A miracle! My iPod, shuddering, lurching, dead-pixelled hand-me-down monster that it is, coughed this up during a shuffle. I was enthralled from the very first samurai-guttural French utterance, and pushed it onto my DJ friends. It’s now in regular rotation at certain SF clubs. YOU’RE WELCOME.

Tao A. Hansen writes:

I’ve become absolutely obsessed with Tecktonik dancing since Eliza’s posting. It’s still obviously a work in progress, individually colored by the dancers but there’s a lot to like here.

I think Lektra’s (the girl in the “Best of” video) take on it is not only highly imaginative but absolutely stunning. I’m already formulating some sort of plan to visit France (my aunt already lives there) and see what I can do to learn it for myself.

Anyway, thank you for the post Eliza, although unintentional, it has inspired me to take dancing far more seriously than the private enterprise I considered it before.

This is probably the first and last time we’ll hear of Ectomo changing any lives. We’ve touched plenty of you, sure, but you wouldn’t remember that.

Good fortune to Tao, and anything to be of service.

Seemingly sprung from a single video depicting a French teenager having a seizure in his basement, dance movement Tecktonik has taken root in Euroyouth. They love sneakers, shitty hair, neon clothes, and busting moves absolutely everywhere. The irony here is so recursive, that even trying to puzzle out where to draw the line between “cool” and “stupid” is giving me hives.

A slightly different format this weekend. Oscar nominations have been announced and while the pithy award show is as much an indication of cinematic excellence as one of Eliza’s massive bowel movements, it does draw attention to films that may otherwise have gone unnoticed. With that in mind Ectomo presents the nominations for Best Short Animated Film. Hit the jump for enough embedded video to make your browser weep.

Continue Reading…

• Christopher Robbin crept out from the shelter of the hundred acre wood to remind us of this cinematic abortion

• Ed Eck sends presidential missives involving moustaches and massive bathtubs

• Ninja-bot proceeds to kick out the jams with a bevy colored Octobees. Send us your submissions for glittering prizes!

• Will we never be free of the disturbingly sensual Orangina Octopus? Le Roi’s sucker mark laden tip indicates not.

• Dominic reminds us of the dangers of drug use with comics

• Concerned with the results in Iowa, Tim correctly points out that there is only one real choice for president

If you sent in a tip this past week but didn’t see it here (or used), it likely contained a malformed URL or we intend to use it later. We rely on you, our darling Ectodroogs, to pump the lifeblood of tips into our withered inbox veins. Keep up the good work!

Mutter Museum [Thanks, Steve!]

The masters of giant puppetry at Super de Luxe have created an extraordinary menagerie of animatronic sea creatures including this amazing cephalopod which, if our plans of world conquest go according to plan, will be a featured ride at Ectomoland.

Le calamar à rétropropulsion [Daily Motion] : jwz

The above is an ad for Herringbone, a clothing company, which tells the story of Henri, a man born with tiny, tiny hands. All his life he lives in shame of his diminutive appendages, which are too small, even, to pull the trigger of the gun he uses to attempt suicide with. However, with the help of God he finds that he is capable of the most sublime and delicate stitching. Thus, a long and storied career as head tailor begins. Inexplicably, the workers he oversees are not children laboring in a third-world sweatshop, which seems to fly in the face of, what I might be forgiven for seeing as, an extended, and less than tasteful, metaphor. Of course, that particular reading may be merely a symptom of my own cynicism. I leave it to the viewer to decide.

Hands [Dailymotion] : TickleBooth : MilkandCookies

• Eldritch Bic Pen Reviews? So sayeth Narkalant!

• Mmmm, girls with blue lips and porcelain skin. Wearing octopi. Oh yes. Thanks to Nadya, she of the ruff!

• For the Victorian videogame enthusiast of good breeding there is no substitute for Pac Gentleman. Assist in the toothsome devouring of ruffian spirits inside a diabolical maze. Thanks Cleveland!

• George Barbier’s frontispiece illustration takes care of the “issues” one is presented with when confronted with a gorgeous, nymphet mermaid in towering wig. NSFW for illustrated breasts. Thanks yhancik!

• And lastly we have some insanity dredged up from the depths of ectochat. “How is babby formed? How is babby formed?”

Let me say this: Qais Fulton - street vintner, gigolo, Maccaroni- is a fecund, paragon among men; a bright, shining beacon on ye fetid and filthy interwebs. It is, then, with a pointed sense of guilt and shame that I -hunched, twisted, back-woods denizen- lay waste to the beauty this gentleman has brought us by exposing its horrid, Furry center. I pray that he will find it in his heart to one day forgive me.

Furry, French & Naughty Orangina Ad [YouTube] : Orangina

Have you ever stared off into space and daydreamed about wearing another human being’s skin? No? Oh, well then, you are obviously not the consumer that might peruse the clothing racks of the SkinBag showroom.

Conceived by Olivier Goulet, a French designer, SkinBag features a line of clothing made from a synthetic material that resembles human skin, both in look and feel. “The matter of SkinBag distinguishes itself by its pleated aspects, its wrinkles, pimples, and its spots sometimes. Its texture provokes attraction and turmoil, it prompts to touch and caress,” their website exclaims explains in a bored tone as if talking to an idiot.

The items come in a variety of colors and “scarifications”, and some even feature marks resembling tattoos. Of course, one cannot don one’s new dress and vest combo without the proper accessories. With this in mind SkinBag also offers bags that resemble cured scrota and breasts, along with bracelets featuring multiple piercings.

What are the rules for something like this? Can you wear human skin after Labor Day?

Human skin clothing [Spluch] : InventorSpot : Fighter

Beans, beans, the musical fruit–the more you eat, the more you toot!
The more you toot, the better you feel–so let’s have beans for every meal!

Words for the wise. I have prided myself over the years on my gas-making–and -breaking–skillz…and, no doubt, many Ectomo readers can make such claims. (Brownless claims to be able to fart the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” after devouring a bowl of random fried squid parts, yet, being the n00b, I have yet to confirm this.) How many of us, though, have ever thought of making a career of our abilities?

In the early part of the 20th century, Vaudeville stages in both France and America thrilled to the pooting of the wondrous, the amazing, LE PETOMANE!

Joseph Pujol, a man of singular talent, was born in Marseilles, France in 1857. In his early youth it became clear that he was a natural entertainer, singing, dancing, and performing for his parents’ house guests. He had a love for music, and over the years he became handy with a trombone, but it was a different wind instrument that led to his eventual fame and fortune.

Continue Reading…

Reader Julien reminds us of this remarkable octopus guarding the door of Paris’ Oceanographic Institute like a bronze, tentacled gargoyle. Utterly gorgeous. It looks like it should be the idol of a cephalopod-worshiping, subaquatic, objectivist utopia gone wrong.