The Best of the Internet: Friday Links Edition for August 14th, 2009
Seeing how I’m taking my son camping and hunting with his best hunting flashlight for his first time this weekend, I must
spare you the long, rambling anecdote about my childhood meddling and cut right to the very best things on the Internet this week.
- First, a review of the best commencement speech ever given. This is David Foster Wallace speaking to the graduating class of Keyon College in 2005, and I re-read this as often as I can. It’s that good. Trust me. (Sadly, some points in this speech ominously inform Wallace’s suicide in 2008.) An excerpt:
”Again, please don’t think that I’m giving you moral advice, or that I’m saying you’re "supposed to" think this way, or that anyone expects you to just automatically do it, because it’s hard, it takes will and mental effort, and if you’re like me, some days you won’t be able to do it, or you just flat-out won’t want to. But most days, if you’re aware enough to give yourself a choice, you can choose to look differently at this fat, dead-eyed, over-made-lady who just screamed at her little child in the checkout line — maybe she’s not usually like this; maybe she’s been up three straight nights holding the hand of her husband who’s dying of bone cancer, or maybe this very lady is the low-wage clerk at the Motor Vehicles Dept. who just yesterday helped your spouse resolve a nightmarish red-tape problem through some small act of bureaucratic kindness.”
- A North Korean beer commercial. It almost becomes charming in its retro horribleness.
- Surprising facts about 15 bestselling authors. Did you know that Hasbro created an “Owen S. King” G.I. Joe character named after Stephen King’s son, who was a huge fan?
- Why are manhole covers round? Here’s the sequel investigation.
- Finally, the spleen moves off the b-list and gets a bit of love.
- Scientists have discovered that five-second touches can convey specific emotions.
- Two-thirds of us are overweight, and the number is rising. Anyone still question the failure of the American diet? Do yourself a tremendous (and I mean tremendous) favor and go see Food, Inc. as soon as you can.
- Turns out that some dogs do indeed look like their owners.
- Avalanches were used as weapons during World War I. Clever.
- Crash test dummy steers around wall, drives to freedom. The Onion never disappoints.
- And finally, with college and NFL football seasons approaching, I’ll leave you with the best headline I’ve read all week: Hush Falls Over Patriots Camp as Tom Brady’s First 10 Passes Go 3 Yards.
Have a great weekend, everyone.
