Monday, August 31, 2015
Up Close and Personal with Sharks
They showed a clip from the documentary Air Jaws: Walking with Great Whites, which premiered on Discovery last night in the US. Karl Stefanovic and Lisa Wilkinson of the Australian morning show Today aren’t having any of it.
Considering that every type of wildlife in Australia is already trying to kill you, you’d think these folks would be unimpressed. If they are that scared, I don’t want anywhere near a Great White. (via reddit)
Miss Cellania's Links
The 2015 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest Winners. (via Metafilter)
Jaime Prater made a documentary about growing up in a cult, and he’s still paying the price.
The Dangerous Myth of Appomattox. Ending the Civil War took years, and the wounds still haven’t completely healed. (via Collectors Weekly)
This Reddit Thread Proves True Love is Alive And Well… And Really Weird.
Here’s What Everyone Wore To The 2015 MTV VMAs. They wore lots and lots of exposed skin.
A quick glance at the life and career of Wes Craven. The legendary horror director died Sunday at age 76.
10 Historical Words That Don't Mean What You Think. Still, it’s best to use them in the way the person you’re talking to understands them.
The Fashions of Cleopatra in Cinema. You had no idea this many actresses portrayed the Egyptian queen.
The craziest names for High School Sports Teama. Would you rather play for the Kewpies or the Nimrods?
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Donald Trump Says "China"
Exactly what it says on the tin. Donald Trump talks about China a lot- enough to make it sound downright funny. This supercut from HuffPo may prove to be an earworm. My apologies in advance. (via Viral Viral Videos)
Grumpy Cat Tolerates Madame Tussauds’ Figure Sculptors
Grumpy Cat is slated to be enshrined in Madame Tussauds wax museum in San Francisco. That means she had to travel to their studio to be studied, measured, molded, and photographed by the artists who will create her wax doppelgänger. She Grumpy Cat enjoy the session? Duh. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Saturday, August 29, 2015
JP the Beeman Removes a Beehive from a Home
Removing a honeybee hive from a home should involve a beekeeper, not an exterminator. JP is up of rthe job, and shows us how it’s done. This is way more entertaining than it has any right to be. (via reddit)
Two New Snow Leopard Cubs
The Chicago Zoological Society proudly announced two new arrivals at the Brookfield Zoo yesterday: snow leopard cubs! Well, the announcement was yesterday; the cubs were born on June 16th. Since then, they have been living in seclusion with their mother, 4-year-old Sarani. Their father is 5-year-old Sabu. Both cubs are female, and have no names yet (which sounds like a crowdsourcing project may be coming). Snow leopards are one of earth’s seven "big cats," and are an endangered species. There are only a few thousand left in the wild.
The new cubs will remain in their own private living quarters until October, when they will be introduced to the public. Meanwhile, you can read more about them at the zoo’s website, and keep up with their progress through Facebook. (via Buzzfeed)
Friday, August 28, 2015
The Marmot’s Roar
I always imagined a marmot would sound something like this. So I was as surprised as you will be to hear one actually vocalizing. This was recorded on Blackcomb Mountain in British Columbia by the folks at Lone Goat Soap Co. Naturally, YouTubers had to edit this video to “improve” the roar, and to insert the marmot into an opera and a Taylor Swift concert. You can see those at Tastefully Offensive. (via Arbroath)
Pictures from La Tomatina 2015
The biggest food fight in the world takes place every year in Buñol, Spain, not far from Valencia. La Tomatina sees thousands of people gather to toss a hundred metric tons of tomatoes at each other. This year’s fight was Wednesday. See some pictures of the carnage that I posted at mental_floss.
Miss Cellania's Links
A Guide to Eating at Disney World. It’s massive, so start here. (via Digg)
12 Back-to-School Facts About Welcome Back, Kotter.
Datenomics: What two religions tell us about the modern dating crisis. (via Metafilter)
11 Rare But Rising Dog Breeds. (via the Presurfer)
Beatles vs. Stones and Two Unmade Stanley Kubrick Movies. Even if they had turned out horrible, I'd have loved to see them.
