Activity from Halloween Jack
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The Secret Origin of the Secret Society of Secret Santas
What to do when your children stop believing in Santa: teach them to become him. [slImgur]
They Shall Not Grow Old
The above-titled World War I documentary by Peter Jackson makes heavy use of contemporary footage which has been digitally colorized, cleaned up, and corrected for speed. Trailer; behind-the-scenes; early reviews are quite good.
This Is Just To Say
What is this? A bridge for ants?
The wasp nest was seemingly out of the reach of the invading army ants... but the ants would not be denied. [twitter]
I want you to tell all your friends about me
Ruby Rose (Orange is the New Black, John Wick: Chapter 2, The Meg) has been cast as Batwoman in an upcoming crossover event in the CW's "Arrowverse."
It Only Makes Her Stronger
Not Enough 'Shocking' Puns In Creation For This
[NSFW text and pics] The setup: A redditor in /r/WTF posts a picture with this description: I found a homemade electric chair while exploring an abandoned building in Croatia. While discussing whether or not it is in fact that, redditor /u/anon72c says, "Contrary to what you see in movies, a car battery can't hurt you unless you drop it on your foot, or drink the acid." Another redditor suggests that he try connecting the battery to certain body parts as a test. Challenge accepted.
The Black Knight Rises
"I confess to you that that causes me pain and shame."
Pope Francis publicly apologized to victims of sexual abuse by clergy in Chile, months after defending the bishop accused of covering up the scandal. [CW: discussion of sexual abuse]
Forging The Chain
The big swingin’ tool-belted, love-handled love machines
The Spike Manifesto. [Vice; very mildly NSFW] Spike TV--once The Nashville Network, now Paramount Network--aspired to be "The First Network for Men". But what was it really all about? Apparently, "loyal, reliable, confident, funny, action-oriented, unapologetic, testosterone-driven, non-preaching, celebratory, unpretentious, no bullshit." And, in the end, not completely without a sense of humor.
Santa Class
How does one become a Santa? Well, of course, the original has a proper origin story, but what of his numerous body doubles/"helpers"? Well, AARP (the average age of aspiring jolly old elves is 65) got to the bottom of this, diving down the chimney of Santa University.
¿Qué es 'kicksplode' en español?
The 'Immortal' question, answered
Author Rose Christo is publishing her memoir, Under the Same Stars: The Search for My Brother and the True Story of My Immortal, in which she claims to have co-written My Immortal, the legendary worst fan fiction ever. [CW: second link contains discussion of child sexual abuse and exploitation]
"wait this is the start of wonder woman"
Warner Brothers is planning a film version of Lord of the Flies that is--are you ready for this high concept? Are you? No, you only think you are--going to be all girls. And, stop me if you've heard this before, it's going to be written and directed by dudes.
This city is teeming with tales!
New York Stories. The New York Times Magazine has given a number of stories from its Metro desk to cartoonists to illustrate/adapt. The cartoonists featured include Kevin Huizenga, Tom Gauld, and David Mazzucchelli.
Here's Looking at You
Amazon's latest iteration of its popular Echo device, the Echo Look, will not only include the voice-activated Alexa personal assistant, but also a camera that can take full-length pictures and video of you, and a "Style Check" that uses "advanced machine learning algorithms and advice from fashion specialists" to give you suggestions on what to wear. What could possibly go wrong?
#AltFurry
Still Doing Whatever a Spider Can
The trailer for the third movie incarnation of Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Homecoming, was released via Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which featured a few additional Spider-Men on the show. The movie will feature Tom Holland as Peter Parker, and Michael Keaton as a menacing costumed version of a winged creature (no, not that one, nor that one, either).
Mmm, planets
"Thank you so much!"
Speed Enforced by Aircraft. A tale of tragedy, triumph, death, and new life. [SLYT]
Spizzenergi and Creed: Not That Far Apart
Six Degrees of Music Separation is a variation on the ever-popular "Six Degrees" game/meme that works out connections between bands via cover versions of songs, mostly. Includes obscure recording artists such as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
And that's the news from Lake Wobegon
As previously announced, Garrison Keillor (previously on the blue) has stepped down from hosting A Prairie Home Companion a public radio show which he has hosted (with some substantial breaks) for 42 years.
Pat Summitt
"The story of women’s basketball is so incomplete without Pat Summitt, it’s almost not worth telling. Not just the winningest coach in D1 history, Summitt is the modern game, her success mirroring its rise, her ascendancy propelling the sport out of obscurity. And now she’s gone."
Taking A Whole Bunch For The Team
"Blinding, fierce, shockingly electric. A running hair dryer has been dropped into your bubble bath. A bolt out of the heavens. Lie down and scream." [SL Atlas Obscura] So what's it actually like to get bitten or stung by the world's nastiest bugs? Welcome to the Schmidt Sting Pain Index.
