(via Bad Newspaper)
Sunday, February 28, 2021
Dance for Joy, Hope, and Positivity
Gurdeep Pandher of Yukon says,
After fresh snow, it became a charming winter-wonderland around my cabin in the wilderness. It danced for joy, hope and positivity, which I am sending to you.
(via Metafilter)
The Hidden Genius of Stormtrooper Costume Design
The stormtroopers of the Star Wars universe were designed to be numerous anonymous minions of the villains, a show of power, an ever-present method of instilling fear. Their design was supposed to evoke a cross between Nazis and robots. But there's more to it, as you'll see in this costume breakdown from Behind the Seams that turns out to be a look at all things stormtroopers mean to us. (via The Daily Dot)
Opening a Can
It's not always tuna. in fact, it's rarely tuna, but about once a day, it's Fancy Feast cat food. My cats no longer come running at the sound of the electric can opener, because they've become used to pop tops. This comic is from Rebecca Rose Comics.
Vaccine Game Show
Who gets the vaccine? No one knows, in the game show that served as the opening for Saturday Night Live last night.
Tweet of the Day
(via Everlasting Blort)Who did this? 😂 pic.twitter.com/Bdx4XV81Fk
— PMSL (@PMSL__) February 14, 2021
Saturday, February 27, 2021
Shakespeare Master Class
According to this skit from Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, Shakespeare is a lot more difficult than it needs to be.
A Large-Hearted Gentleman
Jim Corbett was a renowned tiger hunter who was born in India in 1875. However, he never hunted tigers for sport, as so many did at the time. Through many amazing kills and several close calls, he developed a profound respect for the big cats, including maneaters.
In a time when a hunter was measured for how many fearsome animals he could kill, Corbett exuded pride at never having killed a large cat for sport or financial gain. He refused even to hunt leopards which were often regarded as vermin at the time. "Those who have never seen a leopard," he said, "can have no conception of the grace of movement, and beauty of colouring of this the most graceful and the most beautiful in our Indian jungles. Nor are his attractions limited to outward appearances, for pound for pound, his strength is second to none, and in courage he lacks nothing." Corbett began lectures in various schools and nature societies with a message to protect the vanishing tiger and leopard populations. He referred to his youth as "days when there were ten tigers to every one that now survives."
Corbett knew tigers better than anyone. His conservation efforts went against the grain of the times, but his legacy lives on in a national park named after him, and a tiger species named Panthera tigris corbetti. Read his fascinating story at Damn Interesting.
Tweet of the Day
(via Everlasting Blort)You can't not give them a treat after this pic.twitter.com/zlOqV3o9wn
— Scoots (@scootertooter7) February 9, 2021
Friday, February 26, 2021
Throat Notes
They say the creatures of Australia all want to kill us, but even when they don't they can be pretty creepy. It's not so bad when they are cartoons. In a backyard in Tasmania, there are plenty of creatures who have have things to do in the middle of the night. Throat Notes actually has a plot, involving a possum, a star, and a hapless frog. This trippy animation is from Felix Colgrave, who brought us The Elephant's Garden and Double King. (via The Awesomer)
Cats Do Trick Shots
We've seen these cats before, when they learned to ring a bell for treats, and when they were enlisted to do a domino fall. Now they've combined their skills (as well as their patience and cuteness) to show us trick shots with ping pong balls and dominos all together. Now, I'm not saying that there's no visual trickery in this video; I'm just saying that it's entertaining either way. (via reddit)
At The Drive-Through
Never leave a drive-through without checking the contents. That goes for banks, too. This comic is from Nathan Pyle's Strange Planet.
Miss Cellania's Links
How Black cartographers put racism on the map of America. (via Damn Interesting)
The Great Smog of 1952. It lasted five days and cost thousands of Londoners their lives.
Hollingsworth Hound, Deep in the Snowy Heart of Texas. The latest from Tom the Dancing Bug.
Woman Yelling at Cat in LEGO.
The Best Led Zeppelin Songs, Ranked. Whether you agree or disagree, there's a lot to listen to here.
Magical Negroes can’t exist without a Mister Charlie or Miss Ann. A rundown of a lazy and overdone movie trope. (via Kottke)
The Battery Invented 120 Years Before Its Time. (via Damn Interesting) What was a drawback for Edison may be an asset now.
This Honest Listing For 'Literally The Worst House On The Street' Is A Master Class In Real Estate Comedy.
A blast from the past (2015): The Crew of the Enola Gay on Dropping the Atomic Bomb.