The 10 Most Deceptive PR Campaigns in History. Not necessarily in order of damage done.
When Disaster Strikes, Museums Call In The A-Team. These experts go the extra mile to rescue and preserve your priceless collection.
Female Spies and Gender-Bending Soldiers Who Changed the Course of the Civil War. The risks were high, but the reward was that we’re still reading about them.
A day at the DMZ: The political theater at the heart of the Korean conflict. The 250-kilometer line has separated sparring siblings for over 60 years.
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Remember When You Loved Star Wars?
Target’s new Star Wars ad has no movie clips at all, but will still get you excited about the December premiere of Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens. It relies on nostalgia, with clips of kids (and grownups) all joyously indulging in Star Wars glee.
What’s this all about? Well, it doesn’t say in the ad at all, but new Star Wars merchandise will arrive in Target stores September 4th. That gives us all plenty of time to clear the stores of Christmas gifts before the movie opens. That way, it won’t matter a bit whether the movie is any good or not. (via Time)
Miss Cellania's Links
The Funniest One-liners from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. (via Metafilter)
10 Strange Secret Societies That You’ve Probably Never Heard Of.
Almost None of the Women in the Ashley Madison Database Ever Used the Site. And the ones that did were bots.
The Force Awakens to force other movies off IMAX screens for a month. The seventh Star Wars movie will play at all 400 IMAX screens in America, even in museums.
3D printing can now be done with glass. The trick is going from 1900 degrees to solid in a hurry.
The First Danish Kings Were Pirates. Plunder led to riches, then power, then kingdoms.
The Working Titles of 14 Popular Hollywood Movies. They often had nothing whatsoever to do with the actual story.
The Evolution of Magazine Covers.
Quick, Mom’s Coming!
Facebook user Itsjudytime has twin girls. They like to talk and play with each other in their cribs, and Mom keeps an eye on them through a baby monitor. Babies don’t understand remote monitoring yet. Watch what happens when Mom talks to them through the monitor! They already think they can fool Mom at this age. Mom has a few tricks up her sleeve, too, like a viral video she can show for years to come. (via Buzzfeed)
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Cell Phone and Selfie Fails
There’s many a slip ’twixt the expensive handheld device and the pavement, as these clips from Fail Army show. you’ve probably seen some of them before, but they are funny enough to justify another peek.
Fail Army put this compilation together to promote their new phone app. Some of the people featured will have to purchase a new phone before they can use it. One grandmother is not interested at all, and would prefer chocolate, thank you. Contains NSFW language. (via Daily Picks and Flicks)
10 Things You Should Know About Spanish Moss
An image of beautiful Spanish moss hanging from majestic trees instantly reminds us of sultry summer days in the South. Prettier than kudzu, less formal than a palm tree, it is a symbol of nature at its most relaxed. But how much do you really know about Spanish moss? Learn all about the plant in a list I posted at mental_floss. Or you can just enjoy the gorgeous pictures.
(Photo by Linh Nguyen)
(Photo by Linh Nguyen)
Miss Cellania's Links
The True Story of Kudzu, the Vine That Never Truly Ate the South. What you thought you knew about kudzu ain’t necessarily so. (via Digg)
Keir Clarke built an interactive map that shows the top ten U.S. cities for every decade’s census from 1790. Read about how the map was created at Maps Mania.
Earl Grey is a cat with political ambitions- he is running for prime minister of Canada as the Tuxedo Party candidate. unsurprisingly, his platform focuses on animal welfare policies.
Comic Recalls The Accidental Brewing Of The Very First Beer. Enjoy an excerpt from The Comic Book Story of Beer.
Darkman: Sam Raimi;s Twisted Suoerhero. The 1990 movie was a blend of action, horror, and comedy with a strangely different superhero.
10 Scientific Words You're Probably Using Wrong. It only takes a few minutes to learn the right way.
A parent's guide to dropping your kid off at college. If you’re the kid, you might want to discreetly leave this article for your parents to read.
Zachary Quinto, Idris Elba and Other Star Trek Beyond Cast Members Pay Homage to Leonard Nimoy. It ties in with a charity sweepstakes that will award someone a chance to be in the next Star Trek film.
