Link roundup (Thomas P.M. Barnett edition)

1. The current state of Iran. (All in all, pretty good news.)

2. Historically, the norm is for US Presidents to fire generals with great regularity.

3. Chinese officials censored a television dating game when it got a little too real.

Link roundup

1. "A German court on Tuesday threw out the case of a schoolteacher against a pupil who allegedly tormented her by scrawling pictures of rabbits on the blackboard to aggravate her rabbit phobia." Via.

2. In case you haven't heard about Journolist - - a private listserv where top "journalists" conspired to promote specific ideas, read this.

3. Kawaii version of the twins from The Shining.

*Buy The Shining movie posters at eBay.

Helmet Girl (link roundup)

Helmet Girl by Jeff Wall.

And a few more links:

1. Seems like it would be pretty creepy to cut into this Mr. Clean cake.

2. These Disney Monsters Inc. vinyl toys give vinyl toys a bad name.

3. CBS news anchor Suzanne Rico explains what led to her recent firing. (Since she claims to want to be a serious newsperson, it'll be interesting to see if she actually proves adept at breaking news.) Via.

*Previously: Sheep dog cake.

*Buy Kidrobot toys at eBay.

Cute Creature from the Black Lagoon (link roundup)

Creature from the Black Lagoon by Jimmy Pickering. It's one of several creatures that will be on display at the upcoming skellyopolis show.

And a few more links:

1. One defense of the TSA's security procedures: forcing terrorists to try something new makes them try something they haven't perfected. (Like shoe bombs, or thigh incendiaries.)

2. How CNN (and other media outlets) get away with paying for exclusive interviews, while claiming that they don't pay for interviews.

3. Trap-Jaw and Beastman are best friends forever.

*Previously: The Creature from the Black Lagoon STD warning.

*Buy Creature from the Black Lagoon toys at eBay.

Colorful Papercraft Monster (link roundup)

More complicated than what I usually post, but you can download this vibrant monster paper toy here.

And a few more links:

1. The reviews for Brutal Legend seem to be making the same point - - it's not actually fun to play. For example, Tycho says, "a game I like, but don't especially want to play." (Since I've never gotten Jack Black's appeal, it's definitely not the game for me.)

2. To save money, the Fox affiliate in Washington DC will now ask anchors to control their own teleprompters with foot pedals.

3. I'm sure my kids would love this idea - - a homemade Inspector Gadget costume. (In fact, I have time to blog right now because they're watching Inspector Gadget.)

*Previously: Excellent Inspector Gadget toy.

*Buy Inspector Gadget toys at eBay.

Snowman paper toy (link roundup)

A little more complicated than the papercraft projects I typically post, but it still looks doable. Papercraft snowman by Matt Hawkins.

And a few more links:

1. Forget the hype about Twilight (the movie). It'll sell about as many tickets as . . . "Patch Adams, the No. 10 movie of 1998. Or roughly the size of George of the Jungle, which placed No. 13 the year before." Via.

2. Owner of cadaver transportation company who mishandled corpses sentenced to pay for billboard apologizing for misdeeds (photo link). Via.

3. William Gibson posted . . . an excerpt from his new book? Featuring characters from Spook Country?

4. Some notable media moments from 2008. I'd completely forgotten Jesse Jackson saying Obama was "talking down to black people . . . telling n—--rs how to behave." Yet that story was basically the only thing on every news channel for a day or two.

*Previously: Barack Obama paper toy by Hawkins.

*Buy Barack Obama toys at Amazon.

A Bert to haunt your nightmares

Seseame Street's resident demon, Bert, in his most terrifying form. High-res photo here.


Here's a few more random links:

1. North Korean defector lives in South Korea and sends anti-Kim Jong Il pamphlets to North Korea using helium-filled balloons and special timers. Via.


2. Israel's border with Gaza is watched over by remote-controlled machine-gun armed sentry towers and remote-controlled armored vehicles. Apparently, the towers are chiefly operated by women.


3. As previously suggested, the Arena Football League is canceling the season.


4. Former NFL player identifies various players by name who intentionally display their packages to female reporters.


*Previously: Bert eats a screaming child.

*Buy Muppets toys at eBay.

Irony photographed

Truck with flame decals, actually on fire. Photo found here.

