Link roundup

1. The original Kindle was codenamed Fiona in honor of one of the main characters in Neal Stephenson's outstanding The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer.

2. Apparently the research indicating the health benefits of red wine was falsified. Via.

3. From Drew Magary's weekly football preview (which is mostly about why the "Patriot way" failed in Kansas City, and why Gregg Easterbrook's columns are nonsense):

My kid was taking her sweetass time getting ready for school this morning when I looked at the clock and realized she had all of four minutes to get dressed, brush her teeth, put on her shoes and jacket, and get to the bus stop. And so I made like Tom Coughlin and just started laying into the kid. HURRY UP! WE ARE GOING TO MISS THE BUS AND IF THAT HAPPENS WE WILL ALL DIE. So she's dressing as fast as she can and I'm jamming her jacket on and yelling at her to show some hustle, and the tension is building to unfathomable heights. It felt like we were racing to stop a ticking bomb. I get her out the door and we sprint up the hill to the bus and we get there jusssst as the bus is pulling up. SO MUCH ADRENALINE. From now on, we're always gonna be in danger of missing the bus. The rush is intoxicating. For me, THE ACTION IS THE JUICE.

4. Really interesting (and fairly gross) article about cultural differences in Afghanistan.

Blood Rayne Arm Blade W/ Sheath & Adjustable Handle

Blood Rayne Arm Blade W/ Sheath & Adjustable Handle. The first comment at Amazon:

I have been a user of Ninja Forearm Machete Blade Full Tang Knife Swords (NFMBFTKS for short, pron 'nif-mib-fit-kis') for most of my career, and have some that are quite nice. As a professional mercenary and vendor of 'blood diamonds', 'blood coffee beans', 'blood Nike knock offs', and other 'conflict-zone' products, I find myself in need of a good NFMBFTKS regularly.

I was a bit disappointed for several different reasons when this product arrived at my secure compound.

First, this product is sold by a company called 'Martial Arts Land', which is the same name I gave to my home in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I wish the company had done more research into other entities who are also using that name before naming their company. The post office had quite a time, seeing as the shipping label read 'From: Martial Arts Land' and 'To: Martial Arts Land'. I hope they are not the people who have been getting my missing issues of 'Soldier of Fortune' magazine, as the 'help wanted' section is crucial to my ability to earn a living.

Second, when I saw the description of a 'hi-tech' strap in the product description, I was fully expecting something computerized and perhaps operated by hydraulic machinery that would maybe shoot spikes into the arm if someone besides the owner attempted to use it. Imagine my disappointment when it was shipped to Martial Arts Land (my secure compound in DRC, not the original shipping company, see how confusing this is getting?) with a simple Velcro strap. There is no failsafe in the weapon as-shipped to prevent an enemy skilled in the use of ninja weapons from taking this particular NFMBFTKS from you and using it against you.

Thirdly, I did not find the handle to be particularly ergonomic. After using this product as intended for approximately 8 hours a day, I have developed 'repetitive ninjitsu stress disorder' in my rotator cuff caused, I believe at least in part, to the lack of adequate wrist support. I saw an occupational health ninja who agreed with my assessment and suggested I spend hours on end standing under an icy water fall in the middle of the woods in the dead of winter doing ninja poses to help it heal.

All in all, I can see myself using this as a back up ninja forearm machete blade full tang knife sword day-to-day, or maybe on light trips to the grocery store or library, but I will not be replacing my primary ninja forearm machete blade full tang knife sword any time soon.

Pro:
Powerful Ninja Weapon
Machete Blade
Full Tang Knife Sword

Con:
Velcro strap not hi-tech
Lack of good ergonomics
Company name 'Martial Arts Land' is a problem, as I as my home address is also 'Martial Arts Land'

Via.

Link roundup

1. If you're in San Francisco tonight, go see Charmaine Olivia's new show at Shooting Gallery. First 50 people get a cool poster.

2. Computers are totally disrupting the job market:

Because they take out the middle, it is a lot harder to pursue the American dream by working your way up the ladder. Climbing up rung by rung, you will find a machine staring down. And it won’t retire or move up the ladder to make room for you. Once in place, a retirement or promotion is not going to happen, it isn’t going to be opening up a spot.

Via.

3. Air pollution in China is horrendous. The US Embassy in Beijing Tweets air quality reports. Via.

4. Parts list and photo instructions for building a great looking Lego X-Wing. Via.

5. I just installed send to Kindle on my computer. You just install it and sign in to your Kindle account, and then you can right click on pdfs and send them to your Kindle devices. Quick and easy.

