Mike Boyd decided to make a show called "Learn Quick," where he tries to learn a skill from scratch as quickly as possible. As a roundup for 2016, he did them all in one single impressive long take. (more…)
Saturday 31 December 2016
Need a cheap diffuser for your camera flash? Try a white balloon
The Koldunov Brothers put together this simple demonstration of how using a standard white party balloon can give your flash photography a nice diffused look. (more…)
Adult site data reveals 2016's top trends: Melania and Matures are way up
No, Russia didn't hack Vermont's power grid
Despite what you might have read in this alarming story in the Washington Post, Russia did not hack Vermont's power authority. (more…)
White House report documents the "hidden fees" that pick America's pockets
In The Competition Initiative and Hidden Fees, the White House's National Economic Council documents the widespread use of deceptive "service charges" that businesses levy, allowing them to advertise prices that are wildly divergent from what you'll actually pay -- think of the $30, unavoidable "resort fees" added to a hotel bill; the $25 "processing fees" added to concert tickets, the random fees added to telecom bills, etc, all adding up to billions transferred away from American shoppers to big business. (more…)
Your smart meter is very secure (against you) and very insecure (against hackers)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRB781duYTE
In On Smart Cities, Smart Energy, And Dumb Security -- Netanel Rubin's talk at this year's Chaos Communications Congress -- Rubin presents his findings on the failings in the security of commonly deployed smart meters. (more…)
The best deals of 2016 from the Boing Boing Store
The Boing Boing Store had plenty of great items over the past year, but these 8 deals top each catagory. From course bundles in an array of professional programming and IT subjects to futuristic vaporizers, this guide features healthy discounts on leading tech finds.
Twisty Glass Blunt – $34.99
Rolling your own without destroying the paper with saliva is tricky without ample practice. This elegant glass pipe eliminates the hassle with a clever corkscrew design that holds up to 1.5 grams of tobacco. This deal will only be available until midnight of December 26th .
Ultimate Unity3D Game Building Bundle – $32
The Unity3D development environment has made creating video games remarkably accessible. With this game development bundle, you will learn the fundamentals of 3D modeling, physics simulation, and game analytics.
A-Audio Legacy Noise Cancelling Headphones – $79.99
Eliminating background noise is an easy way to significantly improve your music listening experience. These headphones go beyond passive over-ear sound isolation with additionally enhanced bass and active noise cancelling. This deal goes away at midnight on December 27th.
The Complete Raspberry Pi 3 Starter Kit - $99
The Raspberry Pi compact computer offers a welcoming platform for creating custom electronics projects. This introductory bundle supplies a Raspberry Pi 3, a variety of components, and six detailed courses.
Buy Now: The Complete Raspberry Pi 3 Starter Kit
Python Programming Bootcamp – $39.00
With a design that encourages equally readable code in small- and large-scale programs, Python is one of the most popular programming languages around. If you want to learn the language behind everything from YouTube to a variety of scientific computing applications, pick up this course bundle.
Code Black Drone with HD Camera – $89
Quadcopter drones are great fun, and this one doubles as an aerial photographer with its built-in HD video camera. Enjoy ultra-smooth flight right out of the box for up to 10 minutes at a time with the intuitive remote control.
Ghost Indoor HDTV Antenna – $15.99
You don’t need an expensive cable subscription to get local broadcasts on your television. This antenna receives high-quality HDTV signals without any monthly fees. This deal lasts until midnight on the 25th of December.
Pax 3 Vaporizer – $274.99
Enjoy a healthier, smoother alternative to combustion smoke with this sleek vaporizer. Easily switch between extracts and herbal leaves for equally pure vapor with the included insert. The PAX Vapor app provides ample customization options to give you a tailored experience.
Become an Ethical Hacker Bundle – $44.99
White-hat hackers are essential to computer security. By studying the vulnerabilities exploited by nefarious actors, companies can vastly harden their defenses to keep user data safe. Learn the fundamentals of penetration testing, password cracking, keylogging, and more with this Ethical Hacker Bundle.
