(via Bad Newspaper)
Saturday, October 31, 2020
The Memory Tree
Even a ghost can be traumatized by a scary experience and suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. This is from Boston band Hallelujah the Hills.
Case-in-point: over the course of 4 months in quarantine, lead singer Ryan Walsh decided to make a stop-motion music video for their song "The Memory Tree," from the band's recent album I'm You. He handcrafted little ghost puppets and tiny ghost houses and put together a whole elaborate world to tell a whimsical story of spirits and transdimensional discovery, in the style of a classic silent film.
(via Boing Boing)
The Hobbit: Fury Road
The Hobbit is a fantasy film and Mad Max: Fury Road is an apocalyptic chase scene, but they have a lot more in common than you might think. This trailer mashup only drives that idea home. (via reddit)
Dakota Gets a Pumpkin
Dakota is a rescue coyote living at Save a Fox Rescue. He is so excited about his gift of a pumpkin! It's a ball to play with AND food! If only he had opposable thumbs! (via reddit)
Take One
Crows are smart enough to read, but they're also smart enough to get around having to learn to. This comic is from Jimmy Craig at They Can Talk.
Nosferatu
The 1922 German horror film was originally titled Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens. Max Schreck stars as the vampire Count Orlok. Unofficially based on Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, this was the first widely-seen vampire film.
Tweet of the Day
(via reddit)Meteorologist @JordanWitzel dressed as a cheese bun from Calgary’s @GlamorganBakery for #Halloween 2020, including some floppy, stuffed butt cheeks. pic.twitter.com/2KVC8Myrh7
— Global Calgary (@GlobalCalgary) October 30, 2020
Friday, October 30, 2020
Halloween News
This happened in Paris, Kentucky, in 1898. I think that several real nice young men got what was coming to them. (via mental_floss)
Josh Sundquist's Halloween Costume 2020
Longtime readers know that Josh Sundquist comes up with amazing Halloween costumes every year that utilize the fact that he has only one leg. He's also an athlete, so he can do some pretty amazing things with his ideas. This year, he is Baby Groot! If you've been keeping up over the years, you can skip ahead to 2:40 to see him walking around as Baby Groot, and how the costume was made. (via reddit)
A Truly Bonkers Sandwich-Making Machine
Joseph Herscher of Joseph's Machines constructed five different Rube Goldberg contraptions in order to make a sandwich. That in itself is not so surprising, but the mechanisms he uses along the way are astonishing. How did he know precisely how that hand mixer would act? Surely he isn't going to eat jelly out of a toy truck! He doesn't, but how its used is genius. Be sure to stay for the credits, because they get a little messy. (via Digg)
Covid Halloween
This year will be somewhat different, but not completely different. This Venn diagram is from Matt Shirley.
Why I Like Halloween
There are many reasons to like Halloween, which are all more pleasant than the reasons to dislike something. I find Halloween a marvelous excuse to buy some Reece's Cups. I also like to see everyone else's creative costumes. Parties, not so much. However, I pretend to be someone who is not me all year long. This pie chart is from Matt Shirley.
Back to the Future: Reimagined
For the 35th anniversary celebration of Back to the Future, Universal Pictures put together a tribute from various artists and animators using widely varying styles. You'll be glad to know that unlike other "reimagined" projects, this one doesn't try to match the feature film shot-by-shot, so it's an enjoyable four minutes long. (via Boing Boing)
Miss Cellania's Links
Can Lab-grown Brains Become Conscious? How do we even define consciousness for this purpose? (via Damn Interesting)
Why Does Blood Look So Strange in Old Horror Movies? Read the history of fake blood and the cost of authenticity. (via Digg)
He finally mustered the courage to announce to his dad that he wanted to be a dancer.
High-visibility Halloween Costumes for Distanced Viewing. Artificial intelligence has some strange ideas.
The Uncertain Heavens: Christiaan Huygens’ Ideas of Extraterrestrial Life. (via Damn Interesting)
29 Weird Things Non-Americans Love About American Culture. Actually, they love to poke fun at them.
That Time Toilets Gave Away a Cold War Secret.
A blast from the past (2009): What a Blockbuster Movie Can Do to a Small Town.
