Here are today's Boing Boing stories: Elon Musk and Donald Trump's strange alliance takes center stage as the president eyeballs a Tesla while his daughter-in-law demands Americans "kiss the feet" of both men. Meanwhile, the stock market continues its downward spiral, egg prices soar amid border seizures, and House Speaker Mike Johnson compares Trump's economic "strategy" to billiards. In lighter news, we explore a tiny mouse-sized record store in Sweden, marvel at spherical paintings, and discover the last place in America where people still talk like pirates.
Elon uses Donald as his new "dog spot"
Jason Weisberger / 11:41 am PT Tue Mar 11, 2025
Image: YouTube
In an act of sheer desperation, Elon Musk uses his purchased friend, convicted felon Donald Trump, to try to sell his cars. This should be the end of Tesla.
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If your Tesla bursts in flame, go see Elon
If resale's down the drain, go see Elon
Panels misaligned and bent, Twitter cash already spent
Go see Elon, go see Elon, go see Elon
As all fantasy about Donald Trump being good for the economy disappears, people worldwide are blaming him for escalating problems, and almost no one wants to buy a car from his bestie Elon anymore: guess who is becoming a car salesman? You got it: Don the Con is selling lemons for Elon. Doocy and Leavitt had quite a conversation about it:
"That's a very good question," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt replied. "I have heard the president remark that he misses being able to drive that luxury of driving his own vehicle, although the beast is nice, but he is going to be viewing a Tesla that is making its way to the White House complex now, I can confirm."
"Perhaps the press pool today will have an opportunity to witness this very exciting moment later this afternoon, but a Tesla is on its way here now, and we'll see if the president likes it when he checks it out," she added.
"So they're bringing him a Tesla to look at, and if he likes it, he's just going to buy it?" Doocy pressed.
"He's intent on, he's definitely going to buy one, but he'll take a look at it when it gets here later this afternoon," Leavitt responded, noting that Trump would pay "full market price."
Since October 2024, US customs officials at the Canadian and Mexican borders have intercepted 3,768 shipments of poultry products, including eggs. That's compared to 352 seizures of fentanyl.
Compared to last year, that comes out to 36% more poultry product seizures. It's illegal to bring fresh eggs and unprocessed bird bits into the US due to the risk of spreading disease—like avian flu. Of course, the avian flu outbreak has driven up egg prices which is exactly why people are smuggling them into the US.
The increase in egg smuggling comes as President Donald Trump wages a trade war with Canada and Mexico which he has attempted to justify by declaring a national emergency on border security related to illegal drugs and migration.
The number of fentanyl seizures versus the number of egg seizures has raised eyebrows at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. "As serious as combatting illegal fentanyl is, its link to these trade decisions is highly questionable," said Matthew Holmes, chief of public policy for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. "It appears there are more eggs being smuggled into the U.S. from Canada right now than fentanyl."
Lara Trump as U.S. crashes: You should be "kissing the feet of Elon Musk and Donald Trump!" (video)
Carla Sinclair / 10:59 am PT Tue Mar 11, 2025
Image: Lara Trump; lev radin / shutterstock.com
As the stock market continues to plunge and egg prices continue to soar, Lara Trump scolded ungrateful Americans for having concerns about their livelihoods.
"He doesn't need this job. …This guy is losing money!" Trump's daughter-in-law said about Elon Musk on Fox News, taking pity on the richest man in the world for the growing anger the Tesla CEO faces.
But as for the rest of the folks in America suffering economically under the chaos of Trump 2.0? "People ought to be kissing the feet of Elon Musk and Donald Trump!" Because that's what people do under an authoritarian regime. (See video, posted by Republicans Against Trumpism.)
High school runner just happened to hit opponent's head with baton, totally by accident you guys (video)
Ellsworth Toohey / 10:52 am PT Tue Mar 11, 2025
A high school relay race turned into an impromptu mixed martial arts event when one runner hit another runner on the back of her head with a baton. The weirdest part is that it didn't take place in Florida.
The drama unfolded at Virginia's State Indoor Championships, where Brookville High's Kaelen Tucker — fresh off setting a record in the 55-meter dash — was probably expecting just another normal day of running really fast in circles. Instead, she got an unexpected lesson in hand-to-head combat from I.C. Norcom High School's Alaila Everett.
