I loved this book when I was very young, and I recently shared it with my grandson. I should have known there was an animated version somewhere. (via Messy Nessy Chic)
Monday, June 16, 2025
Madeline
35 Pictures
Riki Lindhome, who you know from Garfunkel and Oates, or maybe her extensive TV work that I mostly missed, has a song about family life. It's not just that mommy is expected to do the vast majority of childcare and housework plus the mental load, but she's also responsible for recording the family for posterity, meaning she won't be in the picture. You may think 35 pictures is a lot, but that's because he's not going to put in the effort to get a good one in fewer attempts. She's really not asking for much.
Nine Paradoxes
A paradox is a statement that is internally self-contradicting. In this compilation of paradoxes, there are a couple that depend on the way we use language, like how much is a heap, and whether a hot dog is a sandwich. Some depend on fictional scenarios, like the transporter on Star Trek. But others, even though they are dressed up in absurd situations, present a bend in logic as we know it. Oh sure, you can explain a few things by assuming that someone is lying, which is anything but illogical. Or you can spend way too much time overthinking the question. Besides, it's already too late to not do drugs in the 1970s. This video contains some NSFW language. (via the Awesomer)
Miss Cellania's Links
The English Language Is Weird and Inconsistent. And funny, too!
Why Chinese Fans Are Hiring Detectives for a Dead Kenyan Lion. (via Nag on the Lake)
We always joked dad looked nothing like his parents - then we found out why. (via Damn Interesting)
This Exiled Romanov Princess Fled the Bloodshed of the Russian Revolution and Reinvented Herself as a Fashion Icon. (via Strange Company)
Lucille Ball Created I Love Lucy to Stop Desi Arnaz’s Womanizing.
One effect of the trans experience is that we all can get a glimpse into how different the world's viewpoints and expectations are for men and women. (via Metafilter)
The ‘Holy Grail of Shipwrecks’ Is Still Underwater. So Is Its $17 Billion Fortune. (via Damn Interesting)
It’s Not Going Great, but Imagine How Much Worse Things Would Be with a Woman President. (via Nag on the Lake)
Why Olive Oil is Awesome
For a long time, I thought the only difference between olive oil and standard vegetable oil was the price. But would you ever find yourself dipping bread into plain vegetable oil, even with spices added? Olive oil is special, and Reactions, from PBS Digital, is here to tell us why. In this video, we get a chemical explanation for olive oil's benefits, plus glimpse into the manufacturing process and some advice on using your oil. My advice: Start any meal by sautéing onions and garlic in olive oil. After that, it really doesn't matter what you add, it will be good.
Massive
My favorite #Wisconsin #NoKings sign/flag from today. #wipolitics
— Spud Lovr (@spudlovr.bsky.social) June 14, 2025 at 11:24 PM
[image or embed]
Sunday, June 15, 2025
How Muppets Break Free from their Puppeteers
We are used to seeing the Muppets on a studio set, where the puppeteers are beneath the floor- although we habitually suspend our disbelief and don't think about them. So who's controlling the Muppets when they go outside and show their entire bodies? Today, they might use GCI, but that wasn't really a thing when Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas aired in 1977 or when The Muppet Movie came out in 1979. Jim Henson and his crew had to think outside the box, literally, to put the Muppets in the real world. How did they do it? In many different ways, depending on the scene. They might come up with a brand new elaborate method just for a few seconds of film, but it was worth it in the end. Alex Boucher shows us how Kermit sang in a swamp, how Fozzie Bear drove a car, and how a group of Muppets rode bicycles. The real wonder is that even when we know how it's done, even when we can see the puppeteers at work, we still see at the Muppets as distinct characters with their own personalities.
Taste Testing Homemade Prison Wine
Max Fosh made some prison wine, known as pruno in the US. His first attempt wasn't fit for human consumption, because these things take practice. So he enlisted Kevin, a self-made expert on prison wine who has been perfecting his technique for twenty years. That did the trick, but how good is it? Fosh then invited three expert wine critics to try it out, along with five samples of commercial wine, selected for a variety of price points. What would they think of his homemade hooch?
The wine tasters were asked to rank all six wines, but Fosh settled for getting their most and least favorite pick. Only afterward did he reveal that one of the choices was his prison wine, made in a cooler and fermented in the bathroom. There's a one-minute skippable ad at 3:43. (via Boing Boing)
When the Bus Stop Button is Broken
Some municipal buses just drive by a bus stop if there's no one waiting to get on. If you need to get off the bus there, you ring a bell or push a button to let the bus driver know. This bus in Halifax, Nova Scotia, had a non-functioning button, so they installed temporary workaround.
