Bookmarks (1104)

Rookie washashore wins historic derby prize! The annual derby always has great memories......but the boat used to be bigger.

This had to mean something. I thought about the prophecies of ruined cities in the Bible. Nineveh and Babylon, empty of human life, inhabited only by birds: "The cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the lintels; their voice shall be at the windows; desolation shall be at the threshold." Ruined granaries where a few sparrows still peck for the last wedged-in flecks of...

At the 2024 World Crokinole Championship Series, Justin Slater (fresh off his win in the World Crokinole Doubles Division) and Connor Reinman (the defending World Crokinole Champion) met in the semi-finals and managed a double perfect game. Confused? The Pudding has an interactive explainer.The Pudding mentions 'the one-cheek rule,' but doesn't elaborate. Tracey Boards explains. Crokinole previously and previouslier.

Toilet lines are longer for women than men, but simple changes could reduce loo queues. Queuing is never a pleasant experience, especially if you're desperate to go — and while new research has revealed it's an issue that disproportionately affects women, experts say that tweaks to building codes could help reduce the problem.

+++ATH0: Ward Christensen, co-inventor of the computer bulletin board system (BBS), has died at the age of 78. Christensen, along with Randy Suess, created the first BBS in Chicago in 1978, leading to an important cultural era of digital community-building that presaged much of our online world today.Christensen and Suess developed the software behind CBBS to allow Chicago Area Computer Hobbyists' Exchange (CACHE) members...

Why did everyone fall for the J1407b myth? is 12 minute video essay that starts off as discussion about a cool astronomical mystery but becomes a measured, well-argued rant about knowledge in the age of Google and LLMs. It is by YouTuber Kyplanet who makes weekly videos about cool astronomical things, mostly exoplanets.

"I read the words Gibbet Hill and I knew that wasn't a Bram Stoker story that I had ever heard of in any of the biographies or bibliographies." Wikipedia entry.

The human body is almost always at the centre of artist Joyce Lee's work, often transformed into psychedelic penis-shaped mushrooms or vulvic flowers exuding sticky pearls. These surreal metamorphoses move the viewer away from reality and into imaginary spaces, where desire and the body's experience of pleasure are the main focus. Over-the-top sexuality is combined with visual gags to lend the images a bizarre...

William Shakespeare on mass deportation, performed by Ian McKellan On May 1, 1517 — now referred to as Evil May Day — riots broke out in London as a response to an influx of immigrant workers. A young Sir Thomas More spoke to the crowd, and Shakespeare (a few decades later) wrote his version of that speech.A more polished version can be found here...

The Facebook of Margery Kempe.Margery Kempe (c. 1373 – after 1438) was an English Christian mystic, known for writing through dictation The Book of Margery Kempe, a work considered by some to be the first autobiography in the English language. Her book chronicles her domestic tribulations, her extensive pilgrimages to holy sites in Europe and the Holy Land, as well as her mystical conversations with...

British Columbia goes to the polls [Global]. A rather complicated situation in BC: the old opposition party, BC United, quit (or at least its leader did)[CBC], and handed things over to the Conservatives. A bunch of BC United's candidates are running as independents [CBC]-- this includes five incumbents. So the Right-wing vote is split. Meanwhile, the Green Party seems to be doing okay (14%...

"Andy Capp is often dismissed as nothing but the exploits of a wife-beating drunk," Paul Slade says. "It deserves better." ... The Redemption of Andy Capp is an appreciation of Andy Capp's creator, Reg Smythe and his skills as a world-class cartoonist. There was far more to the strip than people realise today." [via mefi projects]

On the University of Michigan's DEI initiative. Nicholas Confessore (previously) reports on UM's diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy. (Gift link; X/Twitter thread introduction)A critical response by Dr. Tabbye Chavous, Vice Provost for Equity & Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer. R/Professors discussion. In discussing his article, Confessore recommends two recent articles on state universities.

Earlier this week, Paramotorist Alex Lang was flying around the Giza plateau when he spotted an unexpected sight - a dog frolicking on of the Great Pyramid barking at birds. Don't worry, the dog proved they knew what they were doing!

How future-proofing Victoria's forests could help save the state's iconic emblem. A Victorian emblem — the lowland Leadbeater's possum — is dangerously close to extinction, with only a few dozen left in the wild in a small forest patch in the Yarra Ranges.

The update offered some improvements! I appreciated the vertical orientation of its scientific mode, because turning your phone sideways is so 2009; the continuing display of each operation (e.g., 217 ÷ 4 + 8) on the screen until I asked for the result; the unit-conversion mode, because I will never know what a centimeter is. But there also was a startling omission: The calculator's...

