Top Secret America

"The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work."

The Washington Post has created stories, interactive maps, searchable databases, and more.

Microsoft sent salesmen slabs of concrete? (link roundup)

The notes to this ad campaign by Y&R for Microsoft say:

We wanted to show software sales staff that Windows breaks down the walls in customers lives. So we showed them what that felt like by putting our letter in a concrete envelope, complete with a hammer to smash it open. The letter invited them to join a sales promotion where they could win a trip to where the Berlin Wall used to be.

Leave it to Microsoft to unnecessarily complicate something easy. Via.

And a few more links:

1. The interior of the Paris Social Club is straight out of Tron.

2. Desktop wallpaper sized painting of a robot run amok by Joe Alterio.

3. Employees of the FAA's air-traffic-control unit are being used to process claims made in the Cash for Clunkers program. Via.

*Previously: Microsoft waterslide ad.

*Buy Tron toys at eBay.

Real FEMA coloring book, fake FEMA coloring book

It's a close call as to what's more ridiculous. The real FEMA coloring book (download the whole thing here):


(She's like the kid from Lost. She read a comic book about planes crashing into buildings, and next thing ya know...)


or the fake FEMA coloring book (more pages here):



*Previously: Lawyer coloring book.

*Buy the "Gangsta Rap Coloring Book" at Amazon.

Plush robots for sale (link roundup)

Plush robot by Alexander Shen on sale for $22.

And a few more links:

1. Man vs. Mecha-Godzilla.

2. Download a labyrinth. I wish my yard was big enough for a labyrinth - - not the kind with walls, the kind you just walk round to clear your head.

3. Incredibly positive review for House of the Dead Overkill. Lots of desktop wallpapers at the official site.

4. Funny Dilbert comic strip about the hypocrites in Congress. Via.

*Previously: Plush robot with opening chest.

*Buy plush robots at eBay.

Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre catalogue (link roundup)

The Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre catalogue looks to be full of cool automata. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Eighty computers have gone lost or missing from Los Alamos National Laboratory. I don't see how this could possibly happen without some sort of corruption. I work in a fairly large office, and people freak out if a chair goes missing. Via.

2. Super agent Scott Boras gets a bad rap for his tactics, but here's an example of one his college-age clients turning down a $500,000 deal, playing another year in college, and accepting a new deal worth as much as $2 million.

3. Abraham Lincoln as a giant Dr. Manhattan terrorizing the White House.

4. Superman riding Devil Dinosaur, by Joe Quinones.

*Previously: Batman is jealous of Superman's dinosaur.

*Buy the Watchmen "Vietnam" army patch at eBay.

Michael Cogliantry’s Killer photo series (link roundup)

A photo from Michael Cogliantry’s Killer series. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Vicar orders removal of "unsuitable" crucifix from church (photo link). Via.

2. Before you rush into thinking Obama should give people jobs improving America's infrastructure, read this.

3. LA Times raised prices today from 50 cents to 75. Makes sense. Anyone still dumb enough to buy a copy...

4. Nicole Kidman says she sucked in Australia.

*Previously: Christmas advent calendar features image of serial killer.

*Buy crucifixes at eBay.

Monstrous Elmo (link roundup)

Monstrous Elmo t-shirt design submitted at Design By Humans by Berno.

And a few more links:

1. NY Times doesn't want to address whether its publisher is having sex with Caroline Kennedy.


2. The bigger the player, the more pinstripes on his jersey. NY Yankee CC Sabathia might have the most pinstripes ever. Via.


3. Now US zoos want "stimulus funding." The LA zoo is a horrendous place to visit. Seems like half the exhibits are empty, and it's a tremendous distance to walk, over very hilly terrain. No fun if you have young children with you - - and pretty much everyone who goes to the zoo has young kids with them. Via these sites.


4. Boulder, Colorado wants $6 million in stimulus funds to convert 60 government cars from ordinary hybrids to plug-in hybrids.

*Previously: A Bert to haunt your nightmares.

*Buy Muppets toys at eBay.