Transoceanic cables. Once proclaimed the eighth wonder of the world but now largely forgotten, transoceanic cables did more to shrink the world than anything else. Read about the Herculean efforts that went into the first Atlantic cable. Then check out the great links, maps, and more. Listen to the Ocean Telegraph March and other inspired tunes. Even nowadays, transcontinental cables are high-tech, with fiber-optic lines piping the Internet through the oceanic abyss.

Curious George: "A guy grabbed me by the arm, he looked me right in the eye, and he said, 'Don't let me down.'" This has been an applause line in Bush's stump speech for months, but something finally sunk in: if anyone really said this, that person's probably still around. How can I find him, and has President Bush let him down?

European cigarette commercials British American Tobacco hired American film directors to do commercials for them. The directors include the Coen Bros. and Roman Polanski. via Waxy

No thanks, I'll just walk.

2000AD. BBC. A match made in heaven. Dave Gibson, John Wagner, Carlos Ezquerra, and other classic 2000AD writers and artists. Stronium Dog, Judge Dredd, and more! more inside

My Second Favorite F-Word. Any you monkeys know of other stuff like this?

Self-sustaining killer robot creates a stink. This should be especially ominous to monkeys, as these robots would nulify our greatest defense, namely the throwing of feces. We're doomed!

We've been called a lot of things ... Elegant, refined, discreet. Our units are the best around. ElizaJ: Ahead with class.

Curious George: Buying A Bike I'm looking to buy a bike for my daily commute. So far, from looking around, I'm tempted by this one, really tempted by this one, and if pushed would seriously consider this one, although it would probably cause me some serious buyer's remorse. Any monkeys out there have any advice on what to buy, or where (in London) is the best place to do the buying? more inside

Fold an ordinary sheet of paper in half 100 times and it is a thick as the approximate radius of the known universe. more inside

Partisan Pussies (SFW)

Man-made rainforest baffles scientists - A cloud forest biotope started by 19th Century dudes that should have taken thousands of years to reach its current state (according to accepted theory) now boggles the brains of eggheads because it only took 150 years. more inside

Kofi Annan says the war in Iraq is Illegal. Translation: "Shove it, Bush". Annan also said that, "I hope we do not see another Iraq-type operation for a long time - without UN approval and much broader support from the international community." The article also talks about the upcoming Iraq election, but what does this say for the U.S. Elections in November?

Johnny Ramone 1948-2004 full story on Johnny's passing. He was the founding member and guitarist for The Ramones

Like BoingBoing, but for the government Coolgov.com is a blog that list interesting things available from US government web sites.

It's Over In Iraq More and more towns are being taken over by insurgents and the Bush administration humorously maintains that the elections in Iraq will proceed in January. I can't see the United States being in Iraq another five years. Sorry for the second post of the day, but I thought this was worth discussing.

Devastating hurricane to make landfall tonight. In the next few hours, Hurricane Ivan will be coming ashore in Alabama and far west Florida. The central pressure of 931 mb would make it the third most intense landfall in the United States since 1961, rivalled only by Hurricanes Andrew (1992) and Camille (1969). Let's hear about those blogs, if you know of any.

The Phoenix Program Long before Abu Ghraib the CIA ran the Phoenix Program in Vietnam that used torture to gain information.

Inside the fur bus.

Online Etymological Dictionary. "It is often forgotten that (dictionaries) are artificial repositories, put together well after the languages they define. The roots of language are irrational and of a magical nature." more inside