(via Bits and Pieces)
Monday, November 09, 2026
Star Wars Copies From the 1970s
When Star Wars came out in 1977, it was an immediate monster hit. Filmmakers everywhere, but especially in Italy, sat up and noticed. If the audience wants a space Western, that's what they'll get! But we had already seen space adventures for many years, so what was it about Star Wars that people loved so much? A series of movies were churned out that tried to emulate Star Wars as best they could, going so far as to rip off character designs and plot lines from a galaxy far, far away. The most famous of these knockoffs was Starcrash, an Italian film with movie stars and space battles, but not much else.
Evan Puschak looks at the phenomena of low budget Star Wars wannabe movies, and hones in on exactly what they were missing. Which any moviegoer who saw Star Wars on a big screen in 1977 knows to be true. This video is only seven minutes long; the rest is an ad. (via kottke)
Miss Cellania's Links
Marilyn Monroe as the Fabulous Enchantresses: When Monroe Recreated Photos of Five Famous Actresses From the Past, 1958.
It Was Failed Election Meddling, Not Absence of Election Meddling. (via Fark)
The Tesla Cybertruck Is Dead, The Ford F-150 Lives.
The Kyshtym Dwarf: What Was Alyoshenka, the Tiny Body Found in the Urals in 1996? Or, how weird conspiracies can arise from institutional failures. (via Strange Company)
The only real excuse for wearing a wedding dress to a friend's wedding is in this bizarre story.
Pasilalinic-Sympathetic Compass: The Snail Telegraph. I think Snail-o-Gram would have been a better name.
I’m an athletic trainer – here’s how to know when kids sports are too intense.
Doctors pull knife from man’s eye that went through his brain—and he’s fine now.
What is Federal Land?
You've heard of federal land, but who controls it, how does it differ from state or private land, and how did it become that way? Even if you've never wondered about it, when CGP Grey tackles a subject, you know it's going to be interesting, and that you'll learn more than you bargained for.
Life is Short
The great wisdom of the ages is surprisingly contradictory. This comic is from Go Borgo. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
Sunday, November 08, 2026
Yes, 42 is a Special Number
Yeah, you saw the question in the title and said, "That's the answer to life, the universe, and everything!" And you are right; that was the premise of Douglas' Adams story The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. But also remember, by the time the supercomputer once known as earth rendered the answer, it occurred to everyone that they no longer knew what the question was. The real question for Adams was, why 42? There was nothing special about that number, he assured us. But is that true? The number 42 crops up in plenty of ancients texts and classic literature. Could these have influenced Adams? And what if they didn't? The number is certainly important now, thanks to The Hitchhiker's Guide.
Portuguese Man O' War
The Portuguese man o' war is not from Portugal, and it's neither a man nor at war. but more importantly, it's not a jellyfish, either, although it looks like one. This creature cannot even propel itself through the water, and relies on ocean currents to move at all. As such, you'd think they would stay in their own ecosystem. But climate change is bringing warm waters to more places than ever before, and the man o' war is spreading with those waters. Why is this important?
For one, we don't know what effect they will have as an invasive species, and how the man o' war will upset the balance of nature. The other reason is closer to home- they can kill humans. A Portuguese man o' war's sting can range from painful and bothersome to lethal, with all kinds of unpleasant effects in between that can last up to a year. You don't want to mess with these animals, even when they are stranded on the beach. Even though they are pretty.
The Midterm Aftermath
Saturday Night Live opened the show last night the way they always do, by having the president interrupt something else and then free-associating nonsense. But the mood is more upbeat, and there's a surprise cameo that isn't a surprise at all since they used it for the static image of this video.
Swiss Mishap
While visiting Interlaken, Switzerland, Gursk3 decided to try hang gliding the safe way- by going on a tandem ride with a pro. Easy, right? Until he's in the air and realizes that his harness was never connected to the glider! All he can do is hang, with both hands, for his life. For more than two minutes. The pro cannot help him and guide the glider at the same time. Gursk3 survived to post the video, but he was not unscathed. Surprisingly, he kept his sense of humor long enough to produce the video. We don't know what happened to the pro afterward, but we would like to think he is unemployed. (via Digg)
The Aunt
This is the reason my niece and nephew couldn't come and stay with us for more than a couple hours at a time when they were children. I didn't know until after the fact, but their mom is quite a bit more strict and protective than I was. Still, their kids and my kids all turned out to be pretty good adults. This is the latest from Chris at Lunarbaboon.
Saturday, November 07, 2026
The Amazing Colossal Man
The Amazing Colossal Man is a 1957 film that follows the dangerous growth of a military officer after he is exposed to a plutonium bomb. In 1957, you could blame everything on nuclear radiation. Lt. Colonel Glenn Manning was not expected to live, but he healed up and started growing quickly. But his heart wasn't keeping up with his growth, so his time is limited. But what's worse, his mental state declined until he was a real danger to Las Vegas. The reviews were generally favorable at the time, but the film has not held up well. (Thanks, WTM!)
Something Greater Than You
In the stop-motion animation Something Greater Than You, two raccoons find shelter from a winter storm in someone's basement. It's full of human junk to play with, and the owner is evidently a bird watcher, or rather was at some time in the past. Raccoons are pretty smart, and these have even figured out how to use a cassette player. They can't talk, but you know what they are thinking every minute. It seems like a pretty good setup, until they hear someone at the door. That's when you need to get a hankie ready.
Gordon LePage made this as a one-man project at his studio in Maine. The puppets are needle felted wool built over wooden or steel armatures for movement. It's easy to forget that and just consider them characters. (via the Awesomer)
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