When a stranger comes up with an uncanny smile and tells you to remain calm, you know something weird is up, because that's about the worst thing a stranger can say. But then he says he's from the federal government, and that's even scarier. The twist in this story is that remaining calm is the only thing that will save your life. How can you do that when you're terrified? Or when you're watching a creepy horror story? Well, what normally calms you down when you're stressed? You don't need to answer that; the film will guide you.
Remain Calm is a horror short by Jake Lewis of the Lewis Brothers, starring Pauly Shore, Nick Swardson, and Doug Jones. Yes, it does have some comedy overtones among the terrifying scenes that have commenters asking for more episodes starring the two store cashiers, or a full-length movie, or even a series following these characters. (via Metafilter)
Sunday, October 18, 2026
Remain Calm
Autumn's Transformation
When a dog owner gets older, it gets harder for them to get outside and exercise their dog every day. When dementia slips in, it's easy to lose track of how much the dog is being fed, since feeding is a way of showing love. It happens a lot, and that was the story when Autumn's owner passed away and she ended up in foster care. A beagle shouldn't weigh 72 pounds! But with a careful plan of diet and exercise, Autumn overcame the extra weight that was holding her back. (via Laughing Squid)
How to Vote
Comedian Demi Adejuyigbe busts some myths about voting. It's not hard. Really, the hardest part is making yourself get get off the couch and do it. If you find it's more difficult than it should be, that's a sign that you should do something about it, like get involved in your community to change things. I vote every chance I get, even in elections where I know my vote is akin to spitting in the wind, because I would regret missing that chance. Here in Kentucky's 5th district, that's pretty much all of them, but I will still vote because I care about my country and its future. (via Boing Boing)
Saturday, October 17, 2026
The Tingler
The 1959 horror film The Tingler involves Vincent Price discovering a parasite that attaches to a person's spine. When they are afraid, the parasite grows stronger, and when they scream, it grows weaker. So it is to the tingler's advantage to scare the victim, and if you can't scream for some reason, you're a goner. But there's more than a monster in this movie- there's murder, too.
Producer and director William Castle often used gimmicks for his films. For The Tingler, a method he called Percepto! was used. A buzzer device was installed in some theater seats that relayed a "tingle" at certain points int he movie. The audience was encouraged to scream if they felt it, because that would relieve the effects of the parasite. They also staged medical emergencies among some audiences. The Tingler wasn't all that well-received at the time, but has become a cult classic because of its camp qualities and Vincent Price's performance. (Thanks, WTM!)
Luna and Kallie
When I had a houseful of kids, someone would bring a cat home as "their cat." but the cat would decide to be close to a different person. That didn't really matter with a bunch of busy teenagers. Now the cats are all close to me, because they have no choice. Luna was adopted into a family with several children, and decided the baby Kallie was hers. Can you blame her? Everyone loves babies.
Why Ghosts Wear White Sheets
There was one time I actually went trick-or-treating as a ghost wearing a bed sheet with two eye holes. Just once. I learned that it's impossible to keep the eye holes in the right place when you're walking, or doing anything. I guess that's why Charlie Brown had multiple eye holes cut into his sheet. When my kid wanted to be a ghost, I insisted on using a white bathrobe with a (non-pointy) hood and plenty of white face paint. She changed that to a black robe with white face paint and was much scarier.
But why are ghosts depicted as being covered in a white sheet? The art that makes them look like that goes back further than the trick-or-treat costume. Even today, when very few kids want to be a ghost for Halloween, we hang up balloons with white fabric over them to decorate our porches, because that says "ghosts" to us. Dr. Emily Zarka of Monstrum explains why.
How Polar Bears Ruined Halloween
Trick-or-treating can be a bit different when you live in Nunanvut. In addition to watching out for traffic, you have to keep clear of polar bears! The town of Arviat cancelled outdoor Halloween activities for years because of bears, and now armed guards surround the town during trick-or-treat.
No Kings Today
whoa... the current map of "No Kings: Vote Early" events planned for tomorrow, sat oct 17: www.nokings.org
— Rachel Maddow (@maddow.bsky.social) October 16, 2026 at 6:43 PM
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Friday, October 16, 2026
Former Bully Needs Surgery
The latest skit from Foil Arms and Hogg finds a former school bully going in for surgery. He gets a bit nervous when he meets his surgeon and finds out they went to school together. This is another of many reasons you don't bully other kids (or adults). He survived the surgery, but woke up with no eyebrows.
An Owl Uses Sound to Hunt Under the Snow
If you're a rodent out in the forest, there's nothing more frightening than a hungry owl. They stare at you with those super predator eyes and glide in silently for the kill. Under a thick blanket of snow, however, they can't see you.
The great grey owl will find you anyway. These birds have superpowers, and they can hear voles moving underneath the snow. They have excellent hearing, and their whole face is designed to enhance that ability. We need special effects to detect what the owl can hear. They also use physics to fine-tune their attack on a fast-moving vole they cannot see. The owl's survival depends on it.
This nature sequence is from the CBC show The Nature of Things, from a series called Secret World of Sound. If you're interested, you can see how they got this amazing footage in a behind the scenes video explaining the acoustic camera. (via kottke)
The History of Domino's
The original title of this video is How Domino's Became #1 With Bad Pizza, but I'm not using that because many folks like Domino's pizza. I haven't eaten one in I don't know how long and besides, pizza is like sex. Anyway, Domino's is the number one pizza chain, and often it's the only name people can remember. Most of that is the work of Tom Monaghan, who founded Domino's in 1960 with his younger brother Jim. Success came from hard work, streamlining the restaurant's menu, delivery, and inventing of the pizza box. Name recognition came, too.
In the last 60 years, there have been many Domino's Pizza news stories that you will recall once you hear them again. Not all were detrimental to the company. but they all add up to a pizza place that everyone knows, even if they don't particularly care for the pizza.