So, a group of researchers from Northeastern University teamed up with their colleagues from Harvard and decided to analyze the mood of America — not captured at any one time, but over the course of an average day. To do that, they looked at 300 million tweets sent out over the course of three years, from September 2006 to August 2009. They gauged the mood of Twitter users over every hour of the day, determining when people were the happiest, when they were angriest, and so on. Then, they mapped those moods, morphing the size of each state to reflect the volume of tweets per state. Like so:

Notice something interesting? While many states shift from red to green and back again (red being angry and green, happy), Louisiana is pretty much one Roma tomato, with flickers of “meh” thrown in for effect. Crankypants.

Of course, the three years in question weren’t the best for us, and we did (and do) have a lot to complain about. But maybe we’re not as happy-go-lucky as we (and the rest of the world) would like to believe.

[via Towleroad]

This online campaign to restore the Gulf of Mexico officially broke last week, but I’ve been so preoccupied (i.e. lazy, lascivious) that I haven’t had a chance to post it. Anyway, please take one minute and 40 seconds out of your day to watch the video below, and another 15 seconds to click through and sign the petition. That’s two minutes. Less, even.

And yes, I know some of you are dubious of celebrity-fueled causes. Believe me, I know. But if everyone were dubious of everything, Justin Bieber’s mom would never have sent him to Atlanta to sign that recording contract, and then where would be we, people? Would you really want to live in that world? Case rested.

And, might I add, fuck you to death.

P.S. I apologize if you’re actually a dude named Colin. NOAA’s system of nomenclature doesn’t always make sense to me — much like the careers of, say, Bonnie Franklin and Colin Farrell.

The fact that dude is still hot, in a get-busy-behind-the-truckstop kind of way:

Or at least he was, as of two years ago. Here’s the original caption for that photo:

ARCHIVE IMAGE DATE AND ORIG CAPTION: 8/28/08
EXCLUSIVE: A wild-eyed and muscle-bound Mel Gibson experienced an impromptu bout of craziness Monday on the Boston set of “Edge of Darkness.” In between takes, the 52-year-old tore off his shirt, revealing his still-chiseled frame, picked his nose, and appeared grief-stricken as looked around aimlessly. He then climbed up on top of his trailer, as if it was the Empire State Building and he were King Kong. Channeling his inner beast, as portrayed in the crazed roles of the “Lethal Weapon” series and “Mad Max,” Gibson laughed maniacally and pounded his chest. Though Gibson is known for his goofy on-set persona, his outburst seemed particularly influenced by rage and madness.

[SocialiteLife]

And by “Lindsay”, I assume he means “my right testicle”:

Won’t someone fight for this man’s right(s)?

[SocialiteLife]

…when I stumbled across this, courtesy of Towleroad. (My name is Richard, and I am a multi-tasker.)

Is it just me, or is the faux-chivalrous crap that this preacher spews about “I take authority over the principalities of powers of Hell” taken right from the pages of every low-rent Tolkien knock-off? (Though I wouldn’t accuse even Piers Anthony of using such terrible grammar.)

My theory — and it’s only in the early stages — is that wingnuts like this really just need a way to vent their inner “Round Table” monologue.  And if they had a place to do that — say, a renaissance faire, or World of Warcrap, or maybe some live-action thing like that Mazes and Monsters movie Tom Hanks did 30 years ago — they’d be a lot happier. Hell, they already love paintball; just substitute swords for airguns and let ’em hack it out.

AT ALL.

[via DangerousMinds]

I have never been able to draw.

Conceptually, I understand light and shadow and stuff, but I can’t translate that into a water pitcher and a bunch of overripe grapes. And that’s okay. Because I have loads of friends who are very good at such things, and as Mussolini once said, “I can’t do everything well, but I keep people who can very close at hand. Generally in prison.” (I paraphrase.)

Anyway: my friends who draw should pay attention, because Class Comics has launched a contest to create a superhero out of the hunky, muscly, go-go box-friendly Gay Comic Geek (at left). It’s kind of like making a costume for a paper doll, except this paper doll threatens to shove a bottle of poppers under your nose and rip into you like a sailor on three-day leave.

And just to make things interesting, they’re offering two versions of the character for you to dress — this one, which is technically clothed, and another, fully nude. Because a gay superhero is always (a) superendowed and (b) superhorny, I suppose.

The prizes include a lot of free comic books and — for the winner of the naughtier contest — a print of your costume concept as rendered by gay illustrator extraordinaire Patrick Fillion. Maybe that’ll get your gray matter fired up.

Anyway, more details below. Bonne chance.

How often do you have the chance to create a superhero? Well, this is it! Help us to Gear Up the Gay Comic Geek!

The Gay Comic Geek, Fanboys of the Universe and Class Comics have teamed up to bring you one super contest that will get your (creative) juices flowing!

Your job is to design your vision of a unique costume for the Gay Comic Geek in whatever format you work best in!

Use Photoshop on the computer, print the entry out and use pencil, ink and markers, blow it up on a canvas and paint in oil colors, or sew, knit and stitch together felt, leather and feathers!

The only catch is you have to use the Official Contest Images as the basis for your costume and submit it electronically.

It’s not just about getting the right color of spandex! There is so much more for you to be creative with. It’s about developing the alter ego and all the possibilities that come with it!

[full details at ClassicComics]