Watch a baseball player get impaled by a shattered bat

Chicago Cub Tyler Colvin was leading off third base when his teammate's bat shattered and struck him in the chest. He's now out for the year.

*Buy baseball bats at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. "A few weeks ago, according to official and private reports, the Iranian air force shot down three drones near the southwestern city of Bushehr, where a Russian-supplied nuclear reactor has just started up. When the Revolutionary Guards inspected the debris, they expected to find proof of high-altitude spying. Instead, the Guards had to report to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that the air force had blasted Iran's own unmanned aircraft out of the sky."

2. Deadspin revealed that the Marlins took the people of Florida for suckers and tricked them into funding a new stadium.

3. Operators lost control of a US Navy drone for about a half hour - - it flew into restricted airspace before they got it back under control.

*Buy remote control planes at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Fark:

What do the United Nations, Halliburton, Church of Scientology, Lucasfilm, and Sega all have in common? They all downloaded the infamous facebook profile torrent.

Here's more companies that downloaded it.

2. "On Wednesday, both Boston papers carried front-page stories about Sports Business Journal's report that NESN's Red Sox ratings had plummeted 36 percent. (The Boston Globe also reported that WEEI's ratings were down 16.5 percent, and that male listeners between the ages of 25 and 54 had dwindled by 28 percent.)" Via.

3. The Portland DA will not file charges against Al Gore for what sounds like very good reasons.

*Buy Al Gore toys at eBay.

Link roundup

1. Baseball manager Bobby Cox recently broke the record for most career ejections. Sports Illustrated looks at whether the ejections improved his team's play.

2. If you missed it, BP had to admit that it released clumsily photoshopped images showing its response to the oil spill.

3. If Darth Vader had starred in Pixar's Up.

*Buy Up toys at eBay.

Toy Story Cosbabies (link roundup)

Toy Story Cosbabies. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Funny sketches about Leo Matsuda's first baseball game.

2. Lee Garbett has original Batgirl art for sale.

3. Dr. Who/Wizard of Oz mashup.

*Previously: Vintage TARDIS.

*Buy Batgirl toys at eBay.

Twilight, spiked (link roundup)

A one-image review of Twilight by the MIT Science Fiction Society. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Comment and win 100 one-color letterpress invitations or Save the Dates (if you're getting married).

2. Bad call cost a pitcher a perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning.

3. If you're looking for a short story idea, try this Craigslist ad.

*Previously: Twilight Zone/Twilight mashup.

*Buy baseball bobbleheads at eBay.

Book vending machines (link roundup)

Cigarette vending machines in Germany repurposed to sell books and comics. Via these sites.

And a few more links:

1. Great starting premise for your next novel: "LSD Blamed For Epidemic Of Madness And Self-Castration In Small Town."

2. Simple diagram designer. Via these sites.

3. Minor league baseball catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia has developed a mental block preventing him from throwing the ball back to the pitcher. Did Mackey Sasser ever solve the problem? Via.

*Previously: Ambulatory Coca-Cola vending machine.

*Buy baseball bobbleheads at eBay.

Defensive play of the year

Incredible play on opening day by Mark Buehrle.

*Buy baseball bobbleheads at eBay.

Design a sticker for Chiquita (link roundup)

Some of the new stickers adorning Chiquita bananas. You can read about the project here, and design your own sticker here.

And a few more links:

1. Stormtrooper Iwo Jima homage. Via.

2. Spinach Artichoke Dip recipe.

3. Loek van Mil is a 7'1" pitching prospect on the Twins.

*Previously: "El Pulpo," the polydactyly pitcher.

*Buy baseball bobbleheads at eBay.

Cthulhu Idol (link roundup)

Cthulhu statue by Tommy Poirier-Morissette. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Freakishly giant waves in the open sea have finally been documented. Via.

2. Will Leitch is writing profiles of each major league baseball team. Here's the start of his profile of the Padres:

Adrian Gonzalez was born to be a San Diego Padre. He was actually born in San Diego, went to high school in Chula Vista and has a rabid fanbase as the best Mexican baseball player alive. He loves it there. And why wouldn't he? San Diego is beautiful. Oh, and he's a fantastic hitter: The guy hit 40 homers in one of the most difficult hitting parks in the game and, somehow, led the major leagues in walks, though this is easier to do when the man hitting behind you is Kevin Kouzmanoff. The man is a stud and three quarters.

And unless you're on the Spanish language Padres site, you'll barely find him anywhere among Padres promotional materials. He should be the main — the only, really — selling point for the Padres. He is the perfect Padre; the only thing he's missing is the last name "Gwynn." But Adrian Gonzalez is not on the promotional package because Adrian Gonzalez is going to be traded.

3. Isolated house and blimp by Andy Helms.

*Previously: Papercraft fertility idol.

*Buy fertility idols at eBay.

Vintage Japanese Baseball Cards (link roundup)

John Gall shares some of his vintage Japanese baseball cards. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Mattijn Franssen's surreal images.

2. Vampire girl sculpture.

3. Cheerful Santa sketch by Adam Koford.

*Previously: Baseball is much more exciting in Japan.

*Buy Japanese baseball toys at eBay.

Tower in the fog (link roundup)

Scott Monument on a foggy day. See also: Moss-covered lion.

And a few more links:

1. The McCourt divorce is infinitely more interesting than watching the Dodgers play - - allegedly Jamie McCourt is dating her chauffeur and sent him to Taiwan to meet with a Taiwanese senator as a representative of the Dodgers. Via.

2. The various rifles used by Stormtroopers in A New Hope were modified real-world weapons.

3. Star Wars nativity scene.

*Previously: The Fog paper toy.