Friday 30 December 2016
Are you ready for robots skinned with sensitive hairs?
Biomimicry in robotics has led to robots that can climb, fly, and swim better. Now researchers have developed hair-like filaments for robots that allow them to have more fine-grained senses of touch, sensing even forces as delicate as coming in contact with a piece of tissue. (more…)
Artisans revive the polissoir, a nearly-forgotten woodworking tool
André Roubo's series on carpentry called L'Art du Menuisier mentions a polissior, a small device made of broom straw for polishing wood. In the two centuries since Roubo's book, the device had faded from memory until a couple of years ago, when Don Williams recreated one from an illustration in Roubo's book. It turned out to work amazingly well. (more…)
World's highest bridge opens to traffic
Duge Beipanjiang Bridge crosses a gorge 565 meters above China's Nizhu River. That's a bigger height than One World Trade Center, and beats the previous record-holder by about 70 meters. (more…)
More than 20,000 dead fish mysteriously washed up in Nova Scotia
Tens of thousands of fish, starfish, scallops, crabs, lobsters, and other ocean life washed up dead this week at Savory Park on the western coast of Nova Scotia. The cause of the massive fish death is not yet known. From CNN:
Environmental officials are testing the water for pesticides and oxygen levels for possible clues...
While toxic chemical exposure can be one cause, most fish kills are attributed to low concentrations of dissolved oxygen in the water, according to the USGS.
Just this year, mass fish deaths were reported in Florida's Indian River Lagoon and Hongcheng Lake in Haikou,China.
Watch Zach Mueller's card wizardry from California
Cardistry wizard Zach Mueller works his magic on the Santa Monica Pier. Special guest appearance by cardist CJ Ocampo.
Watch George Michael and Morrissey discuss breakdancing and Joy Division
In May 1984, George Michael and Morrissey, promoting respectively “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and The Smiths' "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now," appeared on the BBC program Eight Days A Week. They discuss such urgent matters as the film Breakin' (released as Breakdance outside the US) and Mark Johnson's book An Ideal for Living: A History of Joy Division.
(via Dangerous Minds)
Will malfunction or incompetence start World War Three?
Eric Schlosser's book and film Command and Control look at the terrifying prospects of nuclear friendly fire, where one of America's nukes detonates on US soil. It also looks at what might happen if a false alarm gets relayed to a trigger-happy general or President. He starts this New Yorker piece with a terrifying story from June 3, 1980:
President Jimmy Carter’s national-security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, was asleep in Washington, D.C., when the phone rang. His military aide, General William Odom, was calling to inform him that two hundred and twenty missiles launched from Soviet submarines were heading toward the United States. Brzezinski told Odom to get confirmation of the attack. A retaliatory strike would have to be ordered quickly; Washington might be destroyed within minutes. Odom called back and offered a correction: twenty-two hundred Soviet missiles had been launched. Brzezinski decided not to wake up his wife, preferring that she die in her sleep. As he prepared to call Carter and recommend an American counterattack, the phone rang for a third time. Odom apologized—it was a false alarm. An investigation later found that a defective computer chip in a communications device at norad headquarters had generated the erroneous warning. The chip cost forty-six cents.
Lots more scary info at the Command and Control film website.
• World War Three, by mistake (New Yorker)
Image: Maxwell Hamilton
One professor's nightmare renting her house through the sharing economy
Making rainbow magic with dissolving Skittles
Hot water on a ring of Skittles! (via The Kid Should See This)
Robert Hulseman, creator of the Red Solo Cup, RIP
Robert Hulseman, creator of the iconic Red Solo Cup seen at frat parties, sizzurp celebrations, and Midwestern family reunions everywhere, has died at age 84. Hulseman, with friend Jack Clements, followed up that iconic container design with another: the Solo traveler coffee cup lid, such a classic design that one of them is now in the New York Museum of Modern Art. From NPR:
Solo was one of the first companies to market small paper cone cups that were common to see alongside water coolers in the 1940s.
The company went on to develop the wax-lined cups used by drive-in movie theaters and fast-food restaurants.
In the 1970's, Hulseman invented the Red Solo Cup for families to use at picnics but use of the ubiquitous cup took off and it was embraced by all beverage drinkers.
Paul Hulseman, Robert's son, told The Associated Press that "his father never fully understood how massively popular the large red plastic cup became in pop culture."
Pan Pan, 1985-2016
The world's oldest male panda, Pan Pan, has died in China.
Pan Pan, 31, was diagnosed with cancer six months ago, having lived almost all his life in captivity. He was captured in Sichuan as a six-month old cub. The BBC reports that his name means "Hope."
The centre described the news of the death of the "hero-father" panda as "heart-wrenching". Keepers said he had stopped moving and eating, and lost consciousness, as his health had deteriorated rapidly over the preceding three days.
In September, the International Union for Conservation of Nature announced that the status pandas had been changed from "endangered" to "vulnerable", as numbers had begun to increase.
The latest Chinese estimates show a population of 1,864 adults, as well as - according to China's State Forestry Administration - 422 in captivity.
Pan Pan is survived by 130 descendants — reportedly a quarter of the world's captive-bred pandas — with family in California, Washington D.C., Edinburgh, Brussels, Ya'an, Chengdu, Chiang Mai and Taipei.
Lovely animation of the virus that melts gypsy moth caterpillars
In the 1860s, illustrator and idiot Leopold Trouvelot deliberately brought gypsy moths from France to America. Some outsmarted him and escaped, and they now cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage each year. This charming film tells the tale and explains our greatest and grossest hope for eradicating them: baculovirus. (more…)
How much energy can dust-sized computers harvest from sun and motion, and how much work can they do with it?
Pete Warden reports in from the ARM Research Summit, where James Myers presented on "energy harvesting" by microscopic computers -- that is, using glints of sunlight and the jostling of motion from bumping into things or riding on our bodies to provide power for computation. (more…)
Creative Prodikeys combined both types of keyboard in one
In the ingenious world of consumer electronics, we often have the thought "why didn't anyone think of that?" The Creative Prodikeys instead leads to the thought "why did someone think of that?" A MIDI controller keyboard and a typing keyboard all-in-one, it appears to have enjoyed several generations in the 1990s and 2000s. [via r/MechanicalKeyboards]
I covet this, and they're cheap on Amazon and eBay. (more…)
Antarctica's massive gravity anomaly explained by UFO enthusiasts
This extremely informative video describes in detail how scientists discovered a huge gravity anomaly under the Antarctic ice. Even better, they slowly draw viewers in to their theory that the likely impact basin is part of a larger UFO conspiracy. (more…)
Kissenger "simulates" kissing loved ones
Touted as Earth's "first mobile kiss messenger," Kissenger is a rubbery-looking dock that humans put their phones in. It has a tactile surface they depress with their meat. The movements are then transmitted in realtime over the internet, so that a replica of them may be experienced by another human.
Plug in to your phone and give your loved ones a kiss over the Internet. Kissenger can sense your kiss and transmit realistic kissing sensations to your partner in real time. You can also feel the force on your lips when your partner kisses you back. Share an intimate moment with your friends and families while chatting with them on your phone.
The device comprises six sensors, corresponding actuators, and a meat-colored silicone sheath. There's an app that goes with it so the humans can interact on a audiovisual-discursive level at the same time. It's at the prototype stage with nothing to buy, yet, but obviously we should keep an eye on this. It should suffice to say that our previous recommendations with respect to establishing contact with this species have not changed.
High precision force sensors are embedded under the silicon lip to measure the dynamic forces at different parts of your lips during a kiss. The device sends this data to your phone, which transmits it to your partner over the Internet in real time. Miniature linear actuators are used to reproduce these forces on your partner's lips, creating a realistic kissing sensation. Kissenger provides a two-way interaction just like in a real kiss. You can also feel your partner's kiss on your lips when they kiss you back.
