George Lakoff is the man. A professor of linguistics and cognitive science at the University of California Berkeley, is a specialist in the technique of "framing," a communication tool that creates a "frame" for a message that defines the terms of the debate. Discussed many times Here I wouldn't have known about him any other way I don't think. Good lessons for Monkeys of all stripes. more inside

Monkey Picked Tea! Details * Rare Wild Chinese Tea * Picked by trained monkeys * No, really * Delicate, light flavour * Net Wt. 25g [via J-walk blog]

Curious George: Hardware Gone Wild I lost the C: drive, it was replaced, now the computer won't recognize the D: drive anymore. Well, sometimes it does. more inside

Remembering Julia Child She changed chefs and cooking forever in the public eye. Her kitchen is in the Smithsonian. She loved food and loved to share it too. more inside

I don't have a sense that there's a lot of anger Larry King interviews the POTUS. KING: You don't, so you think there's less civility in America? G. BUSH: Not really. . . .When I travel the country, and I've been traveling a lot, there are thousands of people who come out and wave, and they are -- you know, they respect the presidency. Sometimes they like the president, but I have this -- I don't have a sense that there's a lot of anger. huh. more inside

DNA may contain the message we're looking for. If you're familiar with SETI, the Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence using radio waves, this article postulates that we need to be looking in the genetic code: DNA, the molecule that contains the script of life, encodes its data in a four-letter alphabet. This would be an ideal medium for storing a cosmic calling card. In many organisms, humans included, genes make up only a tiny fraction of their DNA. Much of the rest seems to be biological gobbledygook, often called "junk DNA". There is plenty of room there for ET to etch a molecular message without damaging any vital genetic functions.

Book-A-Minute Classics! Feed your head in under 60 seconds (or, probably, less). Great expectations, Jane Eyre, Light in August and the collected works of E.E. Cummings, others.

We demand to know what race she is. President Bush's re-election campaign insisted on knowing the race of an Arizona Daily Star journalist assigned to photograph Vice President Dick Cheney. A tale of security, racial-profiling, a new status quo? more inside

"My Beef With Big Media" by Ted Turner We need a new set of rules that will break these huge companies to pieces. Captain Outrageous holds forth on the FCC messing up and why Big Media will doom society if it goes unchallenged. [via DayPop] more inside

H appy Birthday! more inside

Unabridged Letters of Van Gogh Genius sorted by topic (Art, Food-and-Drink, Health, Psychology, etc) and searchable. "As far as I understand it, we of course agree perfectly about black in nature. Absolute black does not really exist. But like white, it is present in almost every colour, and forms the endless variety of greys, - different in tone and strength. So that in nature one really sees nothing else but those tones or shades." more inside

Human Timeline Do you know when humans first migrated from Africa? When did humans first plant seeds? When did the Neanderthals die out? A handy guide. more inside

DNA Interactive In a total coincidence with the poetry link below, this site has great click-through animations of the history and significance of DNA research. It defies you not to learn something. Just in case you're called to be on the jury of a famous athlete's heinous crime.

False Advertising - A Gallery of Parody "Ads" for various companies / industries with a subversive bent.

I Want A Pony: Venerable MonkeyBashi - can we keep the sidebar links longer than 24 hours? more inside

Farenheit 9/11 Notes: Accusations, insinuations, linkage, dot-connections, outragities, documentzema, black-and-whitism, a pointed index finger, and - reportedly - the partridge in the pear tree. The refrences in the movie. Comment?

Cheney Faces Criminal Indictments . . from the French. Oh and the SEC as well. so says capitolhillblue [via linkfilter.] more inside

Couple has sex on stage during concert (very likely NSFW)"As Kristopher Schau and his band C--shots were in the middle of their concert; a young couple entered the stage, stripped and had sex." Which is all very well, but the point of the post is - Where's the most unusual place you've . . y'know more inside

People are tiring of ads in all their forms. "A recent study by Yankelovich Partners, an American marketing-services consultancy, says that consumer resistance to the growing intrusiveness of marketing and advertising has been pushed to an all-time high." more inside

Sherlock Holmes Radio Plays I've been listening to these while doing some house repairs. 30 minutes each, varying in quality, most with great-in-a-terrible-way advertising, but chock full o' Sherlocky goodness! more inside