Potpourri for $500, Alex!

Time to clean the “I can’t close this tab because I want to blog about what I have open here, but haven’t had the time” tabs.  So …

1. How the CIA used a fake sci-fi film production to smuggle Americans about of Iran during the Hostage Crisis.
2. An ecumenical round-table discussion about evolution.  There are, remarkably enough, religious people who believe in it!
3. Named Gay?  Sorry, that’s offensive speech, we have to filter you now.
4. Happy Birthday, Carl Linnaeus.
5. A  discussion of basic civility in the UK.
6. A rather awful (but official) remake of the classic Tootsie-Pop ad (“How many licks?”) in CG.  Fortunately, the original is still showing around (just saw it the other day).
7. 

   I’m the last one to post about it (BD did a week or so ago, as did Les), but the LOLTREK page is, pretty amusing, except where it’s not.  I do like the one I’ve posted here.  “Those who like that sort of thing …”

8. Build a Counterstrike mod map of your school, get kicked out.  Nice.  Okay, so I can understand why it would make someone nervous and seek further investigation.  Investigation having concluded nothing’s up, then drop it.  (More here.)
9. Got my Loudon Wainwright III tix for July.  Glee!
10. Online petitions are generally worthless, but this one, by the ACLU to restore habeus corpus and due process (y’know, kinda like what’s in the Constitution?), is worth taking a look at.
11. Congresscritters who get big money from the RIAA are sending nastygrams to universities asking how they’re cracking down on those Evil Music Pirates on their campuses.  Your tax dollars at work.  (And, sadly, it’s a bipartisan issue — Howard Berman (D) is an infamous shill for Big Entertainment.)
12. I’ve always been fonder of PC Magazine than PC World, and now that the latter’s Editor-in-Chief has resigned after being pressured to tone down reviews critical of major advertisers, I’m glad I am.
13. Some people have way too much time and bandwidth on their hands.  And, yet — very cool, even if you’re not a Leave it to Beaver fan.
14. Rebit backup sounds very cool.  Must research (which means the tab is staying open) …