Some linky goodness to tide you through

Another long weekend for me (family matters), and hopefully the last for a while, as I'm downright tired of traveling. To tide you through a postless Friday, a few bits of silliness collected in recent weeks:

• I have to admit that the biathlon has always amused me, but I recognize that its quirky combination of skiing with sharp-shooting probably captures some skill combination once critical to survival in wintery climes. Even that leaves me completely unprepared for the modern strangeness that is chess-boxing (yes, they pause between rounds for timed chess moves). I guess it favors those whose defenses are good enough to stave off muddle-headedness...
  (via NPR's "Whadya Know?")
  
  
• Here's a little film satire positing that Bush's verbal gaffs and hesitations are all part of a fiendishly clever public relations/image plan.
  (via Booknotes)
  
  
• The New Yorker offers a wonderful pan of pretentious restaurants.

  The chef is also offering a personal favorite, his hot spiced rocks. These are igneous and sedimentary varietals, half-washed and heated to nine hundred degrees Fahrenheit, then gleefully sprinkled with international peppers.

  It's all too wonderful.
  (via kottke)
  
  
• For those striving for a simple route to cool, here are directions on how to shuffle cards with only one hand.
  (via Medley)
  
  
• And finally, here's a strange and amusing blog whose name only begins to hint at its reach: Libelous Claims About Large Corporations.
  (via Philadelphia Will Do)