(via Bad Newspaper)
Monday, July 31, 2017
The Greatest Cats In Movies Ever
The easiest way to improve a movie is to stick a cat in it. Filmmakers know this works, even in movies where a cat is not at all necessary. Everyone remembers Jones from Alien and Mr. Bigglesworth from Austin Powers, and then there are movies about cats, like The Aristocats and The Cat From Outer Space. There are also big cats, costumed cats, and cartoon cats in this supercut by Burger Fiction. They admit that there are many movies that didn't make the cut, and promise a volume two sometime in the future. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Miss Cellania's Links
The Test. A comic about …well, it's a bit hard to describe.
How Medieval Chefs Tackled Meat-Free Days. Redefining "meat" helped a lot.
The Polygamous Town Facing Genetic Disaster. The isolation of a community can lead to an explosion of genetic disorders. (via Digg)
His Intestines Twinkled Like Stars. A medical case from 1874 Virginia may make you cringe, but it has a happy ending. (via Strange Company)
Foxconn's corporate welfare deal will cost Wisconsin taxpayers more than 3 billion dollars.
The Importance of Font Choice. (via reddit)
When two authors start a little back-and-forth on Twitter, strange and wonderful things can result. Sam Sykes asked Chuck Wendig for some advice, and they got into a conversation that went where you wouldn't quite expect. (via Metafilter)
The American Eclipse of 1878 and the Scientists Who Raced West to See It.
Tomi Lahren Unknowingly Admits That She Benefits From Obamacare and Then Says She Would Like to Get Rid of It.
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Cat Burglar
Zolthux has at least three cats and a sophisticated sound-activated burglar alarm system. What could possibly go wrong? We found out, because he also has security cameras. Just a few more sleepless nights and he'll learn to clean the table off before he goes to bed. (via Tastefully Offensive)
The Sound Illusion that Makes Dunkirk So Intense
You've heard the sound many times -it appears to rise, and rise, and rise in tone, but it never reaches a climax, or else takes way longer than you think it should to reach a climax. This is called the Shepard tone. This video from Vox explains how the Shepard tone works, and why it's so effective in creating tension in a movie, like the Hans Zimmer soundtrack for the new Christopher Nolan historical film Dunkirk. (via TYWKIWDBI)
The Dogsitter
James Liakos took care of his friends' dog while they were on vacation. He took the opportunity to record what he and Skylar did during that time, and presented the evidence to Skylar's family. It's just adorable. (via Neatorama)
Learn To Speak Cat
In the newest episode of Simon's Cat Logic, we get some insight into the language of cats. No, not LOLspeak, that's an internet language. This is about cat communication, especially what they're trying to tell us humans. Cats don't normally meow in cat society, so their meows are an attempt to speak human language. It works for them most of the time, at least to get our attention. And as cat owners, we learn their body language. Hissing, growling, purring, chirping, and other sounds are used for both humans and other cats. Bonus: we get to see Simon Tofield recording cat meows for his cartoons. The new video is only about five minutes long. It's tagged with the Simon's Cat video Double Trouble. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Friday, July 28, 2017
Hamster Loses Struggle with Hamster Wheel
This hamster trying to use a hamster wheel is a metaphor for the way life tends to throw a wrench in our plans. You're going along just fine, thinking you've finally figured something out, or have a skill down, and suddenly things go sideways and you don't even know how it happened. The real kicker is that you get laughed at when you are in the most vulnerable position. But we can be like this little hamster, and just pick ourselves up and try again! (via Digg)
Miss Cellania's Links
10 Things You Didn’t Know About the Movie Speed.
The Company Behind Many Surprise Emergency Room Bills. Even if your hospital is in your insurance network, the doctor who sees you might not be.
Beavers: The Smartest Thing in Fur Pants. They bend the environment to their will.
Meet the Woman Behind New York’s 1800s School For Crooks. Fredericka “Marm” Mandelbaum worked her way up the ladder from a street peddler to New York's "Queen of Fences."
