on the wall is only imaginary and only in the minds of demented retards. Meow!
Posted by: Holbach | July 20, 2008 11:12 AM
Pharyngula provided a nice treat for a sunday morning!
I too thought a first it was the Minneapolis jebus, but
ours has a rainbow.
What a shame they took the cat down. It WAS in good taste!
And I was quite amused to see Bucky Cat again.
And the gizmo is fascinating.
Otto
Posted by: Otto | July 20, 2008 11:12 AM
Before watching it, I assumed the octoput was going to be trebuchet for octopuses--not sure if the trebuchet would launch the octopuses, or the octopuses would be using the trebuchet to launch what?--but as I was watching it reminded me of a circular firing squad (the inward-shooting type).
Of course, if it has been a catapult, then we'd have the explanation for the billboard: A certain cartoon cat ate a cracker and was launched...splat!
Posted by: blf | July 20, 2008 11:13 AM
What's even funnier is that cat/jesus pic is placed right under an ad that reads "Meet your Christian soulmate today."
http://www.oddee.com/item_87332.aspx
Posted by: kap | July 20, 2008 11:21 AM
Apropos of nothing: Hey, PZ, did you know that a sentence from your blog is used in the Urban Dictionary to illustrate SIWOTI?
Acronym for "someone is wrong on the internet." Describes the compulsion to post rebuttals to online nonsense, in the vain hope that it will somehow set the record straight.
I try to stay away from Dinesh D'Souza's ravings, but when you've got SIWOTI syndrome, the man is like a magnet of wrong. (PZ Myers, 3/April/2008)
Posted by: Elf Eye | July 20, 2008 11:22 AM
How dare you desecrate Cat Jesus. have you no shame? We are calling for the faithful across the globe to protest your bigotry. You sir are threatening our very safety with your evil cyber string!
Executive Director
Catolic League
Posted by: jimmiraybob | July 20, 2008 11:32 AM
I like the octapult [sic], a lot. I like the magical dome that appears and disappears, apparently at whim. I like the way the cam in the center seems to gently undulate when viwed from a distance. I like most of all the sound of the octapult...natch'l riddim.
I like Get Fuzzy a lot, too, but that's not news.
Posted by: Sven DiMilo | July 20, 2008 11:49 AM
Hey! Is that the Steorn prototype they finally got working?
Posted by: Frederik Rosenkjær | July 20, 2008 11:56 AM
If we're going to talk about weirdness, have you seen how they're teaching science in the UK these days?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0dyvoVV5Tk
Posted by: Al | July 20, 2008 12:04 PM
#10
Maybe if we serve the Kitkat on a Magic Cracker, it'd taste better?
Posted by: Seeker | July 20, 2008 12:10 PM
Maybe if we serve the Kitkat on a Magic Cracker, it'd taste better?
We have to wait for it to bleed, though.
Posted by: MAJeff, OM | July 20, 2008 12:11 PM
Get Fuzzy is great. Right up there with Pearls Before Swine.
Posted by: JStein | July 20, 2008 12:18 PM
Elf Eye @ 20 I feel the same way about that cesspit retard Dinesh D'Crapa, and look for evey opportunity to make him look like the crap he is. See what I mean?
Posted by: Holbach | July 20, 2008 12:26 PM
Do want!
Not Bucky, of course. Poor poor Rob. I have enough trouble with the Dummkatz without him talking back. And I've only had him a week!
Posted by: Sili | July 20, 2008 12:40 PM
Here is more Sunday funnies
http://laughlines.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/19/a-modern-bible/
Posted by: Allytude | July 20, 2008 12:43 PM
You should make the crackers look exactly like communion wafers, but with some seasoning to make them taste better.
And voila, god has evolved!
Posted by: amphiox | July 20, 2008 12:50 PM
Largerpic of the billboard. Can anyone translate the Russian?
Posted by: IvanM | July 20, 2008 12:55 PM
Ceiling Cat iz purrsekuted by infidulz! Ceiling Cat is watchin yoo. Betr be kareful, infidulz!
Posted by: Ron Sullivan | July 20, 2008 12:59 PM
The octapult is fascinating and the soundtrack is hypnotic. Written by Philip Glass? Or Steve Reich. I can never tell.
