This husky loves DuckTales – woo-oo!
Gail Sherman / 11:58 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
Seregraff/Shutterstock.com
Life is like a hurricane, here in Duc-berg! Race cars! Lazers! Aeroplanes! It's a Duck blur!
This beautiful husky with an excellent name goes full derp when her person sings the Ducktales theme song. Honestly, who can blame her? If you are having a lousy day Leia the husky will cheer you up.
As the kids say, it's a bop. This is the first time I have ever seen any dog more excited by a song than a walk.
Upon further review, it is entirely possible that Leia the husky is just an adorable goof who is super excited by anything her human says or does.
I need to give some attention to Leia's brother, Archer, who clearly has a very difficult life. Having to share is hard when you are a big, fluffy toddler.
By the way, if you haven't watched the DuckTales reboot, which had absurdly good voice talent like David Tennant and Danny Pudi, you are missing something great.
Previously: There may come a day when I don't find husky tantrums hilarious, but it is not this day.
Albanian developers think Jared and Ivanka are peddling Trump's influence
Jason Weisberger / 10:29 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
Jared Kushner by Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock.com
Jared Kushner, who thinks Gaza would be an awesome resort if the Israelis would depopulate it, and his wife, Ivanka Trump, look forward to building their luxurious Albanian developments.
Rival developers claim that the Albanian government is favoring Jared and Ivanka. They have a billion dollars in resort development planned in a country known for corruption and inconsistent application of already shifty laws and regulations. It seems the ownership of one property is in question, and there are complaints that Kushners are evicting a longstanding family farming operation. An island property is also in question, with a developer claiming the government is currying favor.
Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump's $1 billion plan to build luxury resorts in Albania is under scrutiny after a report published in The New York Times revealed corruption allegations from both rival property developers and locals. One of the proposed properties would be located on land near the small village of Zvernec, but one local family claims they have been farming at the site for generations. The Albanian government has been trying to return land confiscated by the country's communist government during the Cold War back to the original families that owned it since 1991. The land selected by Kushner and Ivanka was claimed by the Konomi family, who say they have submitted evidence to the Albanian court system. Kushner's firm told the The Times it was "confident they were rightful titleholders," but said it would "withdraw" from the purchase if that wasn't the case. The other property is located on the island of Sazan—a mostly uninhabited island in the Mediterranean formerly used by the Albanian and Soviet governments as a heavily fortified military base. However, Evi Kokalari-Angelakis, a rival developer, former Trump donor, and George Santos ally, told the paper she was passed over to develop on the island by the Albanian government, who are trying to curry favor with the Trump family should former President Donald Trump return to office. A spokesperson for Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, a member of the country's Socialist Party, denied those claims.
Previously:
• Jared Kushner signed up to vote in New York elections as a woman
Small Dutch town invaded by gingers
Thom Dunn / 10:29 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
Image: YouTube
Last week, a massive swarm of redheads descended upon the unsuspecting village of Tilburg in the Netherlands. The reason for the season was the annual Tilburg Redhead Days Festival, an affinity group gathering for the global minority known as Gingers.
Architecture student Ellen Linderstad told Reuters she spent more than 24 hours on trains and buses from Stockholm to get to the event as she doesn't meet many other redheads in Sweden.
"It's really special to be in a place where all people have red hair, everywhere you look," the 21-year-old said.
[…]
According to the organisers, more than 10,000 people from over half a dozen countries attended the three-day festival, signing up for photo shoots, speed-meeting events and a variety of workshops.
Redheads like my wife are a rare mutation among the human population, occurring with roughly the same frequency as intersex people. They also tend to feel more pain than other people. Gingers, I mean. As the festival organizers explain:
Recognition is about understanding and embracing why you are different from others. The average redhead is significantly different from the average fellow with a different hair color. Not only your hair color, but also your skin, your pain threshold, and your character are different. Recognize and learn why that is, and take advantage of it.
Because the festival celebrates the uniqueness of people, it also attracts people who are different in other ways. Actually, everyone is different, and we celebrate that.