The Fiercely Precise World of Competitive Table-Setting. Proving once again that humans will turn any activity into a contest.
Five of the Sickest Camouflage Moments in Movies. It's that moment you don't see coming and BAM! There they are.
Wedding DJs Describe the Worst Speeches They've Ever Heard. It's okay to have stage fright, but try to keep the stories appropriate.
Analyzing the Gender Representation of 34,476 Comic Book Characters. The few women superheroes are broken down by powers, names, and tokenism.
The Wonderful Vegetable Figures of Lambeth Country Show 2017. (via Metafilter)
The Real Reason Hospitals Are So Expensive
Adam Ruins Everything explains in simple language why we need single payer insurance in the U.S. In other words, Medicare for all!
I got a bill from Medicare. My husband spent a short time at the emergency room one night last year. The hospital charged him $2100. medicare determined that the services were worth about $918. Medicare says they'll pay the hospital $800, and they can charge me the other $118, but no more. The real kicker is that if he hadn't had Medicare coverage, we would be stuck for a $2100 bill, inflated so that the hospital could recover part of it. That really hurts anyone with no insurance, or an insurance company that won't pay the bill.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Miss Cellania's Links
Why the Scariest Nuclear Threat May Be Coming from Inside the White House. The Trump administration came in not knowing anything about government, but even worse, they didn't want to learn. (via Metafilter)
Harvard Magazine Personal Advertisements’ Many Synonyms For “Rich” or “Thin.” Mallory Ortberg is amused at how important that message really is.
Why Hospitals Started Displaying Newborn Babies Through Windows. And why we don't want the custom to die out.
When London Bridge Moved … to Arizona? The entire stone bridge was dismantled, shipped, and rebuilt in the American desert.
11 Geographic Markers That Are Totally Inaccurate. It could be a mistake, a matter of convenience, or the shifting earth.
5 Sequels That Introduce Huge Plot Holes To The Originals. You'd think that someone, somewhere would be in charge of making film franchises internally consistent from one movie to the next.
What is it like to be white?
Zero-G Blood and the Many Horrors of Space Surgery. We'll have to be ready for it if we're going to Mars.
Meet the Man Who Has Lived Alone on This Island for 28 Years. In 1989, Mauro Morandi's catamaran drifted onto Budelli Island in the Mediterranean Sea, and he never left.
Lightning Strikes Car, Then it Gets Weird
A car is moving down the street when it is struck by lightning. It seems like forever before the vehicle stops and people get out. It looks like everyone's okay. The car is still smoking, and so is the spot where the strike hit. Then a mob of zombies dressed in black appears out of nowhere and approaches the car to consume the lightly-fried occupants. Or maybe it was just people coming to see what happened, but it sure looks creepy. (via Boing Boing)
Skateboard Parkour by Jose Angeles
In an epic showcase of strength, skills, balance, and bravery, Jose Angeles demonstrates what happens when you combine parkour and skateboarding. There are stunts where he defies the laws of physics, but to head off any accusations of shenanigans, there's a sequence in the middle showing some falls. You don't get this good without making a lot of mistakes along the way. This video was produced by Devin Supertramp, with an obvious sponsor. The music is "Queens and Kings" by MALAKAI (Featuring Fingazz). (via Geeks Are Sexy)
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Star Wars Sound Effects Remix
Eclectic Method has a new song for us, made from sound effects found in all eight Star Wars films. Nothing else was used, no instruments, rhythm tracks, or any kind of added music. Best of all, we can see where the sounds came from. You can guess that the rhythm is a lot of fighting, various tuneful beeps come from the droids, and there's plenty of vroom and pew pew pew! (via Laughing Squid)
Miss Cellania's Links
Republicans want to break Obamacare, then spend billions of dollars to clean up the mess. Everyone has their priorities.
The Most Unexpectedly Annoying Aspect Of Getting Married.
Why aren't peanuts classified as nuts? Because peanuts are biologically legumes, so go ahead and spread peanut butter on your burrito.
