Tarot is a stunning deep dive into 600 years of oracular decks (TASCHEN/$40). Trace the hidden history of Tarot in the first volume from TASCHEN’s Library of Esoterica, a series documenting the creative ways we strive to connect to the divine. Artfully arranged according to the sequencing of the Major and Minor Arcana, this visual compendium gathers more than 500 cards and works of original art from around the world in the ultimate exploration of a centuries-old art form.Here's a taste of some of that art:Six of Cups from Barbara Walker Tarot (1986)Rider-Waite tarot deck artist Pamela Colman Smith created puppets too, as seen in this photo from a 1912 issue of "The Craftsman Illustrated."images via TASCHEN, used with permissionLead image info: The Hermit: Osvaldo Menegazzi, "Le Conchiglie Divinatorie" (1974) Read the rest
Joe Biden celebrated today's double-digit polling lead by picking his veep: Kamala Harris. If he doesn't make it to 86 years old, she's set to be the first woman U.S. President.The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) said the appointment of Kamala Harris as Joe Biden's running mate is a "defining moment in U.S. history.""This moment is long overdue. For far too long, we have undervalued Black women's political power and their role in shaping our culture, communities, and country," Derrick Johnson, the president and CEO of the NAACP, said in the statement Tuesday.Congrats to Maya Rudolph! Read the rest
Even though I write posts on Boing Boing almost every day, I’ve been wanting to write a newsletter that goes a bit deeper into my personal interests, and so I decided to start The Magnet. Every week in The Magnet I’ll write about tips I find useful, things that interest me, what I've learned, interviews, recipes, quotations, and more. I’ll also include excerpts from my favorite newsletters.You can read the first issue of The Magnet here (where I share my recipe for very low-carb almond flour bread, present a tip from Thomas Fuller's Gnomologia (1732), share Richard Feynman's advice for problem-solving, take a look at Marvel Comics Mini-books from 1966 that were sold in 10-cent capsule toy vending machines, and more.If you like it, I hope you'll subscribe. Read the rest
I feel like I should care that a bazillion dollar sports car, a Zyrus Lamborghini Huracán, almost got messed up but I do not.Glad no one got hurt. Read the rest
Even though the United States Constitution gives citizens the right not to incriminate themselves, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that police can force you to unlock your iPhone.From Ars Technica:On Monday, the New Jersey Supreme Court rejected that Fifth Amendment claim. The Fifth Amendment only protects defendants against self-incriminating testimony, not the production of incriminating documents. While "testimony" usually refers to speech, that's not always the case. Sometimes, a defendant can reveal information by his or her actions. For example, if the government doesn't already know who owns a phone, then forcing a defendant to unlock it amounts to forced testimony that the defendant is the owner. Read the rest
Anti-masker in Tucson, AZ throws a tantrum and has to be carried out by his own son pic.twitter.com/ggo4I968aL— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) August 11, 2020 Watch this Arizona man get so worked up because others are wearing masks that he has to be carried out of the supermarket like a crying toddler. Yet another anti-masker breakdown. Read the rest
This video shows you how to multiply any two numbers by drawing lines. It's known as the Japanese multiplication method. The University of Waterloo Faculty of Mathematics published this PDF that describes the Japanese multiplication method along with the lattice multiplication method, which dates back to the 13th century.Image: YouTube Read the rest
George Conway's satirical piece in The Washington Post, "I (Still) Believe the President, and in the President," is like a Lincoln Project video in prose form. Playing the part of a moron, Conway puts a mirror up to Trump — and his supporters — by listing Trump's outrageous lies, hateful remarks, and sheer idiocy as things he believes in.Some of my favorite lines:"I believe it’s normal for the president to say 'Yo Semites' and 'Yo Seminites,' 'Thigh Land,' 'Minne-a-napolis,' 'toe-tally-taria-tism,' 'Thomas Jeffers' and 'Ulyss-eus S. Grant.'""I believe the president 'aced' a 'very hard' impairment test, and that his 'very surprised' doctors found this 'unbelievable.'""I believe the president and the doctor who believes in demon sperm and the medical use of space alien DNA, and not Anthony S. Fauci, who’s an 'alarmist' and 'wrong.'""I believe the president’s suggestions that physicians should try injecting patients with household disinfectants, and shining ultraviolet light inside their bodies, make perfect sense.""I believe that the president has done a tremendous job fighting the virus — and that he shouldn’t 'take responsibility at all' — even though about 160,000 Americans have died. I believe the virus “is what it is.”"I believe it isn’t racist to call the coronavirus 'kung flu' or 'the China Virus.' It isn’t racially divisive to say Black Lives Matter is a “symbol of hate,” to celebrate Confederate generals as part of our 'Great American Heritage,' or to share video of someone shouting 'white power,' which, like displaying the Confederate flag, is 'freedom of speech.'" Read the rest
An eagerly-awaited national poll by Monmouth University puts Joe Biden 10 points ahead of President Donald Trump. Biden's 51%-41% lead gives him both a double-digit advantage and more than half the total, obviating the issue of undecided voters, but Biden's support has slackened since last month's 53%-41% lead. The poll was the first to feature Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen, who scored 2%. Another question showed that an overwhelming number of voters, 72%, are now worried that election meddling will taint the result.Biden is currently supported by 51% of registered voters and Trump by 41%. The remaining vote is scattered across third-party candidates, including Libertarian Jo Jorgensen (2%), the Green Party’s Howie Hawkins (1%), and other candidates (1%), while 4% of voters are undecided. This is similar to the Democrat’s late June lead of 52% to 39% with third-party candidates named and 53% to 41% without third-party candidates named. Biden’s edge stood at 52% to 41% in early June, 50% to 41% in May, 48% to 44% in April, and 48% to 45% in March.Slightly more voters say they are certain about their support for Biden (39%) than say the same about Trump (35%). This is similar to the “firm support” gap in late June, when it was 40% Biden to 34% Trump. Fully half (50%) of registered voters continue to say they are not at all likely to support the incumbent (identical 50% in late June), while 40% say the same about the challenger (39% in late June). Read the rest
Working hard vs working smart from r/funnyThe master at the far end of the table is in complete control, never wavering from his spot, making his opponent fight for every return of the ball until he exhausts himself.Image: Reddit Read the rest
The wireless internet on Eurostar trains was briefly turned off for passengers unless they were in premium seating, reports the BBC. Challenged by passengers, the company claims this was because of Coronavirus, but turned it back on again.Mark Jackson, founder of the internet service provider site ISPreview, said ... the wi-fi is provided by a track-side network of mobile broadband cells and it was unclear how additional safety measures introduced as a result of coronavirus would impact its delivery to standard seats.I'm glad this too-obvious attempt to use Covid to push customers to upgrades was brought quickly to a halt, but the fact it happened at all is alarming. This is a bellwether for what happens to the consumer economy under a continuing pandemic: the airlinification of all things. Two levels of service, "expensive" and "exorbitant", with the former made increasingly uncomfortable and hostile until it serves only captive markets and the first-class service is the only one involving willing users. It's easy to roll your eyes now; but this is how public transport and education will end up. It's how access to food ends up. It's how everything ends up. Read the rest
As a doodler myself, I enjoy watching Sarah Alberto's YouTube videos. In this one, she draws Covid-related art on her iPad with the Procreate app. Read the rest
Last week CNN tweeted "The calcium in our bones and teeth likely came from stars exploding in supernovas and scattering this mineral across the universe in massive quantities, according to a new study."Why did CNN tweet out the lyrics to a Death Cab for Cutie song https://t.co/klWMCWvk5M— Chase (@chasegaewski) August 6, 2020Chase Gaewski retweeted the CNN tweet, saying "Why did CNN tweet out the lyrics to a Death Cab for Cutie song." His retweet went viral, and to complete the joke YouTuber IRLrosie turned the tweet into a song, which you can hear in the above video. Read the rest
My mother-in-law is a lovely person — gracious, accepting, and welcoming — but there are some culinary choices that she simply cannot wrap her head around. Not just that she doesn't like them; she literally cannot understand how someone else would like that particular food. She can kind-of figure out when I mean when I talk about brute force hacking and why it's so important to use a password manager. But she simply cannot fathom why anyone would ever eat an everything bagel.To be clear, her opinion on this matter is categorically wrong. Most people I know are the opposite: we think Everything should be the default bagel topping. If you want to mix it up — maybe you're just feeling plain today, or you really want to make it pop with the ol' Jalapeño-Cheddar combo — then you can absolutely have at it. But if you're ordering bagels for a group, for example, it just makes sense to go with a mostly-Everything order. It'll guarantee that everyone's day starts off just a little brighter. And maybe a little garlick-y-er, sure. But that's a small price to pay for pleasure.I thought of all this as I munched on an Everywhere Bagel (Everything, but with all the toppings coated on the bottom, too — a specialty from my local bagel heaven) and read this delightful AtlasObscura piece on the who and the how of this perfect bagel's inventionBy his own and most other accounts, that person was David Gussin. Read the rest
Jack Chick (1924 - 2016) was a cartoonist and the publisher of a series of small-format fundamentalist Christian comic books, which he called "Chick Tracts." The stories typically focused on a non-Christian who willingly or unwillingly rejected Chick's brand of hateful, conspiracy-obsessed religion and ended up going to Hell, where he was received by a leering Satan who would say "Haw Haw Haw" and delight in torturing his new guest. The message was awful, but the comics were very readable and they have been copied and parodied by hundreds of cartoonists who recognized the appeal and utility of the unique format.In this episode of Cartoonist Kayfabe, cartoonists Ed Piskor and Jim Rugg take a deep look at Chick Tracts. Read the rest
Watch the skies! The peak of the Perseid meteor shower takes place overnight tonight! The bright quarter Moon will limit the number of shooting stars you'll see but you can still expect around 15-20 per hour depending on where you're at. The meteors are debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle burning up in Earth's atmosphere at speeds of 130,000 miles per hour. It can take more than 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness so be patient and enjoy the view. From NASA:Make plans to stay up late the night of Aug. 11 or wake up early the morning of Aug. 12. The Perseids are best seen between about 2 a.m. your local time and dawn. The Moon rises at around midnight, so its brightness will affect the peak viewing window. However, even though the Moon’s phase and presence will keep the frequency of visible meteors lower, there is still nearly one meteor every two minutes during the peak![...]If it’s not cloudy, pick an observing spot away from bright lights, lay on your back, and look up! You don’t need any special equipment to view the Perseids – just your eyes. (Note that telescopes or binoculars are not recommended because of their small fields of view.) Meteors can generally be seen all over the sky so don’t worry about looking in any particular direction.image: "An outburst of Perseid meteors lights up the sky in August 2009 in this time-lapse image." (NASA/JPL) Read the rest