A Blood Moon (YT 16:29) - A Legend of Zelda short film about the war from the point of view of a bokoblin soldier, by Dan Weller. [trailer (YT 1:54)]

What happens when a 16thC manuscript page from the diary of Philip Henslowe (~1550 – 1616) is pushed in front of a math-wonk who a) recognises a problem in modulo arithmetic b) finds an error in the protocol? A card trick that stitches together Arts, STEM and edutainment.Henslowe who he? An impressario and producer "do you think it's funny?", owner of The Rose playhouse,...

The History of Red Hot, the Pioneering Social Change Organization, in 8 Great Songs Ahead of Transa, a new project for trans charities featuring Sade and André 3000, Red Hot founder John Carlin talks about wrangling Nirvana through Kurt Cobain's babysitter and accidentally releasing the first-ever Wilco song.

Ontario premier Doug Ford--who is really just a series of corporations in a skin suit--to send out $200 cheques to ALL Ontarians. The issue? Looks like he's planning to call an early provincial election not long after the cheques are sent out."Ontarians see right thorough these stunts," Stiles said, before calling the government "out of touch, out of gas, and clearly — out of...

Was Saizeriya really designed by a lost Italian who got trapped in a Japanese convenience store for days, subsisted on a highly modified Italian diet, then came out the other side with low cost yet tasty Italian food? Sadly the truth is much more mundane. from Saizeriya's Secret to Survival [Hidden Japan]See also: The Italian-American-Japanese (Mario) Effect

Doctor Fukushi Masaichi And The Art Of Preserving Tattooed Skin. Tattoos have different meanings across cultures, ranging from sacred symbols to marks of rebellion. In Japan, tattoos are part of a broader subculture called irezumi, an intricate form of body art with its own set of unique designs, imagery, and symbolism.

Queensland to trial koala doggy doors to reduce roadkill rates. A unique collaboration in south-east Queensland will introduce one-way escape hatches so the marsupials can travel to their breeding spots without doubling back into traffic.

Robert Roberson Will be Executed Because It's Legal to Execute Innocent People in the U.S. Tonight, Texas was scheduled to execute Robert Roberson, who would have been (will be?) the first person executed based on the shaken baby syndrome hypothesis.While at the time of this posting, it's unclear what will happen in Mr. Roberson's case, two things are clear: 1) individuals with strong claims...

Simon Stålenhag is a Swedish visual artist renowned for his beautiful, unsettling works combining pastoral landscapes and neglected, nostalgic locales with the striking presence of massive retro-futuristic technology. While most of his works come in the form of concept art, vignette series like Tales From the Loop (adapted into an underrated Amazon Prime anthology), and the occasional music video [previously], his most narratively compelling...

Toni Vaz, stuntwoman who started the NAACP Image Awards, dies at 101 "Beginning with uncredited roles in movies like "Tarzan, the Ape Man" (1959), in which she appeared opposite a roaring lion, she worked on more than 50 films and television shows, always as an extra or stuntwoman. Dangling from a helicopter, falling out a window or flying down the road in a runaway...

Constructed entirely of archival footage, the short documentary Balloon Boy tracks the news story via the breathless hours of coverage news channels across the world gave to the peculiar spectacle, both during the flight and long after the balloon had landed. Directed by the US filmmakers Arlin Golden and Brian Gersten, and produced by the US filmmaker Nathan Truesdell, who is known for tragicomic...

"She sparked a movement and changed the face of pay equity forever" [ap] rest in peace Lilly Ledbetter

Student in Bristol, Britain finds scorpion crawling inside Shein parcel. Sofia Alonso-Mossinger found the creature in a bag of boots which she had ordered online.

Bots placed in chat room invent meme religion! (SL YouTube) Thank God they chose one of the more auspicious memes, and yes, I mean goatse.

New weight-loss jabs could be given to unemployed people to help them get back into work, Wes Streeting has suggested. The health secretary said "widening waistbands" were placing a burden on the NHS. The latest generation of weight-loss medications, involving drugs such as semaglutide or tirzepatide, could be administered to people in order to get them back into employment, and to ease costs to...

The most efficient ways of improving education in developing countries. "We find that while many interventions are not cost-effective, some of the most cost-effective interventions can deliver the equivalent of over three years of high-quality education (i.e., three years of learning in a high-performing country such as Singapore) for as little as $100 per child. This suggests that despite the huge challenges children and...

Dungeons & Dragons moves from the dining table to the Sydney Opera House. Dungeons & Dragons games are being played live to packed theatre audiences, including at the Sydney Opera House, as the pastime becomes mainstream.

Bedrock Sandals was about to launch their new Mountain Clog. The shipment arrived at US shores, but disappeared on its way to their Montana location. As they tried to find them, they discovered their little sandal company had become one of many targets of an international crime ring. A factual article that reads like a good mystery story.