The Boxing Film that was Banned Around the World
In the early 20th century, prizefighting was even more uncivilized than it is now. While fights between Black boxers and white boxers drew crowds, heavyweight title fights were segregated. There was the "World Heavyweight Champion," who was by default white, and a separate "World Colored Heavyweight Champion." It was easier to assume white superiority when they didn't fight each other. But Jack Johnson worked for years to get the chance to fight heavyweight champion Tommy Burns, and defeated him in 1908. Former champ Jim Jeffries was brought out of retirement to win the title back.
Their fight, hyped as the “Battle of the Century,” took place in Reno, Nevada, on July 4, 1910, in front of 20,000 mostly-white spectators and nine motion picture cameras. Throughout the nation, many thousands more listened to live telegram bulletins of each round. Johnson beat Jeffries easily, and, as a result, racist mob violence broke out across the country, and Black Americans celebrating Johnson’s win were attacked, and some were killed.The fight was filmed, the film was banned, and therefore became the movie everyone wanted to see for years afterward. Vox has the story. (via Damn Interesting)
Tweet of the Day
First, you wonder how he got there, then you wonder how he's going to get down, then you are surprised at the end. (via Fark)omfg pic.twitter.com/ic0I9Qo8i9
— stephen (@stephenossola) February 22, 2021
Thursday, February 25, 2021
The Gas Hose Incident
She's upset that these guys were following her and trying to get her attention. They just wanted to alert her of the gas hose she's dragging. Real or staged? Yeah, getting this embarrassment on video seems too good to be true, but it's also behavior that doesn't seem too out of the ordinary to have happened somewhere. It reminds me of the movie Trains, Planes, and Automobiles, when a car tried to flag down our heroes going the wrong way on the highway. (via Digg)
Crypto Funk
Legendary musician Bootsy Collins plays his bass while riding a lotus in this animated music video for "Crypto Funk" by Eclectic Method. This digital art was sold at auction for $26,636, so enjoy your free view! (via Laughing Squid)
Wet Dream
This song by Kip Addotta wins the award for most fish puns per verse! You'll have to either take a bathroom break or get the tartar sauce out by the time it ends.
Tweet of the Day
(via Everlasting Blort)This would have been considered smart technology in the 1800s pic.twitter.com/EJhnUNhUm3
— Scott Kerr (@scott_kerr) February 7, 2021
Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Chained Uptight
Bill McClintock has a new mashup, fitting Stevie Wonder's early hit "Uptight" into Van Halen's "Unchained."
The Most Asked Questions by Teenage Girls in the 1960s
Seventeen magazine was targeted toward 13- and 14-year-olds. In the early 1960s, the magazine made a film to answer their questions. You can easily skip the first two minutes of this, and it's almost four minutes in before the questions start. (via Digg)
Miss Cellania's Links
35 Jokes That Programmers Will Definitely Relate To.
It's Totally Fine To Put Your Windshield Wipers Up When It Snows.
The Once-Classified Tale of Juanita Moody and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Her entire career is fascinating.
Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie had America pegged 25 years ago.
The Great Polio Vaccine Heist of 1959. What did that one guy think he was going to do with 75,000 vials that needed refrigeration? (via Damn Interesting)
I Tracked Down The Girls Who Bullied Me As A Kid. Here’s What They Had To Say. (via Digg)
Before Plymouth Colony and the Pilgrims, There Was Patuxet. Find out what happened to the Massachusetts village.
A Puppy with Six Legs!
A blast from the past (2012): 10 Excellent Bookstore Cats.
The Baronton Sisters
The Baronton Sisters were a French juggling act. Here they are performing on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1969. Later, they were banned from IKEA for life. (via Everlasting Blort)
Tweet of the Day
You really need to see the video.What do you do when you catch a lynx eating your chickens? Scruff him and scold him in the most Canadian way ever (with video, eh) https://t.co/khGVf9OfOX
— Fark (@fark) February 23, 2021
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Dirty Secret
Admit it, you were distracted by that typo, too, weren’t you? The artist was inspired to make this comic by people who fixated on typos instead of the meaning of what was said. This comic is from Bill Boles. (via reddit)
A Bit of Skiing
A video like this is the closest I'll ever get to the thrill of snow skiing. Candide Thovex shows us what it's all about. Kudos also to the camera operator. (via reddit)
Miss Cellania's Links
This Reddit Thread About A Woman Who Accidentally Created An Army Of Crows Is The Best Bird Story You'll Ever Read.
A Short History of Recent Anti-Asian Violence in the US.
42 "Before And After" Photos That Will Change The Way You Look At History.
HR Is Not Your Friend.
You’re the Bomb Dot LOL. (via Metafilter)
How a Three-Word Phrase Sabotaged Black Voting Rights, and How They Can Be Reconstructed.
The 5 Worst Restaurant Patrons in Movie History.
Ancient relic points to a turning point in Earth's history 42,000 years ago.
A blast from the past (2015): 8 War Heroes That Were Real Animals.
