Huge amounts of stuff came and went in our Christmas absence (we were here, yet didn’t see any of these. Typical), and after a few days of clicking and scrolling the muscles in our mouse-wielding hand have now fully warmed up and everything looks a bit more familiar. Are people going to take it easier this year? (e.g.).

Jonathan Safran Coer noted caustically in Esquire, with reference to the current profusion of self-conscious, verbose and overly-explanatory fiction around, that there are now many people who write more than they read. Was this a sly dig at the weblogging community? Any form of creative writing that is intrinsically linked to the web placed a lot of emphasis on getting the words out (I, II). There's nothing like missing one's target daily wordcount to get one seriously flustered.

A site dedicated to the Buffalo Pan-American Exposition of 1901, in all its embellished glory. We like the food company exhibits, with accompanying product endorsement: 'I am going from here to Niagara Falls to view the wonders there and also, incidentally, the new plant of the Natural Food Company, which manufactures Shredded Wheat. I've become interested in that commodity now and I wish to see how it is made.' We didn't know that the wonder cereal was once made near the thundering falls, but now we do (look here for more Shredded Wheat info than you could ever possibly need, including box inserts). Also local: electricity.

Elsewhere (or, links we didn't have time to put up in December). The wonderful Futurliner (discussion). Kitsch decorations (now out of season), German WWII plane design, (via nsop), geographically accurate tube map, biro-web - ‘made with pens’, Posteverything: a record label, analogue heaven, image of the day.posted by things at 09:01 / 0 comments