Pierre Salinger did a little of everything in his life in his 79 years. Most people under 30 know him from ABC Evening News, but he had been President Kennedy's press secretary during the Cuban missile crisis; he served as senator from California for about 4 months after the death of the incumbant, he was even in a movie. In 1996 he publicly embarassed himself after claiming TWA Flight 800 had been accidentally been shot down by the US military. And of course, there are the eyebrows. [Telegraph article, reg required: I didn't try these so I can't guarantee they'll work ([email protected], spamsucks)]

Monty Python and the Holy Grail to become the musical "Spamalot". This info is months old and I can't believe it got past me.

Rapper KRS-One lauds felling of WTC and declares his allegiance withAl-Qaeda. "the hip-hop anarchist has declared his solidarity with Al Qaeda by asserting that he and other African-Americans 'cheered when 9-11 happened,' " Yeah sure. Sounds like a washed up performer trying to generate some hype for his next album.

A page devoted to the intangible allure of smokers in film.

US to rate its allies on their treatment of Jews. A special office within the State Department will publicly issue a report each year on how foreign governments treat Jews in their countries. State Dept officials feel it will lead to charges of favoritism and ultimately erode the credibility of their other human rights mnitoring. [Telegraph registration]

"Tell them we're busy." France to permit cell phone jamming in public spaces like concert halls and movie theaters. Think of is as a way of saying

Rodney Dangerfield. Goodnight, funny man.

Americans--surprise--do abysmally in geography. But thankfully, Canadians and British students aren't much better. Take the test. I got 100%! The test was administered by National Geographic. Here's the main story.

Meet Marla Olmstead, painter. Her work has been compared Pollack and Kandinsky; she has sold $40,000 worth of paintings and has only been at it for three years. Did I mention she's four years old? Click here to see some of her work. Here's her home page. Makes me think of that kid with MS who wrote all that bogus shitty poetry and made his parents wealthier.

Scott Muni, New York radio legend, died this week at the age of 74. I comtemplated whether I should post this because I'm not clear as to how many monkeys are familiar with him. Scott Muni was a very popular AM disc jockey in the 50s and 60s in New York. In 1967 he made a successful leap to FM radio, devoting himself to free form radio, which became AOR ("album oriented rock", today known more or less as "classic rock"). In those days, radio stations relied more on disc jockeys to create their playlists, and a popular jock could make or break a performer. Scott was one of those jocks. In January of this year he had a major stroke, which put him out of commission. more inside

If Florida even thinks about going Bush this election, be prepared for some Divine Retribution.

Eggs with lighter yolks. It's not the most earth shattering FPP, but I had to share this with you. Another pic. Another Last one. Unfortunately I couldn't locate a legitimate story, but here's the company's home page. (in Japanese)

Living like a caveman. I'm a big fan of experimental/unusual housing so this site really caught my eye. All in the heart of convenient Cappodocia, no less. And check out those prices! I know where I'm going for retirement.

Perhaps I'm out of some loop, but I don't under stand this graphic on google.com Can someone explain?

The US presidential elections affect the entire world, right? So why shouldn't the world be allowed to vote in the US elections? According to Jonathan Freedland of the Guardian, nothing could be more democratic.

It's not as though beer drinking weren't demanding enough on the bladder, there's a new German device which orders men to sit down before they pissen. It must be a humbling experience, given that the word for guys who sit while doing that is "Sitzpinkler", i.e., "wimp." "Hey, stand-peeing is not allowed here and will be punished with fines, so if you don't want any trouble, you'd best sit down," one of the devices orders in a voice impersonating the German leader, Chancellor Gerhard Schroder. If nothing else it's a victory for German feminism. more inside

A board tally of the cost of the war in Iraq for the US. Not much to say about it. Here's a rundown of where they got the figures.

I know it's a little early to be thinking about Halloween costumes for the young 'uns, but if you're at a loss for ideas, these folks have come up with Child Pimp and Child Ho ensembles. Stuff like this usually sets off my Punk'd radar, but they take credit cards so I guess it's legit, if legit is the proper word.

Say goodbye to one size fits all. Commoditization used to mean bland uniformity, but these days it's going the other way. Now answer me this question: why do computers only come in two colors?

Curious George: I'm in pop up hell! I've updated my Ad-Aware and Spybot, I've got Zone Alarm installed, but I've again started getting popups. It began again about a week ago and don't know what I have to do about it. Please don't tell me I have to do a fresh install.