…reviews a new book about today’s up-‘n’-coming miniature art forms, including film clips and trailers, websites, and even banner ads. (The book being reviewed is apparently not yet available Stateside.)

ADVENTURES in celebrity name misspellings.

ANOTHER DIGITAL DIVIDE FALLS: More and more women are getting hooked on that onetime geeks-only craze, online gaming.

EXPLORE WILLFULLY-FORGOTTEN MEMORIES of Saturday mornings past at Bad Cartoons of the ’80s.

…to lovely equinoxic Seattle. Apparently, y’all have had New York-style late-winter weather while the NY area, where I was these past 5.5 days, had very Seattle-esque weather (steady rain, low clouds, and only warm enough to not snow).

In the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, I ended up finishing 150th out of approximately 412 entrants using the tournament’s complex accuracy-and-speed scoring system. (Out of the 145 first-time entrants, I finished 21st.) It was a good weekend; I stayed at a good hotel room, met a lot of others who share the odd hobby of speed-solving, made some contacts, got some advice re: putting my own X-Word back into national syndication, and scored several interesting puzzle books.

There was one downbeat point to the week, however. My lovely Olympus digital camera disappeared in the Stamford hotel. After being warned repeatedly by my mom and others to watch all my material belongings in big bad Manhattan, I lose my fourth-costliest possession in the heart of the whitebread suburbs. (Further details to follow.)

…writers, and speakers: A systematic examination of logical fallacies. (Found by Fark.)

THOSE OF YOU who looove written English as composed by non-native-English speakers will undoubtedly enjoy this instruction sheet from a box of imported Chinese “stop-smoking” tea bags. (Warning: 235K .jpg file!)

(Edna Gundersen in USA Today on Jennifer Lopez’s J. Lo CD): “If Lopez ever selects material suitable for her vocal range, she’ll be a mime.”

WHY CORPORATE “NICESPEAK” (the balderdash of mission statements, quests for excellence, et al.) is different from Orwell’s “Newspeak,” but just as truth-evading.

IF YOU LIKE the MISCboutique (and I can’t see why you wouldn’t), you’ll be equally excited about the site’s next shopping opportunity. Very soon (just in time for the holidays), you’ll be able to get your very own hi-quality prints of some of the vivid color photos you’ve seen here. Every home should have several. More details to come.

NAOMI KLEIN comments on the eerie connections between the war and the “intellectual property” cartel.

TAKE PRONOUNCIATION AUDIO CLIPS from an online dictionary, set them to music, and you get Dictionaraoke!

AN EMAIL CORRESPONDENT suggested I look up September 1, 1939, a poem by W.H. Auden about the reactions he witnessed in NYC to the outbreak of WWII in Europe:

“All I have is a voice

To undo the folded lie,

The romantic lie in the brain

Of the sensual man-in-the-street

And the lie of Authority

Whose buildings grope the sky:

There is no such thing as the State

And no one exists alone;

Hunger allows no choice

To the citizen or the police;

We must love one another or die.”

A UGANDA-BASED relief site offers a list of “Ways to Help America.”

AN EMAIL CORRESPONDENT passed along a quotation from David Foster Wallace’s novel Infinite Jest, concerning things one can learn in rehab:

“No single moment is in and of itself unendurable.”

P-I COLUMNIST ANTHONY ROBINSON WRITES:

“In the longer term, nobility and morality shall be found in restraint rather than in simply unleashing American power and violence in retaliation or retribution.”

OFFICIAL NOTICE: As of Monday, it’s officially OK to complain about Bush again.

PHOTO-REPORTAGE DEPT.: At Friday’s bombing memorial at Westlake, a man made and brought a matchstick model of the towers…

…while a woman took a ball-point pen to the manila envelope she was holding, and made an impromptu sign reading “AN EYE FOR AN EYE WILL MAKE THE WORLD BLIND.”

Later that afternoon, a bagpiper serenaded the people placing flowers at Alki Beach’s Statue of Liberty replica…

…where someone had left a desktop-published plea to “move forward and live well.”

At the firefighters’ memorial in Pioneer Square, more flowers honor the fallen NYC firefighters.

