Lost in translation - Stewart Lee (who he? - Ed) on the German sense of humour. A rather good old article from the Grauniad.

CuriousGeorge: Student loan bothers I have, for the past 4 months, been making monthly payments to Company X, which is a collection agency, for an old student loan with the NY State Higher Ed folks. I have not missed a payment. Today, I get a call from Company Y asking me to set up payments for my student loan. When I say that I'm already making payment with Company X, they say "well, NY State transferred it to us, and we need to set up a new payment plan." Can they do this?

Can Scientists Dance? After watching Simone Recchi's "Dynamical and chemical evolution of blue compact dwarf galaxies", I tend towards NO.

Millions of starlings flock together in Scotland. (embedded video) It's amazing how they move together and the motion of the flock is like water. Seriously.

Beautiful plumage? A Stackwatcher's guide to plume types and smoke density grades (as applied to the Hammer).

Five-Minute Films. The new movie Be Kind, Rewind inspires amateur filmmakers. more inside

The Metamorphosis of the Cecropia Silkmoth Larva - pics. This is Hyalophora cecropia, one of the largest moths of North America, member of the Saturniidae family.

Fidel Castro to retire. Castro declined another term as President, ending 49 years in power. more inside

Another Ancient city discovered in India - Indian archaeologists say they have found remains which point to the existence of a city about 7,000 years old at Sisupalgarh, inland in the eastern Indian state of Orissa. more inside

A Lone Wolf Is You! If you were a sheltered, ostracized child in the 1980s, your misspent youth undoubtedly included far too many hours Choosing Your Own Adventures. If your sheltered ostracized childhood then turned into a sheltered, ostracized adolescence, shunned even by D&D players, you may have "graduated" to the wholly nerdish realm of the Solo Adeventure! Instead of talking to members of the opposite sex, perhaps you found yourself embroiled in Fighting Fantasy, GrailQuest, or, arguably at the top of the sweaty, pimply pyramid, Lone Wolf. more inside

Gecko 'begs' insect for honeydew ~~ Symbiosis. List of symbiotic relationships (incomplete). Previously on MoFi:Moray eel & Grouper hunting cooperatively

Sewage Workers Stalked by 'Zombie' in Underground Tunnels - shurely shome mishtake? Jobbie not Zombie

Who doesn't want to be this inventor? Steve Hollinger was recently profiled in the New Yorker about his umbrella. more inside

Beat Boxing Basset Hound Warning: Contains Swedish beats, long ears and floppy jowls. Oh, and it's a flash thingy with sound. via.

Up With Hillary- HP Marketing Expert Gives Flagging Clinton Campaign the Dancingest Endorsement of Them All: Up With People! more inside

A very compelling shower scene - yes, it's an advertisement, but such a seductively beautiful bit of video. Directed by Bruno Aveillan of Short-Films, as Anne at Ample Sanity informs us. Possibly nsfw if rippling six-packs, glistening pecs and steamy titanium offend.

Monkey Love. I've been absent for awhile, but I saw this and thought of you, MonkeyFilter. Happy Valentine's Day

Fast Food: Ads vs. Reality This a lot like my self-image vs. what I actually see in the mirror in the morning.

A look into Cookie Monster's mind Cookie Monster interviewed on NPR, including a variation of Proust's famous questionnaire. (via MetaChat)

Mathematically Challenged George . Fellow simians, I need at least twenty monkeys to answer a simple survey question to complete the take-home part of my math exam. After I correlate your answers, I'll post a copy of the lovely three color Venn diagram I intend to draw to illustrate this information. As an additional incentive, I will also post my exam grade when completed. Please, Monkeys, can you hope me? more inside