Spyro Gyro Motorized Stylus

Spyro Gyro Motorized Stylus - $9.995

School is almost here. Are you looking for a fun way to waste time while you should be studying? You need the Spyro Gyro Motorized Stylus from the NeatoShop. The Spyro Gyro comes complete with 5 different color pen tips, and 3 interchangeable patterns. It's the perfect way to waste hours upon hours of valuable study time.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more entertaining Back to School items!

Get your Motorized Stylus today!

Funny Links

Mario: The Movie! No one thought a lowly plumber could earn the love of a princess, but they were in for a surprise.

A tortoise attends a renaissance faire in full costume. I’m not kidding -he’s wearing a kilt and pulling a little cart.

Can’t… stop… clicking… channels… Beware, or you, too, may become addicted to Gif.TV. (via Metafilter)

The Six Ways You’ll See Your Dad. So funny and so true, and can apply to moms as well.

Roald Dahl Was Kind of Weird. Anyone familiar with the author would call that an understatement, but this letter he wrote just adds fuel to his reputation.

In the animated short film Mortys, death is a working mother. Business is disrupted when the Grim Reaper’s child schemes to get more of her time.

Gear up for college football season even if you don’t know a thing about the game! This video takes you through the 30 strangest names of real college players, past and present.

Expectations vs. Reality. In many different fields.

This is how a cave spider hides itself. Wait for it, and find out how an arachnid can be “cute.”

The 12 Most Annoying Types Of College Students. If you recognize yourself, there’s still time to mend your ways for this year!

8 Wacky Fall Festivals. It takes a good dose of silliness to stand out from all the rest of the harvest celebrations.

A Gizmodo writer went on a date with a game champion and complained he was too nerdy. The internet responded with something about a pot and a kettle, and here is a roundup of the relevant (and funny) links.

Good Reads and Information

Now Hear This: Radio War Propagandists.

The Awl dissects the editing process of one Wikipedia entry: Lolita. The over 2,000 edits give us a glimpse into the strange collaboration of Wikipedia editors.

New York city police have been spying on Muslim neighborhoods, with the help of the CIA. The FBI, the city’s lawyers, and the public have a problem with this.

As a 6-year-old, Ruby Bridges pioneered school desegregation in 1960. This summer, she visited the White House to see the Norman Rockwell painting of her historic walk to first grade. (via Metafilter)

The GOP backs a tax hike. They want to eliminate payroll tax relief for the middle class and the working poor. (via Simply Left Behind)

What would Earth be like to us if it were a cube instead of spherical? It would have some weird properties and fascinating differences.

The controversy over taxing corporations. The rates look fine on paper, but due to loopholes and accounting magic, big businesses in the U.S. pay very little income tax.

Revenge of the Esoteric Phobias (or, “Proof Our Readers are Insane”). Responses to an earlier post from folks whose fears are “too specifically weird to be fabricated.”

What happens when two chatbots are connected to each other? They try to make conversation, and succeed as far as either of them are concerned.

5 Charlie’s Angels Facts Revealed. The original series, not the recent movies.

‘Eyeborg’: The man with a robotic video-camera eye. Canadian filmmaker Rob Spence can record and share everything he sees.

Victorian Husbands and Wives. Take a close look and try to guess how many of these are cousins. (via Everlasting Blort)

Falling Asleep while Eating Ice Cream

You don't know whether to say "Awww," or laugh! (via The Daily What)

Origami Napkins

Origami Napkins - $8.95

Are you looking for a fun way to entertain your dinner guests? You need the Origami Napkins from the NeatoShop. This fantastic pack of 40 white paper napkins is printed with 4 amazing origami patterns. The 4 origami styles include:

• Polo Shirt


• Flapping Bird


• The Bird of Paradise Flower


• And Jester's Boot

Get your Origami Napkins today!

Links for Fun

The Inside Scoop on the Fake Barf Industry.

The Facebook Purity Test. I scored a 95, but that only means I'm an old lady and don't use Facebook for the purpose it is intended.

Jedi Kittens.

Retro Back-To-School Swag We Still Want. Those of us who don’t have to go back to school always get nostalgic this time of year, particularly when confronted with neat school gear.

The War of 1812: The Movie. College Humor imagines what it would have been like if the participants understood the conflict just as well as we do.

The Cirque de Legume is a sort of a circus in which the props are vegetables. Watch and decide: entertaining or weird?

