The Beat’s real life loved ones are under strict instructions should the Beat expire untimely: a portion of our ashes are to be clandestinely scattered at the Disneyland version of Pirates of the Caribbean. To be honest, we thought we were way daring and iconoclastic when we thought this up, but turns out we were just part of a soggy club:

While the rate of “HEPA Cleanups” has been increasing lately at the Haunted Mansion, the recent Pirates of the Caribbean movie craze (with its supernatural plot themes) means that ride isn’t immune either. Just this past Friday a Cast Member watching the security cameras noticed a woman in the back of a boat throwing a powdery substance into the lavishly decorated sets in the cavern scenes near the beginning of the ride. Even though Pirates is a 15 minute long ride, by the time the lady spreading the substance returned to the loading area Security had yet to arrive.

The college age Cast Members operating the attraction knew that legally they were not supposed to detain anyone, and when they confronted her about what she was doing in the cameras she told them she was only throwing baby powder around. The woman quickly disappeared out the exit, never to be seen again, but she’d actually left more than baby powder all over the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Security and the police finally arrived, and the ride was shut down on a busy afternoon of a holiday weekend. The ash was identified by the Anaheim Police as cremated remains, and the custodial department found most of it all over the “Captain’s Quarters” scene in the caverns. The woman had done a very thorough job of spreading the ash everywhere though, and after an hour of cleaning with the HEPA vacuums there was still work to be done.

Note to The Beat’s loved ones: that’s kind of gross to be honest. Just a LITTLE WEE BIT of our ashes. A WEE BIT. We don’t want to create a biohazard or anything. The rest can be spread you-know-where.

[Link via Boing Boing — thanks to those who sent it in.]

If this is truly a world where miracles occur, by the time you read this. The Beat will have been awake for an hour.

This was not an objective easily achieved, but has required weeks of planning and training. We would like to thank the “team” that made this possible, especially Marco, our hairdresser. We have some candid photos of the team of elite operatives we assembled to make it happen in the jump.
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Lunch today:

* Eel onigiri
* Seaweed salad
* Green tea mochi
* Mud Mocha from Mud Coffee truck

BTW, don’t forget tomorrow’s Think Future: Graphic Novels, breakfast panel, which has been sold out for weeks and had to turn people away. The panel — featuring John Cunningham, Dan Frank, Rich Johnson, Joe Quesada and Bil Schanes. and moderated by Calvin Reid and The Beat — will be taped for later video streaming, if all goes according to plan.

Last night, a bunch of spam comments made it through the filter (which is really acting up lately — anyone have a clue why?) We were sad to delete them, because the p*n*s-enlarging crowd just loves The Beat!

– “Congratulations on finally setting up your site. I am sure the website will become a internet legend!”

– “Wonderful web site, was very useful. Lovely touch having this guestbook. Thanks”

– “Recommend this site for great pleasure.”

– “The stuff on this web site is really witty and cool wise”

– “Hello, a really interesting experience to visit your website. For sure i will come back soon. greets to all !”

Finally, this spammer REALLY TOOK THE TIME to write our his/her thoughts, and we really appreciate it!

– “Your site is a refreshing change from the majority of sites I have visited. When I first started visiting web sites I was excited by the potential of the internet as a resource and was very disappointed initially. You have restored my enthusiasm and I thank you for your efforts to share your insights and help the world become a better place.”

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According to california los officers loan alamitos from Eurostat, the European Union’s in-house statistical office, Luxembourg had the highest california los officers loan alamitos penetration rate at 158 mobile subscriptions per 100 people (158%), closely followed by Lithuania and Italy.

Today is my second favorite holiday!

Was there ever a greater record than CHILLING THRILLING SOUNDS OF THE HAUNTED HOUSE? If you are like The Beat, every Halloween was an excuse to listen to this record over and over again, and use its liner sleeve with “Party Hints” as either an evocation of the ideal Halloween party, or the blueprint for the same. If you google around you can probably find an MP3 online. Or you can read more about this record — based on concepts for Disney’s Haunted Mansion ride–at HauntedMansion.com, or here.

The narration for this album was by actress Laura Olsher. “You are a bold and courageous person, afraid of nothing. High on a hill top near your home, there stands a dilapidated mansion. Some say the place is haunted, but YOU don’t believe in such myths.” As a kid, our favorite part was the terrified scream that was used as the punchline for nearly every disastrous adventure on the record.

The whole record is an example of Disney Imagineering at its finest, and until our last breath, it will always sound like Halloween to us.

The Arflovers Blog has a regular Wacky Wonder Woman Wednesday feature, and this is a special Halloween Edition. It’s very Wonder Woman, very Wacky, and very very Wednesday.affordable company loanloans 403 bstudent loan f 108loan ace titleloan lending aircraftloan 30kloans home amalgamatedhome american closes loans Map

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UGO asks Neil Gaiman, Ozzy Osbourne, Clive Barker, Brian Posehn, Tiger Woods and many others what may be the burning question of our times: Who would in in a fight: a minotaur armed with a trident or a centaur armed with a crossbow?. We’re betting on the centaur because they have TWO eyes.

SoCal fires rampage.

Meanwhile, as the Colorado Rockies prepare to host the World Series, a couple of inches of snow fell on Coors field. Snow has never interrupted a game there, but then the Rockies have never been in the World Series before.

In a scene out of a biblical epic or perhaps crazed supervillain attack, the bugs descended last night on Cleveland’s Jacobs field during the playoff game between the Yankees and Indians. The bugs are apparently called “Canadian Soldiers.” Cleveland won the game in extra innings.

posted by Mark Coale

RIP Lois Maxwell.

Oh Miss Moneypenny, forever, typing memos, answering phones and taking dictation, secretly keeping the nation secure, all with spackled on eyeliner and an Aquanet Hairshield — I’d like to see James Bond type 100 wpm.