An Honest Trailer for Mad Max: Fury Road
What can Screen Junkies tear apart in the movie Mad Max: Fury Road? In this Honest Trailer, they are stretched pretty hard to find much to nitpick about. Well, there’s the fact that Max himself is pretty much superfluous to the film. Oh, the movie isn’t perfect, but it was so much fun that even an Honest Trailer had to admit it was altogether a badass flick. The credits, full of puns and pop culture references, are the best part. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Miss Cellania's Links
How Captain Matthew Webb Swam The English Channel And Made Swimming Cool. Then things went downhill for him.
This Video Proves You’ve Been Interpreting The Karate Kid All Wrong. Daniel was the real bully, and Johnny the victim.
Russia completely blocked Wikipedia due to an article about cannabis. That’s like killing a housefly with a flamethrower.
FAQ: Everything You Need To Know About The Plunging Stock Market And #BlackMonday. Funny or Die gives it their unique spin.
Boomers vs. Millenials @ Work. Nailed it.
The Shawshank Fugitive. You’ll be interested in the case of Frank Freshwaters, who escaped from prison and lived for 56 years under a different identity. (via Digg)
Furry Friend: a Frequency-Shaped Cat Purr Noise Generator.
Josh Duggar's hypocrisy is part of a much larger cultural problem.
Monday, August 24, 2015
John Oliver on LGBT Discrimination
The fact that same-sex marriage is legal nationwide is just one victory in the fight for gay rights. As John Oliver told us on his HBO show Last Week Tonight, there are no federal laws banning discrimination against LGBT people in the areas of employment, housing, finance, etc. What we have is a patchwork of state laws that vary greatly, and the consequences for individuals can be devastating. This video contains adult subject matter.
Miss Cellania's Links
U.S. Counties, Ranked by Scenery and Climate. As you can imagine, these rankings have caused some indignity and hurt feelings. (via Metafilter)
The Racist, Slut-Shaming History of Adultery Laws.
Inside Disney World's Secret "Tunnels.”
The Strange Saga of George Washington’s Bedpan.
Jell-O Salad: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon. (via the Presurfer)
The world’s cutest cat burglar. A cat named Snorri Sturluson would probably tell you it’s not theft, it’s his collecting hobby.
Reviews of Fear The Walking Dead, with and without spoilers. We finally get a look at the first days of the zombie apocalypse.
Beautiful and Playful Bookcase Staircase Designs. When you combine a bookcase and a staircase, all I can think of is trying to keep it clean.
Life under the ISIS caliphate. Eight million people are living under their Sharia martial law.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Talking Heads Have a Problem with Deez Nuts
Move over, Limberbutt McCubbins, you’re not polling nearly as well as presidential candidate Deez Nuts. That’s the presidential pseudonym of 15-year-old Brady Olson from Louisville, Iowa, who filed papers to run for the office. He’s not eligible, because you have to be 35 years old. But since he’s filed, he managed to get on some polls, and of course that drew plenty of publicity, which led to higher poll ratings. Just like Donald Trump. The best part of all of this is watching serious television journalists try to announce those poll results with a straight face. (via Bits and Pieces)
Foo Fighters Rick Roll Westboro Baptist Church
The title may seem like a random string of memes, but this really happened. The professional protesters known as the WBC showed up outside the Sprint Center in Kansas City Friday where the Foo Fighters were preparing to play, and the band decided to go outside and visit them. They didn’t have time to put anything elaborate together like they did once before, so they just rode out in a pickup truck with a sound system blaring Rick Astleys’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” The real star of the show was the psychedelic Speedo. A good time was had by all. (via reddit)
Miss Cellania is Ten Years Old
Let me tell you how it all happened. My husband died in August of 2004. I was only 45 and had two small children. As I slowly climbed out of the grief pit, it became clear I was just plain lonely. We were living in his hometown, not mine, and most of our friends were his friends. I was busy with work and parenting, so I turned to a small private parenting group of online friends who had been so supportive. I started an email joke list to let people know I still had my sense of humor. I emailed old friends near and far. One of the guys in my parenting group introduced me to “blogs” by recommending I read Boing Boing. A mom on the group started a blog. What a wonderful idea! However, my current computer wasn’t up to the task, so I bought a new one, my first NEW computer ever. And I started Miss Cellania.
