Well, it is technically a commercial.

For that I apologize. But somebody poured more love and finesse into this than it really needed.

Plus, "purple". That is a high-quality joke right there.

The Noises Rest

Never mind today; the best thing I saw all week is this:

"The Noises Rest" from lonelysandwich on Vimeo.

How research saved the Large Blue butterfly

Thanks to this list of the best science blog entries of 2009, today's best thing was the article "How research saved the Large Blue butterfly". Nice job clearly representing a complex and subtle lifecycle. A representative sentence:

In fact, steps taken to deter collectors actually worsened the situation - one fence erected to keep lepidopterists out also excluded grazing animals, leading to overgrown turf and the rapid extinction of the local Large Blues!