Prankin' the Boss
Maybe they anticipated this overreaction when they set up the camera. More likely, it just turned out better than they ever dreamed. I'm wondering which came first, the heart attack or the mass firing. (via reddit)
Tweet of the Day
(via Everlasting Blort)I am 💀 pic.twitter.com/RaubZKYrWw
— Maggie Simek-Lahay (@maggiesimek) October 18, 2020
Thursday, October 29, 2020
Halloween Hijinks
Presenting: a new Homestar Runner cartoon! Sadly, this will be the only one this year. In this Halloween special, familiar characters solve a Scooby-Doo-esque mystery -with no dog, which highlights how superfluous the dog was. Then they show off their Halloween costumes. Longtime fans will catch all kinds of self-references, while everyone else can just enjoy the chaos. (via Metafilter)
Halloween Decorations
Click to the right to advance the comic. Sure, nothing to worry about here! It's just seasonal decorations! I've long felt that Halloween would be the easiest time to get away with murder, as people are expecting to see it and not believe it. This comic is from Joe at Portuguese Geese Comics. (via reddit)
1994
If 1994 was an important year in your life, you will love The Hood Internet's new mashup of 60 songs from that year. If not, you'll enjoy revisiting at least some of the songs. As for me, video clues made me listen carefully for NSFW lyrics, which did not show up. I wish they had included more of "Black Hole Sun." Even if you don't recognize any of the songs, the groove is nice to listen to.
Miss Cellania's Links
Animals Keep Evolving Into Crabs, Which Is Somewhat Disturbing. (via Damn Interesting)
The Lifelong Guilt Trip of Abstinence Pledges and Purity Balls. (via Digg)
Some really weird vintage Halloween costumes. (Thanks, WTM!)
Donald's Election Adventures. The latest from Tom the Dancing Bug.
Berea College in Kentucky is a hub of traditional Appalachian crafts, and their hand-woven brooms have been in demand for a hundred years. The brooms are available here.
The Great Light Bulb Conspiracy. Why your light bulbs never last long enough.
Halloween Decorations Prompt Multiple Police Visits. Steven Novak's front yard looks life the scene of multiple murders. (via Boing Boing)
Friends surprise Omaha man with radio-controlled lawn mower. (via Fark)
A blast from the past (2011): 8 Historic Accounts of Werewolves.
Dead Man’s Party
The League of S.T.E.A.M. does Dia de los Muertos! The League of S.T.E.A.M. is a group of steampunk ghostbusters (“Serving all your supernatural elimination needs since 1884.”). In this adventure, they investigate a horde of skeletons who won’t return to their graves after the Day of the Dead festivities. Yes, it’s corny, but the skeletons are funny, and it has the perfect punch line at the very end. (via the Presurfer)
Tweet of the Day
(via Bored Panda)Every single day I have to gaze upon this eldritch horror. pic.twitter.com/6wO07pdYny
— Chris Stabsley🔪 (@achebit) September 6, 2020
Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Time Change
Okay, first off, we set clocks BACK one hour this coming Saturday. As if we'd want to do that this year. Who wants to relive the hour we skipped in the spring? However, it would be nice to skip four months ahead, because then 2020 would be over. (via reddit)
Geoengineering: A Horrible Idea We Might Have to Use
When the climate gets warm enough, we may have to turn to desperate measures, like altering our own atmosphere. What could possibly go wrong? Putting stuff up in the stratosphere to block the sun's rays might work, but that has happened before, like in 1816, the year without a summer. Besides, we'd probably need solar energy just to launch the scheme, which is biting off our noses to spite our faces. Or it might work. Kurzgesagt has some details. (via Damn Interesting)
Boomliquid
This confused me, but I suppose it takes place in New Jersey. The only one who ever pumps my gas is one of my kids when I require it of them, but they don't live here anymore. This comic is from Nathan Pyle's Strange Planet. He explained in the comments.
This particular episode takes place in Fresh Uniform, a region that has unusual boomliquid rulesHighly unusual.
