Woman misunderestimates Internet. Hilarity may ensue.

Jessica Alba says she was coerced into kissing a monkey. She hated it.

Yes, in fact, we DO do Windows. Apple today released a package to allow users to install and dual-boot Windows XP SP 2 on the new Intel-based Macs, that will be a full part of OS X.5 when it is released. This is not meant to incite a platform war, I firmly believe that whatever works best for you is the best platform for you. But this move by Apple raises a lot of questions: more inside

Curious George: Who wants to have breakfast with me? Are you in the boston area?? Like breakfast?? Want to meet me and my awesome friend at breakfast? Do you want breakfast so bad you can taste it? more inside

A 9,000-year-old equivalent of a dentist clinic has been unearthed in Pakistan complete with drilled molars. Anaesthesia invented at the same time: rock to head. Meanwhile, 60 million-year-old penguin fossils found in New Zealand to complement the theropod fossils found in the Chatham Islands last week. It's been a busy week for archaeology.

THE MIND GOBBLES! 40,000 and counting ..

Shoelaces for Chucks

NPR Pledge Drive! As American monkeys may know, the National Public Radio pledge drive is upon us like a pack of rabid locusts with switchblades. This year they may have some trouble due to podcasting, but I'm not donating. Why? Because their supposed liberalism isn't. more inside

The Amen break: culture and copyright An 18-minute, 34mb movie discussing the means by which a 6-second sample of music released in 1969 went on to influence, indeed create, a whole musical subculture. Some thoughts about what copyright means for artists, too. more inside

Sadistic Senator's Son Clifton Bennett shoves broomsticks and flashlights in the asses of 11 - 14 year old boys to humiliate and punish them. His pal Kyle Wheeler chokes them until they pass out. 40 separate incidents. The sentence? Meh. Probably probation. "It looks like one of the most sweetheart deals of all time." more inside

I hereby post this item: Performative Verbs.

+5 sword of Curious: George Roleplaying events. I've got a cafe. I really want to host roleplaying games, perhaps one night a month. I used to play Rifts, but that was years ago... any suggestions on who to contact, how this might play out, the whole RPGer scene? More on what I'd like to do inside. more inside

Don't shoot the puppy! Whatever you do, don't shoot the puppy!

Padilla Lite A CBS news Iraqi cameraman wounded by U.S. forces as he videotaped clashes in Mosul in northern Iraq in April 2005 was detained by the U.S. military for over a year without charge or evidence. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalistssays that kind of thing has been happening a lot. more inside

Coingate! How does a politician with a love of rare coins use big-money influence to become chairman of the brand-new US Treasury Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, only to lose $13 million in state funds in a failed coin venture and be charged with 53 felony counts for theft and corruption as well as federal money-laundering charges stemming from raising $100,000 for the Bush-Cheney campaign and $200,000 for the GOP in general? Um, well here's one way. more inside

Count me out. The 2006 Census for Canada will happen in a couple of weeks, and all Canadians are asked to give minimal cooperation. Pourquoi? Seems as though data collection has been farmed out to the subsidiary of an American corporation (and not a particularly nice one at that). Add one Patriot Act, and the U.S. gov't can find out lots of nifty information about you and yours. Info they don't already have, I mean. Now, start workin' on your tinfoil touque!

Mr. Happy, who really isn't. "Mr. Happy, aka John Long, is a very angry man indeed. I thought this raised some interesting questions as to the extent of free speech. more inside

Most viral marketing schemes work as stealth; they trick you with something cute (branded) that people pass along to others, receiving nothing in return but perhaps a smile. This one is an in-your-face bribe in which the price drops (and becomes FREE) if mentioned on so many blogs by a certain time. Is this an advertising wave of the future? Is "viral marketing" just a dirty "word" or can your web site make good use of it in the future? more inside

Death by Smiley Face: When Rivals Disdain Profit. New York Times article: "There is another breed of rival lurking online for traditional media. . . . These are new-media ventures that leave the competition scratching their heads because they don't really aim to compete in the first place; their creators are merely taking advantage of the economics of the online medium to do something that they feel good about."

Bob Ross: The Happy Little Video Game