The Top Ten Jokes of the Edinburgh Fringe have been selected. There must be something in the delivery, since they seem a bit flat when you read them.

Thing to look at high. This one's my favorite. (via Gorilla Mask)

Swiss artist and comedian Ursus Wehrli organizes chaos to a ridiculous degree. Excerpts from his new book put the “Oh!” on OCD. (via Metafilter)

If Pac-Man was a first person shooter, this is what it would look like. Now, if it were only a working game instead of a video…

Some sites exist to publish opinions on products or services, like Yelp; others include reviews of the things they sell, like Amazon. There are always wonderfully ridiculous submissions that you no longer have to search for, because they get reposted to UhPinions. (via Gorilla Mask)

The first day of the school year is a joyous occasion for parents and for a lot of students. However, some kids are mourning the end of their carefree summer days.

Paper dolls from all your favorite TV shows. Just print and cut, and maybe stage your own drama if you like. (via Buzzfeed)

Chef of the Future

A sketch from the classic TV show The Honeymooners.

Wall Decals

Wall Decals - $19.95 each

Are you looking for a fun and easy way to spruce up your dorm room or apartment walls? You need Wall Decals from the NeatoShop. These fantastic decals are repositionable, removable, and reusable. The are easy to apply and easy to remove. The Decals are currently available in 8 different styles:

• Drama Queen


• Road Signs


• Audrey Silhouette


• Eiffel Tower


• Keep Calm and Carry On


• Dr. Seuss One Fish Two Fish


• The Beatles Yellow Submarine (shown)


• Peanuts Baseball Team

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Home & Garden products!

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Arfsolut Vodka Plush Dog Toy

Arfsolut Vodka Plush Dog Toy - $11.95

Do you have a trendsetting dog who appreciates the finer things in life? Get him the Arfsolout Vodka Plush Toy from the NeatoShop. Your sophisticated pooch will love this squeaky plush dog toy shaped like the iconic drink.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more wooftastic Pet Stuff!

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The Evil Hurricane

By Nervous Norvus. (via Metafilter)

Narwhal Finger Puppet

Narwhal Finger Puppet - $0.95

Was your favorite childhood pastime pretending to be a Narwhal? Now you can relive your youth with the fabulous Narwhal Finger Puppet from the NeatoShop. Pop a couple onto your hand and let these magical unicorns of the sea transport you to simpler times.

Narwhal Finger Puppets are sold per piece. Be sure to buy 5 to get a complete hand's worth.

Make sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fantastic Gag Gifts & Pranks.

Get your Narwhal Puppet today!

Good Reads and Info

A tribute to the Apple Founder on his retirement: The Top Steve Jobs Keynote Moments.

You know how microwave ovens heat or defrost your food unevenly? Lenore at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories accidentally uncovered the pattern her microwave uses when she heated some Indian snack crackers.

As a 6-year-old, Ruby Bridges pioneered school desegregation in 1960. This year, she visited the White House to see the Norman Rockwell painting of her historic walk to first grade. (via Metafilter)

People can’t even agree on what it means to be dead. Subjects in a study ascribe more mental power to a dead person than to someone in an irreversible vegetative state.

Robonaut 2 has been taken out of its suitcase and started a testing phase at the International Space Station. If all goes well, the space robot should be put to work in a couple of weeks.

Trivia from our 49th State. Just in case you don’t already know, that’s Alaska.

It's nice to hear that your work has influence. If someone has inspired you, you should let them know.

In 1959, nine people who went on a camping/skiing expedition to a Russian mountain were found dead with mysterious wounds, and the tongue of one woman was missing. Fifty years later, we still don’t know what happened.

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya is the world’s most successful orphan-elephant rescue and rehabilitation center. Young elephants who’ve lost parents to poachers are sheltered until they are able to fend for themselves in the wild.

TRUE CRIME: The Incompetent Kidnapping of Frank Sinatra, Jr. The perpetrators even had to borrow gas money from their victim!

The Mystique Of Online Viral Imagery. A panel of internet people discuss what makes a meme, and what makes a meme popular.

Who knew? Muammar Gadhafi has a thing for Condoleeza Rice.

The Awl dissects the editing process of one Wikipedia entry: Lolita. The over 2,000 edits give us a glimpse into the collaboration of Wikipedia editors.

