The scholarly journal The American Book Review has a list what it considers to be the best last lines from novels. A few samples:

7. He loved Big Brother. –George Orwell, 1984 (1949)

21. If I were a younger man, I would write a history of human stupidity; and I would climb to the top of Mount McCabe and lie down on my back with my history for a pillow; and I would take from the ground some of the blue-white poison that makes statues of men; and I would make a statue of myself, lying on my back, grinning horribly, and thumbing my nose at You Know Who. –Kurt Vonnegut, Cat’s Cradle (1963)

37. P.S.
Sorry I forgot to give you the mayonnaise.
–Richard Brautigan, Trout Fishing in America (1967)

Link via Evangelical Outpost

[Video Link]Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee told reporters that when he was in college, he and his friends used to cook squirrels in a popcorn popper -- because that was the only appliance they were allowed to use. Slate V's Samantha Henig headed to Central Park intent on discovering whether or not one really could cook a squirrel successfully in a popcorn popper.

That's right. At Neatorama, we do more than just entertain you. We provide you with practical skills that you can use in your day-to-day life.

Video runtime: 2 minutes, 49 seconds.  Preceded by 30 second commercial.

Reuters has an article up about a recent survey of HR managers about the greatest interviewing mistakes that they've ever seen:

- When an applicant was offered food before the interview, he declined saying he didn't want to line his stomach with grease before going out drinking.

- A candidate for an accounting position said she was a "people person" not a "numbers person."

- Candidate flushed the toilet while talking to interviewer during phone interview.

Commentors, what is the worst interviewing mistake that you've ever seen or done?

Link via Ace of Spades HQ

Correlation doesn't necessarily equal causality, but a new medical study reveals that cat owners have a lower incidence of heart attacks and strokes than do non-owners:

Non-cat owners appear to have a 40 percent higher risk of dying from myocardial infarction than those who do have a cat, according to a study presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference last month in New Orleans. Researchers examined the data of 4,435 people from the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. (Dogs didn't factor into the findings because fewer participants owned them.)

Picture via Flickr user avidpets

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/pets/5599262.html via Evangelical Outpost

Traditional British cuisine is becoming increasingly rare in British households:

The survey by Tesco found that only five per cent of 18-40-year-olds had cooked a spotted dick, compared to 14 per cent of 41-55-year-olds.Simlarly, six per cent of the younger group had made a Beef Wellington compared to 15 per cent of the over-40s.

Tesco claims that the five above dishes - as well as coronation chicken, sherry trifle and Lancashire hot pot - are prepared so infrequently that they could disappear completely by 2021.

Foreign dishes, however, are thriving. For instance, 71 per cent and 62 per cent of under-40s had made spaghetti bolognese or curry, respectively.

Picture via Flickr user tednmiki.

Link via Ace of Spades HQ

Scented candles -- if you're a married man, get used to the accursed things.

Or try an alternative. Manterns: scented candles for men. With soothing aromas like "Bacon cheeseburger" and "Sawdust", who could resist?

Commentors: what scents would you like to have wafting through your house?

Link via Jeff

Using a wiki program, the Bible is being translated into LOLCat. Here's the first few verses from Genesis 1:

1 Oh hai. In teh beginnin Ceiling Cat maded teh skiez An da Urfs, but he did not eated dem.

2 Da Urfs no had shapez An haded dark face, An Ceiling Cat rode invisible bike over teh waterz.

3 At start, no has lyte. An Ceiling Cat sayz, i can haz lite? An lite wuz.

4 An Ceiling Cat sawed teh lite, to seez stuffs, An splitted teh lite from dark but taht wuz ok cuz kittehs can see in teh dark An not tripz over nethin.

5 An Ceiling Cat sayed light Day An dark no Day. It were FURST!!!1

Very good stuff. Of course, you've never really experienced the Bible until you've read it in the original Klingon.

Link via Ace.

[Video Link]Acid Rain: A short film about a man who, over the phone, tries to stop his psychotic brother from going on a killing spree. Written and directed by Martin Malone. 10 minutes long. Mild language warning.

UPDATE:  In the comments, ted and cindy give me well-deserved rebukes for posting a film about a school shooting within days of the NIU shootings.  ted calls the post "Callous, insensitive, and ignorant to post this 3 days after a school shooting."  I can't argue with that.  I should have immediately thought of the NIU shootings when I watched this film and had the common sense and decency not to post it.  But I didn't think, and I'm sorry.

[YouTube Link]

A slideshow lining up the Democratic and Republican Presidential candidates with their respective Muppet identities, set to the tune of the Muppet theme music. 1 minutes, 5 seconds long.

Via Ironic Catholic

[YouTube Link] A surreal short film by Run Wrake presenting an allegory about human greed.  Artistically, the film is modeled after early 20th Century children's early readers.  8 minutes, 20 seconds long.

[YouTube Link]

An amusing and poignant music video by Bradley Bandara. Based upon the Eric Bazilian song One of Us, which was a 1996 hit when sung by Joan Osbourne. It features a badly-costumed supreme deity accepting and rejecting friend requests, responding to prayers in the form of messages, and being barraged with IM attempts. 5 minutes, 4 seconds long.

[YouTube Link]

An amusing rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah, performed by the Turtle Creek Chorale from Dallas, TX. 3 minutes, 53 seconds long. Via Gord

[YouTube Link]

This commercial for Virgin Mobile answers the important question "What would the Christmas story be like if there had been breakdancing at the Nativity?" It's really amazing what you can discover when you go back to the original Greek and Hebrew. 1 min., 36 sec.

Via Jim Parsons

[YouTube Link]

Here is YouTube user Copinated performing John Williams' opening to Star Wars on bagpipes. 57 sec. long.

Bagpipes: people either love them or hate them. I'm in the first category. How about you?

[Video Link] Like most people, I wake up in the morning and think: why hasn't our advanced civiliation created a chicken version of Law & Order.  I mean, like, there's every other variety of Law & Order spinoff, right?

Well, the new age has finally dawned, thanks to the brave entrepreneurs at Robot Chicken. About 2 minutes long.