Link roundup

Admiral General Aladeen's video demand to be allowed at the Oscars worked. (I hope Hillary Swank is his date.)

And a few more links:

1. Deadspin on the new Ben and Jerry's ice cream flavor:

Available only at their Harvard Square location, Ben & Jerry's is selling a limited edition "Taste The Linsanity" flavor, which includes delicious little crumbles of fortune cookie. This, despite the Asian American Journalists Association's clear warning that there's no "compelling reason to draw a connection between Lin and fortune cookies, takeout boxes or similar imagery."

Also, "Taste The Lin-Sanity" features lychee, which is a fruit native to Southeast Asia, which is not the part of Asia that Jeremy Lin comes from. (The part of Asia that Jeremy Lin comes from is Northern California.)

Update: They've removed the fortune cookie bits.

2. Rick Santorum shook Ron Paul's hand like a madman after this week's debate.

3. The new SSX demo (PS3) is a wonderful return to the series, and I've liked every song I've heard so far. My 6 year old instantly fell in love too. Here's the SSX soundtrack lineup and individual downloads at Amazon, and if you preorder the game you'll get a $10 Amazon credit and bonus snowboard.

4. Just added as preorders at the BBTS, DC Universe All Stars Series 02-03 (Flash, Red Robin, Supergirl, Superman, Hawkman, Steel, Batman, Batgirl).

Link roundup

1. "Apple sold more iOS devices in 2011 than all the Macs sold it in 28 years."

2. Deep Throat's motivation in leaking information to Bob Woodward.

3. Deadline says, "'John Carter’ Tracking Shockingly Soft: 'Could Be Biggest Writeoff Of All Time.'"

4. The Baltimore Orioles angered South Korea by signing a high school kid, and as a result are banned from the country. And South Korea voided the contract.

*Buy iPads at eBay.

Link roundup

1. "An undercover police officer 'chased himself round the streets' for 20 minutes after a CCTV operator mistook him for suspect." Via.

2. Mark Cuban's always a great interview. Some advice:

Never follow your dreams. Follow your effort. It’s not about what you can dream of. That’s easy. It’s about whether or not it’s important enough to you to do the work to be ready to be successful in that business.

3. Gawker on news of big government resignations in Romania:

The resignations come after some very unpopular budget cuts that were made to comply with IMF demands so that Romania could secure a loan and continue to pay government workers. The IMF is, of course, the International Monetary Fund, which is a fund with international money in it.

4. New Spider-Man promotional site. Via.

The Bullingdon Club

Wikipedia:

The Bullingdon Club is a socially exclusive student dining club at Oxford University. The club has no permanent rooms and is notorious for its members' wealth and destructive binges. Membership is by invitation only, and prohibitively expensive for most, given the need to pay for the uniform, dinners and damages.

#2 in this photo is David Cameron. Rules are for the little people. Via.

Link roundup

1. I wonder what the overlap is between people complaining about the new Watchmen comics and people complaining that George Lucas won't let other directors make new Star Wars movies.

2. You can preorder at Amazon a free digital download collection of short stories that have been featured on Tor. Via.

3. The White House isn't going to respond to the petition to investigate Chris Dodd.

4. I've featured Bradley Schenck's work many times in the past. He has a new Kickstarter.

5. Nightmare fuel.

Illustration roundup

One of the illustrations by Jillian Tamaki for an article on political sex scandals.



X-Men by Dan Hipp.



Super Mario posers by Olly Moss.

American commandos rescued hostages from Somali pirates

The White House:

In a phone call from the U.S. Capitol immediately after the State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama informs John Buchanan that his daughter Jessica was rescued by U.S. Special Operations Forces in Somalia, Jan. 24, 2012. First Lady Michelle Obama stands behind the President. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Here's the story.

