Just Press The Right Button.

Vaught’s Practical Character Reader is an appalling little book on phrenology. I can’t imagine going around, staring at people, then feeling free to poke their head. Seems to me that would be an invitation to a facial rearrangement. There’s an insistence that anyone who doesn’t adopt their particular system is an idiot and worse, which  handily brings us to:

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Trolling Trump.

Most people are at least marginally aware of the Tiny Tyrant’s recent claim that he turned down Time Magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’, which has been handily refuted by all the folks at Time Mag. There’s always a bit of room for trolling though, and for Pete Souza, the Obama administration photographer, it’s a fun pastime.

Someone has a lot of catching up to do.

Former President Obama’s White House photographer on Saturday taunted President Trump, sharing a series of 15 Time magazine covers featuring the Obamas.

Pete Souza shared the compilation of photos, which was originally posted by an account named @michelleandbarack,” on Instagram, with the caption: “Someone has a lot of catching up to do.”

You can read all about it at The Hill.

It’s The Revolution! Oh No!

Rick Wiles. Again. And Again. The upset this time? The above video.

End Times broadcaster Rick Wiles warned that a recent “Saturday Night Live” skit in which three R&B singers begged Barack Obama to come back and be president again was really deep state propaganda designed to prepare Americans for the coming left-wing revolution.

Wiles and his co-hosts were aghast that SNL would make light of something as serious as “throwing out the Constitution” and “insurrection.”

“They’re prepping the public for the revolution,” Wiles said. “We’re going to topple Donald Trump, we’re going to bring back Barack Obama, we’re going to throw out the Constitution and we’re going to start a new country.”

“It confirms what I said a year ago,” he added. “Barack Obama will run the country as a president in exile. All of this ‘Resist Trump’ garbage is all being directed by Barack Hussein Obama.”

No, Mr. Wiles, this does not confirm anything you said, and it certainly does not confirm your moronic conspiracy theories. It’s a skit which represents a whole hell of a lot of wishful thinking going on, because of the twin disasters of the Tiny Tyrant and the grand ol’ party of sociopaths. People are tired, scared, sinking into poverty, and half dead of embarrassment. And you’re all aghast that people long for the return of a competent and scandal-free administration? That people long for a president who is actually intelligent, thoughtful, and capable of empathy? That people are desperate for a leader who is capable of diplomacy and has better things to do than to spew shit and manufacture vendettas via Twitter?

Pulling off a revolution is not so easy; history would be your friend there. Perhaps you should go and read. It’s always of interest to me, given how much you christian conservatives always have your nose up the ass of the ‘founding father’s’ corpses, that you conveniently manage to forget it was a revolution which founded all you claim to love. There’s a quick lesson there – revolutions happen when people simply cannot tolerate the existing situation anymore, they don’t happen for no reason at all.

The Resistance is not garbage. It’s necessary. And once again, not being directed by Pres. Obama. Seriously, if it was, I want my personally signed memo, dammit!

Via RWW.

Japanese Bathroom Ghosts.

Illustrations of the 12 different types of Kappa, a water spirit who is sometimes known to haunt outhouses, from the 19th century.

And why not? Lavatories are notoriously spooky, and across cultures. Japanese lav spooks are quite detailed, and there are plenty of urban legends to go around, too.

Kappas may be repelled by farts, but they were known to appear in outhouses all the same. Yoshitoshi/Public Domain.

Never forget the power of a good fart! Atlas Obscura has the full rundown on lavatory spooks, with more to read, videos to watch, and many more images!

President Pottymouth.

Johan Olander, “President Pottymouth” (2017), inkjet on matte photo paper with hand-painted enamel additions, 8.5 x 11 inches.

President Donald J Trump’s official portrait is so rich in infantile machismo that mockery is inevitable. Look at it for minute and you can’t but help to want to distort it in order to show its true nature.

Via Hyperallergic.

The Rowboat Bath.

Some ideas were best discarded. This is one of them, from 1916.

The rowboat bath is the newest contribution to the physical enjoyment of living.

The rowboat bath is the newest contribution to the physical enjoyment of living.

"The rowing-bath has been perfected in a western sanitarium for the purpose of adding zest to the morning plunge. It is valuable as a curative measure, but it may also be used with enjoyment and benefit by any one. The rowing-bath consists of a metal container which is attached to the nozzle of an ordinary tub by means of a rubber cord sufficiently strong to give the element of exercise. Entering the tub, the bather attaches the rowing device and turns on the cold water. As it pours into the tube he scoops up the water and, pulling the container toward him with a rowing motion, empties it full upon his breast, thus securing the zest which accompanies the pleasant pastime of buffeting surf. This bath is a diversion from the ordinary "shower" on a hot summer day."

The rowing-bath has been perfected in a western sanitarium for the purpose of adding zest to the morning plunge. It is valuable as a curative measure, but it may also be used with enjoyment and benefit by any one.

The rowing-bath consists of a metal container which is attached to the nozzle of an ordinary tub by means of a rubber cord sufficiently strong to give the element of exercise. Entering the tub, the bather attaches the rowing device and turns on the cold water. As it pours into the tube he scoops up the water and, pulling the container toward him with a rowing motion, empties it full upon his breast, thus securing the zest which accompanies the pleasant pastime of buffeting surf. This bath is a diversion from the ordinary “shower” on a hot summer day.”

I wonder how many people bought this ridiculous thing before it sank into obscurity. Looking at that picture, all I can envision is what a mess it would make, and it wouldn’t be the male enthusiastic ‘rower’ who cleaned it all up, either.

Via The Public Domain.

Katerina Kamprani: The Uncomfortable.

Katerina Kamprani has some very interesting and entertaining work:

All the objects you will see in this website are deliberately designed to annoy you.

This project started after I failed to finish my studies in industrial design around 2011 and it has continued to grow ever since. My goal is to deconstruct the invisible design language of simple everyday objects and tweak their fundamental properties in order to surprise you and make you laugh. But also to help you appreciate the complexity and depth of interactions with the simplest of objects around us. As a poor designer I have started the project by making conceptual 3d visualisations, but recently I have decided to spend all my savings to produce prototypes, because what would the world be if there were no Uncomfortable objects out there?

Many of these did make me laugh, but there was also a sense of cynical despair, because if these objects were marketed, people would buy them. The concrete umbrella would become a popular garden ornament. The thick buttons would become a new anti-fashion fashion statement. The wineglass would become a new party drinking game favourite. The chain fork would become fashionable jewelry. Ms. Kamprani is in Athens, but here in uStates, people have become such slaves to marketing, I don’t think there would be a problem in selling any of Ms. Kamprani’s prototypes. I certainly wouldn’t be surprised to see unscrupulous people taking advantage.

You can visit Ms. Kamprani’s site to see more.