The Tachanka: A Thing William Cals Love

A Ukrainian horse-drawn machine gun that can only fire backwards as one retreats. Rumor has it that the Tachanka was invented by Nestor Makhno, a kind of Ukrainian Che Guevara. This one  says, "Death to the black robber baron Vrangel!"
(source: Wikipedia)

Woody Guthrie fact o' the Month, and some other stuff!

Congratulations, to us. We have finally received a Comment. In thanks, here is our Woody Guthrie Fact of the MONTH: (okay, here it is)
Woodrow "Woody" Guthrie was named after Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the U.S. of A.

A Richard Marx mystery unravels after the jump...

Top 5 Bands of the 1990s, Alternate Universe Style

1. Sterno for Pyros

2. Red Hot Chipotle Peppers 

3. Stone Temple Persons

4. Jane's Conniption 

5. Mustachioed Bumpkins

Woody Guthrie fact of the WEEK

Yesterday, deposed Ohio governor Ted Strickland quoted Woody Guthrie in his concession speech in Columbus.

90s Videos of Dead Ladies in the Water: Happy Halloween

The 1990s was a scary decade. Marilyn Manson personally killed several people at his concerts.¹ The deadliest job was "attractive young rock star," and the second deadliest was "attractive young actor." With the American homicide rate reaching 9.8 per 100,000 people², the third deadliest job was "citizen of the USA." The AIDS epidemic, shrinking rainforest, Rodney King riots, ebola, and America On-Line showed us that, even though the Russians weren't going to vaporize us, the world was closing in around our throats. Sex, violence, jealousy and revenge were the order of the day, as evidenced by OJ Simpson, Lorena Bobbitt, Tanya Harding, and Amy Fisher. We didn't start the fire.

So, how did our pop culture reflect this? By creating rock videos about dead ladies in the water. Beginning with Tom Petty and "Mary Jane's Last Dance," we have the 5 best watery dead ladies of 1990s rock videos, after the jump.

Woody Guthrie fact of the DAY

Woody Guthrie was investigated as a suspect in the murder of the Black Dahlia. He didn't do it!<sup>1

1</sup>Cray, Ed. Ramblin' Man: The Life and Times of Woody Guthrie. New York, W.W. Norton & Company Inc., 2004. (330-331)

What's Hot List, 2010

Out: Pirates
So 5 Minutes Ago: Ninjas
In: Cossacks

Out: Vampires
5: Zombies
In: The Wendigo¹

Out: Sputnik
5: NASA
In: Filmmaker Luke Geissbuhler and his son, a weather balloon, and a Go Pro Hero camera

Out: Baggy jeans
5: Skinny Jeans
In: Velvet breeches

Out: Threatening rap
5: Nonthreatening rap
In: Hyper-nonthreatening, Euro-techno rap. (Thank you, Usher.)

Out: Print
5: Web 2.0
In: Virtual Reality, again, like in the 1990s! I predict its triumphant return.

Out: Computer viruses
5: Viral marketing
Always In: The Human Papillomavirus, which affects an estimated 80% of sexually active people in the US.

1 For more reading on Wendigos and their recent prominence, read this gruesome 2008 article and never sleep again.