Mermaid Sculpture (link roundup)

Mermaid sculpture. It was part of Celtic Forest: Book of the Raven.

And a few more links:

1. Can't say I understand what's going on, but the concept and image are cool -- "Augmented Reality Alien Chestburster-Shirt." Via.

2. The Times Online says that leaked letters show that the British government orchestrated the release of the Lockerbie bomber to Libya in order to facilitate an oil exploration deal between BP and Libya.

3. Disturbing illustration of Popeye by Rick Baker. Via.

*Previously: Tentacled mermaid.

*Buy H.R. Giger books and posters at Amazon.

Now this is a screenshot (link roundup)

Just enjoy this giant octopus-filled screenshot from upcoming Wii game Muramasa: The Demon Blade. The gameplay on display in this trailer looks awfully lackluster. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Were the British defeated in Iraq?

2. Before there was the internet, the hot craze was hunkerin? Via.

3. A government employee who went on the same Mexico trip as Obama became infected with swine flu and passed it to his family, and yet Obama's doctors "see no need to conduct any tests?"

4. Jose Canseco is going to fight a 7'2" Korean in a mixed martial arts fight?

*Previously: Samurai octopus.

*Buy samurai helmets at eBay.

Hyrulean Girl With A Pearl Earring (link roundup)

I guess it's homage day. Clint Wilson channels Johannes Vermeer in this Zelda with a Pearl Earring print on sale here. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Did a bat manage to enter orbit on the space shuttle? Via.

2. There's an "archetypal English village" for sale. Via.

3. Here's a photo of Alex Rodriguez enjoying his reflection a little too much.

4. Girl Scouts aren't allowed to sell cookies online.

*Previously: The Girl Scouts need an image makeover.

*Buy Legend of Zelda toys and collectibles at eBay.

The United Kingdom is facing a sperm shortage and other links of the day

That's right, in this tough economy, you might want to consider taking on a second job as a sperm donor. The U.K. is looking.

Here's a few more links of the day:


Supposedly anti-gambling NBA allows the New Orleans Hornets to post casino ads throughout arena, including visitor's locker room. Noticing the hypocrisy, Phil Jackson shows he's the master of backhanded compliments.




Design for a lit crosswalk called the Air Crosswalk.



Four of Europe's 10 best selling cars are made by American companies.





Download this Star Trek Enterprise desktop wallpaper here.





Okay, I'll never enjoy another American Idol casting episode again. The poor woman mocked in this segment killed herself outside of Paula Abdul's house. Via.

*Previously: Condom wrapper design contest.

*Buy condoms at Amazon.

Billboard promoting historic dockyard accidentally portrays historic sodomy

Here's a billboard promoting the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in Great Britain. I don't think the advertisers intended to emphasize the role of sodomy in British naval dominance, but as Winston Churchill said, "Don't talk to me about naval tradition. It's nothing but rum, sodomy, and the lash." Via.

Go here for The Register's idea for the next ad in the campaign.

*Previously: Group promoting women's issues has acronym TNA.

*Find great deals on Patrick O'Brien's tales of the British navy at Amazon.

The Stone of Destiny may be a fake

"Stone of Destiny" sound so cool. Here's Wikipedia:

Traditionally, it is supposed to be the pillow stone said to have been used by the Biblical Jacob. According to one legend, it was the Coronation Stone of the early Dál Riata Gaels when they lived in Ireland, which they brought with them when settling Caledonia. Another legend holds that the stone was actually the travelling altar used by St Columba in his missionary activities throughout what is now Scotland. Certainly, since the time of Kenneth Mac Alpin, the first King of Scots, at around 847, Scottish monarchs were seated upon the stone during their coronation ceremony. At this time the stone was situated at Scone, a few miles north of Perth.
[snip]
In 1296 the Stone was captured by Edward I as spoils of war and taken to Westminster Abbey, where it was fitted into a wooden chair, known as St. Edward's Chair, on which all subsequent English sovereigns except Queen Mary II have been crowned. Doubtless by this he intended to symbolize his claim to be "Lord Paramount" of Scotland with right to oversee its King.

Some doubt exists over the stone captured by Edward I. The Westminster Stone theory posits that the monks at Scone Palace hid the real stone in the River Tay or buried it on Dunsinane Hill, and that the English troops were fooled into taking a substitute. Some proponents of the theory claim that historic descriptions of the stone do not match the present stone. If the monks did hide the stone, they hid it well; no other stone fitting its description has ever been found.

In 1328, in the peace talks between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England, Edward III is said to have agreed to return the captured Stone to Scotland. However, this did not form part of the Treaty of Northampton. The Stone was to remain in England for another six centuries. In the course of time James VI of Scotland came to the English throne as James I of England but the stone remained in London; for the next century, the Stuart Kings and Queens of Scotland once again sat on the stone — but at their coronation as Kings and Queens of England. Since the Act of Union 1707, the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey has applied to the whole of Great Britain, and since the Act of Union 1801 to the United Kingdom, so the stone may be said to have returned, once again, to its ancient use.

And here's an article from the Telegraph saying it might be a fake. Via.


On a loosely related note, the one and only Aquaman story that I've enjoyed was "The Rise and Fall, and Rise and Fall of Atlantis," which was based on Celtic folklore: