(via Fark)
Thursday, March 12, 2026
Houdini Cat Encounters Water Trap
Sven has a cat named Muldar who is a genius. He wants what he wants and no one is going to stop him. Closing the door? Pfft! Muldar will just open it. Set a pan of water in front of the door? Not a problem. For Muldar. It's a problem for Sven. Sven noted that the water pan was added to keep Muldar from scratching at the door, and that putting a round knob on the door (as has been recently suggested) would make no difference. I concur; Muldar would just figure out how to open a door with a round knob. (via reddit)
Wednesday, March 11, 2026
Sleeping Beauty
Fractured Fairy Tales turns the tale of Sleeping Beauty on its head by giving it a more modern twist. It doesn't work, and the story gets more ridiculous by the minute.
The Influence of Metropolis
The 1927 silent movie Metropolis gave audiences a fantasy glimpse a hundred years into the future. The movie was groundbreaking in its special effects, and influenced all science fiction films that came afterward. The plot was more political, and wasn't all that impressive to viewers of the time. H.G. Wells called it "silly." Yet modern audiences recognize history from the movie's elements.
The influence of Metropolis on later films is undeniable. It gave us the classic humanoid robot, cities with flying vehicles, the mad scientist, not to mention innovative filmmaking techniques still used today. (via Laughing Squid)
An Honest Trailer for the Oscars
In the event that you haven't seen any of the nominees for Best Picture at the 2026 Academy Awards, you might learn enough about them from the Honest Trailer to form some kind of opinion on who should win. Don't laugh, I have seen exactly none of them, but I probably will catch a few in the next couple of years on TV. Whether I will make that effort at all depends on who wins and what Screen Junkies can tell us about them. The only one that has been recommended to me is Sinners, but they are all rated pretty highly.
There's plenty of fun in the Honest Trailer. I'm going to put "Thousand Island stare" in my backpack to pull out at the proper time. That's golden. The best part is at the end, where they make a supercut showing how all these movies are the same, or at least incorporate all the same elements. The 98th Academy Awards will be bestowed this Sunday night.
Miss Cellania's Links
Saint Michel d'Aiguilhe – the Chapel Built atop a Volcanic Plug.
Man Rushes to the Hospital After Turning Blue. He's alright now. (via Fark)
ChatGPT has all the answers. This one might be "No."
In 25-Country Survey, Americans Especially Likely To View Fellow Citizens as Morally Bad. (via Nag on the Lake)
The Dark History of 'Hysteria.'
"Free oysters to any man 80 yaers old accompanied by his father." Someone finally collects.
Documents Reveal a Web of Financial Ties Between Trump Officials and the Industries They Help Regulate. Is anyone surprised? (via Boing Boing)
When you are young, anything new can be frightening. (via Everlasting Blort)
New Star Wars Soundtracks
David Unger came up with alternative music for Star Wars. He says,
The minute I saw Star Wars The Last Jedi in theaters, this song popped into my head during that scene, and I knew that I had to wait until the DVD to make this. That time is now. Hope you enjoy.While he was at it, he tagged on scenes from other Star Wars films with different music. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
Must Resist
My secret life as a cat.
— Jeff Smith (@thecomichunter.bsky.social) March 6, 2026 at 4:38 PM
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Tuesday, March 10, 2026
War or Not War
It's a matter of semantics. According to the Constitution, only Congress has the power to declare war. That hasn't happened since 1942. But if you call it something else....
Stealing Kittens
I have opinions about people letting their cats get pregnant, but we don't know the story here. Maybe they are all foster cats. Thanks to the common scheme of naming cats for food of the same color, we can keep Cheeto and Mellow straight. Cheeto kept taking Mellow's kittens away! It was alarming at first, but her intentions become clear as time goes on.
Using AI to Write an Email
A couple of other blogging platforms I use (not Neatorama) are always asking me to use AI to write a blog post. That seems infinitely silly because if I typed up what I wanted it to write, the post is therefore written. That's understandable because I am a blogger. But social media and even my email service wants me to use AI, and I don't wanna. I know how to write a letter to communicate. Ryan George explains what could go wrong, and that's a lot.
However, there are some uses for AI writing that may actually be helpful. Dr. Dolittle has AI translate her notes into a report that a client can understand. Sure, she could write it herself; she's a good writer, but AI saves her time. Still, she reads the finished product before sharing it.
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