Posted by: Zeno | July 20, 2008 1:23 PM
The octopult is truly evidence for intelligent design :D
Posted by: Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry | July 20, 2008 1:33 PM
I'm liking that Octopult! It's very much like something one would see in the Animusic films... a bit simplistic, sure, but it works in real life and could easily lay down the base of the tune.
Posted by: Eli | July 20, 2008 1:54 PM
According to a friend who speaks Russian, the billboard says:
"The love of Boris in March is without bounds, if the food's excellent"
Posted by: David | July 20, 2008 2:03 PM
IvanM:
I'm probably missing some cultural references, but I translate it as:
Boris's love in March knows no boundaries
if the food is excellent.
I suspect the "in March" bit might be a reference to a poem, or else I may be mistranslating a homonym.
Posted by: arensb | July 20, 2008 3:25 PM
To catch a cat in a pose like that, you invoke its preying instinct with a synthetic animal on a string. Cats are gullible like this because they enjoy pretending it is real.
Compare and contrast.
Posted by: JohnnieCanuck, FCD | July 20, 2008 3:31 PM
The octopult is pretty cool, but I have to say that this takes the cake.
Posted by: JSW | July 20, 2008 3:34 PM
I was wondering if you'd see that one. :-)
Of course, the amusing thing about that is that Bucky's ancestors *aren't* monkeys ...
Posted by: Paper Hand | July 20, 2008 3:40 PM
"Apparently had to take it down."
Does it actually say that on the page you linked to? I scrolled through about 50 comments in lolspeak before giving up trying to find any actual information. It's funny when the cats talk like that, it's not funny when PEOPLE do!
Posted by: Rey Fox | July 20, 2008 3:54 PM
I wouldn't mind the lolspeak if it weren't for the little crew of commenters who apparently have an all-day coffee break on there - plus the first twenty comments are about who's 'not-first'... I know these people are adults, they all admit to drinking alcohol.
Posted by: Bee | July 20, 2008 4:17 PM
IvanM:
Here is a translation: "Boris's love in March is limitless if food is excellent".
"In March" is a reference to a belief that male cats go crazy with love in March (it's called "martovskie koti" - "March's cats")
PS: I'm Russian.
Posted by: Alex Besogonov | July 20, 2008 5:02 PM
I love that the cat is irritated at the accusation that it was descended from monkeys. It's sort of like the creationist trope, "you never see a half rabbit/ half alligator."
Posted by: Greta Christina | July 20, 2008 5:18 PM
хорошая киска
--
Luvd the mesmerizing kinetics too... Thanks/спасибо. :)
Posted by: MilitantCephlapodist | July 20, 2008 5:39 PM
I think Mussolini's army used the octopult during WWII.
MAJeff: That was not the Original Intent of the comment.
Posted by: wrpd | July 20, 2008 6:30 PM
MAJeff: That was not the Original Intent of the comment.
The Portuguese soccer player one? Oh, I know it wasn't sexual.
If anyone is within ten yards of Cristiano Ronaldo, he's flying through the air, flopping around, and shrieking at the ref. It's even worse if they're close to him. (Somebody needs to stomp on and shatter his shin bone.)
Posted by: MAJeff, OM | July 20, 2008 6:32 PM
#41: Bucky's ancestors probably ATE monkeys. His offense is understandable.
"I think Mussolini's army used the octopult during WWII"
It would go a long way to explaining their overall ineffectiveness.
Posted by: amphiox | July 20, 2008 8:23 PM
There's a billboard about three blocks from here, in southwest Chicago, that says, "Behold, I am coming quickly. Jesus Christ."
Every time I see it, I have two nearly simultaneous thoughts: a) 2000+ years is 'quickly'??? and 2)JC as the poster child for PE!
Posted by: Chakolate | July 20, 2008 8:33 PM
Octopult. Wow.
There is a lot of love in that device. The brain loves the idea and the love, the dedication and the focus, goes to the eyes, to the hands, to the tools, to the raw material.
Much tweaking and adjusting that would drive some people to scream and flee. The brain knows it will work and that it must be just so in order to work. And eventually, behold, it works! To me, that's Art.
Posted by: Crudely Wrott | July 20, 2008 9:10 PM
Poor Mary Magdalene must have been one frustrated lady.......
Posted by: themadlolscientist, FCD | July 21, 2008 2:31 AM
"I can haz res-erection?"
Posted by: Jesus Cat | July 21, 2008 4:23 PM