When you're talking garage bands, you'd have to work very hard indeed to find one as playful, tight and superstar-packed as The Traveling Wilburys. I first heard them when I was 12. My mom's a Beatles fan and pulled the trigger on their first album because of George Harrison's involvement. I feel in love with their sound. When their second record was released, The Traveling Wilburys Volume 3, I lost my shit thinking that I'd somehow missed a whole album of theirs. It took me two years before I discovered it was a joke.Man, I miss these guys. Image via Flickr user badgreeb RECORDS Read the rest
In 1829 a group of convicts commandeered a brig in Tasmania and set off across the Pacific, hoping to elude their pursuers and win their freedom. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the mutineers of the Cyprus and a striking new perspective on their adventure.We'll also consider a Flemish dog and puzzle over a multiplied Oscar.Show notesPlease support us on Patreon! Read the rest
"All the Difference" is a 20-minute educational film from Kodak featuring the unique comedy stylings of Mike Nichols and Elaine May, an influential improv duo of the era. Shot in 16mm, it's a tragicomic documentary about America's natural beauty and its environmental deterioration. Oh, how things have changed, right?From "Enviro-Films," a 1973 survey of environmental education movies:From many distinguished American poets comes the connecting narrative for this, gorgeously photographed treatise on America the Beautiful and America the Increasingly Ugly. The ugliness is off-set by the tragicomic patter of Mike Nicholsand Elaine May, but juxtaposed against Emerson and Whitman, the viewer initially feels very much like stifling a laugh dufing a worship service. The point-in-time of the narrative switches from what our country is in our literature to what our country is someplaces in the present and will be in the future. Whether or not acceptance of increasing air and water pollution becomes so thoroughly a part of our way of life in the future depends on which road America takes now -- the common path or the one less traveled by; that will make all the difference."'. This film requires at least high school or older audiences to appreciate the long sections of poetry and the sharp wit of Nichols and May.(via r/ObscureMedia) Read the rest
It's been a good summer for metal detectorists! In June, a fellow scanning a field in Rossett, Wales, UK found a 2,000-year-old Roman ingot. Around the same time, Mariusz Stepien turned up a hoard of Bronze Age artifacts in a field near Peebles, Scotland. The hoard, dating back to c.1000 BCE, is now at Edinburgh's National Museums Collection Center for further research. From CNN:Stepien discovered a bronze object buried 1.5 feet under the ground, and reported his discovery to the Treasure Trove Unit after getting strong signals from the earth around the object.Archeologists worked on the site for 22 days, and discovered a sword still in its scabbard, decorated straps, buckles, rings, ornaments and chariot wheel axle caps, as well as evidence of a decorative "rattle pendant" that would have been attached to the harness -- the first to be found in Scotland."I thought I've never seen anything like this before and felt from the very beginning that this might be something spectacular and I've just discovered a big part of Scottish history," Stepien, who has been detecting for almost nine years, said in a statement.Stepien and his friends camped in the field for the duration of the 22-day dig, determined to witness the excavation from beginning to end.image: Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Read the rest
In 2018, BP refinery worker Scott Tracey posted a Downfall parody on Facebook to mock the company's salary negotiations. So it fired him, claiming it was "highly offensive and inappropriate". Two years later he has emerged victorious from an unfair dismissal case filed against BP in Australia, forcing the company to reinstate him and pay him $200,000 in lost wages, bonuses, pension contributions and tax contributions.Downfall parodies, taken from the 2004 movie of the same name, show Hitler's final rant with bizarre English subtitles, to give the impression that the Fuhrer is ranting about a trivial issue such as getting banned from XBox Live or running out of toilet paper. Tracey posted his version in a closed group to amuse colleagues during wage negotiations with BP. Though it did not name BP or individual managers, the company did not get the joke and claimed the meme insiniated a comparison to Nazis. An industrial tribunal didn't understand the context either, agreeing with BP lawyers' claim it was "a direct representation of [BP managers] as Nazis".But real courts did get the joke, ruling that it was "unreasonable to say the meme had likened BP managers to Nazis," giving him his job back and ultimately awarding Tracey the full amount asked for when BP sought to reduce it."We hope this marks the end of a truly unedifying chapter for BP management," Australian Workers Union West Australian secretary Brad Gandy told The Syndey Morning Herald. "To dig in and drag an honest worker through nearly two years of stress and uncertainty, all because a few stuffed shirts didn't get a joke, is poor corporate behaviour." Read the rest