There's a Petition the White House

Halfway to the goal of 25,000 signatures:

WE PETITION THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO:
Investigate Chris Dodd and the MPAA for bribery after he publicly admited to bribing politicans to pass legislation.
Recently on FOX News former Senator Chris Dodd said (as quoted on news site TechDirt), "Those who count on quote 'Hollywood' for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who's going to stand up for them when their job is at stake. Don't ask me to write a check for you when you think your job is at risk and then don't pay any attention to me when my job is at stake," This is an open admission of bribery and a threat designed to provoke a specific policy goal. This is a brazen flouting of the "above the law" status people of Dodd's position and wealth enjoy.

We demand justice. Investigate this blatant bribery and indict every person, especially government officials and lawmakers, who is involved.

This would be better conceived if it included a definition of bribery and link to the statute/rule that's allegedly been violated. Otherwise, it's just name-calling. Via.

Business suggestion from Warren Ellis...

who quips, "so looking forward to the bumper sticker NEWT 2012: AMERICA IS MY WIFE NOW."

UPDATE: Well done, Robert:

Link roundup

1. Nightmare fuel.

2. Apparently Google's new signup form for Google accounts now requires users to join Google+ and use Gmail, as well as provide name and gender.

3. Sean Hartter has a new coloring book for sale.

4. Chris Dodd explains American politics:

"Those who count on quote 'Hollywood' for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who's going to stand up for them when their job is at stake. Don't ask me to write a check for you when you think your job is at risk and then don't pay any attention to me when my job is at stake," Dodd said on Fox News on Thursday.

The latest Colbert Super PAC ad is an attack ad...against Stephen Colbert

Starring Samuel Jackson.

(Here's an explanation for the ad.)

*Previously: Colbert Super PAC ad asks for money to use to "destroy these guys."

New Colbert Super PAC ad

"Donate today. And we'll destroy both these guys."

Link roundup

1. Resource war:

Argentine Illex squid live for one or two high-octane years. Like most squid, they eat anything that moves, grow fast, migrate, reproduce, then die. Now Argentina is urging its fishermen to catch the mollusks before they migrate into the waters surrounding the Falkland Islands, which would deliver a strategic blow to the Falkland economy. Squid comprise half the value of the Falkland fisheries.

Via.

2. Penny Arcade is moving into video games news coverage, hiring a reporter.

3. A 3,500 year old tree in Florida just burned down. Via.

4. Here's how Eric Tan made the Brak tiki mask for Gallery 1988's Adult Swim show.

The new ad from the Colbert Super PAC calls Mitt Romney a serial killer

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

New mischief from the Colbert Super PAC:

AMERICA – The Definitely Not Coordinated With Stephen Colbert Super PAC released its first TV ad today, in advance of South Carolina's upcoming unnamed GOP Primary. The ad, which takes an objective look at Mitt Romney's private sector experience, is entitled "Attack In B Minor For Strings."

"Mitt Romney claims to be pro-corporations," said Jon Stewart, President of The Definitely Not Coordinated With Stephen Colbert Super PAC. "But would you let him date your daughter's corporation? Americans have been clamoring for a comprehensive study of this crucial issue, so we splurged for the full sixty-second commercial. We think South Carolinians will agree – they deserve a leader who shares their state's values, and perhaps even their state's initials."

I kissed a Republican gum

I kissed a Republican/Democrat gum on sale at Blue Q.

Link roundup

1. To remove gum from you shoe, put your shoe in a plastic bag, press the gum to the plastic, put the whole thing in the freezer, and after the gum freezes, peel away the bag. The gum should stick to the bag. Via.

2. Great, long article about Stephen Colbert, focusing on his involvement with the genuine political process. (And when I say he, "he" has a staff of 80) For example:

In October, Colbert offered the Republican Party in South Carolina $400,000 to defray the cost of the presidential primary there in January in return for naming rights — he wanted the ballots, the lanyards, the press credentials to say “The Stephen Colbert Super PAC South Carolina Primary” — and for a nonbinding referendum question that asked the voters to decide whether “corporations are people” or “only people are people.” This issue has been Colbert’s hobbyhorse since August, when Mitt Romney told a heckler that “corporations are people, my friend,” and needless to say, Colbert too is on the side of corporate personhood. “Just because someone was born in a lawyer’s office and is incorporeal doesn’t mean he should have no rights,” he likes to say.