The video shows Everett cracking Tucker's head with her relay baton as Tucker tried to pass her. The impact sent Tucker crashing to the track with what doctors are now treating as a concussion and possible skull fracture.
Days later, Tucker's family is seeking a protective order against Everett. Meanwhile, Everett tearfully insisted that it was totally an accident, you guys: "Nobody is going to believe me because I can admit from the video it does look purposeful." Ya think?
The whole mess has spawned exactly the kind of social media dumpster fire you'd expect, with Everett's family reporting death threats and racial slurs, because apparently some people thought this situation needed even more awfulness sprinkled on top.
As Tucker told ABC13, still clearly processing the chaos: "I still can't believe it, I'm in shock… Why did you do it, and why haven't you apologized?" Though Everett claims she tried to apologize via social media but found herself blocked, which is probably what happens when you introduce someone's skull to your baton.
Listen to bizarre 1978 version of "Stairway to Heaven" with "Gilligan's Island" theme lyrics
Allan Rose Hill / 10:36 am PT Tue Mar 11, 2025
image: publicity photo
In 1978, San Francisco band Little Roger & The Goosebumps released this bizarre single "Stairway to Gilligan's Island." It's essentially the music of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" with the lyrics to the "Ballad of Gilligan's Island" TV show theme song. Listen below!
The band wrote the song in 1977 as "material to pad the last set of the grueling 5 nights a week/4 sets a night routine," recorded it in March 1978, and released it as a single in May 1978 on their own Splash Records label. Led Zeppelin's management threatened a copyright infringement lawsuit against the label, its attorneys demanding that all copies be destroyed, and the band withdrew the song, seeing their legal resources as inadequate. The song was reissued in 2000 on the CD Laguna Tunes with the song title renamed "Stairway to Gilligan's Island."
Bonus fact: This version of the lyrics is from the first season's theme song. What's the difference? The original song refers to the Professor and Mary Ann as "the rest." According to the Gilligan's Island Wiki, Bob Denver ("Gilligan") secretly lobbied for the theme to be re-edited for the second season with all of the characters mentioned by name.
Looks like killing 6000 people might have consequences after all: Philippines dictator Duterte arrested
Remember that murderous authoritarian who bragged about throwing suspects out of helicopters and encouraged police death squads to shoot first and never bother with questions? Turns out karma's a patient beast – Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines' notorious strongman, just got nabbed at Manila airport and is currently winging his way to face justice at the International Criminal Court, reports the BBC.
The 79-year-old former president, who spent six years turning extrajudicial killings into government policy, got picked up Tuesday morning after landing from Hong Kong. His daughter Sara says daddy's being "forcibly" sent to The Hague, which is kind of the point when you're accused of crimes against humanity.
In classic Duterte fashion, he's still playing innocent, asking "What crime [have] I committed?" – apparently forgetting about those 6,000+ people (conservative estimate) gunned down during his bloody "war on drugs." Rights groups say the real body count could be way higher, with most victims being poor urban males who had the misfortune of catching a police officer's attention.
The best part? His former bestie President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., whose daughter Sara Duterte ran as VP on his ticket, basically gift-wrapped him for the ICC. After initially refusing to cooperate with investigators, Marcos had a change of heart right around the time the Duterte-Marcos political bromance went south.
As Peter Murphy of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines put it: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but today, it has bent towards justice. Duterte's arrest is the beginning of accountability for the mass killings that defined his brutal rule."
Would you look at that — sometimes the bad guys actually do face consequences.
In this quirky action game — an Apple Arcade exclusive — players expand their Katamari by rolling up objects scattered across the earth. Featuring unique and whimsical gameplay, and a captivating soundtrack that blends different genres, the game invites players to energize the king's "live stream" by rolling their Katamari to create stars. As users advance, comments from in-game fans appear, and the longer they play, the larger their audience grows. By completing the king's challenges and boosting their subscriber count, players can unlock dynamic new stages.
The music's playing in your head, isn't it?
Yikes! Plummeting stocks all part of Trump's "strategy," says Mike Johnson (video)
Carla Sinclair / 8:55 am PT Tue Mar 11, 2025
Image: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), official photo
House Speaker Mike Johnson defended the plunging stock market as part of Donald Trump's "strategy" after a reporter asked if the president needed to "rethink what he is doing" with tariffs. The subservient Congressman then pleaded with reporters to give Trump a chance.
