Thing in a Jar
February 28, 2003 7:05 AM   Subscribe

 
I am finally becoming an adult and moving in with my girlfriend in a couple of weeks. I now know what my first 'project' will be for our new home.
posted by Frasermoo at 7:25 AM on February 28, 2003


I've had an old Apple Mac Classic that I've been meaning to make into a MacAquarium. Alas, it has been in my closet for two years. I don't like the prospect of having to be responsible for fish, so this is going to be a perfect substitute. ;)
posted by pedantic at 7:33 AM on February 28, 2003


The project:goooooood

The dark green text on a black background: Work of an evil hell creature from some tenebrous and cyclopean dimension of eldritch weirdness (defeated by tapping the ancient and cosmic power of Selekt-Al)
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 7:40 AM on February 28, 2003


Putting strange things in jars or pyrex beakers with colored liquid is good fun, especially if you subscribe to the Mad Scientist mode of household decor.

Wish I could remember the name of the artist who does multi-media paintings ("relief sculptures"?) involving tubing and antifreeze-colored liquid (featured in the Cleveland Museum of Art's May Show quite some time back). Strange sounding, I know, but utterly oddly compelling.
posted by Shane at 7:50 AM on February 28, 2003


From the cyclopean city deep under the sea, dead but dreaming Cthulhu's shifts in his sleep, restlessly, and his eery dreaming ululations of impotent rage echo through the cthonic realm and the myriad dimensional reaches of time and space.

He summons his grotesque, miscegenated minions, howling and flopping, crawling and swimming from every quarter. He reaches across the Aeons, summoning the banished Old Ones from their exile in the far reaches of space and time. He patiently waits, gathering strength, waiting for the hour of his coming.


Pedantic - great link!
posted by troutfishing at 7:53 AM on February 28, 2003


Personally, I like the second link in my post. I should've made that more prominent...the Thing in a Jar is what I hope to model mine after. Positively brilliant!
posted by pedantic at 8:05 AM on February 28, 2003


Hmm. I can achieve the same effect by pickling kittens, yes?
posted by angry modem at 8:09 AM on February 28, 2003


Real simplicity; For years I've kept a liquor carafe filled with colored green water on my sideboard. It's sole purpose is so that when someone inquires "what is it?" I can answer "it's green". Sadly, few people ask.
posted by DBAPaul at 8:11 AM on February 28, 2003


From the cyclopean city deep under the sea...
Great quote, troutfishing. So many cool evocative words, and taking them out makes a sort of poem as well:

cyclopean Cthulhu's eery ululations cthonic myriad grotesque miscegenated minions howling:
flopping Aeons

posted by Shane at 8:15 AM on February 28, 2003


This is great. Few improvements I will do when I do this:

Instead of the fake aged Declaration of Independence paper, buy a book at a junk shop from the 30s or 40s. Tear out one of the blank pages at the front or back. Much more realistically aged!

Instead of Times New Roman, there are many shareware typewriter fonts that will locate this label much more effectively in the "Roswell" era.

For the writing, use a cartridge fountain pen. To make the ink look faded, replace half the ink in the cartridge with water.
posted by luser at 8:19 AM on February 28, 2003


Shane - that wasn't Lovecraft. I wrote that in honor of the link. I used to read Lovecraft a lot.

I may take up re-reading his stuff. The cosmic, gothic darkness seems to suit the times.

Bwahahaha Bwahahahahaha

"Aieee........Shub-Niggurath.......NO!"

*soggy noises, as if from a sort of terrible liquefaction, then.......silence, and a faint, foul odor*
posted by troutfishing at 8:38 AM on February 28, 2003


I wrote that in honor of the link.
Even more impressive!

posted by Shane at 8:45 AM on February 28, 2003


What's Sculpy?
posted by signal at 8:49 AM on February 28, 2003


(I'm sure I will read Lovecraft (AND RE Howard) throughout all the flopping Aeons to come.)
Back on topic, I have a Pyrex chemical beaker full of tiny pink plastic pigs in my room. Somehow, it works. Works for me as whimsical "art" ("Yes, but is it aht?"), that is.
Sculpy is clay you cook in any oven to a permanent plasticky/rubbery consistency, signal. Craft store.
posted by Shane at 8:54 AM on February 28, 2003


Sculply (or Sculpey) is a polymer clay for modeling. A quick goolge results in Sculpy baby heads.
posted by pedantic at 8:55 AM on February 28, 2003


Oops, the "goolge" was on purpose. Gotta keep those lawyers at bay. Yeah, that's it.
posted by pedantic at 8:57 AM on February 28, 2003


(I'm sure I will read Lovecraft (AND RE Howard) throughout all the flopping Aeons to come.)

You may also enjoy Clark Ashton Smith. Unfortunately his best stuff (like the Zothique and Hyperborea stories) is currently OP.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 9:03 AM on February 28, 2003


oh man, what a great link. I would use a different jar, and perhaps have a whole shelf of the suckers, there's many good miniature manufacturers out there....

of course, that would be if I was single, didn't have small children and a wife who was sooooo squeamish I even had to get rid of my Giger prints....
posted by jkaczor at 9:07 AM on February 28, 2003


A quick goolge results in Sculpy baby heads.
Baby heads in jars! Oo!
I even had to get rid of my Giger prints....
Giger in a bottle! Even better. Someone needs to manufacture that ASAP!
posted by Shane at 9:16 AM on February 28, 2003


PinkStainlessTail - Please, please, do an exegesis on Clark Ashton Smith's name!
posted by troutfishing at 9:16 AM on February 28, 2003


Shane - thanks. Now to figure out how to get paid for writing. Hmmm......"the Cthulhu cookbook"?
posted by troutfishing at 9:18 AM on February 28, 2003


PinkStainlessTail - Please, please, do an exegesis on Clark Ashton Smith's name!

I no shovel. Are we talking about that Klarkash Ton stuff?

posted by PinkStainlessTail at 9:26 AM on February 28, 2003


Awesome link. I'm definitely making one. Thanks!
posted by Witty at 9:44 AM on February 28, 2003


One of my freshman roommates had a big glass jar full of highlighter marker ink (take out the felt stuff, soak it in water for a wile, take felt stuff out of jar). It looked like it was a plain watery green until you hit with a black light, at which point it would fluoresce mightily. Way cool.
posted by Vidiot at 9:50 AM on February 28, 2003


I, um, knew a guy in college who stole a human embryo in a jar from the Biology lab and displayed it in his dorm room. When, um, he graduated, he put it in an old suitcase in the attic of the dorm. Wonder if anyone ever found it?
posted by MrMoonPie at 10:56 AM on February 28, 2003


PinkStainless - yup.
posted by troutfishing at 11:19 AM on February 28, 2003


MrMoonpie: I think it would be funny if he listed the suitcase as a geo-cache.
posted by elwoodwiles at 2:29 PM on February 28, 2003


Great post! Now I know what I'm making everyone for Christmas.
posted by TimeFactor at 5:04 PM on February 28, 2003


MrMoonPie - That's the grossest thing I've heard in along time...Hey! ( *little bulb lights up in head* ) - You're sure you didn't 'borrow' that from a Frank Zappa song?....

"the idiot bastard son...father's a Nazi in Congress today...abandoned to die in the back of a car, Kenny will stash him away in a jar......" (from either "Absolutely Free" or "We're only in it for the money" (can't remember which).
posted by troutfishing at 11:10 AM on March 2, 2003


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