The photo above, of the Earth and the Moon, was taken by the robotic spacecraft MESSENGER from 183 Million kilometers (114 million miles) away. That is about the same distance away as the planet Mercury. The Earth and Moon are visible as the double spot on the lower left. The MESSENGER spacecraft is working its way to enter orbit around Mercury in March of 2011 (via Coudal Partners)

He mixes luxury and austerity. Horkheimer dabbles in bonds, has an American Express Gold Card and belongs to the Playboy Club. He wears a $10 electric watch and a ring set with a second-century BC bronze coin from the reign of Ptolemy VI of Egypt. He has a heavy metal plaque embossed with the word “HUSTLER” on his key ring. He drinks only champagne, which he buys 10 cases at a time, in vintages varying from cheap, oversweet Andre to dry, costly Moët & Chandon. He makes champagne cocktails by pouring the bubbly over a lump of sugar laced with Angostura bitters, and laps them up delicately, cat-like, one after another. He enjoys food and dines out at least four nights a week. He owns a large, old, hand-built stereo system whose amplifier is all vacuum tubes, not a single transistor. He admires Shostakovich symphonies and Peggy Lee.

The article also discusses a raging “doomsday party” that Jack Horkheimer threw on the Crandon Park beach in Miami, Florida back in 1982. An estimated 3,000 people showed up for the bash. Unfortunately the party dissolved into a mass of chaos with four young men stabbed, dozens beaten up and robbed, and around 30 arrested. You can read more at the Archived Miami Herold article about the incident here.

An economist, Makoto Watanabe, has calculated that the optimum time to buy an airline ticket is eight weeks in advance of flying. His yet-to-be-published findings also suggests that airline tickets are cheaper when purchased in the afternoons, rather than the mornings, prompting him to speculate that airlines are assuming business travellers will book their tickets at work in the morning on the company account, whereas leisure travellers are more likely to book from home in the afternoon.

Officially endorsed by the Ghostbusters, these Stay Puft Caffeinated Gourmet Marshmallows ($20) pack a wallop with over 100mg of caffeine a piece. It’s not very often that you run across a gourmet, licensed collectible, that satisfies the appetite and keeps you up all night.

Photo courtesy of Suren Manvelyans

They remind me of my “Self Portrait With Contact” photograph.

• For the Dog or Sex? Surprisingly none are labeled both http://bit.ly/aNKEYh #
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• My Twifficiency score is 38%. What's yours? http://twifficiency.com/ #
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• "Grinding on the Greeks" by Nick DeMarco and Nicolas Colon (2010) http://bit.ly/bUfiEm Net art at its best. #
• "Grinding on the Greeks" by Nick DeMarco and Nicolas Colon (2010) http://bit.ly/bUfiEm #
• Great collection of NYC subway photos from the 80's – back when nyc was nyc http://bit.ly/avvCRh #
• WWII on Facebook by Matthew Leeb on CollegeHumor http://bit.ly/ayQysA #
• Remove DRM from Amazon Kindle’s ebooks using Linux Tips4Linux.com http://bit.ly/clzIzq #
• …And Keep Looking Up http://bit.ly/bNPNgW #

We would usually excitedly tell each other about our evenings. And inevitably we both sit down in the living room, late in the after-curfew hours, and tune into PBS waiting for the Star Gazer to come on (It was originally designed to air on PBS stations just before sign-off). We would listen intently to what the star hustler had to teach us during his five minute lesson on the heavens. Both of us would then mosey out to the backyard and look up into the stars and see if we could find whatever it was he was talking about that week.

We would sit there silent and feel small and special. These are some of the fondest teenage memories I have with my brother (and I have a ton of fond teenage memories with my brother). And although those memories will never die, the mortal symbol of those evenings, “The Star Hustler”, passed away today. I am genuinely saddened.

Colorful to the end, “Horky” offers this amusing, self-penned epitaph in his bio: “Keep Looking Up was my life’s admonition, I can do little else in my present position.” You can watch his last episode by clicking here.

25) Antichrist – Von Trier, 2009
24) Blue Velvet – Lynch, 1986
23) Shivers – Cronenberg, 1975
22) Martyrs – Laugier, 2008
21) Man Bites Dog – Belvaux, 1992
20) Begotten – Merhige, 1991
19) Aftermath – Cerda, 1994
18) The Human Centipede – Six, 2010
17) A Clockwork Orange – Kubrick, 1971
16) Flower of Flesh and Blood (aka Slow Death: The Dismemberment) – Hinu, 1985
15) The Last House on the Left – Craven, 1972
14) Irreversible – Noe, 2002
13) Nekromantik – Buttgereit, 1987
12) Men Behind the Sun – Mou, 1988
11) I Spit on Your Grave (aka Day of the Woman) – Zarchi, 1978
10)Happiness – Solondz, 1998
9) Funny Games – Haneke, 1997
8 ) Visitor Q – Miike, 2001
7) Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom – Pasolini, 1975
6) Cannibal Holocaust – Deodato, 1980
5) In a Glass Cage – Villaronga, 1987
4) Eraserhead – Lynch, 1977
3) Audition – Miike, 1999
2) Threads – Jackson, 1984
1) Exorcist – Friedkin, 1973

Bukowski also has cameo appearances in The Killers and Barfly (which he wrote). If you’re interested in purchasing “SUpervan”, it was released just this March on DVD. And if you’re a huge fan of vans, the actual Supervan is currently for sale.