Link roundup

1. Comment and win Day & Night.

2. "The Central Intelligence Agency used American modern art - including the works of such artists as Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell, Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko - as a weapon in the Cold War. In the manner of a Renaissance prince - except that it acted secretly - the CIA fostered and promoted American Abstract Expressionist painting around the world for more than 20 years." Via. (Did the Soviets did the same thing with ballet?)

3. I've never seen anything interesting in the Spider-Man: Turn of the Dark Twitter feed until Saturday, when it's full of replies to people asking for refunds. (I hope it all works out, I can't wait to see the designs.)

*Buy Julie Taymor: Playing with Fire at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Bill Simmons:

Here's a fun story for you: A few weeks after the Clippers fired Mike Dunleavy last winter, someone called me out of the blue asking for help getting their vacant GM job. I had never talked to this person before in my life. I have no idea how he obtained my number. But that didn't stop him from lobbying me for the next 15 minutes as I said things like, "You don't understand, I only do things like that for Daryl Morey." (Just kidding. I did say, "Sorry, I just don't do things like that." Which is true.) Even better, this person was employed by another NBA team at the time. Now, assuming I helped him get the job -- and by the way, that's my favorite part of the story, that anyone thought the notoriously oblivious Clippers could be swayed by an online columnist -- what would I get in return? You guessed it … scoops! Breaking news!

2. The murder of a Palestinian official in Dubai by assassins captured on camera has lead to zero arrests. Via.

3. Free Star Wars digital jigsaw puzzles.

*Buy Super Spy by Matt Kindt at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Colourlovers has a fancy app for customizing your Twitter page background. Via.

2. "British intelligence services experimented with using semen as an invisible ink to write top-secret letters, it has been disclosed." "Mansfield Cumming" was the man in charge of the program. Via.

3. Hilarious parody by Alan Moore of Frank Miller's Daredevil. Via these sites.

*At Toycutter: Custom Daredevil toys.

*Buy Daredevil toys at Amazon.

Code World

Illustration by Dave Plunkert for a review of Tom McCarthy's new book, "C."

Here's the book's cover:



And a review from Amazon:

Remainder established McCarthy as a contemporary champion of the experimental novel and heir to the postmodern stylists of the late 20th century, but it's difficult to come up with a suitable thematic or stylistic precursor to his unclassifiably brilliant latest. The enigmatic title signifies (for starters) Serge Carrefax, who grows up in early 1900s England on the grounds of the Versoie House, where his inventor-father Simeon runs a school for the deaf, using his pupils to test the copper-wire telegraphs and radio gizmos that are his obsession. There, Serge and his ill-fated sister, Sophie, enact strange experiments in chemistry and star in a school pageant depicting Ceres's journey to the underworld. More C-words follow, as an older, haunted Serge travels to a Bavarian sanitarium in search of the healing chemical cysteine and, following his enrollment in the 104th Airborne Squadron, enjoys flying reconnaissance while high on cocaine. The young century unfurls, bringing with it spiritualists, Egyptian espionage, and a fateful tryst in an ancient tomb, where Serge will at last discover the delicate wavelengths that connect him to the historical signals for which he is an ideal receiver. Each chapter of McCarthy's tour de force is a cryptic, ornate puzzle box, rich with correspondences and emphatically detailed digressions. Ambitious readers will be eager to revisit this endlessly interpretive world, while more casual readers will marvel at the high-flying picaresque perched at the crossroads of science and the stuff dreams are made of.

$15 at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. More information about the British spy, whose decomposed body was found locked inside a large sportsbag in the bath.

2. Google Code University, a collection of tutorials on languages like Python, Java and Go for relative beginners. Via.

3. "The highest paid athlete of all time was a charioteer from ancient Rome, say researchers."

*Buy Spy Dust: Two Masters of Disguise Reveal the Tools and Operations That Helped Win the Cold War at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. "The bizarre, constant audio output of one particular mysterious Russian 'Numbers Station' has changed, for the first time in 20 years."

2. How to make a cardboard mask.

3. "British Spy Stabbed, Murdered, Stuffed in Bag, Left in Bathtub."

*Buy Spy vs. Spy: The Complete Casebook at Amazon.

How to spot a spy

Spy spotting advice. Via.

