One of the many, many thrills of journalism is keeping an eye on that pesky word count. There’s really nothing quite like that feeling of thinking you’re finished only to spy that you’re some way off, or over, the distance. If only there was an easier, ridiculously cuter way. Now, thanks to the geniuses behind writtenkitten.net, there is. For every 100, 200, 500 or 1,000 words you log, up pops a picture of an adorable kitten (though we have seen our share of curmudgeonly-looking types too). You’d think it would get old fast, but nope, turns out cats are more appealing than blocks of text. Who knew?

If, like us, you’re prone to such wonderous flights of fancy as pondering, ‘What if David Simon’s brilliantly brutal social polemic The Wire was a Final Fantasy-style RPG game?’, then you’ll be bowled over by CollegeHumour’s marvellous video that depicts just that. Get your 8-bit condensed crime saga on over at collegehumor.com/video/6821163/the-wire-rpg. Warning: significant spoilers throughout!
We’re all aware of the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game by now, in which you test your knowledge of the film industry by feverishly trying connect any actor to Mr Bacon in six moves or less, but now Google have introduced an algorithim that does all that hard work for you. Simply type “[Actor’s Name] Bacon Number” into the search engine and vóila – bob’s your mother’s brother. Maybe it’s just us, but have Google kind of taken the fun out of it?
Having simultaneously wowed, confused, intrigued and potentially alienated potential audiences with the extended five-minute trailer for forthcoming epic Cloud Atlas, the Wachowskis (in need of some validation after Speed Racer) and Tom Tykwer (of Run Lola Run fame) are gearing up for the release of what promises to be one of the most talked-about films of the year. The latest trailer is shorter but no less head-scratching. Check it out at youtu.be/ByehYal_cCs.
Finally, when it comes to table-top footy action, Subbuteo will always by the daddy, right? But even the mighty have their flaws, as wonderfully evidenced by Sofa Soccer’s Rich J over on thefootballattic.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/rich-js-5-worst-subbuteo-items.html. Feast your eyes on five of the most pointless and irritating Subbuteo accessories of all time. Our personal fave? The floodlights. A bigger failure than Shamrock Rover’s’ season. Speaking of all things ball-related, you might not think you want to read lengthy analysis on the evolution of American soccer, but this piece by Howler magazine is well worth your time: whatahowler.tumblr.com/post/31313126129/what-is-american-soccer.