Forgot the giant squid I'm always obsessing over. My new favorite nature pinup is the colossal squid. Even more, well, colossal and more dangerous than the giant squid, it has 8 arms and two tentacles that have up to 25 lethal hooks! We're talking "sharks with frickin' laser beams on their heads" territory.
Thanks to Hawaii Scott for forwarding this to me. I can't believe this isn't bigger news. I'd never even heard of the colossal squid before today. You probably haven't either. This is an oversight we must all strive to correct.

Smoking bans slash heart attacks

Story over at New Scientist. Personally, I don't care if others want to smoke, but my latest pet peeve is coming home from a bar or club smelling like a chimney. Maybe if all smokers would contribute a small tax which I could draw from for my dry cleaning bills.
Seriously, who would have thought New York would have a smoking ban earlier than Seattle? I'm moving.

I see colossal squids...and Elektra...and there's Auntie Em...

I took my first dose of mefloquine today. It's an anti-malaria pill, and one of its most common side effects is disturbing, strange, and/or unusually intense dreams. It's happened to me before, and after popping the pill this morning I've been somewhat woozy.
On the downside, there's a possibility I could end up like this poor German chap.
On the positive side, I discovered yesterday that Jennifer Garner filed for divorce from her husband. This, combined with the mefloquine, leaves the distinct possibility that I'll meet her in my dreams tonight. Her, and a colossal squid.

Leslie Cheung commits suicide

Fans of Hong Kong cinema are all familiar with Leslie Cheung. Shockingly, the acclaimed actor committed suicide Tuesday, leaving only a cryptic suicide note. Most know him for his roles in A Better Tomorrow, Chinese Ghost Story, Farewell My Concubine, Once a Thief, and The Bride with White Hair. Being a Wong Kar-Wai fan, I enjoyed his work in Ashes of Time, Happy Together, and Days of Being Wild.
He was at his best playing aloof, brooding, seemingly tortured souls. Sadly, perhaps this is one time life did imitate art. HKFlix has a very complete DVD filmography for Cheung.
On a side note, the publication of silly April Fool's Day stories on the web on April 1 has become a bit predictable, and when serious and somewhat shocking events do occur on April 1 their validity comes into question. I hesitated to link to this story at first because I thought there was a tiny chance it could be a prank.

North Korean dictator places triplets in orphanages

This sounds like a plot of an Asian martial-arts B-movie, like the ones in which the evil emperor drinks the urine of young boys to increase his kung-fu skill, but sadly it's true.
How comforting for those of us living in Seattle, the only major city within the outer range of his nuclear weapons.

What would it be like to be the last man on earth?

Not quite as good as it sounds. Highly entertaining read.
I recommend reading it while listening to Horowitz in Moscow. A great recording of a great recital.