When I read the CNN story headlined “Misplaced ‘not’ in Arkansas law allows babies to marry” the other day, I knew something was fishy. Language Log comes to the rescue, criticizing the media for caring more about bad language than bad thinking.

It’s hardly credible that moving the negation somewhere else in the statute would succeed in producing a piece of law that could conceivably have represented the will of the people.

A fascinating story about a fabricated 9/11 survivor, the woman who fell in love with him over the Internet, famed writer Harlan Ellison, and the screenwriter of A History of Violence. It reminded me of this amazing story I read in Wired Magazine in August involving several layers of fabricated identities. (via bb)

New hi-res color photographs of Mars, “the first color images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.” (via rw2)

Josh Marshall on Al Gore winning a share of the Nobel Peace Prize:

You know, with Al Gore winning the Nobel Prize for his environmental activism, it really makes the Nader voters look prescient, doesn’t it?

A study out of UNR shows that there are major health differences between newcomers to Nevada and long-term residents.

Findings revealed long-term residents living in Nevada for more than 10 years were 6.8 times more likely to report living in a home with a firearm compared to newcomers. Newcomers were 1.7 times more likely to report never being tested for HIV when compared to longer-term residents.

Newspaper editorials here often complain about newcomers bringing in nanny-state liberalism, but I guess that’s not a health factor. (thx, smiling dork)

A response to the claim that the films of Wes Anderson are vaguely racist.

What does it feel like to die? This article is all about the specific. E.g., on drowning:

When victims eventually submerge, they hold their breath for as long as possible, typically 30 to 90 seconds. After that, they inhale some water, splutter, cough and inhale more. Water in the lungs blocks gas exchange in delicate tissues, while inhaling water also triggers the airway to seal shut - a reflex called a laryngospasm. “There is a feeling of tearing and a burning sensation in the chest as water goes down into the airway. Then that sort of slips into a feeling of calmness and tranquility,” says Tipton, describing reports from survivors.

(via bb)

Supposedly, this optical illusion will tell you if you are left- or right-brained. She spins clockwise for me, which implies that I am right-brained. I write with my left hand, so I already had this suspicion, although I bat, throw, and eat with my right. If you’re having trouble getting her to switch directions, follow kottke’s advice, but I must warn you that I feel like jumping away from my computer every time I get her to do so.

Cool (but expensive) wall stickers. (thx, flea)

In Rainbows , Radiohead’s latest album being released independently online with a pay-what-you-want system, is available now. Hear it at the same time as the critics.

Trailer for Bender’s Big Score, the first of four direct-to-DVD Futurama movies.

Teaser trailer for Youth Without Youth, the first Francis Ford Coppola directed film in ten years. It’s based on a novella by Mircea Eliade, which one blurb describes as “like a surreal collaboration by Jorge Luis Borges, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and Carl Jung.”

Pay no attention to the man behind the drums. (Yes, that’s crazymonk.org commenter liam.)

Last night’s The Daily Show , covering the Burmese protests and the government’s violent response, pettily made fun of Bush for calling the country Burma instead of Myanmar, without hinting at any controversy. It is true that the UN has been calling the country Myanmar for the past few decades, but, as you can read in this Wikipedia entry, the name of the country is hotly debated and weighted heavily with politics. I was a little disappointed, as The Daily Show is usually on top of these things.

I’m a little surprised at how well this visual cognition test worked on me.

Hotel Chevalier , Wes Anderson’s 13-minute short starring Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman, and described as “Part 1 of The Darjeeling Limited “ in the credits, is now available for free on iTunes. It’s a refreshingly calm change of pace for Anderson, but doesn’t really reveal much about the upcoming feature.

Are the films of Wes Anderson vaguely racist? I see the writer’s point, but I also think Anderson is somewhat accurately portraying how privileged Americans sometimes interact with foreign cultures both condescendingly and with great interest. Of course, I still haven’t seen The Darjeeling Limited. (Warning: this article has some spoilers, although they are clearly marked.)

Congratulations to frequent crazymonk.org commenter Slater (AKA Ranger N.) and his wife for becoming first-time parents!

The recipients of the 2007 MacArthur Fellowship – a $500,000 award otherwise known as the “genius” grant – were announced today. I usually recognize one or two names, but not this year.