I don't usually like to post links easily found on the front page of Metafilter, but tonight the first post I looked at linked to a page of absolutely breathtaking pictures of some Norwegian Islands in the Arctic Circle. Check out the page here. It's not in english, but you're a smart one, you can figure it out.

I was listening to an episode of This American Life about superheroes. One of the vignettes introduced me to Gone and Forgotten, a website detailing short-run comic book superheroes. Within you can find out about the "real" Superboy (and his Super-Dog, Krypto). Or discover the power of the Bee-Boy!

I grabbed another template to work with. Eventually I'll just have to break down and build my own page, but this design is pretty nice. For now please ignore all the links on the sidebar, they're either dead or came with the skin.

I cannot believe the amount of time I just spent working on a new post, only to have it vanish when I went to change my template.
Well. It was a good post, too, focusing on this animation of a song by Tom Lehrer that lists the elements of the periodic table. You woulda loved it.
Oh well.

The cost of rental housing is increasing, even as unemployment rises, and the Federal Minimum Wage (read: we could pay you more but then again we could also get a machine or a monkey to do your job, so shut up and give Norton those fries) is onlt $5.15/hr. I wouldn't babysit for that little! Anyway, according to this CBS news story, in some places it would take 4 full-time minimum wage incomes to pay rent on a small two bedroom house. Yet another reason I live in a converted carport!

Flash Fun

You are God, and you are pissed. Time to call down your Wrath. Well, Wrath II actually.

I've got a cold, so I've been going around the building here collecting two from every box of tissues I can find. So I've tried out all the major brands, I guess. Well, tonight I gave up and bought my own box. And guess who won amongst the big three (Kleenex, Scotties, Puffs)? Scotties regular. The kleenex were good but dusty, and the puffs were alright but too often filled with lotion - which is nasty on my lips and nose - but the Scotties are hypo-allergenic (I think that means dust doesn't stick to them), strong enough, and at $1.79 were the best choice. So here's my shout-out to Scotties.
Then again, using disposable tissues directly contributes to de-forestation. Man, I hate ethical dillemnas. Hope this cold is over soon!

Oh, while looking for the links I came upon this article by fantasy author Larry Niven about Superman's procreative abilities.

Remember the Mueller Invitational? That was the website where you could rank the women through 64 brackets to see whom you thought was the hottest? Well, they've got a website now instead of that huge excel spreadsheet, and there's two other tournaments: "classic dames," and toons! Yup, Jessica Rabbit vs. Betty Rubble. How can you decide? It takes awhile to load, but for time-wasting, it's priceless. You can also check the results, and see who the favorites are.

One Instant a Year

Diego Goldberg has photographed his family every year since 1977. It's fascinating to see how these people aged, and how their children grow from weird little babies (aren't all babies weird?) to weird little grownups (aren't all grownups weird?). (thanks Bones

Get ready to feel old: This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the A-Team. To celebrate, maybe a movie starring Jack Black?At the A-Team Resource Page you can find out everything you never really cared about the A-Team, including what happened to Amy, the chick from the first season?
Had enough? Can't take any more of that crack commando unit (don't we have them in Baltimore?)? Why not kill one of them?

Everything you wanted to know about the Pygmy Shrew. Fun, educational, and horribly sad, if you only click on one link today, your finger will cramp.

Neiman Marcus' new Christmas Catalog has the ultimate action figure: You. And it's only $7500! (found at BoingBoing)

I missed WWE Raw this week, and I know you did too. The best write-up and review I've found is at the ProWrestling Torch. James Guttman is funny, cynical, and a fan, though sometimes his standards are too high. Check his latest Raw review out and see what you missed. The Torch also has a column describing what happened that wasn't shown on tv, and reviews of other federations (there's other wrestling??).

CD Mix of the Month Club

I'm always looking for new music, especially these days when my tastes are ever-expanding and changing. And one of the best ways to hear new music is through someone els'e mix tape.
Josh, writer and overlord of Crabwalk.com has been trading mix cds every month since December with strangers from the internet (just like you). You can sign up at his site, and then you send a disk to him, and he sends one back to you. Josh has an diverse taste in music, so you're bound to hear something you already like as well as something you'll grow to love. I'm signing up tonight and getting my mix on this week. (via Daily Candy)