• In case you haven’t already seen this on another blog post, I have about 15 extra Swan Fungus t-shirts for anyone who wants to partake in the 2nd Annual Swan Fungus Holiday Contest. The rules are simple. You have until January 16th to submit a photograph of a “celebrity” wearing a Swan Fungus shirt. It can be a shirt that you obtain from me, or one that you make yourself. The “celebrity” does not have to be someone rich and famous (although it can be!), it just has to be someone who is — to you — very important. So, if you don’t have the time to create your own unofficial Swan Fungus shirt, send me an e-mail and I will provide you with a shirt (and even size!) of your choice. Make me proud, readers.

• CNN ran an interesting (gasp!) article this week asking, “Is it time for ‘The Simpsons’ to ‘g’oh’?” Several experts (including one of Ian’s old college chums, John Ortved) weigh in on the subject of the television show, its characters, and storylines. While those responsible for “The Simpsons” argue that the show is still as relevant and funny as ever, several contrasting viewpoints are presented. I happen to fall into the group of people who think the show is no longer entertaining. I haven’t watched regularly in at least five years…possibly longer. In middle school and high school, Sunday nights were an event. That stopped pretty much as soon as I got to college. Ever since then I’ve barely paid attention to the show. Trust me, that has nothing to do with me growing older. My Sunday nights are just as empty as they ever were. I had no problem switching over from FOX’s Sunday Night lineup to the Cartoon Network’s lineup when I wanted to get trashed with friends and giggle through a few hours of cartoons. “The Simpsons” simply could not provide me with those laughs anymore. Maybe there is a new generation of kids loving America’s greatest animated family. For those of us who have been there since the beginning, I’m sure the majority of fans would agree it’s time for the show to end. [story]

• I don’t usually fly into JFK Airport when I’m traveling back East, but I think it’s funny how the men’s rooms are being equipped with fake flies in the urinals to help men focus on aiming their piss at its intended target. Now, I’m by no means anal-rententive, but I have a hard time reconciling how a guy can stand in front of a urinal or a toilet and not bother to piss where he’s supposed to. It just does not compute. If you have to bake a fake fly into the porcelain bowl, you have to wonder if all hope for humanity is lost. [< a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121310977">story]

• This is by far the most amazing thing I have seen this week on the Internet. Hell, it might just be the most amazing thing I have seen all year. Someone took an 18 gigapixel camera and mounted it to a tower in Prague to create the world’s largest spherical panoramic photograph. I’ve been playing with this picture all day, zooming in to see distant license plate numbers or people walking down random streets. It’s unbelievable and scary at the same time. There are probably satellites in orbit above us right now that can do way more than this — from outer space. [story]

• Ancient pygmy sea cow discovered!? Uh… are you sure these scientists didn’t just stumble into my father’s house and catch a glimpse of his girlfriend? [story]

• The jackalope exists! At least, according to one guy who spends time roaming in the Rocky Mountains states they do. He doesn’t include any photographs with his story, nor does he admit to having ever seen one, but he claims that they do exist. Then he quotes some people throughout history who have seen jackalopes, but none of them provided any pictures. So what we’re left with is a creature — kind of like Bigfoot — that we all want to believe is hopping or walking around on this earth waiting to be seen. Actually, it’s like the squabbit in Allentown, Pennsylvania where I went to school. People were convinced that the local squirrel and rabbit populations bred with each other to form a new species. The only time I ever (thought I) saw one was when I was really high on cough syrup, so I’m not willing to admit that I definitely beheld a squabbit. As far as I know, they’re like the East Coast’s answer to the jackalope. [story]

• And for those of you who love doomsday scenarios and natural disasters, here’s a story you’re bound to love! The Yellowstone “supervolcano” is actually 20% bigger than originally thought. The magma chamber beneath Yellowstone is “a 45-mile-wide plume of hot, molten rock” which “rises to feed the supervolcano from at least 410 miles beneath the Earth’s surface.” This doesn’t mean the area is any closer to eruption. As I’ve stated before, the region has erupted at similar intervals through the last couple million years. One eruption occurred 2.1 million years ago. The next was 1.3 million years ago (or 700,000 years later). The most recent was 640,000 years ago (or 660,000 years later). So, we’re kind of due for another one, or we could be 50,000 years from the next eruption. It’s hard to say — I’m not a scientist or a geologist. I’m a stupid blogger.

Drowning The Virgin – We Twist The Sun And Sea
Stellar Om Source – Copper Dream
Mount Eerie – Black Wooden
Joe Callicot – Fare Thee Well Blues

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