(via Bad Menu)
Sunday, June 30, 2019
An Architecture Professor Explains Why Malls Are Dying
In the 1980s, malls were a place to meet, to hang out, to find your entertainment while socializing. Malls made "deciding what to do" simple because they offered a variety of shopping, movies, restaurants, and arcades. But with the rise of online shopping, home video, social media, and online gaming, going anywhere at all to socialize just seems like more trouble than it's worth. Architecture professor Ellen Dunham-Jones goes way more into detail about the rise and fall of shopping malls. (via Digg)
Paroles d'Amour
Paroles d'Amour translates to Words of Love. Yes, the words are nice, but it's the gorgeous retro style animation that makes this romantic short by director Chiara Luber special. The video is introduced as "The fruit of a broken heart and endless binging on Italian romantic comedies." (via Nag on the Lake)
Millennials
It's true. Gothgrrl is generation Z and she's entering her senior year of college. Sure, there are Millennials still in college, but they aren't the young generation you are used to thinking of. We are all getting older, but it stills beats not getting older. This comic is from Randall Munrow of xkcd.
Why Don't Buses Have Seatbelts?
Government agencies have encouraged us to buckle our seatbelts for 50 years now. Seat belt use is now the law in every state except new Hampshire ...for cars. Buses are exempt, and most of them don't even have seat belts. That sound hypocritical, since governments operate an awful lot of municipal and school buses. What's the deal? Cheddar explains why buses don't have seat belts. We could make buses safer than they are, but the law of diminishing returns kicks in at some point. (via Digg)
Tweet of the Day
Breaking: FL gov Ron DeSantis signs bill requiring people with past felony convictions to pay all restitution, fines & fees before voting. This is modern day poll tax gutting historic ballot initiative approved by 64% voters & could block 1000s from polls https://t.co/K6swzGMkPZ— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) June 28, 2019
Saturday, June 29, 2019
Jisoo Yu and David Hart
Their dance is not only skillful, but joyful! That makes it all the more worth sharing. The music is delightful, too. This video was posted by the UNC Moonlight Dance Crew. (via reddit)
Feeding the Cat
Joseph Herscher of Joseph’s Machines went the long way around to feed his cat when he's not at home. There's a much longer video showing how he made this Rube Goldberg cat-feeding machine. (via Laughing Squid)
At the Eye Doctor
This is exactly how I feel when I go to the optometrist. He says, "Wow, your vision is getting worse!" I think, yeah, now tell me something I don't know. This comic is from Nathan Pyle's Strange Planet.
This Movie is an Ad
got another capitalism greatest hit. i will give you one hundred thousand dollars if you can guess the brand by the end pic.twitter.com/bwfJJLabg4— Ryan Simmons (@rysimmons) June 27, 2019
This video might remind you of Richard Linklater's movie Boyhood. But it's a real advertisement, produced by an agency in Brazil. A shortened version was used in media a couple of years ago; you can see it at Buzzfeed. You know what they say in advertising, it doesn't matter what you show them as long as they remember what the ad is for. Although the actual product is not revealed until the end, it's such a yank in a different direction that you will remember it.
Friday, June 28, 2019
The World’s Worst Translator
You can learn a second language. You can even become fluent. But working as a translator is a whole other endeavor that requires a particular set of skills. Arturo Castro stars in this sketch from his Comedy Central sketch show Alternatino. (via Laughing Squid)
Both Gay
It often takes more than one thing in common to make good friends. Even if you have a lot of things in common, there still may be deal breakers lurking. This comic is from Little Porpoise. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
Addendum: This scenario played out in real life recently, with better results.
Addendum: This scenario played out in real life recently, with better results.
How To Cope With Panic Attacks
If you've never had a panic attack in your life, consider yourself lucky. But even if you haven't you'll want to be prepared in case it happens in the future. The School of Life explains how to recognize one and what to do to get through it. (via Laughing Squid)
Can't Find My Way Home
Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton reunited to do the 1969 Blind Faith song "Can't Find My Way Home" in 2007. This was recorded at the Crossroads Guitar Festival.
