Some researchers in England got a grant to put a typewriter into a habitat of six macacques at the Devon Zoo for a month and monitored the results. I'm sure you're familiar with the old saw "put a thousand monkeys in a room with a typewriter and eventually come up with Shakespeare." It's basically the working model for hiring screenwriters in Hollywood (which explains how ABC came up with that Geico Caveman show idea) more inside

Tony Judt on the French presidential election. more inside

Sheryl Crow Sez: "Limit Your Loo Paper!" which brings us to today's Curious George: The Environment: What are your suggestions for helping the planet? more inside

Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin Passes Away at 76

Happy (belated) Birthday, Iggy!

"Thriller," performed by LEGOs. [youtube] Further LEGO music video goodness: short versions of those awesome OK GO videos.

Rewarding mass homicide. Lionel Shriver makes the case in this thought provoking op-ed piece (WaPo-registration possibly required) that we reward mass murderers with our round-the-clock, wall-to-wall coverage of the horrific aftermath to the carnage. In related news, Newt Gingrich blames liberalism. for the shootings. more inside

Oldest living chimp turns 75 more inside

Sale of the century! Goatse.cx is for sale. The bidding is lively. more inside

The Naval Safety Center's Photo of the Week is a neat bit of whimsy on a military website.

Halo/Metroid Movie Mashup more inside

Happy Birthday Rome! Rome is a beautiful city which was raised by wolves. Ancient Romans used vomitoriums and spoke Latin. So what now? Not much has changed, but the clothing is nicer and they all have Vespas. Rome was born on the Aries/Taurus cusp, which means he was bold and strong, a natural leader who enjoyed the sweet life. How very true! more inside

Curious George: How do you get rid of 20 years of dog/cat urine? more inside

Super Monkey Collider Loses Funding Congress voted Monday to cut federal funding for the superconducting monkey collider, a controversial experiment which has cost taxpayers an estimated $7.6 billion a year since its creation in 1983.

Mor Bloons!! It's Flash. It's Friday. It's Fun. Why be productive?

Righteous blog post about the sorry state of health insurance in the U.S. "They're in business to take your money then deny your claims."

I'll see your ass in Court. The defendant said his neighbour's ass was loud. That his ass smelled. So, the neighbour hauled his ass into Court, showed his ass to everyone, and proved to the jury that his 300lb ass was indeed well-groomed and under control. more inside

A Prisoner's Dictionary

Walls and Gated Communities

On Elliott Gould. Born Elliott Goldstein, raised in Bensonhurst (which "was to stand-up comedy as the Mississippi Delta was to country blues"), married to Barbra Streisand (who called him the "American Belmondo"), part of the 60s/70s Hollywood "Jew Wave," Gould made perhaps his most lasting mark in Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye. (No, he didn't die. Does someone have to be dead to be worth talking about?)