Previously:
• Two redheads can have a brunette child
Saturn simulation takes you on a journey to the gas giant's core
Popkin / 9:00 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
Image: NASA
This fun simulation places the viewer in a hypothetically indestructible suit and shows what it would be like to fall from outer space and into Saturn. Do not try this at home!
I didn't expect to get as anxious as I did, but even a simulation of falling through the strange conditions of Saturn's atmosphere is enough to make my heart race and make me hold my breath. The visceral effect that this video had on me made it exciting, though.
First, the video takes you through space, where you fall through a bunch of debris surrounding Saturn. When you enter through Saturn's atmosphere, you learn about all of the various chemical reactions that cause the different things you're viewing. Saturn does not have a solid surface like Earth. Instead, it consists mostly of swirling gasses and has a small, dense core made of rock and metal, surrounded by layers of metallic hydrogen and molecular hydrogen.
One thing I learned from this video is that hydrogen and helium liquify under the pressure of Saturn's extreme conditions, creating a "sea" that one would not want to fall into without the video's magical space suit. Surrounding Saturn's core is a sea of metallic hydrogen, which was my favorite layer to fall through due to its iridescent glow. Throughout the entire video you fall and fall until you reach Saturn's core, which could take a few to days to a harrowing few weeks.
See also: Mimas has a liquid ocean
Trump campaign memo threatening leakers is leaked
Jason Weisberger / 8:29 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
Boing Boing/Flux
You have to love it when a memo from the boss saying you'll get fired for leaking info to the press is leaked to the media.
Indeed, the leak of Trump campaign co-managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles warning all staff not to talk to the press shows how much respect and authority they command. Trump seems to have spent most of his political career decrying leaks, but this is just comical.
Whether the memo warning against leaks was forward-looking or hindsight, it comes in the same day as a massive U.S. Dept. of Justice indictment. That bombshell includes allegations that several top pro-MAGA influencers with millions of followers were covertly and unwittingly paid by a Russia-funded media company in the U.S., as part of a Kremlin disinformation campaign to influence voters in the November election, in support of the Trump campaign.
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Evan Gold commented: "Probably just advising them not to wave their Fifth Amendment right to remain silent by talking to the press (even on background) … Not like they're worried about the Russian interference investigation or anything."
"This is the political equivalent of Battening down the hatches," declared Latino GOP political consultant Mike Madrid via social media. When asked to explain his comment, Madrid remarked, "The Russian story has long legs and a lot of people are gonna get sucked up in it. Everyone on the Trump campaign will be one-person removed from the people involved – or involved themselves. This could rip a campaign apart."
Previously:
• Trump vs leaks: Spicer's staff forced to undergo 'phone searches' and delete privacy apps
Minecraft is for the children
Rob Beschizza / 8:16 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
Minecraft (2025)
Yesterday, the Minecraft movie trailer emerged to howls of complaint from… adults. People like me:
It's going to be a "real people transported to the Game World" dealie and looks like one of those fancy shader packs that lipsticks the aesthetic so your video card has something to do. Everyone in it looks vaguely disgusted by it. … I'm just glad Jason Momoa has something to do for the next 20 years that aren't increasingly weird, horny Dune sequels. … [it is suggested that Jack-Steve is Notch] … I already want to do a remix trailer that's about Notch being Tronned into his game with the suggestion of an extremely bleak ending that then has an even bleaker twist, like he's actually just been alone in his mansion and this is his final dream at the threshold of death. You think it's Jorge Borges' Minecraft, el Último Laberinto, but, haha, it's Ted Chiang's Minecraft.
Then it registered that my boy had watched the trailer five times while I was writering. He was embarking on a sixth. He spent the rest of the day quoting it. "Quoting" uncanny devoxelated square livestock. Muttering about it in his sleep. The Minecraft movie is not for us. It is for them. John Walker:
There's a generation that feels like Minecraft belongs to them. They were in there ahead of the crowds, loving the game before it even officially launched in 2011, and certainly before it became one of the biggest franchises in the world and Microsoft bought it for $2.5 billion.
