Doubloons! Every year during Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans, the various marching groups, known as krewes, toss to the crowd aluminum coins called doubloons. Doubloons typically have the krewe name or insignia on one side, and a depiction of that year's Mardi Gras theme on the other. Paradegoers like to collect the doubloons, and some can sell for $25 or more on Ebay.

Elf Attack! 'Tis the season. Some Friday Flash Fun for the monkeys stuck at work today. Happy Holidays!

Friday Film Fun What would a preview for the classic film The Shining look like if it were made today? Not quite the movie you'd expect... [MOV 1st link]

Christopher Xavier Brodeur wants to be mayor of New York City. He has some, er, unusual proposals which he intends to enact if elected. Like outlawing four-legged tables. And mandating that all bathroom doors in NYC open outwards. And making organ donation mandatory. [Warning: link contains extremely long rants that may be thoroughly disconnected to reality.]

Moskau! Moskau! When Teutonic pop goes bad. Late 70's German pop group Dschinghis Khan sought to combine historical and epic themes with disco beats, Abba-esque style, and Village People dance moves. Ensuing train wreck is preserved for all to see. [Flash, sound, SFW]

Game Theory The University of Alberta has a group that's working on mathematically solving a host of popular games, such as checkers, chess, and poker. Some playable demos of their work are available, and they've consulted to a few big computer game companies.

Curious George: Party Planning. So my roommate and I are planning on hosting a party. The question is, how many people do we invite? more inside

Friday Flash Fun Most monkeys I'm sure remember Billy Joel's hit song "We Didn't Start The Fire" - it looks like someone's found images to go along with the words. [Flash - duh]

Play With Your Food A Japanese site dedicated to the art of hot dog sculpting, courtesy of Nippon Meat Packers, Inc. Includes instructions, for any of our more ambitious monkeys. [SFW, despite the name of the company.]

New Personality Test? Researchers have determined that women's personalities are apparently dictated by the shape of their pubic hair. And you thought phrenology was wacky!

RIP David Huffman David Huffman, a mathematician who died in 1999, developed a fascinating method of geometric paper folding which emphasizes curves rather than straight lines. (He also did some nifty work involving data compression.) [3rd link NY Times, reg reqd]