Meanwhile, in Mexico, this technology has been in use longer, so they know they should install the chicken out of reach of children. Genius!
The Six Ways You'll See Your Dad
The ways you see your parents changes drastically as you grow and mature. These phases start at age five and add about five years for each segment. Maybe when you have your own children, you'll remember these and suspect your kids are going through the same phases. Eventually, you'll come to appreciate your dad for who he really is.
I Wanna Be Just Like Daddy
To celebrate Father's Day last year, Ashton Williams was treated to a new t-shirt and then a performance from his children, complete with a series of dad jokes that he is known for.
I Am Your Father's Day
Italian animator Antonio Toscano prepared a LEGO Father's Day salute to the most popular dad in pop culture: Darth Vader! Watch Vader spend some quality time with his son.
Saturday, June 14, 2025
7 Things Americans Do That Brits Don't
Laurence Brown asked ChatGPT to list things that Americans do that the British don't. It came up with quite a few ideas for Brown, who's been doing this sort of thing for years and is running out of ideas. You may argue about which is better, but the British way of going upstairs to the first floor never made any sense to me. Ads for prescription drugs should be banned, however. They are unnecessary, annoying, and add to our ridiculous prescription costs. We can't help that we grow peanuts and corn in America, and Britain doesn't. There's a 60-second ad ad at 2:55.
My Dad
Yes, I know, times are different now. Dad had fewer choices, but also fewer barriers to the life he accomplished. But you still have to admire the guy. If you are fortunate enough to still have a father, let him know how you feel on Father's Day tomorrow. This comparison is from Matt Shirley.
No More Kings
It's a good time to remember why we are America. Yeah, settling this country was messy and unethical, but we managed to be the first country to escape from the British Empire and put the power of government into the hands of the people, eventually all the people. What we do with that power is on us.
America
One of my favorite songs, from Neil Diamond, originally from his 1980 film The Jazz Singer. I couldn't stop it running through my head as I headed home with my first sponsored immigrant. Johnny Kim compiled this video for a class project some years ago. He did a great job!
Friday, June 13, 2025
An Ancient Rome Quiz
A couple of years ago, a meme went around about how men think of ancient Rome a lot, many of them reporting thinking about it every day, and how that was baffling to women. Whether that's true or not, thinking about Rome back when it ruled the world is a far cry from studying it. If your knowledge about the Roman Empire comes from movies or memes, this TED-Ed video quiz might surprise you. On the other hand, if you learned about ancient Rome from unceasing research connected to your job, like I did, you might ace this quiz like I did. It's rather easy, since you just select from multiple choice answers. Can you spot the myth or untruth?
The Schwartz Awakens
People have been talking about it for years. Indeed, the original Spaceballs set up a sequel called Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money. We don't know if that will be the title, but Spaceballs 2 is coming out in 2027. Mel Brooks himself, who will turn 101 years old in 2027, makes the announcement. Brooks will not direct this time, but he will reprise his role as Yogurt. Rick Moranis is coming out of this 30-year retirement to play Dark Helmet, and Bill Pullman will once again play Lone Starr. In addition, Keke Palmer has been cast, as well as Lewis Pullman, Bill Pullman's son. Amazon MGM Studios describes the film as “A Non-Prequel Non-Reboot Sequel Part Two but with Reboot Elements Franchise Expansion Film.” Which tells us nothing, but we'll find out more in the next two years.
Miss Cellania's Links
Mary Ann Didn’t Learn the Professor’s Secret Until the Gilligan’s Island Star’s Funeral. He was a humble guy.
Not all babies crawl alike. In reality, it takes some experimenting before they find the optimum technique.
British abolition in 1833 was accompanied by £20 million paid in compensation to slaveholders, many of whom subsequently “forgot” slavery ever existed. (via Damn Interesting)
Shelter dog detects man’s seizure. No one knew she was trained for this when she alerted on a man she'd never met. (via Fark)
Billionaire Bromance comics! The latest from Tom the Dancing Bug.
This is How Ejnar Mikkelsen, a Danish Explorer, Was Photographed in 1912 When He Was Found. After being stranded for two years, he was not prepared for surprise visitors.
Gold mining in South Africa. Warning: this story is brutal and heartbreaking. (via Metafilter)
The classic story of Nate the Snake.
Auto Nom
When you think of autonomous cars, you think of Google and Elon Musk and the idea of trucks with no drivers hauling loads down the highway. But why not think of the fun these cars can have?