"The president has already proven what he can do on the economy," Johnson amusingly said, as if the last 50 days — which includes a plunging stock market and the highest egg prices in U.S. history — proves that all is well with the economy.
Johnson then quickly shifted the focus to Trump's first term in office, boasting about the "booming" economy of yesteryear, "prior to Covid," leaving out the fact that it was also prior to Trump's ridiculous tariffs debacle.
"He's gotta reshake, and shape things, because it's in a real mess," Johnson continued, stating the obvious — that it's a "real mess" since Trump took office.
Johnson then compared Trump's new "shake-up" as a "strategy to the game" of billiards, explaining that "you go to the table…and you hit it as hard as you can." But again, the Louisiana lawmaker left out one important fact with this horrifying analogy: where the balls end up is anyone's guess. (See video, posted by Aaron Rupar.)
MAGA billionaire not content with being rich, must also ruin last airline that didn't charge for bags
Ellsworth Toohey / 8:49 am PT Tue Mar 11, 2025
Image: Markus Mainka / Shutterstock.com
Meet Elliott Management, the hedge fund vultures who never met a beloved company they couldn't make worse. These are the same folks who bought and gutted Cabela's, destroying the small town of Sidney, Nebraska in the process, because being profitable isn't profitable enough for finance bros.
Led by billionaire Paul Singer (the MAGA megadonor who treated Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to a luxury fishing vacation and later had cases before the Court in which Alito ruled in his favor), Elliott took a $1.9 billion stake in Southwest last June and immediately started demanding the airline "evolve" — which is rich-person speak for "squeeze more money out of regular people." The first order of business: ditching the "bags fly free" policy — literally the only thing that made up for being crammed into a seat with no TV while clutching a microscopic bag of peanuts.
Through their delightfully named website StrongerSouthwest.com (because nothing says "strength" like charging people to check a bag), Elliott argued that Southwest's quaint notions of customer service were just too darn customer-friendly.
Elliott Management, which manages over $70 billion in assets because apparently that's not enough money, has a storied history of buying stakes in companies and forcing them to become worse versions of themselves. They've worked their special brand of magic on everyone from Twitter to Barnes & Noble, always in the name of "unlocking shareholder value" — which is what hedge funds call it when they make things terrible for regular people.
So next time you're forking over $35 to check your suitcase on Southwest, remember to thank Paul Singer and his merry band of corporate raiders. They've successfully managed to make flying even more miserable, which honestly seemed impossible. At least we still have those microscopic bags of peanuts. For now.
New 3D-printed penis enables impotent rabbits and pigs to have sex and reproduce
Allan Rose Hill / 8:45 am PT Tue Mar 11, 2025
image: Nature Biomedical Engineering
Researchers 3D-printed a penis and implanted it in impotent rabbits and pigs, enabling them to have sex and reproduce. The animals had penile deformities. First, the bioengineers from the South China University of Technology and colleagues created the synthetic hydrogel penis to better understand the the mechanisms of blood flow and erectile dysfunction.
"Scientists created a detailed penile system which included the glans (tip of the penis), corpus spongiosum (the tissue surrounding the urethra) with urethral structures and an implantable model of the corpus cavernosum, the sponge-like vascular tissue responsible for erections," reports Medical Xpress.
From there, they used the same technology to repair the animals' penile deformities.
The researchers modified the printed models of the corpora cavernosa by growing cells from inside the penis of a rabbit within them, and then transplanted them into the penises of rabbits with penile issues. They also did the same with pigs, seeding the model with cells from pigs. This seeding of the model with cells from natural penises was to prevent the animals' immune systems from rejecting the implant. […]
The researchers note that this model is not a perfect replacement for a true penis transplant from another human, as it does not replace damaged nerves, blood vessels, or the urethra. However, despite this, they hope that in the future they can develop 3D-printed penis models that do include these important structures.
This tiny North Carolina island is last place in America where people talk like actual pirates (video)
Ellsworth Toohey / 8:16 am PT Tue Mar 11, 2025
Aerial view of Ocracoke Lighthouse on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina (Chansak Joe/shutterstock.com)
Ocracoke is a tiny North Carolina island. The residents speak a dialect that blends Elizabethan English, Irish tones, Scottish accents, and pirate slang. Other Americans often can't understand it.
