Teach Me How to Qaddafi

Slate has put together an excellent slideshow on the many "looks" of Muammar Qaddafi. As you click through, you may become confused, bewildered or dazed by glamor. If (when) this happens, refer to the handy "which one is Qaddafi" legend in the upper left corner.

Highlights:

[Slate]

Middle East Coverage

Al Jazeera is dominating American cable news in coverage of Libya and other revolution efforts across the Middle East.

In general, it's also a good resource for:

• people who watch the internet instead of the television
• people who care about news
• people who care about news outside of the U.S. / places where American reporters struggle for access

[Streaming at Al Jazeera TV (English)]

I'n Ho'nor o' President's''' Day'

Casting call for presidents! Highlights include:

[Full slideshow at Esquire]

Year of the Rabbit

Photo essay from The Atlantic:

Tomorrow, February 17th, is observed as the Lantern Festival - the 15th and final day of Chinese Lunar New Year festivities. The holiday is the most important annual celebration in China, when the nation largely shuts down as families gather together for reunions and feasts. More than 2.5 billion passenger trips by air, rail, bus or sea are taken around the holiday, according to the Chinese government. The Lantern Festival, or Yuan Xiao Jie, will complete the welcoming of the Year of the Rabbit - from the Chinese zodiac, indicating a year of caution and calm, with a quiet underlying strength and determination.

More at [The Atlantic]

Ballpoint Pen Drawings

Photorealistic portraits created by a Spanish artist using only a blue ballpoint pen...

[More at Juan Francisco Casas]

Origins of the Terrible Towel

Highlights:

• Initially, Cope did not want to participate, saying "I am not a gimmick guy, never have been a gimmick guy." However, after Garrett's suggestion that a successful gimmick would be good leverage for a raise in Cope's upcoming contract renewal, Cope replied, "I'm a gimmick guy."
• The Towel has been taken to the peak of Mount Everest, into space on the International Space Station and seen on Saturday Night Live.
• Myron Cope on pitching the idea: "I found Terry Bradshaw seated on a stool at his locker, reading the farm reports. 'How do you feel about the Terrible Towel?' I asked him. He looked up and said, 'Huh?' I check him off as a yes...I reported back to Ted Atkins that the Steelers overwhelmingly approved of the Towel."
  
  

   

  
  

  [Wikipedia]

Tech Tools & Prostitution

Sudhir Venkatesh was previously featured in Freakonomics for his undercover research on the economics of street gangs, which he conducted by earning gang members' trust and joining their community. Now he's taken this winning strategy to greener pastures - New York's high-end sex trade.

I followed 290 women, 170 of whom made enough (at least $30,000) to separate them from streetwalkers. I spent at least 12 months earning their trust, trying not to ask a lot of prying questions. Once they realized I wasn’t a cop or social worker, they usually told me their stories. I focused on financial questions first, because it made them feel validated as workers. How much did you earn this week? What expenses did you have? Do you save any money?

Discoveries that caught my eye:

• 47% of the escorts surveyed work in food services, another 43% in retail sales
• BlackBerries increase earning power by suggesting the worker is drug- and disease- free (70% use BlackBerries, 19% use iPhones)
• Escort agencies provide 31% of regular clients...Facebook provides 25%

 

[Wired]