Mulla Nasruddin Hoja. (spelling varies)This week sees the festival in Aksehir which celebrates, the arch-joker of the Islamic world. Turks claim he is buried in Aksehir, but Afghans and Iranians believe him to be one of them, while he is equally famous in Albania, North Africa and many other countries . There are absolute shedloads of Nasruddin stories on the Net, ranging from the traditional to more modern gags. This thread has some interesting links, and the Mefiots put together a creditable array a couple of years ago.

The Etsuko and Joe Price Collection of Japanese art objects. It isn't just monkeys, but that seemed like the right page to link to.

Stanhopes use a special lens to display microscopic photographs through a small peephole. They used to be inserted into small novelty/souvenir items, and some are saleable antiques. more inside

Noddy (just to go with the flow of the day) has been voted the most popular children's TV programme in France. See, the French are very open to Anglo-Saxon culture really. Just leave the SUV behind.

Tomorrow is Bloomsday 100. Bloomsday. Bloomsday. Bloomsday. Bloomsday. Bloomsday. Bloomsday. Bloomsday. Bloomsday. Not that Bloomsday. ... but nothing in the UK, apparently?

Rico the dog has a large vocabulary and learns new words first time. Asked to comment, Rico described the findings to date as 'rough'.

Lantern slides of classical antiquity. Bryn Mawr's hoard of images of ancient buildings.

The mystery of Meroitic could be on the way to a solution at last. (Nicest site run by a People's Front I've seen, by the way) There is a large amount of Meroitic writing and we know what sounds it represents - we just don't know what the sounds mean. Meroe is often seen as a small southern afterthought to Ancient Egypt, but others argue that the civilisation of Egypt was actually drawn from the ancient black culture of Meroe. more inside

High Culture from the BBC. Not sure what Lord Reith would have thought, but it's all in a good cause.

God exists, of course. See this bonfire? (Argument No. 17) Argument 188 is the clincher. But is he really an old man with a beard or secretly a hot Abercrombie chick? The Top Ten of the Gods is currently a Greek whitewash, but surely there should be a place for this one, or these, or maybe even him?

Blindfold blog. "One of the first steps to becoming a guide dog instructor is to spend ten days blindfolded...". We're into Day 4.

Virtual pyramid ...and other ancient Egyptian buidlings. From the Digital Egypt site of UCL.

Schizophrenia gene New research suggests a gene responsible for one kind of schizophrenia may have remained in the population because it gives protection against infection and infant mortality which outweigh the negative effects. more inside

I wanna be like you... No, I wanna be like you. The Zoological Society of London is calling for volunteers to adopt chimp behaviour as part of a research project.
*pant-hoots, scratches rump*
Ook?

50 Earth-like planets A new technique suggests that half of the 100+ planetary systems known so far may have Earth-like planets capable of supporting life. Details on extrasolar planets, and local bodies (including Sedna and all that), in case you need a refresher.

The World Marbles Championship 2004 Excitement is building steadily in advance of the championship on Good Friday. A local tradition, the championship has been taken for the last two years by a German team. Details of past tournaments and the history of the game from the Marble Museum in Tinsley Green.

Ronald McDonald The real one. He's married, has four children and six grandchildren and he lives in Scotland. He's written a protest poem. RealAudio required to hear him recite it.

1890s Break Dancing From America's Story, a site by the Library of Congress which has some great content (so long as you don't mind being talked down to slightly).

Pastimes and paradigms. Online exhibition of old board-games, grouped by theme, from Cornell University Library. Anyone fancy a flutter on the Gay Wolves punchboard??

The Ides Of March ...are almost upon us. It turns out, though, that J.Caesar did not die after all. He later wrote such memorable books as the 'Esoteric exercises in subtlety'. In England he became a judge and was knighted. He then took up painting (my favourite is the one of George Biggins in a balloon). Later still, he took up cricket, being a member of the first England team to tour the USA - 'the first Yankee I meet on British ground I shall give a hiding to...'. Does anyone know what he's doing these days?