Tweet of the Day
I pranked my girlfriend, I said I saw you kissing another guy.— HIGH CHIEF🧢💥 (@VikktorNelson) May 14, 2019
She apologized.😭😭😭
(via Buzzfeed)
Thursday, June 27, 2019
The Two-Wheeled Self-Balancing 1967 Gyro-X
The Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, has a fully-restored two-wheeled car: the 1967 Gyro-X prototype. This video is a demonstration of the vehicle's self-balancing gyroscopes that took place recently in Cernobbio, Italy. Despite the cool technology, the Gyro-X never went into production. Honestly, it seems like more trouble than it was worth. (via Laughing Squid)
Telling Stories
Don't beat up on yourself too much- a lot of folks are like that. Last week I was at a restaurant with Princess and with Gothgrrl's boyfriend. Gothgrrl called from her far-away summer job and started telling a story. It was going nowhere, and our food arrived before she got to the point. So we dumped out of the conversation, and I got the rest of the story a week later. This comic is from Sarah Andersen at Sarah's Scribbles.
Glow-in-the-Dark Puppy Puppet
Puppeteer Barnaby Dixon (previously https://www.neatorama.com/tag/Barnaby-Dixon/ at Neatorama) introduces us to his new creation- a quadruped puppet. This one is a dog, for which Dixon put in some real research on how dogs move in order to make him look real. Real, that is, besides being a fluorescent skeleton. Let's say the dog's movements are recognizable as canine, which is key to puppeteering. It's also cute! (via Laughing Squid)
Miss Cellania's Links
The Battle to Make Tim Burton’s Batman. Michael Uslan had dreamed of making a dark Batman film for years, and even after he got the rights to the character, no studio was interested. (via Metafilter)
Twins For a Day. A set of identical brothers ambivalently attends the world’s largest gathering for twins.
Trump’s war on refugees is tearing down US's life-changing resettlement program.
The Unexpected History of the Air Conditioner.
The Martini-Drinking Cat.
When Pepsi Had a Navy. They didn't set out deliberately to do it, and they never engaged in naval warfare, but at one time, the Pepsi company once had 17 diesel attack submarines and a fleet of oil tankers. (via Digg)
The Gorilla Crow.
A blast from the past (2012): 10 Horrible Things We Do to Teddy Bears.
Pride (In the Name of Love)
A Clivilles & Cole remix. If you didn't know, they are the "C and C" in the C + C Music Factory.
Tweet of the Day
Here he is yelling about them understanding English. If this is how they treat nice old people outside of cages, imagine how guards are treating imprisoned immigrants. pic.twitter.com/1WHS9F6w9f— 🏴 (@leftkist) June 24, 2019
(via Metafilter)
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Swatting a Fly
This story starts out as a simple POV experience in which a guy is bothered by a flying his apartment. But as the fly sticks around to annoy him, the story goes off the rails. In some places, you can see what will happen (like the flypaper), while others are completely surprising (the picture frame). But it gets much weirder. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
Lieutenant Dan Goes to the Beach
Lieutenant Dan is a one-year-old hound who lives in Pensacola, Florida. He was born with nonfunctional back legs, which were eventually amputated. By the time he was eight weeks old, he had learned to walk on his two front legs! Dan has wheels for everyday getting around, but dispenses with them just fine when he goes swimming. (via Digg)
The Predator
Click to the right to advance this comic. You may have an apex predator in your own home! This comic is from Lucas Turnbloom of How To Cat. (via Fark)
Car Wash Calamity
Once upon a time, we heard stories that began. "You won't believe what I saw on the way home!' and we didn't know whether to believe it or not. In this case, a verbal description would be too long and confusing, but we are lucky to have video evidence. This happened in April in England. The laughter and lack of profanity add charm to the visual. (via Digg)
Miss Cellania's Links
The Remains Of Stalin’s Dead Road. Gulag prisoners were used to build the Transpolar Mainline Railway, which went to ruin after the dictator's death. (via Metafilter)
Black Like Me, 50 Years Later. An article from 2011 shows what a remarkable man author John Howard Griffin was.
A 500-year-old statue of St. George in Spain got the Ecce Homo treatment in 2018, but after a year's work, it has been properly restored.
Study shows that Trump’s new “Affordable Clean Energy” rule will lead to more CO2 emissions, not fewer.
Making Mama proud.
The World's First Roller Coaster at Sea. (via Dave Barry)
The Forgotten Trans History of the Wild West.
How Did the Oregon Republican Party Get So Crazy?
A blast from the past (2008): 7 Heroic Dogs.
An Honest Trailer for Waterworld
Screen Junkies continues its summer blockbuster series with a look at the 1995 movie Waterworld. It was the most expensive movie ever made at the time, and was expected to the blockbuster of the summer that year. However, it was very, very bad. What was supposed to be Mad Max on the high seas turned out to be a spectacular bomb. The Honest Trailer has a good time pointing out its faults.
