The public shaming of Orange County billionaire Henry Nicholas continues apace. While his financial crimes may not have drawn more than a passing reference, his drug use and other, more unsavory acts, have gotten widespread coverage -- as early as last year. Perhaps, it's because Nicholas was famously involved in supporting tough sentencing laws (his sister was murdered by her boyfriend in 1983.) However, some of the "tough on crime" policies he has backed as recently as a few months ago are said to unfairly worsen the punishment for those who commit crimes much less serious than those for which he was just indicted.
posted by noway on Jun 7, 2008 - 22 comments

BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG is a musical composition by the inimitable Dan Deacon, dubbed by his local paper as part vaudeville ham, part electronica genius. Take a tour of Dan's thrift-store electronic keyboard and read his answers to stupid questions in Ignore Magazine. via Miss Cellania
posted by madamjujujive on Aug 14, 2007 - 34 comments

The Ledge He appeared on Laugh In, produced one of the truly weirdest 45s of the 60's, and was one of many inspirations for David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust. Meet Norman Carl Odam, the Legendary Stardust Cowboy.
posted by timsteil on Dec 7, 2005 - 13 comments

I've labored long and hard for bread,
For honor and for riches
But on my corns too long you've tread,
You fine-haired sons-of-bitches.
Black Bart, the P o 8.
posted by Joey Michaels on Nov 29, 2005 - 14 comments

A little local color to remind us of what we're fighting for.* Not to mention all these folks: too pretty for another city. Then there's this guy, who needs a place to return to, slasher movie-style.
*The woman's 80 years old, fer crissakes!
posted by brundlefly on Sep 5, 2005 - 6 comments

The Naked Rambler returns! The Naked Rambler is about to do it again, this time accompanied by a Naked Librarian. How eccentric do you have to be to generate a jail sentence rather than a smile?
posted by Duug on Jun 13, 2005 - 32 comments

I was looking around for some information on Lord Berners and came across this. Interesting and good. The root of the URL piqued my curiosity. Who could resist? Certainly not I. What can one say? I mean to say, what can one say? Words fail me so much with this, that, well, what can I say? What would you say?
posted by IndigoJones on May 6, 2005 - 9 comments

Charles Kellogg was born in 1868 in California and claimed to have the larynx of a bird (called a syrinx). Until his death in 1949, he lectured and entertained audiences as a performer of bird calls. He travelled across the continent in the Travel Log, a mobile home carved from a single Redwood log mounted on a 1917 Nash Quad truck chassis. In 1939, he smuggled samples of the Kakaula plant out of Fiji in hopes of providing birth control leader Margaret Sanger with the perfect contraceptive.
posted by 327.ca on Mar 21, 2005 - 4 comments

The eccentric art of Lewis Smith - a man who lived alone in the woods with no amenities, at age 60, he began drawing all day, every day. His themes included muscular and wrestling women drawn on brown paper bags, and diner scenes drawn on cracker boxes. He drew or painted on every surface including the walls of his home and his barn. If he were alive today, he would probably be amazed to learn that many of pencil and crayon drawings sell for upwards of $1000.
posted by madamjujujive on Mar 6, 2003 - 31 comments

If Wishes Were Horses - "the site dedicated to human-equine transformation." If you ever had a secret desire to be a horse, this site explains the reasons for becoming a horse and offers helpful advice on topics like building your own hooves. Oh, and don't miss the artwork. Not interested in equine transformation? Well which animal would you like to be?
posted by madamjujujive on Mar 2, 2003 - 38 comments

Lord Timothy Dexter (1747-1806) was one of the most colorful characters of early American history, described here as, among other things, an "Eccentric 18th Century Merchant - Investor with a Midas Touch - Impresario - Patron of the Arts, founding the 'World Mouserum of Grate Wonder and Gret Caricters' - progressive 'Libperel' - Self Appointed 'Consler of Trouth.'" This site includes a complete transcription of Dexter's punctuation-free magnum opus, A Pickle for the Knowing Ones featuring his famous Addenda.
posted by Joey Michaels on Nov 14, 2002 - 12 comments

Arthur Stace. Emperor Norton. These were not Great Men, but they were great men. Eccentric. Inspiring in a way. I have always found an affinity for people who walk to the beat of a different drummer. People with a vision underappreciated in their own time. Someone people would never truly understand. I'd like to learn of more people cut from similar mettle, but what does one put in a search engine? What do you call people like this? Can you think of other eccentrics of history? (and yeah I already tried "eccentrics of history" but search engines bring up nothing of note).
posted by ZachsMind on Apr 18, 2001 - 22 comments