Link roundup

1. Rick Cho was recently hired as the new Portland Trailblazers General Manager. Here's the interview process:

I met with [team president] Larry Miller on Tuesday in Las Vegas. And then I met with Nate [McMillan]. Larry wanted me to connect in person with [owner Paul] Allen on his yacht in Helsinki.

What's he doing in Helsinki?

Just vacation. Going around Europe.

So on Wednesday I flew from Vegas to Toronto to Helsinki, and with the time change I got there Thursday evening. I went straight to the yacht, and I met there for more than three hours with Mr. Allen. Just the two of us. He asked me a lot of questions.

Later that night at the hotel Larry called me and offered me the job.

2. "Two prisoners have escaped from a jail in Argentina, reportedly while it was using a dummy to man one of its guard towers." Via.

3. "A ship from Korea carrying supplies to build housing for military buildup workers in the American territory of Guam was denied permission to dock when inspectors discovered thousands of spiders in its cargo."

*Buy Break-Out! Famous Prison Escapes at Amazon.

Tron Mr. Toast (link roundup)

Tron Mr. Toast by Dan Goodsell, who has art on sale here.

And a few more links:

1. How to build a boss-monitoring periscope for your cubicle.

2. Put a knot in one your earbuds to easily tell right from left. Via.

3. The metal detectors at L.A. County jail don't work.

*Previously: Tron opening credits by Saul Bass.

*Buy Tron toys at eBay.

Fallout New Vegas Collector's Edition (link roundup)

The Fallout New Vegas Collector's Edition comes with playing chips, a DVD, a comic book, and:

A fully customized Fallout: New Vegas deck of cards. Each card in the pack has been uniquely illustrated to depict characters and factions found within the game. Use the cards to play poker, blackjack or Caravan, an original card game that was created by Obsidian especially for New Vegas!

And a few more links:

1. Shia LeBeouf takes some shots at Indiana Jones 4. Via.

2. Cute Beauty and the Beast illustration.

3. Meet Murphy, the dog trained to look for cell phones in prison.

*Previously: Beauty and the Beast ad for Meltin'Pot Jeans.

*Buy Fallout bobbleheads at eBay.

Standing stones on Orkney (link roundup)

The Ring of Brodgar on Orkney, Northern Scotland. You'll find more photos here, and more photos of other standing stones here.

And a few more links:

1. China Mieville has a blog. Via.

2. "The Justice Department reported Thursday that 12 percent of incarcerated juveniles, or more than 3,200 young people, had been raped or sexually abused in the past year by fellow inmates or prison staff."

3. Cute drawing of classic horror movie monsters.

*Previously: Mieville fan art.

*Buy horror movie poster collections at Amazon.

Animated ink drawing (link roundup)

Ink commercial directed by Niko Tziopanos for CCTV. Via these sites. (Heads up, Niko's site resizes your browser.)

And a few more links:

1. California "prison officials have confiscated 4,130 contraband cellphones this year, more than all those seized in the previous three years combined."

2. NASA has almost completely run out of the plutonium it uses to power deep space probes. Via these sites.

3. Short and sweet explanation of the different types of missile defense.

*Previously: Inflatable Guantanomo Bay bouncy prison cell.

*Buy the CIA Catalog Of Clandestine Weapons, Tools, And Gadgets at Amazon.

Steampunk submarine (link roundup)

Steampunk submarine by Alexander Jansson. Don't miss his "greenpunk" gallery. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Work in progress image of Molly Crabapple's heroes fighting the octopus of censorship.

2. Gallery of weapons prisoners have made. Via these sites.

3. "Three decades ago Mir-Hossein Mousavi was waging a terrorist war on the United States that included bloody attacks on the U.S. embassy and Marine Corps barracks in Beirut."

4. Rich Page got enough positive feedback on the Space Kook he drew for the Villains of Scooby Doo contest that he also drew The Creeper.

*Previously: Submarine being attacked by a tentacle monster Dunny.

*Buy submarine toys at eBay.

Devastating Daily Show report on the "aged news" of the New York Times (link roundup)

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
End Times
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Newt Gingrich Unedited Interview

My only explanation for why the NY Times participated in this Daily Show report is that they know it's all over, and they just want to maximize page views while they can. Guess what geniuses, when someone mocks you for printing yesterday's news, you admit it proudly and emphasize that you provide accuracy, analysis, filtering, and convenience.

Don't miss the corresponding NY Times interview of Jason Jones. Via every blog out there, because it really is that funny.

And a few more links:

1. The guy from Munch's The Scream vogues in this animated gif. Via.

2. Too good to verify, supposedly a woman who missed being on the fatal Air France flight 447 has died in a car accident. Via Fark, where the first comment is worth a look.

3. Disgraced NBA ref Tim Donaghy was attacked by a prisoner claiming mob ties and suffered leg injuries.

4. If you're in the mood to get outraged about waste of tax dollars, read this report on Albert Senella and Scott Taylor of the Tarzana Treatment Center.

*Previously: The Daily Show reports on Code Pink's "battle" against the U.S. Marines.

*Learn how to survive prison with these books at Amazon.

Mars Attacks trading cards (link roundup)

Gallery of Mars Attacks trading cards. Infinitely more fun than the movie. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Robot 6 interviewed Thomas Hall, whose comic Robot 13 I recommended a few days ago. His description of how he and artist Daniel Bradford began collaborating is interesting.

2. When the Federal Bureau of Prisons wants to transfer inmates from one prison to another, say from Minnesota to California, it often puts them unsupervised on a Greyhound bus. 90,000 times in the last three years. Greyhound is never notified and has asked that the practice be stopped. Via.

3. Montgomery County High School in Georgia still has segregated proms. Sad story about the details, including what happened when Morgan Freeman offered to sponsor an integrated prom in Mississippi. Via.

4. Using an LA Times article about budget cuts as an example, Matt Welch does a good job in pointing out the ways reporters inject their own opinions into articles.

*At Toycutter: Mars Attacks custom action figure.

*Buy Mars Attacks toys at eBay.

How Street Fighter's Ryu gives directions (link roundup)

Ryu shows he really is a one-trick pony in this t-shirt design submitted at Threadless by Zedouard Patrick (voting has ended).

And a few more links:

1. Creepy animated gif of a two-headed monster at the bottom of this page.

2. The Birdman of Lincoln Avenue.

3. North Carolina prison psychologist starts romance with prisoner (30 convictions), continues it after he's released, eventually shoots him in the chest. They've since reconciled. Via.

4. Michael Lewis favorably reviews a new semi-authorized biography of Warren Buffet. He basically used to cheat to win typing competitions. And he's more or less a polygamist. Via.

*Previously: Prison offers prisoners pole-vaulting lessons.

*Buy Street Fighter action figures at eBay.

Iorek Byrnison desktop wallpaper (link roundup)

Iorek Byrnison, the armored bear from Philip Pullman's Golden Compass, by Martin Dasnoy. Available as a desktop wallpaper sized image here. See also "Witchblade." Via.

And a few more links:

1. Michael Gondry will draw a sketch of you for $20. Via.

2. Some sex offenders in California are housed at a facility called Coalinga. It apparently costs $200,000 a year for each "patient."

3. An inspirational guide for how the USA should proceed in the world.

4. Hercules vs. the hydra.

*Previously: Reimagined His Dark Materials book covers.

*Buy Golden Compass posters 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.

Prison offers inmates pole-vaulting lessons

"THEY may not be quite the bars prisoners dream of leaping over – but offenders at one jail are jumping for joy at being taught how to pole vault."

This isn't a joke. Via.