Speaking of educating the kids, Occasional Superheroine leads us to the NSA’s “kid’s site” complete with lovable with cartoon characters.

We’re the CryptoKids and we love cryptology.

What’s cryptology? Cryptology is making and breaking codes. It’s so cool. We make codes so we can send secret messages to our friends. And we try to figure out what other people are writing about by breaking their codes. It’s a lot of fun.

On this site, you can learn all about codes and ciphers, play lots of games and activities, and get to know each of us - Crypto Cat™, Decipher Dog™, Rosetta Stone, Slate, Joules, T.Top, and, of course, our leader CSS Sam.

For you folks surfing The Beat late tonight, check out tonight’s “Superhero” themed episode of MYTHBUSTERS, another favorite of the nerderotti out there.

As we type this (9 PM ET), the first showing has just started. It repeats again overnight at 1 AM and again tomorrow night at 7 ET.

Topics include:

Building a Batman-like grappling hook
Can a Phantom-like punch like an imprint on your face?
How fast can you change in a phone booth?
will a hook fired from a Batmobile-style vehicle allow for 90 degree turns?

Posted by Mark Coale

And also:

Every year there is one post or quote or something that exemplifies what it is like to be part of the big show, and this year, Mariah Huehner said it as she contemplates her first San Diego ever.

It feels like, right now, to me at least, that many of the people I know are having lives that’re taking off, Mine included. It’s very strange and amazing and completely immediate. That’s how right now feels. It’s like sitting in your car with music playing and you’re on a long stretch of highway. And a song you love but haven’t heard in awhile comes on. You can see your life stretching out in front of you and at the same time you can tangibly feel your life happening. Who you are, what you’re doing, where you were, and possibly where you’re going. Although where you’re going is the part that is happening right now and the fact that you know part of it, but not the whole, is the exhilarating, terrifying, goose-bumpy part. The part that makes everything more alive and real and NOW. Because you can feel it happening right NOW.

Yeah that’s it. Enjoy it while you can, everyone. Inky, I will see you on the other side.loans title hud onetoll free fax loanpayments total consolidation loan detail amounttotal consolidated detail payments loantraining commercial officers loan forlending in truth auto loansfiancial area services tulsa loansdateline tv microloan Map

If you’re like us, you’ve already mentally been in San Diego for about 10 days. Worries about where to eat dinner on Wednesday, how to get across the railroad tracks, anxieties over getting to Ralphs. Like a ski racer, we’ve been down the course in our brains a dozen times already. We’re already planning how to get from Hall G to Hall B at 3 pm Saturday.

On the one hand it’s all going to be so horribly exciting. Our friends who are half our age or going to the show for the first time or else embarking on their maiden voyage as members of the inner circle…we’re thrive on their energy, we suck their enthusiasm. Not that we don’t have our own enthusiasms and wishes and hopes.

The #1 hope? Waking up the morning of Monday, July 30th with some mental facilities intact.

Nothing else matters.

Global Gaming Network has the hot scoop!

Ruby Rocket, GGN’s Comic Maven and the site’s producer at Comic-Con. She’s well-known in the cosplay community for her stunning and professional comic-based costume designs.

[Via Cinematical]

Meanwhile, JK herself speaks:

We are almost there! As launch night looms, let’s all, please, ignore the misinformation popping up on the web and in the press on the plot of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I’d like to ask everyone who calls themselves a Potter fan to help preserve the secrecy of the plot for all those who are looking forward to reading the book at the same time on publication day. In a very short time you will know EVERYTHING!

Homer Simpson has taken his place beside an ancient fertility symbol of the British Isles the Cerne Abbas giant of Dorset. But some pagans aren’t happy.

Pagans have pledged to perform “rain magic” to wash away a cartoon character painted next to their famous fertility symbol - the Cerne Abbas giant.

A doughnut-brandishing Homer Simpson was painted next to the giant on the hill above Cerne Abbas, Dorset, to promote the new Simpsons film.

Many believe the ancient chalk outline of the naked, sexually aroused giant to be a symbol of ancient spirituality.

UPDATE: we were in a bit of a hurry when we wrote the above, but this deserves some more commentary. First off this story in the Pakistan Daily Times had the best title evah: Pagans say Homer is pants

Why is this such an epic moment in movie marketing? Well, we all know the Simpsons are the greatest cartoons of the 20th century. Jumping the shark or the whole aquarium, they are still icons of the greatest magnitude.

And this stunt shows why they are great.

Ponder one moment. A CARTOON CHARACTER HAS BEEN ETCHED ON A HILLSIDE BESIDE A 17TH CENTURY CHALK OUTLINE OF A NAKED, SEXUALLY AROUSED, CLUB-WEILDING GIANT. While that scarcely needs any embellishment to reinforce its wonderment, it becomes even more impressive when you compare the literacy and historical accumen of the Simpson marketers with other movie companies.

Did The Transformers set up shop at the Ring of Brodnor in Orkney?

Did Spider-Man swing through Petra?

Did Pirates of the Caribbean sail over to the Golden Buddha of Bangkok?

Did Shrek roll around the Caves of Lascaux?

NO NO NO and NO! Only the SIMPSONS had the guts to confront an ersatz neolithic fertility symbol on its own turf. Literally.

Plus, when you add it all up, the most amazing thing is that HOMER SIMPSON, A LICENSED CHARACTER KNOWN AROUND THE WORLD AND OWNED BY RUPERT MURDOCH IS ABOUT TO TOSS A DONUT ONTO THE JUNK OF A 17TH CENTURY CHALK OUTLINE OF A NAKED, SEXUALLY AROUSED, CLUB-WEILDING GIANT.
Game, set and match.