Linkszomania for September 23, 2009

Let it begin…

1. What do you do when even stem cell procedures can’t help restore your sight? Look into your mouth. (If you were wondering how long I spent trying to decide if I could squeeze “by the skin of her teeth” into this link’s write-up… the over/under is 38 minutes.)
2. An actual documentary about two guys’ trip from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. would probably be beyond dull. But if they took a picture every ten seconds and arranged all of those into a 4.5-minute photomontage? Riveting.
3. I thought “Gaydar” was a myth (or, at the very least, only available at Sharper Image) but, as it turns out, it’s on its way to being published in a scientific journal. Weird, wild stuff.
4. It’s not clear whether this recently-leaked photo of the failed “Tim Burton directs Nic Cage as Superman” project is legitimate and… look, I mean, I always knew we dodged a bullet when that flick fell apart but now we have (reportedly authentic) visual proof of just how big that bullet was. Phew!
5. The economy sucks. Solution? Become an entrepreneur. (It might be more difficult than those three words suggest but… it sounds good so, I’m going to leave it short and succinct.)
6. The Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh understands who their patients are and designed their facility accordingly. Although, it might also be a ploy to draw attention away from the fact that Pirates have been terrible since President Clinton’s first term.
7. If I were a female celebrity who wanted to stop seeing awkward candid pictures of myself in a bikini online, I would be asking this Russian billionaire what weekends his yacht was available for rental this instant.
8. I only need about 199,980 more hotel key cards and then I can match Bryan Berg’s functional art accomplishment. He may have struck first but my plastic room will be more diverse and colorful.
9. Alibis & Paybacks is a service designed solely to exact flyer-based revenge or to concoct an alibi for a must-lie situation is either the greatest idea in cultural history or the worst.
10. Great news! In 2009, global carbon dioxide emissions were down 2% (most climatologists say we need to cut emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2020) — the most significant drop in four decades. Kind of bad news: it was probably due more to the worldwide recession than any concerted environmental policies. Oh well; a win’s a win.
11. Last week’s New York Times featured a terrific quasi-roundtable discussion on the current (and future) state of independent film in America. Fellow movie geeks should give it the ol’ lookie-loo.
12. Earlier this year, I linked to a column explaining the problem with 3D movies, as it relates to the biology of human eyes. Now, Cory Doctorow suggests that this most recent three-dimensional resurgence may also be ultimately undone by economics.
13. The MacArthur Foundation handed out its 24 “Genius Grants” this week. I didn’t make the cut (y’know, I’m starting to think that six straight years of snubs are less of a freaky coincidence and more of a personal vendetta) but after reading the entire list of winners and their varied, interesting biographies… I really can’t complain.

Have a week!