nice

French site filled with beautiful photos of the Alps and other places in Europe.

I'm too sexy for this forest

Check out my new evening wear, the Ghillie suit.

Sorry, Mac, the bank's closed

Pipe down, daddy, this list of 1920's slang is the cat's pajamas. I'm going to put on some glad rags and hit it on all sixes.

conformation hearings

"If I were a Senator, I would ask probing and insightful questions of Condoleeza Rice that cut to the heart of the issues."

hm

Fifty years after Einstein's death, how close are we to developing a unified theory that would extend general relativity and provide an alternative to quantum theory?

insert your caption here

I am the walrus

Interesting but very, very odd artwork by Beatles-era artist Alan Aldridge.

decidedly rich

I am sufficiently enamored, nay, filled with the gladness of spring, when I read these love letters from the Civil War.

"It is said, that a person's writing is indication of their character, if so, judging from your letter, I take you to be of one that class know as "romps" - a class by the way, which I rather admire. Commend me to a girl who has life and animation enough to enjoy the harmless pleasures of this beautiful world, in preference to your "Miss Prim," who would not dare to laugh in louder tones than a whimpering sentimental snicker, for fear of overstepping the bounds of etiquette.

No indeed! None of your "Miss Prims" for me. I love the gaily ringing laugh of true and gladsome hearts. Of course I would not have a young lady act in an imbecoming or unladylike manner, but I believe in giving free scope to thou joyous feelings, implanted in the soul by a wise and kind "creator" to cheer us through life's checkered pathway looking over the -----. Could you have been within hearing distance when I read you letter, you would have heard a laugh that made this old tent ring, especially when I came to the sentence, "Sing Heigh Ho for a husband" - I just laid back in my chair + roared - thats decidedly rich! I don't suppose that you entertain thoughts of Matrimony. Who ever knows a young lady that did? but if so you have my best wishes that your song may be speedily answered, on condition, that I have an invitation to the wedding."

(via bibliovixen)

abandon hope, all ye who enter

I always liked this painting, entitled "The Garden of Earthly Delights," by Hieronymus Bosch. Call me crazy. (You're crazy!) I remember seeing this bizarre medieval allegorical in an art class in college and laughing at all the little scenes of torment and suffering. Bosch as a painter was preoccupied with hell and its psychological and moral implications, which explains the rich symbolism and allegory--Carl Jung even called him "the master of the monstrous... the discoverer of the unconscious." In this painting, he specifically describes Dante's version of hell, and depicts actual scenes from the book. It is fascinating. And now, we have action figues.

great articles

First of all, let me say that I love Wikipedia. It's an open-source encyclopedia, with each entry filled with deep links and fully editable by the reader. (If this seems strange, read this article by the co-founder concerning reliability issues.) As opposed to traditional encyclopedias, wikipedia entries are quite in-depth, and provide an inexhaustible fund of collateral sources. Anyway, this is a great page of unusual articles that have appeared, from this one about a French entertainer who could break wind at will, to this one about Moresnet, a small country bewteen Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands that disappeared in 1919. Check 'em out.

in front of the curtain

Steve Martin's letter to Johnny Carson.

why, thanks!

How about some free MP3 Recordings of Classical Music Masterpieces?

Squashed Philosophers

The books which defined the way The West thinks now. Condensed and abridged to keep the substance, the style and the quotes, but ditching all that irritating verbiage.

figures

The Belly Page. Enough said.

of course

Be sure and get your razor blade soap..

i think i want one

This is interesting.

"These durable spheres can be hung from the trees as shown, making a treehouse. They could also be hung from any other solid objects or placed in cradles on the ground. There are four attachment points on the top of each sphere and another four anchor points on the bottom. Each of the attachment points is strong enough to carry the weight of the entire sphere and contents.