Oh hello lovely machine, emancipating yourself from function... You look adorable, you know? Yes dear, you were built to be autonomous, it said so in the campaign brief.Director Julius Steinhauser of f°am Studio in Germany brings us Autonomous Rolf, a Mercedes Benz with a mind of its own, and a sense of fun that even the laws of physics cannot stop! (via Nag on the Lake)
No rush – getting from A to B was never an exciting idea to begin with, for your kind. Dance yourself clean, pull your metal frame apart and let the sun burn through your circuits. Ride your autobiography, guided by the beauty of your code.
Thursday, June 12, 2025
Star Trek: Bluegrass Edition
This is not a skit, but just a straightforward version of the Star Trek main theme by a bluegrass band, featuring Gordon Lustig on banjo. It will make you smile. What's really funny are the comments at the YouTube page. Here's an example:
Space:
The Last Place I Reckon Will Go To.
These are Them There Adventures of the Starship Banjo-rpise.
It's contin-ya-in mission: to look fer new worlds, to russle us up some critters, and find like minded folks.
To go where none of y'all ain't ever been to!
Locks
Back in 2009, before he gave us Creed, Black Panther, and Sinners, Ryan Coogler was a graduate student at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts. Locks is one of the short films he produced while there. It has no dialogue, but will stir something in you. (via Kuriositas)
An Accessible Skate Park Designed for Blind Skateboarders
Learning the art of skateboarding takes courage and the willingness to fall and get up again. Imagine how much courage it takes to do that when you can't see where you are going. Dan Mancina is a blind skater who founded Keep Pushing Inc., an organization dedicated to serving the differently-abled community. He built the world's first accessible skate park in Detroit, Michigan. The Ranch is designed for blind skateboarders who use a cane, and also for those with low vision and even people who use wheelchairs. In the video above, Mancina explains the adaptive features of the skate park. You can see other blind skaters try the park out at Laughing Squid. See Mancina's story in this post.
Cat Asks for Help, Gets It
The YouTuber who goes by the name "walter santi" (Walter is his/her dog, and Santi is the cat) tells the story of an injured stray cat who came to their house and asked for help. The video shows his wounds and may be disturbing for sensitive souls. You'll be glad to know the cat is fine now. Here's an update video taken 40 days later, showing him chasing around like he was never hurt. (via Laughing Squid)
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
The Legend of the Goat Who Knew the True Meaning of the Mountain
This animated sequence is not nearly as long as the title would suggest. I think you'll enjoy it. (via The Kid Should See This)
Gracie the Cockeyed Cat
Gracie was rescued from the streets of Cyprus. She has one "looking at the clouds in the sky" and the other eye "looking at the beautiful life on earth." Veterinarians said it was a birth defect and she can see pretty well, considering. Now grown up, Gracie has a rescue organization named after her.
An Honest Trailer for Sinners
Warning: this Honest Trailer contains mature themes, meaning sex and violence. The movie Sinners opened in theaters two months ago and got rave reviews from both critics and audiences. If you had to slot it into a genre, it could be called a vampire musical. But Sinners is much more than that. Set in 1932, it incorporates the themes of religion, racism, and the blues. Screen Junkies liked the film, but still managed to have fun highlighting its extreme parts. The movie's soundtrack got an awful lot of press, but there's hardly any music in this video. Otherwise, this Honest Trailer is like a long trailer.
Miss Cellania's Links
Salomon Andrée's Ill-Fated Arctic Balloon Expedition.
Sleeping with Cats.
The Airplane ‘Barf Bag’ Is A Genius Invention Most People Never Think About, And Using One Blew My Mind.
‘You guys are hilarious’ Homeowner unimpressed with cop’s attempt to get bobcat out of her house with laser pointer. It was worth a try! (via reddit)
The 15 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2025.
Rebels with a Vase: Meet the Florists Taking on Big Flower. (via Curious About Everything)
Where is the center of the universe? (via Geeks Are Sexy)
You might accidentally be killing hummingbirds. Here’s how to help them instead.
Green With Happiness
Elizabeth Sweetheart is the Green Lady of Brooklyn. She loves green so much that everything in her home is green, her clothes are green, and even her hair is green. In this report from Great Big Story, she explains why she goes green all the time. (via Laughing Squid)
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Purple Streetlights
Have you noticed the rise of purple streetlights in your town? I haven't, but that may be because my small town is trying to look quaint and vintage to draw tourists. Purple streetlights are being noticed all across America. There must be a reason for that, but it turns out to be a pretty dumb reason. To get to the bottom of it, this video goes through the change from sodium vapor lamps on our streets to LEDs. Sure, there are a lot of advantages to LEDs, particularly in the amount of energy they use. They are certainly brighter, even though a lot of folks don't like them. The purple has been showing up only in the last few years, and it's not intentional.
