"The meaning of the monstrous is critical to my work." Monkeys and so much more: the allegorical art of Laurie Hogin. more inside

Monkey portraiture. Seems appropriate.

Keep your hands off my screentime you damn dirty ape!! Everyone's friends at The Forbidden Zone have re-edited Planet of the Apes into a Twilight Zone episode.
via boing boing more inside

Interview with a Chernobyl engineer. From where I stood I could see a huge beam of projected light flooding up into infinity from the reactor. It was like a laser light, caused by the ionisation of the air. It was light-bluish, and it was very beautiful. I watched it for several seconds. more inside

Frontier Psychiatrist (RealVideo) by The Avalanches may well be the best music video of all time. An old lady on the drums, a talking turtle, and a skeleton DJ. What more could one ask for?

Having seen some Tibetan sand paintings, it got me searching for more Mandala images. more inside

Spotting Astroturf Real has messed with their bitch-o-site again (freedomofchoicemusic.org). You can't see the signers on their petition anymore (and the number of signers has magically shrunk to about 2275), and you can read an utterly disingenuous piece of propaganda masquerading as a faux Q&A session with Rob Glazer. Sample disinformation: "You buy a CD and you can play it back on any CD player.  That’s the way it’s been for decades.  Now Apple has tried to change the rules on consumers, but without warning." more inside

Plinian eruptions are at the upper end of a volcanic eruption spectrum. Ejecting at a velocity of over 1000 mph, the ash columns in a Plinian eruption may reach 30 miles in height. Mt St Helens, during the first several hours, was a classic Plinian eruption, producing an 80,000 ft ash cloud, bizarre ash mammatus, and memorable eyewitness reports. They've been a subject of numerical simulations. Researchers speculate they may have been a factor in the Dark Ages.

Procrastination begone! Have trouble focusing on your work when there is the tempting, tempting lure of the Internet? Here is the solution to your problem. Until it loses your root password. more inside

Swift Boats Speak Out! You can stop waiting for the perfect response to the "Swift Boat Veterens". It's Swift Boats for Truth. Aw, isn't "Swiffie" cute (and doesn't "Karl the Pig" look familiar)?

Be(tt)er Brains Alcohol drinkers perform better than teetotallers on cognitive function tests. [Abstract].

Tactics Core Demo for a videogame. Highly addictive fun.

Sustainable living. Tinkers' Bubble is 40 acres of woodland, orchards and pasture in south Somerset. It was bought by a group of environmentalists in 1994, and a dozen people moved in, applied for shares and built themselves temporary houses. They imposed a strict set of rules on themselves, which included a ban on the use of internal combustion engines on the land.

Mashed Taters (Potatoes) by eNiGMa the MoNKey. [Flash, via TheOneRing.net.]

Running low on dandelion wine? Why not try Salamander Brandy? more inside

Bob Dylan news and views. 24/7/365 when we're lucky.

De-CIA? One of the many fallouts from the 9/11 Commission is the suggestion that the CIA should be broken down into three separate agencies...but some are not so enthusiastic about it, as reported here. more inside

Curious George: Men's capri pants. I'm looking for Men's capri pants, preferably cargo. Can you help me without telling me how much you love or hate these things? more inside

Curious George: free CDs? I keep seeing deals from CD clubs like Columbia House and BMG offering 12 CDs for the price of one. Is this a scam, or the easiest way to get (nearly) free music? How does it work, and how do these companies not lose money? Have you had any positive/negative experiences with these kinds of "deals"?

Curious George Have you monkeys been exposed to a system of check cashing, where you don't have to offer ID to cash the check? How is this protecting me the customer? more inside