Playwright, actor and Nobel laureate Harold Pinter is dead of cancer at age 78. New York Times obit here, coverage from The Grauniad here; Nobel lecture here. more inside

Preserved Onion: In a hidden corner of The Onion's site is an "archival" issue from 1783: eight pages of pseudo-historic goodness, fully searchable by page and topic! Of interest: Alexander Hamilton Challenges Nation to a Duel; Thomas Paine on women; Satan Afflicts Townsfolk With Series Of Ploughing Mishaps; Opera Lyrics Blamed In Spate of Regicides. more inside

"More than a thousand juvenile Patagonian penguins have washed up on the northern shores of Brazil this year... Over the weekend, hundreds of the stranded birds were airlifted to the southernmost tip of the country and released into the South Atlantic Ocean [YouTube], close to their native territory. How exactly do you get that many penguins on a plane?" more inside

Rocky Horror Picture Show remake imminent. at the hands of MTV. Fans are up in velvet-gloved arms; bloggers wax sardonic amid rumours of Marilyn Manson in the Tim Curry role. Surely we monkeys could cast it better than this? Whom do you deem worthy to wear the basque?

Beautifully made armour for cats and mice to make the eternal species conflict a bit more interesting. Highlights include a cat with a lance and an Edo period samurat. Enjoy.

The Questioning of John Rykener, A Male Cross-Dressing Prostitute, 1395: Apparently the only legal process document from late medieval England on same-sex intercourse. From the lovely Internet Medieval Sourcebook, a boon to every browser. more inside

59 images of galaxies interacting with one another, newly released to celebrate the Hubble Space Telescope's 18th anniversary. Images available for download here. As featured in today's APOD.

CARNIVAL! If you're in Italy or Brazil, tomorrow is Carnival. If you're in France or New Orleans, it's Mardi Gras. If you're in the UK, it's Shrovetide or Pancake Day. But this year, history was made in the form of the first ever Mardi Gras Parade at the South Pole. more inside

Map of online communities and related points of interest on genius webcomic xkcd. (previously) Kind of like the map you find at the beginning of a doorstop-sized fantasy book; maybe this should be the first page of the Web? more inside

London costumier auctions TV, movie outfits. Ever wanted to be James Bond? Or a Jedi? Or a showgirl? Or Doctor Who? It's all there at the Angels costume auction at Bonhams. Clothes worn by Julie Andrews, Ingrid Bergman, Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Peter O'Toole and many more. Obi-Wan's cloak is the last lot, 362. more inside

The Tubewhore project. The London Underground: 12 lines, 275 stations, and one pink-haired goth girl's ambition to visit, photograph and blog them all. She has already created a few art projects based on her underground adventures. more inside

Curious George: Teacher tributes The recent, unexpected death of the favourite tutor of my college years, eminent Shakespearean A. D. Nuttall, prompts me to ask: who are the teachers who helped shape your life? Did they guide you in a subject that would become your life's work? Offer understanding during a difficult time? Or were they just generally cool and inspiring? Post your tales here.

Landmark American composer Gian Carlo Menotti has died aged 95. While searching for links I discovered the Database of Recorded American Music, an excellent audio resource which includes many works by Menotti. more inside

Curious George Washington: MoFiDC meetup? I'm in my hometown of DC through next Thursday (the 18th). My old friend speedlime has recently started posting more, and we decided to see if we could lure some DC-area monkeys out of hiding. more inside

Warning labels are getting increasingly surreal/stupid as companies walk in fear of lawsuits. A Michigan lobby group hands out annual awards to the most unusual of these. More weird warning labels from another lobby group. Yet more. And now, you can generate your own! more inside

Corset of steel Talented man makes metal corset for elegant friend. She includes pictures of antique steel corsets on here. more inside

The House That Must Be Mine more inside

The complete works of Charles Darwin online, free and searchable. Not just the published stuff, but some things that have never before seen the light of day, such as field notes including the notes he took on the Galapagos Islands. Enjoy, monkeys!

Curious George: What happens in this poem? Literary minded monkeys, help me interpret the text of a French song I'm performing at the end of October. On one level it's kind of obvious, but I've got a lot of unanswered questions. Come inside, read the thing and help me out, won't you? more inside

Corn, Jim, but not as we know it. A corn maze near York, England pays tribute to Star Trek's 40th anniversary. If you've ever wanted to get lost inside Spock's head and go "Jim!! His brain's gone" you can now. Some other striking corn mazes. If you want to grow a maze of your own, contact these folks. more inside