In July of 2006, the guys at YesButNoButYes asked me to to join them as a writer. Then Alex at Neatorama linked to one of my posts, and later asked me to do a co-blogging feature, and then asked me to post on his site. In early 2007, mental_floss contacted me about writing for them. They were even willing to pay me, which was mind-blowing. As blogs became more popular and attracted advertisers, Neatorama and YesButNoButYes started paying writers as well. I began to think that maybe I didn’t need to find another job. Blogging for a living has its advantages and disadvantages.
In April of 2010, Alex made me managing editor of Neatorama. Shortly afterward, YesButNoButYes ended. I wrote for a couple of other blogs along the way, but have settled down with Neatorama and mental_floss because that’s the most I can handle.
Since I started this blog, I bought a house, got married and gained five more kids and now three grandchildren, went through menopause, and watched my children grow up (Princess is leaving home in a couple of weeks). I migrated this blog to a different host for several years and then back to Blogger, and there’s a ton of archives I still haven’t reposted. Blogging itself has changed as well. Social media is now king, even though blogs have more content. The attention span of those surfing the ‘net has decreased, and innovation has given way to improving on familiar tropes.
Here’s a timeline I created a few years ago about my internet career. I really should update that more often.
I don’t know what the future holds for the site. There was a time not so long ago (or maybe it was long ago) when Miss Cellania had 5,000 visitors every day, with some days hitting twice that. Now I’m lucky to get 800 views in a day. Strangely, though, I’m making more money from it now than I did then. Advertisers learned the value of blogs late in the game. Part of that loss is because I don’t have time to promote my own site, since I’m so busy with the blogs that support my family. Part of it is the shifting habits of web surfers. There’s not much I can do about either trend. I’m pretty sure I will keep this site even if no one visits, because it’s my personal home on the web.Thanks a million to everyone who comes to visit, who ever came over the past ten years. I couldn’t have done it without you!
Update: Thank you so much to everyone who left a comment! It's wonderful to know that there are people who still check in here every day. Thanks to John Farrier for posting a link at Neatorama. And to Marilyn for posting it at Nag on the Lake. Thanks to madamjujujive at Everlasting Blort for this neat gif.
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Hearts and Minds
Hearts and Minds is a full-length feature documentary on the Vietnam War. From Wikipedia:
Hearts and Minds is a 1974 American documentary film about the Vietnam War directed by Peter Davis. The film's title is based on a quote from President Lyndon B. Johnson: "the ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live out there".[1] The movie was chosen as Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 47th Academy Awards presented in 1975.[2]Read more about the film with a slew of links at Metafilter.
The film premiered at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival. Commercial distribution was delayed in the United States due to legal issues, including a temporary restraining order obtained by one of the interviewees, former National Security Advisor Walt Rostow who had claimed through his attorney that the film was "somewhat misleading" and "not representative" and that he had not been given the opportunity to approve the results of his interview.[3] Columbia Pictures refused to distribute the picture, which forced the producers to purchase back the rights and release it by other means. The film was shown in Los Angeles for the one week it needed to be eligible for consideration in the 1974 Academy Awards.
Friday, August 21, 2015
Pessimism Is Good For You
The constant admonitions to “think positive!” aren’t as useful in achieving your goals as we once thought. Of course, fatalism isn’t much help, either. But tempering one’s optimism with a real-world dose of pessimism may do the trick. The Science of Us from New York magazine presents the psychological research showing that positive thinking can get in the way of getting where we want to be. (via Digg)
Miss Cellania's Links
Fear the Walking Dead: AMC's bold, gutsy step toward self-cannibalization. Let’s hope the spinoff is better than the endless sequels we see in move franchises.
The First Images Emerge of an Elegant (Yet Horrific) Lady Gaga in American Horror Story: Hotel. She owns the hotel, and has “nefarious plans.”