Warren Ellis had a great experience with Amazon customer service

Warren Ellis:

At this point, I did not have high hopes, and assumed I’d be buying a new Kindle Keyboard at full price. The device had been out of warranty for well over a year. I pressed the button, and gave them permission to call me to (eventually, hours or days after I’d pressed said happy button) discuss what I assumed would be another hundred-odd quid out of my pocket.

I was surprised at the instant callback. Less surprised at the customer services person who had to ensure I wasn’t an idiot by making me do All The Things again, and then had me describe what you see above. And then she transferred me to another department. Where somehow else had me do All The Things again again.

And then said, “Okay, well, you’re out of warranty, so we’ll send you a new one tomorrow and charge you [a fraction of the price] for it.”

I made her repeat the price again, because I swore I’d misheard it. I hadn’t. The new Kindle is dispatched, being tracked, and will arrive in the morning. The whole process took less than five minutes from pressing the button on amazon.co.uk.

Suddenly in the mood to buy a Kindle?

Illustration roundup

Robo-Zangief t-shirt by Nina Matsumoto on sale here.



Indiana Jones-inspired spiders by Maxime Pécourt up for vote at Threadless.



BlackYard.



Amazon monster by Christopher Madden for Gizmodo.



Print by Tokidoki for a show at MondoPop.

*Buy Street Fighter action figures at eBay.

Link roundup

1. Cool and creepy scene in Deus Ex Human Revolution.



2. Gallery 1988 posted the originals and prints from its Garbage Pail Kid-themed show.



3. Detailed description of Amazon's $250 tablet. Although, you have to take with a grain of salt a description that includes this line: "I’m not sure what the battery life is like (I only played with it for about an hour), but I imagine it is very good and in line with other tablets — 10 hours or so." Gizmodo created a mockup based on the description.



4. That totally wild One Piece figure I posted a few days ago is now available for preorder at the BBTS.



*Buy Garbage Pail Kids cards at eBay.

Link roundup

1. Essentially unlimited free image storage with Picasa if you sign up for Google+.

2. "Beginning Friday, the County of Los Angeles Public Library and the Los Angeles Public Library will offer cardholders the ability to download songs from Sony Music’s catalog -- for free."

3. "Amazon is encouraging reviewers to receive free products through Amazon Vine, an invitation-only program in which the top 1,000 reviewers are offered a catalog of free products to review." Via.

Link roundup

1. Independent bookstore owner refuses to carry books from Amazon's mystery imprint, explains in an email exchange with author.

2. Entertainment Weekly interviewed John Lasseter and he reminisced about all of Pixar's movies. About Toy Story 2, which was completed unusually quickly, he said:

It was our biggest dash, but we don't want to do that again to our people. About a third came down with repetitive strain injury, and a few people were really hurt. We threw out all the chairs and keyboards, and everybody got new stuff.

3. Be careful about trying to score partisan political points based on early reports, Wisconsin Supreme Court edition.

Link roundup

1. The BBTS has Young Justice toys for preorder.

2. And Entertainment Earth is selling individual Walking Dead figures.

3. Here's an insidious way to insert your product into Amazon reviews for another product.

Science fiction story placed in Amazon reviews

User Whisper placed a science fiction story in the reviews for the AudioQuest K2 terminated speaker cable (on sale for $6,800, or 20% off):

We live underground. We speak with our hands. We wear the earplugs all our lives.

PLEASE! You must listen! We cannot maintain the link for long... I will type as fast as I can.

DO NOT USE THE CABLES!

We were fools, fools to develop such a thing! Sound was never meant to be this clear, this pure, this... accurate. For a few short days, we marveled. Then the... whispers... began.

Were they Aramaic? Hyperborean? Some even more ancient tongue, first spoken by elder races under the red light of dying suns far from here? We do not know, but somehow, slowly... we began to UNDERSTAND.

No, no, please! I don't want to remember! YOU WILL NOT MAKE ME REMEMBER! I saw brave men claw their own eyes out... oh, god, the screaming... the mobs of feral children feasting on corpses, the shadows MOVING, the fires burning in the air! The CHANTING!

WHY CAN'T I FORGET THE WORDS???

We live underground. We speak with our hands. We wear the earplugs all our lives.

Do not use the cables!

The user's other reviews are disappointingly mundane. Via these sites.

Kite flying (link roundup)

Kite riders by Aurelie Neyret, who has original art on sale here.

And a few more links:

1. Author's wife exposed as writing negative Amazon reviews on competitors' books. Via.

2. A highly-desirable job in Los Angeles is tour guide at Universal Studios - - guides get access to free acting classes and auditions with top casting directors.