What This Company Is Offering Employees Is Raising a Privacy Debate. Would you let your company implant a chip in your hand?
Your Roomba is Spying on You. The devices have been gathering information about your home, and that data could be more valuable to Roomba maker iRobot Corp than the sales of its vacuum cleaner.
The Legend of The Fatal Sisters: Voodoo practitioner Marie Laveau put a curse on plantation owner De Coucy, swearing his bloodline would die out, but he ignored it. (via Strange Company)
Are Helicopter Parents Ruining Summer Camp? Kids don't mind giving up their cell phones for the week, but it really bothers parents.
He Thought Butternut Squash was Cheese. This story is a fairly inconsequential but funny observation of the daily struggles of customer service employees and the fact that the customer is not always right. (via Metafilter)
Why you should vacation somewhere new, unexpected, and totally out of your comfort zone. That's a vacation you'll always remember.
Watch a Swimming Corgi from Underneath
Okay, can you think of anything less efficient than little Corgi legs doing a dog paddle? Yet Zero is having a great time in the swimming pool. The Jaws theme is the icing on the cake for this cute video. Zero's full name is Zero Marie Hussein Corgibutt, which makes her special right away. She has her own Instagram account. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
I Am Your Father
On The Late Late Show with James Corden, Anna Faris, Jenny Slate, and Mark Hamill play a game of "I Am Your Father," in which the celebrities have to guess which parent-child pairs are really related. Once you get a look at all of them, it seems easy. Easier still, when they ask questions and three answers are fairly lame. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Science Fair Project
Yeah, it's Photoshopped, but the original picture could have been just this funny if you connected the dots. (via reddit)
Homemade Sushi for Cats
We already knew that chef Jun Yoshizuki and his wife Rachel have three perfectly spoiled cats: Haku, Poki, and Nagi. You don't know that half of it. Watch him make the cats some perfect sushi, while they watch. Jun always makes homemade cat food. Even for Poki, the world's most annoying cat. (via Metafilter)
7 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About the Lost Boys
The Lost Boys was released to theaters on July 31, 1987. It was such a film for the 1980s, when sexy teenage vampires were dangerous monsters, instead of selfless glittery romantic interests, although each version of pop culture vampire has the perfect hair for its era. Cinefix revisits The Lost Boys with some trivia for the movie's 30th anniversary. Has it really been that long? Yes it has. While the story is fairly timeless, the big hair, the chunky pants, and those shoulder pads peg 1987 to a T. (via Mashable)
Miss Cellania's Links
The Biggest San Diego Comic-Con 2017 Stories. The latest updates from every pop culture universe.
All hell breaks loose as the tundra thaws.
12 Ways Airports Are Secretly Manipulating You.
If you can’t find a surgeon, employ a butcher. This story of medieval surgery is disturbing. (via Strange Company)
"Dude, where's my car?" Parents take to Craigslist for help after ‘doofy’ son loses car at Metallica show.
Scientific Journals Publish Bogus Paper About Midi-chlorians from Star Wars, a reminder that not all journals use peer review or even proofreaders.
Puzzlewood, Tolkien’s Inspiration for Middle-earth. The peaceful, green, 14-acre section of Gloucestershire is truly inspirational.
How to Turn Your Used Electronics Into Cash. Read the comments, too, for the experiences of people who have used these methods.
The Accent Whisperers of Hollywood. An influx of global acting talent must be taught to passably sound like Americans.
Lego In Real Life
A guy makes toast and eggs for breakfast, except his ingredients are LEGO bricks. This stop-motion animation was made in the style of PES films, like Fresh Guacamole. Short and sweet, and satisfying. This video took BrickBrosProductions three days and 1,500 still images to create. (via Digg)
Bird Regrets Opening a Box
This curious parrot sees a box on the table and has to open it. It has an unexpected kitten inside. That's okay, until the cat acts up, then it's goodbye cat. This strikes me as possibly the most perfect gif I've ever seen. I don't know why it didn't make the front page of reddit. In the original video, the bird relents to his human's order to free the cat. However, he makes it clear that he does not forgive the cat for his rude behavior.