Retro Back-To-School Swag We Still Want. Those of us who don’t have to go back to school always get nostalgic this time of year, particularly when confronted with neat school gear.

Eyeball Salt & Pepper Shakers

Eyeball Salt & Pepper Shakers - $11.95

Are you looking for a new salt and pepper shaker set that is visually appealing? You need the Eyeball Salt & Pepper Shakers from the NeatoShop. This ghoulish set is magnetic and comes on a ceramic tray. With these beauties on your table your friends will know you have a real eye for design.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more unusual and entertaining Salt & Pepper Shakers.

Get your Eyeballs today!

Remember, a portion of every NeatoShop item you buy through this website helps to support Miss Cellania. Get your Miss Cellania T-shirt at the NeatoShop, too!

The Origins of Weird State Park Names (Part Three)

When you see these names, you tend to say to yourself, “Does that mean what it sounds like?” In most cases, no. Find out the real stories behind hard-to-believe state park names in this article I posted today at mental_floss.

Fun and Funny Links

What Is Up With Noises? Math whiz Vi Hart explains the science of sound in an engaging video.

Rob Dyrdek’s 5 Craziest Viral Videos. MTV gave this guy his own show, which will premiere August 29th.

Duck Tron imagines the movie Tron starring rolls of Duck tape. Also starring the Tron Guy in his first major viral ad.

8 Classic Novels In 33 Words Or Less. Sometimes as few as three words, but only funny if you’ve actually read the book.

Rapper/designer CMYKilla gives you some Photoshop advice delivered in rap form. Oh yeah, that will help you remember what buttons to push. NSFW language.

What it's like to play online games as a grownup.

About twenty years ago, Pixar gathered some 200 suggested names for an animated film about toys, which eventually became Toy Story. Here are sixteen of those titles that might have been.

Believe it or not, you can knit ramen noodles. This is why you should never overcook them.

The stories behind 18 perplexing band names. Oh, no one says they have to make sense, but they all came from somewhere.

OK Go teams up with the Muppets for the happiest music video ever. Despite what you've been told, it's not over when the fat lady sings.

Ma and Pa Kettle: In Waikiki

Clips from the 1955 film.

Things You Must Do To Make Me Happy Pad

Things You Must Do To Make Me Happy - $6.45

Do wish there was a simple way to tell someone you know how they can make you happy? You need the Things You Must Do To Make Me Happy Pad from the NeatoShop. This fantastic 60 sheet pad allows you to easily check off things like:

• Buy me something


• Chew in silence


• Proclaim your love


• Be yourself, but better


• Make the bed


• Pretend to like my family


• Rub my feet


• Praise my intellect


• Stop saying "um"


• Learn the words


• Cure Cancer


• and the options go on and on

Expressing yourself honestly has never been easier.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more heartfelt Stationary items.

Get your Happy Pad today!

Remember, a portion of every NeatoShop item you buy through this website helps to support Miss Cellania. Get your Miss Cellania T-shirt at the NeatoShop, too!

Informative Links

An instant guide to the dramatic release of the West Memphis Three. They can’t sue for compensation, the movie has been made, so what do they do next?

If these pictures are any indication, Jeremy Noritz’ Steampunk Loft is a hoot to visit. But honestly, I wouldn’t want to be the one to dust it.

Benevolent Maize and Ogre-Fart Chilis. Food origin myths from the Peruvian Andes assigned blame for the way plants turn out.

Poaching is a continuing problem at Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Park rangers risk their lives to catch and arrest poachers before they wipe out entire species. Warning: Disturbing photographs.

About 25% of Americans live in rural areas, but only 10% of doctors want to work in them. One small town found that the solution is to grow your own doctors.

What Items Do You Wish You Had (or Didn’t Have) in Your Freshman Dorm Room? Share your hard-earned lessons which the incoming class.

Honey laundering: An international food-safety crisis. Is that stuff in your sweet rolls made by bees, or is it a honey-flavored fraud?

An Abandoned Hospital and its Abandoned Inhabitants. An Oregon psychiatric hospital is the ultimate setting for creepy photographs.

Cinematic notes from the D23 Expo (the Disney convention), including tidbits on upcoming Pixar films. Oh yeah, and Disney-not-Pixar movies, too.

Why Are Finland's Schools Successful? “We prepare children to learn how to learn, not how to take a test.” http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/Why-Are-Finlands-Schools-Successful.html

Why Are Finland’s Schools So Successful? “We prepare children to learn how to learn, not how to take a test.”