"There I Ruined It" remakes Michael Jackson's "Bad" as a foot-stompin' bluegrass ditty.I'm giving youOn count of threeTo show your stuffOr let it be Read the rest
Amaze, an illuminating and informative guide to designing magical experiences, has finally been published in English! Written by my pal and Boing Boing contributor Ferdinando Buscema and inventive designer/writer Mariano Tomatis, Amaze ("L'arte Di Stupire" in Italian) is not a book of tricks but rather a primer on "thinking like a magician." Here is what I said about Amaze when I first read the translation:Buscema and Tomatis are modern day mystics who move seamlessly between the realms of science, art, and magic, seeking wonder at every turn. They delight in inspiring us all to cultivate curiosity and embrace astonishment in our daily lives. This brilliant book is an empowering grimoire for hacking reality and giving the gift of magical experiences to others.Congratulations Ferdinando and Mariano! Read the rest
Judas and the Black Messiah examines Black Panther Fred Hampton's betrayal by William O'Neal, Hampton's bodyguard turned FBI informant. Hampton was a rising star in the revolutionary arm of the Civil Rights movement when he was killed in a police raid at age 21.Forensic evidence suggested that Hampton and others had been drugged by O'Neal the night before the deadly raid. According to Newsweek, O'Neal was placed in federal witness protection after his involvement with the FBI came to light. O'Neal allegedly died at age 40 by suicide in 1990.The film stars Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton and Lakeith Stanfield as O’Neal. Not everyone is happy with a British actor once again cast as an American civil rights icon: "But the casting of Kaluuya, a British-born actor, as an American civil rights has elicited some criticisms, a la Brits Cynthia Erivo as Harriet Tubman and David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King, Jr." Director Shaka King dismissed these criticisms as a "diasporic way of thinking."This story is perfect to present as a political thriller film. The press for the film has a great summary of Hampton's work and legacy:Though his life was cut short, Fred Hampton’s impact has continued to reverberate. The government saw the Black Panthers as a militant threat to the status quo and sold that lie to a frightened public in a time of growing civil unrest. But the perception of the Panthers was not reality. In inner cities across America, they were providing free breakfasts for children, legal services, medical clinics and research into sickle cell anemia, and political education. Read the rest
Holy smokes! There is a reissued Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle available and it looks awesome!GenX had a lot of cool toys that were slightly-to-moderately dangerous. Dart guns that shot darts, lawn darts, Stretch Armstrong filled with evil goo, but even better than a slip and slide was the Evel Knievel stunt cycle.Evel was the best! I am giddy waiting for this thing.I used to make Evel fly down the long hallway at my parent's house AND NOW I WILL AGAIN!California Creations The Amazing Wind-up and go Extreme Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle with Energizer Launcher and Stunt Trail Bike - The 1970's Sensation is Back via Amazon Read the rest
If you've bought a premium smartphone handset over the past few years, it's a safe bet that it came equipped with wireless charging technology baked into it. Wireless charging is wicked cool! In the Long, Long Ago, we had to carry one of the many USB cables most of us had kicking around our home if we wanted to charge our phone. Said cable needed to be plugged into a USB port and damn, they were really hard to find. Such a nightmare. Today, praise the gods, we have the privilege of having to rely on a wireless charging pad plugged into a wall at home. Or the office—they're not terribly portable and you pretty much can only use them on a flat surface like a desk or the top of a casket. And, unlike the horror of using your phone while it's connected to a USB cable, your phone will stop charging as soon as you remove it from it's charging pad. But hey, wireless!I kid, I kid. Wireless charging's actually pretty great becau—oh shit.From OneZero:On paper, wireless charging sounds appealing. Just drop a phone down on a charger and it will start charging. There’s no wear and tear on charging ports, and chargers can even be built into furniture. Not all of the energy that comes out of a wall outlet, however, ends up in a phone’s battery. Some of it gets lost in the process as heat.While this is true of all forms of charging to a certain extent, wireless chargers lose a lot of energy compared to cables. Read the rest
In from the min-1990s, right through into the early years of the new millennium, Toshiba churned out some pretty solid laptop hardware. I've used a number of their lappy's in the past, across various industries. No matter what I threw at them, be it text, Photoshop, or a bit of gaming when the boss wasn't looking, Toshiba's hardware always proved capable of standing its ground.In recent years, Toshiba's taken a number of quiet steps away from their laptop business. This week, however, they dropped everything and ran like like hell from it: In a less-than-well-publicized press release, Toshiba announced that what little they had left to do with making laptops has been handed over to other, more interested companies.From Toshiba:TOKYO—Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502) hereby announces that it has transferred the 19.9% of the outstanding shares in Dynabook Inc. that it held to Sharp Corporation. As a result of this transfer, Dynabook has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sharp.Under the terms of a June 2018 share purchase agreement between Toshiba and Sharp, Toshiba transferred to Sharp 80.1% of the outstanding shares of Toshiba Client Solutions Co., Ltd (hereinafter TCS), then Toshiba’s wholly-owned subsidiary in the personal computer business. That transfer closed in October 2018, and TCS changed its name to Dynabook in January 2019. On June 30, 2020, under the terms of the share purchase agreement, Sharp exercised a call option for the remaining outstanding shares of Dynabook held by Toshiba, and Toshiba has completed procedures for their transfer. Read the rest