(via Boing Boing)
(via Boing Boing)
Young Explorers
Filmmaker Jacob Krupnick's project Young Explorers follows children who have barely learned to walk, as their instincts for exploring are kicking in. This isn't easy for urban parents to negotiate. In a recent interview at ICP, Krupnick tells a story to illustrate the disconnect between child's instinct to explore and a parent's instinct to protect them.
While filming my daughter walking around Coney Island, she passed a boy her age who was tied up in one of those child nets, tethered to his mother, unable to experience life outside her reach. Ada, my daughter, marched past him. His look of astonishment read something like: what is that creature? Half an hour later, they met again along the boardwalk. He was still attached to his mum. He looked at Ada tentatively and tenderly offered her a piece of popcorn. In these moments, you come to see how desirable freedom is.I can relate. While watching Bejla above and Tristan below, I had to keep reminding myself that not only was Krupnick right there filming, but the child's parents are no doubt just out of camera range. At the same time, the back of my mind wanted to reach out and hold their little hands.
Krupnick has ten episodes in the series filmed, but only two are available on the 'net so far. We look forward to seeing more. (via Metafilter)
Tweet of the Day
.@GalGadot shared a moment with a young Wonder Woman cosplayer while signing autographs with the Justice League at San Diego @Comic_Con pic.twitter.com/KZhucQd0yC— Variety (@Variety) July 22, 2017
A little girl in a Wonder Woman costume teared up as she approached Gal Gadot at San Diego Comic Con. I case you can't hear what is being said, part of it is Gadot saying, "Now we are friends so there's no reason to cry anymore. We are together!" I believe someone is cutting onions in the next room. Wonder Woman is so important to little girls. (via Buzzfeed)
People Answer Questions About Love Before and After Drinking
You've seen this before. First it's "Yes, I'm happy. I'm single. I'm in a good place." Then a few drinks later, they're crying on your shoulder because they are SO lonely. That can be cathartic between good friends who are venting. On a date, it could lead to deciding whether that person is worth a second date. At a party, it could lead to more drinks, then a morning after full of cotton mouth and regret.
Most people have a set of inhibitions that cause us to think before we speak (or we should). One of alcohol's earliest effects is to loosen up one's inhibitions, which is why it's called a social lubricant. One or two drinks later, the rational face we present to strangers begins to fall away and reveal our emotional side. People become more open, which is what happened when The Cut asked some single folks to talk about love and relationships, before and after cocktails. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Miss Cellania's Links
Sex and Marriage in China, Where Generations of Men Outnumber Women. (via Nag on the Lake)
You don't have to love your body. (via Metafilter)
Six "Common" Medical Conditions That Don't Actually Exist. Some of them were only named in order to sell you a cure.
In 1838, Missouri witnessed the “Missouri Mormon War.” It was the first of three armed conflicts before the Mormons found their home.
Hippies, Guns, and LSD: The San Francisco Rock Band That Was Too Wild For the Sixties. The Charlatans were ahead of their time, but flamed out fast.
Remembering Hair-Raising Landings at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport. Landing on runway 13/31 landings was so terrifying, it was called the Kai Tak Heart Attack.
The Scariest Rides At The Fair, Ranked By An Anxious Man. Mark Shrayber is terrified of carnival rides, yet he can't help but try them.
The 100 Greatest American Cooks of All Time. Many of the cooks on the list have a full article about them linked, which could keep you busy for some time. (via Metafilter)
12 charming coastal towns to visit this summer. Get away from the crowds of tourists for a relaxing getaway.