3. Dune started out as an article about Oregon sand dunes called "They Stopped the Moving Sands." Via.

*Previously: Paul Atreides Lego CubeDude.

*Buy Dune posters at eBay.

Kite flying (link roundup)

Kite riders by Aurelie Neyret, who has original art on sale here.

And a few more links:

1. Author's wife exposed as writing negative Amazon reviews on competitors' books. Via.

2. A highly-desirable job in Los Angeles is tour guide at Universal Studios - - guides get access to free acting classes and auditions with top casting directors.

3. Dune started out as an article about Oregon sand dunes called "They Stopped the Moving Sands." Via.

*Previously: Paul Atreides Lego CubeDude.

*Buy Dune posters at eBay.

Star Wars billboard (link roundup)

Star Wars travel poster from the Clone Wars episode Lightsaber Lost. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Amazon is giving away Kindles to some users.

2. Heroes star Hayden Panettiere is allegedly dating 6'6" 33-year-old boxer Wladimir Klitschko.

3. The NY Times ran an article about Christina Hendricks (and other actresses), criticizing her as a "big girl" and accompanied the article with a photo manipulated to make Hendricks look squatter.

*Previously: Pan Am travel poster.

*Buy travel posters at eBay.

Fierce, obese cat (link roundup)

Video of a fierce, obese cat. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Plush Splurk. (It's even cuter than the obese cat.)

2. An author responds angrily to negative Amazon reviews. Hilarity ensues. Via.

3. Splicer cosplay.

*Previously: Cat being fed with chopsticks; surprised kitten.

*Buy Bioshock toys at eBay.

Sarah Palin + Catastrophe

Funny juxtaposition as Amazon recommends Sarah Palin's new book Going Rogue: An American Lifeas a deal with a book called "Catastrophe." Via.

Three Wolf Moon t-shirt more popular than I had realized

Obama, Steve Jobs, and Moses all show off their favorite Three Wolf Moon t-shirt - - you can buy the shirt or see more customer images at Amazon. Via.

*Previously: Plush Steve Jobs.

*Buy vintage Macs at eBay.

George Washington flexes (link roundup)

George Washington flexing for a Little Big Planet sticker pack by Jim Unwin. See also: Boudicca, deformed T-Rex, and owl with frikkin laser beams for eyes. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Disturbing Batman illustration by Todd McFarlane. Via.

2. Squig cake (Warhammer). Via.

3. It's long overdue that I linked to items tagged Amazon WTF.

*At Toycutter: Warhammer 40K custom action figures.

*Buy painted squig miniatures at eBay.

Nightmare on Elm Street poster (link roundup)

Nightmare on Elm Street poster via these sites.

And a few more links:

1. Bunch of new stuff on sale or available for preorder at Tenacious Toys including plush donuts and Uglydoll Glow-in-the-Dark Ice-Bats.

2. Here are three articles to get you up to speed on the depressing corruption arrests in New Jersey. The scandal involves mayors, rabbis, money laundering, and the sale of human body parts.

3. Allergy warning on package of eggs warns that the package "contains eggs."

4. Article says Zappos didn't want to sell to Amazon, but was forced to by venture capitalists.

*Previously: Rally Rabbi bobblehead.

*Buy Uglydolls at eBay.

Lego anglerfish (link roundup)

Lego anglerfish by Danny Rice. See also Lego squid and Lego black hole monster.

And a few more links:

1. Seems like this is asking for trouble - - a Colorado District Attorney, Stan Garnett, is using Twitter to discuss an ongoing murder trial. Via.

2. It's getting tougher and tougher to adopt Chinese babies. Among other things, parents must be must be married, be under 50, not be clinically obese, not have taken antidepressant medication in the past two years and not have any facial deformities. Via.

3. The LA Times posted some numbers about illegal immigrants in California: California has roughly 2.7 million illegal residents and they add between $4 billion and $6 billion in costs.

4. DeLonghi employee caught posting glowing reviews of DeLonghi coffee machines at Amazon.

*Previously: Anglerfish car.

*Buy Lego minifigs at eBay.

Buddha Papercraft (link roundup)

Download the Buddha at Borobudur Temple paper toy here. Via.

And few more links:

1. Despoiler brings word of an ARG about werewolves.

2. Photo of Colonel Sanders in a kimono offering watermelon. Via.

3. Good Fark headline: Swedish court says you can abort your child if it's a girl and you wanted a boy, or if it's a boy and you wanted a cthulhu.

4. Jason Kottke rounds up items at Amazon with terrific reviews. For example, uranium ore.

*Previously: ARG turns out to be elaborate rickroll.

*Buy werewolf toys at eBay.