Remember the photo diary of that Russian motorcyclist touring around Chernobyl? It turns out that it was a fake:

Curious locals dig up Area 51 wireless perimeter sensors on public land and get busted by the FBI and Air Force agents:

An S.F. gallery closes after its owner is assaulted for displaying a painting depicting the abuse of Iraqi soldiers by American troops. And this in the typically "counterculture" North Beach area too:

Ryan Wieber was hired by LucasArts at 19 for his homemade lightsaber special effects that rivalled that of Hollywood's:

Here's his winning lightsaber battle movie. It's really well done!

"How to make friends by Telephone"

A how-to booklet from the 1940's. Remember, "how-to" books on today's technology will seem just as quaint in 2070:

A legend in urban design, octogenarian Jane Jacobs has written a new book analyzing North American culture called "Dark Ages Ahead":

A growing trend - Dance Dance Revolution (DDR)! I first saw this video game in a mall about eight months ago and was mesmerized by the dance moves of the teenager playing it. Basically, you have to put your feet on flashing pads for points, leading to nifty-looking dance moves. Now audiences and competitions are getting bigger.

The story of Wayne Giles, who resulted to thievery to support his DDR habit:

Play video games to reduce obesity! "Video game fans dance off extra pounds":

Drink beer to reduce liver damage! (see last week's "Caffeine May Prevent Liver Damage"):

Also on the same page - condoms can leak carcinogens! I guess from now on I'm chugging coffee and beer, playing video games, and avoiding condoms for my health's sake!

"Investment in environmental technology gaining momentum" CA's pension funds will pump $1.5 billion into green tech over the next 24 months:

Now available - ultrathin lightweight flexible touch panels from Fujitsu:

The (first?) roll-up electronic keyboard:

Beautiful photos from the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival, where it's below freezing over half the year:

I forget if I posted this before - the worst album covers, volume 2! My favorite is "HAPPINESS":

The latest advances in animation as developed by the makers of Shrek 2:

"300 images from 1800 sites"

A nifty comparison of Web icons:

This site was down for a week or two due to popularity - it's better than the last "infinite spiral" picture I mentioned a month or so ago:

A unique habitat for your cat - the "scratching swirl":

A new company helps traditional radio stations migrate to digital radio. A great idea, but receivers need to get cheaper:

The way the music died "What will it take for an artist to make it in the music business these days?" A Frontline special, view it online:

Computerless single mom gets busted by the RIAA, can't afford to settle:

Some of the hippest mp3 blogs out there. Mash-ups are really popular these days. The mp3 format actually got popular because of blogs like "Blex's Page of Good Mp3", seven years ago. I used to visit that site pretty often back in the day. Anyway, here's the cutting edge of (new and old) music. Here's the list:

Here's the story of Blex: