Death and Taxes A guy working at his desk in the Finnish tax office stopped doing so quite suddenly...and permanently. He was not discovered by co-workers for two days. He was an auditor, in case you were beginning to feel bad.

Jews for Guns, Guns for Jews A site dedicated to promoting gun ownership among Jews. The proclaimed raison d'etre is teach about the historical perils of being unarmed and Jewish. Lifetime Membership is only $500, and you don't even have to be Jewish to join. I find this page interesting not only because it goes against the fact that Jews have historically been anti-gun, but also because of the deceptively cheesy, flag-waving look of the site.

Origins of Band Names If you've ever been curious about this--and being Monkeys I know you are--this is the site for you.

Although I'm not a writer and have never read any of his novels, I really liked reading Elmore Leonard's tips on good writing. Among the more interesting kernels of wisdom: "Never use a verb other than 'said' to carry dialogue, " and "Never use an adverb to modify the verb 'said' . . . "

Yankee or Dixie...Dialect-wise, that is?

Did you know Cher called C-SPAN in October? Not much else to say about it. [Quicktime/Broadband]

I got it. I got it. (I got)I got IIIITT! Some guy's trying to sell the phone number 867-5309 on ebay, in the 212 (New York) area code no less. Some amusing background, with a mention to the ebay auction.

Jayson William's wife has a web site. For those of you not familiar with Jayson Williams, he is a basketball player who is being charged with accidentally shooting someone (his chauffeur, I think) on his property. OK, I guess it's really *his* site--aimed at damage control or otherwise at influencing public opinion. Can't blame a guy for trying.....I just think it's funny he named his son Tryumph.

Thanks for the Memories: a whimsical and charming Flash perspective on our ties to Saddam Hussein. Enjoy.

I guess you could call this a refreshing take on a topic not generally considered refreshing: The Gas We Pass: The Story of Farts. And its companion volume: Everybody Poops The international version And there are 70 reviews for the poopy book no less.

I don't know what it is, but I had a hell of a time playing with it. [Flash]

Beards and Mustaches: The Champions. I'll take this over the World Series or the Superbowl any day.

Go to Hell !! Or use this opportunity to send the people you hate. Enjoy.

Life is meaningless? Feel spiritually bereft? You know you gotta go out and 'get religion', but you don't know where to start. Never fear, these guys will help you get the ball rolling.

Are you stoopid, or what? Take this quiz to see how much you've been paying attention to the latest in academe this year.

Jorn Barger is alive. Whether or not he's well is a matter of opinion. Fans of his blog became concerned after a 2 month haitus from updating. Finally chum Eric Wagoner posted this in hopes of finding him, which he did recently. Apparently Born simply moved to another apartment... and didn't tell anyone.

Well, we're movin' on up (memory nudge:Jefferson's theme)...New luxury homeless shelter in Brooklyn is gonna have wrought iron beds, a bunch of 36-inch flat screen television sets, 9 IBM computers and a lot of people pissed off. (NYTimes)

Throw me in jail, spit in my face, kick my ass if you want, but Don't Call Me "Dude."

A new breakthrough for women: the whizzy. Put simply, it allows women to urinate standing up.

DaimlerChrislyer to host "Lingerie Bowl" during Super Bowl half-time. Too bad it's pay-per-view. Oh well...still beats the hell out of trombone and glockenspiel music.