Wonderboy: A Star Wars Story
Bryan Lee made a fan film using the 2001 song "Wonderboy" by Tenacious D and film clips from all eleven Star Wars movies. Neat idea, but then you watch it and realize the editing is a sublime exercise in paying attention to detail. Well done! See it in widescreen format at YouTube. (via reddit)
Tweet of the Day
(via Everlasting Blort)Halloween... is cancelled? pic.twitter.com/PsYtBcUMrq
— Michael Myers (@RealMMyers78) October 23, 2020
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
An Honest Trailer for The Mandalorian
After the disappointment of The Rise of Skywalker, Disney and Lucasfilm gave us a salve to our broken Star Wars fan hearts with a TV series called The Mandalorian. A Star Wars western? Okay. Then they outright stole our hearts by presenting us with a baby Yoda. Not Yoda himself, but a juvenile of the same species that's cuter than he/she has any right to be. But The Mandalorian really redeemed the Star Wars universe by giving us an adventure that has nothing to do with dynasties or death stars. Screen Junkies likes The Mandalorian, too, but they still find ways to poke fun at the series.
The Time Warp
Tenacious D (Jack Black) gives us a new version of "The Time Warp" from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with plenty of special guests! (via Digg)
Fresh Pumpkin
Click to the right to advance the comic. This Halloween tale is from Ben Hed at Pet Foolery.
Technically Legal
The way laws are written often include some carveouts and exceptions, which we just call loopholes. Tom Scott takes advantage of a loophole in British liquor laws to open a working bar in a moving hovercraft. While this stunt is hilarious (imagine mixing drinks in a moving open air vehicle), he eventually explains the reason the law was written the way it is. (via reddit)
Miss Cellania's Links
Screaming paper towel dispenser.
Escaped Cloned Female Mutant Crayfish Take Over Belgian Cemetery. Check your 2020 Bingo card. (via Nag on the Lake)
Washington, D.C., and the Quest for a Perfectly Square City.
An Edgewood Tragedy: The Murder of Eleanor Buggy. (via Strange Company)
Why Do Steroids Make Testicles Smaller? The effects of steroids on women are also addressed.
Make your own music with Bongo Cat! (via Metafilter)
What You Do for a Living, Poorly Explained.
Five ghostly legends of women asserting themselves from beyond the grave. (via Strange Company)
A blast from the past (2011): Historic Vampires.
Tweet of the Day
(via Nag on the Lake)National Trust staff re-positioning the Stones at #Avebury Stone Circle this morning ready for the end of British Summer Time this Sunday #clocksgoback pic.twitter.com/gDoNSN6LVr
— Visit Avebury (@VisitAvebury) October 23, 2020
Monday, October 26, 2020
Kill Your Idioms
English idioms, similes, catch phrases, and colloquialisms make sense if you've heard them all your life, but are pretty nonsensical when you approach them literally. Grant Kolton illustrates some of them for us to highlight the insanity. (via Laughing Squid)
Framed
It's amazing what we can do with apps and internet connectivity, but there are some problems that it just doesn't solve. This is one of the many reasons I gave up eye makeup long ago. You can thank Chris Hallbeck at Maximumble for the laugh. http://maximumble.thebookofbiff.com/comic/2045-framed/
A Bad Lip Reading of the First Presidential Debate
The first 2020 presidential debate was about a month ago, but we still need a translation because of all the interruptions. Bad Lip Reading is here for it, with fake audio that makes much more sense than anything that was actually said that night, as they frame the evening as a game show. (via Uproxx)
Miss Cellania's Links
Notable Tattoos of 1907. One woman had her husband's will tattooed on her back! (via Strange Company)
The Hidden Meanings Behind 11 Common Tombstone Symbols.
Vanilla Nice. Get your flu shot!
Casa de las Conchas: The House of Shells.
Did Cavemen Ever Really Exist?
A Review of Dunkin's Spicy Ghost Pepper Donut.
A Uniquely 2020 Halloween Costume. She's a Zoom meeting!
Everlasting Arms: The Sustained Power of The Night of the Hunter. The 1955 movie echoes themes of the today's world. (via Digg)
A blast from the past (2016): 17 Movie Posters From a Reddit Fan Favorite.
Rub Some Bacon On it
Bacon: a sure-fire cure for anything! This song from Rhett and Link will be stuck in your head for a while. If that happens, you know what to do -rub some bacon on it! (via The Daily What)
Tweet of the Day
(via Everlasting Blort)This is Benjamin. He is Froot Loops. 14/10 pic.twitter.com/E0IRKM62MA
— WeRateDogs® (@dog_rates) October 31, 2019
Sunday, October 25, 2020
Gimme Shelter Baby
Another smooth mashup from Bill McClintock mixes "Gimme Shelter" boy the Rolling Stones with "Give it to Me Baby" by Rick James.
