Things I Think Are Kinda Cool

One of the first reports about something called “Internet” (cue the spooky space music):

-via Digg

YOU:  You’ve been quiet lately…everything ok?

BRAIN:  Yeah, just thinking.

YOU:  About the Icelandic volcano?  Or maybe the SEC’s charges against Goldman Sachs?

BRAIN:  Um…not exactly.  You know what, actually, let’s just drop it.  You have any articles for me?

YOU:  Come on, you can tell me anything.  We’re friends.

BRAIN:  …Fine…I…uh…I just can’t get this image out of my mind:

YOU:  What the – is that Betty White holding a flaming chainsaw while riding a Jon Ritter centuar?

BRAIN:  Um…yeah.  DON’T say anything – just give me those articles…
—

* It’s impossible to walk out of a Costco empty-handed, no matter how much we don’t need that 20 lb tub of peanut butter.  There’s actually some serious scientific stuff going on in our brains that explain this phenomenon. – Science Blogs

* Humans are superstitious animals…especially when we’re playing & watching sports.  Why can’t sportscasters (and the rest of us) resist finding meaning in completely random events? - Skeptic

* Every single tweet ever tweeted (even this one) will now be saved and stored by the Library of Congress…it might sound laughable, but it actually makes sense. – The Atlantic

* Accidentally leaving a child in the backseat of a car is a terrifying mistake.  But is it a crime?  The answer is more complicated than you might think…this Pulitzer prize-winning piece explores the thorny issue. - Washington Post

* It was once thought that artistic globalism (and Evil Hollywood) would suffocate and homogenize local cultures around the world.  But in reality, new D.I.Y. hyper-local cultures have thrived. – NY Times

* The obsessive need for kids to be constantly connected online shouldn’t be discouraged or ignored.  It’s actually made younger generations more empathetic, and has shifted the emphasis from individualism to collaboration. – Huff Po

(crazy Betty White / Jon Ritter image from Neatorama)

BRAIN:  I’m exhausted.

YOU:  Been reading all your high-brow fancy-schmancy articles again, huh?  What’s that you’re reading now?

BRAIN:  Nothing.

YOU:  It’s obviously something.  What is it?

BRAIN:  …schmuss breechley…

YOU:  Huh?

BRAIN:  …frush kreakly…

YOU:  WHAT?

BRAIN:  Fine…US WEEKLY!  Happy now?!?  Are you KIDDING me, Jesse James?  That’s America’s Sweetheart, Acadamy Award winner Sandra Bullock!  We’re already on Mistress #4, and who knows when th-

YOU:  SHUT THE HELL UP!

BRAIN: —

YOU:  First you were obsessed with Tiger Woods, now this dude?  Put down the damn magazine and read these articles…NOW.

BRAIN:  thanks……i need help.

———————————–

* The honeymoon is over.  Digital media and the internet are creating some fascinating (and some would argue, negative) side-effects:  our ‘mash-up’ culture is challenging concepts of ownership, our political discourse is becoming even more intensely polarized, mediocrity is winning the battle against expertise, and the list goes on.  This article is chocked-full of compelling ideas. – NY Times

* Fun-fact:  By 2025, China will build TEN New York-sized cities.  Not-so-fun-fact:  China executes three times as many people as the rest of the world COMBINED.  Those are just 2 of 15 facts about China that will literally blow your mind. – Business Insider

* Have snarky movie review blogs killed legitimate film criticism, or are they simply adding more accessible ideas to ‘establishment’ opinions?  The evolution of film criticism has been long and winding, from it’s birth at the beginning of the 20th century, to it’s debatable death today. – The Chronicle

* Researchers studied 150 Hollywood films and recorded the length of every shot.  They then calculated the average frequency between shots, called “Pink Noise”.  Now here’s the trippy part – the specific characteristic of “Pink Noise” that they discovered is found all over our everyday life:  the beating of our heart, the ups and downs of the stock market, traffic patterns, how we focus/re-focus our attention, and so much more…woah.  – NY Times

* Apparently male mice are romantic little devils – they actually sing ultrasonic love songs to impress the ladies.  (Rats do this too, but no one wants to think about them). – MSNBC