[via The Verge]
The Dark Side doesn't make sense
After considerable thought, Jenny Nicholson weighs in on why the Dark Side doesn't make sense. In what would make an excellent PowerPoint presentation to the Sith, she lays out her five key objections: (more…)
DIY concrete lamps with LED string lights
Here's an inexpensive little project that's pretty easy and looks cool: LED-filled glass lights with concrete bases. Glen at DIY Creators takes you through the process. (more…)
Video on how to make 3D kirigami stars
Here's a fun and easy decoration for your new year's or award show viewing parties, or a craft to do with kids: make some 3D kirigami stars with just some paper and a pair of scissors. (more…)
Suggestions for improving Twitter
Twitter's wonderful, but it's also horrible a lot of the time &endash; especially for the people using it. And we all complain about it, too! Anil Dash weaves the obvious and not-so-obvious threads of criticism into a billion dollar gift for Twitter. It comes down to these five key points: (more…)
Elmer Long on life, truth, and his Bottle Tree Ranch
Mohammed Kerawia shot this charming interview with Elmer Long, owner of the Bottle Tree Ranch on Route 66 in Oro Grande, California. Elmer accepts donations but it is free to enter. (more…)
Petra Hadens' stunning a capella cover of the Blade Runner theme
Petra Haden is a talented violinist and singer who has performed with everyone from The Decemberists to Victoria Williams to Sunn O))). On her YouTube channel, she also posts really impressive a capella versions of such movie themes as The Exorcist (Tubular Bells), Star Trek: The Original Series, and the theme to the 60s Batman TV show. She's also done a capella covers of Bowie's Life on Mars, King Crimson's Frame by Frame, the Furs' Ghost in You, and other pop and progressive tunes.
Here, she does a seriously beautiful and haunting rendition of the Vangelis Blade Runner theme, complete with Deckard's voice commands as he navigates an image of the replicant Zhora.
George Eastman Museum releases a quarter million photographs online
How Americans spend their money in the last 75 years
Land one of the highest in-demand tech jobs as a DevOps pro
Running a cloud-based service requires much more than just software developers. Developer Operations engineers are crucial to the growth, maintenance, and security of online products. Mastering the skills required to be a DevOps engineer can be overwhelming, but this Ultimate DevOps Mastery Bundle will provide a solid foundation.
This 9-course bundle will introduce you to a variety of IT subjects. Prepare for the Amazon Web Services Solutions Architect Professional exam. Dive into the fundamentals of Systems Administration with Linux/UNIX to manage users and software on servers. Explore network security by studying for a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification.
Additionally, this course bundle will familiarize you with the basics of coding, database management, modern software deployment techniques, and large-scale data analysis. Proficiency in all of these areas is essential to becoming a successful IT professional, and this curated course bundle provides an accessible introduction. For a limited time, get this Ultimate DevOps Mastery Bundle for just $43, over 92% off the regular price.
Thursday 29 December 2016
Two wonderful GIFs of Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill having fun on Star Wars sets
The Fun is strong with these two.
General Organa's obit
Leia Organa's commitment to the cause placed her at the heart of the Rebellion, the Republic and the Resistance.
Her uncanny ability to predict the actions of enemies and allies alike made her essential, but the Alliance treated her warily, concerned she might manipulate its forces for her own ends. ... Operation Rogue One remains controversial; critics note that Organa sacrificed the entire volunteer cadre, hundreds of troops and much of the Alliance fleet to acquire Designation Stardust intelligence, and that its ultimate success owed itself to her activation of a Jedi asset, Obi-Wan Kenobi, as she was captured by Imperial forces. Indeed, the coincidences behind her subsequent escape and organization of the defense of Yavin IV have been ascribed to the Force, singular tactical genius or pure luck – all ideologically fraught options.
Fantastic DIY, 3D-printed nuclear explosion lamp
Sebastian Wac designed and made this fantastic 3D-printed "Nuke Lamp." He posted the parts and plans for free at MyMiniFactory, or you can purchase one pre-made directly from him. (via @pickover)
UK police subdue a man who charges at them with a knife
How ridiculous the British police are! You'd think they'd arm up with guns, what with more than 20 of them getting killed so far this century.
