Curious, George: What are the economics of a Hollywood film? Steven Soderburgh spoke at a panel on Monday called "Downloading at a screen near you", in which he said that "negative cost" is up 85% and advertising up 110%. To lower the cost of making a movie, he recommends capping actor salaries, releasing movies in multiple media at the same time, and no "pre-screen" advertising. I'm intrigued, but confused. more inside

"Electronic Roadsigns and Me" If you're bored on a quiet piece of US highway, there's always something to do.

Eugenio Recuenco, Spanish fashion photographer. More photographers here.

Bring It On! Ever wanted to be in the Royal NZ Air Force? Now's your chance with these amazing flash-based simulators! Airlift flooded farmers! Rebuild Polynesian villages! Build a Hercules C-130 out of paper! (Via Vishy)

One of our own has put an end to a really useful site. Say goodbye (and if you're new to it, hello) to the LazyWeb, created by Ben Hammersley -- aka DangerIsMyMiddleName -- in 2002, a source of obscure answers for geeks all over. Now its time has come. more inside

Nauru is a tiny island nation (the smallest republic in the world, even) in the South Pacific that is about to collapse. The island has been purged of its one asset -- phosphate deposits from bird guano -- and after a century and a half of mismanagement the deposits are about to dry up. Meanwhile the country can barely afford to provide fresh water and electricity to the citizens and the vegetation has been stripped back to bare coral. Parts of it are still beautiful, and apparently tourist-worthy. more inside

Some handy tips on how not to argue online. Your mission: find at least one comment on MoFi that fits each category. Your time: less than thirty seconds. Your reward: everyone else's dirty looks.

Curious, George: Tell us a story I'm asking on behalf of #2, who has been looking for something similar to (but not) this story, the Parable of the Object-Oriented Toaster. more inside

Doing the doctors' rounds, blogstyle. A compilation of links to some humorous, heartwarming and heartwrenching medical blogs, presented in hospital rounds format. more inside

A 9,000-year-old equivalent of a dentist clinic has been unearthed in Pakistan complete with drilled molars. Anaesthesia invented at the same time: rock to head. Meanwhile, 60 million-year-old penguin fossils found in New Zealand to complement the theropod fossils found in the Chatham Islands last week. It's been a busy week for archaeology.

Batman Onomatopeia. I just...no words.

A recent bug report to Mozilla demonstrates some...privacy issues. more inside

New York's first British school opens this September. Aimed at expat British parents in the US, BISNY will teach the British (English) National Curriculum to American youngsters whose parents want a better, private, education. Yahoo News, Financial Times.

In September 2005, Neil Gaiman discovered a demonic tomato in his garden. Sensibly enough he decided to make evil salsa out of it. Website Tomatoes Are Evil heard about Neil's evil fruit and linked to it as an example of a vicious killer tomato. Now Neil is being threatened with possible legal action by Branfman and Associates [warning: embedded music(!)] on behalf of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, who claim Neil has violated their trademark by linking to them from Tomatoes Are Evil. Except, uh, Neil doesn't run Tomatoes Are Evil, and has not linked to anything to do with AotKT. more inside

Stolen Van Gogh returned, seven years later.

LoveToKnow Music, a wiki devoted to all aspects of music more inside

Experiments with paper cups.

The fall colours' chemistry. It's autumn down under and this takes all the romance out of those pretty colours.

Life For Change aims overall to end poverty, beginning $100 at a time. Submit your original writing, get votes, earn money.

More abandoned places: a Japanese amusement park.