(via Bad Newspaper)
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Wonder Woman, A Symbol of Progress
Wonder Woman was a breakthrough character for DC Comics in that she was a (gasp) woman! Since her debut in 1941, she's been a symbol of a woman's power, although a problematic one, having been written and drawn by men for a male audience. And even so, she got the short end of the stick in pop culture. Nevertheless, Wonder Woman persevered. And she will finally get a theatrical movie this summer. Learn the history of Wonder Woman in this video from kaptainkristian. (via Tastefully Offensive)
White House Correspondents' Dinner Monologue
Daily Show correspondent Hasan Minhaj got the assignment to give the headline speech last night at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Trump was not there, choosing instead to hold a campaign rally. Many of the usual attendees (celebrities) passed on the dinner because of the implications. So it was all about journalism. There was a third alternative event last night, Samantha Bee's Not The White House Correspondents' Dinner is also on YouTube, in several parts with plenty of NSFW language.
Walpurgis Dance
April 30 is Walpurgis Night, or Witches Night in Germany and some other European countries. This dance is from one of the events last year in the Harz district of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. (Thanks, jamie!)
Saturday, April 29, 2017
Dog Finds the Best Stick
Dogs love sticks, for some reason. This dog found what he considers the perfect stick, and he won't settle for any less. The problem is that the stick is still attached to the tree, and is not inclined to ;et go. Neither is the dog. He even manages to bark at the stick while hanging by his teeth! (via Tastefully Offensive)
Cockatoo Yanks Eyeglasses
Sid the cockatoo must consider it his job to remove Dave's glasses. He hates the eyeglasses! No, wait, Sid thinks it's loads of fun. He's quite proud of himself! You won't be able to help but laugh at this prankster. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Sean Spicer Counts to 100
To celebrate the 100th day of the current administration, here is White House press secretary Sean Spicer counting to 100. From The Daily Show.
If Credit Card Commercials Were Honest
Roger Horton is back with another Honest Ad from Cracked. The truth about credit cards is that they work well if you use them perfectly. But the reddit companies make bank on the fact that people do not use them optimally. Human nature doesn't work that way. Sure, if you have the discipline to never use a credit card for something you wouldn't buy anyway, you'll be okay and rack up a good credit score. And then you'll have credit for emergencies. But it's so easy to get yourself into a debt spiral otherwise. And no one is perfect. Are there really credit cards that charge 24% interest? I thought mine was usurious at $17%, since my mortgage is 2.5%.
Friday, April 28, 2017
You're Eating at a Buffet Wrong
How do you get your money's worth at a buffet? The Food Network is here to tell us how we've been doing it wrong. See, buffet eating is a zero-sum game, and you have two have a proper strategy to win.
On the other hand, you can decide that eating out is not a competition, but an experience that you pay to enjoy. If you enjoy the food and the experience, then you've won, no matter where you are. If your local buffet restaurant is full of diners trying to "beat the house," the experience will not be great and the food is probably sub-par anyway. Maybe you should patronize a restaurant that gives you the good experience you are paying for. (via Boing Boing)
Would You Buy a Used Car from This Man?
Eugene Romanovsky has finally decided to sell his 1996 Suzuki Vitara. He made an ad for the car that you will enjoy.
Yeah, you want to buy this car after seeing the ad, but Romanovsky lives in Israel. I can't read Hebrew, but I don't think it's been sold yet. (via reddit)
Twerking Cat
You've seen how your cat gets ready to pounce on prey, whether real or toy: the head drops, the eyes dilate, and the hindquarters go into windup mode. Here we see Pusic (previously) putting that response to work. Shake that booty! Pusic's people spend a lot of time editing his voluminous video clips to bring you such entertaining productions. The soundtrack really makes it.
Miss Cellania's Links
It's been twenty years since Mike Myers introduced us to Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery. Myers, director Jay Roach, Elizabeth Hurley, and almost all the cast got together to give us an oral history of the film. (via the A.V. Club)
We spent months bracing and preparing for the death of our daughter. But guess what? We weren’t ready. Royce and Keri Young made the decision to carry their anencephalic baby to term in order to donate her organs. (via Metafilter)
A woman tried to text her daughter, but she dialed a wrong number and instead the message went to a 35-year-old man. That's normal enough, but when he told her she had the wrong number, she did not believe him, and kept texting pretty much all day long.
What Bullets Do to Bodies. The gun debate would change in an instant if Americans witnessed the horrors that trauma surgeons confront every day.
How ESPN went from powerhouse to bloodbath. Around 100 on-air employees were laid off Wednesday.
8 Fictional Places (That Sound Real). You know them, even though they aren't there at all.
The Rise of the Mean Moms. Competitive motherhood leads to outright bullying.
Artificial Intelligence Becomes Judgmental. (via Metafilter)
Flexible working is making us work longer. I can attest to this.
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Donald Trump's First 100 Days In Office
The first 100 days of Trump's reign, as illustrated by The Simpsons, in this preview of Sunday's new episode.
