Link Dump

Doing a bit of belated Spring Cleaning and computer upkeep this weekend, so not a ton of time. Thus, links:

  • The clapper for Inglourious Basterds was very creative – Funny behind the scenes clip. Strangely, there appears to be a method to her madness…
  • The Magic On/Off Box – It starts off amusing, then things escalate. Excellent choice of music.
  • Pendulum Waves – Mesmerizing.
  • Radio Controlled Superhero – Looks surprisingly real.
  • China used prisoners in lucrative internet gaming work – Sadly intriguing:

    Liu says he was one of scores of prisoners forced to play online games to build up credits that prison guards would then trade for real money. The 54-year-old, a former prison guard who was jailed for three years in 2004 for “illegally petitioning” the central government about corruption in his hometown, reckons the operation was even more lucrative than the physical labour that prisoners were also forced to do.

    The process of grinding out credits in online gaming is referred to as “Gold Farming” and there’s a surprisingly large black market for this sort of thing. Don’t want to actually work to get up to Level 70 in WoW? Just buy a character! Interestingly, the subject of Gold Farming looks to be a big part of Neal Stephenson’s forthcoming Reamde… (hat tip Haibane.info)

  • US & UK Covers Unveiled for Neal Stephenson’s Reamde – Speaking of which, the covers for Reamde have recently been released. A close look at the US cover and the way the letters in Reamde are colored indicates that it is indeed a play on the frequently used computer filename, readme (the icon on the US version also helps). I rather like the minimalist nature of the US version, but the UK version is… awful. I’m not entirely sure why the US version feels the need to triple-hyphenate the name “Stephenson”, but whatever.
  • Tips on Using the Toilet – I’ve created a special delicious tag for videos like this: “idontknowwhatthefuckisgoingoninthisvideo” (In this case, it’s not disgusting or even really that weird. It’s just, like, too earnest. Or something.)

That’s all for now. Have a good holiday.