The Dvorak Zine is a 24-page web comic about the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard. Pretty cool. [via comics pundit]

Like my passing comment last week, David Lewis bemoans the comics memoir: "We know there’s a power to autobiography in comics—is it deniable?—but why are so many of You susceptible to it?" Tom Spurgeon offers a snappy, but thoughtful response, of course. I still think that non-fiction comics could use some more variety. Fiction, we've got covered.

Lots of good stuff for sale at Coudal's Swap Meat. I'm partial to the Ghost Prints.

TMN has a great photo gallery up: Still Life by Martin Klimas. They're wonderful photos of statues in the midst of shattering. The martial arts figurines are particularly enjoyable.

This is one of the better monitor calibration images I've found.

A photo collection of handmade, miniaturized synthesizers from yesteryear. Those are some incredibly detailed models.

The story of Clearview, a new-ish typeface designed especially for roadway signs. The slideshow is worth a visit as well.

The reactable is a collaborative electronic music instrument with a tabletop tangible multi-touch interface. And I want one.

The Rasterbator creates huge, rasterized images from any picture. Man, I'd love to make some gigantic wallpaper. Where to begin... [via not martha]

Mental Note: Imitate Richard Weston and make a sky collection.

A couple weeks ago I flipped through The Plot: The Secret Story of the The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the last graphic novel that Will Eisner created. This one covers a curious bit of history that I never knew. The topic of Eisner's book is another book, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion: a forgery, a book created ex nihilo and printed to promote antisemitic values. Eisner presents a historical account of its origins. Eisner's artwork was steady and lively, not too different from any of his other work (but that's not a bad thing). The story itself isn't very dramatic or moving, but the facts are still compelling. Perhaps the best part of this book is that it exists. Yes, it's wonderful to root out antisemitism, but mostly, I just thought it was refreshing to see a non-fiction graphic novel that isn't a memoir of some sort.

Alex Ross noticed that everything is dead. What a downer.

Dorothy Gambrell has done some excellent illustrations based on the Schedule C table of Principal Business or Professional Activity Codes [p. 8-10, pdf].

I'm really enjoying the Atlanta Time Machine, a collection of juxtaposed old & new photos of Atlanta houses, neighborhoods, and skyscrapers, along with postcards, ephemera, etc. I just learned that the first Waffle House ever built is now occupied by the familiar Hunan Express.

Video excerpts from One Man Star Wars, Charles Ross' dramatically condensed version of the trilogy.

I want these curtains.

I don't like Billy Collins' poems that much, but these animated interpretations are pretty good. [via practicalist]

James Brown does a short dance demonstration. Funky chicken, boogaloo, robot, etc.

If you're pressed for time, check out the ultra-condensed summary of Beowulf and other books.