Minoule
Minoule is an urban cat who discovers that there's a canary living in the building across the street. He takes grave risks to get that bird, and along the way, a lot of other things are going on in the city. The canary and a guitar-playing cat on the roof provide a fine soundtrack to this wordless French production by Nicolas Bianco-Levrin. (via The Kid Should See This)
Miss Cellania's Links
Trump wants to eliminate the estate tax, which would only benefit multi-millionaires. Too bad so many people think they are multi-millionaires.
The Legacy of Star Wars' Journal of the Whills. The early idea was to narrate the saga, and you won't believe who was going to do it.
J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis went to the theater together to see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs together. They both hated it.
There Is A Venomous Snake In This Picture, But Good Luck Finding It. Even after it's pointed out, you might easily step on it.
If a Unicorn Frappuccino doesn't turn you on, maybe you'd prefer some charcoal-black Goth ice cream! Get them at ice cream shops in Los Angeles and New York. (via Boing Boing)
Between December 1884 and December 1885, Austin, Texas, had eight axe murders. The murders did not stop because the killer was caught; they just stopped.
The founder of reddit's misogynic forum The Red Pill has been outed as a New Hampshire state legislator.
The new issue of National Geographic features an in-depth look at What Makes a Genius. We meet examples of genius, from Leonardo da Vinci to jazz pianist Keith Jarrett, with the research into what makes those people different from the rest of us.
Gen. George Patton’s wife put a Hawaiian curse on his ex-mistress. She was dead within days. (via Metafilter)
Engine Rebuild
Chris Herridge completely torn down and rebuilt an engine several years ago. He he knew he needed to take pictures so he could find evidence of where all the parts went, so he made an art project of the process. He took 3,000 pictures during the 11-month project. Add the perfect music, and you have a classic video, worth seeing again no matter how many times you've seen it before. (via reddit)
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Cat City
A cat decides to run away from home and live on his own in the city. His adventure is lots of fun at first, but turns out to be less than hunky-dory after a while, as young people often find on their first foray into the real world. Still, the fact that he's a cat doing all this is just goofy, in a good way, in this animation from Victoria Vincent. (via Laughing Squid)
Thug Notes Summary and Analysis of Where the Wild Things Are
Who doesn't love the book Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak? It was still a new book when I learned to read, and now it's a classic. So of course everyone will want to know what Sparky Sweets, PhD. thinks of it. This video, like all Thug Notes, contains NSFW language. This is like having the story read to you all over again, except adult-style. The discussion at YouTube reveals that quite a few high school teachers are using Thug Notes (among other sources) to teach literary criticism. (via Tastefully Offensive)
13 Creative Ways to Plant Succulents
From cactus to aloe, drought-resistant succulents come in an amazing variety of shapes and colors. This variety, and the fact that they're easy to care for, make succulents the perfect plants for everything from a tiny planter on the counter to a lavish outdoor display—and all the creative displays in a list I posted at mental_floss.
John Boyega Pranks Star Wars Fans
In order to promote the Star Wars Force for Change charity sweepstakes, John Boyega did surprise photobombs at Star Wars Celebration earlier this month. Avid fans posing for pictures with a couple of stormtroopers and BB-8 were first shocked and then delighted to find Finn in their finished photo. Star Wars Force for Change benefits the UnNICEF and the Starlight Foundation. You can enter the drawing at Omaze.
Miss Cellania's Links
The Story of Europe's First Muslim Ruler. When the Roman Empire fell, Abd al-Rahman I swept into Spain and Portugal.
Scientists aim to grow humans in plastic bag after successful test on baby sheep. The Biobag artificial uterus won't be for full pregnancies, but could help preemies grow a bit more.
The Rise of Slime Videos. It appears to be this generation's version of birdwatching. (via TYWKIWDBI)
Purposefully removing condoms during sex without consent is heinous and dangerous. Is it also sexual assault?
Bill Hitler, Hitler's Idiot Nephew. A story told in the colorful language of Cracked.
The beauty of being an older mom. What you lack in energy is made up by more patience and focus.
21 Band Names Based on TV Shows. When you get the reference, you're already a fan.
Everybody Wants to Be a Cat
Listen to Sam Robson do every vocal and musical instrument in the Disney song "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat" from the movie The Aristocats. The further you get into this, the more you'll remember what an awesome scene that was.
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
An Honest Trailer for The Social Network
I never saw The Social Network, since I already knew the outline of the Facebook story, and thought it had to be boring. Now I don't need to, since Screen Junkies has an Honest Trailer for the 2010 film. Well, maybe it wasn't as boring as I had imagined, since apparently it was quite fictionalized to add drama. But I can see that the movie is so poorly-lit that I probably wouldn't have been able to see it anyway.
