Let’s start with a roundup of kottke links and see what else we got:
- This cruise ship is unreal. I actually want to take a cruise now – but it sure looks like it would be more fun with a bunch of friends. (thanks)
- How many states can you name in 10 minutes? What about countries? I’d like to say that I completely ripped through these, but I’m a tad embarrassed by my country score (I was struggling to break 50). In my defense, I missed a number thanks to misspellings or putting a “The” in front (e.g. The Ivory Coast). As for the states, I didn’t realize it started ticking right away and didn’t start until 8 minutes were left. I still managed to name 49 in about 4 minutes – and spent the rest of the time unable to figure out the one I missed. Can you figure out which state that was? (thanks)
- I still can’t wrap my head around this guy’s tour of the US in one week. (thanks)
- A blog that rips CNN on insipid news? I am so there! (thanksthom)
Alright, I swear, no more links from kottke for today!
- I’m not sure what kind of geek I am that I think this is such a cool idea. Maybe it’s more of a pack rat thing, since I’m just now shredding receipts from 1998 – and I almost regret it even now.
- Do you like music? Could you not make it to SXSW? Have your own virtual music festival thanks to these (completely legit) torrents from the past three years. (thanks to Dave Winer
- 30 Days of Sloan – 30 videos about the making of their latest album, “Never Hear the End of It”, which just happens to contain 30 songs. These guys are one of the most under appreciated indie rock bands of the last decade – unless you’re Canadian.
- I figure my bibliophile friends will enjoy this list of the top 1000 books owned by OCLC member libraries. Here’s some fun facts for those who don’t want to just read a very long list.
- Hey Mark, can you believe “Put the bunny in the box” was actually singled out as the worst action movie one-liner? Here’s a top ten of the best. (thanks to Photo Matt)
- Hmm, a college suing the RIAA for wasting their time trying to sue students? Maybe there is hope after all. Cause at this point, the MPAA has already convinced me that piracy is the best way to go. I came back from that thinking with music, but that’s a tenuous position. Especially if the rumor of eMusic being up for sale comes true.
- MIT (among others) will be offering its entire curriculum for free on the web by the end of this year. HA! Looks like I finally get to dig that rejection letter out of storage and throw it back in their collective faces! (thanks to Ed Bott)
And although I’m trying to avoid politics on this site, I was impressed to read Brian Wood’s take on the generic “Do you support the troops” question. Khaleed’s take is even more in line with my own feelings, as my answer has clearly changed after the last year or so as I’ve re-evaluated the situation. For those of you who would balk at a contrary response, I have a little story. A student at the school my wife teaches at joined one of the branches of the military (I forget which one, and don’t really care) so he could head out to Iraq. His goal wasn’t to “save freedom” or “promote democracy”. No, he wanted to become a sniper so that he could kill people. So I ask you, do you support him?