Month: September 2013

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THE AUSTINOT INTERVIEWS MUSEUM OF THE WEIRD’S STEVE BUSTI

Austinot.com's Dave Thomas (left) with Museum of the Weird owner Steve Busti
Austinot.com’s Dave Thomas (left) with Museum of the Weird owner Steve Busti

We had a great article written about us by David Thomas today for the popular Austin blog austinot.com. If you’re not familiar with the Museum of the Weird, this is a great preview of some of the things you might find here!

 

Austin is weird, right? It’s how we’ve branded the city.

We’ve all seen the tie-dye shirts, but how weird is Austin really? Is it mermaid mummy weird? Is it shrunken head weird? The Museum of the Weird on 6th St. is that weird.

The Iceman Cometh

When Steve Busti was just a young lad, he went with his aunt to a K-Mart. In the parking lot was a man with a truck, taking money from a line of people as they peeked into the back of it.

Steve’s aunt paid the man and lifted Steve up so he could see into the back of the truck. He came face to face with the world famous Minnesota Iceman – an ape-man frozen in ice, of controversial origin, which has attracted the attention of the FBI, Smithsonian Museum, U.S. Customs and Vice President Walter Mondale. The world famous moniker is not hype. The Iceman has attracted the attention of international paleontologists and scientists.

First impressions are important. If Steve Busti had never met the Iceman, I may not be writing this story. “If I hadn’t seen the Iceman at such a young age, I’d probably be an accountant or lawyer or something and there would be no Museum of the Weird,” Steve said with a grin. It’s interesting how things work out.

Steve and his wife opened Lucky Lizard Curios and Gifts in 2005. “It’s a reflection of both our personalities,” he informed me. “She has locally made jewelry and I have my oddities.”

The museum grew from there. Steve took advantage of the extra space in the back of the store and above it, and he’s slowly amassed an impressive collection over the last eight years, with his most prized possession being the Iceman. Steve’s acquisition of the Iceman has gained the attention of national media outlets like The Huffington Post.

 

READ MORE:  Museum of the Weird on 6th St. Draws National Attention with Oddities

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CREEPY CLOWN STALKING TOWN HAS RESIDENTS SCARED SILLY

This is a photo of the creepy clown spooking residents of Northampton.
This is a photo of the creepy clown spooking residents of Northampton.

 

“He doesn’t juggle. He doesn’t twist balloons into animal shapes. He just stares.”

Those were the details reported by the Northampton Herald and Post today, and may be part of the reason locals are feeling a bit unnerved by a mysterious stranger dressed in full clown makeup who began standing outside their homes in a town north of London.

Appropriately enough, the clown first appeared on Friday the 13th.

Here’s the story as reported by the Herald Sun:

 

IS this some kind of joke?

A clown – with red wig and full make-up and sometimes holding balloons – is freaking out residents of one English town, the local paper reports.

He is red-haired and white faced and has surfaced several locations across Northampton, a town of 215,000, 100km north of London, over the past few days since his first appearance on Friday the 13th.

The Northampton Clown – which has exploded on social media in the UK – has even sparked a police warning.

 

Now personally I don’t suffer from coulrophobia (fear of clowns), but if I saw this guy standing outside my window, I still think I’d freak out!

 

A woman alleged that the clown had knocked on her door in full clown attire before then offering to paint her window sills.

Many have been left feeling frightened by the clown.

Others see it as a joke. But a few are upset and vigilantes have threatened to “get” the clown, sparking an editorial asking why would people be upset by a circus figure?

 

Apparently, that editor never read Stephen King’s “IT.”
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GHOSTLY IMAGE IN FACEBOOK PHOTO

Ghost shows up in Facebook photo
The ghostly image of a young woman can be seen in the door window.

 

Here’s an interesting and creepy photo.  You can see through the door window what appears to be a young woman peering in. Supposedly taken by the woman’s husband, they claimed there was no one else in the room at the time. So if it isn’t a reflection, what could it be?

