I guess this is now a weekly thing. Every Thursday on Welcome to Blog = another round of random links.

- What happens when you toss a few thousand Star Wars geeks into Times Square and make them wait for hours outside of the world's biggest Toys 'R Us so they can purchase a Mr. Potatohead that comes packaged with a "Darth Tater" outfit? Click here for XE's four page, photo-clogged report.

- Speaking of SWGs, you've probably already heard about this but when was the last time you checked up on Jeff Tweiten, the fan that's been waiting in line in Seattle since New Years? Based on his most recent post, he may have turned into either a teenage girl or a middle-aged fat guy.

- Is this most useful search engine ever or just plain annoying? Click here and decide for yourself.

- It was only a matter of time but Jamster is gettin' sued for false advertising. Here's hoping the lawsuit will accelerate the company's inevitable downfall. There has never been a series of banner ads more annoying than the ones featuring Jamster's #@#!$!@! googly-eyed alien shark thing.

- Brother Justin (AKA actor Clancy Brown) is the voice behind Mr. Crabs and Lex Luthor? That's good to know, I guess.

- Hunter S. Thompson's ashes will indeed be shot out of 53-foot-high sculpture of his "gonzo fist" emblem. The launch date is tentatively set for sometime in August. Click here more info. That first link leads to a rough sketch drawn in the late '70s by Ralph Steadman for a BBC documentary on the late journalist.

- In one short week Sploid and its callous headlines have proven to be more informative and trashy than an entire year's worth of The Drudge Report. Take this story from The Guardian, for example, which ran with a "Pope-sicle" headline. Bless your foul, black heart, Nick Denton.

- This is a photo of Burt Reynolds all dressed up as Boss Hog in the new Dukes of Hazzard remake set for release in June. More information and this same photo without the terrible resolution? They're both over here.

- Pete passed along a great link to a blog filled with news stories from post-WW2 Los Angeles. Sure, it sounds boring but wait until you read...aw, shucks. It looks like I've misplaced the link and a Google search isn't turning up anything. This one will have to wait until next week.

- And, finally, there's this. Here's an excerpt:

"Apes on television and in the movies have something in common with their human costars—their wide, toothy grins. The apes, however, are 'smiling' in terror. To them, acting is strange, upsetting, and often torturous. Most people do not know that the chimpanzee 'grin' so often seen in movies and on TV is actually a grimace of fear or a carefully choreographed response to a command."

Free the monkeys
'Cause they can't free themselves
Free those lovable, huggable monkeys
They're ain't no bananas in them cells


Well, I think it would make a great protest anthem.

I'll be back on Sunday with more of the same