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about the Rise of Shaky-Cam. Wiggly camera shots are distracting, annoying, and may be used to cover talentless acting.

Gaddafi: The Last Supervillain? See how he’s changed through 42 years of dictatorship in Libya.

Postpartum depression is bad enough for moms, but researchers say it has a long-lasting effect on the babies, too. The differences show up in parts of the brain ten years later!

10 Mind-Blowing Art Quilts

The art of quilting grew out of the very practical activity of making warm bed covers, often out of recycled fabrics. Even hundreds of years ago, creative quilters took the opportunity to make something beautiful as well as useful. Clever patterns were passed around and became traditional, but the art is not limited to those patterns that became most common. The only limit for quilt patterns is the imagination of the artist. We’ve brought you collections of video game quilts and science fiction quilts. Here are ten others that transcend the title of sewing project to become works of art, in a list I posted at mental_floss.

Fun and Funny Links

You know how people sometimes put a quarter into a picture with another object to show how its size? What if you had a really, really big coin for that purpose?

More cinema supercuts came out this week than I could ever link, so I’m glad someone put them all together in one post. One day, we will realize that all movies have the same ingredients, just mixed differently. NSFW language.

You remember the game Where’s Waldo? It doesn’t hold a candle to “Where’s Wall-E?”

Rotate the cells to line up the curvy lines. You can see how difficult this puzzle is, but once you start, it's hard to stop! (via mental_floss)

Juliana and Ben had a series of photographs made to celebrate their engagement. What do you wanna bet the wedding will be just as memorable? (via Neatorama)

In the Fall is an animated short about the way we live our lives. Not that there’s much you can do once it flashes before your eyes.

What happens when you combine paintball guns and snowboards? Multicolored slopes and a lot of fun!

If you thought Shetland ponies were small, you need to see pygmy Shetland ponies! They’re so tiny, they stay adorably cute their entire lives.

All Hail the Fail Whale! How an often-seen error page made a whimsical design into an icon we all know and love.

Video evidence proves that Spider-Man is a jerk, in both Warsaw, Poland, and in Oklahoma City.

Meet Omar Shamshoon. The Arabic version of The Simpsons was altered to remove anything offensive.Can you see where this is going?

6 Reasons The Guy Who's Fixing Your Computer Hates You.

Jax Beer Ad

From 1948, when it was very rare to see African-Americans on TV at all, much less in an ad.

CAPSLOCK Gum

CAPSLOCK Gum - $1.25

Are you constantly aggravated by e-mails, tweets, and status updates? You need a chewing gum that is intune with your inner most feelings. You need the CAPSLOCK Gum from the NeatoShop. This novelty gum quietly says what your insides are screaming, "Please don't make me go all CAPS Lock on your ass."

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more hilarious Mints & Candies.

Get your CAPSLOCK Gum today!

Remember, a portion of every NeatoShop item you buy through this website helps to support Miss Cellania.

Good Reads and Interesting Links

Disney pulled the plug on the $250 million film version of The Lone Ranger. The reasons have to do with cash, werewolves, Aliens, and Tonto. (NSFW text)

A man in Louisiana died from rabies caught from a vampire bat bite last year, the first ever for the USA. Climate change means we could see more such cases in the future.

The Stories Behind 5 Famous Exhumations. It’s a drastic solution for unanswered questions, and not to be undertaken lightly.

The Body on Somerton Beach. An unsolved 1948 death in Australia only grows more mysterious as the years go by -but there are clues. (via Metafilter)

Cracked took years of scientific studies on human happiness and put them together in one narrative explanation. Even though you may have kept up with the research, they titled it 5 Scientific Reasons Your Idea of Happiness Is Wrong. NSFW text. (via Neatorama)

Russia’s $165,000 per night space hotel. The proposed Commercial Space Station (CSS) will accommodate seven people at a time, but the transportation to it will cost extra. A lot extra.

How the Bicycle Emancipated Women. You’d want to take off any way you could, if you had to live the life of a Victorian lady.

The Agony and the Ecstasy: The Quiet Mission to Fight PTSD With Psychedelic Drugs. Let’s just hope they find something that works. (via Boing Boing)

“Swarmanoid” is a herd of 60 robots with different specialties that communicate with each other and work as a team. I, for one, welcome our new swarmanoid overlords.

