This guy refuses to say he’s the best sling-shot artist in the world, but I don’t see how he couldn’t be:

I’m not sure what the political relevance of this is, but I am sure that it’s awesome.

(h/t Begster)

Yesterday, I posted on the absurdity of Jonathan Chait’s claim that the Gaza incursion was morally justifiable even though it wasn’t going to work. Today, his partner in being named Jonathan and blogging at The Plank writes this:

Having just posted two separate items expressing concern, although not outrage, over the way Obama’s stimulus package is shaping up, I thought I should also point out two very smart arguments for why Obama’s decision is not just politically necessary but also politically astute.

What, as opposed to moves that are politically necessary, yet politically foolish? These are both bright guys, but I think there may be something in the water over at TNR this week.

Via Jonah Goldberg, here’s a list of the best ‘best of 2008′ lists. I’m not very impressed with any of the entries, so, by way of counterpoint, here is the worst best of 2008, from TNR’s roundup of its own best work:

Michael Idov argues that the “election” of Dmitri Medvedev was not really an election at all, but rather a further extension of Vladimir Putin’s power in an increasingly complacent Russia.

That’s some hard-hitting analysis, Michael. Stay tuned for the Best of the Despot 2008 - I think I have a post arguing that Israeli-Palestinian relations are suboptimal lying around somewhere.

Obama is live right now, talking about Ray Lahood and mass transit. If Matt Yglesias isn’t smiling right now, it’s impossible to know anything in this world.

Without speculating on the truth of the claims involved, I’d like to point out that this is pretty high on the list of headlines you never want to see written about you:

George Tenet, Drunk in Bandar’s Pool, Screaming about Jews

Uncool.

The Chicagoist notices an amazing resemblance:

Blagojevich Defends Palin’s Experience

It’s International Anti-Corruption Day. Really:

International Anti-Corruption Day is a time for political leaders, governments, legal bodies and lobby groups to work together against corruption work by promoting the day and the issues that surround this event. On this day anti-corruption advocates organize events to engage the general public to effectively fight against corruption and fraud in communities.

I don’t think this is what they had in mind, but nevertheless: mission accomplished.

(h/t Jonah Goldberg)

… is apparently in the ’super-senior tranche’ file of terms you’ll need to get a handle on if you want to know what’s going on with the economy these days. I am more amazed every day about how little anyone seems to know about what we’re going through.

Words fail:

(h/t Michelle Cottle)

There’s not much to this as a game, but it’s mesmerizing.

(h/t Jonah Goldberg)

If ever I saw it:

The two penguins have started placing stones at the feet of parents before waddling away with their eggs, in a bid to hide their theft.

But the deception has been noticed by other penguins at the zoo, who have ostracised the gay couple from their group. Now keepers have decided to segregate the pair of three-year-old male birds to avoid disrupting the rest of the community during the hatching season.

…

There are numerous examples of homosexuality in the animal kingdom, but gay penguins have captured the public’s attention more than any other species.

A German zoo provoked outrage from gay lobby groups after attempting to mate a group of gay male penguins with Swedish female birds who were flown in especially to seduce them. But the project was abandoned after the males refused to be “turned”, showing no interest in their would-be mates.

The Penguin Rights Campaign has drawn a lot of criticism for their failure to respond.

Not the kind Mark Krikorian likes to see shot, the little green kind. UFO enthusiasts are apparently hoping that this will finally be their time to shine. I quote Ben Smith in full, as there is really no part of this you can afford to miss:

Add this to John Podesta’s pile: A “million fax on Washington” directed by the head of the Extraterrestrial Phenomena Political Action Committee (X-PPAC) to demand that Obama “demand a full briefing from your military services and intelligence agencies regarding what they know and what they are doing about extraterrestrial related phenomena and “formally acknowledge the extraterrestrial presence and finally end the truth embargo after 61 years.”

X-PPAC’s executive director, Stephen Bassett, writes in his own open letter that he believes that the transition chief is a secret ally in this:

If you are in need of counsel to assist you in these matters, you have but to turn to your transition co-chair, John Podesta. His efforts to end the truth embargo and release all relevant government documents date back to at least 1993 and the Rockefeller Initiative. PRG believes he is fully aware of the extraterrestrial presence and is committed to creating more open, transparent governance. In this he is in sync with the chief financial backer of his Center for American Progress think tank, George Soros.

This is not a new theory. The response to Clinton Library Freedom of Information Law requests was delayed because the UFO people got there first, FOIAing, among other things, “All files on UFOs, Roswell New Mexico, flying saucers, Area 51 or the TV show X-Files in the files of John Podesta.”

X-PPAC reportedly is further heartened, this time around, by the likely presence of Bill Richardson in the new administration; during one debate, he called on the federal government to “come clean” on Roswell, though he later said he hadn’t meant to suggest he’s a believer.

If they’re here, they clearly have some neat technology that got them here. Let’s get Detroit cranking out ray guns and space ships.

From the Times of London, The 100 Best Films of 2008. 100! Just from 2008!

That is crazy, and there are indeed many bad films on their list (Be Kind Rewind? I like Mos Def too, but let’s be serious…). But there is something refreshing about the excecution of this particular list as we enter Best of the Year season: the movies are in alphabetical order. Well, actually, they’re in alphabetical order within two tiers, 5-star and 4-star, but there are only fiver in the former category. This means that you get the good part of such lists - tips about good things you might not know about - without the useless part - a pointless attempt to put a bunch of really good things into an ordinal ranking of goodness.

The balance is even worse with All-Time Best lists, where there are bound to be fewer things you didn’t already know about, and the selection and ordering is necessarily absurd. McSweeney’s sums it up well:

Top Ten Best Ever.

BY PETER FERLAND

- - - -

1. “Standard” by Generally Beloved

2. “Obvious” by Everyone’s List

3. “Understandable” by Debatable but Worthy

4. “Totally Obscure” by Feel Suddenly Inferior

5. “Universally Forgotten” by Curiously Vehement Reverence

6. Whole body of work by Your Ignorance Limits You

7. “Otherwise Underwhelming” by What Was Playing That Time Specific to Me When Everything Came Together Just as It Should Have

8. “Footnote” by Guess Which Were My Drugs

9. “Other-Culture Techno Trance Experience” by See How Well-Rounded I Am

10. “Children’s Version of See Above” by We’ve Got Kids Now