An article about how most traditional Japanese hotels refuse to let gaijin stay there. And here why those motel’s might be right in having such a policy.
First off, there’s this really cool, very creepy gallery of abandoned cities in Asia.
Two links from one of my favorite blogs, Strange Maps. One shows the route taken by someone going around the world but besting Phileas Fogg but 40 days. And the other one compares the population of Chinese provinces versus that of whole nations. Bottom line: there are a lot of Chinese out there.
China freaks out over rising teen suicide rate and takes decisive action. No, not encouraging its citizens to consult mental health professionals. Instead they pull “Bunny Suicides.” [h/t Ted]
Scientists in the UK are developing a thinking cap. No, really. it supposedly stimulates the part of the brain that lets you see the big picture, allowing you to unlock your “inner genius.” Or something like that.
Here’s a really perversely fascinating article about Benjamin Franklin and his numerous conquests.
And then there’s this really freaky story about pirates and something suspicious in an Iranian tanker.
A tense standoff has developed in waters off Somalia over an Iranian merchant ship laden with a mysterious cargo that was hijacked by pirates.
Somali pirates suffered skin burns, lost hair and fell gravely ill “within days” of boarding the MV Iran Deyanat. Some of them died.
Requisite Sarah Palin link: you knew this was coming. From Craigslist:
Looking for a Sarah Palin lookalike for an adult film to be shot in next 10 days.
Major adult studio.
Please send pix, stats etc. ASAP
Pay: $2000-3000
No anal required
No word on who’s playing the moose.
And then there’s this video, which gave me a headache.
A collection of links found while trolling the interweb, trying to not freak out about the polls:
I’m getting mighty sick of Sarah Palin. Look at the news, look at the blogs, looks at the freakin’ tabloids and it’s Palin, Palin, Palin. No discussion of the economy, various wars, healthcare etc etc. Yesterday Palin faceplanted with she struggled to explain what the Bush doctrine is. Here’s another clip.
A 22 year-old woman auctions off her virginity to pay for her Master’s Degree. She graduated with a BA in Women’s Studies, which is kinda funny.
A 27-year old writer takes one for the team and personally tests different brands of adult diapers.
A cool collection of jam comics from Flickr. [h/t Ted]
An interesting article about the psychology of creative folks.
And here’s a nice bit of animation about Japanese artist Hokusai.
MODESTO, Calif. – Police say a man tried to cut off his own arm at a restaurant in Modesto, Calif., because he thought he had injected air into a vein while shooting cocaine and feared he would die unless he took drastic action.
Authorities say 33-year-old Michael Lasiter rushed into the Denny’s restaurant late Friday and started stabbing himself in one arm with a butter knife he grabbed from a table.
They say that when that knife didn’t work Lasiter took a butcher knife from the kitchen and dug it into his arm.
Police Sgt. Brian Findlen says Lasiter told officers he thought he needed to amputate his arm to keep himself from dying from the cocaine injection.
Lasiter was taken to a hospital for treatment of severe cuts.
The Denny’s closed for the night.
That last line is the clincher for me.
Finally, a youtube clip that’s been posted a lot but deserves to be seen more.
From my regular trolling of the tubes of the interweb:
WITMOT? 