Here's a few more links:

1. Animated gif of Warblade helping a cat down from a tree, perhaps? (Or it's the new Blue Beetle?)


2. Antique vampire hunting kit from the 1800s sells for $14,850? Via.


3. Obama logo cherry/blueberry pie. Via.


4. Michael Lewis writes about the latest Wall Street collapse:

Then came Meredith Whitney with news. Whitney was an obscure analyst of financial firms for Oppenheimer Securities who, on October 31, 2007, ceased to be obscure. On that day, she predicted that Citigroup had so mismanaged its affairs that it would need to slash its dividend or go bust. It’s never entirely clear on any given day what causes what in the stock market, but it was pretty obvious that on October 31, Meredith Whitney caused the market in financial stocks to crash. By the end of the trading day, a woman whom basically no one had ever heard of had shaved $369 billion off the value of financial firms in the market. Four days later, Citigroup’s C.E.O., Chuck Prince, resigned. In January, Citigroup slashed its dividend.

Read more of his latest article here. And you can buy his book Liar's Poker, which is about Wall Street in the 80's at Amazon. (My general rule is never buy a nonfiction book, unless it's written by Gladwell or Lewis.)

*Previously: A recently made "antique" vampire hunting kit.

*Buy Obama and McCain action figures at Amazon.

"Child Molester" pops onto screen during weather forecast

As this poor weatherman tries to forecast the weather, "Child molester" appears on the screen



Via Soup Cans, which has a bit of information about the sad incident.

Here's a few more random links:



Watchmensch, coming from Rich Johnston.



Remember being in taught that the tongue was divided into sweet, sour, salty, and bitter areas? Yeah, that's not true. Via.




A whole lotta people have been fired from Wired. Awhile back a subscription to the LA Times got you a free subscription to Wired, and I still didn't want the deal.



Aborigines in Australia (and only Aborigines) are banned from watching pornography (for their own good). Don't worry, the porn lobby is fighting for their rights. Via.




Is the new minimalist "Quarter Pounder" McDonald's store in Japan some kind of elaborate prank? Or is the economy really so bad that people can suspend belief and view a quarter pounder as classy?

*Previously: Vintage McDonald's sign.

*Find Happy Meal and cereal toys at eBay.

Soccer player has to be taken away by riot police after he receives a red card

Andre Luis plays soccer for the Brazilian soccer team Botafogo, and does not react well to receiving penalties. Here's video of a relatively mild reaction to receiving a yellow card (emphasis on relatively since he quickly escalates the matter to a red card):







And here's video of another penalty, where riot police had to escort Luis away:







You can buy Botafogo merchandise at the official store or eBay. Via.





Here's a few more links:







Video of the cast of the Today Show dress up as classic fairy tale characters (fast forward to 1:30). Including Al Roker as the Gingerbread Man. Via.











November is National Novel Writing Month. Via.







1. The first coach of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets was named Dick Harter. Honest. Via.







2. Vatican clerics have timecards and have to clock in. Via.







3. Female jogger was bitten by a fox, ran a mile with its jaws clamped on her arm, put it in her trunk, drove to the hospital, and received rabies shots. (So did the animal control officer who examined the fox, only to be also bitten.) Link. Via.



Update: Here's video







4. Finally, you can win a copy of the new Futurama Bender's Game dvd here.



*Previously: Astonishingly ugly rugby jersey.



*Buy Futurama toys at Amazon.

There was an all-women Soviet bomber regiment called the Night Witches

A Soviet all-woman bomber regiment was nicknamed the "Night Witches" (Nachthexen) by the Germans. The Night Witches flew 23,000 sorties and was the most highly-decorated unit in the Soviet Air Force. You can see a preview of Garth Ennis' new comic about them here. Via.

Here's a few more links:


This logo for Art Van Furniture has been found to violate Hershey's trademark. Via.




There's a new iTunes game called Tap Tap Revenge: Nine Inch Nails Edition that features music from the last two NIN albums. A high score could earn you merchandise and concert tickets. Via.


1. The blog started by former EGM editors Dan "Shoe" Hsu and Crispin Boyer has already managed to get itself banned from using Google AdSense.