Chartreuse
This 1950 song by the Fletcher Henderson Sextet shows us that dying one's hair unlikely colors is nothing new. However, in the 21st century, it's not unusual enough to write a song about. (via Weird Universe)
Falling in Love
When you put it that way... its still sweet. This comic is from Nathan Pyle's Strange Planet.
The Cat Gets Comfortable
"Sit still, kid, we're makin' a video!" Greta seems to think that Lee needs a little grooming. Or maybe a lot. Commenter Auden declared this the result of "Johnson & Johnson No Tears Fancy Feast Child's Tasty Head Shampoo." (via Metafilter)
Tweet of the Day
Congratulations to Kate Beaton, one of my favorite comic artists, on her new family addition!Everyone has been very good and now she is fed and a little fatter and happy to nap on your lap and has a vet appointment since the neighbours don’t own her pic.twitter.com/aJNAUMJ3NX
— Kate Beaton (@beatonna) October 21, 2020
Saturday, October 24, 2020
The Haunted House
This 1908 French film was entitled La Maison Ensorcelee, by Spanish director Segundo de Chomón. It could use some background music. Enjoy the special effects from the infancy of film!
Biology Homework
Joaquin tried his best, and most of it is pretty good. In case you're confused, the better-drawn characters are from the anime series Cells at Work. Too bad there is no character called the Human Body. To be honest, he was probably tired of drawing by the time he got there. (via reddit)
Have You Ever Seen a Starfish Gallop?
You can see starfish in the ocean, but you've probably never studied a live one this closely. They have no brain, but they have five arms and a lot of "feet" on the underside of those arms. They use those feet to move around, using hydraulic engineering. Starfish also use their feet to smell. Yeah, they are weird. (via The Kid Should See This)
Password
That's been my go-to strategy for a long time. If I don't know it, how can anyone else? This comic is from Common Terry. (via reddit)
Crystals
Is there anything crystals cannot do? They can give you abs, stop crime, heal your dog, boil water, and make ponies fly. Watch this song by Conscious Trap and all your chakras will align. (via Metafilter)
Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan
Helen Keller and her instructor Annie Sullivan explain how Keller learned to speak in this 1930 Vitaphone newsreel. (via the Presurfer)
Friday, October 23, 2020
Brutally Finnish
The ad for Kyrö Distillery features Mikko Koskinen, one of the company founders, naked in a sauna, explaining Finland and his company's products while things go on in the background that you need to pay attention to. Yeah, you might need to watch this more than once, as his English can be difficult at times, and you'll also see things you missed the first time around. This ad is one continuous take with no professional actors. Contains NSFW language. (via reddit)
Male Singing To Female That Will Never Come
This is recording of the last Kauaʻi ʻōʻō bird. It was a male, recorded in 1987 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. When he died, his entire species was gone. Commenter Chloie Kwirant said,
Just imagine. Every day you do the same thing. You shout for someone, anyone, to answer. But no one ever shouts back. You refuse to except that you're the last of your species. Every single day you cry out to a person who will never answer. Until one day the sweet release of death finally cements your kind into extinction.(via Nag on the Lake)
A Halloween Costume for Every State
Which "sexy" Halloween costume fits in your state? This map is from Matt Shirley.
Miss Cellania's Links
Masked Intruders Break Into Bank. (via Metafilter)
Weather Photographer of the Year Awards 2020. (via Nag on the Lake)
Cats react to the smell of durian.
The Lab Saving the World From Snake Bites.
What Ancient Toilets Reveal About the History of the Human Gut.
I Was In Charge of the Deck Chairs On the Titanic, and They Absolutely Did Need Rearranging. Short and unexpectedly meaningful. (via Metafilter)
The Secret Lives of Giant Vegetable Growers. (via Metafilter)
15 Early Drafts of Horror Movies That Are Totally Bonkers.
A blast from the past (2016): Frightening Face-Off: 10 Halloween Makeup Tutorials.
Daft Hands
First posted by Austin Hall in 2007, this is one of the biggest viral videos ever, now y 71 million views. Yeah, it's worth another look.
