Daily View, 12/10

• This is what's wrong with the world, man:
  Teen boy #1: No, the gold one is called 'CD3' or something. The little one is, like, 'R4M23.'
  Teen boy #2: I think the gold robot was named 'R3DM24.' It was the small one that was 'C-something.'
  Teen boy #3: No, man, the gold guy was 'C3DDO,' and the little silver one was 'RH52' or some shit.
  Frustrated 30-something lady behind them: The gold one is 'C3PO' and the smaller one is 'R2-D2'!
  Teen boy #2: Oh, thanks -- you can tell we're not Trekkies.
  Overheard (not by me, thankfully, or there would have been an asswhuppen) on the M15 bus


• Scary Poppins


• Amazing bird videos: try to resist the gravity-defying Mandarin ducklings. And, for good measure, the popular lyre bird who can imitate sounds of electronics (the payoff is near the end).


• Wtf? Well, why not. There should be more mashups of animal skeleton and modern gadgetry.


• Good lord, you're not actually allowed to say "meet-cute", for fuck's sake! The Onion reviews The Holiday. While I'm interested in the absurdity of the Winslet-Black pairing and will be glad to see Jude Law on handsome auto-pilot, there are things about it that are absolutely repellant (Diaz, the genre, etc.). Am very wary, though I know I'll see it. Nice to have Kate Winslet around again—she was originally cast as Bridget Jones (had to drop out b/c of pregnancy and Renee Zellweger stepped in and made a mess) and this role hints at what she could have done with Bridget. Don't get me started.


• Never miss another concert with Tourfilter. I'd like to pretend I have enough of a social life to need this, but really... come on.


• Top Music Videos of 2006


• Slate examines the first season of 90210. I remember this season—it was the one where every episode had a moral lesson, before the whole thing became a soap opera and popular. In true nerd fashion, I was the only one watching the first season, and then the only one not watching after that. Sigh.


• That is a cool ass air matress. The Wovel, on the other hand...


• Man, I really want a Sun Jar. But they're sold out everywhere. So maybe I'll have to make my own...


• Apocalypto is out, wreaking havoc all over the place. I was interested in this from a nerd cultural anthro POV, but apparently it's not really about the Mayans at all... it's just about Mel Gibson's insatiable appetite for violence:
  "It teaches us nothing about Mayan civilization, religion, or cultural innovations. (Calendars? Hieroglyphic writing? Some of the largest pyramids on Earth?) Rather, Gibson's fascination with the Mayans seems to spring entirely from the fact (or fantasy) that they were exotic badasses who knew how to whomp the hell out of one another, old-school. You don't leave Apocalypto thinking of the decline of civilizations or the power of myth or anything much except, wow, that is one sick son of a bitch."
  Sigh. Meanwhile, the Village Voice sings a similar song, but chooses to focus on "sugar tit village" (nice, Hoberman).