Ceramic artist Richard Notkin is famed for his clay teapots, inspired by the traditional Yixing style from China but forming a vehicle for political commentary in the west. In the interview above, you can see him work: "the vessel is the primary canvas of ceramics and the teapot is the most complex of vessels." [via Abigail Larson] Read the rest
Personal Life Coach Adele Landauer was enjoying a relaxing afternoon by a lake near Berlin, when a group of wild boars approached the beach. I'll let her tell the rest of it, according to her Instagram post:A female wild boar with two babies came out of the forest in order to search for food.In Berlin we are free people - we love to bathe in the sun and lake like we are born.So, there were many people laying on their towels completely naked.Many of us were scared but the wild boars seemed to be peaceful.After they ate a pizza from a backpack of a man who was taking a swim in the lake they were looking for a dessert.They found this yellow bag and decided to take it away.But the man who owned it realized it was the bag with his laptop.So, he was very focused and run behind the boars in order to get it back.Everyone of us adored him how focused he stayed and when he came back with his yellow bag in the hand we all clapped and congratulated him for his success.This happens when you’re focused on your goals.Don't worry; Landauer told The Guardian that the running naked German man gave her permission to post the photos of his butt, and that everyone had a good laugh when the crisis was over.Still, I can't help but wonder what the 30-50 feral hogs guy would think about this. Read the rest
Most of us aren’t constantly beset by poor posture. But all it takes is some subtle misalignment while you’re doing serious hours behind the wheel driving or working away at a desk to do a real number on your back. In fact, most of us are so unaware of the mechanics of good posture that our bodies even find them a little alien when they’re forced upon you. Thankfully, products like the Backshield Ergonomic Back Support are around to remind your body what good posture actually feels like. Crafted from a unique three-layer design, the Backshield can be strapped to a vehicle seat or an office chair and actually start training your back to expect good posture. The Backshield gently lifts the backbone through a patented combination of stiffness, materials, and design, alleviating spinal compression in a manner other lumbar support devices don’t really handle.As it supports the natural curvature of your spine, it keeps your spine, hips, and legs in optimal alignment, which promotes the proper blood flow that reduces inflammation that leads to back pain. The Backshield is made from three layers, with a firm, scientifically engineered ergonomic frame made from extra thick ABS plastic for equal parts flexibility and rigidity, an ultra-soft, plush foam layer providing an extra measure of comfort and a textured exterior layer of PopFoam for an attractive, ultra-durable, non-slip virtually indestructible surface that cleans easily and combines to offer back support that isn’t too soft and isn’t too hard.While many users report using the Backshield feels slightly awkward or uncomfortable at first, once your back adjusts to regular use after a couple of days, those same users say they feel notable improvement and a happier, healthier back within two to three weeks. Read the rest
“The U.S. has reached a landmark of sorts in its so far not very successful battle with the virus that causes Covid-19 — most Americans now know someone who has been infected,” writes Justin Fox at Bloomberg, about coronavirus social data from Navigator Research, shown above.From Navigator Research:Key takeaways:• Trump’s approval ratings on handling the pandemic remain deeply underwater.• For the first time since the pandemic began, a majority of Americans know someone who has been infected with coronavirus.• More than three in four Americans support states requiring people to wear masks.“We’ve now reached a point where most Americans have a personal link to the disease, which makes such denial a lot harder,” writes Justin Fox at Bloomberg:Given what we know about the spread of the disease from other sources, it sounds about right. Although it is sad news, it may also mark something of a positive turning point. More than anything else, the key to keeping Covid-19 under control seems to be taking it seriously, and knowing someone with the disease can do a lot to focus a person on the risks it poses.That it had to come to this is of course tragic. A key enabler of the spread of the coronavirus, especially in affluent countries with the resources to stop it, has been an inability to imagine that what happened somewhere else might happen closer to home. Italians saw what transpired in China, and failed to act on the early signs that they might be next. Read the rest
