Curious, George: Organic Graffiti I heard somewhere about this thing called organic graffiti... more inside

Will you still need me when I'm 116? Today, the oldest living person died in a nursing home in Tennessee. At 116, Elizabeth Bolden was the last person remaining in America documented to have been born in 1890. more inside

Devices (NSFW) for, er, remote copulatory needs. (Insert obligatory joke about getting the shaft from Windows.) more inside

The Fletcher Capstan Table One of the more beautiful pieces of furniture I've seen in awhile. A circular table that expands to double capacity in a mesmerising radial fashion. the Montana is my favorite. Santa. Hint.

33 names of things you never knew had names. I would assume word-loving Monkeys can probably add to this list and give us some more strange words.

(Youtube) Montage of creatures created by the genius that was Ray Harryhausen.

Winterbells - a seasonal flash game from orisinal

Victor Jara The death of Augusto Pinochet set me thinking of one of his many victims, singer Victor Jara. Here's some mp3 rarities and pictures of a man whose torture and murder encapsulate the brutality of Pinochet's regime.

A dearth of female A&R types. "Women buy roughly half of all CDs sold...and most radio formats target women as their primary audience. Yet...no woman runs the mainstream music A&R department at any major record label. Over the last decade, only two women have helmed A&R pop departments at major labels."

'Drunken' bishop faces battle to save his job The bishop reportedly staggered home from a function at the Irish embassy on Tuesday night, climbed into the back of a stranger's Mercedes, and started throwing an infant's toys out of the vehicle. Asked to explain himself, he is claimed to have said: "I'm the Bishop of Southwark. It's what I do."

Bats navigate using the Earth's Magnetic Field - Many animals, such as homing pigeons & other birds such as even the humble Chook, newts (a newt?), trout & turtles use magnetic fields for orientation. Now we know (at least some) bats do, too. more inside

Book List more inside

Verizon CSRs confused by math(s) [embedded MP3 audio] George (no relation to Curious) recently had it out with Verizon over his internet bill; they claimed that quoting the price of 0.002 cents per kilobyte of data transfer was the same as billing for 0.002 dollars per KB. He disagreed, and taped the phone conversation to make sure he wasn't the only one. more inside

Pop Culture Translator "I'm capable. Of preparing you. For sex. Just let me be dad. You can be mom." Fifty Cent, Ozzy Osbourne, Gollum, and even Irish Mickey deciphered at last. [video clips with sound]

Diggingest Dog is Archaeologist - finds Neolithic stone axe, retrieves it, drops it on owner's foot.

BlackBerry Orphans - "The growing use of email gadgets is spawning a generation of resentful children. A look at furtive thumb-typers, the signs of compulsive use and how kids are fighting back." more inside

Torn Posters

Ask Metafilter on NPR (scroll to bottom)

Here we go ....a smoke crescent hangs over eastern Victoria. This may be the worst weekend ever. more inside

Gifts to keep on giving. The ever-informative sex columnist (and all-round bon vivant) Sasha Van Bon Bon presents her guide to Christmas giving. Toys, graphic novels, and charitable gifts to the Stephen Lewis Foundation. [Prolly NSFW][Not the Stephen Lewis Foundation, the other stuff.]