Saturday, July 05, 2025
Cat Carries Her Bed Upstairs
A cat in Quebec gave birth to a litter of kittens upstairs. Not long afterward, she decided that they needed her cat bed, which was downstairs. Whether it was because the bed is soft, or because it has sides to keep the kittens corralled, she knew what she wanted, and went to work to make it happen. Commenters are wondering why the humans didn't help her, but she seems to have the situation pretty well under control. Smart cat. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Friday, July 04, 2025
So Much for So Little
in 1949, the US government enlisted Chuck Jones to produce a film promoting universal health care. The film won an Academy Award in 1950. The cost would be quite different today, but the additional taxes would still be a lot less than the health insurance premiums most people or their employers pay. It will never happen, because one thing this system doesn't provide is profit for private companies, and they will spend whatever it takes to protect that. (via Damn Interesting)
Mines Below
Sailing the world's oceans has always been treacherous, and sailors made songs about the dangers they faced. The modern world offers one particular danger that sailors in the Age of Exploration never had to consider- mines. The United States Navy Band brings us a sea shanty about the risks hiding in the depths, posted to celebrate the 85th anniversary of U.S. Navy Minemen who both lay mines and sweep for them. I would recommend turning on the captions for this, or checking out the lyrics at the YouTube page.
Independence Day Breakfast
If nothing else, a holiday is a good excuse to eat something pretty. Is it my fault that blueberries and raspberries are on sale at Kroger? This was my breakfast this morning. I will have the traditional watermelon later, but I chopped it a few days ago, so it is no longer photogenic.
An Overdose of American-style Patriotism
Con Bro Chill is a real but sadly defunct comedy band that didn't always dress like this. It was a special occasion. Their song "Born Free America" came out in 2013 I think. You could parse it out as an illustration of blind patriotism without understanding what American patriotism is all about, but it's better to just enjoy it in all its goofy glory.
Miss Cellania's Links
8 Forgotten Figures From the American Revolution.
Who’s the most American? Psychological studies show that many people are biased and think it’s a white English speaker.
If you feel depressed about being an American, Rev. Ed Trevors has some uplifting advice for you.
Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps learns an old lesson: Don’t mess with Audie Murphy. (via Fark)
8 Other Things That Happened on July 4.
H.T. Opsahl, History’s Worst High School Teacher. He sentenced students to the electric chair.
Every little kid's face is full of full-size teeth, hidden, crowding, waiting for their turn to erupt.
How a Deadly Circus Fire on the ‘Day the Clowns Cried’ Traumatized a Community—and Led to Lasting Safety Reforms.
Los Angeles Speed Check
Legendary former Air Force pilot Major Brian Shul reminisces about the day he flew the world's fastest jet, the SR-71 Blackbird across the western U.S. and listened in on air traffic control in LA. What unfolded was a classic case of male one-upmanship across the airwaves. Is it a true story? Does it really matter? (via Digg)
Thursday, July 03, 2025
Dialogue (Part I & II)
There are a lot of Chicago songs that I love (and quite a few I don't care for), but "Dialogue (Part I & II)" is the best. It was on their 1972 album Chicago V. Keyboardist Robert Lamm wrote it, and it's sung by guitarist Terry Kath and bassist Peter Cetera. It wasn't as big of a hit as the other single off that album, "Saturday in the Park," but it's the one I'd rather listen to about once a week fifty years later. This version was recorded at the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago in 1972.
Best Illusion of the Year
Is this dancer spinning or not? No, the "movement" is implied by the shifting contrast of the edges and contours. The illusion titled The Static Spin by Saleeta Qadir and Bernhard Egger of Germany won first prize in the 2024 Best Illusion of the Year competition. The contest from the Neural Correlate Society has been awarding mind-bending visual and cognitive illusions and the creative people behind them since 2005. The organizers spent all of 2024 gathering submissions, which were winnowed down by a group of experts to ten finalists. The voting public, meaning online illusion fans, got to vote for their favorite from those ten finalists, and the winners were announced yesterday. The second place prize was won by Duška Milosavljević of Serbia for the illusion titled "Dollusion." Third prize went to Hiroaki Hamanaka, Ryohei Miki, and Kyota Yamamoto for their illusion titled Tri-form Prism. You can see all ten 2024 finalists in a gallery here.
100 Years of History in 100 Films
Whatever year you can name out of the last 100 years, there has been a movie that is set in that year, or at least covers it. YouTuber kaptainkristian found a movie that depicts each year between 1925 and 2025 and arranged them in chronological order. While some just evoke the era, most of them show us a familiar historical event that you've either experienced or have read about -and the ones that you lived through hit the hardest. Every once in a while the year is displayed to help keep us straight. Toward the end, the movies move from historical to futuristic, as many classic science fiction stories are set in years that have already elapsed. There is a list of these movies at the YouTube page. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
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