“The Listening Project” is a full-length documentary that explores the impact of the US’s global influence – politically, economically, and socially. A crew of Americans traveled the globe, from Canada to South Africa to Pakistan, to find out what the international opinion of the US really is. This website provides a trailer, a synopsis, photos, and video clips from each of the fourteen countries visited. The people interviewed each offer their unique opinion of the existing globalization; there are teachers, musicians, young professionals, and a group of French middle-schoolers that classified Americans as “…rich, powerful and fat.”

“The Listening Project” is a full-length documentary that explores the impact of the US’s global influence – politically, economically, and socially. A crew of Americans traveled the globe, from Canada to South Africa to Pakistan, to find out what the international opinion of the US really is. This website provides a trailer, a synopsis, photos, and video clips from each of the fourteen countries visited. The people interviewed each offer their unique opinion of the existing globalization; there are teachers, musicians, young professionals, and a group of French middle-schoolers that classified Americans as “…rich, powerful and fat.”

I stumbled across this slick looking pure electric car that is both sporty and environmentally friendly. Furthermore, unlike other electric sport car concepts, this car is actually already in production with a luxury price of $98,000. Imagine driving something more fuel efficient the a Prius, and as sporty as a Porsche. This is the wave of the future, and the future looks bright!

We've all heard nutrition buzz-phrases on the Internet, TV, and in other media, but how worthwhile is it to actually use these as a guideline for healthy eating? In the linked video, author and journalist Michael Pollan talks to a room of Google employees about his thoughts on food, nutrition, and food culture in America. He openly admits that he doesn't have any hardline answers, but simply presents a few facts, speaks about his own analysis, which is very intriguing, and tries to instill a heuristic mindset in the viewers when it comes healthy, nutritious eating and its benefits.

As a nerd who occasionally dons a tinfoil hat, my literary interests naturally include dystopian fiction. A new fiction by Cory Doctorow is being released as a free ebook under a Creative Commons license. I admit I haven't yet read Little Brother, but the subject matter has me quite excited. In a nutshell, the novel details the dangers of trading liberties and privacy for (a sense of) security, and does so in a relevant, contemporary fashion. Hopefully it will find acceptance among its target audience, late teens, who tend to be wary of nontrivial entertainment. Click through for a description and download links.

IMing and Twitter aren't for everyone, and believe-it-or-not, it's not just about taking a curmudgeonly luddite stance — there actually are valid, practical reasons for always being marked AWAY (or, indeed, never installing an IM client at all). As Joe Kissell discusses in this thoughtful piece, some of those reasons may make enough sense that even the seriously IM-addicted might want to reconsider their habit.

You may have ironed a Kenneth Cole shirt on top of a marble table top in a jiffy, but have you ever tried to get a wrinkle out of a blazer whilst on top of the highest peak in Britain? Ian Ambrose has, and the BBC recently reported on the extreme ironing activities of this former soldier in this online article.

Well at least sometimes they do. This very interesting and fun collection provides hours of Optical Illusions & Visual Phenomena pleasure. One of the best parts of the site is that each one of the illusions is explained -- so you know (at least in part) why you are seeing what you think you're seeing. A really fun site and a great tool for understanding the tricks our eyes and brains play on us!

My Monday morning blog-rounds are especially delicious because of 3 Quarks Daily; each Monday they present original and quirky writings on science, design, literature, current affairs, art and anything else "inherently fascinating." From sleep apnea to Facebook poetry, the columns never cease to introduce visitors to things we may have never learned without it. The rest of the time, this blog culls other interesting items from the Monster Web, such as an article on the politics of renaming in New York from the February 25th edition of the New York Times. The site's most important factor is its seeming randomness, a liberal arts way of looking at "stuff from all over," that makes it a great daily visit for any curious mind.

The New York Times presents a visual masterpiece depicting the human form via organs, muscle, tissue, and everything in between. Find out what a pancreas looks like, or how your brain cortex connects to your spine. A fascinating, if slightly yucky, presentation.

Fictionarium.com was created to link authors, not alphabetically, but by likeness. If you enjoyed one author, you can just click their genre and find a new author with similar qualities! You can also add new authors to help others find new books. Check out the "featured author" for something different! This site allows people to find something new to read, while basically guaranteeing a book you’ll like.

The Guardian recently published this series of portraits by Walter Schels and Beate Lakotta. The photographs are part of an exhibit showing at the Wellcome Collection from April 9 to May 18. The exhibit consists of a series of photographs taken by Schels and Lakotta of people before and after death. Interviews were conducted with each subject during the portrait session, and an excerpt from that interview accompanies each photograph. This is an extremely moving study on life and death that inspires thought and reflection in those who view it. For more information, follow the link on the Guardian page to visit the Wellcome Collection’s site.

With the price of gas going up almost daily, it is nice to know where the cheapest gas in town is. Well, GasBuddy.com is hear to help. Although the site is rather busy, there is a veritable cornucopia of information about gas prices available here. From the front page, visitors can click on their state (or Canadian Territory or Province) of choice. From there they simply need to enter in a zip code or choose a county for an instant list of prices. The search can be narrowed down by area or station as well. The site also provides a price snapshot which shows where prices were the previous day, week, month, and year. Should you want to join the fight on high gas prices, you can sign up to become a gas price spotter or just join one of the forums.

Is that new George Clooney movie being filmed in your neighborhood? When was the last time that restaurant around the corner was paid a visit from the health department? Can I find photographs of the corner of Columbus and Broadway and North Beach? EveryBlock has answers to these queries, and many, many more. The site was started in January 2008, and it pulls data from government proceedings, daily media reports, and other sources to offer a very specific profile of neighborhoods and ZIP codes across Chicago, San Francisco, and New York. All visitors need to do is type in an address, zip code, or neighborhood and they can browse around items of note to their heart's content. It's quite a bit of fun, and visitors can even learn about building permits, liquor licenses, and of course, restaurant inspections.

This site offers the curious and curmudgeon alike something to enjoy. Presented by the Public Broadcasting Service, this page details American English regionalisms, the effects of technology on language, the social value of accents (or lack thereof), and much more. Be sure to check out the phenomenon that linguists refer to as the Northern Cities Shift to understand why we in the Midwest speak the way we do, and the reason for the "R-less" Southern dialects.