Things to Do - Weekend Links

Just some links for your weekend. I'm thinking about making this a semi-regular thing (maybe biweekly?). Please let me know what you think.

And if you're looking for something to do this weekend don't forget MY HUGE WINTER SURVIVAL GUIDE OF THINGS TO DO AND PLACES TO GO (recently updated to include more activities)!!!

*100 Gifts for 100 Cultural Icons. I'm really sick of gift guide overkill, but this one is pretty awesome/funny/clever.

* Fake holidays. China's Minsk World Military Theme Park sort of creeped me out as did Jesus on the Cross at Orlando's Holy Land Experience. The photographer's quote is especially poignant - "After working for about eight years on this project, you’d think Riedler would have endless anecdotes to share about his explorations. But surprisingly that’s not the case. “When I came home to my family (especially after long trips to China or Japan), I found that I had a lack of stories to tell,” he said. “It was strange because normally my trips are all little adventures, and I meet many interesting people with great stories and so many things happen. I learned that in leisure parks there were stimuli but no content. I realized the hollowness of these places. … I didn’t meet any people. There were no (real) adventures; there was just consumption.”

* Combine equal parts Oprah and Martha.

* The 50 Best Couples in Fashion History.

*Dan O' Day's photographs are beyond amazing. How does he do that?

*Wasteland to wildflowers. Quite a walk. What do you see on a daily basis that you barely register is there?

* "In 2004 an unconscious man was discovered behind a fast food restaurant in Richmond Hill, Georgia. He had no belongings, severe sunburn, and was nearly blind from cataracts. The man also had absolutely no idea who he was. After months of ongoing evaluation from doctors and psychologists it was determined he was suffering from dissociative amnesia. He adopted the pseudonym Benjaman Kyle and has embarked on a search for his true identity sparking massive amounts of media coverage and even a short film, Finding Benjaman, by John Wikstrom. He is the only citizen in the United States officially listed as missing despite his whereabouts being known. One strange aspect of this predicament is that Kyle now lives completely in limbo: for the past 8 years he has been denied the ability to obtain a new social security number which in turn prevents him from opening a bank account or having a credit card. The government argues that he already has one, but despite the efforts of fingerprint matching, DNA tests, and exposure on television, he simply cannot determine his true identity." Wow. More here.

* The books that made the most "Best of 2012" Book Lists. Sort of a cool summary of summaries.

* I love Billie Marmelade's (very) random coolness.

* The 25 funniest autocorrects of 2012. You won't be able to stop laughing. Really.

HAPPY SOLSTICE EVERYONE!