Actually, a whole collection of infographics courtesy of BuzzFeed.com, providing some very illuminating information about the state of the Republican presidential candidates and their fundraising. This graph, for example, shows how much each candidate had raised between April and December 2011. But a couple of graphs down on that page, you’ll see what happened to Rick Perry after that “Oops” moment and how all those Cain supporters turned into Gingrich supporters overnight.

At least Mittens is finally dropping all pretense of what his campaign is really about:

With stuff like this to work with, Regretsy.com is never going to run out of material: zircon-encrusted underwear made out of beef jerky and called, I kid you not, “Brief Jerky”. The Etsy seller advises that this pair of underpants isn’t especially edible, so maybe instead you’d like to make your own. In which case, the Internet provides.

According to the blogger who shared this picture, only five of these coin-operated Pegasus rides were made for Mobil Oil gas stations. Must have been a pretty sweet ride for any kid lucky enough to have found one.

Once into a quiet village,
Without haste and without heed,
In the golden prime of morning,
Strayed the poet’s wingéd steed.

It was Autumn, and incessant
Piped the quails from shocks and sheaves,
And, like living coals, the apples
Burned among the withering leaves.

Loud the clamorous bell was ringing
From its belfry gaunt and grim;
‘T was the daily call to labor,
Not a triumph meant for him.

Not the less he saw the landscape,
In its gleaming vapor veiled;
Not the less he breathed the odors
That the dying leaves exhaled.

Thus, upon the village common,
By the school-boys he was found;
And the wise men, in their wisdom,
Put him straightway into pound.

Then the sombre village crier,
Ringing loud his brazen bell,
Wandered down the street proclaiming
There was an estray to sell.

And the curious country people,
Rich and poor, and young and old,
Came in haste to see this wondrous
Wingéd steed, with mane of gold.

Thus the day passed, and the evening
Fell, with vapors cold and dim;
But it brought no food nor shelter,
Brought no straw nor stall, for him.

Patiently, and still expectant,
Looked he through the wooden bars,
Saw the moon rise o’er the landscape,
Saw the tranquil, patient stars;

Till at length the bell at midnight
Sounded from its dark abode,
And, from out a neighboring farm-yard
Loud the cock Alectryon crowed.

Then, with nostrils wide distended,
Breaking from his iron chain,
And unfolding far his pinions,
To those stars he soared again.

On the morrow, when the village
Woke to all its toil and care,
Lo! the strange steed had departed,
And they knew not when nor where.

But they found, upon the greensward
Where his struggling hoofs had trod,
Pure and bright, a fountain flowing
From the hoof-marks in the sod.

From that hour, the fount unfailing
Gladdens the whole region round,
Strengthening all who drink its waters,
While it soothes them with its sound.

“Pegasus In Pound”, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

As a runner up, I would say that this one about creeping theocratic rhetoric and behavior, particulalry among American conservatives, is very effective in pointing out just how pervasive those things have become in our political and cultural discourse, and why it’s important to protect and restore secular ideals.

If you’re interested, the restaurant’s own website is here, and I’m pleased to see that it’s very reasonably priced, especially considering the location. There’s too many modest-to-poor joints in New York City that feel justified in charging prices and treating customers like they were in the Rainbow Room and not a coffee shop or burger joint. What’s evident, though, is that the sense of place borders on the eternal, which is a quality that has pervaded New York for a long time but is beginning to die out.

Wu and Usui have also produced other short films for clients ranging from the New York Times to MoMA to Pepsi, which you can view on the website for their production company Lost & Found Films.

Because this is a) a documentary and b) sponsored by the National Film Board of Canada, I don’t expect that you’ll see this at your local multiplex any time soon, but perhaps the fortuitous timing will get this booked into some smaller indie movie houses that might have otherwise not bothered. NFBC is also good about putting content online, so it might wind up on their website at some point too.

And it’s FOR REAL.