Original development art from The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda turned 30 this year and in celebration, Nintendo posted development artwork from the game hand-drawn by legendary designers Takashi Tezuka and Shigeru Miyamoto! More at Nintendo.co.uk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFtcwL3P1N0
Listen to Wham's "Careless Whisper" before George Michael fixed it
This is Wham's "Carless Whisper" (1984) before George Michael took matters into his own hands. (The visuals are from the music video we know and love.) From Wikipedia:
The song went through at least two rounds of production. The first was during a trip Michael made to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where he went to work with producer Jerry Wexler at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. Michael was unhappy with the version that was originally produced and decided to re-record and produce the song himself, this time coming up with the version that was finally released. The version Wexler produced did, was released later in the year, as a (4:41) B-side "Special Version" on 12" in the UK and Japan.
Modelling shoot interrupted
Yes, it's one of those videos where pro models cycle through a sequence of casual yet comically robotic poses as a camera clicks speedily away. But this one is better than the others.
The moving sofa math problem: still unsolved 50 years later
Ever try to move a sofa down a hallway that has a corner? The underlying math behind it inspired a math problem that's been a puzzler since 1966. Gerver's Sofa above shows the parameters: a U-shaped sofa moving around a 90-degree corner in an even-width hallway. Gerver's got the record so far, and it is likely the optimal sofa. (more…)
Short film on Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Art Museum
San Antonio, Texas has what is probably the world's largest collection of toilet seat art under one roof: Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Art Museum. Take a couple of minutes to enjoy Wes Plate's profile of a charming old guy's lifelong hobby. (more…)
Watch a fascinating survey of architect Jean Nouvel's famous projects
This behind-the-scenes look at architect Jean Nouvel's creative process and his philosophy behind some of his most iconic buildings is worth watching even if you're not an architecture buff. (more…)
Hundreds of blackbirds mysteriously fell from New Jersey sky
Last month, more than 200 red-winged blackbirds dropped from the sky above Cumberland County in New Jersey. It's the second time in less than a month, and the third this year. From Philly.com:
"They just fell from the sky," said Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection...
After county agricultural agents had been notified by homeowners, the DEP's Division of Fish and Wildlife arrived in Stow Creek and removed the birds, collecting some of them to be sent to a state lab for necropsy, toxicology, and histopathology tests.
But the results of all the tests were inconclusive, Hajna said last week.
"We did ascertain that the birds suffered trauma and internal bleeding from hitting the ground," Hajna said. "But what made them fall from the sky in the first place . . . we can't say for certain."
Even wheat seed from a nearby farmer's field was collected and tested for chemical compounds by the University of Pennsylvania... None of those compounds (found) is considered harmful to birds and none of the chemicals was found to be among those that are sometimes used by farmers to control "nuisance" species like blackbirds, Hajna said.
"Why are these birds falling from the sky in South Jersey?" (Philly.com)
For 13 years, Texas has been secretly, illegally denying kids special education
In 2004, under then-governor Rick Perry, the Texas Education Agency secretly instituted a plan to cap the number of students receiving special education support at 8.5% -- far less than the national average. (more…)
Turns out flying squirrels can fly while holding giant pine cones
Every Trump lie will be instantly laundered as headline news
Yesterday, Donald Trump claimed to have gotten Sprint to bring 5,000 jobs back to America. This claim is false; the jobs have been coming for months. But a lot of media instantly published Trump's claim, many with Trump as the sole source and no reporting or fact-checking whatosever.
Trump and Sprint simply put out PR and everyone rewrote it. Sprint ignored inquiries from reporters who figured it out, only admitting that the jobs were "previously announced" after the company became the story and things started getting hot.
When I reached out to a Sprint spokeswoman asking if the announcement was a direct result of working with Trump or part of a pre-existing deal, she copy and pasted the press release I'd sent along with my first email. I responded saying I already had the press release and asked again if this was a direct result of working with Trump or part of a pre-existing deal in place. I tagged Sprint in a tweet about the situation, and it wasn't until after that started getting retweeted that the spokesperson responded.
"This is part of the 50,000 jobs that Masa previously announced," she said. "This total will be a combination of newly created jobs and bringing some existing jobs back to the U.S."
