Everyone needs a hobby. Seriously, though, perhaps someone can be on the business end of a whip *without* ulterior motives?

Elementary

Here, sing a little song, learn something.

So I'm checking out a fine Harry Potter puppet show, and they called the rather-hot Oliver Wood a bishounen.

Vikings!

Convention-al

Speaking of places that require sterility...

Oh, no, wait. That's not what we were talking about. We were talking about the conventions of some societies.

Forgot to mention that last Thursday was National Pirate Day.

Umami Tsunami

Obsessed today with umami. I *should* go home to pay my bills and hang a shelf, but I'm in an umami frenzy. Here's some umami-yumminess.

Oh, and here's an Engrish page she recommends.

secrets revealed

First Newsweek calls it elegant and pretty, then Slate asserts that the wall is "one of the great public spaces in the world," listing it with the Great Wall of China. Damn, now I'll have to fight off the tourists every time I go home.

Do you know Leon? You must know Leon. Heed him. Love him.

Erggh, I feel kinda funny.

sweatsuit chic

Sean Combs, with whom I share a birthday, has gone fashion fascist.

Your badge and your gun....

Feel for the cops.

Save who?

Man, do I wish I had her balls.

Papal Deathwatch, extended 10-year remix

"They've got these [interviews] in the file, in the can," said Father Reese... "The TV ones — you'll see me with no gray hair and with gray hair and with various hair styles and different glasses on. You'll be able to date the interviews by counting the wrinkles."

Cooking with Monkey.

Weebl gets around.

Someone please tell me why the Hilton sisters have a website. What are they selling? Do they feel the need to remind us that they're famous? At least someone out there has some perspective.

Michiko who?

So, we all have secrets. Really, are any of us who we say we are?

Tales from the video store

Porn, through the eyes of a very witty and perceptive stranger. (I could try to be clever about this link, but I don't want to be flip. She's got enough to deal with.)

Denver Nuggets

If Will's going to drop the T&A posts, I'll have to pick up the slack. Check out what Denver's talking about today, a distraction form the recent bad news, I suppose.

deadly inaccuracy

Here's one for the Silver Lining file. Of many reasons, my foremost one for fearing a Dubya presidency was his record on the death penalty. But maybe his presence in the Oval Office has spurred a careful examination of existing policies.

Here's a bit of entertainment. Actually, too long to be considered a bit, and way too long to be a work distraction, but when you have a chunk of time to kill -- telnet to towel.blinkenlights.nl.

mmm, fried Twinkie !?

I had dinner at this fabulous place in Brooklyn this past Sunday. No fried desserts for me this time, though; I was good. The Chip Shop isn't way overpriced like where I used to go, and the folks there are much nicer.

Wow, and you thought your dad put a lot of pressure on you. Almost makes you want to join the hikikomori, doesn't it?

Power trip

If your day at work is sucking and you need to feel a little more powerful, try this.

Red-eye reduction

Here you go. Enjoy it. But please don't ask me to explain it. I just got off a red-eye, and an aptly named one, too, since I ran out of saline (and no, I did not follow any of the advice in those columns either; I even watched the movie).

Ninja code

"As a ninja, you obtain certain responsibilities such as kicking asses and looking cool and tough."

Coincidence Design, stalkers for hire

If you're wealthy but still fairly young, you work out, and you can make witty remarks, but you can't find a good woman, maybe it's because you think witty remarks are a suitable substitute for intelligence, substance, and compassion.
Or maybe you're just an idiot.

Hmm, maybe your affectionate kitty actually has an ulterior motive.

Gettysburg Powerpoint Presentation

See, this is why I hate business speak. And what's sad is that it doesn't even get all the important points across.

Chef lust

Mmmm, hunky chef (for your pleasure). Time to take a trip to lovely coastal Maine!

Maybe you have to be a techie to enjoy George, or maybe just an editorial freak like me. All I know is I've got tears streaming down my face for trying to keep workplace decorum and not laugh out loud every other ticket....

Play nice, everyone.

First road rage, now this. Am I wrong, or is the world becoming a much crankier place?

Do you know Amanda Lepore? You must know Amanda Lepore. Amanda, Amanda, Amanda Lepore. (Warning: may contain nudity justified as fashion, or even art.)

I always have trouble choosing a new password (my indian name being "Paralyzed By Indecision"). This won't make things any easier.

Dictator or TV Sitcom Character?

When I first saw this, Benazir Bhutto was good for an easy win. Now, it seems to be obsessed with Debra Messing. Stump the automaton!

Waste brain cells when you're not killing them.

rant

Why don't more people get upset by stuff like this? When did we turn into Playboy Nation, where women serve at the pleasure of men who aren't even expected to have any sense of honor or responsibility towards them? Who said we would have to trade in respectful treatment to get equal rights and opportunities? We have our own type of fundamentalist oppression going on in the West, and it involves valuing women for their looks above all else, and making sure that they remember that they are as disposable as the pages of the Victoria's Secret catalog.
You haven't come a long way, baby, after all.

The greatest diet ever told

If, like many of us, you have resolved to lose weight in 2002, let the Lord help you.