2. Target (wrongfully) suspected a woman of trying to pass counterfeit bills and referred her name to the authorities, which led to Secret Service agents visiting her at work. She sued Target for defamation and just received a $3.1 million judgment. Target plans to appeal, but her attorney had a great line: "Where can we buy her back her good name? We've looked, and you can't buy it at Target." Via.



3. Per Rich Johnston, "Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Boxes" had 16 pages of story, and a cover price of $3.99. It can't get much clearer. Marvel thinks anyone buying new comics at the store is a sucker.



4. "Bandit catchers" are volunteers who work marathons and make sure no one who sneaks onto the course gets to cross the finish line without running the full race. Via.



5. An octopus at an aquarium in Germany shortcircuited the power to the entire aquarium by squirting water at a particular light he didn't care for, has been seen juggling crabs, smashes the tank with rocks, and periodically rearranges the scenery. So, if you believe in reincarnation, is this guy ready to be human, or a recently devolved criminal?

*Previously: Giant octopus desktop wallpaper.

*Buy Kim Stanley Robinson's tale of reincarnation at Amazon.

When Corey Rich was 13, a teacher noticed that he had very capable biceps.

"When Corey Rich was 13, a teacher noticed that he had very capable biceps." Best sentence I read today - - it's the first sentence of an introduction to an interview with an adventure sports photographer.

Here's a few other items that got my attention this week:

1. Japan fired its air force chief for writing an article claiming that Japan was actually pretty good to Koreans during WW2 and was tricked into bombing Pearl Harbor by those crafty Americans. Link. Via.


2. Criss Angel's new Cirque du Soleil show "Believe" is laughably bad, along the lines of Elizabeth Berkley's "Showgirls." On the other hand, the new rock opera about the life of Linda "Deep Throat" Lovelace gets a solid review from the LA Times.


3. Could there possibly be a shipping company called "HIV Carriers?"


4. California's anti-gay marriage proposition is so confusing that even experienced politicians opposing it are telling people to vote "yes."


5. Keys can be duplicated from a photo taken up to 200 feet away. Via.


6. And is this the sexiest photo ever taken of someone lying on Star Wars sheets?

*Previously: Wacky Japanese game show features human trebuchet.

*Buy "Our Dumb World" from The Onion at Amazon.

Razor Shines back in Major League Baseball

Razor Shines is back in the major leagues as third base coach for the NY Mets. Via.

Here's a few more headlines that caught my eye:

1. Yet another example of why I use Blogger. Via.


2. Inmates doing road work ingest psychedelic mushrooms, taken to hospital. Link. Via.


3. The bar-tailed godwit can fly 7,242 miles without stopping. Link. Via.

*See more weird news here.

*Buy "Mickey & Me: A Baseball Card Adventure" at Amazon.

Smuggle alcohol into an event using the "Beerbelly" and" Winerack"

In an article for The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, describes various ways he managed to defeat airport security in the US. At one point, he was subjected to "secondary inspection" while he was secretly wearing a neoprene "Beerbelly" filled with beer under his shirt. The "investigator" didn't notice it. In the photos above, you can see the Beerbelly and Winerack in action.

Here's a few other headlines:

1. Supposedly, studies indicate watching black and white television as a child causes people to dream in black and white. (I dream in color, but there's never sound in my dreams.) Via.


2. Yesterday was "anti-piracy day." Wouldn't that make it "ninja day?" Via.


3. Reusable diapers are worse for the environment than disposable diapers. Via.

*Previously: "The liver is evil. It must be punished."

*Buy "The Museum of Bad Art: Masterworks" at Amazon.

Video of Jessi Klein expressing her love for CNN's David Gergen

Comedian Jessi Klein expressed her love for CNN's David Gergen in a blog post, and then was invited to express her sentiments in a video. Here you can see Gergen's embarrassment when presented with the video:



Via these sites.

Here's a few more headlines:

1. Disney has a new plan to make California Adventure even more boring than it already is - - spend $1-billion to "re-create the era when Walt Disney arrived in Hollywood." Can someone please create Jules Verne Land already? Via.


2. According to this National Geographic article, Neanderthals ingested approximately 5,000 calories a day to maintain their mass. Dramatically alters the picture I had of hunter/foragers and how much food they were able to find.


