Today's Mighty Oak

Short update, and sadly, probably the last update for a while.  I'll be at a conference for a week and a half and then visiting some friends in Maryland after that, but I'll be back after.  I'll see if I can check in.  I've been fighting with the mobile apps for the site, but I'll keep trying.  Anyway, enjoy what I've found for you this time:

Via Copyranter, amazing ad for The Walking Dead:

And this just cracks me up:

Salon remembers David Foster Wallace.  One of these years, I'll finish Infinite Jest.  It really is my white whale.

And nothing much, just TORNADOES ON THE SUN: 

That's it for now, have a great one!

Couple things for everyone, here's what we have:

First up, check out this awesome video (let's also see if my embed code will work):

Beautiful Day at the Dog Park from Kelsey Wynns on Vimeo.

 I feel like I linked to this before, but maybe I didn't.  A new study shows that low IQ and conservatism is tied to racism.  Out of politeness, I'll act surprised.

What the crap PA lawmakers?  Get to work on transit funding, not meddling with religion!

Feel free to remove your sweater vest.  Best line of the whole thing.  Here's the sexual morality flow chart:

Awesome news from France, Scientology has been declared a business (scam) not a religion.  Exciting to see!

Let's see if I can get this one to embed, a new version of "Starry Night"

Starry Night (interactive animation) from Petros Vrellis on Vimeo.

This judge is amazing, and you can't fault his logic when he responds to those praying for his death.

That's it for now, have a great one!

Quick second update for everyone, let's see what we have.

First up, two quick updates to my first valentine's post.  If you really love someone give them roses.  Made of bacon:

Or of course, there is this Zombie valentine.  I love it!

This is floating around, and I love it. There are a couple things I would have added, and a bit of the editing is weird towards the end, but I love it:

The ongoing debate over women's reproductive health is abhorrent.  A snipped I found from Maddow:

The Bishops' position, which the Republicans have now adopted as their own, is that religious leaders have the right to override that decision, even though it will affect employees who have no moral or religious qualms about birth control. Writing in Newsweek, Andrew Sullivan captured the Bishops' thinking perfectly: "Catholic doctrine should, according to the bishops' spokesman, also apply to non-Catholics." [...]

[T]he principle seems pretty clear to me. The Bishops want a veto over public policy. And the Republicans want to give it to them.

Go read the whole thing here, and check out a cool post at Slog about the crazies that are ruining the Republican Party (and yes, I do wish that there was actually a rational conservative party.  In order to find the best solutions to our problems, we need to have good, actual debate, and we need ideas from all parts of the spectrum.  However, the reactionary Republicans that have taken over the conservative side of the spectrum are preventing that rational discussion).

And to cleanse the palate, the trailer for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter: 

This is what happens when you break the heart of a baker:

Quick update for everyone.

First up, sadly, it looks like the Senate is trying to pass another SOPA, just with another name. Bad Senate!  Don't do that.

Al Jazeera has a good segment about a proposed bill in Australia which will fine parents who don't get their children vaccinated:

Hint, if you keep talking about how vaccines are evil and a ruse by the government, I will delete you from my Facebook newsfeed.  That will....certainly not teach you anything.

So once upon a time, there was a horror movie made aboard the International Space Station.  Who knew?

And lastly, a reminder to eat healthy and slowly:

Couple update for you guys, let's see what we have:

First up, did you know that Bradley Manning was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize?  Pretty awesome, especially the write up.

Since we finally have some snow (I've been singing Christmas Carols for a few days now), check out Snow Henge (via Copyranter):

Also from Copyranter, the village of Hobbiton in New Zealand is no inhabited by sheep, and the "best" ad campaigns of all time.  No real way to to judge "best," although they are all iconic and important in their own ways.

The Ottawa library system is starting a "Human library" feature, where you can interview people of interest for 20 minute blocks.  This is an awesome idea, I really need to get a passport and head to Ottawa, this is just remarkable!

CPAC is an annual conservative conference, and sadly, one of the most hate-filled events of the year.  Speaking of, this year, they invited (and later refused to renounce) a white supremacy speaker.  Maddow covers it here and Slog covers it here.  Disgusting.