Herding Kittens
How do you take a photograph of ten kittens? They are all from one litter, so they need a family portrait. But arranging kittens to face a camera is like …trying to herd cats. Exactly like that. No wonder mama cats are always on their last nerve. Evgeny, the Russian cat daddy, found that it's best to just use video instead of a still camera. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Prom Detail
If you have to go to the prom, you may as well get a souvenir from that memorable evening. These cops took advantage of the amenities, including having their portrait made. No photographer is going to tell them they can't pose for a picture!
For readers outside the U.S. or without kids, police are often assigned to attend the prom in order to keep students from driving away drunk, although they sometimes have to break up fights or deal with more serious crimes. (via reddit)
For readers outside the U.S. or without kids, police are often assigned to attend the prom in order to keep students from driving away drunk, although they sometimes have to break up fights or deal with more serious crimes. (via reddit)
Miss Cellania's Links
Tips are taxable, but gifts aren't (up to a point). So what if we gave waitress gifts instead of tips?
Donald Trump Is Unintelligible. Reading a printed transcript doesn't help.
Edward Gorey was a masterful storyteller and artist, and he was also a collector. Not of anything in particular that he could become an expert on, but everything.
Rethinking Critical Thinking With the Help of Carl Sagan. One place to start would be Sagan's "baloney detection kit."
Although Less Deadly Than Crinolines, Bustles Were Still a Pain in the Behind. Get a look at both and be thankful you live in the 21st century.
A father turned two Cozy Coupes into Mad Max: Fury Road vehicles for his children. They are now the coolest toddlers in Glendale.
Aristocrats of the 18th century were always on the lookout for something new and impressive to spend money on. For some, that meant hiring their own hermit, to entertain guests and to, let's say, outsource their interest in philosophy.
Build a Better Monster: Morality, Machine Learning, and Mass Surveillance. How technology outruns morality because of of money. (via Metafilter)
Stop Worrying That You Worry Too Much.
11 Outrageous Ballpark Foods
Major League ballpark food has gone way beyond peanuts, Cracker Jacks, and the all-American hot dog. Now you can enjoy full meals, international cuisine, and eye-popping, gut-busting specialty dishes concocted for maximum publicity. Let's sample some of the outrageous dishes available at baseball games this year, in a list I posted at mental_floss.
Why Are So Many Popular Cartoon Characters Yellow?
Think about the biggest cartoon characters you know. A strangely large percentage of them are yellow. They each have their own reasons, but even so, they ended up in the same place. But why did so many successful cartoon end up yellow? To determine the answer, first we learn about color theory, then some animation history. So this video ended up being about a lot more than yellow cartoon colors, but it's all fascinating. Turns out that yellow is an altogether good color. (via Digg)
Monday, April 24, 2017
Tweet of the Day
The sign game was strong at the #ScienceMarch today, but this was my favorite. #marchforscience #ScienceMarchSF pic.twitter.com/qNUWlpg1ad— Sasha Aickin (@xander76) April 22, 2017
Spotted at the March for Science in San Francisco.
Bowler Gets 300 in a Hurry
Ben Ketola had the bowling alley to himself, and rolled twelve strikes in a row for a perfect game …in only 86.9 seconds! That's a world record.
Ketola, of Cortland, New York, bowls about 50 games a week. He's been practicing this stunt to get his time down.
"It was fun to do. I honestly wasn't expecting to do it," said Ketola, a 225-average bowler who works and bowls at 281 Bowl. "I just wanted to see how quickly I could get across the house and get strikes."In case you're wondering, he used eight of his own balls and two alley balls. (via SB Nation)
While there is no official speed category in the official United States Bowling Congress' record books, Ketola wanted to attempt the unusual feat after watching a 2015 YouTube video posted by pro bowler Tom Dougherty. In the video, Dougherty fired 12 strikes over 12 lanes for what was billed at the time the world's fastest 300 game in 1 minute, 50.99 seconds.
Incredibly Realistic Wolf Animation
This is just one of many wonderfully ridiculous animation tests (and parodies) you'll find in this Metafilter thread.
Miss Cellania's Links
The web’s funniest stories. This should keep you busy for days. (via Nimble Pundit)
The Creators of This is Spinal Tap Still Haven't Been Paid. It's lawsuit time in a 33-year-old case of Hollywood accounting. (via Digg)
Why Poverty Is Like a Disease. The effects can last for generations.
In April of 1945, Swedish Jew Norbert Masur met with Gestapo chief Heinrich Himmler as a representative of the World Jewish Congress. Himmler spent the time him actions and covering his tracks. [PDF] (via Metafilter)
Does Iceland Really Have the Best Hot Dog in the World? Here are opinions from two correspondents who tried them.
Disposable lighters come in all colors, but the white ones are bad luck. How did this superstition ever come about?
DoggoLingo is the internet language about dogs. Even if you've never heard of it, you recognize it when you read it. (via Metafilter)
19 Fictional Characters Whose Names You Don't Know. But you will after you read this!
Cats Doing the Movies
I still have more cats doing impressions from their favorite movies. See if you can guess all these. Yeah, some are giveaways.
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