This is how it's going to be: he lies, and reporters instantly launder the statement into impartial-sounding headlines in the rush to be first. The excuse will be that stenography is journalism.
Get used to this sort of thing:
Trump Takes Credit for Sprint Plan to Add 5,000 Jobs in U.S.
Trump: Sprint moving 5,000 jobs back to US
Trump Declares Victory: Sprint will create 5,000 U.S. jobs
The New York Times is the only one with a fig-leaf ("takes credit") whose wording winks at the fact that it's hogwash. Some, such as CNN and WaPo, use language that implicitly validate Trump's claim.
Fox News and the Daily Mail do their thing:
Trump announces 8,000 more jobs for American workers
Trump announces 8,000 new jobs for Americans
Bernie Sanders calls for a national day of rallies to defend health care from Trump: Jan 15
Trump promised not to take away peoples' health care, but of course he's going to do that: Bernie Sanders has joined with the Democratic Party leadership to send a letter to the Democratic caucus in Congress asking them to join him in leading rallies across America on Jan 15, under the banner "Our First Stand: Save Healthcare!" (more…)
10 reality-challenged ways that the EU's departing internet commissioner tried to destroy the internet
Since 2014, we've chronicled the reality-challenged internet proposals of the scandal-haunted EU Commissioner Günther Oettinger; now, on the eve of Oettinger's promotion to EU budget chief, MEP Julia Reda lists the 10 normal web activities that Oettinger has sought to ban, from sharing snippets of 20 year old news articles to quoting three-word newspaper headlines to creating and operating a search engine. (more…)
The Digicue: a tiny electronic billiards trainer
One thing that’s consistent among amateur pool players is that they unknowingly stand up during their shots. Just as in golf, pool players need to keep their heads down and stay still after they shoot in order to hit straight.
The DIGICUE helps keep shots consistent by letting you know every time you’ve had extra movements that may alter your path. It conditions your play by silently buzzing whenever you’ve moved in an awkward way.
Here are the actions that the DIGICUE is constantly looking for:
- Jab strokes – When striking the cue ball, you always want to “strike through” and have the tip a few inches beyond the impact point rather than a quick poke.
- Steering - This is the action of moving your stick left or right after impact with the cue ball. You want to avoid this because it creates unwanted spin and trajectories.
- Standing up during your stroke – When this happens, your body can not help but steer the cue ball.
- Body english – This is when a player moves his body in the direction of where he wants the object ball to go while it’s in motion. Body english is the kiss of death because the more movement you rely on for each shot, the harder it becomes to replicate.
I’ve been playing pool my whole life and I wish the DIGICUE was available decades ago because it would have helped me to learn quicker. It slips onto any pool cue and you’ll hardly know it’s there because it weighs less than an ounce. It has 3 levels of sensitivity and even though I play at a pretty high level, I haven’t gotten beyond level 2.
https://youtu.be/YeXEy4ARYNwI really only have two gripes with the DIGICUE:
- There is only 1 type of buzzing and it’s sometimes difficult to figure out which offense caused it.
- There needs to be a way to track progress online.
If you are a student of the game or just play for fun, you really need to check out the DIGICUE. I’ve seen them as low as $79.99 on Amazon and if you think of it as having a trainer with you at all times, it’s a very, very good deal.
Get this GPS-equipped fitness watch for just $29.99
Fitness trackers are effective for gauging your progress and holding yourself accountable to your exercise goals. But competitive triathletes and multi-sport enthusiasts often need more capabilities than simple step counting and sleep monitoring. The Magellan Switch Up GPS Fitness Watch offers robust activity tracking for more intense multi-stage workouts.
With onboard GPS, this fitness watch accurately follows your location without the need for an external device. ANT+ certified networking allows it to monitor data seamlessly from other fitness sensors like heart rate monitors and bicycle power meters. By providing configurable display screens that combine data from internal and external sensors, the Magellan Switch Up acts as the central nervous system of your workout.