Good Dog
The Peculiar Case of the Buried Nazi Gold Train
Ever since the end of World War II, there have been rumors in Poland that the Nazis hid a substantial part of the loot from their European conquests in hidden tunnels underneath the Owl Mountains near Książ Castle. A number of independent researchers have worked to discover the location of these tunnels, but in the end, they found nothing.
...or did they?
It's a blog that mashes up Rushmore and Sonic the Hedgehog
Not so sure about the soundtrack, frankly
You're Gonna Carry That Weight
Like to apply for the position of the head of an organization dedicated to advocating for the disabled? Better not be disabled yourself.
Malware Sucker Punch
Forbes.com will ask you to turn off ad-blocking software or extensions that you may have on your browser in order to read their articles. If you comply, you then run the risk of being served malware.
A Modest Proposal, Texas-Style
Texas Governor Greg Abbott published a document, "Restoring the Rule of Law With States Leading the Way"[PDF], which addresses what he describes as the U.S. Constitution being "increasingly eroded with each passing year." His solution, which he dubs "The Texas Plan": nine constitutional amendments.
It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy
The Sudden But Well-Deserved Fall of Rahm Emanuel. By Rick Perlstein, New Yorker. Puts the rising number of calls for Emanuel to resign as mayor of Chicago in context.
#popebars
"His palms were bloody, knees beat, cross was heavy, there's wine on his torso already" From BuzzFeed.
Can they claim a senator as a tax deduction?
Waiting for Delta
Are Rogue Militants Preparing for War on American Soil? (Spoiler: Betteridge's Law of Headlines applies here.) How that whole Jade Helm 15 conspiracy thing worked out, just in case you were wondering. Not yet established: correlation with frequency of chemtrails, if it was all a big headfake by the lizard people, whether it will affect Texas adopting the gold standard (previously on the blue).
Yes, now the rains weep o'er his halls/And not a soul to hear
Why The Mary Sue will no longer be promoting Game of Thrones, after the latest episode.[Spoilers, TW sexual assault]
“Has the Department of Education learned nothing?”
Following up on the story of the Corinthian 15 (previously on the blue), Corinthian Colleges has formally ceased operations and is selling or shutting down its campuses. In the meantime, the US Department of Education has helpfully provided a list of "viable transfer options" [PDF]. Minor problem: some of those for-profit schools are also under investigation.
Civilization 2.0: Now With More Briquettes
So, the apocalypse happens, in whatever flavor you prefer, and eventually our descendants (or the cockroaches') are poised to inherit the earth. Lucky for them, we've left a nice cache of information for them (previously on the Blue) so that they don't have to reinvent the wheel or Pokemon or whatever. Question is, will they be able to do that--or, rather, how difficult would it be to do that--if we use up all the fossil fuels first?
GLOOMCAMPING
The SummHarry, all the Harry Potter books summarized in cartoon form by Lucy "Stop Paying Attention" Knisley. Full size; previously on the blue.
40 Maps of the Middle East
Forty maps that explain the Middle East. Includes sections on Middle East history, the region today, Israel-Palestine, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and oil, Iraq and Libya, and "points of light."
Christ, I hate Blackboard
Unreliable Narrators
February 28th—I hate this month. I can’t take one more day of it.
The Russia Left Behind
The New York Times' Ellen Barry visits communities along M10, the Russian highway that links Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and finds a number of towns that are withering as the big cities grow.
Not really a funyun, either
There are so many real news articles that sound as if they should be articles in the Onion that they got their own site.
My Weekend At A Furry Convention
Kotaku article about, well, a weekend at a furry convention. Of note because it features a short interview with MeFi's own egypturnash (near the end, under "Our Transhuman Future"), plus a pic of her awesome dragon tattoo.
Movie Mimic
Ever get that uncanny feeling of deja vu while walking down the street in some city that you've never been to before? Maybe you saw it in a movie some time ago. Maybe the combination of the scenery and the architecture and passersby being in the same places as the principal actors set it off. The Movie Mimic does this on purpose, and includes Google Maps of the sites in case you'd like to go there yourself and strike a pose.
A Man Provides
Giancarlo Esposito, the actor currently known best as Gus Fring on Breaking Bad (and, of course, the veteran of many, many other roles), is doing an AMA on Reddit, and responding to some of the questions via his YouTube channel. [Presumably, spoilers for BB ahead.] He also explains this.
Firewater
There's a fairly old urban legend [Snopes; pop-ups galore] regarding the feasibility and/or incidence of young people getting drunk via the insertion of tampons that had been soaked in vodka into body cavities. Snopes was skeptical of the claim, but apparently no one had gone on record as having tested the method... until Danielle Crittenden stepped into the breach. (HuffPo)
Black Money
The United States Secret Service is warning about an old scam that's recently popped up again in New England: black money.