A young Vladimir Putin pretends to be a tourist (link roundup)

File this under too good to verify (or maybe, "fake but accurate"), but does this photograph show KGB agent Vladimir Putin posing as a tourist during one of Reagan's visits to Moscow? Apparently a common Soviet technique was to plant KGB agents as tourists and then have the tourists ask Western leaders provocative/obnoxious questions. More here and here.

And a few more links:

1. Illustrator David Cousens is currently accepting commissions. You can see some of his recent artwork here.

2. Now this is how you start an article:

The corner of Hollywood and Western is the epicenter of an underground world: a community outside the collective vision of club-hoppers and restaurant-goers rushing by, and one forgotten by public policy. Homeless youth, many cast off at 18 by the foster-care system, root out lives in a dim, moldy labyrinth of “abandos” — abandoned buildings hidden behind storefronts and the busy boulevard.

You can continue reading Daniel Heimpel's article for the LA Weekly here.

3. Obese police officer wins lawsuit requiring that he be reinstated to the police force.

4. At least one of the dvds Obama gave to the British prime minister can't be viewed in England due to DRM. Via.

*Previously: Russia's patent agency just awarded some guy the patent on the ;-) emoticon.

*Buy KGB collectibles at eBay.

Bloodstained bath mat and shower curtain (link roundup)

Pretend you're a murder victim every day with the blood bath bat mat and shower curtain. Via these sites.

And a few more links:

1. Move over MASK. China has MESK toys.

2. Six word science fiction stories. For example, "Time traveller dies tragically. (1967 - 1608)." Via.

3. Neat jack-o-lantern.

4. Top left photo is definitive proof that baseball is not a sport.

*Previously: Dexter flatwear and silverwear.

*Buy MASK toys at eBay.

Quake Live desktop wallpaper (link roundup)

Download the Quake Live desktop wallpaper here. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Plush Little Big Planet's Sackboy as Astro Boy.

2. A 700-pound alleged drug dealer had to be transported to a New York court in a U-Haul trailer to be charged with various crimes. And when I say "court," I mean backed up to a loading dock, where he was met by the judge, prosecutor and other relevant people. The prosecutor says, "I don't know what outcome our office will ultimately approve of, but gross obesity in and of itself is no defense." Photo link. Via.

3. Author invited to gather comments critical of The Pirate Bay for use in the ongoing trial is actually a Pirate Bay fan. It's almost as if the Swedish prosecutors are intentionally sabotaging their case.

4. Kim Bost's clever, personalizable business card (is that a real word?). Via.

*See more clever business cards here.

*Buy Quake toys at eBay.

Gloomy Bear on the attack (link roundup)

Gloomy Bear illustrations by Mori Chack.

1. Warning Sign: Path of the Dead ahead.

2. Cake-vomiting dog and present-vomiting cat.

3. Two very high-res images of Ginormica/Susan from Monsters vs. Aliens. Via.

4. Obese cat.

*Previously: Video of a fat girl being photoshopped to thin.

*Buy plush Gloomy Bears at eBay.

If Agent Smith had been fat

A Clockwork Orange and The Matrix are even bigger experiences in these ads for Pause Ljud & Bild, which I take to be high end home theater specialists. The ads are by Åkestam Holst. Via.

*Previously: Fat Sephiroth.

*Buy Matrix toys at eBay.