Went to the Creative Time exhibit STRANGE POWERS this past weekend. The show includes pieces made to have a paranormal effect on the world, including spells, talismanic objects, and apparitions...all presented in a supposedly haunted building on the lower east side. (Boo!)

A very cool theme with some pretty interesting pieces...mixed in with some not so interesting. There's even a pitch black room supposedly inhabited by the spirit of one of the exhibiting artists. (What do you mean, did I go in?) The show's around until September 17th and definitely worth a look.

Two very interesting posts on Neatorama recently...

The Wonderful World of Early Photography takes you from the world's first photograph (a process then called heliography) through the days of the first portrait, photomontage, aerial photograph and moving pictures, all the way to Playboy retouching Anna Nicole for the first time (actually not that far)...watch the birdie.

And you've seen the Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs. Well this is what it would look like if the History Channel had bought the show. In the Worst Jobs in History, you can obviously read about the crossing sweepers, but it's the leech collectors, nit pickers, gut girls and sin eaters (yummy) that got my attention. Makes your complaints about the wrong size staples seem a bit petty, huh?

No reason...just thought you'd like to know.

A simple yet ingenious idea that someone should market. Drinking Chess. I can’t read the rules, but its not hard to figure out: 1. Fill pieces with liquor, 2. when your piece is taken, drink it. This would be as much fun to watch as it would be to participate! Sure beats Chess Boxing.

CNN has published a report on the growth of internet usage. The USA has the biggest number of Internet Users (twice as many as any other nation), followed by China (how ya gonna keep ‘em down on the farm...), but Sweden has the highest percentage of citizens online, at 73%. The list of Top Ten Internet Activities doesn’t include either of mine, blogging and flirting. Internet growth is encouraging, until you see the Top Ten Google Searches.

Almost time for the fall tv season, which means it's almost time for Lost. I've put it on hold for the past few weeks, not wanting to get too involved in the whole Lost Experience thing, but a bunch of people have been playing all through the summer, and you wouldn't believe how complex this thing has gotten. These people are REALLY into the show.

The most recent fan activity seems to have been gathering 70 video clips, and piecing them together to make one long video. This is 57 of the 70 clips pieced together, and it explains exactly what the island was created for, as well as a peek at what's happening now (trying to save the world at any cost kinda stuff). The last few pieces are being released this week.

How do you get the clips? I think it's from the codes printed on some of those Apollo Bars that have been given out (or maybe not). You can see some of the happy Apollo Bar collectors here. They're giving out more of the bars this Wednesday from noon to 6pm in front of the ABC studio in Times Square. Maybe you could be the next happy bar collector on the site. Look for the Apollo Jeep, next to the free Lost Experience Sprite, next to the Verizon...you get the idea.

By the way, those who HAVE been following the game...please comment if I have anything wrong, or if you have more info on Alvar, on Rachel, on Persephone, on Joop, etc.

I have to admit, I totally missed the whole soap opera going on this summer about LonelyGirl15...and for this, I'm thankful. When I start following a 15 year old's love life, it's time to put the laptop away and find a new hobby. But now I'm interested because it looks like this whole thing has been set up.

After reading about Bree for the first time on AdFreak, I started looking through all the other articles about her. Other articles? Who would waste their time writing about a teenager's YouTube videos? Try New York Magazine, the LA Times, Business Week, the New York Times and Times Online. It appears that when you take this home-schooled, attention-starved lonely girl, her boyfriend DanielBeast, their sock puppet (don't ask), and then the dozens of people making their own videos in response, you get an example of a new trend called "wikiTV", and some say it's just beginning.

If this was all a set-up (which is probably the case, as a domain for a tribute website was purchased a month before Bree started making videos), it's a really good one, and I'll be interested to see who takes credit (latest speculation is that it's group of actors looking to make it big). If not, then she's pretty freaking talented, and probably bound for hollywood. Either way, I still need a new hobby.

- In the end, it was a stingray and not a crocodile that did him in. Steve Irwin has just passed on.
- Bill Maher's really at the top of his game. This week's New Rules feature the Jon Benet guy's pants.
- The CNN anchor caught dishing on her "control-freak" sister-in-law did the top ten on Letterman.
- If you spent 30 days straight in the audience at the Colbert Report, what kind of effect would it have?
- And Rod Serling wishes he could write like this. The army supplies full-size cut-outs to family members.