A U.S. Secret Service officer shot a man dead near the White House today. Authorities interrupted a briefing by President Trump that was happening at the time and escorted him from the press room.The moment Trump was escorted out of the briefing room by Secret Service - agent seems to say, “We have shots fired outside.” pic.twitter.com/cJkkxwYLXm— Peter Stevenson (@PeterStevenson) August 10, 2020As TPM's Josh Marshall tweeted, “Hours later and we appear to know almost nothing about what happened. Who the person is, whether they were armed, what actually happened.” Statement from U.S. Secret Service on officer involved shooting: pic.twitter.com/vMP9ypuNh5— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) August 11, 2020On Twitter, the Secret Service wrote that the White House complex wasn't breached and none of those under the service’s protection were ever in danger.A 51-year-old man approached an officer posted near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW around 5:50 p.m. and said he had a weapon, reports the Washington Post:He said the man ran aggressively toward the officer and withdrew an object from his clothing.Sullivan said the man then crouched in a “shooter’s stance” as if about to fire. The officer shot him, striking him in the torso, Sullivan said.The man was not identified. The Secret Service said he and the officer were taken to a hospital.Sullivan did not take questions from reporters late Monday and did not say whether a weapon had been recovered.Trump, who spoke about the shooting after he returned to the White House briefing room, said he understood that the person was armed. Read the rest
From ordering from Amazon to paying bills over the web to something as simple as bottled water, we’re all hooked on modern convenience. We can’t help it. There are just too many modern world advances that save us too much time not to become a creature of comfort and go the easy route. Even if the other way might often provide a better quality product.Take tortillas. They’re probably among the simplest foods on the planet to make yourself at home. But being able to buy a package of 10 tortillas at the grocery store for $2 means most of us never make tortillas from scratch. Even though they definitely taste better than store-bought tortillas.It’s time to take back some of the old -- and better -- ways. And you can start that retro-revival with the XL Aluminum Tortilla Press so you can make loads of tasty homemade tortillas with amazing ease.Made in Mexico from recycled aluminum, this durable press turns out large, approximately 9-inch tortillas with a simple pull, ideally sized for tacos and burritos. After a quick fry, you get a tortilla that’s all the tasty things you expect -- crispy edges with a delicious taste in tandem with a chewy middle to contain all your meats, veggies and other ingredients.The polished finish makes it an eye-catching addition to the kitchen and the FDA-friendly, rust and flake-resistant surfaces will have you turning out fantastic tortillas year after year. Besides, is there a better return on minimal time and effort than impressing visitors with soft, flaky, hot, and tasty homemade tortillas? Read the rest
No matter whether you go into the office or work from home, whether you roll out of bed at 5 a.m. or never get up before 9, we all agree a day can on how you feel first thing in the morning when you wake up.If you wake up feeling groggy or out of sorts, it can set the tone for a decidedly subpar rest of your day. By contrast, a happy, healthy morning can all but dare the rest of the day to mess with its cheery vibe.Instead of giving your entire day the chance to slip down the drain, a little shot of CBD infusion might just do the trick. You can get yourself a double-barreled blast of CBD every morning with this Hydra Serum and Bean and Bud Coffee Booster tandem.Of course, it’s up to you which one you get to first. If you’re a jump-in-the-shower type when you rise, then the Hydra Serum facial cleanser might be your first line of defense for the day. This ultra-hydrating serum contains a double weight molecule of hyaluronic acid with hydrating properties to penetrate deep into your skin. As you clear dead skin and cleanse your pores, the 100 mg potency CBD kicks in with its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant features to make your skin bright and luminous while feeling ultra-smooth and supple.But if you’re a can’t-function-without-coffee creature, the Bean and Bud CBD booster into your morning joe might be your first stop. With a single 10mg dropper dose, you can enhance your everyday coffee with a delicate and sweet touch of vanilla, not to mention the restorative and calming effects of CBD on your body. Read the rest
Matcha (powdered green tea leaves) is usually pretty expensive. When I saw a one-pound container of Organic Matcha Green Tea Powder on Amazon selling for a low price, I was suspicious, but I decided to give it a try. It's delicious. Our favorite way to drink it is to blend a teaspoon with 8 oz of soy or almond milk. We've gone through four pounds of the stuff, one teaspoon at a time. We use this fantastic Nespresso Aeroccino Milk Frother to mix it up. Read the rest
Apple opposed a trademark application by a five-person company that has a meal-planning app called Prepear. The company has launched a petition on change.org to protest Apple's opposition.“It is a very terrifying experience to be legally attacked by one of the largest companies in the world, even when we have clearly done nothing wrong, and we understand why most companies just give in and change their logos. We feel a moral obligation to take a stand against Apple's aggressive legal action against small businesses and fight for the right to keep our logo. We are defending ourselves against Apple not only to keep our logo but to send a message to big tech companies that bullying small businesses has consequences.” said Prepear on the site.So far almost 30,000 people have signed a petition, and the number is rising fast. Read the rest
A woman died and at least three more people were injured when an explosion rocked a Baltimore neighborhood. A number of houses were destroyed and aerial footage shows what CNN described as "profound devastation" in the area. The situation is unfolding and efforts are underway to rescue people trapped in the rubble. No word on the cause. Read the rest
The excellent YouTube channel "Journey to the Microcosmos" recently acquired a new microscope and its videos of microscopic creatures look more amazing than ever. Image: YouTube Read the rest
