Algoween

A bit of a nerdly Halloween extravaganza, starting with Pumpktris, a fully playable version of Tetris implemented in a pumpkin. [Engadget]

Possibly useful — or maybe just nostalgic — today is Ze Frank's guide to trading Halloween candy. Everything you need to know to come out ahead when swapping sweets. [bOING bOING]

Also potentially useful, the Candy Hierarchy.

"It is bad luck to be superstitious." - Andrew W. Mathis

Slow -- children

Never woulda guessed that a laughing baby at half-speed sounds remarkably like an enthusiastic dumb giant on nitrous and Demerol.

What's in a name? Eight countries seem to think there's something worth making special laws about. And Hong Kong apparently loves weird English names.

"When I was a boy the Dead Sea was only sick." - George Burns

Shape up

Sprinkle some salt on a tray and sonically vibrate it to form different patterns, depending on the pitch. Sound does have a shape, and physics *is* cool, dammit.

And 21 well-known writers try their hand fingers at Twitter fiction, 140-character "novels".

"Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamppost how it feels about dogs." - Christopher Hampton

The truth hurts. Period.

Some guy wrote on a tampon company's Facebook page that its ads are less than truthful, explaining that his girlfriend's wonderful time of the month isn't so wonderful. The company responded, amusingly.

And another lesson in how to handle adverse circumstances, How to Respond to Legal Threats with Cute Animals.

"By all means, marry. If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher." - Socrates

Ruff and ready

Day in the life video as dog gets ready for another hectic day of dogginess.

And from "alpha male" to "You're The Man now, dog", Metaphor Dogs is a compendium of canine figures of speech.

"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." - Arthur Conan Doyle

Paris-sights

If you can’t spring for a trip, this artful video of Paris via stop-motion is probably the next best thing.

And with "cheeky" and "spot on" seeping into our vernacular, it's clear that the Britishisms are here. There's even a blog for it, Not One-Off Britishisms.

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all." - Stanley Horowitz

Worth spreading

The Onion kicked off its first spoof of the TED Talks in its new series Onion Talks with cars that run on compost. [GigaOm]

And get this on your radar going forward — the Ridiculous Business Jargon Dictionary. (Reminds me of previously reported corporate-jargon translator called Unsuck It.)

"If the lessons of history teach us anything it is that nobody learns the lessons that history teaches us." - Anonymous

Pink'd

After little brother messes with big brother's Facebook profile, the home decor payback is complete, merciless, and thoroughly pink.

And this summer, Honest Tea conducted experiments in 30 cities to test people's honesty and compiled findings into the National Honesty Index.

"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently." - Warren Buffett

A fate worse than

Might this be the worst — or best — movie death scene ever? Apparently, a clip from the classic Turkish movie "Kareteci Kiz 1973". [bOING bOING]

Also a little on the sketchy side, Sketchbooks of the Pros

"The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing." - Marcus Aurelius

Leap of space

Felix Baumgartner's insane-but-record-setting jump from the edge of space, deftly recreated in Lego.

And if you're wondering how high that really was, The Measure of Things might help you put it in perspective.

"Being on the tightrope is living; everything else is waiting." - Karl Wallenda

Contortion B major

Thoroughly impressive exhibition by a musical contortionist performing at a TED event in Mongolia. Impossible bending in ways God did not intend, with some self-accompaniment.

And then there's this site called HeTexted lets women post texts from men they met to ask what they mean. Proof of texting's deleterious effects on gender relations. It's not that complicated — don't over-think it.

"A mother takes twenty years to make a man of her boy, and another woman makes a fool of him in twenty minutes. - Robert Frost

Alternate transportation

Bus-rider invents a little game called Man-eater to entertain people on their daily commute.

And a few good reviews posted for this field guide called, The Stray Shopping Carts of Eastern North America. ("This book is easily one of the top four reference guides for shopping carts available on the market today.") Makes a great gift, no doubt.

"When a subject becomes totally obsolete we make it a required course." - Peter Drucker

More than a game

Well-done halftime extravaganza from the Ohio State University marching band featuring a video game theme. [bOING bOING]

And Honest NFL Logos — the truth may hurt, but it's still the truth.

"Sure, luck means a lot in football. Not having a good quarterback is bad luck." - Don Shula

Magical mystery

Kitties get into some top-shelf catnip in this seriously psychedelic Litter Genie ad. "I haz no smelly" (and a toast-shaped head). [AdWeek]

And don't ask me why or how he figured this out, but Franklin Bruno has discovered that if you simultaneously play the 1964 minimalist song 'In C' with the 1976 disco tune 'Love in C Minor,' the result might bend the mind. [bOING bOING]

"Advertising - a judicious mixture of flattery and threats." - Northrop Frye

Fashion fast forward

Impressively choreographed 100 years of fashion in 100 seconds from trend-setting East London.

And the fedora draws major fire in internet circles, with sites like You Shouldn’t Wear That Fedora and Fedoras of OKC (dating site OK Cupid) devoted to shaming those that dare don the dandy dorkwear.

"Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new." - Henry David Thoreau

Didn't see that coming

Straight to the point in exposing a fake clairvoyant without wasting a second.

And some high quality trolling from Horsey Surprise in the traditional and refined sense of the art form, setting the bait and grabbing the reactions.

"Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion." - Jim Rohn

It's to scale

Funded by a presumably large chunk of dough from Red Bull, this building-size Rube Goldberg machine combines "freerunners" (insane humans) and large objects with parkour to create what is perhaps the ultimate effort in achieving a trivial and near-pointless result. Interesting to watch, though. [bOING bOING]

And awkward stock video, a dorkfest of a collection of strange and weirdly-specific stock video footage.

"Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men."
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Table the motion

Interesting demonstration wherein 32 metronomes started at different times eventually end up in sync.

And FILMography, a gallery of movie still photos held up in front of the locations and landmarks where they were shot.

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending." - Maria Robinson

Makin' magic

From behind a building, off the wall, or on a slide or merry-go-round, it's the "world premiere" of this rendition of astounding basketball trick shots straight from the great state of North Dakota. [Mashable]

And some images to make perfectionists suffer.

"Those who are easily shocked should be shocked more often." - Mae West

Exploit yourself

Well in time for Christmas, this Chinese Electronics Factory Worker console game lets you relive the thrilling experience that created your console in the first place.

And how much do teachers earn in your town? Are they scraping by or raking in? Also, the world’s 10 most expensive cities to live, based on how long it would take residents to earn enough to buy a Big Mac, an iPhone and more.

"I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours."
- Hunter S. Thompson

Alt control

This mini-film about a clever cat that's had enough of his human and decides to take control presents a terrifying vision of a world turned upside down.

And StreamRead is a new type social web service that turns all your social media streams/feeds into a glossy magazine to read at your leisure. Satire, of course, as you'll see when you check out the amusing sample covers.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace."
- Jimi Hendrix

Line

Hercules, disappointed, as legendary actor Kevin Sorbo confuses stage direction with spoken dialogue. This could become a staple phrase / major league internet meme.

And 16 unfortunate misuses of punctuation.

"I think the world is run by 'C' students." - Basketball Hall Of Famer, Al McGuire

Found in space

Heartwarming short clip of tech-dad who sends his son's favorite toy into the stratosphere, with camera and GPS on board.

And another interesting adventure in space, cheerful Brad live-tweets his first acid trip at a fraternity barbecue.

"A day without sunshine is like, you know, night." - Steve Martin