A New Hampshire man noticed an unexpected guest in one of his friend’s Facebook photos recently. He posted the odd image of his friend and her dog onReddit last week.

On August 20, 2013, Daniel Tanner noticed a ghostly figure in one of his friend’s Facebook photos. In the photo, Tanner’s friend is seen kneeling with her dog posing for a photo, and in the reflection of the door behind her, a ghost of a young woman is seen peering at them.

“My friend has been claiming for months that her house is haunted. Her husband took this pic a few days ago,” Tanner said in the post with the attached image under his MulberryPlacebo screen name.

According to Tanner, the only people in the house at the time the photo was taken was the woman and her husband.

A few Redditors weighed in with opinions. Most of them thought it was fake or edited. Some thought the figure was a reflection in the glass.

“I believe it’s just a reflection, of what, I can’t say, could be a living person, could be a statue, could be a painting. In my opinion, this is not paranormal. Rule of thumb is never trust something seen in a mirror or piece of glass. Reflections can be absolutely anything. If I had to speculate, I’d go with a living person standing to the right of the photographer,” User Jack Shid said.

One Redditor even analyzed the photo for editing by uploading it to FotoForensics. According to him the photo is genuine.

“Other than the bar that was put over the friend’s eyes, the photo doesn’t seem to be edited. Either it’s a reflection or there is indeed a ghost,” User Kyranmat posted after he uploaded the image to FotoForensics.

User Ariandre pointed out that the ghostly woman can still be seen in the inverted image, only the figure was behind the woman instead of a reflection in the window.

“The creepy thing is the second one you did now makes it look like the girl is in front of the door instead of a reflection. You can almost make out an outline of her whole body,” Ariandre said.

An expert photo analyst with over 15 years of experience ran a detailed analysis of the image.

 

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FLASHBACK COMICS RETURNS WITH “MUSEUM OF THE WEIRD” COMIC BOOK!

Flashback Comics logo

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FLASHBACK COMICS RETURNS WITH MUSEUM OF THE WEIRD!

 

Steve Busti, owner of the world-famous Museum of the Weird in Austin, Texas,  proudly announces the relaunch of Busti’s original comic book company from the 90’s, Flashback Comics, with their first new title in almost 20 years: Museum of the Weird!

 

Busti is returning to the comics industry, where he got his start in 1994, with a new comic series inspired by his own acclaimed tourist attraction in Texas.  He says the stories will be along the lines of an anthology, inspired by individual exhibits in the museum’s collection, but tied together by a cast of characters, including none other than a fictionalized version of Busti himself.

 

“The Museum of the Weird comic will have a heavy supernatural influence”, Busti says, “as well as deal with stories of  the fantastic and the unexplained, which includes delving into subjects such as aliens, ghosts and cryptozoology.”

 

The first issue, a special preview edition numbered #0, is available now at the Museum of the Weird’s gift shop, Lucky Lizard Curios & Gifts, and through their website, luckylizard.net.  It features original stories and art by Steve Busti, Lyle Blackburn and Eerie Eric. The series is planned to be available quarterly, with the next issue coming in early January 2014.

 

Cover to Museum of the Weird #0 comic book
Cover to Museum of the Weird #0 comic book
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ANYTHING TRULY IS POSSIBLE!

Amazing. Amazing! AMAZING!

While this may not particularly seem like “weird” news to you, I say you can file this under the “Anything is Possible” category.  Through sheer will and determination, and in the face of overwhelming odds, this woman has achieved what most would say is the impossible.

Diana Nyad has just earned her long-saught after moment of triumph, and completed the historic swim from Cuba to Florida.  Prior to this accomplishment, she had attempted the trek on four previous attempts, all coming short.  But did that stop her?  HELL NO!

Congratulations, Ms. Nyad, your victory is a victory for the whole human race, as you’ve reacquainted us with the age-old lesson that anything is possible!

 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/02/world/americas/diana-nyad-cuba-florida-swim/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

MOTW-2013-09-02-Diana_Nyad