The included bike mount makes it a great cycling companion, and 50-meter water-resistance rating means it is safe to wear underwater as well as in the rain. Configure multiple activity profiles to represent various activities as a single workout, or keep them separate depending on your training regiment.
With this powerful device, improving your athletic performance won’t require a personal trainer. For a limited time, the Magellan Switch UP Fitness Watch is on sale for 85% off, just $29.99.
Wednesday 28 December 2016
Trump praises self for 'bringing back’ 5,000 Sprint jobs to U.S., with alleged assist from Softbank's Son
Donald Trump said today that U.S. telecommunications company Sprint will bring 5,000 jobs back to the United States from overseas, while he said another company OneWeb will add 3,000 jobs in the United States.
Obama team expected to announce measures to punish Russia for election hacking
If you're concerned about what, if anything, the outgoing presidential administration can do to fight back against Russia hacking the U.S. elections for Trump——stay close to your phones as this lame duck end of the year week rounds up.
Tomorrow, team Obama is rumored to be “announcing a series of measures to punish Russia for its interference in the 2016 presidential election, including economic sanctions and diplomatic censure.”
The real story of Sea Monkeys
Harold von Braunhut (1926-2003) was the inventor/marketer behind X-Ray Specs and Amazing Sea-Monkeys. (Apparently von Braunhut was also a nasty racist who, even though he was Jewish, supported the KKK and other white supremacist groups.) Above is the story of von Braunhut's magical brine shrimp that sold themselves through illustrator Joe Orlando's wonderful comic book illustrations of unreal humanoid sea creatures living the life of Riley.
Watch Gerald McBoing-Boing, the wonderful Oscar-winning cartoon from 1950
No, Mark and Carla didn't name bOING bOING after Dr. Seuss's wonderful story. (The far stranger truth is right here.) But nonetheless, the story of young Gerald McCloy, aka Gerald McBoing-Boing, is a true delight! Please enjoy this Oscar-winning animation of Gerald McBoing-Boing, adapted from Seuss's story by Phil Eastman and Bill Scott, directed by Robert Cannon, and produced by John Hubley.
They say it all started
when Gerald was two—
That’s the age kids start talking—least, most of them do.
Well, when he started talking,
you know what he said?
He didn’t talk words—
he went boing boing instead!
(Thanks, UPSO!)
1907 Upright Piano Transformed Into Spectacular Office Desk
“I turned an 1907 Upright Piano into a luxurious desk.” What an amazing share, via IMGUR. “Seeing how this piano serviced the great depression, WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and to this day, brings me such happiness, to know I have a little piece of history right in my own home.”
RIP Vesna Vulović, survived 44 years after 33,000-foot fall
Watch these tree well rescues for your daily dose of NOPE
Tree wells are a natural phenomenon in deep mountain snow. Evergreens basically act as flour sifters, causing snow around the trees to have less density than surrounding snowpack. Backcountry snowsport enthusiasts on ungroomed courses who get too close to these trees drop in (usually head-first) and can't extricate themselves. (more…)
Marked for death - and the stars who defy the tabloids.
It’s that time of year when we look back on those we’ve loved and lost in 2016, but for the tabloids, it’s worth remembering those we haven’t lost - the stars we were promised had just days to live, yet who refuse to play the game and are still with us.
Nick Nolte, Cher, Jerry Lewis, Valerie Harper - all were given just weeks to live, yet defy the highly trained medical reporting teams of America's best tabloids.
For one moment set aside thoughts of David Bowie, Prince, George Michael and Carrie Fisher. Let’s take a break from mourning Zsa Zsa Gabor, the inspiration for celebutantes from Kim Kardashian to Paris Hilton, taken before her prime at the age of 99, with so much left to live for. Instead, let’s spare a moment of compassion for those poor tabloid hacks who wonder why their predictions of celebrity demise have proven so wrong. “Michael Douglas - The End!” screamed the ‘National Enquirer’ cover on March 28, 2016. He’s still with us.
“Michael J Fox - The End!” yelled the ‘Globe' front page on April 4. Also still with us.
With their expert medical knowledge and years of psychic training, tabloid reporters can often predict to the day how long an ailing celebrity has left.
