The new Ricky Gervais movie, The Invention of Lying has a trailer. Great premise: everybody tells the absolute truth all the time until Gervais' character discovers lying. (via kottke)

Richard Feynman explains, in his inimitable fashion, how trains stay on the tracks. (via kottke)

Could this guy be more fun to watch? Usain Bolt turns in a 19.59 in Lausanne, in the rain, into a headwind. The Science of Sport has some good commentary.

I do enjoy the occasional break for blowing lots of stuff up. Vector Boom fits the bill nicely. Can’t get past level 8.

Ze Frank has been posting videos again, after a long, long break from The Show (which I still miss). Of the new videos, Five People is the first one where he really rediscovers his groove, I think. Very funny, it’s been too long.

Instant classic from The Onion: 90% Of Waking Hours Spent Staring At Glowing Rectangles.

Very interesting article from Kelly Baggett, 7 Modern Day Myths About Plyometrics. Here’s more about the Iso Extension Stim(ies) he mentions.

Ricky Jay manages to squeeze a ton into his op-ed on Susan Boyle. He draws comparisons with Mathew Buchinger:

Buchinger demonstrated his skill on more than a half-dozen musical instruments (some of his own invention), danced a hornpipe and performed conjuring tricks with cups and balls, cards and dice. In front of the lord provost he fashioned a pen and with it produced a fine calligraphic document of the coat of arms of the city. The year was 1726. Buchinger was 52 years old, 29 inches tall — and, he had neither legs nor arms.

… in how appearance influences expectations. He also touches on Thomas Quasthoff,
Thomas Britton, Joshua Bell’s subway stint, a Joni Mitchell song, Cardini, and Steve Martin (as The Great Flydini, a routine Jay helped create).

What could be better than Shatner’s iconic “Khaaaan!” scene? How ‘bout stretching it out into a 15-minute standalone video

Bill Simmons has a great piece on the collapse of David Ortiz.

Really nicely designed game to while away a little time: ClickPlay! The consensus over at Jay is Games seems to be that the “star shine” level is frustrating, so consider yourselves warned.

Always drop what you’re doing when a new Atul Gawande piece comes down the pike, this time for his take on the wide range of health care costs across the country, what factors influence that, and what a huge problem it is:

Spending on doctors, hospitals, drugs, and the like now consumes more than one of every six dollars we earn. The financial burden has damaged the global competitiveness of American businesses and bankrupted millions of families, even those with insurance. It’s also devouring our government. “The greatest threat to America’s fiscal health is not Social Security,” President Barack Obama said in a March speech at the White House. “It’s not the investments that we’ve made to rescue our economy during this crisis. By a wide margin, the biggest threat to our nation’s balance sheet is the skyrocketing cost of health care. It’s not even close.”