Men Who Explain Things Smart women and the men who have no concept of such a thing. more inside

Arthur Miller's Guilty Secret - Playwright Arthur Miller had a son 40 years ago. But Miller was unable to love the boy.

Used Without Permission George - I've somehow appeared inside Black, an XBox game, in a cutscene featuring two photographs a friend of mine took of me in an abandoned psychiatric ward. These photographs were used without permission or knowledge of either me or my friend, and we are curious if there is anything to be gained from making a big deal of this? Special note, we were trespassing. Or urban exploring, if you like...

Jessica Alba says she was coerced into kissing a monkey. She hated it.

Quotes for She(ehan), Not For Thee - Like Cindy Sheehan, Julia Conover lost her son in Iraq to a suicide bomber. Unlike Sheehan, she apparently doesn't have the "absolute moral authority" of a grieving mother... more inside

Big turnout for elections in Iraq. Granted, it's not the 100% voter turnout from "back in the day", but still, it's a start.

Curious George: Favourite Christmas Memories It's been a long while since I've had singularly memorable Christmas memories. Thinking back, though, I do have some good ones. What are yours?

Roy Moore, Governor? The guy who disobeyed a federal order banning the placement of the 10 commandments memorial on federal property is now running for Governor of Alabama. more inside

The March to the New Pope (note, Catholics may find mildly offensive)

Curious Jorge - I'm moving to LA in August, and I'm looking for good places to live... more inside

Salacious George What should a modest fellow as myself wear or do at a nasty party? more inside

Ground level election news from the people of Iraq more inside

Project Implicit - It seems biases are more prevalent inside us than we imagine, and these tests seem to indicate that they might not be going away any time soon. Related link: WaPo article (very long!) about the phenomenon, the tests, and what it all means. Via The Smoking Room

Bush's tax cuts are monumentally unfair... to the rich.

Retro Coffee Cans - From Japan, whose residents drinks more coffee than you might think.

Intelligent Design - ID challenges so-called "unexplainables" in evolution, and is making some headway in Ohio schools. But is it valid science?

The Invisible Library - A place for books that only exist in other books.

Identity Theft - This excerpt from Bob Sullivan's My Evil Twin has me reeling in amazement at how easy it was, and still is, to successfully perpetrate identity fraud upon Americans of all walks of life--from the rich to the poor, no one is safe from the gleamy-eyed clutches of the Ragged Company.

Anti-Monkey Butt Powder For all your bowlegged, sweaty, rash-ey needs.... Via blogdex

Boom! Big Boom. Large Boom. Larger Boom, followed by slightly smaller large Boom. Not Yet 2nd Largest non-nuclear Boom. Largest non-nuclear Boom. Non-nuclear testing for nuclear Boom. Also large. Big Boom with potential for more big Boom. Oops Boom.