Your Uncle Who Can’t Spot AI
Artificial intelligence is all over YouTube. Some of it is pretty obvious. Some of it requires that we pay attention and look for evidence. But as AI gets better, you have to wonder about folks who don't look carefully or even consider it might not be real. And sadly, that's most of us.
Interview with an Owl
Emin: How many hours of the day do you hoot?
Owl: Who?
Emin: Hey, I'm asking the questions here!
And so it goes if you interview an owl. Emin Yogurtcuoglu is a Turkish wildlife photographer and serious birdwatcher. But even he was surprised when he had the opportunity to get up close and personal with an owl in Argentina. He called it the experience of a lifetime. It took a few days, but an owl couple didn't seem the least bit afraid of Emin nor his videographer. The relationship culminated in a personal interview with an owl. He tried various languages, but finally fell into speaking the owl's language. Who? The owl. His patience and gentleness were rewarded when he achieved the final image in this video.
Shooting Journalists
Lauren Tomasi, Nine News in Australia
Nick Stern, British photojournalist
Ryanne Mena, LA Daily News
Sean Beckner-Carmitchel, LA Public Press
Anthony Cabassa, Independent
Toby Canham, New York Post
Steven Monacelli, The Dallas Voice
Jeremy Lindenfeld, Capital & Main
Sergio Olmos, CalMatters
So, are they targeting journalists, or is this a sample of how many people are being indiscriminately shot? Por qué no los dos? (via Adam Rose)
How the Camera Phone was Invented
When Philippe Kahn rushed his wife to the hospital to give birth in 1997, he had his camera, his laptop, his phone, and his soldering iron (which just happened to be in the car with his other tools). He wanted to share pictures of the new baby girl with family and friends immediately. So he spent the labor time figuring out how to do it. The result was the world's first camera phone. Because 2,000 people got to see Sophie the day she was born, we now have selfies, Instagram, and citizen journalism. (via Laughing Squid)
Monday, June 09, 2025
Fun With Soap Bubbles
This is not a DIY for backyard games, but rather a visually magnificent art piece. Enjoy psychedelic iridescence as the detergent and glycerin dance across the surface of bubbles. (via Metafilter)
The Difficulty of Alien Communication
In the Star Trek universe, everyone had a universal translator, which enabled aliens from various planets to communicate with each other. That was necessary to tell the stories on television, but it made the whole idea seem impossibly simple. The fact that beings from different planets would use language to communicate is about as likely as meeting extraterrestrials that had arms, legs, and faces. The 2016 movie Arrival addressed the difficulty of cross-species communication, but Star Trek went there back in 1991 with the Star Trek: TNG episode "Darmok." This one that stayed with a lot of fans.
Even with the universal translator, Starfleet cannot understand what Tamarians are saying, because their language is not as simple as words and ideas. Captain Picard is challenged to find what their language is really about. Andrew Muir of The Art of Storytelling explains how profound the difference is, and how Captain Picard learned the way to decipher what a Tamarian is really saying. (via Laughing Squid)
Miss Cellania's Links
A Pink Refrigerator Stands in the Middle of the Desert.
Tens of Thousands Were Treated for a Deadly Disease While Confined to Psychiatric Hospitals on These Two Venetian Islands.
10 New Deal Programs We Now Take For Granted.
The 10 Worst Songs of the ’70s. Can't argue with this. (via Fark)
Dogs are man's best friend...but they'd still trade you for a chicken nugget if they could.
Scientists create world's smallest violin. (via Slashdot)
What You Should Hoard Before Tariff Price Increases Kick In. (via Nag on the Lake)
The robbery aided by a cicada. You get both the newspaper account and the real story.
The Simple Joys of the Dull Men’s Club
Some men who do mundane things for fun came together and formed the Dull Men's Club. Great Big Story thought they were interesting enough to make a video about. That in itself negates the very idea of the club. However, when dull people get together, they can be pretty extraordinary. They represent such a variety of odd hobbies that you might discover one you're interested in. Beyond that, these men (and a few women) embody the idea that taking pride and joy in simple things pays off in the long run. (via Laughing Squid)
Sunday, June 08, 2025
B.O.B. (Birds Over Big Bird)
One generation was traumatized by Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 movie The Birds. Another generation, perhaps their children, learned to get along with their friends and neighbors thanks to an eight-foot feathered friend named Big Bird. The Bell Brothers have brought those things together as Big Bird steps into the horror flick as if he belongs. Chaos ensues. Meanwhile, Big Bird is frantically performing the rap from Outkast's 2000 song "B.O.B (Bombs Over Baghdad)." Every time a number comes up on the lyrics, the Count from Sesame Street is there for it. As well he should be. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
The Earth's Incredible Depth
We have a hard time visualizing how big the earth really is. We know intellectually that it's more or less a sphere that 24,000 miles around at the middle. From the surface to the sphere's center is 6731 kilometers (3958 miles). We've barely scratched the surface, literally, when we try to dig deep into it. How can we visualize that distance in a different way?
