Deformed Bronze (link roundup)

"Mr. Kurabi’s Tales of Lovely-ness and All Things Eaten" sculpture by Joe Sorren. It's apparently available for purchase, although no details are provided. He also has an expensive print on sale here. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Photo of a pregnant tree, perhaps?

2. A reminder of how pretty the nighttime sky is without light pollution.

3. Hilarity ensues as Fake Steve Jobs imagines meeting and mocking Ashton and Demi.

4. Explorer runs from a Lego rhino. Via these sites.

*Previously: Bronze alien crab baby.

*Buy bronze sculptures at eBay.

Fifty Years of Exploration map (link roundup)

National Geographic is hosting a scrollable space infographic called Fifty Years of Exploration. It was created by 5W Infographics, and you can see more of their work here. Via.

And a few more links:

1. A simple way to pay for extended warranties (without letting stores take advantage of you). Via.

2. A good example of why lawyers have a bad name - - some guy enrolled in a Jewish law school (in New York) and then acted outraged that it required student funds be used on kosher food.

3. Those are very green shoes.

*Previously: Ronald McDonald poster map of our solar system.

*Buy vintage maps at eBay.

Video of three cats playing tug of war with a steak (link roundup)

Or as the video is titled, "Three cats, one steak." Via.

And a few more links:

1. Here's a funny way to make peace with a string of bad luck in the lab - - it's someone from the future messing with you because your experiment, if completed, would destroy the world. (Link includes photo of the doomsday weapon at issue.)

2. I don't know what this means, but it sounds interesting: "The edge of the solar system is tied up with a ribbon, astronomers have discovered."

3. I don't know what constitutes a "memory" in a fly's brain, but apparently scientists can implant fake ones.

(Links found via various people I follow at Twitter.)

*Previously: Funny experiment testing people's memory.

*Buy time machines at eBay.

Littoral Combat Ship (link roundup)

This is the Independence - - the Navy's second Littoral Combat Ship. It's fast. Via.

And a few more links:

1. To save money, more than half of the teams in the NBA will play with less than a full 15-player roster.

2. And speaking of the NBA here's Bill Simmons' two-part preview of the NBA season.

3. Meanwhile, lava tubes have been found on the moon. Via.

*Previously: United States Navy to be explained to Japanese via Manga.

*Buy NASA collectibles at eBay.

Earth and Jupiter in one photo (link roundup)

Earth and Jupiter photographed together. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Gawker reports a claim that the Wall Street Journal is "hemorrhaging money." (Which would explain Rupert Murdoch's switch from boasting of giving content away for free, to trumpeting the need to demand payment for content.)

2. "Dick Giordano had a page of Teen Titans colored blue to help sort of 'sneak' the first interracial embrace in mainstream comics through." See the panel here.

3. Photograph of a giant octopus attack.

*Previously: Moon, Jupiter, and Venus over Los Angeles.

*Buy octopus toys at eBay.

Watch a feather and hammer drop on the moon (link roundup)

Watch what happened when astronaut David Scott dropped a feather and hammer on the moon. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Matrix themed outfits for bride and groom; cake toppers, also.

2. Image of Super Typhoon Melor (which was headed toward Japan at the time I wrote this).

3. CBS is apparently trying to use remove copies of Letterman's confession from Youtube. Via.

*Previously: Concept art for Matrix Revolutions.

*Buy Matrix toys at eBay.

International Year of Astronomy posters

International Year of Astronomy posters by Simon Page, who posted more here. He made them for himself, but the organizers learned about them and asked to use them.

*Previously: Year of Astronomy posters by James White.

*Buy telescopes at Amazon.

Duck Hunt/Space Invaders mashup (link roundup)

Duck Hunt meets Space Invaders in this image by Ryan Snieder. Via these sites.

And a few more links:

1. Interesting background on Bill Gates' background (he was a hacker/troublemaker in high school) and the baby steps he took on the way to starting Microsoft.

2. A groundbreaking ceremony was recently held in Austin, Texas, and the occasion was marked by a photo of dignitaries holding special golden shovels. One random lawyer simply got in line with the VIPs, took a shovel, and posed for photos. His presence wasn't noticed until afterward.

3. Some of the craters on the moon are believed to be the coldest place in the galaxy, colder even than Pluto. Via.

*Previously: Space Invaders desktop wallpaper.

*Buy planet mobiles at Amazon.

Occasional NASA Consultants Draft Primer On How Humanity Can Defend Itself From Aliens

An Introduction to Planetary Defense: A Study of Modern Warfare Applied to Extra-Terrestrial Invasion is written by Travis Taylor and Bob Boan. In a nutshell, "You'd have to create an insurgency, a mujahideen-type resistance."

Why Is There A Hexagon Above Saturn's North Pole?

No one knows. But come up with the best theory and it could be named after you.