“They’re comics! They’re books! They’re a joyless synthesis of both!” Lileks, whose site I would definitely recommend for those suffering through humorless days, examines the horror that is Hanna Barbera cartoons rendered in still life. Link courtesy of Boing Boing

Hmm? Are we talking about the same Lee Melchionni who was a top 100 recruit and honorable mention McDonald’s All-American, according to Duke’s site? Seems to have followed the career path of a lot of role players at Duke. (“You’ll come off that bench when I really need you, and not before.”)

So, some companies are planning to compete with iTunes by offering a music rental service, where you can get unlimited tracks for a monthly fee but those tracks will die if you do not have a current subscription to the service. While I can see some advantages — trying out new music, getting rid of songs you never listen to — I’m wondering why the same companies that can’t compete with iTunes in the first place think folks will drop the “I bought it, it’s mine” mindset given to us by years of buying CDs, records, and tapes? And for that matter, why should we? Record companies obviously did well off of it. Can you imagine being the customer service person who has to explain to a customer why half their collection just stopped working? ...

You know, I’ve managed to avoid buying a real PDA for around this price, yet when I hear that the North American release date for the PSP portable game machine/media player/ potential PDA-lite has been set and the price will be $249, I end up salivating like Pavlov had been experimenting on me. Courtesy of Engadget

I would love this game. :) Courtesy of Salon (C’mon, get the free day pass)

When I was a kid, we’d head south once a year from North Carolina to Palatka, Florida, to visit my dad’s side of the family. I remember the long stretches of flatland in South Carolina, avoiding Atlanta as much as possible, and even longer stretches of swamp and scrub pine forest once you got close to Florida. But what I remember the most is that you could tell where you were once you got down there from the smells. ...

Actually, I would love to have a space elevator in my backyard. Guess these folks wouldn’t. :) Courtesy of Boing Boing

Backstreet Boys + Matchbox Twenty + Goo Goo Dolls + Train There are some equations that should never be solved. I’m going to put this in the Music category, even though it pains me. Courtesy of Best Week Ever

Apparently there’s some controversy about University of Colorado Professor Ward Churchill speaking at a college in New York because he wrote an essay back in 2001 calling the September 11 victims in the World Trade Center “little Eichmanns,” among other insults. Good. The only reason it didn’t happen earlier is because folks were a bit too shocked at the time to notice one more in a series of ignorant essays, but it looks like, paraphrasing what Mr. Churchill says, that the chickens do come home to roost. ...

I was reading alexking.org and ran across this meme: Go to bloglines (don’t think you need to have an account). Find your own blog on bloglines (if it’s not there you can sign up and add it I guess, if you don’t have a blog this one’s not for you). Click related feeds (each time you click they may change slightly). Post the top 5 (or more) on your blog. Here are mine: ...