Amazingly, the South Carolina Republicans were on the point of agreeing to Colbert’s proposal, and ballots were printed that included the referendum question, when the state Supreme Court ruled that the counties, not the party, had to pay for the primary and that the ballot could not include referendum questions. When the Republicans declined to pursue the matter, Colbert made the same offer to the state’s Democrats, who filed an appeal. Even Colbert seemed a little surprised, pointing out that he had repeatedly warned both the Republicans and the Democrats that his aims were satirical and that their very willingness to negotiate with him could become a joke on the show. “It turns out that both sides are happy to take my money,” he said.

In late December, in an op-ed for a South Carolina newspaper, Colbert sweetened the deal to $500,000 if the Republicans would reconsider, join the Democrats in appealing the ruling and give him his naming rights and the referendum question. “Call it a Christmas miracle,” he wrote. “I’ve already filled out the check, and to prove it’s no joke, I’ve written ‘No Joke’ in the memo line.”

3. Collider has a lengthy video interview with Mondo's Justin Ishmael. Biggest news - - "Drew Struzan remains hard at work on that Dark Tower print Ishmael initially mentioned during the Mondo Mystery Movie screening of The Mist, and says that—“in a perfect world” and pending Stephen King’s approval—they’ll have the print ready for Comic-Con 2012."

*Buy Mondo posters at eBay.

Link roundup

1. This week's Google research challenge is on an interesting topic. (I think this guy is the answer, and this is a description of the battle.)

2. Depressing article about soldiers struggling to reassimilate at an army base in Washington.

3. Thomas Barnett on the unlikelihood of war with China.

4. Walter Russell Mead on the possibility of war with Iran and Turkey's competition with Iran for influence.

Link roundup

1. How to create a digital comic for iTunes for less than $200.

2. George Martin posted a lengthy, excellent excerpt from the upcoming The Winds of Winter. It fills in some of the holes from A Dance With Dragons. Via.

3. Ann Althouse: "I feel sorry for all the journalists assigned to the 2012 campaign who've got so little to write about now and in the next few months. They need to act like something is happening, and after the Perry, Cain, Gingrich, and Paul surges, it must be time for a Santorum surge."

4. Noelle Stevenson's illustrated (personal) year in review.

5. Today's Tee Fury t-shirt is a Conan O'Brien/Peanuts mashup.

6. Just a reminder, I post regularly at Tumblr.

Link roundup

1. Lifehacker says Waze is the best turn by turn navigator for Android and iOS (and free).

2. The new media tools that allowed Martin Luther's message to spread virally. Via.

3. Tips for hacking Scrabble.

4. The beginning of a terrific, long article about a very small town pharmacist:

In the southwestern corner of Colorado, where the Uncompahgre Plateau descends through spruce forest and scrubland toward the Utah border, there is a region of more than four thousand square miles which has no hospitals, no department stores, and only one pharmacy. The pharmacist is Don Colcord, who lives in the town of Nucla. More than a century ago, Nucla was founded by idealists who hoped their community would become the “center of Socialistic government for the world.” But these days it feels like the edge of the earth. Highway 97 dead-ends at the top of Main Street; the population is around seven hundred and falling. The nearest traffic light is an hour and a half away. When old ranching couples drive their pickups into Nucla, the wives leave the passenger’s side empty and sit in the middle of the front seat, close enough to touch their husbands. It’s as if something about the landscape—those endless hills, that vacant sky—makes a person appreciate the intimacy of a Ford F-150 cab.

5. How to turn Christmas ornaments into hot air balloons.

6. I haven't watched it yet, but Mr. Plinkett reviewed Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. (Presumably filled with very dark humor.)

Link roundup

1. 13 sno-cone machines bought by the Department of Homeland Security.

2. Vandal captured because he thought "slut" was spelled "sult."

3. Grantland predicts which team will acquire Peyton Manning.