Tweet of the Day
Fark has some pretty funny responses.WHOA: "Three Simultaneous Lightning Strikes on the Trump Hotel Chicago at 2:14am on Thursday." Thanks to @BarryButlerPhotography for sharing the incredible shot. pic.twitter.com/4r431yhikq
— ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) October 22, 2020
Thursday, October 22, 2020
1993
If asked for a pop song from 1993, I would not be able to name one, as I was working in country music that year. However, once you hear the 60 songs in the latest mashup from The Hood Internet, you'll remember them well. It was a good year for pop! There are several folks in the comments at YouTube who took a stab at naming them all, in case you need some names and titles. (via Laughing Squid)
How Time Works Around the World
Time flows forward the same way around the world, but the way people measure time and communicate it varies more than you might realize. When the day begins, how long an hour is, and what you call this time of day can be different depending on where you are. These timekeeping systems are only easy if you've done it all your life. (via Digg)
Snakes Have Legs
A short and sweet explanation for all misinformation and disinformation we see. People are way more gullible than we ever imagined. (via reddit)
Miss Cellania's Links
Eight of America’s Most Unusual Polling Places.
One of the more active posts on AskReddit poses the question "What is the fastest you have ever seen a new co-worker get fired?" It's filled with stories that will make you laugh and then question the whole of humanity.
Kamala versus Daenerys. "...mispronunciation is people trying too feebly and in vain to say our names - and dispronunciation is people saying our names incorrectly on purpose, as if to remind us whose country this really is." (via Metafilter)
The 50 Best Movie and TV Show Twists of All Time. Contains 50 spoilers. (via Digg)
Unqualified Impunity: Amy Coney Barrett Once Ruled That a Cop Wasn't Responsible for a Black Teenager's Death Because Breathing Isn't a Constitutional Right.
Little Weesy Coppin, the Ghost That Foretold the Franklin Expedition’s Fate.
The Most Popular Baby Names of 2020. (via Buzzfeed)
The True Story of Donald Trump, Secret Action Hero. The latest from Tom the Dancing Bug.
A blast from the past (2013): TODAY IS INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY!
Sanremo Coffee
In order to make a cup of coffee, first you must assemble a deluxe coffee machine, then throw some ingredients around to a dubstep beat, and then make coffee. At least that's what goes on in this ad for Sanremo UK. (via Viral Viral Videos)
Tweet of the Day
(via Laughing Squid)This house in my neighborhood every year nails Halloween decorations. pic.twitter.com/eX19mACqUv
— Gelly Bean (@funangela) October 18, 2020
Wednesday, October 21, 2020
Borat Goes to a Pregnancy Crisis Center
In this clip from he upcoming Borat 2, we have the setup, and it's designed to make us all really really want to see what happens next. For that, you'll have to watch the movie. (via Digg)
Swimming in Syrup vs. Swimming in Water
Imagine swimming in a pool of pancake syrup! Would you be able to do it? Would it be slower than swimming in water? The guy from the Action Lab went out and bought a bunch of pancake syrup to find out, but instead of a pool with swimmers, he used tubs with mechanical toys. Still, there was a university experiment done with pools and human swimmers, but sadly, they used something twice the viscosity of water but much cheaper and less tasty. However, when he posed the question, I pictured swimming in something as viscous as honey or even molasses, and that's a whole other story, which he addresses toward the end of this video. (via Digg)
IKEA Furniture
I have never been to an IKEA store, nor have I assembled any IKEA furniture. But Princess bought a table and chair set for her new apartment. I looked at the parts and the instructions and just laughed. A week later, she tells me she managed to put it together, which just makes me glad it was her and not me. This comic is from Nathan Pyle's Strange Planet.
Wear a Mask
Enjoy this little song set to the tune of "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast. It just occurred to me the other day that the freedom to go out barefaced has already negated the sacrifices we all made to flatten the curve- in lives, jobs, and mental health. And those who can't be bothered are going to cost us all another year of misery, not to mention how many families will have funeral expenses in that time. (via The Daily Dot)
Chop Chop
The animation of a dramatic rescue, from Birdbox Studio. www.birdboxstudio.com Not to give away the ending, but it kind of reminds me of the old Emily Litella skits from SNL in the 1970s. (via Everlasting Blort)
Tweet of the Day
(via Everlasting Blort)"am i a joke to you?"
— Paul Bronks (@SlenderSherbet) October 7, 2020
📸: Imgur user CreepingXxstoryX pic.twitter.com/nTrK8Bh0eP
