Brilliant.



This woman's probably going to make a fortune on both the original bids AND the book she'll write if/when she gets her bear back...



eBay item 5576520787 :: HELP Kylie’s WOOP WOOP BEAR TO TRAVEL WORLDWIDE!

I could make these.



I love cplay's calendars. Since they're not available in the US, I may try my hand at simply making something like it.



daily calendar :: slide mounts [orange]

daily calendar :: box [blue]

daily calendar :: slide set [green]

More art than catharsis, I'm sure.

It's not the first of its kind and it won't be the last, but PostSecret, an online confessional site, has some interesting postcards. These are my faves:
PostSecret 1
PostSecret 2
PostSecret 3
PostSecret 4
PostSecret 5
PostSecret 6

p.s.



For those of you that know I'm supposed to be packing up my apartment right now -- yes, yes, I'm getting to it. Trust me.

This is becoming one of my favorite blogs.



Though I'm afraid all of this re-blogging may send me into a spiral of infinity that I cannot escape. Whatever. This entry is particularly funny.



bTang reBlog: Old Man mannequin

I'm sure the pictures are terrible

...but I SO want one of these.

Vivre :: Digital Dream Spy Camera

Update: I've just gotten myself into a snit again about the federal regulations about not carrying lighters onto planes. What good is it to have a perfect little spy camera that gets confiscated at the security gate? Q would not approve.

Another one for you, Bradley.



You'll LOVE these, buddy.



eShave :: Shaving Products & Shaving Accessories

So many shows, so little time.



For those of you in the Chicago area, you might want to check out the May lineup at The Metro. Here's a sampling:



5/6 - Coldplay (early show) & Crystal Method (late show)

5/7 - Built to Spill

5/18 - Peter Murphy

5/31 - Pinback



Metro | Chicago :: Shows

If you have 8 minutes



Watch this. A fascinating faux-documentary about the fate of traditional media in 2014.



EPIC 2014

The disc design made me laugh.

Spark Armada :: We want Hebrew in our iPOD!

Kafka on the Shore



I just bought this Haruki Murakami book recently (I haven't read it yet), then ran across this web site. It's got an incredibly ugly home page, but the site concept fascinates me. Each book has its own mini-site -- kind of like DVD extras for bookworms. Nicely done.



Haruki Murakami: The Official Website

Silly and pedantic, but I might buy it anyway.

headbutler.com :: Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words: A Writer's Guide to Getting It Right

"Camping for the fashion conscious."

That's what my buddy Katie calls this. Too funny. I love it. With this stuff, some frosty beverages, and some back issues of "Dwell" and "Metropolis," design-y types will be set for a camping weekend...

cath kidston :: camping gear

Interesting UK election ads



Sure, they're a bit over-the-top-marketing. But they're a lot more interesting than most of the presidential election ads on this side of the pond last fall...



AdLand ad-rag.com :: Election Ads

This just made me laugh.



I hadn't heard about this local occurrence, so I'm glad Czeltic Girl was on top of it. Well reported, pal.



Czeltic Girl :: Must still be dreaming

dETROITfUNK :: Big Boy Graveyard

A hauntingly pretty little photo gallery.



Maybe it's just the soundtrack that makes it seem that way.



i-shot-u :: onepictureeverymondaynowords

My love/hate relationship with art and artists.

I don't know if I find this statement more irritating or funny: Fishbone has also sculpted a self-portrait out of gyro meat entitled "Kebab Man."

Art MoCo: "20,000 Bananas"

Public service calendar.



A Japanese anti-smoking (or smokers' sensitivity) campaign. Click through the slideshow to view all 12 months. Nicely done.



flickr :: caution

Wow.



A tip from TrendCentral:



Explora: Literally at the end of the earth, the Explora hotel is located in the heart of Patagonia at the southern tip of Chile. Inside Torres del Paine National Park, hotel guests reside among unusually shaped mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, lakes and unique flora and fauna. Each day guests can choose from five different explorations selected according to weather conditions [...] Choices include glacier hikes with views of Glacier Grey and the Southern Ice Field and horseback rides along the Rio Serrano, all complete with fresh baked picnic lunches. End each day with spa-like cuisine and wine from local vineyards. With a maximum of 10 people per exploration and expert bilingual guides, Explora is perfect for those looking for an adventure.



explora - patagonia

Poetry.



Good poetry:

poetry international :: dust



Bad (but funny, lovely) poetry:

sock-monkey.com :: poetry

My guess? She'll be doing hard time.



azcentral.com :: Go to jail or give up Packers' tickets, judge orders

Just to add to the confusion of daily life.

The Register :: Email destroys the mind faster than marijuana
but --
NYT :: Watching TV Makes You Smarter

I love this guy.



