Photo for Monday, August 3, 2009

Posted: 8:30 am, Monday, August 3rd

I like the historical addendum to Kate Beaton's latest history strip, about flying aces and the early medical treatment of them.

We're all caught up with Mad Men at world HQ, a full two weeks before the third season kicks off, and I swear that the strips of late are not actually influenced by Mad Men. I'm shooting for another 20 years before that, and entirely because 2.0's starting a job back in the Brooklyn Navy Yards soon, which are massive and make me think of WWII. Anyway, though, here are two lengthy interviews with Mad Men creator Matt Weiner from right around the finale of last season, for those of you who are on board with this show. (HT to 2.0's former coworker for Lizzie's wardobe inspiration today, by the way.)

I spent most of the weekend putting off writing a paper, and took a shit-ton of Mental Floss quizzes. I dominated the GI Joe one, as you would likely expect.

The latest RadioLab was called "After Life," and it was about, well, death. The two segments I found most interesting were the ones on the 21 grams that the soul supposedly weighs (something I quite consciously thought about four weeks and a day ago), and that we each die three deaths - when the body ceases to function, when the body is buried, and the last time - ever - that our name is mentioned. Fascinating thought. A later segment addresses 100,000 years in the future, when cement, and possibly paper will survive, but the writing upon the paper, likely not. With the writing, barring some oddly compatible technology, so also will die Beethoven, Shakespeare, everything we've ever thought was immortal. Kind of oddly sobering (who the hell is concerned about 100,000 years from now, anyway?). Anyway, a very good hour of radio, and since I've been pondering this sort of thing not infrequently lately, you know, I thought I'd pass it along.

bullfrog

Joe B -- Monday, August 3 2009, 04:31 pm

I'm freaking because my daughter (1) is a big Kate Beaton fan and fangirled her twice at comic cons, (2) just finished watching Mad Men season 2, (3) puts off stuff by going to mental floss, and (4) listens to Radiolab podcasts when she is working on stuff. Great minds, huh? However I think she would not ace a GI Joe quiz.

I want one of those lightbulbs that makes the everything greyscale.

I may be making this up, but I think I based the grayscale bulb in reality. I'm fairly certain 2.0 told me of an art exhibit she went to one time where there was a light that basically made everything B&W. She'll set the record straight later, I'm sure.

Wal-Mart hits a record low, selling knock-off Girl Scout Cookies!

http://authenticorganizations.com/harquail/2009/08/03/wal-mart-knocks-off-the-girl-scouts/

It is true. When I was at the 2003 Venice Biennale there was a room (I believe it was Olafur Eliasson's of NYC Waterfalls fame, but there was another artist of his ilk there and I may be mixing them up), where the color of the light seemed to fool you eye into seeing everything gray. It was really weird and subtle, and I think a lot of people didn't even notice the effect.

Or perhaps I had had too much Prosecco the night before, who can say...

I took that GI Joe quiz and I call BULLSHIT. What the hell kind of Cobra Commander was that? Isn't he just supposed to be blue with a smooth silver mask?

That was the specially built Cobra Commander armor that Crimson Guardsman Fred VII built for Cobra Commander. When he learned that the Commander was planning on going straight after being reunited with his comatose son, Billy (who became a ninja, despite having one prosthetic leg and one eye), Fred VII shot the Commander and assumed his identity.

http://www.yojoe.com/comics/joe/joe58.shtml

I conferred with zero percent of that summary in writing my own. Why can't I dedicate these powers to the advancement of mankind?!

This is fun:

http://flavorwire.com/32014/10-muppets-and-their-mad-men-counterparts

Janet the bassist could be Joy from Don's lost weekend last season.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w4Yaq_mMzEU/RaK2RTtw3sI/AAAAAAAAACE/Rv9rOxKPgxY/s200/Janice%2Bthe%2BMuppet.jpg

http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/potato/MadMen.jpg

Regarding the Di Fara's conversation from Friday, Steingarten disagrees:

http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2009/07/is-difara-pizza-slice-worth-5-dollars-whens-the-best-time-to-go-whats-good-there.html#339871