Read the full text here: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/97683#ixzz1VReTqpFY
--brought to you by mental_floss!

Check out a gallery of the Most Famous Faked Photos. The first one is a bit gory, but hey …it’s FAKE!

The Fear of Fear Itself (and Other Esoteric Phobias). Everyone’s afraid of something, it may as well be something hard to comprehend.

Domo with Braces

Domo With Braces - $10.95

Even adorable farting monsters want straight teeth. Don't believe me? Check out the Domo With Braces plush toy from the NeatoShop. Hmmm ... I wonder if he has to sleep in orthodontic headgear?

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fabulous Plush Toys.

Get your Domo today! Remember, a portion of every NeatoShop item you buy through this website helps to support Miss Cellania.

SPAM Lip Balm

Spam Lip Glaze / Balm - $1.95

Are you looking for delicious way to keep your lips supple and soft? You need the toasted meat-flavored SPAM Lip Glaze / Balm from the NeatoShop. This lip balm will make sure your mouth always stays meaty fresh.

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more yummy Lip Balms.

Get your Spam Lip Balm today!

Friday Fun Links

11 Facts You Might Not Know about Kung Fu.

Little Johnny baptizes the cat.

Ken retired and started a woodworking project. The only things it’s good for is to impress you, which it is guaranteed to do.

Skateboarding Crashes Are More Awesome In Slow Motion. Of course, that’s only if you’re watching the videos, not experiencing the crash yourself.

Revenge of the Hunchcat. Two very short videos of cats that have never met, but share a strange ability.

What happens when you fall asleep in the front row during a comedy show.

The 25 Greatest Unscripted Scenes in Films. Improvisation only works for those who have talent, so you can be sure there are millions of snippets that didn’t make the supercut. NSFW language.

A Great big Dane named Emmitt Thunderpaws missed his alpha male best friend. Grab a hanky and watch him greet his dad after nine months in Afghanistan.

Henry’s Anytime Chili for One is a sad little recipe. Not only is Henry all alone, he can’t cook worth a darn.

Tokyo designer Takako Iwasa has the most fashionable cats in the world. Watch them show off outfits available for Iwasa’s feline customers.

The 9 Ways Baseball Players React To Calls They Hate. Once you know them all, you can design your own Major League drinking game around them.

Even a highly-paid CNN anchorman can react like a 12-year-old boy, if the script is funny enough. Watch for the pun that pushed him over the edge.

Read the full text here: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/97683#ixzz1VRe1OzOg
--brought to you by mental_floss!

Fashions in Corsets and Lingerie

Ads for women's underwear, year by year, from 1900 to 1950. (via Everlasting Blort)

The Origins of Weird State Park Names (Part Two)

State Parks in the US have a delicious variety of names. Many are named after a famous citizen, or a prominent feature of the terrain. Other titles, mostly local place names, are puzzling. In this second post of a series I wrote for mental-floss, we’ll look at some state parks with names that are scary or downright apocalyptic.

Good Reads and Information

Want to help encourage a young and inexperienced writer? My daughter has a blog that's an advice column for cats. Go figure. She needs questions to answer, or even just comments would be nice. Thanks!

Tax the rich or cut government spending? Turns out the American people want both in order to balance the budget. (via Breakfast Links)

Warren Buffet says, “Stop Coddling the Super-Rich.” Everyone else has something to say on whether we should listen to the world’s third-richest man or not.

Does the world really need a fourth Austin Powers movie? Not that it matters; the movie will apparently be made any way.

The Five People You Meet on the Apocalyptic Message Board. Yes, there is a 2012 Forum, but you’ll want to be prepared before you visit.

11 Cheery Songs That Are Actually Depressing. People don’t listen what the words say or mean; ask any wedding DJ.

3 Controversial Maps. Because, after all, the world is in the eye of the beholder.

The Cingulate Cortex Does Everything!

Mental Floss posed a question about Back to the Future, and one of the film's creators stepped in and explained. Ain't the internet cool?

The art group Skrekkogle took the graphic of dancing cards that you see when you win computer solitaire and rendered it in 3D. A thousand card faces were printed and laminated onto black foam, then positioned to make the sculpture.

Shawn spent an entire year getting ready to throw a surprise wedding for Colleen, and make every detail exactly the way she wanted it to be. He even brought her bedroom furniture to the wedding venue so Colleen could get dressed in familiar surroundings.