*Buy Spy Dust: Two Masters of Disguise Reveal the Tools and Operations That Helped Win the Cold War at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Fark on the Russian spies:

US officials say they were tipped off to the Russian "sleeper" agents after learning that hot women had been spotted at parties appearing actually interested in talking to scientists and engineers about their jobs.

2. Building code violations for the B-52's Love Shack.

3. Katherine Mangu-Ward: "In every state, people are free to feed others in their filthy, unregulated homes, it's only when money changes hands that home cooks transform into a public health hazard."

4. David Malitz:

Courtney, let me tell you something. In just the past year and a half, I've been to about 400 shows. I've seen some really terrible ones. And this was really the most terrible. No question. But the vast majority of those 400 shows, I went there, I saw it, and almost immediately forgot I was there. I'll never forget this night with Courtney Love, no matter how much I may want to.

Via.

*Buy Top Secret: Spy Equipment and the Cold War at Amazon.

Explore Oz travel poster (link roundup)

Explore Oz on foot travel ad by by Mario Graciotti. You'll find more travel ads for fantasy lands at the link.

And a few more links:

1. Last Bioshock event this weekend: The final Splicers Unite gathering on Monday, February 8th in San Francisco. Splicers will convene at the Sugar Cafe at 679 Sutter Street starting at 9 PM for a Rapturian cocktail party. At 11 PM, we will continue on to our final rendezvous outside GameStop in Union Square for BioShock 2's midnight opening.

2. CIA officers are allowed to moonlight for private companies. Via.

3. Engadget was so overrun with trolls that they closed down their comments.

*Previously: The CIA's "Terrorism Buster" logo.

*Buy travel posters at eBay.

2010 puts an end to 2009 (link roundup)

A cheerfully macabre New Year's illustration by Steve Lamb, who has various prints on sale here.

And a few more links:

1. Accurate description of what it's like to eat out with young kids. At least that's what it was like until I got my boys Nanos filled with Clone Wars cartoons. Best investment ever.

2. A tale of Cold War espionage.

3. Giant vegan wishbones for sale.

*Previously: Memo paper with a built in wishbone.

*Buy calendars at Amazon.

Ninja nursery (link roundup)

Ninja-themed nursery based on designs by Raymond Lau and painted by John & Jen of Cake Wrecks fame.

And a few more links:

1. Highlights from the The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception, which is available for $15 at Amazon.

2. A convincing case that Demi Moore's entire body was replaced for the cover of W magazine. Via.

3. Rotated photo fun.

*Previously: Ninja dungeon.

*Buy ninja toys at eBay.

Doktor A. Madl (link roundup)

Doktor A. Madl on sale for $42. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Monster mouth entrance to Tim Burton's Museum of Modern Art exhibition. Via.

2. Former State Department official and his wife pled guilty to 30 years of spying for Cuba.

3. Girl with lip gloss and headphones.

4. Gawker vs. an abusive restaurant owner.

*Previously: Cinderella, super-spy.

*Buy Doktor A. toys at eBay.

Haddonfield/Halloween t-shirt (link roundup)

Straight from Halloween, the latest t-shirt from Last Exit to Nowhere features Haddonfield.

And a few more links:

1. Speaking of excellent news from my sponsors, Tenacious Toys will soon have 3A Toys on sale.

2. Josh Howard is currently accepting commissions.

3. Cute plush pillow.

4. True or completely made up, interesting allegation that Henry Kissinger invited the Soviets to kill an American politician.

*Previously: Sarlacc Pillow.

*Buy Ashley Wood toys at eBay.

The Boring Store is now open for business

When I last mentioned Chicago's Boring Store, the webstore was not yet open for business. It is now. The entry page has various spy widgets like a secret message generator and x-ray glasses. And the store itself had various spy-themed products like a carrier pigeon and spy pen.

*Previously: Photo of primitive, conspicuous spy tech.

*Buy vintage spy tech at eBay.

Tentacle monster by Chris Ryniak (link roundup)

Chris Ryniak's "Freyja" sculpture, available for $85 at Dragon Con.

And a few more links:

1. Sounds like people working for the ACLU followed believed CIA agents, photographed them, and then showed the photos to prisoners at Guantanomo Bay to see if the photographs depicted people who had interrogated the prisoners. Via.