The spheres are made of two laminations of wood strips over laminated wood frames. The outside surface is then finished and covered with a clear fiberglass. The result is a beautiful and very tough skin. The skin is waterproof and strong enough to take the impacts that come with life in a dynamic environment such as the forest."

wild thangs

Cool article about weird multi-legged sculpture-creatures made by a Dutch artist. Good video of these crazy contraptions 'walking' around via wind.
(Thanks, Andraya)

I like 'reposition your derriere, please' better

Great article:

"On Feb. 15, 2002, D.J. Jubilee registered his song with the U.S. Copyright Office. On that same day, he filed a copyright infringement suit against Juvenile in U.S. District Court in Louisiana; Juvenile denied the copyright infringement allegation.

To prevail, D.J. Jubilee had to prove that he had a copyrighted song and that Juvenile's song was 'substantially similar' to his.

After a 2003 trial, a jury ruled in favor of defendant Juvenile, finding that D.J. Jubilee failed to prove that his version of 'Back That Ass Up' was substantially similar to Jubilee's version of 'Back That Azz Up.'

D.J. Jubilee appealed to the 5th Circuit, arguing that many of the jury instructions were flawed, including instructions on substantial similarity, specifically when applied to the use of the phrase 'back that ass up.' "

(Thanks, Jim)

oh

The Wikipedia page on Mozilla 's Firefox browser is quite informative.

One error message you really don't want to get

Once again, into the breach

Just letting folks know that life has resumed its craziness up here, so posts may drops off for a while. It's bitterly cold and snowy up here, and my schedule itself resembles a blizzard.

fyi

2005 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival Confirmed Artists:
Widespread Panic
Dave Matthews Band
The Allman Brothers Band
Jack Johnson
Alison Krauss & Union Station
Modest Mouse
Gov't Mule
Bela Fleck Acoustic Trio
The Mars Volta
John Prine
Yonder Mountain String Band
My Morning Jacket
Keller Williams
STS9
Earl Scruggs & Friends
Joss Stone
O.A.R.
Toots and the Maytals
Umphrey's McGee
Iron & Wine
Ozomatli
Rilo Kiley
Karl Denson's Tiny Universe
Drive-By Truckers
Particle
Joanna Newsom
Xavier Rudd
Ray Lamontagne
The Gourds
Secret Machines
Donna The Buffalo
John Butler Trio
Ollabelle
Citizen Cope
Brazilian Girls
M. Ward
Madeleine Peyroux

dude

The Big Lebowski is a film about the Buddha.

excellent

From the Electronic Freedom Foundation Press Room:

"The US Supreme Court set the date for the oral argument in MGM v. Grokster for March 29, 2005, in Washington, DC. EFF is defending StreamCast Networks, the company behind the Morpheus peer-to-peer (P2P) software, against 28 of the world's largest entertainment companies.

The companies first brought this lawsuit against the makers of the Morpheus, Grokster, and KaZaA software products in 2001, hoping to obtain a legal precedent that would hold all technology makers responsible for the infringements committed by the users of their products. The entertainment companies lost in District Court, then lost again on appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The lower court rulings were based on the Supreme Court's landmark decision in the 1984 Sony Betamax case, which determined that Sony was not liable for copyright violations by users of the Betamax VCR.

On March 29, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments from both sides. A final ruling is expected by the end of July 2005."

point stones

point stones
Originally uploaded by viewfinder.

nice shot

the times they were a changin'

Interesting gallery of signs enforcing racial discrimination.

that chair's not safe

Cyborg researcher Steve Mann has produced a piece of conceptual art called "License to Seat." It's a chair with a magnetic stripe card reader which reads your credit card and issues you a "seating license" for a nominal charge. Once you are issued the license, spikes in the chair retract, allowing the buyer to sit down. A great commentary on the concept of copyright licenses and the absurd extent to which they could be taken.

well, shoot

The Onion reports: Supreme Court To Break Up If Rehnquist Leaves.

it's taking over

Never thought I'd see a site devoted to kudzu-covered houses in north Georgia. Pretty interesting, though.

very weird comic

The Perry Bible Fellowship ain't Garfield, that's for sure.

geekery at its finest

XML: syndicate this t-shirt

picker-upper

"However you kick it, betel is the ticket.

