269 - Vigeland

1. Vigeland In the 1920's the city of Oslo, Norway used its equivalent of eminent domain to take over the studio of sculptor, Gustav Vigeland. In a strange display of compassion, the city then granted the artist a new studio and funding for him to continue his work for the rest of his life.

2. Vigeland Sculpture Park In gratitude to the city for this arrangement, Vigeland vowed to donate all of his future work to Oslo be placed on display for the benefit of the public.

3. Vigeland Nee Frogner For the last twenty years of his life, Vigeland sculpted hundred of figures in stone and bronze which the city placed in an open exhibition in the vicinity of Frogner Park centered around the Vigeland fountain commissioned by the city a few years earlier. Eventually, Frogner Park became known as Vigeland Park.

4. Monolith the focus of the park became a giant monolith composed of 121 figures. The official theory claims that the statue depicts "Man's longing and yearning for the spiritual and divine... a feeling of togetherness, carefully holding one another tight in this strange sense of salvation." I wonder if Vigeland was pulling a fast one. To me they seem desperate and miserable, reminiscent of scenes from Dante's Inferno.

5. Censors The point of this post is to tell you about an incident that happened at the park yesterday. During the night someone snuck into the park and put censor bars over all of the exposed genitalia (of which there is plenty) on every one of the sculptures. Some citizens of Oslo are calling this an "act of vandalism that disrespected the artwork." I think it was more likely a tongue-in-cheek satire of prudishness and censorship. They've taken an existing work of art and changed it into something entirely different.

265 - with Links!

1. Damn It Feels Good to Be A Gangster Police said they caught an 8-year-old trying to sell marijuana to other children at a counseling center. He was turned over to his parents who apparently have never heard of child labor laws.

2. Sam Raimi Instructional Videos I know this seems like a pretty boring fork lift training video, but just muscle through it and see what it evolves into.

3. Pain Pong A deceptively simple twist on a classic game turns out to be incredibly maddening. So bad the creator named it "Jeu Chiant" meaning "Shitty Game."

4. Clothes Jacked A group of thugs not only kidnapped a young couple, they also stole their cars, they also forced them to clean out their ATMs, they also gropes the young woman, and then, in order to add insult to injury, they forced the victims to strip naked and left them stranded on the side of the highway. Cue sexy hitchhiking fantasy.

5. Essay Extentender A good trick to increase the page count of your article, composition, discourse, discussion, disquisition, explication, exposition, manuscript, paper, piece, study, theme, thesis, tract, or treatise in a way that will be unnoticeable to the reader.

234 - Anna Nicole Smith

1. Anna Nicole Smith: Dead Only minutes after the news of her death hit the internet, the jokes started. I know it is human nature to make light of death when we aren't intimately involved, and I have no problem with that. It seems right. But many of the jokes I read were not only in bad taste, but also just plain mean. Anna Nicole's life might not have been the most respectable, but even at her highest points, she just seemed so sad. Although I have no belief in the afterlife, I hope she has found some kind of peace.

2. Illegal Aliens Her last movie role.

3. $1.6 billion Victory in the United States Supreme Court.

4. Re-Marriage I can't say I was following the news, but there was something about a contested paternity suit and then Anna married her lawyer.

5. Nudity I'm trying to find only positive stories on Anna Nicole, but unfortunately, interest in the misery and controversy of her life far outweighed interest in anything else. The best I can come up with is a review of her soft-core film performances from 1993 to 1999 when she was at the top of her game. Please don't click if you are offended by references to nudity.

192 - with Links!

1. The Flu: Dead At least it may be on the verge of death. Researchers at a Cambridge biotech firm claim to be close to perfecting a vaccine to fight every strain of the flu, perhaps it will soon go the way of small pox.

2. A Fleeting Moment One family's yearly photograph becomes a facsinating look at 30 years of age and change.

3. Real Genius Two I won't believe it until Gabriel Jarret signs onto the project.

4. Glasnost Hot naked Russian girls!

5. Ithaa Restaurant Fusing contemporary maldivian cuisine with western and asian influences, and doing it underwater.

064 - with Links!

1. Get Human The Get Human Project is a collection of virtually every company that might offer phone support and the secret codes they use to skip over their phone menus and speak to an actual person. Personally, I'd rather speak to a computer, but I know a lot of normal people might like this information.

2. Solar Battery I was reading these instructions on how to build your own solar cell and I thought, "Why doesn't everyone make these?" Then I read "To run a 1,000 watt stove, you would need 800 square meters of cuprous oxide, and another 800 square meters of plain copper." Oh.

3. Sock Wars If you know how to knit, this looks like a pretty cool way to spend your time. I couldn't even figure out how to freaking crochet.

4. Huge Slut Contest "Melissa Midwest" is offering $100,000 to the hottest girl that will come live with her for a year and have a bunch of naked pictures posted on the internet. If these internet girls make $100,000, how much do their pimps/boyfriends make?

5. Corrector, Correct Thyself Creators of spellchecking software, TextTrust, had to re-issue a recent press release due to spelling errors.

050 - Hot Ass - with Links!

1. Jennifer Aniston In an effort to get visitors, I consulted the Celebrity Nudity Database on the 5 actresses people most want to see naked. I think Aniston is kind of cute, but she seems to be aging quickly. If she doesn't have a hit movie soon she is going to quietly fade from the public consciousness. Her career cannot survive based only on the tabloid coverage of her breakups.

2. Scarlett Johansson I liked Johansson when she was first breaking out. Then after a few movies I realized the flat, monotone voice that worked well for her character in Ghost World wasn't really an acting choice, it is actually the way she speaks in everything. For some reason the critics seem to love her despite this, just like Harvey Keitel.

3. Pamela Anderson The guy that wants to see Anderson naked is just like the guy that has such a miserable life at home that he eagerly anticipates the time when he has to go to his slightly less miserable job. I was seriously surprised to see her so high in the list. I had assumed no one was interested anymore.

4. Keira Knightley Since becoming an international superstar, Knightley has not matched the cuteness level she reached in Bend It Like Beckham. I don't hate her. She seems to be a pretty good actress and has taken on a few interesting roles. Here's hoping the Pirates paychecks don't entice her to make any more King Arthurs.

5. Jessica Alba When an actress whose only positive quality is a world class ass can't make a successful movie that is all about world class asses, then Hollywood producers should consider not hiring her anymore. And if reports of her recent, drastic weight loss are true, then she isn't likely to have that ass now anyway.

043 - with Links!

1. Animation Some crazy light pen animation done with a long exposure digital camera in the dark. It also seems to be from Japan.

2. Mix and Match Music Machine Another time waster. This one took a really long time just to figure out how to operate, but it is eventually pretty cool once you figure out what sound each component makes.

3. Gardening It is about a week away, but I wanted to give you a heads-up so you can get your spade, and watering can (or whatever) together in time for World Naked Gardening Day.

4. Vintage Photoshop Oliver Stone taught me that some weird guys in New Orleans framed Oswald. This article taught me how they did it.

5. Nerd Goes to Prom Only ten dollars will get you unending torment at the hands of your classmates.