2. Cory Doctorow says, "I directly sell over 25,000 books a year through reviews on this site, which makes me a fairly large independent bookstore all on my own."
3. Space is strange:
In this rational age, we have come to recognise constellations as chance alignments of groups of stars. … Yet it seems that an unseen hand may after all have been responsible for placing these stars in the sky. Hints are emerging that around 30 million years ago, a giant clump of dark matter struck our part of the Milky Way, creating a rippling disc of star formation that eventually produced Orion’s belt, the bright ruby jewel of Antares in Scorpius, and many more of the sky’s most notable stars.
"Mr. Kurabi’s Tales of Lovely-ness and All Things Eaten" sculpture by Joe Sorren. It's apparently available for purchase, although no details are provided. He also has an expensive print on sale here. Via.
National Geographic is hosting a scrollable space infographic called Fifty Years of Exploration. It was created by 5W Infographics, and you can see more of their work here. Via.
And a few more links:
1. A simple way to pay for extended warranties (without letting stores take advantage of you). Via.
2. A good example of why lawyers have a bad name - - some guy enrolled in a Jewish law school (in New York) and then acted outraged that it required student funds be used on kosher food.
Or as the video is titled, "Three cats, one steak." Via.
And a few more links:
1. Here's a funny way to make peace with a string of bad luck in the lab - - it's someone from the future messing with you because your experiment, if completed, would destroy the world. (Link includes photo of the doomsday weapon at issue.)
2. I don't know what this means, but it sounds interesting: "The edge of the solar system is tied up with a ribbon, astronomers have discovered."
3. I don't know what constitutes a "memory" in a fly's brain, but apparently scientists can implant fake ones.
(Links found via various people I follow at Twitter.)
1. Gawker reports a claim that the Wall Street Journal is "hemorrhaging money." (Which would explain Rupert Murdoch's switch from boasting of giving content away for free, to trumpeting the need to demand payment for content.)
2. "Dick Giordano had a page of Teen Titans colored blue to help sort of 'sneak' the first interracial embrace in mainstream comics through." See the panel here.
International Year of Astronomy posters by Simon Page, who posted more here. He made them for himself, but the organizers learned about them and asked to use them.
1. Interesting background on Bill Gates' background (he was a hacker/troublemaker in high school) and the baby steps he took on the way to starting Microsoft.
2. A groundbreaking ceremony was recently held in Austin, Texas, and the occasion was marked by a photo of dignitaries holding special golden shovels. One random lawyer simply got in line with the VIPs, took a shovel, and posed for photos. His presence wasn't noticed until afterward.
3. Some of the craters on the moon are believed to be the coldest place in the galaxy, colder even than Pluto. Via.
Galilean Nights and 100 Hour of Astronomy posters by James White. The first poster is for the International Year of Astronomy to promote October's 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei looking to the cosmos through his telescope. The second poster was for April's 100 Hours of Astronomy. James' webstore is here.
Vitruvian Woman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - - actual NASA patches, and there are many more bizarre NASA patches on display here. Hard to believe we haven't accomplished more in space. Via thesesites.
And a few more links:
1. A look at the various ways coaches pressure NFL players to play when injured.
2. You probably saw the Obama/Joker/Socialism image and may have heard that Flickr took the original image down in response to a DMCA takedown request. But did you know that indications are that the takedown was blatantly bogus? Via.
3. New York magazine is designed to feel like being in Manhattan - - "The design has lots of cramped spaces and small type, it's like being on the subway." Via.
Decemberists concert poster by strawberryluna. I saw no purchase information, although there are many other concert posters on sale in the band's shop.
3. New Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor had her gym club membership canceled because she (repeatedly) tried to enter without showing her membership card. Which is truly amazing - - I thought it was impossible to cancel a gym membership.
Sergeant Craig Spencer from Long Branch police station said: "Residents called to complain there was an old scruffy man acting suspiciously.
"It was an odd request because it was mid-afternoon, but it’s an ethnic Latin area and the residents felt the man didn’t fit in. Lets just say he looked eccentric."
Interesting to compare the Telegraph article to the NY Times article, which more vaguely called it a "predominantly minority neighborhood." Thanks for protecting us from the facts, NY Times.
Need For Speed Nitro will include skins designed by various artists including tokidoki. I can't remember ever liking a tokidoki toy half as much as this car design. Via.
And a few more links:
1. For what it's worth, some guy claims NBA stats like assists and steals are intentionally falsified to increase national media coverage for a team and/or specific player. Via.
2. Media Molecule posted images of Little Big Planet's Sackboy as various historical figures, including Genghis Khan, Boudica, and proto-hacker Ada Lovelace.
