Friday Linkdump glories in dramatic performance of chewing gum jingles

So of all the delightfully random things I've run into on the Internet in the past few days, none of them hit quite the same combination of awkward, funny, and weirdly nostalgic quite the way the Rufus Does Gum video over on Funny or Die does. I like Rufus Wainwright's music quite a lot, so the joke is particularly good for me. Still, this is just ridiculous enough in a self-effacing sort of way that it may even be enjoyable in a "WTF?" sort of way for folks who aren't familiar with his music. So. Er. Here you go.

Bonus: you can download the jingles.

And now, links:

- FDA approves first pill to help prevent HIV
You guys. This is a big deal. To be clear, there are limitations and problems -- it costs over $25/day, must be taken daily, the degree of prevention tops out at about 70%, etc. -- but it is a start.

- Teen girl from Egypt has just reinvented space travel
I have a degree in English, so I have no idea if this could work, but somebody needs to give this woman the funding she needs to find out for us.

- Graphing every idea in history
Does what it says on the tin, within the confines of "history" (i.e. ideas we are aware of and are recorded). Regardless, I'm going to be busy.

- University of Illinois to offer 7 free online courses this fall
They're not degree courses, but if you're curious and want to be a lifelong learner, you could do worse!

- J.P. Morgan makes billions in profits from food stamps every year
Profit is not, in itself, a bad thing. Making social programs profitable isn't inherently wrong either. Those things being said, the way those who profit talk about these programs as if they're a drain on society while profiting from them is both a dick move and kind of self-destructive. Oh sure, I'll grant that keeping what's left of the middle class terrified of the poor is an effective way to keep people invested in the current brand of conservatism, but the likely end result of that road can't possibly be anything but ugly if you follow it to its logical conclusion. Then again, sometimes I think the very rich are sufficiently insulated that it doesn't even occur to them that killing their revenue streams by crushing the middle and lower classes amounts to cutting their own throats. So.

- So, You’ve Been Accused of Witchcraft…
In the event that you wind up in the late Fifteenth Century with a nasty case of heresy, please enjoy this useful guide to survival from Lapham's Quarterly.

This post has been mirrored from Christian A. Young's Dimlight Archive. To see it in its original format, visit dimlightarchive.com