According to the earnest Encyclopedia Britannica, this exotic stimulant drug is chewed habitually by some 10 percent of the world's population, almost entirely in southern Asia and the Pacific. That puts it right up there with the big guys like alcohol, tobacco and caffeine. But in America, chances are, you'll be the only person on the block who's chewing."

ooh la la

Bill Gates Strikes a Pose for Teen Beat Magazine Photospread.

i do

Jasper de Grey: Do You Want to Live Forever? Interesting (long) article on how we can engineer our lives to escape the body's eventual degeneration.

Parachuting to Titan

Two strange hours in space exploration.

"Two hours. That's how long it will take the European Space Agency's Huygens probe to parachute to the surface of Titan on January 14th. Descending through thick orange clouds, Huygens will taste Titan’s atmosphere, measure its wind and rain, listen for alien sounds and, when the clouds part, start taking pictures."

pixies

If man is 5
If man is 5
If man is 5
Then the devil is 6
Then the devil is 6
Then the devil is 6
Then the devil is 6
And if the devil is six
Then god is 7
Then god is 7
Then god is 7
Monkey Gone To Heaven.

partay

get your own

Here's a list of free domain hosting services.

more from New Scientist

Swordfish heat their eyes when preparing to hunt.

i want one

Announcing Apple iProduct. (This is a spoof--pretty funny if you ask me.)

humanity, sometimes you baffle me

People vacationing amid the tsunami debris. This picture says it all:

once again, it's all about reasonableness

In an interesting development for criminal sentencing procedures, the Supreme Court ruled today that judges are not bound to statutory sentencing guidelines.

"Judges 'must consult' the guidelines and 'take them into account,' Justice Breyer said for the majority in this portion of the decision. But at the end of the day the guidelines will be advisory only, with sentences to be reviewed on appeal for 'reasonableness.'"

just what i need

Check this out: "The Intelligent Chip is a thin, orange, 1x1.5 inch rectangular wafer that automatically upgrades any CD/DVD/SACD disc when the Chip is placed momentarily on the top surface of the player above the spinning disc."
huh?

wow

This is an amazing video, if, once again, it proves legitimate. A killer whale jumps out of the water and almost lands on top of a kayaker.

good time

Daniel's got some great photos of their camping trip at Max Patch on the AT. Wish I was there!

Also see the crazy photos from his New Year's party.

"Brazilians are the nationality most likely to read spam"

100 things we didn't know this time last year.

a parody of copyright

The People Who Owned the Bible - a story.

appropriate

The Reverend Jack Arnold, 69, dropped dead of cardiac arrest while giving a sermon Sunday at the Covenant Presbyterian Church near Orlando, Florida. His last words? "And when I go to heaven..."
(via boingboing)

deviantART

Death and Taxes, a visual look at where your tax dollars go.

making waves

Imagine a tsunami bomb: "Top-secret wartime experiments were conducted off the coast of Auckland to perfect a tidal wave bomb..."

i love this guy

doggone it

Winners of the "I Look Like My Dog" Contest

huge

Apparently this picture of the tsunami was taken by an employee of Kellogg who works in Pattiya, Thailand. If it hasn't been photoshopped, I'm astonished. (thanks Mom)

Update: Matt points out that, as suspected, the photo is almost surely a fake.

huh

Sorry about this one. Mary Pat and I just ran across a news story about Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston breaking up, which is so sad of course but what struck us was the fact that they started dating after meeting each other on a blind date. Celebrities. On a blind date. Anyone care to explain this one to me?

an eye-opener

As if you needed something else to keep you up thinking about at night, this is an excellent essay examining social, technological and biological factors that affect sleep.