Here's another mind blowing comparison from MetaBallStudios. They tale a core sample out of the earth the size of New York City and raise it up above the surface! The city itself is included for scale. This core blows past the altitude of the ISS in no time. You might want to keep your cursor over the pause button, because there are captions that describe what we are seeing, including terms you'll want to look up. Stay to the end, because there's a surprise sequence you won't want to miss. (via the Awesomer)
Dog Joins Orchestra Mid-Performance
The Vienna Chamber Orchestra was performing Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony No. 4 in Izmir, Turkey, when a wandering music fan decided to join them onstage at the amphitheater. He's a good boy, so deserves first chair in the violin section, Except he'd rather listen than play. He knows his limitations. The conductor was amused. You can imagine what the musicians who couldn't see what was happening thought when the audience started laughing and applauding at an inappropriate time in the music. (via reddit)
Saturday, June 07, 2025
TV
My family never had a console with a wooden cabinet like that. But it didn't matter, all CRT televisions over about 12" weighed a ton. And when they quit working, they just stayed there, because it was hard to get rid of them. A few years ago, I did a purge and sent six CRTs and two non-working flatscreens to the recycler, because I got a crew to help lift them. The best of them was a 36" unit that worked fine, but weighed about 200 pounds. It was just taking up room since I dropped cable TV. It was too obsolete to connect with any other service.
I now have a couple of flatscreens that Dr. Dolittle complains are too small. They seem enormous to me, but her tiny apartment has a TV that looks like a movie theater screen. (via Bits and Pieces)
Things I Look Forward To
Matt Shirley has surely reached middle age. This chart shows that his ambitions have plateaued at varying levels. Wait until old age, when you do not look forward to mowing the lawn at all, although you may look forward to your front yard not drawing negative attention after someone else takes care of it. Old age is when everyone finally decides to tell you what to you, and you don't like it at all. Find all of Matt Shirley's graphs at Instagram.
Ed Gein's Childhood
You know of Ed Gein, even if you were never sure how to pronounce his name. He was a serial killer who inspired numerous cinematic killers such as Buffalo Bill, Norman Bates, Leatherface, and a bunch of other movie characters, including himself. In 1957, he confessed to two murders. Gein was convicted of one murder and is suspected to be behind other cases of people missing around Plainfield, Wisconsin.
You can read about Gein's crimes in many places, but you also have to wonder, what could have led to Gein's twisted behavior? Weird History focuses on his early life with his parents, and uncovers a story that can best be described as "how not to raise children."
Immigrants (We Get The Job Done)
A video for the song "Immigrants (We Get The Job Done)" from Lin-Manuel Miranda's album The Hamilton Mixtape relates the immigrant experience with performances by four rappers who are either immigrants or the children of immigrants. Uproxx tells us about the video.
It was the first official video from The Hamilton Mixtape, an album of songs from the musical plus songs inspired by the musical.
K’Naan, a Somali Canadian, Snow Tha Product, a Chicano child of Mexican immigrants, Riz Mc, a British Pakistani whose parents moved from Pakistan to England in the 1970s, and Residente, a Puerto Rican rapper from San Juan, all relate their experiences growing up as immigrants or first generation citizens of their respective nations, highlighting the way that America (and England) exploit the cheap labor provided by immigrants while still only affording them second class status.
Friday, June 06, 2025
The Universal Dragon
The mythical dragon as a reptile that can fly and breathe fire is astonishingly universal. Ancient stories of dragons are found in all corners of the earth. How did such an iconic yet mythical creature find its way into such diverse cultures?
According to history as it is written, the first dinosaur fossil was discovered in 1677. Actually, it was the first such find that was studied and illustrated, and naturalist Robert Plot didn't know what it was. The idea of dinosaurs didn't take root until the early 19th century. But we can be sure that dinosaur fossils were discovered by plenty of people long before any of that, even before written language. People just called them dragons.
Still, that doesn't explain all the features of a dragon, like the fire-breathing part. For that, we may have to look at what the earth was like when people looked to stories to explain the more mysterious and frightening parts of their lives. This TED-Ed lesson looks at some of those stories and how they may have contributed to our idea of dragons.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)