Curious George: the future of Iraq. Inspired by this FPP about what's happened to Vietnam since the war there ended in the 1970s, I'm wondering what people think is going to happen in Iraq and more broadly in the Middle East in coming months and years. Go ahead. Make a prediction. Then we'll have record of just how prescient or not we really are.

Mesostomatic Generator Christmas has come early again. A mesotic is a form of poetry introduced by John Cage. A mesostic is a poem or other text written such that a vertical phrase intersects lines of horizontal text. Similar to an acrostic, but with the vertical phrase intersecting the middle of the line, as opposed to beginning each new line. With this generator, enter the Mesotic text and the site on which you want the generator to gather words. more inside

Whatever happened to Monkey Coconut Pickers? Also: pigeons are teh smRt, say eggheads

Was departure the secret weapon that guaranteed victory? WTO admission. Market Economy. Intel places its largest facility here. World's second largest coffee exporter. Tourism destination. French/Asian cuisine. CIA Overview. more inside

Evolution of a Magazine Masthead: From 1930 to the present day, the changing face of Analog: Science Fiction/Science Fact. more inside

Speak 10 languages instantly Remember Leia's "translator device" in Jabba's palace? This was to become a reality in the near future thanks to advances in machine translation and voice recognition technology. Well, looks like Skype beat them to it (well, sort of). more inside

Whatever happened to Coffee Filter and Coffee Talk? These are so beautiful. I am all verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves. more inside

Missile Game 3D. Clean design, nice idea. A bit frustrating, but fun for a while. Via ABS.

The Prajna Paramita Hrydaya Sutra One of the shortest, simplest and yet most profound of the Buddhist Sutras. I know several Buddhists who claim that chanting this Sutra has helped them in tangible ways. more inside

Soldat, La Patrie compte sur toi Soldier, the fatherland is counting on you, keep all your strength for it ... Resist the seductions of the street, where this disease which is as dangerous as the war lies in wait for you ... it leads its victims into decadence and useless death without happiness ... Public health posters

Fear and Loathing in Mos Eisley more inside

What's a vote worth? Extremely rare "Inverted Jenny" stamp used to mail absentee ballot in Fla. Only 100 exist, and the one used could be sold for $500K. I wonder if it was someone who really valued being part of the electoral process, or someone who had no idea what they had done...

Whatever happened to monkeyfilter? asks mathowie on MetaTalk.

In 1895 in Co.Tipperary Michael Cleary began to believe that his wife was in fact a changeling.

This is sorta cool. though isn't it? I don't know how you feel about digg, or if this is stale. Forgive thee please the noob if that I transgress.

Short youtube video in response to that whole Michael J Fox/Rush Limbaugh thing. It is basically just a two minute video of people with Parkinson's Disease showing the way the disease and its treatment affect movement/appearance differently. It's a pretty simple video, but I found it quite powerful.

Rude, Rude, Wherever I Go more inside

The Illustrated History of Folding Chairs (via)

PC World's 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time more inside

"Who the #$&% Is Jackson Pollock?" That's what Teri Horton said in response to an art teacher who had just seen the painting she purchased for $5 at a thrift shop.