Can you spare an air mile, brother?

Incredible. Frequent flyer miles now have a greater total value than dollars, euros, pounds, or yen.

"By the end of 2004, almost 14 trillion frequent flyer miles had been accumulated worldwide, worth between 1p and 6p apiece.

According to a new analysis by The Economist magazine, the global stock is worth more than $700 billion, more than all the US dollar bills in circulation, and streets ahead of Britain's $42 bilion notes and coins."

The icestorm

This morning I awoke to the sound of cracking ice and splintering wood. Somewhere in my back yard a significant portion of a tree was crashing to the ground. A glance outside the window confirmed it-- the whole world was covered in a thick layer of ice. Last night the temperature dropped and froze the still-falling rain onto the town. At midnight it was still raining. By dawn each house, car, mailbox, and blade of grass was encased in a sheath of ice up to an inch thick, the wind wreaking havoc on every street. The trees got it the worst—Ada looks like a disaster area, like a tornado came through and carefully thrashed each branch until something gave way. Entire neighborhoods are covered in fallen limbs, power lines are down, and people are standing in their front yards just shaking their heads. The power is out, of course, and will remain so for days. The cleanup will take much longer than that. It’s no tsunami, but its not good, either. Mary Pat and I drove slowly around town, weaving the truck under trees bowed over with the weight of new ice, ooing and aahing when we saw some branch that had snapped in the night, exposing the bright meaty woodgrain. Surprisingly enough, there’s almost no damage to any houses--it was an aesthetic disaster only. So we’re lucky, but we’re about to head to the next town over and see if their power is running. The show must go on.
See the photos here. (um, wasn't I here last week? I thought so.)

relativity

Nice essay on the friendship of Kurt Gödel and Einstein

go figure

As a follow-up to my previous post about the Hardee's Thickburger and its monumental 1200 calories/107 grams of fat, I find it not surprising that the most wished-for item in Health & Personal care on Amazon.com is the Philips HeartStart Home Automated External Defibrillator.

The Onion: LMAO

The Department Of Libel: Drew Carey Killed A Guy And Paid To Cover It Up.

My new birthdate: Monday

A physicist has invented a calendar in which every date falls on the same day of each year.

we have nuclear options

Double-Tongued Word Wrester Dictionary: old and new words from the fringes of the English language.

Why not

Montage-a-Google.

well shucks

Professor says the "hobbit woman" found in Indonesia may have simply had congenital dwarfism disease.

finally

The Skeptic's Dictionary: "A collection of strange beliefs, amusing deceptions, and dangerous delusions, and how to think critically about them."

procrastinate later

Gotta Get My Stuff Done

drive

This Indian inventor may have reinnovated the internal combustion engine.

"So far, all Singh’s invention has earned him is a few polite rejection letters from presidents, professors and auto manufacturers—while costing him tens of thousands of borrowed rupees and an untold number of sleepless nights. His eyes are glazed with the heat of an idea he can neither sell nor surrender."

how true

oh

So, exactly what does Auld Lang Syne mean anyway?

not sure if I'm jealous

Watch these incredible ballpoint-pen twirling skillzzz.

interesting

Tibetan folk tales

tsunami

This is a very graphic photo of victims of the flooding in Sri Lanka. If you're squeamish, don't look at it. It gives you some idea of the horror these people experienced.

hehooo

Why not start the year off with a bunch of great Swiss yodeling songs?

um..

Life's Greatest Trip, by Arthus Blessitt

simple stuff

A few nights ago Jim and I watched the NOVA special "The Elegant Universe," a three-hour show on modern quantum mechanics, string theory, and the Theory of Everything. It was very well done, with sharp graphics, clear descriptions and lots of analogies that make a universe with eleven dimensions seem pretty understandable. You can watch the whole program, broken into segments here, or if you're really interested, you can buy the book on which the show was based here.

woohoo

Happy New Year, everybody!