Tweet of the Day
The best cat video you'll see today. pic.twitter.com/Fce8vtQkZx— Queer as in F**k You (@MapsCats) June 19, 2019
(via Everlasting Blort)
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
My Garden in June
The garden is bigger this year because Princess wanted me to plant her favorite vegetables as well as mine. The landscape fabric I've been using for years was not enough. I put some old black plastic down on the left to accommodate various colored peppers and jalapeños. Behind them is a row of cauliflower, then the cucumbers between the fenceposts. In the back half, I have four rows of tomatoes on trellises. I lost a few tomatoes to juglone poisoning (my black walnut tree is a killer), and replaced them with smaller plants in that bare spot. Then a row a bell peppers you can hardly see, and three rows of bush beans in the front. Eggplants are around the very front and sides, but they are still small. Summer squash and marigolds are planted around the edges. There is one lone zucchini on the far right. Since the rest didn't sprout, I have planted some summer spinach in that area. I also have one lone butternut squash coming up from last year. Extra eggplants and cauliflowers are tucked into odd corners where I thought there was room. This year's layout is pretty odd altogether.
That junk in the front is a "fence" of railroad ties that was originally supposed to separate the yard from the driveway, but I don't do driveway maintenance and now I have to mow it. The raised garden on the right made of ivy-covered railroad ties is for perennials: strawberries and catnip. Both are doing well. In the back you might see a hosta nursery under the leaning tree and my compost piles near the fence. Further back, my neighbor has raised beds of tomatoes on what used to be a basketball court. He planted much later than I did. And the river is almost at its peak.
So far, I've enjoyed many strawberries, squash, a couple of peppers, cherry tomatoes, and the beans are starting to come in. My canning jars are ready for bean processing time later this week. Then there will be tomatoes and salsa. The squash, eggplant, peppers, and cauliflower will be frozen, and I only expect as many cucumbers as I will eat.
That junk in the front is a "fence" of railroad ties that was originally supposed to separate the yard from the driveway, but I don't do driveway maintenance and now I have to mow it. The raised garden on the right made of ivy-covered railroad ties is for perennials: strawberries and catnip. Both are doing well. In the back you might see a hosta nursery under the leaning tree and my compost piles near the fence. Further back, my neighbor has raised beds of tomatoes on what used to be a basketball court. He planted much later than I did. And the river is almost at its peak.
So far, I've enjoyed many strawberries, squash, a couple of peppers, cherry tomatoes, and the beans are starting to come in. My canning jars are ready for bean processing time later this week. Then there will be tomatoes and salsa. The squash, eggplant, peppers, and cauliflower will be frozen, and I only expect as many cucumbers as I will eat.
Miss Cellania's Links
The Black Bird of Chernobyl. (via Strange Company)
I’m a Journalist but I Didn’t Fully Realize the Terrible Power of U.S. Border Officials Until They Violated My Rights and Privacy.
The Nations of the World as Anime Characters. You can see thirty of the characters in a list labeled in English at Bored Panda.
How to Be a Better Tourist.
Night of the Living Compromise. By Tom Tomorrow.
This Is What Happened When I Tried to Bully My Plant to Death. The experiment affected the author more than it affected the plants.
The Disappearance of Dennis Lloyd Martin: 50 Years Later. (via Strange Company)
“The Bastard Professor.” (via Nag on the Lake)
A blast from the past (2012): 10 Legendary Monsters of North America: Part One and Part Two.
Mambo Italiano
Here's a compilation of movie and TV clips of Brigitte Bardot dancing, set to the song "Mambo Italiano," sung by Bette Midler.
Tweet of the Day
It also suggests that personal responsibility does not count when the legacy of slavery dropped a curtain of oppression on the black race and there is no recovering from that. The radical left says our society remains unjust to this day, forget personal responsibility.— Bill O'Reilly (@BillOReilly) June 24, 2019
Bill O'Reilly calls American history a "radical belief," as if what he said was not 100% true. The responses to this one are well worth reading. (via Boing Boing)
Monday, June 24, 2019
Wings of Hope
The 1999 documentary by Werner Herzog, Wings of Hope, tells the story of Juliane Koepcke, the sole survivor of a 1971 plane crash in Peru. The injured teenager walked through the rain forest for eleven days before finding help. (via reddit)
Playing Cards
The aliens are learning what it means to play poker. Or are they? We'll have to wait to see who wins. This comic is from Nathan Pyle's Strange Planet series. Click to the right for a bonus comic.