3. What happens when a company like Lehman Brothers declares bankruptcy? It holds a garage sale, where it sells off it fancy art collection. Of course, sometimes, companies sell off their collections for other reasons. In 2003, Unilever sold off its fancy photo collection and replaced it with photos of "Suave shampoo, Ragu bottles, tea packages -- images employees can connect to." Via these sites.

*Previously: Southern California wasn't icy during the Ice Age; Photos of Disney's new T-Rex restaurant.

*Buy Disney Star Wars toys at eBay.

Headlines of the day

1. Chimpanzee with baby tigers. Big gallery of adorable photos here. Via.


2. Want to catch terrorists? Set up a laundromat, send out a lot of coupons, run clothing through an analyzer, and see who brought in clothing that turns up bomb-making residue. Link. Via.


3. To make Flint, Michigan seem a little happier, Kristina Pringle paints images of Winnie the Pooh on vacant homes. Link. Via.


4. The Los Angeles Lakers were originally the Detroit Gems. And were owned by someone named King Boring. Honest. Via.


5. Beginning to give up hope of ever making it as an artist? Malcolm Gladwell's latest discusses late-blooming artistic geniuses. They're more common than you think.

*See previous news headlines here.

*Buy plush monsters at eBay.

Prisoners use containers of mackerel as money, and other headlines of the day

1. Since cigarettes are banned, prisoners use containers of mackerel as money. Link.


2. Store security guards have sex in their office, are fired after being secretly videotaped by boss, and are now suing for invasion of privacy. Link.


3. Chris Matthews interviews daughter on tv, doesn't mention it's his daughter. Link.


4. Robber hires unsuspecting decoys via Craigslist. Link.

*See previous news headlines here.

*Buy Sandow Birk's paintings of California prisons at Amazon.

Fearsome prehistoric duck of doom and other stories of the day

1.Prehistoric duck had 16-foot wingspan, toothy ridges on its beak. Link.


2. Pro football player Richard Collier was shot 14 times and survived, albeit gravely injured. Link.


3. Animated gif shows Obama really is the chosen one. Link.


4. Busch Gardens manual for traveling with animals helpfully suggests getting a room near the ice machine if traveling with Penguins, and putting up the "Do Not Disturb" sign when leaving an animal alone in a hotel room. Link.


5. Pirates seize Iranian ship near Somalia, die after suffering weird symptoms like skin burns and hair loss. Link, Link.


6. Space freighter brought down to burn up in atmosphere at a time convenient for Google moguls to watch? Link.


7. Scott Adams explains how he accidentally plagiarizes from himself. Link.

*See previous news headlines here.

Best magazine covers 2008, as chosen by the American Society of Magazine Editors

Head over here to see the full list of magazine covers chosen by the American Society of Magazine Editors as the best of 2008, and head over here to see the gallery. All in all the choices are pretty lackluster. But these two are great:


March 24, 2008 New York cover pointing out that Eliot Spitzer kept his brain between his legs




June 30, 2008 cover showing McCain as best pals hanging out on the beach

Via.

*Previously: April Fool's cover of The Jewish Journal.

*Buy 100 Years of Magazine Covers at Amazon.

Legendary Japanese baseball player Sadaharu Oh had his stomach removed, plus other news of the day

1. Sadaharu Oh had his entire stomach removed due to cancer. He hit 868 career homeruns in Japan. Link. Via. (Stomach toys on sale at Amazon.)






2. Good news if you want the benefits of drinking red wine, but (like me) hate drinking wine: Concord Grape Juice has the same benefits. Link. Via. (Photo via.)






3. Fun article about the 419 Eaters, who tricked a Nigerian scam artist into joining their fictitious church and travelling from Nigeria "to the dangerous and unpredictable capital of the predominantly Muslim country of Chad, while wearing the uniform of a Christian missionary." Link. Via. (Photo via.)






4. List of geeky theme cruises, including chess cruise, pirate cruise, and videogame cruise. Link. (Photo via.)





5. Flea, of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, is taking classes at USC and finishing up his solo album. He explains, "The record is based on the character Helen Burns from "Jane Eyre." I love Charlotte Bronte and all of the Bronte sisters." Link. Via. (Photo via.)

*Find previous news posts here.

Buy Jasper Fforde's hilarious The Eyre Affair at Amazon.