Laundry Basketball
Everyone plays basketball with the laundry hamper occasionally, but it's so much more fun when you have an agile kitten to complete the layup! (via Arbroath)
Tweet of the Day
(via Digg)I will refuse pic.twitter.com/ALecA2v8go
— Robbie Richardson (@londonmikmaq) February 17, 2021
Monday, February 22, 2021
Perseverance Rover’s Descent and Touchdown on Mars
Last week, NASA landed another robot on Mars, one with its own helicopter, using a sky crane, 131 million miles away, after a journey of a year and a half. Now, NASA has released a video that shows the Perseverance rover landing on the red planet. Even if you watched the coverage live, this is something special. The point of view is from several GoPro-type cameras installed on the various components.
The views include a camera looking down from the spacecraft's descent stage (a kind of rocket-powered jet pack that helps fly the rover to its landing site), a camera on the rover looking up at the descent stage, a camera on the top of the aeroshell (a capsule protecting the rover) looking up at that parachute, and a camera on the bottom of the rover looking down at the Martian surface.
Notice the graphics at the bottom to keep us up on what stage the descent is in. It also contains audio from Mission Control and a reaction shot when it's all said and done. If all that's not exciting enough for you, there's also a fan version with music. (via reddit)
Daft Punk Are No More
Daft Punk released their first video in five years today. "Epilogue" is mostly a clip from their 2006 film Electroma, and it serves as a goodbye to everyone. This video may be disturbing to sensitive viewers. Yes, the duo have broken up, or maybe just retired after 28 years. Read more about it at Pitchfork. (via Metafilter)
Miss Cellania's Links
Venice Carnival in the Time of COVID. Italy was hit pretty hard by the coronavirus last year, and no one wants to see a repeat of that. (via Digg)
Oldest DNA Sequenced Yet Comes From Million-Year-Old Mammoths.
10 Ways to Spot A Bad Boss Or Manager.
Meet Elizabeth Ann, the first clone of an endangered American species. She's as cute as can be! (via Damn Interesting)
School of Rock in real life.
As Texas deep freeze subsides, some households now face electricity bills as high as $10,000. There's more on this pricing scheme in a reddit discussion.
Trump Hotel Employees Reveal What It Was Really Like Catering to the Right Wing Elite. (via Metafilter)
Ken Burns Answers Every Question We Have About His Hair. (via Digg)
A blast from the past (2017): 8 Restaurant Treats Made with Girl Scout Cookies.
The Happy Baker Making Bread
The baker knows what he is doing, and he really enjoys it, baking the bread that makes up so much of what we eat every day. Starter, mix, knead, rise, knead, rise, shape, bake, dance! (via reddit)
Tweet of the Day
(via Everlasting Blort)Howard Lee https://t.co/Kra4GGfV7K pic.twitter.com/s9hI1EphAZ
— artnau (@artnau) December 27, 2020
Sunday, February 21, 2021
You Give Love A Bad Rasputin
"You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi was a catchy song, but you know what it needs? A disco beat! Shahar Varshal mashed it up with Boney M's "Rasputin." Oh, those Russians... (via Metafilter)
The Elevator Chase
Buster Keaton's character goes to a young lady's apartment to meet her parents. Her dad, the local police chief, recognizes him from a wanted poster (although he's not involved in a crime), and then things get wilder and wilder all the way to the end. This is from the 1921 film The Goat.
The Magic Lamp
Click to the right to advance the comic. Imagination is a wonderful thing, but trying to accommodate a child's imagination can be difficult. It still pays off in the end, in wonderful memories if nothing else. This comic is from Ben Hed at Pet Foolery.
Apologies
In last night's SNL opening, Britney Spears hosts a show in which people apologize for their screwups and misdeeds. You can imagine there would be a a never-ending guest list. And as a bonus, here's a sea shanty.
Tweet of the Day
(via Fark)1. Vatican City is a foreign country: their laws are different.
— kirsten houseknecht (@fabricdragon) February 19, 2021
2. in the "at will" employment that YOU REPUBLICANS want so much, here in the USA your employer can fire you for not getting vaccinated.
so... maybe brush up on what your own party stands for too
Saturday, February 20, 2021
25 Essential Episodes of The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show won 11 Emmys during its initial run from 1976 to 1981. The 120 episodes then aired in syndication for years, and now they are only available on Disney+. But you can see clips anytime, lots of them in a list at Vulture detailing the 25 best episodes of The Muppet Show in chronological order. The show let the Muppets run wild, drew top guest hosts, and gave us memorable characters and skits like Pigs in Space, the Swedish Chef, Statler and Waldorf, and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant Beaker. Many of the guest hosts share their remembrances of the show, and one thing they have in common is how they came to see the Muppets as real characters instead of puppets. John Cleese was one such host.