The island's 676 residents developed their own way of speaking and unique vocabulary, called "Hoi Toider" brogue. A friend might "mommuck a buck before going up the beach" — meaning to tease a friend before leaving the island. The word "pizer" means porch, "dingbatters" are non-islanders, and "quamish" indicates feeling sick or nauseated.
"It's the only American dialect that is not identified as American, Dr. Walt Wolfram told the BBC. As director of NC State's Language and Life Project, he's been studying the dialect for over 20 years. "You can find pronunciation, grammar structures and vocabulary on Ocracoke that are not found anywhere else in North America."
Television, internet, tourism and mainland transplants are diluting the brogue. Today, fewer than half of Ocracoke's residents speak the full brogue. "Within one to two generations, it'll be gone," Wolfram says.
Infowars reporter was "brutally murdered" near home in Austin, says Alex Jones
Carla Sinclair / 7:01 am PT Tue Mar 11, 2025
Image of Alex Jones by Vic Hinterlang / shutterstock.com
An Infowars reporter was "brutally murdered" around midnight on Sunday in Austin, Texas, says Alex Jones. And, according to the conspiracy theorist, the blame for the death of his "best" reporter, Jamie White, lays "squarely" on "the Soros crime syndicate, and of the Democratic Party."
"I come to the Infowars family of viewers and listeners, and to the world, with some really horrible news," Jones posted on X, via The Independent. "There are a lot of really cool people that have worked at Infowars over the years, and one of the most amazing people was Jamie White … Jamie was murdered last night outside of his home, just a few miles away from our studios."
"We sent some people over this morning when he didn't answer the phone, because he was always here early. Loves to work, loves to fight tyranny, loves to promote freedom. And when they got to the apartment complex, there was yellow tape everywhere and blood all over the parking lot," Jones continued. "I lay all of this squarely at the feet of these DAs and of the Soros crime syndicate, and of the Democratic Party."
Of course, the cruel shock jock — who, among his many lies, declared the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was a hoax — will say anything for ratings, so anything that comes out of his mouth is questionable. But this is what others have reported:
City police have not confirmed White's death, saying only that they responded to an emergency call at 11:57 p.m. Sunday night and found an injured man with "obvious signs of trauma," who later died in a nearby hospital.
Officials did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent, and no other source beyond Infowars — which has a long history of fabrications — has yet confirmed White's identity.
In his bio for his account @whiteisthefury on X, White has quoted former President Thomas Jefferson saying: "I've sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."
Elon Musk, Nick Fuentes and Libs of TikTok are among some of the accounts that White has reposted from.
APD Public Information Officer Leah Ratliff said during a media briefing: "This is pretty early on in the investigation, and the homicide unit will be releasing more information as they're able."
Spite turns normal people into horse-paste-eating conspiracy addicts, says study
Ellsworth Toohey / 6:59 am PT Tue Mar 11, 2025
Margarita Young / Shutterstock.com
When people are broke, powerless, or just mad that nobody's taking their YouTube channel about chemtrails seriously — they get spiteful. And that spite makes them believe conspiracy theories that make their lives even worse.
Researchers at Staffordshire University and the University of Birmingham, did three different studies with over 1,000 Brits. They found that when people feel like they're getting the short end of the stick in life, they're more likely to embrace conspiracy theories as a way to metaphorically flip off the experts and elites.
"Spite is one of four basic social behaviors in the natural world (along with mutualism, selfishness, and altruism) and is harmful to both the actor and the recipient," say the researchers. In other words: it's like punching yourself in the face to give someone else a black eye.
This spite-fueled conspiracy embracing was obvious when it came to COVID-19 conspiracies. Insisting the pandemic was caused by 5G towers while chugging horse dewormer was all the rage among the spiteful set at the time.
Of course, the same conspiracy theories that make people reject mainstream experts leave them perfectly primed to trust the grifters who planted those theories in the first place. There's a whole ecosystem of snake oil salesmen ready to profit from these spite-poisoned marks. From supplement hawkers to "alternative news" sites, these slick weasels sell $50 miracle cures and $30 monthly subscriptions to "the truth" to people who would stop drinking bleach if they could afford food.