The 21 triangles that form the sculpture called MÖBIUS were moved around to make a stop-motion video in which the art comes alive. Enjoy it, and then see how they did it.

Fun and Funny Links

This seal enjoys getting his teeth brushed!

It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s…Some Dude?! A night in the lives of real-world super heroes. (via Metafilter)

The Adventures of a Cardboard Box. Kids don’t need fancy toys, so buy yourself something big and give your kid the box instead.

Mark Zuckerberg was interviewed in 2005, when his “Facebook” was still a campus thing. That seems like yesterday, but he’s come a long way in 6 years.

If NBC brings back the series The Munsters, who would (or should) play the parts today? MTV has some suggestions.

Wacky Sci-Fi “Laws”. They help hold the canon together, even if they don’t make much sense.

"This thread ... rules. Not only did I learn squirrels can have Downs, but there's also an emergency squirrel forum?" Cute pictures, too!

Maru has a book in English coming out August 23rd. While you wait for yours, watch him unbox his own volume.

CollegeHumor: The Website: The Book! If you’re getting ready for the new school year, you should go ahead and get acquainted with what these are.

50 Trippiest Drug Hallucinations in Movie History. When they’re on the big screen, you don’t have to deal with crashes, bad trips, hangovers, or jail time. (NSFW language)

Before They Were Famous: 25 Actors In 3 Minutes. Movie stars were all beginners once, and the evidence survives today.

How to make Ice Soap. Why you shouldn't. How stupid you will look.

Philo T. Farnsworth's Only TV Appearance

The man who invented electronic television only appeared on it once, in a 1957 episode of I've Got A Secret. (via The Daily What)

The Origins of Weird State Park Names

Potholes State Park. Poverty Point Reservoir State Park. Hard Labor Creek State Park. I started to wonder if there were other state parks with equally depressing names. Oh, you better believe I found a lot of them, and started looking up the reasons for those names. Many perfectly lovely parks have sad, scary, or baffling names. Find out about nine of them in this article I wrote for mental_floss.

Informative and Interesting Links

Back to school traffic is killing me.

A three-part article follows a story of international adoption gone wrong. The upshot is that throwing money at a problem sometimes makes it worse. (via Metafilter)

I Remember Ed Wood. The star of Plan 9 From Outer Space tells his story.

6 Shocking Stories from the London Riots. A mob is a mob and a city is a city even when its on fire, but individual stories bring it all home.

The 10 Most Important Kisses in the Universe.

8 Reasons Young Americans Don't Fight Back: How the US Crushed Youth Resistance.

Why do people confess to doing things they actually didn’t do? An experiments shows that eliciting a false confession is easier than it should be. (via 80 Beats)

Stephen King’s novel about a time-traveling teacher who goes back to the day of the Kennedy assassination won’t be in stores until November. But the film rights have already been snapped up, by The Silence of the Lambs filmmaker Jonathan Demme.

Volunteer recruitment at a shelter specializing in helping abused animals raises a few eyebrows. Where do you draw the line between ‘making do however you can’ and exploiting animals for profit?

Many people assumed that the Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie are lovers. Amid the talk of marrying them off, the show’s producers take time to clarify the Muppets’ sexuality.

Batman Villains Psychoanalyzed By Mental Health Experts. Those labeled criminally insane in the comics would probably only need a little therapy in real life. (via Neatorama)

If you doubt that banks are heartless, see how Chase caused this guy to lose his job and car because of their mistakes.

Cat Does the Thriller Dance

(via Arbroath)

Links for Fun and Entertainment

The First Cross-dressing Comic Book Superhero.

A man in Beijing spent $15,000 to make his proposal memorable -by dressing himself and 48 friends as giant carrots! See it and a gallery of other wacky proposals.

FACT: ‘The Adventures Of Pete & Pete’ Invented Hipsters. It all makes perfect sense now to someone who never watched Nickelodeon.

What A Helpful Kitten!

How to Step Over a Rope While Blindfolded.

The Worst Summer Movie Sequels. Score one point for every one of these that you skipped seeing at the theater. (via Film Drunk)

The Auctioned Heirloom. A vintage ad inspires a really silly tale. (via Boing Boing)

A dog named Stacey Mae has perfected the art of the 5-second video. Don’t ask a question unless you’re ready for an answer.

When you’re on top of the world and can afford anything you want, what do you do next? You make a rap video to brag about it.

