Caitlin Burke

I have a soft spot in my heart for the Newton Meffage Paq (with handwriting recognition!), but I never realized how absolutely essential it could have turned out to be.

I know, right!?!

Got a question for the Old Spice man? Want to comment on his amazing abs? Do it. Reach out on Twitter, facebook, or your personal blog. He will find it and respond. You can follow the action on Twitter or on the Old Spice brand channel.

They have made a ton of these already, and Mustafa continues to be utterly charming. The man is a complete professional. Which of course is why I am so interested. Because after 15 years in the advertising industry, I deeply appreciate this kind of dedication and excellent creative. Yep.

UPDATE: Making the Old Spice response videos. They have made over 150 so far (June 14)!

Oh and he sent real flowers in real life to Alyssa Milano! I love this campaign.

I am in love with it.

I want to marry it.

UPDATE, June 15: Throwing in the towel. Don’t get excited, though – towel not actually thrown.

…Richard Feynman argued that, in reality, the bouncing beads would not be capable of doing meaningful work. Feynman showed that, since the entire system operates at the same temperature, a pawl would occasionally slip off the wheel. As a result, the system would generate zero net movement.

Now, physicist Devaraj van der Meer from the University of Twente and his colleagues have demonstrated that such a machine can in fact spin the paddles forward only, generating a positive net movement … The key challenge was getting the vanes to move in the forward direction only, which the scientists achieved with – somewhat surprisingly – duct tape….

Is there anything duct tape can’t do? Besides break the second law of thermodynamics, I mean.

Newly created machine on Vimeo. Write-up at PhysOrg.com: Experiment finally proves 100-year-old thought experiment is possible .

Basically a rodent, with a different tail. Flying rodents, that’s all they are. Good for nothing—apart from shooting.

Well, and paté.

Some people may find this equally true of red squirrels, but red squirrels have acquired a groundswell of support in the wake of their endangerment from aggression and squirrelpox thanks to the gray squirrel, a Victorian import from North America. Britain has adopted a policy of working to stem the tide of gray squirrels—which dramatically outnumber red squirrels, and have completely displaced the reds in most of England—hoping that control will enable the reds to bounce back as they slowly develop resistance to squirrelpox.

Watch Nutkin’s Last Stand, a POV documentary.

This wonderful skit followed the the Kirki oil spill, off the coast of Australia, in 1991. You can see more Clarke and Dawe (including the last 20 seconds of this skit) at the Mr John Clarke website.

But let’s get back to the story. The ship, operated by a Greek crew of 37, was on charter to BP Australia Ltd and was carrying a full cargo of 82,650 tonnes of Murban light crude from Jebel Dhanna to BP’s refinery at Kwinana, Western Australia.

Heckuva glob, BP.

Look at this awesome text message. It is from How Hipsters Date, and it was discussed in a blog entry at the Village Voice. Go read it. It has other, equally rewarding links.

Reminds me of the tempest in a teapot when a Twitter user reported receiving a text after a blind date reading, “I was told you were pretty, and you’re not. I feel badly misled.” (The result was a totally appropriate, immediate, and sustained outpouring of support.)

Memo to would-be brilliant parting-shotters who write this crap: you sound like an ass, and now everyone on the Internet is hearing about it.

Bonus link: the fantastic and wonderful “You Can’t Text-Message Break Up!”

(Also watch the intro scene showing the receipt of the message at dinner with the family.)

Brad Templeton writes about his wonderful contribution to the Downfall meme and about Constantin Film’s YouTube-based attack. He also addresses his scrupulous approach to making this delightful example of fair use in the service of fair use.

Read more about it in the EFF entry.