From Best of Redditor Updates, a heartwarming and strangely hilarious (if also bloody) story of a 19 year old looking after his teenage sister while their parents are away. Redditor asks r/AskDocs if he should take his younger sister to the ER for her period due to the excessive bleeding and clotting she's experiencing. (Spoiler alert: everyone is fine.) The good redditors of r/AskDocs...

On October 15th, 2014, budding Korean-American YouTuber Paul "Barbs" Barbato uploaded a 6-minute guide to the country of Afghanistan. A longtime geography geek disappointed by the lack of country-by-country educational content on the platform, his Geography Now! series set the ambitious goal of making one in-depth episode for all 193 UN-recognized sovereign nations. Following a basic four-part structure (Physical and Political Geography, Demographics, and...

This is kind of cheating: fan made remix of Aespa - Drama with a Djent backing, but the best K-Pop acts have always felt kind of metal, so it's cool.This one is not a remix but it is dark and brooding: Clownus - hide and seek, defect live . Not Enough Space - No Way Out is a cool mix of melodic singing and...

A 30-year-old carpenter from Vancouver approaches the Royal Bank of Canada and says, "I want to buy a house. Can I take a loan against my portfolio?" A representative from RBC's Private Bank raises an eyebrow as he reviews a portfolio consisting of millions in Tesla call options, before shaking his hand, saying, "Of course!" and setting him up with a financial advisor. A...

"I guess we were both hungry for company, what with the physical distancing and all, because she lingered and I lingered too." "The Fake Birdhouses of Springville" by Amy Johnson, published March 2024, is a short, sweet piece of fantasy fiction that starts "on a warm summer day of 2020.... a third of the way through my route delivering supplies to the elderly and...

"The Harvey Awards are an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the best & brightest, helping new readers, current fans, booksellers, retailers and librarians distinguish the best comics of the year as voted on by their peers." And the nominees are...2024 Harvey Awards' Book of the Year nominations Monica by Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics) Roaming by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki (Drawn & Quarterly) A...

Rather than migrants displaced by war or natural disaster, she likens Canada's encampment residents to economic refugees, internally displaced by an acute cost-of-living crisis and a housing shortage. She also notes that refugee camps are supposed to be temporary. But of course they can last for years, as long as the emergency that creates them, and Canada's affordability problems appear only to be worsening.The...

Sharks smash sea urchins in discovery that could help in battle with invasive pest. Researchers uncover unexpected findings after sharks munch far more voraciously on the spiky sea creatures left out "on a platter" for the invasive creature's known predators, lobsters.

"There's not going to be a fair (shoe), no one product that affects everyone the same," says Yong. "Everyone's biomechanics are different. Unfortunately, this is a part of the sport. If you really wanted to be fair, everyone should be running naked in bare feet. You don't have any expensive clothes or shoes, but that's obviously not where we're at." from How 'shoe doping'...

Via Allan Rose Hill at boingboing.net and r/vintageobscura, the following musical performance submitted for your approval...In 1979, York Community High School's Road Show Swing Choir recorded and self-released a vinyl LP of their Jazz Show performance. The Elmhurst, Illinois high school's musical director Robert Stone tossed a cosmic surprise into the program, a rousing rendition of Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like An Eagle."

Photographers looking for Aurora Australis capture mysterious phenomenon Steve instead. People looking for the Aurora Australis have been surprised to see another phenomenon lighting up the night sky — and it goes by the name Steve.

Comics Art Against Project 2025 is a collection of comics summarizing some of the policy ideas laid out in the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025.Share links directly to the policies that matter most to your friends and family: Anti-Trans Discrimination Children Climate Cronyism Education Environmental Protection Agency Executive Orders Extreme Weather Health Care Immigration Internet Freedom Libraries Police Abuse School Lunch Taxation Teachers And more...

When it comes to biological superlatives, we typically focus on individuals: The largest tree in a forest, the oldest organism on the planet. After visiting the Hoh Rainforest, however, I began to wonder about superlative communities. What are the oldest existing ecosystems on Earth, and what can we learn from them? [nautilis] (previously)

For years, the typical story about governments, politicians, or public figures showing up on Reddit focused on the unlikeliness of that match. Reddit was rowdy, weird, or nerdy, and it was sort of interesting or fun or strange for people with big platforms to show up there. In recent years, Reddit has grown from a large cluster of online communities into a sort of...

Hint: All you'll need is a public library card or an university email. Create a Kanopy account. Check out all the movies offered. Be happy.Are there limits to the number of films I can watch per month? Yes, Kanopy does not offer unlimited streaming. After signing up, you can stream up to 10 titles per month. Your 10 play credits will renew at the...