Are you afraid of your staircase? (link roundup)

"Are you in love with your home, but afraid of your staircase?" China Mieville's blog posts are like ultra-condensed short stories. See also: Forest spirit sign.

And a few more links:

1. A blogger's ill-advised joke cost his employer $1 million when the target of the joke pulled advertising and got allies to pull advertising.

2. Here's a detailed description of the ARG supporting the JJ Abrams/Spielberg project Super 8 (which had a trailer not remotely justifying the buzz the movie is getting).

3. Cory Doctorow describes what happened when he declined to go through a dehumanizing airport naked scanner.

*Previously: The wit of the staircase.

*Cory Doctorow's new book is 32% off at Amazon.

Golgo 13 sleep mask (link roundup)

Golgo 13 sleep mask on sale for about $12 here.

And a few more links:

1. Poets ranked by beard weight. Via.

2. Hardcore Olivia fan. (The Olivia series is really terrific.)

3. Here's a cinematic story: traveling with family through China to get to Hong Kong and freedom. Moving by night to avoid arrest, and always walking toward the glow on the horizon, which had to be Hong Kong, because so little of China was lit at night at the time.

4. Finally getting around to posting this: read about the J.J. Abrams-edited puzzle issue of Wired.

*Previously: Beard in a Box.

*Buy Golgo 13 toys at eBay.

Stylish surgical masks (link roundup)

One of several surgical masks by Yoriko Yoshida. Don't miss the "mask of Octopus beard." Via.

And a few more links:

1. J.J. Abrams just might adapt Stephen King's Dark Tower series. Via.

2. Sergeant Howard Sawyers "who trains correctional officers at the Walworth County Jail, is the world's cop doughnut eating champion for the third time." Via.

3. Download Coldplay's live album, recorded during their 2009 tour, this May 15. Via.

4. Photo of Rod Blagojevich standing in a fake forest with Heidi and Spencer from The Hills.

*Previously: Bird mask.

*Buy gas masks at eBay.

Bird Mask (link roundup)

Bird Beak Mask by ~GorillaEye on deviantART

Sculpted bird mask by Ben.

And a few more links:

1. Lots of photos of the bizarre donuts at Voodoo Donuts in Portland.

2. Using one of the best movie scenes ever to sell a cigarette lighter.

3. I like Dusty Harbin's drawings of classic moments from The Godfather.

4. The current issue of Wired was guest-edited by JJ Abrams and comes with a short Star Trek comic by Paul Pope. You can see a few panels here.

*Previously: Plague doctor mask.

*Buy gas masks at eBay.

The Observer from Fringe spotted at NASCAR race

I lost interest in the Fringe tv show pretty quick, but I like the way its mythology bleeds into other Fox broadcasts. Here's the mysterious Observer making an appearance at a NASCAR race:



Via.

*Previously: The Observer appears at an NFL game.

*Buy Fringe posters at eBay.

Concept art from the JJ Abrams Superman movie that never was

Apparently the JJ Abrams-scripted, Brett Ratner-directed Superman movie that never was got far enough in development to merit concept art. Phil Saunders posted an image of Superman fighting a Kryptonian Battle Pod called a "Rouser." See the high-res image here. And here's a description of the script.

*Previously: Desktop wallpapers for JJ Abrams' Fringe.

*Buy Dharma Initiative stickers and other Lost collectibles at eBay.

Fringe-related sites

If you explore the Massive Dynamic website, you'll find several email addresses, a contact form, and a phone number. If you call the contact number, 1-877-867-7396, you'll be told that all representatives are busy. You can leave a message and are promised that they'll get back to you. Another website possibly linked to the show is Glowing Monkeys, which is a blog focusing on real world, "fringe science." I've turned in my email and phone number. We'll see what happens next.

*Previously: Fringe desktop wallpapers.

Desktop Wallpapers for J.J. Abrams' Fringe

Since it starts in 30 minutes (in Los Angeles), seems like a good time to note that I posted four Fringe desktop wallpapers back in May.

Update: Whaddya know, another pro-torture show from Fox. All in all, it was pretty good despite the lead actress being entirely unconvincing. Here's the site for the mysterious Massive Dynamic company mentioned in the premiere. And here's a fansite dedicated to the show. Lots of screencaps there, like this one of the redhead's robotic arm:



*Previously: Star Trek teaser posters united.

*Buy Cloverfield at Amazon.

Desktop Wallpapers: J.J. Abrams' "Fringe"

And a super-minimalist wall



Made with art from posters promoting J.J. Abrams' new tv show for Fox, called Fringe. You can see all five posters and some shots of the cast here.