These folks saw a bobcat far from shore near Southside Harbour, Nova Scotia. We're glad they saved the cat, who must have been exhausted. But next time, ladies, remember to use your indoor voices because human screeching only stresses out wildlife. I'm not sure petting the bobcat was a good idea, either. Once they moored, he couldn't wait to get away.
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
A Very Loud Bobcat Rescue
Why Are Villains All Sympathetic Now?
Have you noticed the trend in the last couple of decades of stories that make the villain into a sympathetic character? Yeah, we already had the antihero, which is a hero that goes against type, or has character flaws you wouldn't expect, but this is different. In the TV series Breaking Bad, we watched the main character go from a sympathetic everyman to a full villain, but we rooted for him anyway, because everyone else was even worse. Disney has given us sympathetic backstories that make us feel sorry for Maleficent and Cruella DeVil. Even Godzilla went from stomping on Tokyo to protecting it from other monsters. And then there's Wicked.
Maybe it's because we are so fascinated by the evil character. Arnold Schwarzeneggar played the most captivating role in The Terminator, so they brought him back as a good guy in the sequel. Darth Vader got a redemption arc in the end, and it was repeated with Kylo Ren. But this trend of seeing the story from the villain's point of view is not really new, it just got submerged in the first hundred years of cinema. PBS takes us back to the roots of our sympathy for the devil, literally and literarily. But is the modern version of this trend an attempt to understand bad behavior or to excuse it?
Miss Cellania's Links
I tricked 3 million people into believing in an evil fake polycule. (via Nag on the Lake)
New ICE horrors come to light. (via Fark)
Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2026 – the winning images. (via Everlasting Blort)
Did Thomas Jefferson Father Sally Hemings’ Children? After More Than a Decade of Research, the Answer Is Finally Firmly in Hand.
“Lonely” Manuel Herrick, the “Okie Jesus Congressman.” From a hundred years ago.
26 Reasons Why Classic Hollywood Was as Evil as They Say it Was.
Who's not afraid of the King of Beasts? Mom, that's who.
SNL's Wardrobe Challenges
Saturday Night Live is aired live from New York, of course, so the production team are always on their toes. At the same time, the skits feature cast members impersonating real people and characters wearing over-the-top silly costumes, which must be completely changed during commercial breaks. The wardrobe department handles all this, plus finding, designing, making, and rehearsing with those costumes, with only a week to get it all right. Then they start all over again. THe new season of SNL starts on September 26th. (via Laughing Squid)
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
An Honest Trailer for Ocean's Eleven
In honor of its 25th anniversary, Screen Junkies made an Honest Trailer for the movie Ocean's Eleven. I thought it was a lot older than that, but I was thinking of the 1960 Rat Pack film -which is the one I've actually seen. This is the remake with George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Brad Pitt, among other late 20th-century stars. It's hard to believe the remake is 25 years old. Or close to it- it was released in December of 2001.
Saving a Ukrainian Leopard
Okay, I will admit that there is no such species as a Ukrainian leopard, but Leeloo the leopard was born in a sketchy petting zoo in Ukraine. Her mother rejected her because she wouldn't eat, and she was getting weaker every day. Then Leonid and Valentina Stoyanov stepped in. They are married veterinarians who decided to stay in Ukraine when war broke out to take care of the animals.
This video doesn't go into what was exactly wrong with the cub, but the Vet Crew said it was "a long list of serious health problems." Leeloo underwent two operations and intense therapy before she regained her health. That was three years ago, and now Leeloo is the queen of their sanctuary.
The History of House Colors
What color your house is may depend on when it was built, and whether the owner follows fashion or function, although the two may be entwined. As the owner of a bright daffodil yellow house in a white vinyl neighborhood, I follow neither. There are always outliers. But Stewart Hicks takes us through the reasons that the dominant house colors change over time.
One reason is which building materials, paint colors, and innovative siding was available. Also, there was a historic trend thrown in when people went from colors that hid dirt to colors that highlighted dirt. In some eras, people just got tired of houses that all looked alike, but then HOAs came in and reversed a colorful trend. Picking a color means risking your home's resale value, offending the neighbors, or making a decision you might regret. Maybe that's why neighborhoods tend to move toward the monochrome, even when it's a weird color like black.
You can lament the lack of color in houses all you want, but there are reasons why people choose the house color they do. I was once able to tell people I had the yellow house near the river, and they instantly knew where I lived. Now they just ask for an address for their GPG system. This video is only ten minutes long; the rest is promotional.
Bootleg
Dram O' Sham @danpirarobizarro.bsky.social @comicskingdom.bsky.social
— Wayno® (@wayno.bsky.social) September 17, 2026 at 3:31 PM
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Monday, September 21, 2026
Why Americans Are So Cautious About Travel
Laurence Brown looks at the difference between the way Americans consider travel and the way Europeans do. There are a few factors at work here. Americans travel a lot without even thinking of it as "travel." We can drive 100 miles to try out a new restaurant, while Europeans would consider that a "road trip." My youngest drives three hours to see me every weekend. It takes at least three days to drive from one end of the country to the other, the equivalent of Europeans crossing a dozen nations. But we do it all the time, in a car, and it's no wonder we think about the safety of those in those cars. And that's just the first part of this video. There's a skippable sponsor message sneaking up on you at 2:50 that lasts until 3:58.
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