Tokyo's Shibuya Scramble crossing is the busiest crosswalk in the world, with as many as 1,000 people crossing its five walkways at the same time. It's become a tourist attraction in its own right, and many people record videos as they walk across the street. I shot the video above on a summer evening in 2018.Of course shooting a movie that features Shibuya Scramble would be almost impossible, or at least astronomically expensive. But if you are willing to drive an hour and a half outside Tokyo you can rent a full-scale facsimile of the Shibuya Scramble for 500,000 yen (US$5,000) to 800,000 yen (US$8,000). The location is called Ashikaga Scramble City Studio. It has the famous crosswalks, greenscreen facades, and a fake escalator leading down to a fake subway station. Check out photos of the venue here. Read the rest
Nearly 6,000 people gave up their US citizenship in the first half of 2020, reports CNN. This is a sharp increase over the same time period in 2019 when slightly over 2,000 Americans gave up their citizenship. The figures were compiled by Bambridge Accountants using public data the U.S. government publishes of the names of people who renounce their citizenship.One of the main reasons people renounce their citizenship is to avoid tax complications, but this year people had other reasons, too. From CNN:"These are mainly people who already left the US and just decided they've had enough of everything," Alistair Bambridge, a partner at Bambridge Accountants, told CNN."What we've seen is people are over everything happening with President Donald Trump, how the coronavirus pandemic is being handled, and the political policies in the US at the moment." Read the rest
The Georgia high school that suspended two students for posting a video of the school's crowded halls has shut down due to coronavirus infections. Nine people at North Paulding High School (6 students, 3 staff members) have tested positive, and attended school “for at least some time” last week, according to Principal Gabe Carmona.Now the school is closed, at least today and tomorrow, for a scrub down. And then, incredibly, they might decide to open again on Wednesday.From The Washington Post:The district will announce Tuesday evening whether in-person instruction will resume the next day, [Superintendent Brian] Otott wrote to parents Sunday in a second letter, shared by a WSB-TV reporter.Otott added that anyone who has tested positive, as well as close contacts of people who have the virus, must quarantine for 14 days before returning to school.“I apologize for any inconvenience this schedule change may cause, but hopefully we all can agree that the health and safety of our students and staff takes precedence over any other considerations at this time,” Otott wrote.The infections validate concerns in Georgia and nationwide that crowded conditions in the nation’s K-12 schools could facilitate virus transmission as the new academic year begins. Young people develop severe infections at far lower rates than adults, but experts warn that they could be vectors for infecting more vulnerable populations, such as older relatives in the same household.It took a national outcry for the school to reverse the two students' suspensions last Friday. Read the rest
Lebanon has a long, complicated history of pain, suffering, and mismanagement at the hands of oft-times self-serving oligarch government, their neighbors, and violent internal political movements.The country has been going through a financial meltdown over the past several years. This past July, the Lebanese pound was reported to have lost 80% of its worth. Double-digit unemployment rates are making things worse. The nation's infrastructure, wholly inadequate for serving its people, routinely fails. Nightly blackouts, medical institutions included, are not uncommon. Last week's explosion one hell of a haymaker to sustain on top of all of these debilitating body blows. The city of Beirut, and its people, are shattered. Violent protests against the government have broken out with calls for the country's leaders to step down. Given all that's occurred, fair enough. In short, Lebanon's seven million citizens, need help.According to the BBC, despite the social and economic chaos that COVID-19 has caused in the rest of the world, a small handful of nations are stepping up to lend a hand in the form of close to $300 million in aid.From The BBC:Fifteen government leaders at the donor summit, spearheaded by French President Emmanuel Macron, promised "major resources", according to a statement."Assistance should be timely, sufficient and consistent with the needs of the Lebanese people," it said, adding that help must be "directly delivered to the Lebanese population, with utmost efficiency and transparency".The donors were prepared to help Lebanon's longer-term recovery if the government listened to the changes demanded by the country's citizens, the communique said. Read the rest
Piloting a craft through Jupiter's atmosphere would be very hard due to massive bolts of "shallow lightning" and the equally scary giant "mushballs" of water and ammonia that fall like hail. To celebrate the 9th anniversary of Juno, NASA shared some cool illustrations and a visualization of what it would feel like to fly through a Jovian storm.The mushball findings solve a mystery of Jupiter's "missing" ammonia. Scientists believed the planet had more ammonia than was being observed by sensors:A second paper, released yesterday in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, envisions the strange brew of 2/3 water and 1/3 ammonia gas that becomes the seed for Jovian hailstones, known as mushballs. Consisting of layers of water-ammonia slush and ice covered by a thicker water-ice crust, mushballs are generated in a similar manner as hail is on Earth – by growing larger as they move up and down through the atmosphere."Eventually, the mushballs get so big, even the updrafts can't hold them, and they fall deeper into the atmosphere, encountering even warmer temperatures, where they eventually evaporate completely," said Tristan Guillot, a Juno co-investigator from the Université Côte d'Azur in Nice, France, and lead author of the second paper. "Their action drags ammonia and water down to deep levels in the planet's atmosphere. That explains why we don't see much of it in these places with Juno's Microwave Radiometer."Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Gerald Eichstädt/Heidi N. Becker/Koji Kuramura Read the rest