Squash Pickles
The summer squash was the first vegetable to ripen in my garden, and I'm not a big fan of cooked squash. It was Princess's idea to plant it. While looking up how to preserve all this straight-neck squash, I came across the idea of squash pickles. Now, I've tried making pickles before with cucumbers, and never had much luck. However, I had enough squash to experiment. Many of the recipes online contain sugar, which I did not want, so I kept looking until I found this easy recipe at Serious Eats. Then I changed it to suit my own taste.
I made the pickles and stashed them in the refrigerator. You are supposed to wait 48 hours before eating them, but I got busy, then tried them about four days later. They were crisp and tasty! The squash is not much different from a cucumber pickle, with the taste coming from the other ingredients. When I had enough garden produce for my first salad (cherry tomatoes and bell pepper), I also cut up a couple of squash pickle spears into it, and that was good, too! Imagine- me putting squash in a salad. I was so proud of my pickles that I've given a jar away already. Continue reading if you want my version of the recipe.
I made the pickles and stashed them in the refrigerator. You are supposed to wait 48 hours before eating them, but I got busy, then tried them about four days later. They were crisp and tasty! The squash is not much different from a cucumber pickle, with the taste coming from the other ingredients. When I had enough garden produce for my first salad (cherry tomatoes and bell pepper), I also cut up a couple of squash pickle spears into it, and that was good, too! Imagine- me putting squash in a salad. I was so proud of my pickles that I've given a jar away already. Continue reading if you want my version of the recipe.
Miss Cellania's Links
It was 735 years ago this week, on June 26, 1284, that the Pied Piper led the children of Hamelin, Germany, away forever. Folklore Thursday offers four possible explanations for what happened. (via Strange Company)
Hideous Men. Donald Trump assaulted me in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room 23 years ago. But he’s not alone on the list of awful men in my life.
How Scotch Tape and Masking Tape Were Invented.
Night of the Living Painting. Mummies were sold to people all over, and this eventually led to a paint made from them called "mummy brown."
Inside a Texas Building Where the Government Is Holding Immigrant Children. "The conditions the lawyers found were shocking: flu and lice outbreaks were going untreated, and children were filthy, sleeping on cold floors, and taking care of each other because of the lack of attention from guards."
TV shows that were ruined by stray shoes. Many cultures can't abide shoes in the house, much less on a couch or a bed. (via Metafilter)
Ravelry, the internet's biggest yarn craft forum, announced a new policy: Do Not Post In Support of Trump or his Administration. "We cannot provide a space that is inclusive of all and also allow support for open white supremacy. Support of the Trump administration is undeniably support for white supremacy."
Cat Memes of the 1870s.
A blast from the past (2008): Fun with Pie Charts.
The Opry House
Mickey Mouse stars in this 1929 cartoon directed by Ub Iwerks. This features the worst version of "Carmen" you will ever hear.
Tweet of the Day
The vet will not find me here,never🤣😂 pic.twitter.com/iqrthPNlWc— Snezana🌷 (@BgSnezana) May 9, 2019
(via Neatorama)
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Solsbury Hill
From 1977, "Solsbury Hill" was Peter Gabriel's first solo single after leaving Genesis. Wikipedia has some interesting things about the song.
Gabriel has said of the song's meaning, "It's about being prepared to lose what you have for what you might get ... It's about letting go." His former bandmate Tony Banks acknowledges that the song reflects Gabriel's decision to break ties with Genesis, but it can also be applied in a broader sense to situations of letting go in general.
The song is mostly written in 7/4 time, an unusual time signature that has been described as "giving the song a constant sense of struggle". The meter settles into 4/4 time only for the last two measures of each chorus. It is performed in the key of B major with a tempo of 102 beats per minute, with Gabriel's vocals ranging from F♯3 to G♯4.
The Truth is Revealed
Maybe it was just a brain fart. Or maybe you really learned why John is a bookkeeper and not a web developer. This comic is from CommitStrip.
Rainbow Blanket Octopus
There are four species of blanket octopus that are so called because of the webbing between some of their arms. They are known for their tool use- they tear Portuguese man o'war tentacles off to use as weapons! Blanket octopuses also display extreme sexual dimorphism. The females can be more than six feet long, while the males are about the size of a walnut.