The researchers suggest that if we want fewer people falling down conspiracy rabbit holes, maybe we should work on fixing that whole "massive inequality" thing.
"If conspiracy theory beliefs can be seen as a manifestation of spite—of a feeling of disadvantage, high competition, and scarcity—then stemming the tide of conspiracy theories and science denialism is not separate from social issues such as financial inequality and precariousness." In other words: maybe if people weren't so broke and angry all the time, they'd stop believing Bill Gates put autism cooties in the vaccines.
Lost history of Acorn Computers reveals the British tech giant that almost was
Here's the entry for the rare Acorn Atom, pictured here.
The Atom was Acorn's first attempt to break into the home market. Released in 1980, it continued Acorn's association with the 6502 processor, with the 1 MHz 6502A used in the Atom. The operating system and an integer-only version of BBC BASIC were provided in 8 Kb of ROM and 2 Kb of RAM (expandable to 12 Kb) was available.
The Atom was a highly expandable machine, with UHF TV and tape connectors provided as standard, as well as two expansion ports. A wide range of peripherals could be added using these ports, including a floppy drive, using an early version of Acorn's DFS (Disc Filing System), and Econet (a networking system devised by Acorn and the University of Cambridge). A high resolution video graphics card and floating point extension ROM for BASIC could also be added.
The graphics system was capable of 32 by 24 and 16 by 12 character text modes and 128 by 96 and 256 by 192 pixel graphics modes, with four colours available simultaneously from a total palette of 8. The video controller selected was the 6847, which was the most advanced available at the time, but was slightly flawed in that it was basically designed for an NTSC display, and could only produce a signal at 60 Hz, rather than the 50 Hz required by PAL. As a result it was incompatible with about 20% of TVs. A multiple channel sound system was also supplied.
The Atom was sold in a ready made form, for £170, or in self-assembly form for £120.
Essential viewing for those interested in the history is Micro Men, a concise and occasionally darkly funny BBC movie about 1970s British computing startups that made some excellent machines but ran out of time.
My young son has discovered the animation and music of Cyriak Harris (previously at Boing Boing) and all hell has now broken loose at home. He is most enchanted by Honk, a recent and exemplary work by the British maestro, but I'm happy to have found Bits & Bobs, collecting his most popular tracks, accompanied by a fine remix album.
In the weeks following Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime performance of "Not Like Us," thousands of folks all over the world have taken to TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to post their own versions of the now famous dance. I've seen some terrific ones and some so terrible they literally made me cringe.
I think my favorite out of all I've watched, though, is this "Indigenous version," performed and uploaded by Indigenous hoop dancer, educator, story teller, and performer James Jones, who goes by "Notorious Cree" on social media. In the short but terrific clip, you can see Jones wearing beautiful regalia and demonstrating several impressive formations with his hoops, including eagle, Mother Earth, and more. The dance moves actually go perfectly with Lamar's song–I only wish the clip was longer!
James Jones, widely recognized as Notorious Cree, is a distinguished Nehiyaw (Cree) artist hailing from Tallcree First Nation in Treaty 8 Territory, Northern Alberta. Renowned for his mastery in traditional hoop and powwow dancing, Jones has captivated audiences worldwide, intertwining his cultural heritage with contemporary mediums to promote Indigenous traditions.
See more of Notorious Cree's dancing on his Instagram or YouTube.
And here's a dance tutorial if you want to learn some signature Kendrick Lamar moves for yourself (the lesson for the famous "shuffle" that everyone's doing starts at 5:55).
We found the most delightfully unhinged restaurant in the southwest
Jennifer Sandlin / 4:00 am PT Tue Mar 11, 2025
Photo: Jennifer Sandlin
If you like spicy food and kitschy roadside attractions, you absolutely MUST visit Hatch, New Mexico, the "chile capital of the world." I was lucky enough to spend an afternoon there recently, and I can tell you that if you're ever anywhere near southern New Mexico, it's a must-see!
In Hatch you'll find lots of roadside stands and shops where you can buy more red and green chile than you can eat in a lifetime. There are chile ristras galore. And tons of cool metal artwork—depicting desert animals, flowers, and more—imported from Mexico.
But the highlight for me was visiting Sparky's, a restaurant run by Teako Nunn and his wife Josie. Not only do they serve an incredible green chile cheeseburger, Sparky's (well, really, the parking lot across from the restaurant) has also become, as Roadside America puts it, "a showcase for Teako's growing statue menagerie."
