1. A Gizmodo writer went on two dates with a guy she met on OK Cupid and then wrote a post about how he was a loser for being a world class Magic The Gathering player and not mentioning it in his profile (or maybe she had a different motivation for going on the dates). He participated in an interesting q&a at Reddit. Also funny: Top Signs You’re on a Date With a Gizmodo Writer, including "refers to post-dinner plans as 'occurring after the jump'."



2. Hotel elevator with separate buttons for staff and guests.



3. How to report scraper sites to Google. Via.



4. Lime green couch wallpaper. Via.

READ MORE - Link roundup

1. "A huge underground river appears to be flowing thousands of feet beneath the Amazon River, Brazilian scientists said Thursday." Via. UPDATE: Or maybe not.



2. "A Jewish charity co-founder who claimed he crisscrossed the globe rescuing Torahs as a 'Jewish Indiana Jones' surrendered Wednesday to face mail and wire fraud charges after authorities said he duped benefactors by fabricating dramatic stories about sometimes dangerous trips, including to concentration camp sites in Poland and Germany."



3. On Monday, I'm going to give away $25 Threadless credits to three of my Tumblr followers. (Most of the content I post there does not appear here.)

READ MORE - Link roundup

I watched a terrific episode of House Hunters International last night, focusing on Holly Beck's quest to find the perfect spot in Nicaragua for her swim school/yoga retreat. The two rejected houses were magnificent inside and out, but she ended up picking the one that promised the most adventure and best surfing.



I learned that in Nicaragua (and apparently throughout Central America), you're only going to have a hot shower with a "suicide shower" - - the water is heated with electricity and the wires are typically exposed like this:











Here's a well-edited video showing off her school/retreat:







And here's a few more videos showing that the retreat really deserves its own tv show:

READ MORE - Suicide showers and Holly Beck's swim school

Escher bunk beds.







Teamwork.







Distant cousins.







Sweet picture, but this is better: Prince Philip quotes: Relive 90 classic gaffes to mark his 90th birthday.







Terrifying stairs.

READ MORE - Image roundup

1. Walt Disney Animation Studios chief technical officer Andy Hendrickson, in a talk at the Siggraph conference Sunday:

People say 'It's all about the story,'" Hendrickson said. "When you're making tentpole films, bullshit." Hendrickson showed a chart of the top 12 all-time domestic grossers, and noted every one is a spectacle film. Of his own studio's "Alice in Wonderland," which is on the list, he said: "The story isn't very good, but visual spectacle brought people in droves. And Johnny Depp didn't hurt."

Via.



2. Praise for the free typing game Type Hard.



3. "Glass Beach is a beach in MacKerricher State Park near Fort Bragg, California that is abundant in sea glass."

READ MORE - Link roundup

1. "[I]n South Asia, millions remain victims of a wicked form of slavery known as peshgi, or bonded labour. Human Rights Watch estimated as far back as 1999, that India was home to some 40 million bonded labourers. In Pakistan, over one million bonded labourers are currently enslaved in the brick kiln industry alone." Via.

2. Knock-off Ikea store in China. Via.

3. Monastery at dusk. Hell's escalator.

READ MORE - Link roundup

1. "Grocery Outlet, Supermarket Chain Where Oddball Products End Up." (Oddball products like Cleavage Creek wine.)

2. Relationship advice.

3. "Book Of 'Roadside Prostitutes' Made Entirely With Google Street View."

READ MORE - Link roundup

1. The five finalists in the Bioshock Infinite t-shirt design contest.

2. "Use seawater or vinegar to treat jellyfish stings, not urine."

3. "Artist EVOL Installs Miniature City Underneath Grassy Field."

4. Jess Nevins's Annotations to League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume III Chapter Two, a.k.a. Century: 1969 (10% off at TFAW).

READ MORE - Link roundup

Valve mascot cosplay.



Man-eating bus.




Emma Stone (and Jimmy Fallon and the entire studio audience) vs. the shake weight.



