Watch the Rubik's Cube get conquered in 18 seconds. So freakin' cool. [ via kottke ]

The latest wonderfully illustrated story has been published at Fray. Read "The Lesson". Fray publishes personal stories regularly, but infrequently by web standards. The stories are accompanied by illustration or photography, and the comments visitors leave at the end of each narrative represent some of the most thoughtful, personal writing on the web.

Madonna has written another book. I can only hope this one does not contain the same material or subject matter as her last foray into book-making, as this one is geared to a slightly younger audience. I am excitied to brush up on my kabbalah ("an esoteric mystic offshoot of Judaism") though; a topic I am admittedly weak on.

This is at the top of my must read list.

In one scene J-Lo, 33, tries to seduce Affleck, 30, by laying on a bed and telling him: “It’s turkey time!” When he asks: “What?”, she replies: “Come on, gobble, gobble”.

By all accounts, Gigli is the worst move of the year, our nascent millenium, and my whole damn life. I haven't seen it, but it sounds like the kind of movie that would drive you to drink -- then again, if you're sober, you wouldn't make the mistake of picking this movie in the first place.

• The review by The Filthy Critic is hilarious.
• Metacritic sends the signal with one red rectangle and then fills in the gaps with quotes from all the major reviews.
• The krew at Fuelfire got in on it too and pointed to a choice article at the quasi-tabloid The Sun.

The internet and the people on eBay will never cease to amaze me.

Step 1) Create a virtual character representing yourself in a very interactive chatroom called Habbo Hotel.

Step 2) Chat with people from all over the world (mainly from the UK) in all kinds of chatrooms or even your own.

Step 3) Go on eBay and bid on virtual furniture and a virtual room but pay REAL MONEY for it.

Being the father of the Pet Rock, Gary Dahl would be proud.

No matter your personal thoughts on marriage and homosexuality, it's important that marriage mores do not become Constitutional amendments. Steven Den Beste explains the trouble with a constitutional fix in a thorough essay at his site. It's good.

So far, the Constitution has been pretty good at securing rights for us all and laying out rules to prevent the federal government from creeping in on our liberties. There aren't amendments about drugs, or prostitution, or reckless driving because those are functional, mechanical things that the federal and state legislatures can handle. If marriage must be restricted to male-female coupling, do it legally, not Constitutionally.

We shouldn't be playing around with The Constitution just because we've got a hot plate issue. As Den Beste points out, the last and only time we did that, we got a law banning liquor sales so some pious ladies in dresses with long sleeves and high necks could feel better about themselves. They pulled together their congregations, slapped their husbands' steins to the floor, rallied till their faces went flush, and restricted everybodys rights. A few years later, everyone sobered up over a few pints and repealed that short-sighted, special interest, hateful garbage.

Let's hope we don't have to do all that over again just because we've got some stiff trousered folk who just can't bear the thought of a couple guys with matching rings. Their coordinated jewelry and personal commitments don't mean beans to the already married. Let them have their rights and their dignity, and get back to worrying about your kids' education, the health of your finances, and the rough spots in your local community.

The photos from those who participated in 26 Things international photographic scavenger hunt are up online.

[originally mentioned one month ago]