Stonehenge is Big Boneyard

According to Marc Kaufman in today's Washginton Post, researchers have concluded that Stonehenge was actually a family burial ground:

The secret of Stonehenge has apparently been solved: The mysterious circle of large stones in southern England was primarily a burial ground for almost five centuries, and the site probably holds the remains of a family that long ruled the area, new research concludes.

Now, does this take away from the Spinal Tap song, or simply add a new dimension in which to appreciate it? You be the judge.

Gym Grunter Gets Comeuppance

In the New York Times today: "Grunting in East Side Gym Class Leads to Hospital, and to Court." Stuart Sugarman (pictured above), an investment banker who made zoo noises while he worked out at Equinox finally got the comeuppance he so richly deserved, in the form of being thrown off his spin class bike.

Hey--I work out at Equinox! Not the same one, but I have a roster of offenders at my gym that sound like they're giving birth.

Gabe and Jenny

About a month ago, I stumbled across Gabe and Jenny performing an improv comedy show. With fantastic rapport and exquisite timing, everyone I was with was really impressed. They apparently have a standing Thursday show in Williamsburg, but they've also made a number of videos. The one that sticks with me is titled "Doug and Devra Meet the Teacher."

Name that Brand

Maggie C. sent me this addictive link. It allows you to add tags to well-known brands. Kind of like a Rorschach test for the ad industry. When you enter your word or phrase for each brand, you can click to see how other folks tagged it.

The truly addictive part for me was the "backwards" feature, which lets you guess the brand based on the tags.

You suck at Photoshop

As someone who's actually taken Photoshop tutorials, I deeply appreciate this parody series, "You Suck at Photoshop": an online tutorial from a depressed and still somewhat condescending guy going through a bitter divorce. One of the funniest things I've seen in a while.

The Facts of Life in India

Working in the global development field, I occasionally get sent images like this one from colleagues. I believe it speaks for itself.

Shooter game tests racial bias

The University of Chicago recently came out with this first person shooter game to test racial bias. Check it out here.

How-to video sites

Today's Wall Street Journal wrote about three (relatively) new sites that showcase "how-to" videos on a variety of subjects:

This week, I took a look at just a few Web sites that make finding these videos easy, including Howcast Media Inc.'s Howcast.com, WonderHowTo.com from WonderHowTo Inc. and eHow Inc.'s eHow.com. Howcast.com, which launched in February, encourages users to make and share good-quality, entertaining videos by providing tools on its site, and has about 5,000 videos so far. WonderHowTo.com, launched in January, used a different strategy by aggregating over 110,000 videos from various sources -- including Howcast, YouTube and Scripps Networks -- rather than publishing its own content. EHow, a site that started in 1999 with text-only content, contains over 100,000 instructional articles submitted by its users or eHow editors, and has a small catalog of videos.

For full article, click here: http://online.wsj.com/article/the_mossberg_solution.html?mod=djemtct

Shopping my book

Elise Proulx of Frederick Hill Bonnie Nadell has graciously agreed to represent me for a book I finished last year. It's being shopped as we speak. This is my first post for this blog, and I hope to have something more interesting soon.