I've been obsessed with watches lately, and I'm drooling over this smart Rolex from the 1940s, which is up for bid on eBay. It's currently at $397.
Enjoying the juxtaposition in this crystal brass knuckle titled "I'm going to realign your chakras, mother******" by Debra Baxter. The artist explains:
It is sort of a superhero tool/weapon. Most of my work is about engaging the body in some way. Calling the body to do something. My work embraces failure and fragility...though you won't know that seeing this piece.
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This recent news story reconfirms my belief that the best animal ever is the golden retriever. This is an irrefutable fact. Also, RIP Rudy!
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Semi-relatedly, there's this one of a goofy looking Jay Z.
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzmD9GEpdTw] I really enjoyed this interview from days of old of a young non-grey hair Jon Stewart talking with George Carlin. Does anyone tell a better story than George Carlin? I submit that no one can. I bet George woulda had something really good and hilariously insightful to say about 2009.
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I deserve this chair. Concept by Sebastian Errazuriz.
The Economist looks at the very complicated issue of which language dead or alive might be considered the toughest language in the world.
For sound complexity, one language stands out. !Xóõ, spoken by just a few thousand, mostly in Botswana, has a blistering array of unusual sounds. Its vowels include plain, pharyngealised, strident and breathy, and they carry four tones. It has five basic clicks and 17 accompanying ones. The leading expert on the !Xóõ, Tony Traill, developed a lump on his larynx from learning to make their sounds. Further research showed that adult !Xóõ-speakers had the same lump (children had not developed it yet).
The magazine settles ultimately on Tuyuca of eastern Amazon which is spoken by fewer than 1,000 people.
It has a sound system with simple consonants and a few nasal vowels, so is not as hard to speak as Ubykh or !Xóõ. Like Turkish, it is heavily agglutinating, so that one word, hóabãsiriga means “I do not know how to write.” Like Kwaio, it has two words for “we”, inclusive and exclusive. The noun classes (genders) in Tuyuca’s language family (including close relatives) have been estimated at between 50 and 140. Some are rare, such as “bark that does not cling closely to a tree”, which can be extended to things such as baggy trousers, or wet plywood that has begun to peel apart.
Most fascinating is a feature that would make any journalist tremble. Tuyuca requires verb-endings on statements to show how the speaker knows something.Diga ape-wi means that “the boy played soccer (I know because I saw him)”, whilediga ape-hiyi means “the boy played soccer (I assume)”. English can provide such information, but for Tuyuca that is an obligatory ending on the verb. Evidential languages force speakers to think hard about how they learned what they say they know.
Just use Google Translate guys. SHEESH.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdGozg78PI8] It's been very cold in New York City the past few days and the chilly weather doesn't appear to be ebbing this week either. This video from Cool Hunting of their visit to Sao Paulo during fashion week to "focus on the definitive item of Brazilian fashion, the bikini" is the right antidote to New York's freezing temperatures.
On this white board Google engineers argue and vote on which single superhuman powers they would like to possess.
The superpower issue is not merely theoretical. When users complete a Google profile, they are asked to choose their preferred superpower. According to the whiteboard, Google engineers overwhelmingly prefer flight (16) to invisibility (9). The preference is even stronger for teleportation (21) over invisibility (3). But when flight and teleportation square off, they are more evenly matched: Teleportation wins 14 to 8.
In my last lame-duck week at my old job, I initiated a heated discussion among my coworkers on this same topic. Which power would you want? Don't even think about it: Super Blogger is already taken.
A conversation earlier today with Chris reminded me of this video performance sponsored by Starbucks to raise awareness for AIDS in Africa. Musicians from 156 countries were invited on December 7, 2009 at 1:30 PM GMT to play "All You Need is Love" in unison. The bottom right corner of the video displays the country. I bet that jerk Matt has been to every single one of these countries. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh7D2g5v-Sg]
I love the John Lennon hippie lookalikes performing on behalf of Japan. God, I want to visit that country so bad. And the South Koreans put on a PRODUCTION. SOB, I'm so proud.
This video is cheesy, but like cheese it's tasty. They need to show this video before the start of every International summit or UN meeting. Maybe it'll coax a few peace agreements here and there.
You're looking at one ton of compressed tea.
Great photo.
Sebastian Errazuriz's (horrifying) interpretation of Converse sneakers or...Jeff's new pants???
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQlKj21Al2o] Hoopsencyclopedia unearthed this gem of Michael Jordan's first ever televised appearance as an 18-year-old freshman at UNC in a game against Rutgers where he scored 15 points (7-11). G.O.A.T!
This apartment in my neighborhood displays a poster with various "meaningful" aphorisms. Here is their latest one that I spotted this afternoon.
I've been really tardy with this, but here's the recap finally from Mariya's birthday party last month. Most of these photos were taken by Pooja who hijacked my camera. Thanks Pbad for taking pics!
The birthday celebration kicked off with karaoke. Here's Mun with mike in one hand and KFC in the other. It's a proven medical fact that the grease from the KFC chicken soothes a singer's throat.
Birthday girl in the middle surrounded by her friends, except the guy in the aggressively pink shirt. He was SO weird.
Duet in progress while a disinterested Mariya scans the song list for the next tune. But there was something missing from the room...
Oh right, FUCKING LIGHTS! NOW it's karaoke time.
Based on this photo, it is clear that the M in Melissa stands for Mazing!
Mariya on the mike.
CUPCAKESSSS! Oh yeah, they were first for Mariya, obviously. Then I ate two of them. The best thing about girls and cake at parties is how reticent they are about eating them in public, which lets vultures like me swoop in. Yes, I'll be obese when I'm 60. I'm okay with that. Also, Pooja: This is a great picture.
Big bro Kaizar and his wifey Ub visiting from Philly. Note camera around Kaizar's neck. Haha.
Kaizar giving his all into this song. Incidentally, that is the same expression he wears when he's social mediaing all over the Internets.
Mariya's BFF Veronica!
Mary!
A musical break is a good time for the First Siblings of Delaware to get a photo together!
Photobombing a "girls only" photo. What a jerk. I think Mun was in the middle of telling me to get out of the picture when this was taken. Rude.
Kids, alcohol is no substitute for friends and family, but it is necessary fuel for karaoke, unless you're Korean. Gives us lyrics on a screen, and we're down to sing.
EW. HATE SONG. DO NOT WANT.
SINGING SONGS LOUDLY.
You tilt your head that way and I'll go the other way. Okay?
After karaoke everyone went to Botanica, obvi. Here's Mary, Chirag!, and Pooja.
And then there were no more photos. Happy birthday Mariya!
The End
A USB flash drive that should be in every Star Wars fan and tech geek's utility belt. Buy it 
Designer Sruli Recht's "Carbon Dater" is a black diamond tipped pen that will quite assuredly scratch the hell out of anything. This is one pen that is actually mightier than a sword, unless that sword is a light saber then all bets are off.