2. Need some clothing for your TV news anchor job?

TVNewsCloset.com is an online clothing consignment boutique designed for newscasters and other TV broadcasters. Whether you are an anchor, reporter, meteorologist, sportscaster, or host, you can make money and save money with TVNewsCloset.com.

In our virtual closet you'll find clothes previously worn on the air by some of the top broadcasters in the business. Building your wardrobe as you build your career? Have trouble finding broadcast-appropriate clothes in the stores in your market? Save time and money by shopping with us!

You can read about the site here. Via.

3. Rough year - - LeAnn Rimes was questioned by police officers after she was accused of a misdemeanor hit-and-run in Los Angeles.

*Previously: The ACLU does good work in New Orleans.

*Buy Chris Ryniak art at eBay.

A furry mounts a sea rescue (link roundup)

This ad by Ogilvy shows that National Sea Rescue has brave, committed volunteers who have poor taste in costumes. Here's another ad in the campaign featuring a bride.

And a few more links:

1. Felix the Cat/Astro Boy mashup. See also: Astro Boy leading an army.

2. During the Hawaii Bowl Banquet, the University of Hawaii and Notre Dame football teams had a battle of chants. UH head football coach Greg McMackin called the Notre Dame chant a "little fa***t dance." He's apologized and he apparently found a way to say the word two more times during his apology.

3. An army spy infiltrated various Seattle-area antiwar groups. As I understand it, members became suspicious and exposed him by obtaining documents through the Freedom of Information Act.

*Previously: Mercenaries rescue hot blonds from Kenya.

*Buy Astro Boy toys at eBay.

Captain Cutler (link roundup)

Captain Cutler by Warwick Johnson Cadwell for the Villains of Scooby-Doo art contest. He also recently posted a great Johann Krauss sketch.

And a few more links:

1. Banana Republic and Mad Men have teamed up for an online casting call - - post your photo here and you might win a walk-on role on Mad Men, via Ryan Thomas who already has a favorite.

2. Twitter feed promoting Alice in Wonderland.

3. Here's one theory on how someone videotaped Erin Andrews in her hotel room. Sounds disturbingly easy.

4. Guy in a tiger suit throws a karate kick.

*Previously: Mad Men Season 3 teaser?

*Buy Scooby Doo toys at eBay.

Goofy plush monsters (link roundup)

Lots of bright, goofy plush monsters on sale in Esty Gerztman's Etsy shop.

And a few more links:

1. "MI6 chief blows his cover as wife's Facebook account reveals family holidays, showbiz friends and links to [Holocaust denier] David Irving." Via.

2. "In 2006, the Baltimore Sun reported the [NSA's] Fort Meade location maxed out the capacity of the Baltimore area power grid, preventing the installation of new supercomputers that had been planned." Via.

3. Stylized sketches of Darth Vader, Doctor Doom, and Venom.

4. Crescent moon desktop wallpaper.

*Previously: Swiss police threatened to arrest an aide to Senator John Kerry for espionage.

*Buy Dr. Doom toys at eBay.

Flood Pure Form Stalker (link roundup)

Flood Pure Form Stalker (from Halo), coming soon from McFarlane Toys.

And a few more links:

1. Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Year 2008. Make sure you scroll down to the horrifying animated gif of a Cicada Molting. Via.

2. Apparently you can record the sounds a printer makes and then decode those sounds to figure out what words the printer printed out.

3. Cheer yourself up by looking at photos of miserable people.

4. Allium forest.

*Previously: The Horror Forest.

*Buy McFarlane toys at eBay.

Little Freddy Krueger (link roundup)

Little Freddy Krueger by Remko Troost. Don't miss his armored mandrill.

And a few more links:

1. "Swiss police threatened to arrest an aide to Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., for espionage last month if he entered the country in pursuit of a CIA connection to Pakistan's secret nuclear bomb smuggling." Read on.

2. Fail Whale sculpture.

3. Appropriately noirish drawing of Patricia "The Talented Mr. Ripley" Highsmith.

4. New York man apparently lay dead in his van for weeks - - police just kept putting tickets on the van. Via.

*Previously: Plush Freddy Krueger.

*Buy police badges at eBay.