The bridges of Portland, the befuddled Swiss army, plots to overthrow the government, Korean baseball brawls ... Yes, the links are back!

I decided to do some linking this week, and now I remember why I don't do this anymore. It took me a long time to find just these links, and I could only surf the web for the first few days of the week - at the end of the week I was just too busy. I love doing these posts, because there's so much weird stuff out there in cyberspace, but I probably won't do it again. Never say never, though! Who knows what the future will bring.

So let's hit the links. You know you love them!

THE WACKINESS OF POLITICS.

This is from way back in March, but I couldn't let it go: On a routine training exercise, the Swiss army accidentally invaded Liechtenstein. It's not as awesome as it sounds, but it's still pretty funny.

This is a bit old, but I thought it was interesting: Sonia ranks the U. S. presidents. Sonia leans a bit to the right, but she's usually pretty rational. Putting Bush II at #9 is a bit crazy, however (as is putting his father at #10). Actually, I don't think we can rank any president after Carter, because it's too soon.

Here's a very interesting article about a plot in the 1930s to overthrow the U. S. government and replace it with a fascist-style government. When it came to light, our government whitewashed it, because many of the plotters were heads of big business and the social elite. Today big business doesn't need to overthrow the government - it just buys it.

Scott Adams points out this story: A Nebraska state senator has sued God. He did to protest frivolous lawsuits, but it would be more fun if he was serious.

If you want to protest the Iraq war, why wouldn't you dress like this?
I found the story at Donklephant, which links to the original story. Why people are surprised that others treat them better when they dress in nice clothing is beyond me.

This is interesting: Blackwater USA has been banned from Iraq. Blackwater is a private security firm contracted by the State Department. Apparently some of the guards killed some civilian bystanders on Sunday. It will be interesting if this has any effect on the practice of farming out important tasks in Iraq, like security. Probably not. I found this at Majikthise.

ALL ABOUT THE IDIOT BOX.

Apparently, Kathy Griffin upset some people with her sacrilegious Emmy acceptance speech. A FOX news correspondent helps explain things to her. That was awfully nice.

As the Emmy awards were this week, Go Fug Yourself was in heaven. This is Phoebe Price:

And just to be fair, Kristen Bell looked quite good:
(By the way, I didn't know who Phoebe Price is either. Here's her IMDb page.)

How can you tell if the television shows you loved when you were a kid are really any good? Dave Campbell provides the calculus!

COMIC BOOK CRAP.

Alan David Doane lists the three reasons people get to work in the comic book industry.

Some famous fashion designer named Luella (we know she's famous because she only uses one name) has come up with a clothing line based on Batman. Yes, you read that right. Check it out:
I found this at Blog@Newsarama.

Devon looks at major DC comics crossovers and what character developments came out of them here and here.

WHO DOESN'T LOVE FOOD?

If you're interested in buying a product that makes everything taste like bacon, why not try Bacon Salt? Under the product name is the actual tag, "Everything should taste like bacon". Um, sorry, but no it shouldn't.

Speaking of which, here's a story about ... bacon-flavored chocolate bars. Go here to purchase yours today!

TV chef Gordon Ramsay burns his plums. Not the ones he was using in a recipe, either.

I know you're dying to go to Chicago and eat at Moto, the "postmodern" restaurant. This is what the food looks like.

Oh dear Lord:


SLIGHTLY RISQUÉ SECTION.

I love the first sentence of this post. It's a bit ... pornographic, though, so be warned (no pictures, however, so it should be safe for work, unless your boss is reading over your shoulder, in which case you shouldn't be reading this anyway).

This is a bit old, but too good to pass up: Ashley points the way to ... OhMiBod. Just check it out - I can't ruin the surprise. You can also watch a video demonstrating the product.

SPORTS-RELATED GOOFINESS.

With Leather points out how cool Shelley Duncan is when kids ask him for an autograph. Shelley Duncan, by the way, is a Yankee outfielder. The kid who asked for an autograph was a Red Sox fan. Things went downhill from there.

Woody linked to this video:
It's Korean baseball getting nasty. But "nasty" to Koreans means something far stranger than it means to us.

ICKY EXPLOITATIVE STUFF.

Do you know who Maddison Gabriel is? Why, she's the 12-year-old (she's now 13) who was chosen as the "official ambassador" of Gold Coast Fashion Week in Australia. I read about her here, which is also from where I stole this picture:
The Prime Minister of Australia is outraged, and wants to ban models younger than 16 from appearing on catwalks. Ms. Gabriel, you see, actually did some modeling of decidedly adult fashion - bikinis and such. She, of course, thinks it's great. Her mother thinks John Howard, the PM, owes her an apology, saying a bunch of idiotic things, including "We're trying to get our teenage daughters to act older." Why, exactly? This just makes me sad. I'm not going to link to a picture of her in a bikini but not post it, because it's just icky. The picture isn't too objectionable, but it's still a 13-year-old modeling a bikini. I guess fashion designers like her because they design clothing for women with no breasts and no hips - just like normal 13-year-olds!

FUN MISCELLANEOUS.

I found this picture here. There's another fun ones there as well.

Jeff Parker has been blogging about the bridges of Portland. Well, I find it interesting.

French surgeons removed a woman's gall bladder ... through her vagina. Wow. I found this at Ace of Spades, where there's some other weird news for your enjoyment.

Is this history's most wicked woman?
Read about her at the link and judge for yourself!

Why you need to watch what you say around children.

Blogger Play lets you view every single photograph uploaded to Blogger. It's mesmerizing and oddly touching, looking at peoples' lives flash by (you can pause it, too). I stole these two stunning photographs of New York from this post:

I found the link at The Giant Fighting Robot Report.

CHEESECAKE AND BEEFCAKE. I'M ALL ABOUT EQUAL TIME!

You know what you need in your life? A calendar featuring Mormon men without their shirts on:
This is causing some consternation among the Church elders, as you might expect. Sheesh, lighten up, people! Part of the proceeds go to the charities that the missionaries were involved with on their missions. The calendar, as you might expect, is big in the gay community.

I know this is a shameless excuse to post a picture of college girls in bikinis, but does this really look like a swim team?
One of them is wearing a belt, for crying out loud! And don't they look a bit, um, chesty for a swim team? I stole the picture from here after seeing it at With Leather.

Tom's latest Object of His Affection (full list here!) is Olivia Munn:
I usually have at least a marginal reason for posting attractive women, but not this time. I just think she looks pretty darned good in that costume.

That's it for this week. I hope you like the links, because I very much doubt they will appear again. Savor them! Remember: the Internet is a wild and wacky place. It's always fun to zip around it!