But even that colossal sale was ten years ago. For ten years, Minecraft has been one of the top-grossing media franchises, more likely to be seen on clothing in Walmart than on the news feed of your favorite gaming site. Minecraft has multiple physical magazines, both official and unofficial, and I hope you're not shocked to learn they're aimed at elementary school kids. There's an interactive cartoon on Netflix, and…it's for children. Visit any toy store and there will be shelves and shelves and shelves of tie-in plastic figures, swords, Steve heads, Creeper plushies, enormous Ender Dragon toys, Lego kits, and on and on.
Ask anyone with a child under 12 what their kids' favorite game is, and it's a coinflip if they'll say Fortnite or Minecraft.
They aren't going to "Ugly Sonic" this one. Deal with it, millennials!
Sorry, The Minecraft Movie Isn't Meant To Be For You [Kotaku]
Critics down on Lara Trump's new music video
Jennifer Sandlin / 8:16 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
Image: lev radin / shutterstock.com
If you need a good laugh/cry today, might I recommend listening to or watching the video for Lara Trump's new song, Hero? It's quite… something.
The song is the latest in what The Independent calls Lara Trump's "quest for stardom." Salon describes the new song, which is a collab between RNC Co-Chair/Donald Trump's daughter-in-law and artist Madeline Jaymes:
The song, a tribute to firefighters, has been met with strong backlash online with countless people eviscerating Trump's voice.
A clip of the "Hero" music video has been viewed more than six million times on X, with one person commenting, "Every note is a violation of the Geneva Convention," or "Autotune doing a lot of heavy lifting here."
Another post said, "Who is taking her money telling her she can sing?"
Internet personality Travis Akers said on X, "If your ears have been exposed to the abominable sounds of Lara Trump singing, you might be entitled to compensation."
The duet from Trump and Jaymes is said to "honor heroes and their bravery," featuring lyrics like, "You're climbing up the ladder, and the screams get louder. You're my hero."
I think I like Rick Wilson's description of the song, which he posted on X, the best. It's entirely accurate:
I just heard a something that sounded like a wild hog and a sack of rusty cans being thrown into an industrial wood chipper. Oh wait. It was Lara Trump's new "song."
Watch/listen at your own peril. You have been warned.
Previously:
• RNC Co-Chair Lara Trump spreads the Great Replacement Theory
Another chef's take on the perfect steak
Jason Weisberger / 8:00 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
Perhaps second only to brewing a perfect cup of coffee, cooking a perfect steak is a popular topic here on Boing Boing.
At the start, this video seemed to be on a path to confirm my favorite method of cooking a steak: searing in a cast iron pan and finishing in the oven. However, I was surprised to see this chef cut one step out and skip the oven altogether. Heat is heat, so I can't see why this won't work as well.
Previously:
• 'What a waste of a beautiful piece of meat' — restaurant ruins tomahawk steak and charges $1000 for it
Online museum dedicated to Internet-famous cats
Popkin / 8:00 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
image: ranimiro/Shutterstock
This fun online museum showcases many of the internet's famous and beloved cats. The website is divided into areas for celebrity cats, fictional cats, cat memorials, funny cats, cat memes, and more.
The memorial section of the museum is my favorite because it contains some interesting historical cat stories from many decades ago. Here's a memorial for Tibs The Great, a loyal cat who kept a London post office free of mice and rats from 1950-1964. If you have a cat who's story you'd like to feature in the memorial page (or one of the other sections), you can submit it to the Cats of the Web museum.
From Cats of the Web: "Welcome to Cats of the Web, where the Internet's fluffiest overlords reign supreme! This is the purr-fect place to indulge in everything feline, from celebrity cat profiles to the most iconic memes that have ever graced your screen. Whether you're here to meet the dignified whiskers of fictional felines or just to bask in the glorious nonsense of cat memes, you're in the right place."