The aluminum can is a great invention. And for 60 years, it and its crafty little addition, the pull tab, have made transporting and drinking all of our favorite beers, soft drinks and other beverages about 1,000 percent easier. Of course, evolution continues -- and even an innovation as awesome as the aluminum can is could probably use some improvements over a solid first half-century in use.Draft Top thinks that innovation already has a name: topless drinking. The Draft Top Easy Can Opener literally lobs off the top of your can, turning it into a sweet convertible of liquid joy with a smooth-edged rim.The Draft Top was created because, for all of the can’s advantages, one of its biggest detractors is that it essentially blocks the aroma of your beverage. The senses of smell and taste are related, both using your taste buds as receptors. So when the smell of your drink is blocked, it impacts the taste.The Draft Top removes that barrier, allowing your drink to breathe and actually makes the drink taste better.The Draft Top’s patented design uses four rotational blades that pierce the can, then split and fold the lid back as you turn the device. After a half-turn, the lid is off, leaving a smooth, safe edge to most 8 to 16oz aluminum beverage cans and some 19oz cans with standard tops. With the top gone, you’re free to spruce up your drink any way you like. Add some ice, maybe a dash of Jack to your Coke, or even some garnish. Read the rest
Dungeons & Dragons is great. It also, unfortunately, has long-fed into the inherently colonialist tropes that have long dominated the fantasy genre. Wizards of the Coast has recently made some strides to disentangle their tabletop role playing games from these harmful stereotypes — things like the essential racial traits of Orcs, which peg them as dark-skinned savages that are inherently evil and dumb.This is a great step. But the folks at Arcanist Press have taken it even further by introducing a homebrewed alternative to "racial" traits for fantasy characters by replacing them with "Ancestry" and "Culture." Eugene Marshall's short book, Ancestry & Culture: An Alternative to Race in 5e, offers guidance on how to create characters of one ancestry raised in a different culture (an orc raised by elves, for examples) as well as characters of mixed ancestry (the child of a gnome and a Tiefling) — ultimately allowing you to create a fantasy world that is more inclusive and diverse, like our own, but in different ways.You can see writer Eugene Marshall using his Ancestry & Culture guide to roll a new character in the video above. Essentially, the guide breaks down things like Age, Size, Speed, Keen Senses, Fey Ancestry and Trance as genetic traits inherited through ancestry, while other traits like alignment, special skills, or languages can be passed down through one's culture. This makes for more well-rounded and interesting characters, and arguably enhances the game overall.For example, a dwarf who grows up among other dwarves would possess all of the traits from both dwarf ancestry and dwarven culture, whereas an elf who grew up among dwarves would possess elf ancestral traits, such as Keen Senses, Fey Ancestry, and Trance, but dwarven cultural traits, such as Combat Training, Tool Proficiency, Stonecunning, and proficiency in the Dwarvish language. Read the rest
Facebook took out one of its largest Qanon groups this weekend, deleting the 200,000-member "Official Q/Qanon" page citing "repeated violations of the company’s policies."Numerous posts in the group had already been removed for violating Facebook's policies on bullying, harassment, hate speech, and false information that could lead to harm, Facebook told Reuters.QAnon followers espouse an intertwined series of beliefs based on anonymous web postings from someone claiming special insider knowledge of the Trump administration. The core tenet is that President Donald Trump is secretly fighting a cabal of child-sex predators including prominent Democrats.This hardly begins to capture how demented the QAnon conspiracy cult is, or its growing popularity among Republican politicians desperate for levers to keep Trump in power. Read the rest
If you're anything like me, you're already worried about how we're going to do Halloween during the pandemic. Distantly dispersing trick-or-treat candy via t-shirt cannon? Kids dress as the cast of ER in surgical masks or wear 6 ft. inner tubes around their waists? Most of us are still figuring this out as we go, but there's one haunted house production company in Tokyo who is already well ahead of the game. Kowagarasetai in Tokyo has created a drive-through haunt experience where, according to their website, "A large number of dead people attack your car. Can you beat the fear coming at you from all directions?". Visitors to the unique haunt drive in to a warehouse and honk three times to start the show. While ghouls and zombies attack the car, showering it with fake blood (by request), sound effects and the haunt's storyline ("This is a garage where a horrible incident occurred long ago...") plays through the car radio. The website proudly proclaims that the staff will "disinfect your car" and wash off the fake blood after the performance, but then in slightly smaller print below ("blood cannot be completely wiped off"). Show your true devotion to Halloween by staining your car in fake blood forever!In the U.S., there have been at least two "haunted car washes" (in Ohio and Texas, respectively) over the past few years. Here's hoping they ramp it up and create a drive-in experience as immersive as Kowagerasetai's and save the only holiday that matters. Read the rest