Truly an idea whose time has come. When the zombie apocalypse comes, when your back is to the wall and you have only seconds to clear a path through a horde of slavering undead ghouls, only a rocket-propelled chainsaw is gonna get your ass out of that fire. Just think about it; hot grinding death coming out of a tube at hundreds of miles an hour, ripping through necrotized flesh and bone as if the horde was a cloud of rotting cotton candy. From certain doom to sweet sweet freedom… at least until the next time you fuck up. Seriously, you let them corner you? Bah.

Die, Zombies!: A Rocket-Propelled Chainsaw [Geekologie, via unrealitymag]

For years, it has been thought that Man alone (and okay, maybe a few birds/simians/mammals) used tools. Essentially though, creatures with spines. Alas, tentacled doom has revealed itself anew with the news that a certain species of octopus has been found to carry around halved coconut shells which it then uses as body armour when it feels threatened. From New Scientist:

When the octopuses come across these on the seabed, they drape their bodies over and around the shells, hollow-side up, leaving their eight arms dangling over the edges.

The octopuses then lift the shells by making their arms rigid, before tiptoeing away in a manoeuvre Finn calls stilt-walking.

When the octopuses feel threatened, they flip the half shells over themselves and hide. Some even use two shells to create a more spacious shelter with an opening through which they can keep a lookout.

Well, you know what this means. First, they build protection, then the weapons. Next thing you know, Ol’ Uncle Cthulhu has an army where every soldier has us at a two-to-one limb disadvantage. I dunno about you, but I’m going to go source some octopus-spray…

Octopus Uses Coconut Shells as Portable Armor [io9.com, via New Scientist]

Okay, maybe not technically, but I can’t tell if this thing is creepy or cool. The Star Wars-branded The Force Trainer uses an EEG reading headband to allow you to float a plastic ball up a ten-inch tube, so as to appear analogous to Luke’s training sessions on Dagobah. The technology, formerly used in fancy military experiments and physiotherapy devices, seems to be spreading out into children’s toys.

It’s funny how often former military tech is applied to stuff for kids.Or do I mean disturbing? Yeah, that’s the one.

Star Wars Force Trainer teaches children to kill… with their minds [Engadget via USA Today]

I could make a pithy comment about this, but it’s really just too awesome.

Darth Vader Plays The Violin! [YouTube]

Ah, you know, sometimes I long for the days of the Cold War, when people didn’t look at you like you were an absolute crazy person for wanting to build an impregnable shelter in your backyard. Now, of course, mine would be to protect against the inevitable outcome of Z-Day, but I suppose it’d be useful in a little nuclear holocaust or something. These images from a scanned brochure of for pre-fabricated fallout shelters, from the Kelsey-Hayes Company, of Detroit, MI circa 1963, really makes me think. About zombies. Enjoy!

Duck and Cover! [Ectoplasmosis : Syndicate Product Covert HQ]

“We’re told that the film is about the government who has trained dinosaurs to carry weapons and use them for battle purposes.”

While I’m sure this news will probably convince Michael Crichton to top himself just so he can start spinning in his grave, I for one am greatly enthused. Ever since seeing Dino-Riders as a young child, I’ve wanted to see more armed reptiles. Why should we stop at guns though? Rocket-launcher equipped Tyrannosaurus Rex! How about a Brontosaurus Apatosaurus as a mobile launcher for S/A missiles? Suicidal strike teams of Compys wired with C4 charges! The options are endless. Hell, instead of spending all this money on the “War on Terror”, I think the US should pull back, drop the dime on cloning, and get these suckers up and running! I mean, they’re not going to resurrect (and arm) themselves, are they?

‘Jurassic Park 4′ to Feature Gun-Toting Dinosaurs? [Bloody Disgusting : Cinematical]

Bomb Train [LiveJournal]

1941 – Will they ever kiss again? [vintagephoto.livejournal.com]

On May 3rd, 1945, at the tail end of World War II, Ezra Pound turned himself in to the American military for his involvement with Mussolini’s government. He was arrested, and tried for treason. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and spent the next twelve years in an asylum. Considering it could’ve been the death penalty, he got a pretty good deal.

Civic Portraiture #24 [if charlie parker was a gunslinger, there'd be a whole lot of dead copycats]

Wow, I don’t even know what to say about these. Painstakingly hand-coloured, these photos show the battle of Paaschendale as never seen before. One of the most brutal battles of the first Great War, over a quarter of a million Allied soldiers died between July and November of 1917. Over 54,000 of the dead have no known graves, just an arch with their names engraved on it. The photos show the Belgian countryside turned into swamp, a festering wasteland of death. Back then, war really was Hell.

Hell on Earth: The never before seen colour photographs of the bloody battle of Passchendaele, via Ectoplasmosis