Another day at Mythbusters. More here. (via reddit)

6 Weird Fashions From History (With Weirder Explanations).

Ghosts for Breakfast

A 1927 film by Hans Richter. (via Everlasting Blort)

The Late Movies: Law & Order

The TV series Law & Order caught on and spawned Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: SVU. There was also a Law & Order: Los Angeles that came and went before I was even aware of it. And that’s just the beginning, because there are plenty of other spinoffs created for different countries. Then there are the parodies, of course. I could have made an entire list of videos about people playing the theme song on various instruments, but it would take weeks to select the best. Here are some Law & Order videos I posted at mental_floss.

Good Reads and Information

"Psychologist and social scientist Dacher Keltner says the rich really are different, and not in a good way: Their life experience makes them less empathetic, less altruistic, and generally more selfish." Or did those qualities help them become rich? (via Metafilter)

Past Olympic Venues: What Are They Now? Some earned their construction costs, some didn’t, and others you wouldn’t even recognize today.

How America turned poverty into a crime. The author of the book Nickel and Dimed talks about how easy -and dangerous- it is to fall through the cracks.

There is no guarantee that a college education, or even an advanced degree, will protect you from poverty. This 55-year-old man has a PhD in physics, yet he lives in a shelter.

Real Madrid signed 7-year-old Leonel Angel Coira to a one-year contract. That seems awfully young to play pro sports, but its not the first time for this kind of publicity stunt.

TRUE CRIME: The Wichita Massacre. Four young people were gruesomely killed, then two survivors put the murderers behind bars, and the story even has a twist at the end.

Preserving human history in a National Park. It’s not “natural” to erase all evidence of human habitation, when Mother Nature can reclaim the land just fine.

Legendary record producer Phil Spector was convicted of murder two years ago. Take a couple of guesses as to who is going to play him in the movie version. (via Film Drunk)

French adrenaline junkies try to make your stomach churn as they negotiate highlines strung between mountains. Take a deep breath and enjoy the scenery.

An underwater art exhibit? You betcha! Andreas Franke attached her photographs to a sunken ship off the Florida coast for scuba divers to see.

The Genius of Miles Davis: Explained! Explained, maybe, but never reproduced.

Take The A Train

The Charles Mingus Sextet performs in Oslo, Norway. The lineup is Charles Mingus Double Bass, Eric Dolphy Bass Clarinet, Dannie Richmond Drum, Clifford Jordan Tenor Sax, Jackie Byard Piano, and Johnny Coles Trumpet.

8 Weird and Wonderful Local Festivals

Some years ago, I wrote about 8 Wacky Fall Festivals, which didn’t even scratch the surface of the roster of odd municipal celebrations around the USA. At one time, most of these fairs and festivals were scheduled for harvest season, to show off the bounty and recognize the finest produce and livestock with ribbons. Now, to maximize participation and profits, festivals are held year-round somewhere or other. Let’s look at eight festivals that strive to stand out from the rest in this list I posted at mental_floss.

Lnks for Fun

Snow skiing in August will cool you off like nothing else! Watch A Video Postcard from a Summer Shred Session in Chile.

Tao Tao is a giant panda born at the Wolong Panda wild training base in China, but he has never seen a human face. His caretakers always dressed in panda costumes to train Tao Tao for a life in the wild. (via Buzzfeed)

No need to get your ducks in a row. They tend to do that all by themselves.

People Who Got Owned By The Internet. The web can wreck your life, but only rarely through no fault of your own. (via Film Drunk)

Animals like to get high, as you’ll see in this slideshow of stoned critters. That’s why we don’t let them drive or operate heavy machinery.

Why The Robot Takeover Won’t Be Anytime Soon. Every new model has some spectacular misfires, which leaves us with entertaining videos, if nothing else.

Surely you can spare five seconds to watch Patton Oswalt portray a wizard in the 5-Second Film called The Final Battle? Heck, I would have watched that for ten seconds!

Jonathan Stark posted his Starbucks card online, with the barcode visible, to see what smartphone owners would do with it. Some got a cup of coffee, but many others reloaded the card for him!

In The Hospital of the Future, the entire body can be fluoroscoped and babies come out of sliding drawers. At least, that was in the vision in the 1950s.

A man in Beijing spent $15,000 to make his proposal memorable -by dressing himself and 48 friends as giant carrots! See it and a gallery of other wacky proposals.

