Hubert Cumberdale's Shack
Scratchy, deranged characters you might not know yet, but who are fated to disturb and, just maybe, delight you.

David Firth is a cottage industry. No, that's not right. He's not a cottage at all.
What he is, is a demented animator and artist, mainly, who has a web site called "Fat-Pie". It's a showcase for his art and animation and for a series of interviews with an actual guy named Devvo who has to be seen (and heard) to be believed.
Both the art and the aforementioned Devvo have achieved a cult following; Firth's creepy "Salad Fingers" Flash animations are a popular example.
Here at Hubert Cumberdale's Shack Firth has managed to cater to that cult with an online shop filled by merchandise based on his otherwise unmarketable characters. They're just a little too weird for prime time.
The t- shirts are neat, the mugs are muggy, but just wait till you see the clocks.

Salad Fingers, Burnt Face Man, and others

The sad fact is that if you're not yet familiar with Salad Fingers and the crew, this won't make much sense to you; but take heart! Making sense isn't too high on Firth's list so you're not at that much of a disadvantage. And with luck you'll like at least the style and offbeat nature of these enough to go explore the animations.
So without further explanation, consider the shirts:



This is by no means complete, but here's a lineup of t-shirts showing Fat Pie characters like Burnt Face Man, Spoilsbury Toast Boy, Salad Fingers, Milkman, Mabel, and - he can't be stopped! Salad Fingers, yet another time.
There's also a scattering of posters, postcards, and some spiffy buttons.
But here's what really got me: the clocks.

I'm pretty crazy about that Spoilsbury Toast Boy Symbol clock on the bottom, especially, with its insane numbers and evidence of foul play. I haven't been able to decide which padded cell it belongs in.

So I'm hoping that you already know the Fat-Pie crowd, or if you don't, that you'll be disturbingly compelled to find out more about them. Firth is a really good example of what Really Neat Stuff's all about - showcasing independent artists who've found a way to bend the Internet to their ends. Muahahahahaha!


What's not to like?

If your computer's desktop resolution is less than 1024 x 768, you'll have to scroll sideways to see everything on the page.
This is a design problem with the site, which otherwise is nicely laid out and pleasant to use - but you might think about setting your desktop to a higher resolution, yourself; there are very few computers in the wild these days that can't support at least 1024 x 768. Give it some thought.