See also: That closed door is giving your cat FOMO
Russia-praising Tim Pool denies knowledge of Russian money to podcast platform
Ellsworth Toohey / 7:58 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
Ever wonder why Tim Pool never takes off his beanie? Illo: Rob Beschizza / Boing Boing
The U.S. State department issued an indictment accusing the Kremlin of funneling $10 million to an unidentified U.S. media company, which is widely understood to be Tenet Media, a far-right podcasting platform. One of the podcasters accused of being on Russia's payroll is Tim Pool, a podcaster with more than 2 million followers on Xitter.
Pool denies having any knowledge of Russia being the source of his income, claiming he was never instructed by anyone to say anything on his podcast.
Take a look at this recent Pool podcast and decide for yourself:
"Ukraine is the enemy of this country! Ukraine is our enemy, being funded by the Democrats. I will stress this again. One of the greatest enemies of our nation right now is Ukraine.
"They are expanding this war — now don't get me wrong, I know. You've got criminal elements of the U.S. government pushing them and guiding them and telling them what to do. Ukraine is now accused, a German warrant issued, for blowing up the Nord Stream pipeline — triggering this conflict.
"Ukraine is the greatest threat to this nation and to the world. We should rescind all funding and financing, pull out all military support, and we should apologize to Russia."
After the DOJ released the indictment, Pool xitted a statement claiming the DOJ indictment was a "leak."
My statement regarding allegations and the leaked DOJ Indictment
Should these allegations prove true, I as well as the other personalities and commentators were deceived and are victims. I cannot speak for anyone else at the company as to what they do or to what they are instructed
He soon deleted the tweet. He really is a total moron, so maybe he didn't know anything, but it sounds like Tenet's founders did:
From Wired:
The indictment claims that the founders were aware they were working with Russian nationals and did not register with the US attorney general "as an agent of a foreign principal, as required by law." For example, the indictment claims the founders referred to the RT employees as "the Russians" in private messages with each other. When the company's fake backer, "Eduard Grigoriann," did not reply to a message about money, one of the founders allegedly Googled "time in Moscow." One of the founders also allegedly worked directly with RT and its German subsidiary.
From The Tennessean:
It appears Tenet Media was created by Lauren Chen, a Canadian-born YouTuber and blogger, and a man named Liam Donovan, who appears to be her husband, based on information from several sources. Donovan identifies himself as the president of Tenet Media in his bio on X and as Chen's husband in his bio on Instagram.
Massive AI streaming fraud farm busted by the FBI
Jason Weisberger / 7:45 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
The FBI has unraveled a years-long scheme to defraud streaming services with bot accounts and AI-generated music.
This RollingStone article describes a confusing scheme in which a gentleman set up a huge bot network to allegedly play and share AI-generated ripoffs of actual artists' music. Millions of dollars in payments were directed to fake accounts, with botnets on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.
The case is a landmark development in the still-developing music streaming market, with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York calling it the first criminal case involving artificially inflated music streaming.
In the indictment, the prosecutors say that for the past seven years, North Carolina musician Michael Smith had been running a complex music streaming manipulation scheme to fraudulently profit off of billions of streams from bot accounts. "At a certain point in the charged time period, Smith estimated that he could use the Bot Accounts to generate approximately 661,440 streams per day, yielding annual royalties of $1,207,128," the prosecutors said in the indictment announcement.
Smith, 52, was charged with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy, totaling to a combined maximum of 60 years in prison if convicted.
"Through his brazen fraud scheme, Smith stole millions in royalties that should have been paid to musicians, songwriters, and other rights holders whose songs were legitimately streamed," said Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. "Today, thanks to the work of the FBI and the career prosecutors of this Office, it's time for Smith to face the music."
RollingStone
Previously:
• Spotify accuses indie band of 'streaming fraud' over 8-year-old song name
JD Vance: Forget lowering daycare costs — "Grandpa and Grandma" can pitch in (video)
Carla Sinclair / 7:42 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
JD Vance (lev radin / shutterstock.com)
JD Vance, known for his disdain for women who do not have children (and who own cats), would not answer a question about lowering the cost of daycare. Instead, his solution is to have Grandma and Grandpa pitch in.