10 Fascinating Facts About Flatus. In everyday language, that means farts.
The Unmasking of the 19th Century's Seance Queen. Madame Blavatsky finally made the mistake of hiring an assistant.
8 More Unsolved Internet Mysteries of the Shadowy Online Realm. Don’t investigate these websites alone at night.
What's Coming in Season 9 of Doctor Who. An interview with Peter Capaldi.
Mourning Rituals & Etiquette: The Victorians’ Morbid Obsession with Death.
Americans aren't just putting in longer hours—we're being forced to work until we die.
How to Check if You or a Loved One Were Exposed in the Ashley Madison Hack. In a word, don’t. (via Metafilter)
Thursday, August 20, 2015
8 Decidedly Different Twitter Feeds
Twitter is a social network and microblogging platform that lends itself
to some imaginative purposes besides communication. A Twitter account
can be a single-subject blog or a single joke. It can be an experiment
in what software can do, or what people will believe. It can be a medium
for social protest. It can even be a webcomic site. Here are some
strange and different Twitter feeds that you might get a laugh out of
once, or you might want to follow long-term, in a list I posted at mental_floss.
Cats and Metronomes
Cats are compelled to attention by metronomes. Some can’t figure out what makes it move, while others know how to start it themselves. Some cats are startled by the clicking, and some just want to kill the infernal contraption. Here’s a collection of all those kinds of cats from MrFunnyMals. (via Tastefully Offensive)
SketchShe in SandCARstle Sync
SketchShe, the group that brought us Mime Through Time, is back with a lip-synch video featuring beach songs! Watch them playfully mock beach-themed music from the 1960s through modern hit songs, from the vantage point of a sand castle car (the SandCARstle). There are plenty of funny moments; my favorite has to be the Baywatch sequence. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Miss Cellania's Links
Welcome To Larry Ellison’s Cat Island. The Hawaiian island of Lana’i is home to thousands of feral cats, 425 of which live in a unique shelter.
New Zealand’s Waitomo Glowworm Caves. Glowing fungus gnat larva look a lot better than they sound.
Why do so many people support Donald Trump for president? For a lot of them, it’s all for the lulz.
On a lark, Ralph Jones decided to answer all his PR email saying “I love you” for a month. Some ignored it, some stopped contacting him, but a few responded in kind. (via Marilyn Bellamy)
Oliver Sacks: Sabbath. As he succumbs to cancer, Sacks finds peace with his family religion.
The Petrifying Well of Knaresborough. It was once considered cursed by the devil, because objects that came in contact with the water turned to stone! (via Ralph Roberts)
Why New Orleans’s Black Residents Are Still Underwater After Katrina. A tale of banking ups and downs in the Big Easy.
Is The Walking Dead Cable’s Most Popular Show Because Of Its Family Values?
Henry Tukeman’s account of killing a mammoth in 1890. It caused the Smithsonian no small amount of grief. (via Cliff Pickover)
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Yokohama Pikachu Outbreak 2015
The annual Pikachu festival was held in Yokohama, Japan, last week, and the videos from the event are delightful! Above, they are dancing for an adoring crowd.
And here’s one of the many Pikachu parades you could see every day. After all, they can't just perform and then drop the costumes- they have to make a grand entrance and exit, too! A good time was had by all. (via Pleated-Jeans)
A Bad Lip Reading of the First 2015 Republican Debate
Politicians hate it when you put words in their mouths. The congregation of ten Republican presidential candidates on one stage during the first debate was too much of a temptation for the folks at Bad Lip Reading. What they say in this video has nothing to do with politics, anyway. It’s just amazing how well nonsense talk can be synched up with what their lips are saying. The songs at the end are a genius touch. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Tea house at Koishikawa. The morning after a snowfall.
The famous work by Katsushika Hokusai gets an animated makeover by segawa thirty-seven. Click that link to see more animated art in his Twitter feed. (via Neatorama)
Reporter Makes Schoolboy Cry
A reporter is interviewing a 4-year-old on his first day of pre-kindergarten (called preschool where I live). She must not have kids, because any mother knows that you don’t ask THAT question. It’s like turning on a faucet. (via Uproxx)
Miss Cellania's Links
The Real-Life Women of Deadwood.
