Arrivederci Michelangelo

Ingmar Bergman, now this. Legendary Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni died yesterday - a great talent with a unique style. See his film "Blowup" - a masterpiece.

Fairy Tale Endings

Alternate fairy tale endings by Sabrina Abbot via McSweeneys.

Clown News

Another criminal gives clowns a bad name. Via Fredericksburg, Virginia. Full story.

Thriller (Filipino Prisoners)

Got some time to kill? Watch 1500 Filipino prisoners re-enact the video of Michael Jackson's "Thriller".

Break Dancing Facial Expressions

Take it from a pro. These expressions help you sell your moves:



And a nice companion piece here courtesy of Craig's List.

Best Of CraigsList

What not to ask a cake maker here.

Photos

Here is a great post at Fogonazos loaded with pix of space walk greatest hits.

CNN/You Tube Debate

Former Howard Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi weighs in on this week's presidential debate:

Airliner Survival Rates

Who needs champagne and linen napkins in first class, when you can sit in the back of the plane smelling the lavatories and enjoy a 69 percent survival rate. Full stats here via Popular Mechanics.

Quote

"As an individual who undertakes to live by borrowing, soon finds his original means devoured by interest, and next no one left to borrow from - so must it be with a government." - Abraham Lincoln

Pop-O-Pies

Some one-note concerts are better than others. I think The White Stripes may have taken this idea from excellent 80's punk band Pop-O-Pies who played one note shows continuously until club owners and patrons started unraveling. Saw this in-person one night in New York. Real entertainment! More here.

Best Way To Pour Ketchup

Here it is. Who knew?

Another Kind Of Harper's Index

I often like to post facts from the Harper's Index here, but here's another sort by Dan Kennedy courtesy of McSweeney's.

Russian Internet Celebrities

Russians like their internet celebrities to be funny people viewed in the background of media events. This link comes courtesy of English Russia.
Check out the clips of both "Dirty Faced Fellow" and "Big-Eyed Guy".

Passchendaele

Here are some newly released color photographs taken during World War I at the hellish battle of Passchendaele. Courtesy of Daily Mail.

Mellow Chicken

In keeping with this summer's theme of digital artifacts from the 1970's, here's a groovy Kentucky Fried Chicken ad with a real laid back vibe, man. The colonel with the white jacket blows my mind! After a hard day working for The Man, chicken will mellow you out.

Oil For Water

From the Harper's Index:
Estimated amount of oil, in barrels, used to make the bottled-water containers sold in the U.S. last year: 16,000,000

Graphics

This super site called Plan 59 has a beautifully vivid mid-century graphics library. Here are just a few paintings by Vaughan Bass featured in the wrestling category.

Josh

In a world of blowhard bloggers ranting about politics and their self important personal issues, it's refreshing to come along a blog like this about the workaday routine of a stay at home dad. Here's a clip about colon cancer, chiggers, rashes, poison ivy, malformed penises, and cats with bloodied ears- y'know - stuff that makes up everyday life.

Moon Base 1970

This 1970's filmstrip describes how a base would be built on the moon! Via Paleo-Future.

Academic Underwear

Check this one out. Apparently underwear contributed to literacy in medieval times.

Clown News

Today's clown news comes via the Telegraph and Barney Baloney. This sounds like a case of Lawyers vs Clowns. Every party needs a pooper.

Fact

American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first-class.

Tony Blair

Last summer I heard Tony Blair speak at a relatively small gathering, and it was clear that he understood some basic truths about the world.
One topic that rang true: He believes that the world essentially has two faces - those who embrace change and modernism, and those who resist it. Open minded vs. close minded. The closed-minded have nothing to offer a nation. They can only delay change that is coming anyway.
This seems to be closer to the truth of the struggle facing the world today. Not the often used "Good vs. Evil".
Now that he has left office, we will see how history treats him as his legacy was so impacted by his alliance with the U.S. during years of unsavory foreign policy.
Honestly, I feel a bit bad for him. The leader of the UK will always have a close working alliance with the leader of the U.S. We are too similar ideologically to separate.
Blair was a savvy, well spoken leader who had the misfortune of being the PM at the same time the U.S. had a sub par president during very complicated years. But did he have to buy into Bush's follies so fervently?

Light Graffiti

Light graffiti photos taken at 10 to 30 second exposures via mental floss.

Fox "Lesbian Gang" News

Watch this clip, and you'll see how Fox News often serves up complete and utter crap. This isn't even close to journalism. Pay close attention to the random video clips used that have nothing to do with the story. While a fear-mongering guest talks about lesbian gangs taking over Washington, D.C., we're shown some meaningless video taken above Turk Street in San Francisco! And that girl fight clip they use was floating around the web weeks ago and, relax, its existence doesn't mean lesbian gangs are overrunning the country...
See more about real facts concerning this bogus news at Reason Magazine here.

Old Magazines Of The Future

This fun site called Modern Mechanix features scanned images from old-time science and mechanics magazines.

The Scooter Libby Backwash

From Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Dish:

"We now have a clear and simple illustration of the arrogance of this president. Tell the American people the core narrative of this monarchical presidency: this president believes he is above the law in wiretapping citizens with no court oversight; he has innovated an explosive use of signing statements to declare himself above the law on a bewildering array of other matters, large and small; he has unilaterally declared himself above American law, international law, and U.N. Treaty obligations in secretly authorizing torture; he has claimed the right to seize anyone in the United States, detain them indefinitely without trial and torture them; his vice-president refuses to abide by the law that mandates securing classified documents; and when a court of law finds a friend of the president's guilty, he commutes the sentence."

And this statement from Patrick Fitzgerald who prosecuted the case:

"We fully recognize that the Constitution provides that commutation decisions are a matter of presidential prerogative and we do not comment on the exercise of that prerogative.
We comment only on the statement in which the President termed the sentence imposed by the judge as "excessive." The sentence in this case was imposed pursuant to the laws governing sentencings which occur every day throughout this country. In this case, an experienced federal judge considered extensive argument from the parties and then imposed a sentence consistent with the applicable laws. It is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals. That principle guided the judge during both the trial and the sentencing.
Although the President's decision eliminates Mr. Libby's sentence of imprisonment, Mr. Libby remains convicted by a jury of serious felonies, and we will continue to seek to preserve those convictions through the appeals process."

Libby's Sentence Commuted

President Bush just announced that he is commuting Lewis Libby's sentence claiming that thirty months is too "excessive". Thirty months for treason too excessive? As if things can't go any lower. One word - disgraceful.

Real Stuff From Iraq

Army Captain Phil Carter, now home in Los Angeles after serving in Iraq, has a very good blog about his military experience and the situation in Iraq.
An explanation - dated 6.27.2007 - of "the surge" from Australian army officer Dave Kilcullen, adviser to Gen. David Petraeus in Baghdad, is the shortest and simplest description of the strategy behind the new tactic.
Whether the surge is successful or not, it's the kind of clear info we should be getting from policy-makers along the way.

Bored In Kenya

The offices of the Kenyan government might be a good place for "Seinfeld" character George Costanza to get a job. It seems like there isn't much to do. Story here at BBC.