"Maybe Grandma and Grandpa want to help a little bit more," the Trump sidekick told fellow anti-choice extremist Charlie Kirk. And if the grandparents are still working, thanks to his pet Project 2025's mandate to withhold social security until age 70, then "maybe there's an uncle or aunt who wants to help a little bit more."
This, coming from the unsavory Senator who calls for forced births but then skipped out on a child tax credit vote this summer that would have helped working families who are struggling to make ends meet. No wonder nobody can stand the guy. He's more than weird. He's a creep.
(See video, posted by Republicans against Trump.)
Previously: More weird ideas from JD Vance about women
Margaret Thatcher-themed DOOM mod removed
Thom Dunn / 7:41 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
Image: Screenshot
Back in 2021, I wrote about a custom DOOM mod that introduced a new Big Bad into the game that was even more horrific than a Martian hell beast: Margaret Thatcher. From the blurb:
THE DEAD SPEAK!
The world has heard a mysterious broadcast, a threat of revenge in the sinister voice of the late BARONESS MARGARET THATCHER.
Faced with the return of one of humanity's greatest threats, you have no choice but to head to THE TENTH CIRCLE OF HELL:
🇬🇧 THE UNITED KINGDOM OF
🇬🇧 GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
And investigate the underworld fortress known only as… THATCHER'S TECHBASE
Unfortunately, this version of the game is no longer available through the official DOOM platform, which otherwise serves as an exchange service for user-generated mods and skins for all major gaming platforms. As PC Gamer explains:
Thatcher's Techbase has been around for years, but the problem is Bethesda's recent re-release of a "definitive" bundle of Doom 1 and 2, which incorporates a boatload of new features and official map packs alongside tools that allow modders to easily share their work in-game. This created a kind of semi-official status for popular mods, which are now being distributed directly through Bethesda's game, and it turns out that this might be an issue when said mod allows you to piss on the grave of a dead politician.
[…]
Thatcher's Techbase is still available easily enough from the mod's site, while at least one enterprising user has already re-uploaded a version to the official Doom mod catalogue. But I'd imagine, whatever your stance on this, its prospects of staying in the official mods list are not great.
Jim Purvis, the creator of the mod, shared a screenshot of the ban notice on The Social Media Platform Formerly Known As Twitter. The reason given for the ban? "Real-world politics."
I suppose this complaint is fair, only in the sense that Margaret Thatcher was indeed a horrifying demon who trapped the working class in hell.
Previously:
• I put some Doom in your Doom so you can Doom while you Doom
Karine Jean-Pierre eviscerates Doocy
Jason Weisberger / 7:19 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
Image: Karine Jean-Pierre / White House Press Briefing
When Fox stooge Steve Doocy asked a question, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre noticed a slight southern twang in his voice.
Fox has been trying to create a story where there is none again. They repeatedly discuss an accent they have imagined Vice President Kamala Harris has adopted. Having harped on this ridiculous non-thing, Fox is demonstrating how little conservative propaganda networks have to go on and how stupid they believe their viewers are. Jean-Pierre destroys Doocy.
Previously:
• First she turned Black. Now Fox's Peter Doocy says Kamala Harris turned Southern (video)
Ignoring a ranger, watch Yellowstone tourists get too close to a bear
Jason Weisberger / 7:10 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
Image: Yellowstone National Park
This video shows Yellowstone tourists willfully ignoring a park ranger and putting themselves and the bear in danger.
Even if this bear is merely as smart as the average Yellowstone bear, getting too close can get you killed. They can open you up like a picnic basket. Why do people so actively ignore a dangerous situation? Shesh. The ranger's frustration is warranted.
Yellowstone National Park guidelines mandate that tourists and photographers stay at least 100 yards from bears and wolves for their own safety as well as the animals.
In cases where that might not be possible, visitors are required to exercise enough common sense to create a safe environment for themselves and the animals.
There have been numerous cases of tourists and photographers getting too close to the animals in Yellowstone National Park.
