Teeny Manolo

Obey Uncle Karl! Obey or be assimilated!

It says:

It’s yellow, it’s ugly, it doesn’t go with anything, but it can save your life.

Yes, Karl Lagerfeld steps out for public safety. Unbelievable! I thought the Dark Prince of fashion was too busy cackling over the souls of the damned to give one about safety. But then, he actually does look pretty snazzy in it; must be the pussycat bow (note to self; try pussycat bow with flotation vest, MAKE it work!).

This is an amusing, yet paradoxically educational, video by Mose Giganticus and The Emotron, two guys who are driving a vegetable-oil-powered bus from New York to Alaska. Made for Mrs. Aderman’s 1st Period Environmental Science Class, school unknown (if you know, please share put out in the comments (there’s only so much sincerity and wholesomeness I can take, you know?)).

A human finger??? Those New York hippies are hardcore!

We’re a little bit late today. If I’d had the assistance of Eiko the assistance dog, however, I’m sure I would have been on time. From Eikootje’s Flickr stream. So THAT’s what Eurodisney looks like.

via WanderingCoyote

Okay, so it’s not Beethoven. You think Beethoven’s Fifth would calm a crying baby? Behold the power of the greatest pacifier known to humanity, the ever-reliable Rickroll. I wonder what would happen if they played Rick Astley in Helmand; the entire region would break into a soporific version of the Hustle, shake hands, and declare peace. You doubt? You watch!

via Defamer.

Working as I do for the Manolo I am perhaps hypersensitized to the semiotic power of the shoe (and I may or may not be PMSing additionally but that is neither here nor there and nothing a little Merlot won’t put right) and yet I defy anyone to view the Guardian’s slideshow of magical realist Isabel Allende’s mementos and remain stonefaced when they see these.

“My son is my soul. These were his first shoes. I have a splendid relationship with my daughter-in-law and we work together in the foundation. Today there are 27 million slaves in the world, mostly women and girls. I know for the rest of my life that this is going to be my mission and my struggle”

If that doesn’t get you, A) see your doctor and B) click on to see the next image… (more…)

This is perhaps the most superfantastic sports video of all time. I defy you to watch this and NOT get all misty-eyed. The Good Twin to Anonymous’ Evil Twin, Improv Everywhere has struck again (with the help of NBC Sports). This time they struck two Little League teams that will never be the same.

Behold the mighty Lugnuts versus the fearsome Mudcats.

ImprovEverywhere via Gawker

Okay, not preschool. This kid is six years old. And was, evidently, a robotic scorpion in a previous life.

Voice of GenX (sorry, Douglas Coupland) McSweeney’s genius and 826Valencia founder Dave Eggers talks (for nearly half an hour) about engaging with the public school system. Lengthy, but worthwhile.

Somehow, it just seemed topical. For some reason.

Okay, it’s only March, but the search for Mother of the Year is over. All you Alpha Moms and Alpha Mummies can just pack it in and turn into Roseanne for the rest of the year, because single mom Marjorie Jean-Baptiste of Montreal has thrashed all possible or conceivable challengers completely.

From the CBC:

A Montreal mother of seven saved the lives of her children by throwing them out the window of a burning building on Thursday night.

The 34-year-old woman and her children, who are all between the ages of two and 10, were inside their east-end apartment on Élie-Beauregard Street when a fire broke out on the building’s ground floor just before midnight.

Firefighters report that, while there were two fire alarms in the building, neither appeared to work. Time to take five minutes make sure yours are working properly, no? We’ll wait till you’re done.

As flames and smoke spread in the building, the mother gathered her children at a second-storey window.

By the time firefighters arrived, responding to a neighbour’s 911 call, she had thrown six of her children into a snowbank about five metres below, and then jumped with her youngest child in her arms.

“By doing what she did, she saved her family,” said paramedic Bart Paranello. “She saved her kids. She’s a hero.”

You can say that again. Seven times.

Geekdom is in mourning, ladies and gentlemen: Gary Gygax, creator of Dungeons and Dragons, the granddaddy of all role-playing games, has failed his saving throw against death and not so much as a Resurrection spell will bring him back. The geek world is a little smaller and a lot less interesting today.