There, you'll see Yogi Bear, a giant KFC bucket with the cutest red-and-green chile couple dancing on top, a big pink pig, a Bob's Big Boy, a tyrannosaurus rex, a giant chile pepper with the most adorable grin, a 30-foot-tall Uncle Sam holding a green chile, and so much more. There's even a bench where you can sit and take your photo with a cute, skinny, green alien. I was in roadside attraction heaven!
Read more about Sparky's at Roadside America, and definitely make a plan to visit Hatch! And in the meantime, enjoy some of the photos I took!
Amazing remake of Bomb Jack for 40-year-old 8-bit computer
Rob Beschizza / 3:46 am PT Tue Mar 11, 2025
Bomb Jack Extra Sugar
Anthony Flack's Bomb Jack Extra Sugar is a remake of arcade classic Bomb Jack for the Amstrad CPC, an 8-bit microcomputer popular in Europe in the 1980s. It's a remarkable implementation of the game, achieving near-arcade perfection from an unlikely system by using every trick in its book.
Works on any CPC with a disk drive or mass storage device and at least 128k of memory, or with the emulator of your choice, such as ACE-DL, Retro Virtual Machine or WinApe. … In short, it's everything you could want from a remake of Bomb Jack for an old British microcomputer from the 1980s, and possibly more!
Compare to the original CPC port, which was perfectly good in its day.
Watch this comedian brutally mock every UK rap video ever made
Grant St. Clair / 3:45 am PT Tue Mar 11, 2025
Rudeboys. Image via Kyle Gordon.
Someone needs to stop this guy before he comes for a niche music subgenre that I actually like. After getting his big break by starting with 90s Eurodance, NYC-based musical comedian Kyle Gordon has continued to work his way down the list, crafting pitch-perfect parody songs both lampooning and serving as genuinely great examples of niche genres. His takes on 60s bossa nova, emo pop rock a la My Chemical Romance and tooth-rottingly saccharine 2010s alt-pop are all perfect, but he may have outdone himself with his latest target. Take a listen to Selekta, his answer to grimy British rap that has no business being performed by middle-class white kids from the local village.
As someone whose family is from the UK, take my word for it that it's accurate from the very first time he misappropriates Jamaican slang. Really, the most impressive part of this video is how he's managed to find all the most English-looking parts of New York.
Look at this adorable AF mouse-sized record store
Popkin / 3:30 am PT Tue Mar 11, 2025
Anonymouse / YouTube
Who is making tiny shops for mice in Sweden and why? An artist who goes by the name AnonyMouse makes anonymous miniatures on the street. The artist's installations are mouse themed, like this awesome mouse vinyl shop in Sweden. If you're not paying attention, it's quite easy to miss this magical little art peice.
The record shop is called "Ricotta Records", and is just a few inches tall. Everything besides the size of the storefront looks completely realistic. The amount of detail put into the design is quite amazing.
If you squat down and look very closely, you'll see mouse themed versions of popular record covers. A mouse version of David Bowie sits front and center. I like how the guy filming the video holds things in front of the store-front like his phone to show just how tiny it is. When a baby sits in front of the store front, the baby looks like a giant. I love hidden gems like this! You can find more like it on Anonymouse's instagram, here.
When walking the streets in Sweden – be careful! There may be a small mice shop near your feet. Who makes them and why is still not clear. They call themselves «AnonyMouse». AnonyMouse on Instagram:
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Music libraries I use: Library with extremely high quality music: Library with a huge base and a very wide range of music and sound effects
Need a break from the hellscape? Watch this 1963 film about a glass marble
Popkin / 3:15 am PT Tue Mar 11, 2025
Kulicka (The Glass Marble)
Kulička (translated as The Glass Marble) is a short animated film from 1963, created by Czech animator and filmmaker Karel Zeman. The film is known for its unique and visually striking style due to the way it blends live-action and animation (a hallmark of Zeman's work).
This film shows what stopmotion is capable of in a magical way. I love how Zeman's artistic vision paired with the simplicity of some wooden toys and a glass marble led to such a stunning film. Zeman's use of innovative animation techniques in this film helped to establish his reputation as one of the pioneers of Czech animation.
