- The A to Z of the Shortest Book Titles [via]
- Internet-to-PeopleWhoAreNotIdiots Dictionary [via]
- Eight False Things The Public “Knows” Prior To Election Day [via]
- Hot on the trail of the news that Christopher Columbus was maybe one of the worst people who ever lived, comes news of a planned 300-style Columbus movie. Yay?
- And finally, Overthinking It’s Guide to Strong Female Characters [via]
america
Thursday various
- Okay, this Great Expectations cake might be in slightly bad taste, but it’s still a clever idea. [via]
- Student finds tracking device on his car; FBI demands it back. More here. [via]
- Horrible band causes horrible traffic jam to promote horrible song.
- Clark Kent vs. Facebook [via]
- And finally, some sci-fi LOLcats.
Wednesday various
- A vexation of zombies! Supernatural Collective Nouns. [via]
- Wow, H.G. Wells would hate American journalism today!
- Swanky new Vegas hotel’s ‘death ray’ proves inconvenient for some guests. Imagine that. [via]
- That Johnny Depp, what a mensch! (I still don’t want to see the next Pirates movie, though.) [via]
- And finally, via Reuters: “A man carries a shark through the streets of Mogadishu September 23, 2010.”
I love how there is absolutely no context given for this.
Monday various
- Today is the first day of the online raffle in support of the Fantastic Fiction at KGB reading series. There are lot of excellent prizes, from signed first drafts and story critiques to used keyboards (Neil Gaiman’s) and Tuckerizations galore, all for the cost of $1 each. I’ve not yet actually made it to a KGB reading myself — they’ve either conflicted with my schedule or I’ve been a little intimidated about going to one by myself — but I understand they put together a really great series. The raffle runs until October 25.
- Today is also Columbus Day. (In America. Some people insist on claiming it’s Thanksgiving elsewhere.) After reading this article about the real Columbus, you may be wishing it wasn’t.
- You know, there may very well be lots of edible mushrooms in NYC, but I think I’ll pass.
- I was sure this was an Onion headline when I first saw it: Google Cars Drive Themselves, in Traffic. But no, not in the least:
The self-driving car initiative is an example of Google’s willingness to gamble on technology that may not pay off for years, Dr. Thrun said. Even the most optimistic predictions put the deployment of the technology more than eight years away. [via]
- And finally, I find the final word in today’s Writer’s Almanac just a little odd:
It was on this day in 1975 that Saturday Night Live premiered….There was a fake advertisement for triple-blade razors, a product obviously considered ridiculous by comedians in 1975, just after the two-blade razor came out—the faux commercial ended, “Because you’ll believe anything.” These days, there are many more blades on razors—in 2006, Schickette announced plans for a nine-bladed razor—and Saturday Night Live is now in its 35th season.
Wednesday various
- John Scalzi on Why Not Feeling Rich Is Not Being Poor.
- Meanwhile, he also shares the delightfully named Polemical Sparkle Ponies.
- Is most of Bono’s non-profit’s money going towards salaries and press kits instead of to the needy? [via
- The Fox News Enemies of America Venn Diagram
- And finally, this just seems weird:
The film [Alpha and Omega], directed by Anthony Bell and Ben Gluck, does have one innovation, an aural tic that sounds more bizarre each time you hear it: When the wolves howl, they do so not in animal tones but in the wordless woh-woh’s of bland ’80s R&B.