“One of the happiest experiences I’ve ever had in this silly business. It’s about as much fun acting as I’ve had because those Muppets were so real. I have worked with actors who were less responsive. I’ll tell you how believable they are. I had to do a song at one point and I was dreading it, but once I more or less got it right on the third or fourth take, I was so delighted that when the director said cut, I patted Kermit on the head. I thought the sketch with Gonzo was one of the funniest things I ever did. I have to say this, though I shouldn’t, it’s very well performed. The atmosphere on set was very relaxed, everyone was happy. I think that helps the comedy. People are at their best when they’re relaxed and having fun.”
See skits from all 25 episodes in the list at Vulture. (via Digg)
He Should Have Guessed Better
A long-running Icelandic game show called Gettu betur (Guess Better) pits teams of students against each other. During Friday's game, when the results were announced, one member of the losing side took issue with the ruling. You don't have to understand Icelandic to follow this. He even makes a spectacle of himself after going off camera! (via Boing Boing)
The Heroes of SARS
Remember SARS? Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome exploded out of China in early 2003 and frightened the entire world. Over 8,000 people were infected, and nearly 800 died. The epidemic was over by the summer, thanks to coordinated efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO), doctors who risked their lives to treat patients, and a military doctor who defied his government to break the Chinese policy of secrecy about the disease. Pictured is Dr. Carlo Urbani, an Italian epidemiologist who ultimately died of SARS.
After two weeks attempting to master the mysterious disease, Dr Urbani was exhausted. Eventually his wife and superiors persuaded him to take a break, and he decided to travel to Thailand, where he was scheduled to present a lecture at a medical conference. On 11 March, as his plane flew high above the dense jungle of Indochina, Dr Urbani developed a headache. Soon he spiked a fever and began coughing. Upon landing, he was met by a CDC colleague. Dr Urbani was quite aware of his symptoms' likely cause, so warned his friend not to approach, and called for an ambulance. For some time the two men sat in silence, facing each other across a hopefully-safe distance while the paramedics assembled their protective gear. One thing was certain: the Bangkok medical conference would be missing a speaker that year.
Read the entire story at Damn Interesting.
Uptown Funk, Benedict Cumberbatch Version
I've never seen him in anything besides Infinity War, but it seems Benedict Cumberbatch can dance! Here's a supercut of him goofing off and taking every opportunity to shake a leg. (Thanks, Barbara!)
You Bet Your Life Outtakes (1956-57 part 2)
Groucho's racy outtakes were compiled into private reels to be shown at sponsor's conventions each year.
Tweet of the Day
(via Everlasting Blort)I want to be friends with this bird. It’s hilarious! pic.twitter.com/A0oC086jpa
— Paul (@p_webs) February 6, 2021
Friday, February 19, 2021
Darts
Darts always seem like a dangerous idea, so it only makes sense to add alcohol. On the other hand, I can see why it was added to bars as a friendly competition, as neither golf nor chess would work as well in those environments. This comic is from Nathan Pyle's Strange Planet.
Why The U.S. Government Decides The Color Of Our Food
The US government, in setting standards for food quality based on appearance, also shaped our perception of what is acceptable to eat. This does not always line up with reality. But having set the standards, the government then had to deal with food producers who took shortcuts to make food appear better to the consumer. What kind of added food coloring is acceptable or necessary? In some cases, the standards were not so much about quality as they were about protecting an industry. The first three minutes of this video is about the margarine wars, which you may have read about at Neatorama. But regulating the color of food goes way beyond that. While food safety is of paramount importance, it might be better for the public to get used to the way food looks before it is converted to Instagram quality in order to attract our eyes at the grocery store. (via Digg)
I Can Explain!
You know when someone in a movie caught in a compromising situation and the first thing they say is "I can explain!"? It's because they are stalling for time to think of an explanation, of course. That happens a lot in movies, as Slackstory shows in their latest movie supercut. It's a followup to their No Time to Explain supercut. (via Laughing Squid)
Tweet of the Day
(via Fark)Holy smokes.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 19, 2021
Our Texas relief mobilization has already raised $325k for food, housing, elder care & direct relief straight to vulnerable Texans.
This might be a little crazy... but can we raise $1M by midnight?
💯% goes to Feeding Texas, ECHO & more: https://t.co/TTIiNimja7 https://t.co/OO57AoLmR9
Thursday, February 18, 2021
Ducks Coming Through
There’s no mystery about what caused this traffic jam in Thailand. It’s a good thing those ducks are in a hurry! (via Boing Boing)
In Which a Solution is Proposed
Everyone's got an opinion, but opinions without sufficient facts are worth the paper they are printed on. Except we have a paperless society, so we don't even know the worth. This comic is from David Malki! at Wondermark.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)