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Tom's Clancy's Ghost Recon is a video game released in 2001 with an eerie premise:

Ghost Recon begins in April 2008, with civil unrest in Russia. Ultra-nationalists have seized power in Russia, with plans to rebuild the government. Their first step is clandestine support of rebel factions in Georgia and the Baltic States. This is where the Ghosts come in: to silence the invasion. Armed with some of the most advanced weaponry in the world, the soldiers of the Ghost Recon force are covertly inserted into area of operations and given specific missions to curtail the rebel actions and overthrow their benefactors.

Precient? Let's hope not: the further games in the series have the game characters fighting in Ethiopia in 2009, Cuba in 2010, Mexico in 2014, and in other grim scenarios. Link -Thanks, eLzo!

In a recreation of the movie Amelie, a garden gnome was kidnapped and photographed traveling around the world. But he is has been returned! Eve Stuart-Kelso of Gloucestershire found her gnome "Murphy" outside her home seven months after he disappeared. She also found a photo album showing the places he had been.

The album shows Murphy abseiling down a mountain, standing in a shark's mouth and riding a motorbike.

Some of the pictures show a group of mysterious young men, who could be the ones responsible for the globetrotting stunt.

Also with Murphy were immigration stamps for all the shores he had been taken to visit - South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong and Laos.

Link -Thanks, Jeffs!

This isn't the first time this has happened.

Are you really as familiar with Shakespeare's play as you think you are? Today's Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss asks you to match characters with the play they are in. I scored 57%, which surprised me because I only know the tragedies. http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/17376

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NYC Educator teaches English as a Second Language, and is impressed with the way some of his students can twirl a pen. I've never seen anyone do this, but then I don't get out much. Link

The Yokohama Ice Cream Expo concluded yesterday in Japan. Organiser Manabu Matsumoto considers the event a success.

"We have ice cream from all over Japan – from Hokkaido in the north to Okinawa in the south – but beef tongue has been the one that people keep coming back for," he said.

The majority of the ice creams were clearly acquired tastes, including the beer version, which failed to recreate either the taste or texture of beer.

"We like strange-tasting food," said Keiko Hashiya, 27, who had driven for nearly two hours to sample the ice creams. "I think Japanese people always want to try new things and ice cream is always very popular when it is this hot in the summer."

More than 125 flavors were showcased at the expo, including cheese, octopus, and garlic. Link -via Arbroath

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The Deep Creek (Maryland) Times Photo of the Month for July featured a dog who made friends with a fawn. The homeowner was surprised to find the fawn making himself at home! He had apparently followed Bucky the beagle inside through the pet door. Link -Thanks, Duke!

Dave Umlas built a sculpture out of stainless steel and equipped it with propane gas and forced-air jets. The effect is hot! I wonder how well this would fit in with Alex's barbecue grill collection? See pictures of the construction and performance, plus a video. Link -Thanks, Dave!

Disproportionately big eyes are a hallmark of anime art and comics. Now, you too can sport the somewhat creepy big-eyed look with oversized contact lenses sold in Japan. In fact, you'll look altogether Photoshopped! Link -Thanks, JamesM!

Artist Jennifer Marsh wrapped an abandoned gas station in blanket fabric!

Jennifer was sick of paying high gas prices and bothered by the abandoned gas station that was an eyesore on the drive to her studio each day, so she decided to do something about it. With the help of professional and amateur artists from 15 countries and more than 2,500 grade-school students in 29 states, Marsh covered the 50-year-old former Citgo station — pumps, light stands, signs and all — with more than 3,000 fiber panels that are crocheted, knitted, quilted or stitched together.

Link -Thanks, Marlow Harris!

Wild honeybees in Nepal build ten-feet-long hives on the sides of high cliffs, but their honey is so rare that locals risk their lives climbing bamboo poles to harvest it. A film crew from the BBC watched the process in which the bottom of the hive is cut off by a bamboo pole. In this instance, one man got too close to the point of impact when the cutting was done!

Suddenly there was a loud shout from above, and I saw a door shaped yellow object hurtle towards the ground and crash square on to the head of a man stood directly below.

The impact was so colossal it completely floored him, and honey splattered all over the place, enveloping him like a big sugary, gloopy parcel.

Everyone jumped up. Our on-location doctor ran forward to help, seeing him lying on the floor absolutely up to his eyeballs in one of the most expensive honeys in the world. I actually thought he was dead.

Two men helped him to his feet, and we all breathed a sigh of relief. I have never seen a honey-glazed man before; but suddenly there was one staggering unsteadily towards me, his eyes bloodshot but smiling cheerfully, and licking himself all over.

Link -Thanks, Stane!

Jim Hance, the artist behind Mona Leia, has a new creation he calls Oz Wars. If the scarecrow had carried a light saber, the Wicked Witch of the West would never have been a problem! http://strangelydrawn.com/blog/2008/08/new-painting-oz-wars-star-wars-wizard.html -Thanks, Jim!

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A love story of an animated origami couple, by Israeli animator Moshe Servatka. -Thanks, Bill!

This lamp looks like a giant centipede in the outdoor setting, but it's just 19 inches tall (and over 30 inches long). The Nymph Lamp, from Site Specific Design, will set you back $2,600. Link -via Dump Trumpet

I did not know that airlines are flying planes without full fuel tanks. To save weight, they calculate the least amount of fuel needed to get a plane to its destination.

With fuel prices now their biggest cost, airlines are aggressively enforcing new policies designed to reduce consumption.

In March, for example, an airline pilot told NASA he landed his regional jet with less fuel than required by FAA regulations.

"Looking back," he said, "I would have liked more gas yesterday." He also complained that his airline was "ranking" captains according to who landed with the least amount.

A month earlier, a Boeing 747 captain reported running low on fuel after meeting strong headwinds crossing the Atlantic en route to John F. Kennedy International Airport. He said he wanted to stop to add fuel but continued on to Kennedy after consulting his airline's operations manager, who told him there was adequate fuel aboard the jet.

When the plane arrived at Kennedy, the captain said it had so little fuel that had there been any delay in landing, "I would have had to declare a fuel emergency" - a term that tells air traffic controllers a plane needs immediate priority to land.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/aug/09/bz-pilots-say-airlines-are-cutting-fuel-levels-dan/ -via Waiter Rant, where the author had a brush with a similar occurrence.

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How well do you know the Middle East, West Asia, and Northern Africa? Try to drag each nation's name to it's location on the map. It doesn't keep score, but you'll know if you're on the wrong track by the annoying buzzer. And maybe you'll learn something, like I did (although I did pretty well)! Link -via mental_floss