emptying the linklist on the way south

Because posting to the internet from a train will never not seem like the future.

Hobbitses, in six parts (read from the bottom up). Hopefully to be in nine parts by this time next year.

Elmer the Orc: My lord, I can hear words of power from high above! I think it's Tim Burton, come to take back his home at last! What are we going to do?

The Incredible Albino Hulk: No. It is the Grey Wizard. We must do nothing until he comes within our aggro range. When he does, make a beeline at him and just start swinging with everything you've got.

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffuck it: a collection of band stories about music with far too many fortes. (A single forte, or f, means 'loud,' a double f means 'louder,' and in normal musical notation you never see anything beyond 'forte fortissimo,' or triple f.)

L.P.D.: Libertarian Police Department: "'Home Depot™ Presents the Police!®' I said, flashing my badge and my gun and a small picture of Ron Paul. 'Nobody move unless you want to!'"

A Breakup Letter to Facebook from Eat24: "Now when we show you a photo of a taco wrapped with bacon, you're all like 'PROMOTE THIS POST! GET MORE FRIENDS!' instead of just liking us for who we are. That's hella messed up."

Assyrian stele containing ancient curse will not be reunited with its other half, which I think is probably for the best.

Alternese: English as a Foreign Language: "The answer is that eliminating the Battle of Hastings might make less of a systematic difference than you'd imagine, except to the spelling (which admittedly is enough to make the language look thoroughly foreign)."

Here’s the First Look at the New Satanic Monument Being Built for Oklahoma’s Statehouse: "Greaves told me he has received numerous threats from people who want to attack the sculpture, but that he 'wouldn't expect these outraged and nearly insensible reactionaries to actually know how to assault a bronze monument without severely hurting themselves in the process.' Still, he's not taking any chances. The Temple is building a mold of the sculpture so they can pop these things out like evil, terribly expensive action figures whenever they need a new one."

Via jadelennox, an interview in two parts (one, two) with the creators of Slings & Arrows.

Excavation At Mass E.T. Burial Ground Uncovers Atari’s Shameful Past. The ET Atari 2600 game was rushed out for Christmas 1982 in I believe six weeks. It was legendarily bad: so bad that it's been rumored for decades that Atari buried thousands of them in a landfill in New Mexico. Turns out the rumors were true.

Flight Delayed for Hours? This Website Can Help Make Your Airline Pay: "'Essentially, we took the law and put it into code.' ... Under an 11-year-old European law, you can claim money for flights delayed more than three hours. Under legislation from the U.S. Department of Transportation passed in 2011, you can claim up to $1,300 if you’re involuntarily bumped from a flight that’s oversold."

Emerging from the Ruins, on the destruction and rebirth of the Bronx in the latter half of the twentieth century, and much more interesting than that description makes it sound. I can't find a pull-quote; the whole thing is so interconnected that each line implies, suggests, and builds off of what came before and comes after. (Also and tangentially, to hell with Robert 'Expressways are the proper future of cities' Moses.)

Inside the Barista Class: "When I did finally try to quit being a barista, it took about a year to make the transition into something else. The stratification starts early; once this is your resume, you don't get many chances to revise it."