2 awesome things, at the same time!

math and the beatles!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123325321424929493.html

serial killers on the loose

5 killers who should never have been paroled:
http://www.cracked.com/article_16998_5-horrific-serial-killers-who-are-free-right-now.html

christian bale looks like kermit

this took someone a lot of time, but it's pretty funny:
http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/27350111.html

bah ha ha

english police criticized by the Plain English Campaign for posting signs with too-obvious messages such as "Don't Commit Crime":
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/beds/bucks/herts/6992544.stm

2 really good websites on life in iraq

the first is a video blog. the filmmakers follow the lives of three young iraqi men as they try to live normally:
http://chattheplanet.com/index.php?page=videos


the second is a blog by an insightful iraqi man. it's really good:
http://last-of-iraqis.blogspot.com/

really special links

flow chart of heavy metal band names (awesomely special):
http://www.comicvsaudience.net/images/flow_heavymetal.jpg


every episode of are you afraid of the dark (arguably special):
http://www.surfthechannel.com/show/13.html

an etymological map of europe (very very clever special):
http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-37310.html#backToArticle=591702

barack obama's favorite books (presidentially special):
http://www.abebooks.com/books/barack-obama-favorite-books.shtml?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=nl&cm_pla=cme_obama&cm_ite=feature

fibonacci batman

http://www.diodepoetry.com/v2n2/content/seaton_m.html

kids

a woman auctions off the rights to name her child, and gets a lot of money for it:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270328527480&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.com%3A80%2F%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm38.l1313%26_nkw%3D270328527480%26_sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1


i like this article about how much teachers need a happy hour:
http://proof.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/pencils-down-bottoms-up/

oh human nature

interesting summaries of studies about decision-making. worth a read for sure:
http://bookoutlines.pbwiki.com/Predictably-Irrational

5 bloody civilizations:
http://www.cracked.com/article_16972_5-most-terrifying-civilizations-in-history-world.html

assorted

hormone levels may make you cheat:
http://www.utexas.edu/news/2009/01/14/hormones_infidelity/?AddInterest=1283

make yourself look like obama on the 'change' poster:
http://obamiconme.pastemagazine.com/

name the 27 countries in the EU in under 10 minutes (hint: don't forget malta or cyprus):
http://www.mentalfloss.com/quiz/quiz.php?q=524&p=1

four links

1) what the world looks like through the eyes of animals:
http://webecoist.com/2009/01/14/animal-vision-color-detection-and-color-blindness/

2) why I am more productive outside of the city:
http://www.spring.org.uk/2009/01/memory-improved-20-by-nature-walk.php

3)real love and anti-love potions. really honest to goodness:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/science/13tier.html?_r=1&em

4)this article is scary, but it provides a balanced look at why the bombing in gaza isn't helping anyone:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/opinion/14goldberg-1.html?em

space

here's a cool video of satellite footage of the gps traces of london taxi cabs over the course of a night. really very cool:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/britainfromabove/stories/visualisations/taxis.shtml


there's a large roar coming from the outer reaches of our universe:
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090107-aas-loud-cosmic-noise.html

kites that kill

pakistani killer kites:
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/offbeat-news/pakistan%E2%80%99s-deadly-kite-flying-craze/5758

repost

chad google reader shared this. it's great:

http://ffffound.com/image/a3835169e4f355dabe1acf08443ea986d3e02f86?c=2279335

nicaragua

emailed to me from kbs:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/11/nicaragua-world-ortega

Excerpts:
"The Sandinistas are closer to Don Corleone's Mafia than a political party"

"Do we think the Ortega government is perfect? No," wrote Chuck Kaufman, national co-ordinator of the US-based Nicaragua Network. "We have criticised violent excesses of Sandinista supporters during the recent electoral process. And we have cautioned that monitoring foreign funding of NGOs not be used as an excuse to persecute women's rights groups." Unlike many solidarity groups, however, Kaufman will not turn his back on the flawed Second Coming of the Sandinistas. "Do we think [it] is better than another rightwing, neoliberal government beholden to US masters? Absolutely."

actually, this whole website is rad

check it:
http://community.livejournal.com/found_objects/

smart kids, helpful pets, and gorey tips on being deflowered

in reverse order:

edward gorey wrote a weird-ass book about women being deflowered:
http://community.livejournal.com/found_objects/3699822.html?page=1

animals are so fucking awesome i can hardly handle it (dogs are the best):
http://webecoist.com/2009/01/05/disabled-animals-pets-rescue-owners/

these kids are already more successful than me, and it makes me feel a little happy and a little sad:
http://razoo.com/articles/Five_Kids_Who_Made_the_World_a_Better_Place

Israel-Palestine

I've been very preoccupied by what's happening in Gaza, as well as the discourse surrounding it. Here's a blog from someone else who is upset:
http://meganmcardle.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/12/the_problem_with_israelpalesti.php

elephant art

this elephant is painting an elephant with his trunk:
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=He7Ge7Sogrk

more animals

weird animal:
http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/06/geoducks-are-strange.html

a buncha animals:

2008 in review

a collection of links to the greatest developments of science in 2008:
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/dec/22/50-things-we-know-now-we-didnt-know-time-last-year/life/

a collection of links to everything that happened in 2008:
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/21365

design and artstuffs

3D graffiti art seriously blows my mind. how do they do that? :
http://weburbanist.com/2008/06/29/top-10-3d-graffiti-artists-in-the-world/

glow-in-the dark solar powered mason jars:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/lights/994a/

easy/cool snow sculptures that we can do a-plenty this winter in chicago:
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/8-incredible-snow-face-sculptures/5310

and, spiders are probably the best designers. here's how a spider builds her web:
http://bitsandpieces.us/2009/01/05/how-spiders-make-their-webs/