The Week: February 18, 2011

Um, wow.

So, I didn’t quite expect my post about Rand’s broken laptop to get quite the level of attention that it did. Thank you to everyone who read the post, who helped spread the word, and who shared their thoughts. Really, I just wanted to vent, and while I still intend to file a claim (yes, you all convinced me!) I already feel better about the whole issue.

So thanks. In return for brightening my day, here are some links to make your own day a little more fun (hopefully):

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Short, brilliant, anonymous letters.

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I’m going to start using this mantra from now on. Thanks, Barney.

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Eeep. Just don’t let Don Draper hear that you think that. Though he’d probably agree.

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Far more interesting than watching the grass grow or the paint dry, you’ll dither away precious minutes as you stare at this word clock. Trust me. I certainly did.

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Whoa – a project that digitally combines photos of different people to create an average composite of an ethnic or social group. The modern actor composite looks a lot like The Rocketeer. And a tiny bit like my bro. But I guess that’s the point.

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Artist Slinkachu creates amazing vignettes by depositing miniature plastic people in urban settings. The result is both creepy and whimsical.

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Holy crap. People can make a difference. A group of students at Berkeley protested the creation of a Panda Express on their campus (Ew. Good call). Not only did they succeed in blocking the chain from infiltrating their school, they were able to build a student-run co-op in its place, offering healthy, affordable food.

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It’s like a Rosetta Stone for the modern age: a complete list of facebook chat emoticons for those of us born before 1986 (which should be EVERYONE).

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Oooh. That’s a good trick.

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This is awful, but I can’t stop laughing: Oprah + bees.

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While I disagree profoundly on a few issues – My favorite Star Wars film is the last one (I like Ewoks, okay? I’m not made of stone), the third Back to the Future was awesome, and some of the movies selected are actually of a 4- or 5- part series – I still enjoyed this critique of popular trilogies, in bar graph form.

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I just realized: I have this. Every single day, I do. Kind of puts life (and broken laptops) in perspective.

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That’s it for this week, folks. I’m off to get a repair bill for Rand’s computer. See you Monday.