Starburst Flavored Milk Drinks. “Slammers® Starburst® is a blend of low-fat milk and natural juice to produce its famous burst of natural fruit flavor and live up to the Starburst® “isn’t life juicy!”(TM) slogan.” I have nothing further to add. (via PCJM)

Exactly five years ago I posted about the Apple and Harmon Kardon jointly designed iSub, the transparent subwoofer that only worked with the iMac. Since then, Harmon Kardon has released Soundsticks. They’re the same design as the iMac speakers but will work with a PC sound card. However, since then I’ve decided that I like owning things that are easy to dust.

I don’t like the design, but the concept is interesting: a diamond watch where some of the diamonds hide LEDs to display the time. The LEDs light up when you press a button, so most of the time it’s just a (gaudy) diamond bracelet.

The time has come to design the Washington State Quarter. Let’s put George Washington on the front AND back so we’ve got both sides of George on the coin! OK, the guidelines prohibit that, but as Washington is the name of the state it seems appropriate. However I suppose we’re going to end up with Mount Rainier, perhaps with an apple and an evergreen in front of it.

With a window display featuring books with “The End of” in their titles, Wessex Bookstore in Menlo Park, CA held its liquidation sale in May. Wessex had one owner for 30 years and he wanted to do something else for a change. The used bookstore was put up for sale, but a serious buyer never turned up. As attractive as owning a used bookstore may sound to a serious reader, the reality is it takes hard work to keep it a success. A large portion of the inventory was sold to Powell’s. Across the street, Kepler’s Bookstore, my favorite in that area, celebrated its 50th birthday. I hope it makes it to 100. (thanks Erik!)

Richard Feynman on a postage stamp! Geneticist Barbara McClintock is also in the set.

Rick Steves, the guru of efficient European travel, was featured on 60 Minutes recently and he wrote a behind the scenes look at the creation of the story. The crew tagged along on a trip to Amsterdam and Germany. They filmed his preparations (filling a travel sized toothpaste tube, packing his bag), his plane trip (he was in coach, they were in first class), and his “liberal politics” (particularly the relaxed Amsterdam attitudes towards prostitutes and drugs). Paranoid about accurate journalism, they hired cameramen to camp out and film the exact train that Rick was on as it sped by and made sure to film the exact plane he flew out on. What a logistics nightmare!

Has Susan Sarandon been in a movie musical since Rocky Horror? Romance & Cigarettes, written and directed by but not starring John Turturro, opens later this summer. Described as “an unusual musical about a two-timing jerk played by James Gandolfini” it features Kate Winslet, Susan Sarandon, Steve Buscemi, Mandy Moore, and my favorite song and dance man turned character actor who happens to lives in my hometown, Christopher Walken.

P.S. Dear Seattle Cinerama: Please show Serenity when it opens in September. Thank you!

I rarely read USA Today except to make fun of their charts, but the Ask the Captain series is interesting. Captain Meryl Getline answers reader questions about flying commercial aircraft. The archive titles list only the first question from each column; often there are more interesting ones inside. Ever wonder when pilots use the autopilot? Cabin lights are dimmed during takeoff and landing for safety reasons, so our eyes are adjusted to the dark in case of emergency evacuation. But your windowshades must be up so the crew can see outside. “English is officially the only language used for international air traffic control purposes. But sometimes we hear pilots and controllers talking in their native languages.” And bird strikes are, alas, rather common. (found on Ask Yahoo!)

Glenn Gordon Caron held fast to the necessity of keeping the original music in his TV series Moonlighting for DVD release. Other shows weren’t so lucky. Quantum Leap and Northern Exposure had songs replaced for DVD release. But Caron stood his ground until licensing deals were worked out for all the music and at last Seasons 1 & 2 of Moonlighting are available on DVD. Now the 80s nostalgia can truly end — bring on the 90s!