Special edition Lionel Messi soccer shoes

Link roundup

1.  "BioWare wants to take you to a gay bar. Or rather, a gay planet. Star Wars: The Old Republic is being updated to include a rather inelegant solution to its lack of gay characters -- a planet called Makeb where all the homosexual elements of the galaxy can be found."

2.  Smart diplomacy done cheap:

For years, the United States tried to stem the spread of Islamic militancy in the region by conducting its most ambitious counterterrorism program ever across these vast, turbulent stretches of the Sahara. 

But as insurgents swept through the desert last year, commanders of this nation’s elite army units, the fruit of years of careful American training, defected when they were needed most — taking troops, guns, trucks and their newfound skills to the enemy in the heat of battle, according to senior Malian military officials. 

“It was a disaster,” said one of several senior Malian officers to confirm the defections. 

Then an American-trained officer overthrew Mali’s elected government, setting the stage for more than half of the country to fall into the hands of Islamic extremists.

3.  "[T]he worst thing in life—worse than losing a limb—is an unpredictable commute. Because a lost limb you can adjust to mentally, and humans are good at adjusting. But if you never know how something will be and it will often be bad, you have no ability to mentally adjust to the bad situation."

Chibi Lego Slave One

Chibi Lego Slave One by Sparkart!. The Boba Fett figure is from the Lego Star Wars The Battle of Hoth board game.

Lego crystal city

Lego crystal city by True Dimensions.

*Buy Lego minifigs at Amazon.

Metal Gear Solid: Revengeance concept art

Metal Gear Solid: Revengeance concept art.

"The Man Who Fought in Lincoln’s Name"

Slate:

Many healthy men who were eligible to serve in the military during the Civil War never ended up enlisting. The Enrollment Act of 1863 provided that a draftee could pay a “substitute” enrollee the sum of $300 (about $5,000 in today’s terms) in order to enlist in his place. Such famous Americans as Grover Cleveland and John D. Rockefeller took advantage of this provision, in effect buying their way out of service.

Abraham Lincoln was too old for the draft, and, being president, would have been exempt regardless of age. But the Army was short of men, and the commander in chief wanted to encourage other “ineligibles” like himself to voluntarily hire a substitute. To that end, in 1864 he paid a “representative recruit” to fight for him.

Adventure Time drawing guide

I mentioned earlier this week that I wish there was an Ed Emberley-esque guide to drawing Adventure Time characters.  Orphan Elliott rose to the occasion and shows here how to draw Finn, BMO, and Jake.  Relatedly, he has a tee up for vote at Threadless right now.

*Previously: Adventure Time paper toys.