Interesting and Informative Links

The Toll of “Rassenschande” on a Family. Auguste Landmesser was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment for falling in love. The rest of the family suffered their own fates.

The Newspaper Hoax that Shook the World.

How the Rainbow Became Associated with Gay Rights.

New hi-tech goggles convert visual data into sound. Once a blind person learns to use the device and interpret the audio, he can navigate by technology alone.

A new study says the NHS is one of the most cost-effective health systems in the developed world. The US health care system performed dismally in this regard.

The Hanging at Mankato. The story of the 1852 execution of thirty-eight Dakota Indians is told in pictures and the memories of those who witnessed it.

Burning the Shelter. In this book excerpt, a Forest Service worker ponders the value of wiping out evidence of human intervention when humans are a part of the environment, too.

One Man’s Hands: The Watts Towers. The iconic artworks in Los Angeles are Simon Rodia’s labor of love.

The Vice Guide to Norwegian Prisons. Their progressive corrections system may be the nicest on earth, but there’s a reason for what they do.

What kind of people should NASA select to send to space in future programs? Risk-taking military test pilots like John Glenn can inspire the masses, but so can regular folks like Christa McAuliff.

Transplant patient Lyndon Baty can’t attend school in person since his immune system shut down. So he controls a robot that attends classes for him. (via Metafilter)

Viva America!

By French singer Claude François. Les Claudettes were his backup dancers in the mid '60s. (via Everlasting Blort)

Fun and Funny Links

NPR is trying to decide on a list of the top 100 science fiction books. Their audience suggested thousands of titles, which they narrowed to only several hundred, on which you are invited to vote. (via Metafilter)

The Mammoth, a 1,763-foot water coaster set to open next year in Santa Claus, Indiana, will be the longest such thrill ride in the world. You can get a preview with this virtual video rendering.

The best names for WI-FI networks. There’s a whole list, but you can’t beat PlzBringVodkaToApt1310. (via Neatorama)

If you’ve been following the HBO series Game of Thrones, you may be a bit unsettled to see how BlueBolt created that fantasy world through visual effects. May contain spoilers, but only the first season is on this video.

Disappointed Dad Batman. (via Gorilla Mask)

A Day in California. A combination of stop-motion and tilt-shift video turns 10,000 photographs into a sweet video.

Do you remember that athlete you were supposed to control in the game QWOP? The poor guy showed up at the main floor at Comic-Con.

The Dark Knight Rises is the new Batman film in production now. See pictures of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman on her, um, Catcycle.

Trying to control a classroom boner. (via reddit)

Uncle Tom's Cabin

As performed by the Siamese royal house in the 1956 movie The King and I, which was based on the 1951 musical, which was based on the 1944 book, Anna and the King of Siam, which was based on the 1870 memoir The English Governess at the Siamese Court and the 1872 book Romance of the Harem.

Informative Links

Journalism students at Florida Atlantic University recently constructed their final summer issue of the student newspaper. It was a very special and different issue, as they avoided all their digital equipment and did it the old-fashioned way: with typewriters, paste-up editing, and cameras with film- which they had to develop themselves. Part one and part two. (via Laughing Squid)

What Home Looked Like For Seven Million Years. Many traits that make us human came about when we left the jungles and settled in the open grasslands.

Lt. Commander Nathaniel Minter Dial’s Annapolis class ring was found in Korea in 1962. The story of how it got there, and how it finally went home, is a story you can’t stop reading. (via Metafilter)

6 Crazy Things About the Metric System. Because even Americans should learn something about it.

Who Was the Real "Georgie Porgie"?

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is sending back data that may indicate that the red planet has some flowing water during part of the Martian year. The streams are small, short-lived, and must be salty -if it is what they think it is.

How Much of Twitter Is Spam? Probably quite a few of your followers are bots, or even a majority if you’re popular.

SOINN is a Japanese robot that can think on its own. “It is not quite Skynet,” but how long before it figures out how to stab us in the back?

7 Ways to Cope with Movie Star Deaths. We mourn, of course, but if you’re in the middle of filming, you’ve got to come up with some slick tricks.

Over Time

In Over Time, a group of puppets find that their creator has passed away. This 2004 film by Oury Atlan, Thibaut Berland, and Damien Ferrie doesn't explicitly say it is about Jim Henson, but you recognize the story anyway. When I first saw this a few years ago, I couldn't help but tear up. (via the Presurfer)