At the memorial floral display in the Seattle Center International Fountain, where hundreds brought flowers and displays, someone placed a homemade flag with the American Airlines logo…

…while a chalk artist made a plea to move beyond calls for vengeance.

AT BAILEY-COY BOOKS last night, local author Rebecca Brown carried on with her previously-scheduled reading promoting Excerpts from a Family Medical Dictionary (Grey Spider Press), a short nonfiction narrative about taking care of her dying mother. Brown opened the event by telling why she declined to cancel it–because her book is largely about the grieving process, something we all must go through now.

Brown added that the nature of the N.Y. and D.C. attacks, with so many deaths, occuring so suddenly, and with so many bodies that might never be recovered, makes the grieving process even more difficult. Brown and her mother had both known the mother’s end was coming, and were able to psychologically and emotionally prepare themselves; then afterwards, the family was able to gather and celebrate the mother’s life.

Excerpts, by the way, is highly recommended. It’s currently available only in a 500-copy limited edition, made on an old fashioned letterpress and hand-bound, in keeping with Brown’s emphasis on the personal touch and intimate care.

CHRIS ESTEY WRITES:

“Nice Michael Moore quotes, but to add to your ‘videos of movies that won’t be revived any time soon’ list:

Hardcore band that won’t see reissue for awhile: Fearless Iranians from Hell.”

UPDATES: Except for some college football games, major sports won’t resume until Monday. All canceled Major League Baseball games will be rescheduled for the week after the previously-set end of the regular season, which means the Mariners will still be able to attempt an all-time win record… One by one, the non-news cable channels that had switched to disaster coverage or signed off altogether are returning to regular fare today.

MORBID ASIDE #6: The Letterman show will have to create a new opening segment, sans the main NYC skyline shot. What’s more, the show’s whole flippant-ironic attitude may have to be altered, along with its ‘Fun City’ portrayal of life on the streets of Manhattan.

Thanks to Comedy Central, I just realized the perfect fictional portrayal of George W. Bush, decades before the fact–Charles Grodin’s act as a Saturday Night Live guest host who, in a running-gag storyline, didn’t realize it was live and didn’t show up until the day of the show. The gag climaxed with Grodin stumbling through a fake public-service ad, “Hire the Incompetent.”

ELSEWHERE:

“Instant Ramen–The Invention That Changed the 20th Century World” (found by Larkfarm).

The amazing breadth and scope of Yugoslav cuss words….

(From a post by James Beniger to the “Triumph of Content” e-mail list): “DISCLAIMER: ABSOLUTELY NO human beings used in the creation, production, or distribution of this Internet discussion list are the result of human cloning, in accordance with the wishes of the United States House of Representatives. All persons associated with the creation and maintenance of this list are certified products of the federal government’s approved process: Missionary position, lights out, male on top, all eyes closed, and all thoughts on civic responsibilities. In fact, the mere hint that humans might come to life by any other means than these we find–editorially and personally–to be both morally reprehensible and downright disgusting.”

The new MISC magazine goes to the printer today. And it’s a beaut, if I do say so myself. Just gorgeous. You gotta get one. Seriously.

There’s a release party for it Sat., Aug. 11, 5-8 p.m. at the Belltown Underground Art Gallery, 2211 1st Ave. (where our photo exhibit is still up by popular demand). Be there or be… well, you know.

LESS ARTIFICE, MORE INTELLIGENCE: Here’s the haunting original short-short story behind the bloated blockbuster movie A.I.

UPDATE: Turns out others besides Dave Winer are interested in the idea of dissolving criminal corporations. Those wacky Vancouverites at Adbusters magazine are also proposing it.

THE FINE PRINT (on the back of a Spoon Size Shredded Wheat box): “POST is committed to nurturing and championing the well-being of families across America. Our families, like yours, have challenges and triumphs. We celebrate both the big and small events–the everyday joys and moments that sustain us. We’d love to hear from you about the things that help make a difference in your family.” [Then, in almost unreadably tiny type:] “Comments and materials submitted become the property of Kraft Foods and may be used by Kraft Foods without compensation to the submitter.”

TALES FROM THE INTELLECTUAL-PROPERTY INDUSTRY: Michael Jackson currently owes Sony Music $30 million! If the major-label system doesn’t work for even one of its (formerly) most lucrative artists, for whom the hell does it work?