Mom’s Fears About Daughter Leaving For College Channeled Into Fight About Storage Bins.
The Japanese women who married the enemy. At least 30,000 women came to America after World War II and found it different from anything they knew.
The Science of Melting Cheese. (via the Presurfer)
Is post-Katrina gentrification saving New Orleans or destroying it? Ten years after the devastation, the city is not the same at all.
10 Reasons College Costs So Much. For each reason, the cost goes up another 100%.
The Problem with Supersizing Star Wars. Disney has a new Star Wars film planned for every year, which could easily lead to brand exhaustion.
This Professor Is Living Everyone’s Dream by Being David Bowie for a Year. He’s going through Bowie’s career in dress and diet, but not in drugs.
The most joyful cat-and baby video you’ve ever seen. The baby is ecstatic to see the cat; the cat is not that impressed.
The Adventurous Life of Jane Dieulafoy, Pioneering Archaeologist, Artist, and Feminist
Jane Dieulafoy wasn't like most 19th-century French women. She followed her husband into war, discovered relics of an ancient Persian palace, wrote bestselling books, dressed as a man, and never gave in to the expectations of others. Read about Jane Dieulafoy in an article I wrote for mental_floss.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Miss Cellania's Links
Unleash your animal side with mythological human hybrids. The human-fish hybrid comes in many forms from all over the world.
Everything You've Heard About Chastity Belts Is a Lie. They were pretty much hypothetical, even in medieval times.
Watch the San Francisco Giants Recreate the Full House Opening Credits. The parody video is to promote “Full Clubhouse Night” on September 30th.
Scurvy Is Much Worse Than You Think. Reading about how the disease progresses will make you crave an orange.
Back-to-School Tips for Incoming Freshmen.
Comedians in the Fortune Cookie Factory. (via Pleated-Jeans)
Extinct Tree Grows From 2,000-year-old Seed. Ten years later, it is not only thriving, it is reproducing. (via Nag on the Lake)
Medieval Medical Experiments. (via Everlasting Blort)
What happens to Americans who film police violence? These are their stories.
Mayberry
....nobody was married.
Here are the single people that come to mind: Andy, Barney, Aunt Bea, Floyd, Howard, Goober, Gomer, Sam, Ernest T. Bass, the Darlin family, Helen, Thelma, Lou, Clara, just to name a few.
In fact, the only one married was Otis...
....and he stayed drunk.
(via Bits and Pieces)
Monday, August 17, 2015
Surprise Groomsmen Dance
This groom surprised his bride with a dance performance that including all the groomsmen. This is really quite good. Okay, while the wedding and the surprise performance for the bride is real, the “surprise” quality of the dance is not. The groom and most of his groomsmen are professional dancers. As is the bride- she is a ballerina with the Richmond Ballet. You can tell which five of the guys are pros, and which four are not. I’m looking at the one with the beard. He did his best in an intimidating environment. (via Viral Viral Videos)
John Oliver on Televangelists
I had no idea Robert Tilton was still televangelizing. Christianity is not supposed to be a capitalist scheme. Jesus lived simply and told us to feed the hungry. Do it out of love, and not as a scheme for buying miracles.
Miss Cellania's Links
Inside the Brains of Happily Married Couples. (via Digg)
Disney Theory: Tarzan is Elsa’s Brother.
The History of Hamburgers in America. http://firstwefeast.com/eat/illustrated-history-of-hamburgers-in-america/
13 Behind-the-Scenes Secrets of Movie and TV Extras.
The Good Wife: The women who pick up the pieces after their husbands come out.
10 Forts to Build With Kids. If you don’t have kids, build them anyway; we won’t judge.
Star Wars: 7 Weird Lightsaber Designs. Though a bit distracting, they help us keep track of the characters in the expanded universe.
20 Things You Didn’t Know About Apocalypse Now. The film shoot was a 16-month horror story.
The public shaming of America's CEOs. We wouldn’t begrudge them their millions if the workers on the bottom made a living wage.
