Itโs Friday. (Pfew!) Time to take a time-out from tedium and flex a few fun muscles to get in shape for the weekend. Be careful, though, some of this weekโs Friday Five links can suck the time right out of your work day. So here we go, from the sublime to the ridiculous!
1. Shakespeare goes Hollywood. Sometimes impressions of famous people aren’t all that entertaining after the first moment or two. But Jim Meskimen reciting Clarenceโs speech from Richard III as, say, Christopher Walken or George Bush or Craig Ferguson? Well, youโve just gotย to see this.
2. You vs. the computer. If Rock-Paper-Scissors is your decision-making method of choice, then youโre going to love this interactive version from the New York Times online โSmarter Than You Thinkโ series. It may teach you a thing or two about … er … losing. Go on, choose โveteran.โ We dare you!
3. Can you wiggle your ears? Ever listen to Radiolabย on NPR? To illustrate โThe Obsessive Pleasures of โRadiolab,โโ the New York Times Sweet Sounds of Scienceย page posted some strikingย sound effects used to create big ideas. Warning: You’ll want to turn down your speakers before clicking on โThe Big Bang!โ (And will someone please explain the โhookโ maneuver to us?)
4. A whale of a good time. Now, while youโre in the listening mode, how aboutย using your computer keyboard toย sing to the humpback whales?ย “F, F, F, J” seemed to strike the right … umm … chord with our whale. (Do watch Optus’s whale songย inspiration video. Very cool.)
5. “So we drove on toward death through the cooling twilight.” And now for something completely silly: The Great Gatsby Game. Yeah, we know. But how can you resist an antic dash through the Gatsby mansion? Just remember that space jumps, z shoots andย arrow keys move right and left. Hit the fย key for full screen. (Note that in full-screen mode, tab shoots. Weird.)ย And look out for Dr. Ecklenberg’s glasses!