Joseph Elayani accompanied the Three P Diving Club on an outing underneath the waters off Romblon Island in the Philippines, and captured this remarkable footage of two colorful blanket octopuses. A longer video shows more amazing creatures seen on the same trip. (via reddit)
I'm Gettin' Myself Ready for You
From Blanche Calloway and her Joy Boys, 1931. Blanche was the sister of Cab Calloway and the first woman to successfully lead an all-male orchestra. (via Metafilter)
Tweet of the Day
We are all Middle Seat Guy. https://t.co/Jyo0NYgo4f— Josh "No Cannes do" Sternberg (@joshsternberg) June 21, 2019
(via The Daily Dot)
Saturday, June 22, 2019
All You Need is Cash
In 1978, Monty Python crafted an entire TV "documentary" about a band named the Rutles that soared to stardom. You might be reminded of another British band of the 1960s. Read more about All You Need is Cash at Wikipedia.
Boss Grass Trimmer
Some people look at new technology like the Segway and say, "Well, that looks dumb." Others look at it and think, "How could I use that to improve my life?" This technique doesn't look like it would be any easier than just walking, but it sure looks fast and efficient. Still, you know this guy had a learning curve that required patience and persistence to get to this level. Hats off to you, weed whacker guy! (via Boing Boing)
The Computers: The Remarkable Story of the ENIAC Programmers
During World War II, women took over many jobs normally done by men at the time, including top secret military support jobs. The army recruited almost 100 women who were adept at differential calculus to calculate ballistic trajectories for firing artillery. The army was also working on a machine, developed by Dr. John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, that could do these calculations: ENIAC, the world's first all-electronic, programmable, general-purpose computer. But who would run the computer? Why, the women who were tops in differential calculus! And they had to figure th eprogramming out as they went. But strangely, in the decades following, the role of women in computer history has been diminished. Read about the ENIAC programmers and their legacy at Freedom to Tinker.
The author of the article, Kathy Kleiman, produced this documentary on the women of ENIAC. (via Boing Boing)
Flowers and Insects as You've Never Seen Them
Thomas Blanchard made a beautiful art film showing the symbiotic relationships between insects and blooming flowers. The experimental film -N- Uprising uses time-lapse photography, rich colors, and music for an immersive experience.
For 7 months, I observed insects and mainly the butterfly cycle where we see the caterpillar turn into chrysalis and then the butterfly out of the chrysalis.(via Laughing Squid)
The Insect videos were filmed in 8K with camera RED Helium 8K.
The flower outbreaks are an assemblage of hundreds of 5K photos that have been made on a regular interval.
Friday, June 21, 2019
Teaching Seals to Sing
Listen to these grey seals sing the melodies of the Star Wars theme and "Mary Had a Little Lamb"! They don't have perfect pitch, but the fact that they do it at all is amazing. An experiment led by Amanda Stansbury and Vincent Janik of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland shows they can learn to produce not only music, but human vowel sounds.
Three young grey seals were used in the study: Gandalf, a male, and Zola and Janice, two females. The seals were born on the Isle of May and brought to the marine mammal facility at the University of St. Andrews when they were very young, with training starting shortly thereafter and lasting for 12 months. The three seals were allowed to co-mingle with other juveniles in three enclosures, and they were released back into the wild a year after they were captured.Read more about the experiment and its implications at Gizmodo.
“We first taught them to produce their own seal sounds in response to our training signals,” said Janik. “We then changed those sounds in the computer to create different pitches and melodies. Once they succeeded in copying these tunes, we presented vowels spoken by a human and transferred to an easier frequency band for the animals.”
Zola demonstrated a proficiency at copying melodies, singing up to 10 notes of songs like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and the melody to Star Wars. Janice and Gandolf were able to replicate combinations of human vowel sounds. Over the course of hundreds of trials, the seals were able to copy and express all possible vowel combinations of A, E, I, O U.
Literary Opinions
It's bad being the only person in a group discussion who hasn't read the book they're talking about. Some of that feeling is alleviated when you realize that the most opinionated person of the group hasn't read it either. Lack of knowledge won't stop some folks from having a strong opinion about whatever it is. This comic is from Randall Munroe at xkcd.
Aussie Ingenuity
The Australians share a neat way to celebrate the summer solstice. It's sort of a handing-off of redneck technology, since today is their winter solsrice. (Thanks, WTM!)