Friday Varia and Quick Hits
December 23, 2011 § Leave a Comment
A strangely warm and snow free holiday season here in North Dakotaland, but a holiday season no less (and we did get a few stray flurries yesterday morning as to almost admit that our weather is not at all typical for this time of year)!
So here’s a little Festivus Day list of quick hits and varia for your Christmastime entertainment:
- Australian space archaeology. It doesn’t get much cooler than that (via Richard Rothaus)
- A pretty cool series of time lapse photography videos from around Athens.
- I love the idea that kissing a tomb will cause it damage. That’s a very peculiar kind of site formation process.
- Floating fields of tsunami debris is another cool kind of formation process – a floating midden.
- The death of the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il has led to the circulation of some hi-lar-ious content on the internets. My favorites are the North Korea Party Rock Anthem and some great photographs of the Dear(ly Departed) Leader looking at thing.
- I think among my friends and family who travel frequently, the idea that airport security is security theater makes sense.
- I’ve been keeping an eye on the discussions around SOPA and PROTECT IP because so many people say that these efforts to policy the circulation of intellectual property on the web are so misguided. This post summarizes most of the more interesting and ridiculous parts of this discussion.
- This is my wife’s favorite Christmas songs (utterly depressing, but with a nice reference to Junior Murvin).
- It’s pretty hard not to be excited about this year’s Boxing Day Test.
- And it’s impossible not to be excited about the return of the Association on Christmas Day.
- What I’m reading: P. Kastenellos, Count No Man Happy (2011).
- What I’m listening to: Nat King Cole, The Christmas Song; Elvis Presley, Christmas Album; Various Artists, A Christmas Gift to You from Phil Spector.
A number of readers have asked me what a glass of ouzo would look like in December, in Grand Forks, North Dakota:
Have a Merry Christmas!!
