I was recently reminded how much I hate laugh tracks when I downloaded the free pilot of Big Bang Theory from iTunes, on a tip from Pop Candy. I should have listened to Whitney's advice, though -- the show is awful, and what makes it so much worse is the constant canned laughter. It's like an insult to the viewer: unfunny joke? LAUGH TRACK! Vaguely offensive sexual innuendo? OOHING and AAHING! Ugh. In the wake of my completely laugh-free viewing, I came across a lovely history of the laugh track... READ ON

Great news for, well, pretty much everyone with a web browser -- two archives are now available for free via the web. The first is from The New York Times, which has dropped its TimesSelect subscription program, making large parts of its online archive available for free. There are still some portions of the archive that require payment (for example, you'll have to pay for "some material from the period 1923 to 1986"), but this move unlocks a huge archive of stories, columns, and historically relevant... READ ON

Wired points out that today is the anniversary of the first recorded sighting of what is known as the Loch Ness Monster. A 7th century account tells the story of how Columba (later St. Columba) saved a man from a monster in the water. From Wikipedia: ...(He) raised his holy hand, while all the rest, brethren as well as strangers, were stupefied with terror, and, invoking the name of God, formed the saving sign of the cross in the air, and commanded the ferocious monster, saying, "Thou shalt go no... READ ON

Ethan Persoff has a terrific collection of strange and disturbing historical comic books, including this rarely mentioned 16-pager commissioned by George Wallace during his campaign for Governor of Alabama. I've posted some stills below, but you should definitely check out the link if you're interested. Story via... READ ON