My Mother Has a Band Called Helicopter

Links of note. Probably the last one of the year.

Ghosts of capitalism past: a photo gallery of abandoned shopping malls.

The A.V. Club’s 2009 Year in Band Names.

Crazy freaky Japanese mermaid illustrations.

From Tofutti Break, one of my single favorite images of all time. (Turn your eyes to the right to see it.)

Estonia does The Simpsons.

Two lengthy but worthwhile reads from Wikipedia: a list of band name etymologies and a list of brand name etymologies.

Another sort of Wiki-interesting: the page on spite houses.

Days after I learned the word escabeche from Top Chef, I was pointed toward this cool little post on the speculated etymological connections between this escabeche, ceviche and other fish dishes.

“Bowie Stationelle.”

And from the DVD set for the second season of Look Around You, an amazing little short titled “Birds of Britain.”

If you want, follow my Google Reader shared clips here.