Ricvictorian's Crystal Skulls

Check out Ricvictorian's absolutely stunning display, complete with uranium glass (bottom shelf). Thanks for sharing, Ric!!! :-D

~Tale of a Fractured Skull~ by el Presidente

A true story, by el Presidente. Feedback is welcome! :-)

I was in a car crash when I was about 19 years old. I rolled my Toyota Corolla; it only had 12 inch tires on it. I was going around a corner at the beach when I started to slide. I corrected it but forgot about the counter-skid that comes after the first one. So I panicked. I rolled the car and went sliding down the beaches road on the roof of the car until I hit a chain-link fence and a large tree. I tried to get out of the car and was freaking so I was pounding my hands on the windows. Finally I calmed down, turned off the ignition and opened the door. I crawled to a house where I saw the lights on. Apparently I was at their back door. I was told through the door to come to the front door. I got back on my hands and knees and crawled around to the front because I was in shock and couldn't trust myself or balance. I stood at the front door and the guy had a shotgun pointed at my head through the window in the door. I told them to phone an ambulance because I was in a car crash. The guy hands the gun TO HIS WIFE, who was shaking like a leaf and SHE points the gun at my head while the guy checks out the scene. He comes back and says, there IS a car crash and you should hear the loud music coming from it!!! I had an eight-track tape of Neil Young's 'Harvest' in the cassette player and it had jolted full-blast with the crash. So to make a long story short, I finally got to the hospital and they x-rayed me, etc. I was off work a month. I had my scalp lifted from my head and nerve damage in both my hands and arms and a cut under my knee. They never detected a fractured skull. Until later...

I had trouble during that month off work, as you can well guess. I couldn't do anything with two arms in slings. And I had excruciating headaches.

Fast forward twelve years...

I went to the doctor because my hands were killing me. I know now it was partly due to carpal tunnel syndrome. I had radioactive dye injected in my body and I was scoped to look at my hands. The technician at the clinic asked me back for more images to be taken. Later, my doctor said, 'why didn't you tell me you had a fractured skull'? And I didn't know what he was talking about. The technician saw my old skull fracture and it had left a pretty large 'repair' where the skull bone had knit together again. So she thought she was looking at at TUMOUR. And she kept getting me to get images of my head... not my hands. So that was why. And that was why I had headaches, etc. I had a skull fracture up front and didn't know it and was never treated for it.

That's the story of el Presidente's skull fracture. So to this day that is why I am a big helmet fan. I wear a helmet skiing, skating, bicycle riding, motorcycle riding and horseback riding.

Weirdest Diseases & Skin Conditions

Dede Koswara, the "Tree Man of Java".

This poor gentleman was afflicted by human papillomavirus (HPV), which caused him to grow tree-like warts all over his body. He has since been treated, and is doing remarkably well. Follow the links for more of his story, as well as info on other strange disorders and skin conditions.

[Link to article on skin conditions]

[Link to article on weird diseases]

[via Oddee]

Ghost Towns to Visit in Europe

Ghost town of Balestrino, Italy. Abandoned in 1953.

This post is for all you wandering souls. Check out the article "8 Incredible Ghost Towns to Visit in Europe" after the jump.

[Link to article]

[via BootsnAll]

~Trends~ by Ricvictorian

A post by Ricvictorian... Discussion and comments are welcome!

What’s up with this ‘Steam Punk’ thing? Looks like fun for youngish types. Is this a new trend with them dressing and partying Victorian? What would be a typical Steam Punk band popular now? Perhaps this is an offshoot of the Goth / Vampire craze infecting western society lately?

Looks like fun as I have seen sooo many trends come and go including many in which I used to indulge: Classical, Hippy/Psydellic, Blues Rock/Hard Rock, Acid/Heavy Metal, Glitter Rock, Progressive Rock, Southern Rock, Disco, Punk, New Wave, Psychobilly (The Cramps) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVLpaiH2hbQ, Gen X, etc etc etc.

I have always marched to my own drummer but even so still find these labels descriptive and fun as I have ‘been there, done that’. That said I have always been attracted to the darker, melancholy side of these various trends. Be it, Johann Sebastian Bach’s ‘Toccata and Fugue in D minor’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVJD3dL4diY which is my favorite ever!!!

Another ultimate is Blue Oyster Cult, ‘Baby Don’t Fear the Reaper’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClQcUyhoxTg .

To bands such as Audience (House on the Hill) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1tGNk1d5gI , Black Sabbath, Emmerson Lake & Palmer, Pink Floyd, Alice in Chains, Bauhaus (Bela Lugosi's Dead) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKRJfIPiJGY, Ministry (Every Day is Halloween) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXtX9u7_6F8, M Manson and the list go’s on and on both backwards and forwards.

All summed up though I have never been a particular trend follower ...
I was just born that way and will always be that way.

SINcerely Yours ... Ricvictorian.

P.S. The Cramps ... “Do you want the real thing or are you just talking"?

Head in a Jar

"Giant Anamoly [sic] (Homo cephalos)" by tinplatestudios.

Come one, come all... see the ghoulish head in the jar! Are those intestines or tentacles? You decide! Handmade by Anthony Hicks of tinplatestudios in Seattle, Washington. Found on Etsy.

Kudos to The Vampire for stumbling across this horrifically realistic piece of artistry.

[Link to tinplatestudios' shop]

[via Etsy]

Lace Skeletons

"Engel (Angel)" by Sandrine Pelletier.

Absolutely *gorgeois*... fine craftsmanship by Sandrine Pelletier found on Skull-A-Day. More pics after the jump.

[Link to article]

[via Skull-A-Day]

Coolest Skeleton Music Video *Ever*!

Gotta love you some Chemical Brothers.

This sexy video brought to our attention by Ricvictorian.

The Stuff of Science Fiction...

Results of ACell's MatriStem Powder.

...is now reality! Check out this fascinating article regarding ACell's "miracle grow" powder that stimulates the regeneration of digits... and more!

[Link to article]

[via Singularity Hub]

Who *Actually* Killed Bambi?

Classic Marv Newland.

Why, Godzilla of course! >:-)

Thanks to Ricvictorian for bringing this infamous video to our attention.

Death Pop

Image Copyright 2011, David Sykes.

If Hell had a freezer... I'm sure it would be stocked full of these! >:-)

[via Who Killed Bambi?]

First Post: Strange B&W Photography

Photograph by German artist and photographer, Edmund Kesting. 1945.

Recommended by our fearless leader, el Presidente: This website, Black and WTF, is self-described as a "photoblog of strange black & white photos". Definitely worth perusing.

[Link to Black and WTF]