Link roundup

1. Thomas P.M. Barnett applauding the utilization of weaponized drones in Libya:

This sort of response sends a lot more signal than the heavy hardware or brigades. It says America will continue to fight as it always has: by generating more stuff than you can possibly imagine. The old model was big stuff. The new model is small and disposable and unmanned stuff. It comes with willpower attached. It's staying power is its dwell time.

China thinks it has a grip on the future with a carrier killer, but it's protecting itself from the 20th century. The name of the game going forward is what it has been these past two decades: globalization's advance, the remapping of fake states, the liberation of people long oppressed by their conditions and cruel leaders, and the new matrixing of supply chains and labor pools as this magnificent process continues to unfold.

2. Octopus ride. Via.

3. Writer discusses how incredibly easy it was to create a fake photograph of an iPhone 5, and get the photo on the main tech blogs.

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Image roundup

A Reddit user uploaded this photo of his/her grandparents:



And Reddit users added color:







Penguin throats are terrifying.




Jenga on a roller coaster.




Your cat wants you to buy comics.




Possum and babies.




Why does Saturn have a ring?

*Buy My Parents Were Awesome: Before Fanny Packs and Minivans, They Were People Too at Amazon.

Swarovski's crystal-themed museum

The entrance to Swarovski's crystal-themed theme park Kristallwelten/Crystal World features a giant head/fountain. Via.

*Buy Swarovski crystal at Amazon.

Link roundup

1. Six Flags is ditching most of its branded rides as a cost-cutting move:

The new-new name will be "Apocalypse" and the coaster itself will stay pretty much the same. But where Six Flags takes one in the pants, is they spent upwards of $1 million on the Terminator-themed intro in the queue. It included several animatronic Terminators and a training video featuring two of the film's stars, Common and Moon Bloodgood.

Six Flags will now remove all the Terminator robots and re-shoot the sequence to match the new Apocalypse theme. The coaster will officially no longer be Terminator: Salvation and bear its new name as of January 8, 2011.

Via.

2. McBess posted a wallpaper-sized version of the (NSFW) illustration he created for the cover of Nobrow 4. (Copies are available at Amazon.)

3. Michael Douglas is either dying or well on his way to recovery depending on which gossip magazine you read.

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