Northwest Orient Flight Attendant saves "Mad Men"

Great episode, right? Right. It wasn't about anything Important; we did not see how a Major Historical Event affected the characters' lives. It was a show about advertising, and it was lean and focused. Don Draper like you haven't seen him in years! Pete Campbell, sputtering and bleating as his nose is rubbed in his own pile of leavings! (Poor Pete.) Roger plucking a client out of the air - literally - and some vintage Northwest Orient stewardess garb as well.

But don't listen to me; the best recap, as ever, is by Matt Zoller Seitz at Vulture. Although I am disappointed he didn't note how they do the Bunny Dip when serving drinks in the first-class lounge.

This week's animated GIF, of course, is Pete's staircase pratfall.

ARCHITORTURE Headline: "China's Architecture just keps getting more bizarre." How bizarre? This is possibly the first architecture link that might be NSFW. Some of the buildings are just ugly - it's difficult not to hear the end of the Monty Python theme when you see this.

Here's a list (in Chinese) of the ugliest new buildings in China, courtesy of archy.com This one is unnerving:

Especially since the translated text says it's a The Federation of Trade Unions kindergarten. Nothing says "a happy, safe learning environment" like the eyeless face of an insect robot. Although it's not really an insect robot. The text notes: "Building Description: monkey building." That's true of so many structures. Then there's this one:

Building Description: "peripheral disgusting green circle is how is it? Original Ronchamp Chapel twin brother ah!"

That they can, indeed.

LISTS The 10 Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores. How many do you think are real, and how many are made up? The first one quotes a customer who wants a signed copy of a Shakespeare play. It's possible the customer was joking. Perhaps the entire article could be called "10 Droll Jokes Bookstore Employees Fail to Get."

ART NPR says a restoration efforts have found a 15th century Vatican fresco that shows the New World - or at least what they thought it looked like. This will lead to conspiracy theories, of course. There's no way a painter in Italy could know such things! He was transported there by Masonic exploratory committees that went to America in 1359 to plant artifacts to make it look like the Vikings had been there in 837! Misdirection, that's what they're all about.

Okay. But if the Masons are such a supersecret all-powerful cabal, why do they have their own buildings and charities and membership drives? To hide in plain sight, of course. Brilliant!

Anyway. In related news that overuses the only adjective the internet knows besides "iconic," io9 links to "Stunning posters" for all six original Star Trek movies. Most of these reimagined posters make sense only if you know the movie.

Amazing? Standard barnyard antic, really. Here you go. Warning: amazement may not result.

Now send it to someone else, because it's a Viral Video.

I'm much more partial to the Russian pit ball having a complicated relationship with a stick, complete with almost-comprehensible vocalizations.