Stane's Island: Blog

One thing has been bothering me ever since I first learned about the tragic story of Maria Curie, wee back when I was a kid. She died from cancer caused by her prolonged exposure to radiation. Poor woman worked with Radium without any protection. Somebody had to be the first, humanity clueless about the wonderful effect that stuff has on man's health. But what of her friends and neighbors, unsuspecting members of their family? Research assistants? She had tons of radioactive ore in her basement. Carried the tubes of Radium in her pocket and kep them in her desk drawers. How pretty pretty they glowed in the dark, baby blue.

All that time people were coming to her place. Dropping in for a coffee. Oh, what's that thing bubbling in the kitchen, my dear? Ah, no no, its not a stew, its just me separating this thing called Uranium from it. How many of them died from cancer, eh? Did anyone do the statistics on melanoma in her street? I bet people were dropping down like flies.

Now days, if someone sneaked out just an ounce of that kind of stuff into an residential area, they'd evacuate the whole neighbourhood, but not in these days.

I remember reading in Frank Zappa's autobiography, back in fifties they had this therapy for chronic sinus inflammation. They'd shove a piece of radium up the poor kids nostril. Guaranteed to kill all 'em germs. Might give you a brain tumor, but hey atomic energy will change peoples lives. God forbid it changes yours.

Chocolate rich with Radium's reinvigorating goodness.

Lot more radioactive goodies over here [here]
via Neatorama

Yes they even have sunny days there.

Photos by Mitra Tabrizian

All men borrow, true men steal. New applications give new meanings to ordinary things.

Photo by Eric Lafforgue

Well think about it. Back in '81. all them righteous folks were screaming how Punks are the sure sign of moral degradation of our society (be it England or Yugoslavia). So were Hippies, so were Mods n' Rockers. In Germany in 39. no one ever said Hitler Jugend were antisocial. Upstanding, fine young men, with love for their country they were. Tell me then that kids today lack direction. It's not about the journey, it's what you point 'em at.

This is the way I gonna traumatize my kids one day. Or if they happen to like it, I'll have my own Adams Family.

are humans too

Yay, Tugrik be Mongolian Moneys:

Adorned with gentile face of Temuji, the artist also known as Ghengis Khan.

This is just the thing we like. Clear diagram of clear and present danger, sinister underbelly of the world we live in, with names of guys who own our asses printed in large bold letters. Remember them son, soon you'll be owing 'em a lot of tugriki.

Print it and nail it to the wall above your pillow!

via Visual Complexity

"Project Description:
Sovereign wealth funds have emerged in recent months as the world's power brokers. They have used their tremendous wealth to make big cross-border investments and prop up some of Wall Street's best-known firms.The increased activity comes as other kinds of acquirers have been sidelined by the credit crisis. These funds are state-sponsored investment vehicles and have combined assets of $2 trillion. With that much dry powder, sovereign funds dwarf the formerly booming private equity industry and in some cases, compete directly with it.

This diagram displays the 20 biggest cross-border sovereign wealth fund deals since 2005. Each line represents a deal, with thickness scaled by value of deal and color the nationality of the primary buyer. The diagram also highlights the financial advisers and lawyers who worked on more than one of the top 20 deals."

What we lost, n' didn't even know we had, or will miss dearly. Things gone and past, in our very own time window. Full list including, Kurt Cobain, British Empire and Mechanical Typewriters. For every bucket full of new crap something is lost. Wonder if the total sum is positive or negative.

"Ian Thomas of the Thomas Consulting Group in Vancouver, told the trade publication Shopping Centers Today that the zones were “done with such authenticity, with such great attention to detail, that you really think you’re in the real thing.”

The Arc de Triomphe that stands in the very middle of the South China Mall – one of the first things I saw upon arrival – bears eleven circular seals engraved with the name of the city that meant so much suffering for Napoleon’s army: “MOCSOW”. It takes a minute to figure out that the seals have been affixed upside-down. "

The Abomination that is South China Mall is dying, or better yet, is stillborn. And should I shed a tear for them? Hell, I'll spare them a nasty smile. Perhaps they can rent this ghost town as movie backdrop.

Once upon a time, about three years ago, billed as the Greatest Mall on Earth(tm), and the wonders that wait you there are fake Arch d'Triomphe, artificial Venice and seven-million-square-feet of empty and desolated retail space.

[Link] to this heartwarming story

N' happy pics of this wonderful place [here]