Previously:
• Drunken man kicks bison in Yellowstone, gets attacked and arrested
Living hybrids: AI art that captivates and unsettles
Popkin / 7:00 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
Image: The Bytepit
AI art doesn't usually spark my interest, but this surreal video titled Living Hybrids by The Bytepit caught my attention.
These striking images were created in Midjourney, retouched in Photoshop, and are some of my favorite AI images due to their clarity and weirdness. Theres also something creepy yet seductive about the images, which is what made me feel glued to looking at them although simultaneously feeling uncomfortable by their uncanny quality.
The characters in the video are animal-human hybrids, with eyes so oddly realistic and full of emotion that I felt like they were peeking at me through the computer screen. My favorites are the cat-person and the goat-person. I've always felt torn about AI art as a medium, but regardless of how I feel about the medium itself, I thought this particular video was pretty fascinating due to the unsettling and hypnotic effect it had on me.
See also: Wyoming reporter is fired from paper after getting caught using AI
Oreo-flavored Coke and Coke-flavored Oreos
Gail Sherman / 6:54 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
Image: Oreo
The latest in a long line of weird-flavored Oreos is arriving next month, and it's bringing some friends.
The humble Oreo cookie is no stranger to mashups, but this time it's a mashup that goes in both directions. Coming soon is Oreo-flavored Coke Zero and Coke-flavored Oreos. 7/11 stores will also offer a frozen version of the Oreo Coke Zero
While the Oreo-flavored Coke Zero is self-explanatory, further description is required for the Oreo cookies. Coke's official site describes them this way:
The OREO® Coca‑Cola
Sandwich Cookie features two signature chocolate basecakes paired with a Coca‑Cola taste, embossed with Coca‑Cola designs, with a smooth white-colored creme and studded with red edible glitter. Coca‑Cola® OREO
Zero Sugar features a refreshing Coca‑Cola taste with flavorful, OREO cookie-inspired hints.
Today I learned that the individual cookies are called "basecakes." Oddly, the description seems to differ from early reviews in the wild. Reviews on Sporked and Mashed describe one side as chocolate with Coke flavoring and the other as a golden Oreo with red coloring. Also, the red "edible glitter" is a Pop Rocks style candy to simulate carbonation. It seems like the production and marketing sides didn't coordinate.
In any case, they both sound delicious. They both officially go on sale on September 9th, but they appear to have arrived early in many locations, so keep an eye out.
Previously: Star Wars Oreos contain "Kyber" crystals
Gentleman propelled by his own flatulence in funny public prank
Popkin / 6:30 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
Humor Bagel shamelessly toots around town in hilarious public pranks. One of my favorite video clips/toots he's ever released is this one, where he pretends that his flatulence has launched him into the air while walking under a bridge in central park.
Just as funny as his public tooting, are people's reactions to it. In almost all his pranks, he has people laughing hysterically with their friends as they walk away from the scene, thinking that what they've just witnessed was real. I love how his pranks seem to brighten up everyone's day over some good old fashioned fart humor.
I simply wouldn't be able to contain my laughter if I were lucky enough to witness someone do this in public. This particular fart prank was like watching a moment straight out of a cartoon come to life.
See also: Prankster farts near strangers in public while staring into their eyes (video)
Justice departmen: right-wing influencers paid by Russians
Rob Beschizza / 6:25 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
Rabbit Life/Shutterstock.com
Dave Rubin, Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, and others—all paid with Russian money for their reactionary, right-wing and anti-Ukraine verbiage. The money came via Tenet Media, a company being sued by the U.S. Justice Department, whose suit states the influencers were misled.
The DOJ's indictment does not name the "Tennessee-based online content creation company" that received the Russian funding, but the description matches Tenet Media, which describes itself as a "network of heterodox commentators that focus on Western political and cultural issues." Tenet's website lists six prominent right-wing social media personalities—Tim Pool, Benny Johnson, Dave Rubin, Lauren Southern, Taylor Hansen and Matt Christiansen—as part of its talent roster. The DOJ's indictment alleges two Russian state media employees covertly poured $10 million into the company to publish English-language videos on various social media platforms spouting views that are "often consistent with the Government of Russia's interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions."