Not only are the visuals of Kulička totally dreamy, but the soundtrack is also wonderful. I'm so glad that I came across this film today. If you're having a bad day, this film will probably make
British cartoonist R.E. Burke, detained by ICE, "simply wants to return home to her family"
Ruben Bolling / 3:04 am PT Tue Mar 11, 2025
Burke in a self-portrait posted to Instagram
British cartoonist R.E. (Becky) Burke has been in ICE custody in Tacoma, Washington since February 26. She had been on a planned four-month backpacking trip in North America, but when she attempted to cross from the U.S. into Canada, she was denied entry, and when she returned to the U.S., she was put into custody.
"Canadian authorities denied her entry as they were concerned she may try to work illegally.
"[Burke] described how she spent six hours at the border, waiting while officials were 'trying to determine if what I had been doing in America counted as work'.
"She said she was 'interrogated' and, despite explaining she was 'not paid at all', it was decided she had 'violated' her visa.
"Ms Burke said she was being held in a dormitory of 110 people in a 'maxed out' immigration detention centre in Tacoma, Washington.
"'They wake us up at 6:30am. There is never enough time to sleep. It's so cold,' she said.
"'I wear the same jumper for a week. They're short or out of stuff, like blankets and extra clothes. I have one towel.'"
Becky's father, Paul Burke, is asking for help to bring his daughter home. He writes on Facebook:
Urgent Appeal: Help Bring Becky Home
Our daughter Becky, a 28-year-old British tourist, has been caught up in the recent immigration crackdown in the US. What was meant to be a life-changing four-month backpacking trip across North America has turned into a nightmare. Becky has now been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for over ten days, with no clear timeline for her release.
On February 26th, Becky attempted to cross the Canadian border for the next leg of her journey. Unfortunately, due to an incorrect visa, she was denied entry into Canada. When she tried to return to the US, she was refused re-entry and classified as an "illegal alien." Despite being a tourist with no criminal record, she was handcuffed and taken to a detention facility in Tacoma, Washington.
Becky's current conditions are deeply concerning. She is sharing a cell, surviving on a diet of cold rice, potatoes, and beans (she is vegan), and has limited access to phone calls. Visitors are restricted to speaking through a glass screen via telephone. All her possessions have been confiscated, and she feels isolated and desperate to come home.
We are doing everything we can. Our local MP has contacted David Lammy's office, and we are in touch with the British Consulate in London and San Francisco. An American friend is helping by sending funds to her inmate account so she can buy basic necessities like tea and milk. However, progress has been slow, and we urgently need more support.
We are asking for your help. Please share Becky's story widely through your networks. We hope to connect with experts, legal professionals, or anyone who can offer advice or assistance. Becky is a kind, adventurous young woman who simply wants to return home to her family.
Thank you for your support.
Artist tells Flat Earth Society to pound sand with these amazing spherical paintings
Popkin / 2:53 am PT Tue Mar 11, 2025
A termesphere painted by Dick Termes. Screenshot: Travel South Dakota
At the Termesphere Gallery in Spearfish, South Dakota, you can see striking paintings by artist Dick Termes made on hanging spheres instead of traditional flat canvases. He calls his works "Termespheres". Watching these paintings rotate creates the experience of viewing a closed world, instead of one that ends at the edge of the canvas.
The gallery is located inside a geodesic dome, adding to the celebration of spheres. The globes all hang from the ceiling inside the gallery. They have a celestial appearance when looking at them all together like this.
This is definitely somewhere I hope to visit if I ever find myself in South Dakota. In this YouTube video, you can learn more about the artist's ideas and process. This looks like such a fantastic gallery!
Death Stranding 2 looks ridiculous—and Game of the Year material
Grant St. Clair / 2:52 am PT Tue Mar 11, 2025
Death Stranding 2
After months of speculation following a cryptic announcement and an even more bizarre full-length trailer, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach finally has a release date. At a special panel devoted to the game at South by Southwest 2025, director, writer, lead designer, head of casting, and probably also key grip Hideo Kojima took the stage to debut an extensive ten-minute trailer for the game, which as usual cleared nothing up and left more questions than answers. Chief among the crop of questions this time was "holy shit, is that Solid Snake?!"