I've been following the birth control debate, although not as close as I probably should have.  Reproductive health coverage is a part of health coverage, and I think it should be included (and maybe we'll get some advances in men's reproductive health while we're at it).  It's about setting a basic standard of health, which the government is saying employers are saying they must provide.  That being said, I was upset that he backed down from the Catholic Church, but will still get the same result anyway, by instead putting the onus on the insurance companies, not the employers.  So I guess in the end, it worked out, I Just hate setting the precedent that one religious denomination can dictate government health coverage decisions.

That's it for now, have a great one!

Another quick update for you. First up, open this link and play this song in the background for the next hour.  It's the theme from Jurassic Park slowed down 1000 times (but kept at the same pitch)

Check out these awesome images of a "cloud tsunami"

Today (or at least in ten minutes), is National Darwin Day!  Hooray!

Want to bet on the National Dog Show?  One, you probably have a gambling problem, two, Slate has you covered on who to bet on.

Want hot soup delivered to you each week (in Pittsburgh)?  City Paper profiles a new business, pretty awesome!

And finally, I've never heard of National Geographic's Director of Adventure, but I want it, so I can have this office:

I've been cleaning out my e-mail, so here's some gems hiding in there:

Aside from the fact that you don't dive on oxygen, which is repeated a lot through this article, it's pretty cool to see painting underwater.  FYI, tanks are either compressed air, or Nitrox, a blend of air and nitrogen.

Get some cool thought experiment explanations, pretty awesome.

Corporate logo addition:

Want to make a brain cap?  Craft time!

I've seen this same picture, I posted it before when it had the title Happy Fall, but it makes me smile every single time I see it:

This gives me hope, a church, a mosque and a synagogue all in one giant faith campus.  So awesome to see.

And this is just awesome:

Quick update for everyone, first up, check out this awesome recap of all the Superbowl ads:

So.....The Onion is awesome.  Especially when a Republican congressman links to it as a real story.  Check it out here, and check out the reviews on Yelp of the Abortionplex.

When I'm old, I want one of these.

And the third in the series of The Magicians fan art, here is Alice:

Let's see what we have today:

Maddow Blog has a follow up to a story about the lack of parades for vets coming home.  Aside from St. Louis (which was entirely citizen-funded), there has not been a parade for any returning troops.  But they can put together a parade in two days for Super Bowl champs.  Sad.

And speaking of the troops, an artist has done a project entitled "The impact of war on a young person's face."  Interesting stuff.

Virginia Senator Howell is amazing.  When faced with a bill that now (I believe it passed) makes it mandatory for women seeking abortions to get ultrasounds, she proposed an amendment (which barely lost) requiring men to get a rectal exam and cardiac screening if they wanted to get a prescription for ED medication.

I've been meaning to post this before, looks pretty awesome:

Here's an update to the wall outlet I posted about last week.  These are more flush with the wall, and this time, diagrams on how to wire it!

Interested in SOPA/PIPA and what kicked it all off?  Information is Beautiful took a look at the actual numbers, and they are a bit surprising, check it out.

I know some people are excited about this, but honestly, I don't think they will end up being very good.  Hopefully I'm proved wrong, but either way, DC is moving forward with the Watchmen prequel series.

Scientists are working towards making your internal monologue being able to be broadcast.  While this will of course help medical technology a lot (think of those in comas, the deaf and those with developmental disabilities), but holy crap, that would be awful if my inner monologue was public.  Then again, maybe the people who annoyed me would leave me alone finally.

JCPenny is redesigning all their stores.  Interesting to see, especially since my local store is moving from one of the mall to the other, so it's good timing for them at least.

Remember how Republicans love to campaign against voter fraud, the boogeyman that is not really a problem according to all studies, but it's a good way to push through legislation that disenfranchises those who tend to vote democratic.  But as it turns out, the latest verified case of voter fraud was by a Republican Secretary of State (of Indiana).  Oh the irony.

That's it for now, have a great one!