LUKE CHUEH : TWENTY MONKEYS WITH HATS (AND ONE SQUID)

All roads lead to apparitions.



Pareidolia = a psychological term for the mind's obsession with finding patterns in essentially random objects, from clouds to wood grain.



Having just seen seen "The Mary Bank" in Clearwater, this caught my eye. TERRIBLE site navigation, but interesting content.



theFolklorist.com :: Pareidolia Data

This one's just for you, Bradley.

Enter "male" and "Spanish" then copy and paste this:

Last one off the plane buys the tapas.

Beautiful.

Rhetorical TTS :: interactive demo for all languages and voices

Oh, my.



Hundreds of toads have met a bizarre and sinister end in Germany in recent days, it was reported on Saturday: they exploded.



IOL: A Step Beyond

Other people's photos.

Try to scroll through it and not smirk at least once...
(thanks for the tip, T!)

bighappyfunhouse • found photos. free pie.

Awww. Coo.



A slideshow of two penguins having to walk through security at the Denver Airport.



TheDenverChannel.com :: Penguins Slideshow

I love this.

Islington is a really lovely part of London. I dream of having a garden flat in Islington. And, if I did, I'd want a garden just like this...[sigh]

Garden design London :: contemporary garden designs

(hint: When you view the slideshow, be sure to click the Enlarge button in the lower right to see the full view.)

Kinda like a Cosmo quiz for smart folks.

Project Implicit has been around for years, but I just ran across it again on linkbunnies.org. I'm posting it because their intro to it is hilarious:

Justin: Project Implicit is an interesting test to see whether you are racist, ageist or whatever. I took the race one and got the result "inconclusive".

Marcus: You probably couldn't see the pictures properly through the eyeslits on your pointy white hat.

justin: Inconclusive means that I basically made no "mistakes" probably because I did it too slowly.

Marcus: Yes, your vision obscured by the burning crosses you'd staked out in front of the computer.

Implicit Association Test

Mixed feelings.

It gives me the fremps real bad to discover that Devo is still touring. (Wince.) However, Mark Mothersbaugh also has a travelling visual art exhibit that looks pretty cool:

Mark Mothersbaugh :: Beautiful Mutants Gallery

It'll be in Milwaukee in June at KM Art Gallery. (I love the gallery's tagline, "Difficult to find, impossible to park.")

Wow.



These are amazing.



Pressure Printing :: Exorcism

Rats.

I missed "Poem In Your Pocket" Day yesterday. But I'll celebrate a little late by posting this:

Poem In Your Pocket :: Reading Lesson by Hal Sirowitz

This made me chuckle.

So true. (The cartoon, I mean.)

PSFK: Gaping Void Ts

Ambulance blog.



When b3ta.com gives a site a review like this, you should take heed.



Haven't got much time for blogs at B3ta towers, we're quick-hit monkeys, and want a laugh in 15 seconds else we press the back key. But this is different. We spent a good five hours reading almost every word on this site and fucking loved it. It's a true-life account of working as an Ambulance driver, delving into the pivot of peoples emotional and physical crisis's. Publishers: sign up this guy to write a book, really - you'd have a surprise hit on your hands.



Random Acts Of Reality :: Trying to kill as few people as possible



BTW - I read this entry awhile back, and it got me hooked. I'll have some catch-up reading to do this weekend.



Random Acts Of Reality :: Mobile Phones

I'm a sucker for any appliance this cute.



Useful, too. But I can't imagine spending 75 bucks for a cute egg to wash my delicates.



Cocoon Zone :: Eco Egg Washing Machine Avanti

I wish more people knew about this.



I fear for people who aren't skeptical about these types of email. This is an excellent tutorial.



MailFrontier Phishing IQ Test

You have to love something this stupid.



Archie McPhee :: Bacon Strips Bandages

Alternatives to "I'm lovin' it."



heh-heh.



The Sneeze - Half zine. Half blog. Half not good with fractions.

Lonely?



Free pet.



craigslist.org :: Free unfriendly black hamster

Interesting.

0% Midwestern? 5% Dixie? Weird.

Your Linguistic Profile
65% General American English
20% Yankee
10% Upper Midwestern
5% Dixie
0% Midwestern

Blogthings.com :: What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Excellent music/radio from our lovely Canadian neighbors.

An article about CBC Radio 3 - an amazing internet radio station. There's a link to the station from the article. Definitely worth checking out...

Our Public Airwaves :: CBC Radio 3 fills gap

(Thanks for the excellent tip, Joel!)

Oh, my god. Dr. Demento.



I used to listen to this radio show when I was in grade school. I had NO idea it was still on.



If you used to listen to it, they've archived all of the shows since 1972. Feel free to take a trip down memory lane. Me, I'm afraid to listen to it as an adult...



The Doctor Demento Show Digital Archive

The mind reels.

And shudders.

Gene Wilder with Leonard Nimoy.
"Start the Revolution Without Me." "Young Frankenstein." "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." "Stir Crazy." "Blazing Saddles." "The Frisco Kid." "Silver Streak." Gene Wilder's presence in the films has informed the imagination and sensibility of at least two generations of movie lovers. His new book, "Kiss Me Like A Stranger," is not a typical memoir — it's more of a love story, about himself, with thousands of great comic moments and equally as many serious ones. He examines what led him to comedy, what led him to psychoanalysis, his reactions to that, and his experiences in love and commitment. Leonard Nimoy is of course our Captain Spock from "Star Trek," who has led us out of intergalactic peril more times than we can imagine.

Writers Bloc Events and Reservations

I don't even have to read the story.



I've gotten more than enough enjoyment from the headline.



Man saves chicken with mouth-to-beak resuscitation

Excellent.



CNN.com - Woman beats off burglar with gnome - Apr 15, 2005



(Thanks for the tip, T!)

4 packs of matches = okay. Bic lighter = not okay.



Does this whole ban on lighters story annoy anyone else? I understand that lighters might be dangerous. Fine. I won't bring one along on my trip. But the fact that you can still carry on a ton of matches makes no damned sense. Federally regulated stupidity at its finest.



The ban does not include matches. Passengers still may carry aboard a plane up to four books of safety matches.



USATODAY.com :: Airports begin ban on cigarette lighters

This freaking story just keeps getting weirder.



Man, there are a lot of nutbars out there.



azcentral.com :: Woman believes finger found in Wendy's chili might be hers

Fujiya sushi chopsticks

Fun!



These illustrations are so lovely and fun, I can't decide which ones to pull for my desktop...



Veer :: James Yang

This is fantastic. And so true.

(via we-make-money-not-art, bless 'em.)

picturesofwalls.com :: Jermaine!

Merriam-Webster's Top 10 Words of 2004



(Probably OFN, but it's the first time I've seen the whole list.)



Being a big fan of the word "peloton," I'm glad it made the top 10. But "defenestration?" How'd THAT get in there?



Merriam-Webster Online

These damned kids today.

A 17-year-old Morrisville youth was being held on $100,000 bail after police said he raided a tomb in a cemetery and removed a head from a corpse [...]

Authorities are not sure of the motive of the crime. Court documents said the suspect allegedly talked of using the man's head as a bong or a pipe for smoking marijuana.

sfgate.com :: Vermont Teen Accused of Stealing Corpse's Head

The hottest new place to pick up men?



craigslist.org :: Missed connections

File under "Bitchy pop culture gossip."

I just love the first sentence of this blurb.

defamer.com :: Tobey Maguire: Time For An Intervention

How proud his parents must be.

STORY, Ind. (AP) -- The competition was fierce and foolish, but a man who accidentally sawed through a live electrical wire and topped that by wrecking his truck only hours after buying it earned the honorary title 'Village Idiot.'

First Coast News :: Man Honored as "Village Idiot"

Sorry, boys.



(Well, I guess I'm being a little narrow-minded...if you boys want to participate, go right ahead.)



Take a survey. Get a bra. Cool.



jockeycomfort.com :: Receive Your Free Jockey® Bra

This completely perplexes me.



Where does the dirt go? Is it worth spending 10 bucks to find out? Hmm... maybe.



Kevin Kelly :: Cool Tools - Robomaid

Cool. This is right across the street from my office.



If they have carryout lunches (a rarity in the 3rd Ward), I'll be a very, very happy woman.



OnMilwaukee.com Dining: Braise hopes to return food's soul to Milwaukee this summer

I'm seriously psyched about this.



(tip courtesy of VonHerwig)



Whole Foods Market coming to east side

You've gotta love The Simpsons.



core77.com's design blog :: Mmmm, architecture

Funny ha-ha or funny strange?



You decide.



Strindberg & Helium

I have mixed feelings about this.



I'm happy to hear the government does have a bit of heart, but I can't help wondering how many millions we taxpayers are floating for this one...



CNN.com - Secret Service protects expectant duck - Apr 8, 2005

This may also come in handy.

ePrairie.com: Milwaukee to Taste Peapod

This could be helpful.

via coolhunting

SeatGuru.com :: Your Enlightened Guide to Airplane Seating

If you know someone in Chicago

...you might want to give 'em a heads up about this casting call for extras at smartbar tonight. Sounds interesting.