Even if you're more optimized for idiot than useful, how can you have that kind of money sloshing around without the people around you gossiping about its origins—or your tax preparers and lawyers warning you about taking money from people who don't exist?
When the influencers asked about the company's funding source, the founders allegedly lied and told them they were sponsored by a private investor named "Eduard Grigoriann"—a fictional persona, according to the indictment.
Hans, I've just noticed something. Have you seen our checks lately? They've got double headed eagles on them and all the Rs are the wrong way around.
This cat plays the keyboard really well
Jennifer Sandlin / 6:24 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
Image: Youtube
One of my favorite genres of music is 'humans and animals making music together'; a musician named "Prexton" is a master in this realm. He uploads duets where he plays various instruments—ukulele, electric guitar, acoustic guitar—alongside various internet animals singing, screaming, crying, flapping, stomping, and more. One of my absolute favorite Prexton mashups—which should be lauded as an exemplar of the genre—is where he plays acoustic guitar to the haunting sounds of a cat dubbed "Cat Zimmer," who plays the keyboard better than most humans I know. Here's the video with just Cat Zimmer on keyboard and Prexton on guitar. And here's a version that adds Bret Crow on bass. And finally, here's the whole crew along with Harry Andre Hansen on drums.
I agree with folks in the various comment sections who say the jam has vibes akin to Radiohead, Hans Zimmer, Pink Floyd, the Lights theme from Death Note, the music that plays during the credits of "The Last of Us," and something off Queensrÿche's Empire. I've been listening to the full band version on loop—it's so good! I desperately need a 3-minute version.
If you need to see human-animal mashups, here's a five-minute compilation of Prexton playing along with dogs, cats, a seal, a duck, and more! And for even more check out Prexton's YouTube or Instagram.
Previously:
• A Street Cat Named Bob – exclusive excerpt
Six Flags thrill-seekers stranded 250 feet above ground in a storm
Popkin / 6:15 am PT Thu Sep 5, 2024
Screenshot: ABC News 7
In this terrifying video from late August of 2024, a group of riders are shown stranded 250 feet in the air on a thrill ride called the Supergirl Sky Flight in Mexico during a storm. The ride is a circular tower where people sit in swings, and when it's up and running, the swings fly through the air 'round and 'round.
Unfortunately for these folks, they were dangling for 10 minutes, blowing around in the wind and rain underneath a menacing gray sky. This is definitely something these park-goers will never forget. This ride looks freaky enough as is when up and running normally. I'm amazed that the person filming this was able to hold the camera so steady while filming.
Luckily, everyone was evacuated and made it back down to safety with no injuries. This video was my reminder to never go on a ride during the rain. At least this wasn't an upside-ride, which would have been the worst kind of situation to be stuck and dangling in the rain.
See also: Mega Clown Swing: playground relic or death trap?
Liz Cheney makes stunning announcement: "I will be voting for Kamala Harris" (video)
Carla Sinclair / 4:44 pm PT Wed Sep 4, 2024
Image: Liz Cheney by Jerome460 / shutterstock.com
Today, ultra staunch conservative Liz Cheney did what would have been utterly unimaginable eight years ago: she endorsed Kamala Harris.
"I think it is crucially important for people to recognize, not only is…the danger that Trump poses something that should prevent people from voting for him, but I don't believe we have the luxury of writing in candidates' names — particularly in swing states," said the former "neoconservative," a term that died after Trumpism hijacked the GOP.
"As a conservative, as someone who believes in and cares about the Constitution, I have thought deeply about this," Cheney continued, "and because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump, but I will be voting for Kamala Harris."
The room exploded in applause. (See video below, posted by Tony Dortie).
Although over the last few years she's already made her anti-Trump stance loud and clear — voting to impeach the former president and then sitting on the J6 Committee with only one other Republican (Rep. Adam Kinzinger) after the Trump-led Capitol attack — it's still remarkable to hear the former chair of the House Republican Conference admitting out loud that she's voting for a Democrat. But on the precipice of a fascist takeover if Trump wins in November, this is where we are.
