Greg Mortenson is a truly inspirational educator of children in impoverished areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.  If you haven’t read his book, Three Cups of Tea, it’s well worth your time.

For more information on Mortenson and his work visit the following sites:

Central Asia Institute

Three Cups of Tea

Greg’s Personal Site

Greg’s Blog

Below is a CBS News interview with him that you may find interesting.

From Wired:

New research suggests an influenza virus could go into hiding in the ice when earlier generations of humans, birds or other hosts developed immunity strong enough to drive the virus to extinction. It’s a sort of evolutionary loophole.

“It can bring a set of viral genes back to life that have been frozen for centuries or thousands of years,” said environmental biologist Scott Rogers of Bowling Green State University in Ohio. “If hosts haven’t seen the virus in a while, then there may be no active immunity.”

I suppose, before we all die hideous deaths, that some spry entrepreneur will come up with a knee-slapping Flu Pandemic/Global Warming/Anti-Hummer bumper sticker or two.  We’ll have to see how funny they are, but I suspect it will be worth it.

Wired Article

CNN has an excerpt from Larry King’s new autobiography, My Remarkable Journey, in which he details a fortuitous trip he took to the track in 1971 when he was nearly broke.

Sort of reads like a novelized Bukowski poem.

Betting my last dollar on a horse

**Update**

Mr. King may have won big that day, just like he said, but he didn’t win big with Lady Forli.  Read more details over at Deadspin.

Noodling is the practice of catching catfish with one’s bare or gloved hands.

Sounds easy, right?

It is, save for the occasional loss of digits from bites or infection.

Oh, and the snakes and snapping turtles that periodically decide to move into abandoned catfish holes.

Did I mention the very real risk of drowning due to the encumbrance of the fish or the catching of clothing on submerged logs and branches?  No, well there’s that, too.  It’s enough of a risk that most experienced noodlers use spotters.

Other than that, it’s a piece of cake.

Here are some more links and a couple of videos for those craving more information on this sport that’s only legal in 13 states:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noodling

http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/noodling.htm

http://www.okienoodling.com/

http://www.ethantw.com/noodling.html

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/general/columns/story?columnist=sutton_keith&page=g_col_sutton_noodling

*******

German Bontrust Exec: “Well, let’s see what you’ve come up with.”

Ad Agency Pitchman pulls out an origamied American fiver and a hybrid British twenty pound note. He proceeds to act out the courting of the two origamied bills on the conference room table.

Ad Agency Pitchman: “And then we strongly insinuate that the two bills have…err…relations. Cut to her pushing a stroller with offspring inside that are obviously Lincoln’s. She then sees Chairman Mao in the park and begins flirting with him.”

“And……scene.”

German Bontrust Exec: “It’s good, but can’t we just have the bills overtly copulate? Innuendo’s so…vague.”

Ad Agency Pitchman: “Anything you want, Kommandant.”

German Bontrust Exec: “Brilliant. Let’s move forward with this.”

*******

(NSFW for lurid depictions of currency papercraft coitus)

(Via the Inspiration Room)

Regardless of where you stand on the withdrawal from Iraq issue, you have to admit these posters are clever and well designed.

Made by Big Ant International for the Global Coalition for Peace.

(Via The Inspiration Room and TYWKIWDBI)

Good movie overall and I did appreciate the lack of group shimmying until the credits, but…

***SPOILER ALERT***

You’re telling me Salim, having made the decision to die for his brother’s happiness, is going to bank on Javed being the first one through the bathroom door?  He wouldn’t just walk up behind Javed and put a bullet into the back of his head?

And if you’re a crime lord and a person you want to talk to has barricaded themselves in a bathroom, you’re going to be the first one through that door?

Right.

Sites like this make an old, long deceased, spectral ex-president happy.

Strange Maps

(via tywkiwdbi)

They always saved the day in Middle Earth and this is nothing short of impressive.

(via KSK)

First off, the poor chap in green only suffered a broken rib.  His jaw was, according to the reports, left intact.

Secondly, you can’t help but marvel at how confident the fellow in the black shirt is that he and his draft beer aren’t in harm’s way.

Bravo, good sir.