Tuesday, April 12 - THE REEL DEAL
Amelie (8:15pm), Run Lola Run (10:15pm)
and...
OPEN CASTING CALL FOR "STRANGER THAN FICTION" directed by Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Monster's Ball) and starring Will Ferrell is coming to Chicago... Shooting for "Stranger than Fiction" begins April 25th and films through mid July 2005.  Groovy, fun, hip males and females are needed to work as paid extras.  Tattoos, piercings and all ethnicities are encouraged to show up with a recent color photograph.  This doesn't need to be a professional photograph.
Casting call will run from 9PM - 11PM, FREE - 21 & over

smartbarchicago.com

Ha!



Couldn't see THIS coming a mile away.



Adrants :: McDonald's Rapper Deal Yields Backlash

Fantastic.



We create style/identity guides like this all the time -- use these colors, use this font, do/don't use the logo like this, etc. This guy, however, created his own identity guide.



Love it.



leifparsons.com :: Leif Parsons Identity Guidelines

If you haven't seen this yet



..check it out. It's worth it.



BOVINEUNITE.COM

Maissonneuve : Eclectic Curiousity



A very smart, funny magazine from Canada. With titles like the following, how could I not be intrigued?



maisonneuve.org :: VH1’s Celebreality - The Last Horse of Our Cultural Apocalypse

Eerily mesmerizing.



via veer.com



SSI Shredding Demonstrations

Creamo.

creamo.

It made me laugh.

Of course it's false



...but, oh, the cinematic possibilities. In the movie, there'd be at least one slow mo, head-on shot of Dubya, Condie, Bush Sr. and Clinton running out of the Vatican with a giant explosion in the background whilst the Basilica is carpet bombed by U.S. Forces.



azcentral.com :: Will bin Laden be at pope's funeral?

Midwest Airlines two day sale.



In case anyone's interested.



Midwest Airlines :: April Sale

Exactly WHO would be fooled by this type of phishing scam?

Update: For those who read this earlier, I should explain -- the reason I found this so perplexing is that in the actual email I got every word was scrambled. I didn't realize that, 'pon pasting it into my blog, the letters magically descrambled. Fuckers.


Good god. This is from an actual email I just received.

D‮rae‬ Ba‮lcr‬ays M‮rebme‬,

T‮ih‬s em‮lia‬ was se‮tn‬ by the B‮alcra‬ys s‮revre‬ to v‮yfire‬ yo‮ru‬ e‮iam‬l ad‮sserd‬. You m‮tsu‬ c‮lpmo‬ete t‮ih‬s p‮ssecor‬ by click‮ni‬g
on the l‮ni‬k be‮wol‬ and ente‮nir‬g in the s‮lam‬l wi‮odn‬w y‮uo‬r B‮syalcra‬ M‮ebme‬rship n‮mu‬ber, p‮ocssa‬de and memo‮bar‬le w‮dro‬.
T‮ih‬s is d‮eno‬ for y‮ruo‬ pro‮et‬ction - be‮esuac‬ so‮em‬ of our me‮rebm‬s no l‮egno‬r h‮eva‬ acc‮sse‬ to t‮rieh‬ e‮iam‬l a‮sserdd‬es and
we mu‮ts‬ ve‮ir‬fy it. To v‮yfire‬ y‮ruo‬ e‮iam‬l addr‮sse‬ and ac‮ssec‬ y‮uo‬r ba‮kn‬ acc‮nuo‬t , cl‮kci‬ on the l‮ni‬k be‮ol‬w...

This is just dangerous.

Super cheap, royalty-free stock photos - just a few bucks each. I think I saw this a few years ago, but I just ran across it again on a design forum. Someone said she used it to create large format photos for her apartment.

I may get this one for my kitchen.

iStockphoto.com : chicken

Equal parts cute and frightening.



via we-make-money-not-art.com



deardad.net :: Sweet Dreams Security

Ooooh.



Along with my lamp obsession, my obsession with boutique hotels is going strong. On top of looking absolutely heavenly, this hotel in Beverly Hills apparently offers a Mini Cooper rental for $10/day. Coo.



The Mosaic Hotel :: Beverly Hills, California

Two words.



Don't hit.



deathbeeper.com :: Female Boxer Dies After Golden Gloves Match in Denver

Another lamp for the wishlist.



Ridgely Studio Works :: Riverstone3

I have a sneaking suspicion I've blogged this site before.

If I did, it feels entirely new to me now. SO much fun stuff. I could spend hours on this site. (And probably will.) Brilliant.

Here's my fave thing so far:
Bearskinrug :: How To Build A Snowman

And check out the bear animation in the upper right corner of this one:
Bearskinrug :: The 100 One-Offs Page

Brilliant on all levels.

How to take the piss out of everything and everyone in one fell swoop. I'm not a big April Fool's Day fan, but this is ace. Be sure to check out the time-lapse video.

Boring Boring: A Directory of Dull Things

I just like the headline.



Pat Buchanan doused with salad dressing