Chimp feeding a tiger cub.



Gas Mask Tourism on the Izu Islands. Via.

READ MORE - Image roundup (and one video)

1. Llama overlooking Machu Picchu.

2. Apparently I need to eat at Black Market Liquor Bar in Studio City. Via.

3. Another Google+ horror story. I have no idea why they delete not only your G+ account, but also your Google Reader account.

4. And this is why Google wants so bad to force people to use their real names on their social service. Via.

READ MORE - Link roundup

North Korea is like an Escher drawing.




Best friends.




Batmobile limousine.




Love.




Children's section entrance in the Cerritos Millenium Library in California.




Confident ninjas.

READ MORE - Image roundup

1. It wasn't (just) an iceberg that sank the Titanic. Via.

2. Two really cool Google Street view events. Click ahead one step to see sudden winter and the rapture. Via.

3. The SWAT team that protects NASA.

*Buy patches at eBay.

READ MORE - Link roundup

1. File away this prediction by Bill Simmons:

Best-case scenario: NBA season starts in Feb. And that's the best-case scenario. I don't think I've ever been more disenchanted with Stern.

2. Map of time capsules buried under Los Angeles. Via.

3. More 3A Toys news:

ThreeA is proud to announce that it has partnered with amazing Japanese artist Kow Yokoyama to produce Maschinen Krieger in both 1/12 and 1/6 scale! If you think you know Maschinen Krieger think again - ThreeA is about to bring you a whole new world.

Furthermore we will be producing figures for the upcoming blockbuster Reel Steel in 1/6th scale. The Reel Steel movie directed by Shawn Levy stars our own boy from Oz, Hugh Jackman.

4. "The Billionaire Sheikh Who Carved His Name Into an Island." (You can see it from space.)

*At Toycutter: Custom 3A Toys.

*Buy 3A Toys at eBay.

READ MORE - Link roundup

"Suddenly, a 9-meter Sand fountain (geyser) apparead, in the Al-Ahsae City, Eastern Saudi Arabia." Via.

READ MORE - Giant sand geyser in Saudi Arabia

1. It's 60% off posters at Zazzle with the code ZBDAYPOSTERS -- I recommend posters by Steve Thomas, Franco Brambilla, and Adam Koford.

2. Apparently there are 60,000 unsolved murders in Rio de Janeiro, and 24,000 victims haven't even been identified. Via.

3. An assertion that China will lose interest in the NBA with Yao Ming retiring. (It's certainly interesting that there's been no other Chinese players to make an impact in the NBA since him.) Via.

4. Portal to another world. And a similar photo from the same street.

5. Remastered children's books of questionable taste.

READ MORE - Link roundup

1. Two great photos of Hang En Cave, Vietnam.

2. House for sale in Utah that looks like Carl and Ellie’s home from Pixar's Up.

3. Scan of an Elektra story by Frank Miller. (Site is NSFW.)

*Buy Elektra toys at eBay.

READ MORE - Link roundup

Incredible photograph by Juan Carlos Casado. Why does the volcano's shadow look like a giant pyramid? Click through for an explanation. It's like the highway of the gods. Via.

READ MORE - Magic pyramid in real life

Duckling.



Sleeping polar bear.



Farewell.



Hearse.



Tiny monkey.



Spider-Man.



Chameleon.



Spirited Away, perhaps.



Please do not sit on crocodile.

READ MORE - Image roundup

Occupational School Center Munich, Germany.

*Previously: The Site of Reversible Destiny.

READ MORE - Wild basketball court

1. It's mildly interesting from a karmic standpoint that the National Enquirer supposedly videotaped To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen cheating on his wife. It's more interesting to wonder who tipped them off so they could get the scoop.

2. Photo gallery of China's 26-mile Jiaozhou Bay bridge (the current longest ocean bridge in the world). Via.

3. Scientists think these ants raise other bugs for food. Via.

READ MORE - Link roundup