Backward Picnic is like a terrifying and fascinating cross between David Lynch and the Coen Brothers. Read the rest

Salinas, California police nabbed Roberto Daniel Arroyo, 33, after homeowners the Dungan family captured video of the gentleman licking their doorbell, many times, in the middle of the night Saturday. Arroyo allegedly also swiped some extension cords from the Dungan's Christmas decorations. According to an interview with David Dungan in the Salinas Californian, they have since cleaned their front porch and "bleached the doorknobs." From the newspaper:

Officers knew Arroyo because they have encountered him several times previously, (Salinas Police spokesperson Miguel) Cabrera said...

The case has been sent to the Monterey County District Attorney's Office, which will decide whether to file charges. Police are seeking misdemeanor prowling, theft and violation of probation charges, Cabrera said.

"This Salinas doorbell camera caught some truly bizarre behavior, police say" (The Salinas Californian)

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Instagrammers are posting things crafted to look like ads and sponsored posts, giving the impression they are paid-up influencers when they are not.

A decade ago, shilling products to your fans may have been seen as selling out. Now it’s a sign of success. “People know how much influencers charge now, and that payday is nothing to shake a stick at,” said Alyssa Vingan Klein, the editor in chief of Fashionista, a fashion-news website. “If someone who is 20 years old watching YouTube or Instagram sees these people traveling with brands, promoting brands, I don’t see why they wouldn’t do everything they could to get in on that.”

Of course, getting caught means instahumiliation. But even that has its own weird cred, these days.

Not all just copy-and-paste from real campaigns. It's mesmerizing, the grasp some of them have on the precise visual and textual vocabulary of the "sponsored post", uncannily bridging authenticity and advertising in a way that fools no-one but would satisfy the client. A client who does not exist, in this case—and may even be cease-and-desisting the instagrammer to cut it out.

This post brought to you by Pan Am, America's Airline To The World. Read the rest

Popcorn is the delightful synth instrumental penned by Gershon Kingsley in 1969 for his classic LP "Music to Moog By." It was later covered by countless other artists including this gentleman, Jacques Perrot, who performs it on his face. (via Popcorn Song)

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David Lynch has directed many television commercials but this one from 1993 for Adidas, titled "The Wall," gives any surreal perfume commercials (including Lynch's own) a run for their money. (See what I did there?) You can find a directory and clips of Lynch's other commercial, ad, and promo work here.

(via r/ObscureMedia)

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Over 200 hardcore Shrek fans contributed to the crowdsourced Shrek-Retold, a full-length, deeply-artistic scene-by-scene remake of Dreamworks' original 2001 animated film. The 90-minute adaptation is a project headed by 3GI Industries, the Shrek superfans behind Shrekfest (their hyper-busy retro website is a must-see). Now, I've admittedly only skimmed the video but it's probably the most "internet-y" thing -- with its surreal mix of live-action, cosplay, and animation -- I've seen in a good long while.

(Digg) Read the rest

Do you like Flaming Hot Cheetos? Well, heck. Why not enjoy a Flaming Hot Cheetos Thanksgiving turkey dinner with the whole family this year. Read the rest

Berkeley County, South Carolina police are seeking the easter bunny and an accomplice for a rash of stolen trail cameras.

"We know some-bunny knows them," say the police.

(MyFox8) Read the rest

Video evidence of owl-like extraterrestrials found in an attic:

Baby owls in the loft, or visitors from another planet? pic.twitter.com/F3efPV30Qc

— Daily Owls (@Daily__Owls) November 14, 2018

Do you believe that we're living in a simulation? Has that belief affected your life? My old pal Rodney Ascher, director of fantastically freaky documentaries like Room 237, about weird theories surrounding The Shining, and The Nightmare, a study on sleep paralysis, is starting on a new far-out film about people who are convinced that our world is a digital creation. If you're one of those people, Rodney would love to hear from you.

"The approach, like my other films, is to focus almost entirely on first-person accounts and present them as accurately as possible - closer to a non-fiction Twilight Zone than an episode of Cosmos," Rodney says.

"A Glitch in the Matrix" (Facebook) Read the rest

Edited but not doctored.

Here's Alex Jones, needing a doctor:

Previously: Dune without words. Read the rest

Full-on white supremacy and fascism, folks. Nothing to hide anymore. Read the rest

Can't stop scrolling though. Read the rest

She's Harriet the singing donkey, and she belts it out from a pasture in Ireland. Got a better singing voice than I do. Read the rest

A South Korean mania for shirts sporting the campaign logo from Jesse Jackson's presidential bid has spread across the Pacific rim, getting knocked off in China, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Read the rest

Before entering Ohio's Akron Fright Fest, a park of self-proclaimed "extreme haunted houses," people need to sign a waiver.

The waiver lets them know that these are mature haunted houses with actors who might physically touch them, but never do they mention people getting pushed down for a simulated rape. Read the rest

On Friday night, a nude man jumped into a large tank at Ripley's Aquarium in Toronto for a brief swim with sand tiger sharks, sawfish, green sea turtles, green moray eels, and other fish. "The guy seemed totally relaxed... and like laughing," said one onlooker. Pretty ballsy. From CBC Toronto:

Security at the popular tourist attraction asked the man to leave shortly before 10:30 p.m. ET but he refused, said Jenifferjit Sidhu, a spokesperson for Toronto Police Service.

Instead, he swam to the edge of the enclosure and emerged from the tank before doing a backward flip into the water, she told CBC Toronto on Monday...

But before officers arrived, the man got out of the water, put on his clothes and left the aquarium. No marine animals were harmed during the stunt, Sidhu said.

Read the rest