Ninja Moves, Eggshell Speakers, Rooks

First of all, a rook is Britain's equivalent of the American raven. Rooks given a piece of straight wire and some meal worm motivation easily passed the make-a-hook-out-of-wire-get-the-worms test. Like they weren't even trying, they were all, "Oo, snacks. Grand! If you give me the bottle opener, I'll pop some brews, too." Let's recall that ravens (and rooks) are generally thought to be the smartest birds around. Read up on it, "wolf-birds" are awesome. I found it at my local library, btw. Found this raven posting on Geekologie: Hmm: Birds as Smart as Monkeys, Toddlers

Again from Geekologie, this crazy video of gymnastic ninja moves - who needs an action film when you can have it all on YouTube? Damien Walter, apparently a gymnast or perhaps a martial artist, does some impressive stunts. My favorite is when he's flipping through the air while taking off shirt and sweatpants(!!!).



Finally, why bother slopping creme fraiche and caviar into a sterilized egg shell when you simply make cute speakers out of those shells? The brown eggs look so...hip. Actually, it looks pretty good to me: Eggshell speakers on Geekologie.

Imaginary Gastric Bands and Glee

Do you have a hole in your soul where Arrested Development used to live? Me, too. Christopher Guest's movies are helpful, but nothing will ever fill the void of Arrested Development. (Unless there's a movie that comes out, and it's FANTASTIC.) I have good feelings about this new show, though. It's called Glee. It stars - among other fine actors - the blond woman from the Christopher Guest movies, also known as Joyce the predatory lawyer on The L Word. Yeah, her! Plus there's a musical element to the series - as in, singing. AWESOME! Hulu has the pilot episode of Glee for free:



And in other news. For the purposes of weight loss, a woman's hypnotist convinced her that she had gastric bypass surgery. Piped in hospital smells and everything. And she totally lost weight, believing that her stomach had been stapled smaller in the surgery. She can even "remember" being wheeled into the operating room, the smell of anesthesia, etc. Fake memories! The Matrix or Total Recall, anyone? From Neatorama.

The Nano Song

A gem I found while reading Facebook updates. Thanks to Margy! This is the third time I'm watching it. And I don't even care that the video is the wrong size for my blog. I'd like all my science factoids to come in musical form, from now on.

Bison Grass Vodka!

Okay, so Wikipedia has informed me that Bison Grass Vodka is popular in Poland and Belarus. The grass adds a complex flavor to the vodka, sometimes described as vanilla and chamomile, sometimes described as coconut and almond. The vodka turns a golden color and often comes bottled with some blades of Bison Grass - you know, to be like the worm in tequila, only vegetarian.

So apparently the original distiller is the Zubrowka brand. A popular Polish cocktail involves Zubrowka and unfiltered apple juice = Tantaka. Is there any coincidence between Tutanka = Buffalo (Bison) from Dances With Wolves, and Tantaka = Bison Grass Vodka + apple juice? YOU BE THE JUDGE. Bison Grass Vodka cocktails are becoming all the rage - it's like the new absinthe - now that the vodka doesn't contain the toxic compound coumarin. No wormwood thujone in new Absinthe, no coumarin in new Bison Grass Vodka. What other dubious beverage will become legal in the United States when the (allegedly) toxic element is removed?

Perhaps my landlord could have the lead water ducts replaced with copper, eh? Sometimes tap water is a dubious beverage, and sometimes it isn't. Depends on your pipes, people. Depends on your pipes.

Because Nymphs and Fauns are Sexy...

Sculptor Kim Graham created these crazy leg extensions that mimic the physiology of animals like dogs and horses, all walking on their toes and shit. These will be great for my Halloween satyr costume or impersonating a Budweiser clydesdale. From Geekologie and Gizmodo.

Interactive Cat Map

Library cats, that is. I remember reading something about this - with charts - in The Whole Library 4 reference book. Basically, the data answers the following questions:

1. how many libaries have, or have ever had, live-in library cats?
2. what are the names of the cats and how long did they reside at their libraries?
3. are the cats real cats, stone library lions, ghost cats, or stuffed big cats...?

Now this important information is online, in a visually interactive format. Yes, INTERACTIVE LIBRARY CAT MAP! Say it three times fast. Found it Neatorama.

I'm happy to report that Massachusetts have a few currently living library cats.