*Buy Polish Star Wars posters at eBay.

Linus regrets seeing The Great Pumpkin (link roundup)

Monstrous Great Pumpkin by J. Bone. See it in high-res, as well as Charlie Brown caling Lucy a bitch, here. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Massive layoffs at Forbes.

2. Go here to find out how people make it to the major leagues as umpires and what they get paid.

3. I'd like to make my small contribution to the cause of making it legal to pay for bone marrow donations. Via.

*Previously: Lego Pumpkin Monster.

*Buy Peanuts toys at eBay.

Greedo Lego CubeDude (link roundup)

Greedo Lego CubeDude by Andrew Lee.

And a few more links:

1. Very little content, but I still like the teaser site for the Motorola/Google/Verizon Droid. (I guess the thought of my smartphone being a droid is pretty appealing.)

2. Valuable advice from Malcolm Gladwell to would be journalists - - learn a skill in addition to writing such as by getting a degree in accounting. That way you'll be more than an easily replaceable and glorified summarizer. He also gives his secret to writing a good story, and advice for improving public schools. Via.

3. Undead Ted Williams (with frozen head) costume.

*Previously: Ghastly allegations about what the cryogenics lab employees did with Ted Williams' head.

*Buy Greedo toys at eBay.

Like the worst day ever (link roundup)

Or the best, since I'm guessing the guy wins. Tiger and train and snake via these sites. Source unknown.

And a few more links:

1. Impressive: How to use web tools to assemble a magazine from scratch in less than two days. Via these sites.

2. Writing for Esquire, Charles Pierce explains why he really dislikes Tony La Russa. Via.

3. Chris Rock mocks Roman Polanksi's supporters.

*Previously: Alltime 10 worst baseball all-star selections.

*Buy Japanese baseball toys at eBay.

Pharaoh Vader t-shirt (link roundup)

Today's Tee Fury t-shirt is Pharaoh Vader by Jimiyo.

And a few more links:

1. Allegation that Liberty Media, who owns the Atlanta Braves, also owns a company that sells steroids. Via.

2. Photos from the Portland Cake Wrecks book signing. The cupcakes (at the bottom) are incredible.

3. Chad Johnson/Ochocinco was able to make a Lambeau leap earlier this season because he bought tickets for fans to sit in the stadium and catch him.

*Previously: Chinese Vader's lightsaber makes people's clothing disappear.

*Buy wind-up mummys at eBay.

How to throw a fancy dress dinner party at Ikea (link roundup)

Go here for a gallery of photos from an (unauthorized) fancy dress party held at Ikea. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Photo of New York Yankees dressed as Batman and classic Batman villains. Shortstop Ramiro Pena actually looks kind of...cool as Catwoman.

2. Relatedly, Johnny Depp as The Riddler. Via.

3. Current big deal in China: A video of an adorable first grade girl. When asked about her ideal life, she said she dreamed of becoming "a corrupt official, as they have lots of property." (Photo link). Via.

*Previously: Megan Fox as Catwoman desktop wallpaper.

*Buy Catwoman toys at eBay.

Big Trouble in Little China t-shirt (link roundup)

All Jack Burton fans will appreciate the Pork-Chop Express t-shirt, new at Last Exit to Nowhere.

And a few more links:

1. Federal authorities had wanted to use controlled burns to clear away dry foliage to prevent the type of massive fires that we've had the last two weeks in Los Angeles. But Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich says, "The environmentalists have gone to the extreme to prevent controlled burns, and as a result we have this catastrophe today." Via.

2. Relatedly, hydrofluorocarbons were introduced in the 1990s to replace ozone-depleting gases used in air conditioners, refrigerators and insulating foam. It looks like the switch worked, and the hole in the ozone is shrinking. Unfortunately, the new chemicals "act like 'super' greenhouse gases, with a heat-trapping power that can be 4,470 times that of carbon dioxide." Via.

3. Seattle Mariner Adrian Beltre missed a few weeks of playing time after injuring his testicle. When Beltre came up for his first at-bat, the theme for Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" was played at Ken Griffey Jr.'s suggestion. Via.

*Previously: David Lo-Pan Mighty Mugg.

*Buy Big Trouble in Little China toys at eBay.

Clever hardware packaging (link roundup)

Packaging for screws, nails, etc by Lina Brunzell.

And a few more links:

1. Famous doctors say throwing curveballs when young ruins your arm, But two independent studies says that's not true.

2. Dark Horse is bringing back Magnus, Solar, and Turok, and Jim Shooter will be doing at least some of the writing.

3. Members of AKA, the oldest predominantly black Greek-lettered sorority, have sued national president Barbara McKinzie, claiming she misappropriated funds and commissioned a $900,000 wax figure of herself. You can see the figure here. Via.

*Previously: Portland General Store packaging.

*Buy Turok toys at eBay.

Papercraft punk bank (link roundup)

This punk paper toy also serves as a piggy bank. Download it here. Via.

And a few more links:

1. At Mad Men Yourself (which I'm guessing is based on Dyna Moe's art), you can create a stylized version of yourself. But the program kept locking up when I tried to download the completed version.

2. I hadn't realized that the Oakland A's have been a below .500 team for years.

3. The Chinese deal with bad traffic a little differently. For example, one man hung out by an intersection and whenever he saw people running red lights, he hurled bricks at them. In another instance, a man fed up with a traffic jam caused by a man threatening to leap off the bridge, pushed the jumper off the bridge.

*Previously: Mad Men opening, Simpsons-style.

*Buy minor league bobbleheads at eBay.