645. Base Details

On second thought, let's not glorify war.

IF I were fierce, and bald, and short of breath,
I’d live with scarlet Majors at the Base,
And speed glum heroes up the line to death.
You’d see me with my puffy petulant face,
Guzzling and gulping in the best hotel,	5
Reading the Roll of Honour. ‘Poor young chap,’
I’d say—‘I used to know his father well;
Yes, we’ve lost heavily in this last scrap.’
And when the war is done and youth stone dead,
I’d toddle safely home and die—in bed.	10

644. The Charge of the Light Brigade (the poem)

Let's glorify war! Read it here.

643. The Old Guitarist

I can't remember if this painting is in that scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but the painting is certainly better than the scene.

642. The Neverhood

One of my favorite games of all time. It's not for everyone, but it's great if you like puzzles and slapstick comedy.

641. Vitruvian Man

640. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

The thrilling undersea adventure!

639. The Flying Dutchman

As long as we're on a nautical theme, let's not forget the legendary ghost ship.

638. The Little Mermaid (the sculpture)

We already did the legend, but the sculpture is a good enough work of art that vandals stole the head.

637. Jonah and the Whale

The bit of the story that actually has the whale. Not the weird bit after that with the plant-obsession and the worm.

636. Fiasco

I just read Stanislaw Lem's Eden for the first time. Should have reread Fiasco instead. (Not to ruin it, but it's a story about an exploratory trip into space that doesn't go well.)

635. The Gasunie Building

According to a geocache Benj and I went on, this is an excellent example of organic architecture.

634. The Jungle

Mmm... Delicious beef.

633. Sea Lion Woman

The Feist version is good, but so is this version from the Library of Congress archives.

632. End of the World

The episode of Parks and Recreation where the doomsday cult spends an enjoyable evening in the park awaiting the giant lizard creature who will destroy us all.

631. Kung Pao Chicken

630. Take the "A" Train

The song that always went through my head when I had to take the A train.

629. Papillon

The book, not the movie or the breed of dog.

628. Who's on first?

Watch it here.

627. Memento

Wow. It looks like I totally forgot about movies for the last month. Sorry, movies.

626. Portrait of the Brontë Sisters

A painting done by the Brontë brother. He originally included himself in the portrait, and it retains his ghostly silhouette. Because of poor-quality paints, the sisters are also fading over time.

625. Hope is the thing with feathers

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

624. You Can Call Me Al

623. If She Wants Me

A much less depressing choice of wedding recessional than Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying.

622. Magilla Gorilla

Gorilla for sale! Also, this has got to be one of the weirdest Wikipedia articles I've seen recently. It looks like the early days of Wikipedia when people still weren't sure exactly what should go in an article.

621. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Let's go with the radio version for now, and keep the others in reserve for later.

620. The Constant Gardener (the book)

I picked up and read this book without knowing what it would be about at all. Look at that cover. Does that look like a book that's about pharmaceutical companies' abuse of power in Africa?

619. The Overture to The Sound of Music

Or, if you ask Benj, that part that you fast-forward through.

618. The $1 Bill

I like all the Masonic imagery.

617. The elephant labeled "the" from Cape Feare

I had one more crossing-themed entry in me. In possibly the best Simpsons episode, the moment when Sideshow Bob is trampled by a series of elephants bearing the message "Terror Lake Celebrates Hannibal Crossing The Alps" and the word "The" gets its own elephant. Spectacular.

616. The Crossing

Fine, let's finish out the theme of crossing before we move on.