Even more additions to the cast were announced as well, including Italian actor Luca Marinelli… and yes, his bandana-wearing soldier does bear more than a passing resemblance to the protagonist of Kojima's last big IP. Complicating the matter further is the fact that Kojima has gone on record citing Marinelli as his pick for a live-action Snake long before Death Stranding 2 was even announced, meaning that either some kind of collaboration has been worked out or he's going to have a lot of explaining to do to a pack of rabid Konami lawyers.
Strange links to Metal Gear Solid aside, though, the world that Kojima has created looks as strange and fantastical as ever. Mad Max director George Miller piloting a giant mech? Sure. The Last of Us star Troy Baker sporting a glam-rock makeover as the main antagonist? Obviously. Norman Reedus' protagonist Sam delivering Amazon packages on the moon? It's in line with the first game, at least. The first Death Stranding wasn't merely an acid trip, though – under the layers of convoluted worldbuilding and endless celebrity cameos, it told a heartfelt story about human connection that almost seemed to predict the events of the pandemic that swiftly followed. I can't wait to see what worldwide catastrophe is foreshadowed in this game when it releases on June 26th!
Ski lift cabin with passengers falls to ground in Canada
Carla Sinclair / 4:39 pm PT Mon Mar 10, 2025
Stock image of gondola at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort; CDeWeger / shutterstock.com
Skiers in Canada were just beginning their ride up a ski lift at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort in Golden, B.C. this morning when the gondola's cabin broke off its cable and dropped to the ground.
"Holy crap, I hope those people are going to be all right," said a bystander who shot footage of the cabin lying on its side while a crowd of people milled around. (See footage, posted by Calgary Herald.)
Fortunately, the passengers were uninjured, according to the Calgary Herald. Meanwhile, the resort closed down for the day, and by 1:00 p.m., rescue crews were reportedly "using a helicopter to airlift stranded passengers to safety." It's not clear when the resort will reopen.
Tommy Tuberville shrugs off stock-market tumble as no biggie: "It's about having fair tariffs" (video)
Carla Sinclair / 3:42 pm PT Mon Mar 10, 2025
Image: Sen. Tommy Tuberville; lev radin / shutterstock.com
As the Dow Jones continues to tumble, dropping 890 points today, Sen. Tommy Tuberville criticized the stock market's stronger, former self.
"We were probably over-bloated with the stock market here for a while. We went up quite a bit," the Alabama Trump disciple said accusingly, admonishing Donald Trump's pre-tariff days when stocks were still climbing. "But at the end of the day, it's about fairness, about having fair tariffs, everybody on the same page." (See video, posted by Aaron Rupar.)
In MAGAland, where Putin propaganda rules, anti-fascism is bad, and 2 plus 2 equals 5, it makes perfect sense to shrug off a stock market plunge as just the price of doing business with Trump.
"This isn't the first time that HP broke its customers' printers with an update," reports Scharon Harding for Ars Technica:
The firmware update in question is version 20250209, which HP issued on March 4 for its LaserJet MFP M232-M237 models. Per HP, the update includes "security updates," a "regulatory requirement update," "general improvements and bug fixes," and fixes for IPP Everywhere. Looking back to older updates' fixes and changes, which the new update includes, doesn't reveal anything out of the ordinary. The older updates mention things like "fixed print quality to ensure borders are not cropped for certain document types," and "improved firmware update and cartridge rejection experiences." But there's no mention of changes to how the printers use or read toner.
Sadly, the old recommendation to "just get a Brother" might have had its day: that company has also begun turning the screw on users. The underlying problem is a declining business for printers, dooming those that still partake to whatever shenanigans can be thought up to squeeze a buck from a troubled market.
Elon says DOGE needs twice as many people to tell others they have too many people
Ellsworth Toohey / 2:29 pm PT Mon Mar 10, 2025
Elon Musk (Andrew Harnik / Shutterstock.com)
The world's richest toddler is fighting bureaucratic bloat by doubling his anti-bloat department.
Elon Musk, who's currently watching his car company's stock perform its best impression of a Cybertruck sliding down a hill, revealed on Fox Business that his DOGE goon squad might soon balloon from 100 to 200 employees.
It's the same logic that gave us "free speech absolutism" right before banning journalists who hurt his feelings.
Because when you're a billionaire with the temperament of a toddler, rules about practicing what you preach only apply to the essential civil servants you just laid off.
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