Plurib.us

Astronomy news:

A new "second closest object to the sun on average" besides Mercury was discovered, with the unremarkable name of 2004 JG6.  (orbit path illustrated)
spaceref.com/news/viewpr.ht...

Things turn red when they are in space for a long time.
spaceref.com/news/viewpr.ht...

The solar system may have been created by the ridiculous means supposedly illustrated in this diagram (scroll).
spaceref.com/news/viewpr.ht...

The Hall of Technical Documentation Weirdness:

darrenbarefoot.com/hall/

"The Wheel of Dreaded Consequences" is a parenting device with the best name of all time.

consequences.ca/

Disclaimer:  Bob Saget is probably not God. 

Nevertheless: bobsagetisgod.com/

Interesting argument on Art & Copyright (not to mention cool-sounding art).  A preemtive apology goes to those who have trouble getting into NYT (try plurib.us/plurib.us).

nytimes.com/2004/05/06/art...

Photos with such bias, it's comedic.
backspace.com/notes/2004/04/...

Saturn, in all its glory.
ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/PR/2004B25/PR2...

April is National Poetry Month.  Transcribe your favorite poems in the QuickTopics forum.

Why a newspaper monopoly in a city almost necessitates bad art criticism.

This monopoly places an unhealthy burden on critics. If theirs is to be the only voice to pronounce on a new show or the fate of an institution, they are obliged to wear a mantle of responsibility that is antithetical to good journalism. A critic is licensed to get it wrong from time to time. Restrict that license and the reviews grow safe and solemn.

scena.org/columns/lebrec...

I could make a separate post about every part of this site.  When you have some hours to waste, look at this site, and dream about how cool you would be if you were this guy.

cockeyed.com/

Potential celebrity palindromic remarks:

"Set at serif, as Safire states."
— From the New York Times Manual of Style & Usage

"Plan no damn Madonna LP! "
— Guy Ritchie advising the D.J.

yankeepotroast.org/daily/040315.h...

For the trial-&-error ne'er-do-well:  The random anachist cookbook generator.

Destroying a bicycle
The easiest way is to destroy the engine by adding sticks of butter or chewing gum to the gas tank. Alternatively, you can ruin the finish by pouring nitric acid over the paint! Or write rude words on the windows with a plaid marker.

righto.com/anarchy/random...

These people more or less took my idea (but that's not necessarily going to stop me).

nonego.net/
nonego.com/

The Museum of Bad Art is good because it's so earnest.

museumofbadart.org/

You might not expect a magazine titled, "Philosophy Now" to have a great article on the history of philosophy and why it's so weird.  Or maybe you would expect nothing else. Is the history of philosophy like the history of science, where we can say that some ideas were just plain wrong?  Or is it like the history of art, where the larger schools are kind of kingdoms unto themselves?

philosophynow.org/issue45/45madi...

If you haven't been lucky enough to witness green flashes at sunset first-hand, look at pictures of them on the internet.  (Maybe this link should only be available for a narrow window of time in the evening.  That would make it more like the real thing.)

mintaka.sdsu.edu/GF/pictures.ht...

You'll be able to scoff at those with lesser email addresses, when you have the LONGEST EMAIL ADDRESS IN THE WORLD!

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijk.com/

Scramjets: neat technology that only works above mach 5.
Current events: theregister.co.uk/content/73/365...
How they work: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/...

Money, Money, Money.  Presidential campaign spending is setting records already.

quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=...

Groups such as Citizens United are hampered in their fund- raising efforts by a perception among potential donors that the Bush campaign is raising enough money to run the campaign without the help of outside groups, Bossie said.

Bizarre technology used in this e-book reader.  (Power is needed only when you "turn the pages".)

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technolog...

David Rees on Rumsfeld's questioning:

mnftiu.cc/mnftiu.cc/war3...

Charlie Brown as a Sartean existentialist:

In order to combat despair, Charlie Brown succumbs to bad faith, which is to say, he denies his freedom: “I wonder what would happen if I went over and tried to talk to her! Everybody would probably laugh ... she’d probably be insulted too ...” It is only by falsely denying his freedom that Charlie Brown can overcome his despair. But by hiding behind bad faith, he does himself no favours. Another lunch hour is spent alone on a bench with a peanut butter sandwich.

philosophynow.org/issue44/44radk...

Check out Sedna's ridiculously oblong orbit (scroll down).  Apparently it's only going to get closer fot the next 72 years.  But then the earth as we know it can pretty much say goodbye, because it's not coming back for another 10,500.

spaceref.com/news/viewpr.ht...

Combining the recent make-your-own-spheroid post with the World Cup post, we present a guide to making a soccer ball from junk.  (This should be a Boy Scout merit-badge.)

burundidirect.net/EN/index.asp?d...

Law & Order doubleheader, courtesey of chaoskitty.com/webzen/ :

Random Law & Order plot generator:
bensinclair.com/lawandorder.ph...

Law & Order: Artistic Intent
brandonbird.com/artisticintent...

New Yorker article on shopping malls. 

One person who wasn’t dazzled by Southdale was Frank Lloyd Wright. “What is this, a railroad station or a bus station?” he asked, when he came for a tour. “You’ve got a garden court that has all the evils of the village street and none of its charm.”

Yep, *that* Southdale.

newyorker.com/fact/content/?...

The President's Council on Bioethics has written a paper addressing just what it means to be human.

Do "Silas Marner" and Walt Whitman and Achilles have anything to do with debates over the harvesting of microscopic human cells or the development of antidepressants?

Yes, as it turns out, they do. In fact, "Being Human" may be the most unusual document ever produced by any government panel.

nytimes.com/2004/03/13/art...

In your spare time, you'll probably want to make an incredibly shiny ball out of mud.

kyokyo-u.ac.jp/youkyou/4/engl...

"Photographs of signs that transcend their objectivity to reveal our humanity."

signsoflife.goose24.org/

Totally great.

2nd-ever photo of Earth from another world.

jpl.nasa.gov/mer2004/rover-...