Make your own snowflake (flash). This is nice and quite relaxing. Moreover, contrary to popular belief, two snowflakes can look identical.

Curious George: Has anybody here besides me participated in The Southwestern Company's summer program? You know, the one where you work an obscene amount of hours working door to door selling 'study guides'? I'd love to hear both success and horror stories that anyone might have.

Musicblogging Roundtable
The Morning News just published a long interview with a bunch of prominent musicbloggers, discussing their involvement and opinions in the field. It's a fun read, if you overlook the nonsense that John guy is talking. more inside

Colin Powell to Skip GOP Convention Once the most respected member of Bush's cabinet, Secretary Powell has decided not to engage in the "parochial debate" at the RNC. Maybe he'd rather just be fishin', but I doubt most people will take it that way. more inside

Curious George: What is in turkey pastrami? Is there a website anywhere that lists exactly what meat is in different types of specialty meats -- e.g. salami, bratwurst, hot dogs, etc? All websites I've found use vague adjectives such as "beef" or "pork". Sorry, I am a picky about meat and don't want to be eating offal, organs, and snouts. Or lips and a-holes, to quote John Candy.

DNA may contain the message we're looking for. If you're familiar with SETI, the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence using radio waves, this article postulates that we need to be looking in the genetic code: DNA, the molecule that contains the script of life, encodes its data in a four-letter alphabet. This would be an ideal medium for storing a cosmic calling card. In many organisms, humans included, genes make up only a tiny fraction of their DNA. Much of the rest seems to be biological gobbledygook, often called "junk DNA". There is plenty of room there for ET to etch a molecular message without damaging any vital genetic functions.

This Sentence is a Story. This story is about a woman and a man. This story is too long. This story is too short. This story has an ending. This story has none.

Hey, US citizens abroad! Welcome to the first online Overseas Voter Registration and Absentee Ballot Request system. Did you know that you can vote in US elections, even if you don't have a permanent US residence? I didn't, which is why I didn't vote in 2000. But now I know better, and so do you! It's easy to register! Do it! Do it today!!

Bring on the stocks and pillories Shawn Gementera stole mail. His punishment is to stand outside the post office wearing a sign that says "I stole mail." The Ninth US Circuit court approved. This hearkens back to the days when criminals were paraded in the town square and humiliated. Is this a more effective form of punishment than incarceration?

View deleted MeFi threads. [via waxy.org] I'm not sure if this will work on MoFi as well, but it's pretty interesting nonetheless.

eRiposte.com - a news analysis, commentary and personal opinion website. For starters, his complete destruction of those Swift Boat Veterans and his examination of compassionate conservatism as performed by Bush appointees

The Concealed Garments Project

Curious George: Downloadable Calendar There was a discussion in March about a good online calendar. I'm looking for something a bit different. more inside

Mountain Dew Pitch Black ("Don't be afraid of the dark!") and Pepsi Holiday Spice ("Spice up the holidays!") As one Important Pop Guy says, "By introducing new flavors for a short period of time, then taking them away, we're meeting the wants and needs of soft-drink consumers while playing directly to their purchasing patterns."

Indelicately titled "Books that will induce a mindf**k" (idea). Sad to say, I haven't read the vast majority of them. Any titles or authors you would add? Any titles listed you particularly recommend? Any you disagree with?

Buildings that look like animals and other things. I stumbled across this bb devoted to skyscrapers, and one very cool thread in particular. This is why I love the internet.

Neural Darwinism. A brief interview with Gerald Edelman. [Via dangerousmeta!]

Tati Danielle I see one of the all-time great weird clothing chains of the world is in trouble. With magnificent website like this, how could it all have gone so wrong? more inside

Pain-Orgasm (a branding story). Burn, baby, burn.

Short films. More short films. Additional short films. Very short films. Very short films in Dutch. And the shortest films of all. Various players req'd.