Previously: Revenge candidate Donald Trump vows to round up Democrats — and Liz Cheney "for her crimes"
Drivers baffled by "cryptic" national speed limit sign
Mark Frauenfelder / 4:12 pm PT Wed Sep 4, 2024
Huh? British national speed limit sign seen at the exit of a village in the east of England. (Nick Beer/shutterstock.com)
A Reddit post with a photo of an inscrutable road sign is causing a ruckus. The original poster said, "I'm sure 99% of drivers don't know what this sign means," and the comments seem to bear out this claim.
Many commenters expressed frustration with drivers who seem unaware that the sign indicates the national speed limit applies, which is 60 mph on single carriageways and 70 mph on dual carriageways for most vehicles.
Others noted the sign can be confusing, especially for foreign visitors unfamiliar with UK road rules. "If you're unfamiliar with it (e.g. a foreign driver), how are you supposed to guess it's the national speed limit?" one commenter wrote.
Some of the best comments:
"Drive diagonally?"
"Easy, it means you are now on the autobahn"
"In Cornwall it's usually a dare to do 60mph along an unclassified road, covered in mud or manure where the road is just over 2metres wide in some places"
"Flat-head screwdriver required?"
"Sir, this is r/drivingUK. 99% of members not only don't know what road signs mean; they passionately don't care."
"Go faster stripe"
"Pah! This one's easy. It means there are zebras grazing in the area."
"Emmm is it a speed camera"
"Some sort of pokéball"
"Miss world pageant ahead?"
"Aspirin? Paracetamol?"
"Typical speed limit applies. Which is confusing"
"Caution, flat-head screws on the road."
"Black belt ahead?"
"It's a sign for refugees?"
"Liquorice ahead, obviously."
"Safe to start looking for dogging sites?"
"Round liquorice allsorts?"
"Trebor mints forbidden"
And my favorite:
"Narrow bridge over an endless pit"
In all seriousness, why not just post the speed limit as a number?
Previously:
• Gallery of confusing signs and designs
• 15-foot tall stack of confusing parking notices reduced by half
• In effort to boost ticket revenue, LA deploys even more confusing parking signs
• Citizen city-planner puts up ad-hoc street-sign
K2 climber catches awesome footage of an avalanche headed straight for his tent (video)
Carla Sinclair / 2:34 pm PT Wed Sep 4, 2024
Image: Pakistan, Gasherbrum I and II Base Camp, July 2015; by Piotr Snigorski / shutterstock.com
A team of climbers were camped out at K2 this summer when they heard a thunderous boom, followed by an avalanche that came rushing toward their tents. And Italian climber Federico Secchi happened to catch it all on camera, which he posted on Instagram.
"I made this video inside my tent where I was resting and woken up by a loud bang," posted Secchi, who summited both Broad Peak and K2 this summer without supplemental oxygen.
To which one of his teammates commented: "After the video the tent was full of snow."
Fortunately, they had pitched their tents far enough away from a collapsing serac (ridge of ice) to escape any real danger, but it did make for some awesome footage.
From Advnture:
In this video, a serac breaks off above them, shatters and turn into an ice avalanche that powers down towards their camp. Luckily it runs out of its most destructive potential before it reaches them and leaves them engulfed in a cloud of ice particles. …
Seracs are house-sized glacial columns that occur above the crevasses of a glacier that are prone to collapsing, and mountaineers need to be very wary of them and other elements of avalanche safety. A serac collapse on K2 in 2008 killed 11 mountaineers. It looks like the Secchi / Majori team pitched camp a sensible distance from the danger. Certainly the guy in the distance to the left of the video towards the end doesn't seem particularly worried.
Previously: Climber hangs on with ice axe as an avalanche rushes around him
Tom the Dancing Bug: A Calvinesque and Hobbesian look at campaigning
Ruben Bolling / 1:05 pm PT Wed Sep 4, 2024
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As a subscriber of the physical boing boing zine in the 90's I was excited to see the new substack. Unfortunately, a little too infected with TDS for my tastes <sigh...>
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