Things I Think Are Kinda Cool

* Forgetting your past is virtually impossible because of the cringeworthy digital trails we leave on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks. Those embarrassing mistakes you made in college are often the first things that strangers know about you. Uh oh. – NY Times

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* Go behind-the-scenes at the Library of Congress as the pros preserve and digitize ancient texts…it’s an insanely delicate (and unbelievably important) job. – Boing Boing

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* Humans spend the majority of time (even more than having sex) in imaginary worlds through books, films, video games, etc – Why is it that even when we know something is fictional, there’s a biological part of us that truly believes it’s real? – Chronicle

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* Take an in-depth look at Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video, and how the production revealed cracks in the seemingly unstoppable Jackson Machine. – Vanity Fair

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* The age-old mystery has finally been solved – why do some countries drive on the left versus the right? Great info for your next cocktail party (or a dive bar, or wherever you get drunk). – Today I Found Out

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* A Russian dude turned down the $1 Million he won for solving one of the world’s most difficult math problems, the Poincare Conjecture, because he got in a little tiff with the ‘math community’ (bitchy mathematicians). Here’s what the Poincare Conjecture is all about. – Slate

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* Did you hear how Chinese corporations are hiring white dudes to act like the president of the company in the hopes of attracting more investments? So crazy. Check out these interviews with guys that have actually taken part in the bizarre stunts. – VBS & The Atlantic

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* I’ve wanted cities to install moving sidewalks for as long as I can remember…it’s been a slight obsession of mine. (Yes, I need a hobby.) But is it really a good idea? – Slate

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* The potential successor to the Dalai Lama isn’t an old sage sitting silently in a forest cave waiting for his turn. His name is Karmapa Lama. He’s 24 years old, loves video games, listens to rap music, and is WAY cooler than you and me – Global Post

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* Have you noticed the new subculture called ‘Steampunk’ gaining steam lately? (Sorry, bad pun). It’s based on an intense love with Victorian-era machines and the world of Jules Verne (think “Back to the Future 3″). Learn more about this crazy world. – More Intelligent Life

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(Did you see I used a photo from my Awkward Stock Photos post? Apparently they ARE useful!)

The RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce) has a new video lecture series called RSA Animate that adds a layer of clever hand-drawn animation to their most compelling talks…if all my college lectures were animated like this, my GPA would have taken me out for a drink to thank me.

This talk, by Professor Philip Zimbardo, is titled “The Secret Powers of Time” – he explains how shared time perspectives can characterize a nation. For example, in Sicilian dialect, future tense verbs (like ‘will be’) simply don’t exist – Zimbardo says this is because Sicilians are more focused on traditions of the past instead of the future.

I think I’m a “Present Hedonist” – so I want to watch this video NOW, and I’ll be ANGRY if I have to wait more than 5 secs for it to load.

-Check out more RSA Animate talks here. (via Unique Daily)

YOU: Ugh…we really ate and drank a ton yesterday – I’m still full.

BRAIN: I guess that’s what Thanksgiving is all about.

YOU: I can’t move…let’s just zone out in front of the TV and watch crappy movies and reality TV marathons on VH1.

BRAIN: Maybe we should read some interesting articles instead.

YOU: Ugh…I’m too tired to argue with you.  You know what, I’m thankful for you, Brain.

BRAIN: Wow – that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me…you must still be drunk.

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*  Sociologists have used urban subways as experimental real-life petri dishes for decades.   How is it possible that we’re all slaves to the same unwritten social rules?  And what happens when we dare to violate those rules?  The results are surprising.  - Slate

* Time Magazine’s cover story calls the ’00s the ‘Decade From Hell’.  Pour yourself a stiff drink and relive some of the hellish memories. – Time

* Everyone knows that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will be convicted after a long and messy trial – but it’s the appeal process that will REALLY screw up our criminal justice system and cause some long-term negative consequences - Slate

* Britain recently passed a new internet law called the “Digital Economy Bill”…and apparently it’s a disaster.  Let’s just hope the US government doesn’t try to imitate some of these lame and counter-productive regulations. – BBC (and also check out Boing Boing‘s analysis)

* Gun rights have nothing to do with the current health care debate, right?  Then why is the gun lobby fighting furiously against the proposed health care bills?  - Slate