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Whose Line Is It Anyway? Fighting Game
okay so here's my proof of concept for a Whose Line Is It Anyway fighting game. do you know a game developer? let's get this made pic.twitter.com/FckibXrMge— Dominick Nero (@dominicknero) July 20, 2017
(via Digg)
Ready Player One Teaser
Ready Player One is a story that takes place in the future, mostly in a virtual reality game with real-world implications that will entice all serious players. The Wikipedia link contains plot spoilers, so just watch the teaser from San Diego Comic Con. Based on the 2011 novel by Ernest Cline, the movie was produced and directed by Steven Spielberg. Ready Player One will be in theaters in March of 2018. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
An Ode To Love
A man stranded on a tiny island has nothing but a stick and his imagination. The stick brings that imagination to life. Before long, the stick is a stand-in for everything he ever had in his life. Through it, he experiences joy, excitement, humor, rage, despair, disappointment, and even jealousy. That's an awful lot to pack into one wordless cartoon with one character. Unless you count the stick. An Ode to Love is an award-winning animated short film by Matthew Darragh. (via Laughing Squid)
A Sneak Peek at Justice League
The next DC Comics movie is Justice League. The group established its core characters in Batman v Superman, with a glimpse of Wonder Woman, who we got to know better this summer. Next they will be joined by Aquaman, the Flash, and Cyborg from the comics. An extended preview was released at San Diego Comic Con. From the YouTube page:
Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
Justice League will be in theaters November 17. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Saturday, July 22, 2017
British Airways Safety Video
British Airways teamed up with Comic Relief to make a new flight safety video based on the premise of people auditioning for a role in the safety video. A selection of top British performers do their best, but the director is more impressed with some than with others. Honestly, when Sir Ian McKellan tells you to put on your oxygen mask, you listen. The video is actually a combination flight safety video and fundraising appeal for Flying Start. It will be shown on flights beginning in September. There's also a behind-the-scenes look and some outtakes here.
The Walking Dead Season 8 Official Comic-Con Trailer
The first trailer for season eight of The Walking Dead, which premieres on October 22, was unveiled at San Diego Comic Con on Friday. This video contains NSFW language, despite the fact that it's from a TV show. There's a lot of action, explosions, shooting, and an inspirational speech or two, but not nearly enough zombies. But then, it's only a few minutes of clips that try not to give too much away. Every frame will be examined and speculated on in the next few days. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
Friday, July 21, 2017
U.S. Executive Branch Crime Statistics
The article accompanying this chart was published backing January. (via TYWKIWDBI) http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/
Why a Total Solar Eclipse is Such a Big Deal
The total solar eclipse that will cross the U.S. on August 21st is a big deal. "Eclipse" is not so rare, but "solar" is, and "total" even more so. It doesn't happen often, and the view is expected to be spectacular. Get a preview in this video from Vox. Sadly, my plan to drive two hours or so to see the eclipse has been canceled. August 21st is move-in day at my youngest kid's new college. But we will see a partial solar eclipse, which will cover all of the lower 48. And if you live too far away to get to the path of totality, you'll still see plenty of reports on the internet. (via Kottke)
Miss Cellania's Links
My ‘Just In Case’ Inheritance. Indians invest in jewelry for their daughters as a lifelong safety net.
We Are Awful at Detecting Manipulated Photos. Test your altered image detecting abilities here. (via Daily of the Day)
Trump's 2020 Campaign Has Already Paid Out $600K—to Trump.
In the 18th century, Britain shipped around 50,000 prison inmates to the American colonies to do hard labor. James Dalton was sent multiple times for theft, and once succeeded in leading a mutiny aboard the prison ship.
10 Surprising Ways to Lose Your Mind. Mental disorders can be triggered by a wide variety of conditions.
How a Group of ’70s Radicals Tried (and Failed) to Invade Disneyland. Four hundred police were waiting for the paltry few hundred Yippies that showed up.
Rocket Launches Look Even Cooler From Space. A satellite recorded images of a Soyuz launch on July 14.
How Synthetic Fabrics Inspired a Cultural Revolution. Few people remember how much time laundry and ironing used to take.
Ancient ruins keep being 'discovered.' Were they ever lost?