‘Valerie Harper - 2 Months To Live!” reported the ‘Globe’ on its cover of February 1. It’s been almost ten months, and she’s still here.
“Michael Douglas Cancer Relapse - 3 Months To Live!” stated the cover of the ‘Enquirer’ on February 8. Still here.
“Jerry Lewis, 90 - 2 Months To Live!” yelled the ‘Globe’ cover of May 2. He’s spent almost eight months proving the ‘Globe’ wrong.
“Alcoholic Nick Nolte - 4 Weeks To Live!” proclaimed the ‘Globe’ cover of August 1. Almost five months later, he’s still going strong.
And let’s not forget Val Kilmer, who more than a year ago on December 21, 2015, was given “3 Months To Live!” on the front page of the ‘Globe,’ a cover also notable for the headline: “Dying Cher’s Last Christmas.” Perhaps Cher celebrated Hanukkah this year instead?
Let’s not forget those stars who have been dying all year, their demise imminent, if not forecast to the day.
“Dying Queen Blows $2 Billion Fortune!” reported the cover of the ‘Globe’ on January 25. Yet Her Majesty is still alive almost a year later, and still outrageously mega-rich.
“Dying Burt Reynolds Heart Attack Drama!” lamented the ‘Enquirer’ cover of a year ago, on December 21, 2015. Still with us.
Former morning TV host Regis Philbin? “Dying,” according to the ‘National Examiner’ on June 13. Still here.
And then there are those stars nearing the end, who in tabloid parlance are enduring their “Sad Last Days!”
“Brave Stars’ Fight For Life” reported the ‘National Examiner’ on March 7, warning us to prepare to bid farewell to Jack Nicholson, Richard Dreyfuss, Joanne Woodward, Ryan O’Neal, Michael Douglas and Valerie Harper. All still with us.
The ‘Examiner’ was at it again on May 9, reporting the “Sad Last Days!” of Priscilla Presley, Don Rickles, Marion Ross and Olivia De Havilland. All still here. Let’s face it, De Havilland is 100 years old, and if the tabloids can’t even call that one right, what hope do they have?
But come August 15, they were back at it again, with another cover proclaiming the “Sad Last Days!” of Robert Redford, Julie Andrews, Al Pacino, Shannen Doherty, Shelly Long - all dying, according to the ‘Examiner.’ All still with us more than four months later.
“Debbie Reynolds - Sad Last Days!” proclaimed the cover of the ‘Examiner’ on June 20. Still going.
“Della Reese - Sad Last Days!” reported the ‘Globe’ on August 11. Still here.
Yet no star has defied tabloid death predictions more than Angelina Jolie, otherwise known as “Dying Angie” on the cover of this week’s ‘Enquirer.’ “76 lbs & hospitalized!” screams the headline, above a photo of the actress looking decidedly gaunt. But if the image looks familiar, it should: you would have found the same picture on the cover of the ‘Enquirer’ on April 11, under the headline: “Dying Angie Losing Battle - 79 lbs & Hospitalized!” Almost the identical headline above the identical photo, eight months later, with the main difference being that the crack team of ‘Enquirer’ medical correspondents took another look at the photo and decided that she’s actually three pounds lighter in the snap.
Relentless in its pursuit of celebrity deaths, the ‘Enquirer’ this week reports that the “Dying Queen . . . has just two months to live!” and that Valerie Harper is still “dying,” and singer Kelly Clarkson has been warned (by an ‘Enquirer’ doctor who has not examined her) to “Diet or Die!” The ‘Globe’ brings us “Dementia Fears for Tony Bennett,” and a “Matt Damon Health Crisis!”
And the ‘Examiner,’ God bless ‘em, bring us a year-end list of the stars’ enduring their “Sad Last Days!” This time it’s the turn of Alan Alda, Barbara Walters, Doris Day, Willie Nelson, Cloris Leachman and Chevy Chase to be warned that their days are numbered. They can take comfort in the fact that inclusion on this list is almost a guarantee of long life.
Onwards and downwards . . .
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