Monday, July 09, 2018
The Impossible Skateboard Flip
This flip is obviously not impossible, because world class Australian skater Jackson Pilz did it before your eyes, but it is a move that skaters call "the Impossible." Physics Girl collaborated with skater Rodney Mullen, who is credited with creating the Impossible, to make a video that addresses the physics of the trick. The Impossible flip is shown at five minutes in, but the background leading up to it is interesting, too.
(via Boing Boing)
Miss Cellania's Links
The Weird, Ever-Evolving Story of DNA. An overview of Carl Zimmer's fascinating new book. (via TYWKIWDBI)
5 Obstacles To Escaping An Abusive Relationship.
Parents Are Struggling to Reclaim Their Children from the Office of Refugee Resettlement. They were separated immediately; it will take months to reunite them, if that even happens.
Why Are There Palm Trees in Los Angeles? They made the city attractive, but it wasn't an original idea.
New Software Can Isolate Musical Instruments from a Band Recording. It will be a boon to recording studios, remixers, and anyone who wants to learn, say, the trumpet part from an orchestra performance.
Hoarders, Hauntings, and Two-Headed Cows: Dealing Dead People's Things. Duane Scott Cerny shares stories from a lifetime of collecting items for his antique store.
On Letting Kids Be Kids at Summer Camp. For them, it's a short escape from everyday life.
The Mysterious Disappearance of North America's First Dogs. They accompanied people coming here 10,000 years ago, but their DNA has since vanished.
Financial Aid Letters are Really, Really Confusing. More than half of them in a study did not make it clear how much college would cost.
A blast from the past (2012): Tituba, the Early American Witch.
Ten More Movie LOLcats
I finally collected ten more movie LOLcats. If you can't guess what movie they are from, see the comments. Some are not from a particular movie, but illustrate a character or movie series. I believe all of these came from Fark.
Cat Videobombs News Interview
The Polish historian & political scientist Jerzy Targalski remained completely unruffled during our interview when this happened👇🤨🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/4dLi16Pq1H— Rudy Bouma (@rudybouma) July 7, 2018
Jerzy Targalski, political expert and cat lover, was being interviewed in his home for a Dutch news show. The subject was the ousting of a Supreme Court judge in Poland, but that meant nothing to his cat Lisio. Cats have their own priorities. Targalski didn't skip a beat in giving his opinion of the news, but neither did he bother to remove the cat. So Poland is short a judge, and Lisio has become a global viral star. (via Mashable)
Tweet of the Day
Do you ever just feel like a rotisserie chicken? pic.twitter.com/tJI3I2cF9E— Madi Ford (@Madiford2) June 30, 2018
(via Buzzfeed)
Sunday, July 08, 2018
This Second Forward
Over 100 immigrant achieved American citizenship in a ceremony on June 15. Their stories are amazing. Okay, it's an ad for Shinola watches, but it's a great ad. (via Nag on the Lake)
Cockatoo Panics When Owner Disappears
Remember the cat that got upset when her owner disappeared? A guy in Romania pulled the same disappearing act in front of his cockatoo. This is one pet that can vocalize his dismay! People all over are trying this on their pets in the "What the Fluff Challenge," and there are a ton of videos on social media to prove it. Check out a compilation of pet reactions in the video below. They range from "Who cares? " to "It's the end of the world!"
(via Tastefully Offensive)
Swimming
The secret to swimming and having fun in the water is to not go too deep into your insecurities, or into other people's lack of insecurities. You're not laughing at other people struggling to stay afloat, so why should they care about your struggle? Unless you are really drowning, of course. This comic is from Grant Snider at Incidental Comics.
Selfie Trained
A border collie named Maker obeys all commands even when the commander has his back turned, as you can see in this selfie video from dog trainer JohnK9. That's a good dog. (via reddit)
Tweet of the Day
is— sensitive nerd 10/10 would cuddle/adore (@WiredHoney) May 14, 2018
is he one of us pic.twitter.com/9lkRJu5BUt
(via Buzzfeed)
Saturday, July 07, 2018
Gabriel Over the White House
A few days ago, I posted the link to When Patriotic Movies Go Awry. The movie that sparked the most discussion, probably because few of us have seen it, was Gabriel Over the White House. The movie is available to watch free online. I just finished watching the whole thing.
In 1933’s Gabriel Over the White House, President Judson Hammond (played by Walter Huston), having been possessed by the Angel Gabriel, brings the Depression to an end by dissolving the Legislative and judicial branches of the federal government, concentrating all political power within himself. He then declares martial law, single-handedly battles the mob, puts the Army of the Unemployed to work on a public works project, and uses the threat of military force to strong arm the other nations of the world into signing a peace treaty. Made in the depths of the Great Depression and confronting many of the problems facing Americans at the time, it’s all portrayed as a very good thing.True, while Americans watched Gabriel Over the White House for a little while in 1933, Hitler was rising to power in Germany by promising the people to save them from their troubles. There's more information about the movie here.
Upon seeing it, an historian I know noted that it was the only film he could think of in which fascism, was presented not only as a cure for America’s troubles, but as a force of goodness and light working to protect the common man.
The film’s message was a popular one upon its initial release, but then that damn Hitler had to come along and ruin everybody’s dream. Warner Brothers pulled the film out of circulation for the next 70 years.
Ironically, Gabriel Over the White House turned out to be one of the biggest box office hits of 1933; its topical subject matter obviously spoke to audiences who felt the need for strong leadership after the economic chaos of the Great Depression. It also sparked some lively debates among film critics in its day. The New York Times wrote "It is a curious, somewhat fantastic and often melodramatic story, but nevertheless one which at this time is very interesting." The reviewer for The Nation said "Gabriel Over the White House is probably the most important bad film of the year. It is important because it marks the first attempt by Hollywood producers to exploit the current popular interest in social and economic ideas...Its all-too-evident purpose is to convert innocent American movie audiences to a policy of fascist dictatorship in this country." He also added that it "has about as much reality as a diagram on a blackboard."It is a deeply weird film. On the one hand, the president of the United States has an epiphany and decides he needs to do good things to help the people of his nation. On the other hand, he uses fascist tactics to dismantle our system of democracy. If you recall, Mussolini made the trains run on time. But it's so comforting to fantasize about a benevolent leader who will fight for the good of the citizens. The problem is that once those powers are concentrated, there is no guarantee that a benevolent dictator will remain benevolent, or whether his successor will be anything at all like him. Remember, power corrupts. We are thankful that FDR managed to hire unemployed Americans and help the impoverished at government expense without dissolving the Congress and our system of checks and balances. (via TYWKIWDBI)
Made-Up Historical Facts
John Atkinson at Wrong Hands hands out the BS with his latest comic. The level of plausibility for the five weird "facts" is about equivalent, meaning any of them could be true if you remove the punch line. Atkinson says he will reveal which one is true sometime today, maybe in the comic post or in the comments below it. Wanna take a guess ahead of time? (via Nag on the Lake)
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