Would the Last Man on the Moon Please Lock Up

Auugh! Well friends, sad to say I didn't make it to Krispy Kreme last night to test out their new donut drink. But I shall rectify that situation this weekend and report back Monday. In the meantime, here's the usual rancid stew of link dumps to get you through your diztopialess Friday. Suck it down!

An idea whose time should have come long ago: virtual bubble wrap. (via) Not quite as tactilely satisfying as the real thing, but it will help the coffee jitters pass. When you've come down from that high, spend a few moments meditating on Grow, a weird and oddly compelling little game-thing. (via)

You know you're in for some grand fun here when the page begins "Below are some funny pictures of tracheal cannulas." This poor fellow suffers from a variety of birth defects, so there's an element of mocking-the-unfortunate here, but he seems to have maintained a healthy, warped sense of humor regarding his surgical devices ... so more power to him. (via)

Comics Geekery Alert: An extended interview with Grant Morrison, one of my favorite writers in this medium. You will have to slog through some new-magic speechifyin', but he's still essentially a genius. On a related note, the International Catalogue of Superheroes brings us much-needed information about caped crusaders from all over the globe. (via) Thrill to the adventures of Finland's Kapteeni Hyperventilaattorimies! And do your best to hear or smell the approach of Mexico's El Hombre Invisible, because you don't want to feel him (his invisibility doesn't extend to his clothing, so he fights crime en el nude).

Karsten, Clare, and Scott, take note: the Official Shotgun Rules. (via)

And lastly, some truly kick-ass panoramas from the surface of the moon can be found here, along with lots of other innaresting virtual panoramas. This one is particularly awesome. Lookit that lickle astronaut scamper! (via)

Comments

[chris m]

Getting more efficient all the time... next one should just be a an empty message from NTTWAICT.

[s.h.]

As I expected, the Official Shotgun Rules do not allow for calling "anti-shotgun"... Clare.

[chris m]

Ha! Actually I think it was me who did the anti-shotgun thing. The rules allow for claiming other seats via shotgun methodology, but only after the primary shotgun issue has been settled first. I am duly chastened and will abid by regulation behavior in future.

[John M. Hicks]

                My kids have decided that bubble-wrap is too "baby-ish." They need Magnum Artillery shells, Excaliburs, Howling Tigers, and the like. The kind of firework that lights up the whole city, and which is visible from the local police headquarters...

                I found Trach-boy's gadgets interesting, but judging from the music on the site, he needs to reconsider his use of Yamaha and Casio keyboards. Somebody buy him a Roland! Poor guy deserves at least that much.

                I had to send the shotgun rules to my wife! Too funny! Our usual procedure when we go somewhere together is to race to the car to try to get to the passenger side first, and make the other person drive. Since I can still run about a 4.7 40 yard dash, this is blatantly unfair! Hmmm... maybe I'd better "unsend" that email!

                The lunar landing pictures are stunning, and puzzling! I remember my parents waking me up at 3:00 AM to watch the video live, and it was little better than watching static on non-existent UHF stations. That, and a lot of talking heads being excited! Now, there are all these excellent-quality shots?!? Is photoshop THAT good? and does that make the details of these pics fiction, creative license, or literal truth (like the Bible! All versions!)?

JH

[spd]

Jeez, that lander looks like a plastic toy. I'd have been shaking in my boots to turn around and see that and realize it's my only way home.

[chris m]

I'm assuming that this is the digitized results of a wide-angle camera shot. Hence its much greater quality than the grainy full-motion film from days of yore ...