Contralto Juliana Strangelove and countertenor Arthur Vasiliev sing Nick Cave's "Where The Wild Roses Grow."[via]

The Action Lab took a maglev gyroscope and placed it inside a sealed chamber to see what happens to a levitating gyroscope in a vacuum.A lot of people took issue with the experiment's setup and explanation, but it's interesting nonetheless. He responded to those concerns:Hi everyone! I see a lot of comments that mention it will stop because of gravity. A lot of people said that in my pendulum video also. But remember that gravity doesn't "slow things down." The only reason we associate gravity with slowing things down is because it pulls things toward the earth and they hit the earth and the friction causes it to stop. So friction is the stopping force, not gravity. But you are right, gravity does play a role here that I didn't mention in the video. That is that it causes precession in the gyroscope. Since it never started out initially straight up, gravity does make the gyroscope tip over eventually. This may be even a larger factor than the magnet friction I talked about.• Will a Levitating Gyroscope Spin Forever in a Vacuum Chamber? (YouTube / The Action Lab)

I can think of at least three feline-loving friends of mine who are going to flip when they see these cute cat-shaped sandals. With the soles shaped like the silhouette of a cat, the "Nyarageta" is a fun take on traditional Japanese geta sandals. Geta sandals are sort of a cross between clogs and flip-flops and are usually made with wooden soles. This version, however, is made with a softer material called "elastic cell foam sponge EVA." According to SoraNews24, even the name is playful: “Nya” means meow, "Nara" is the name of the Japanese city where they’re from and, of course, "geta" are the sandals themselves.One pair costs 3,780 Yen or approximately $33.84.(SoraNews24)

Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, first held an off-camera briefing that had one reporter describe him as "just kind of useless", then was ridiculed by colleague and top Trump crony Steve Bannon as getting fatter, thereby explaining his unwillingness to be seen, and is now reported to be "searching for his own replacement." With luck it will be Laura Ingraham.

Chinese state media reports on a $28/RMB188 app that browses webcams whose default passwords haven't been changed, allowing subscribers to watch the goings-on in stores, living rooms, bedrooms, children's rooms, and anywhere a CCTV might be installed. (more…)

China's long economic boom and near-total lack of social and legal protections for divorced women has created growth industries in weird services that help women keep their marriages intact after their jerky husbands start treating them like shit and/or start having affairs. (more…)

YouTuber Peter Draws accepted a viewer challenge and created two lovely sketches using basic school supplies: a standard No. 2 Pencil, a wide ruled composition book, and a manual pencil sharpener. (more…)

Little Baby's Ice Cream in Philadelphia is known for their oddly-flavored ice cream (and, their bizarro ads) but they've outdone themselves with their latest icy offering. Since mid-June, the frozen dessert purveyor has been serving up PIZZA ICE CREAM. What makes it pizza-y? Tomato, basil, oregano, salt and garlic. For some people, that just isn't enough pizza pie, so they've taken upon themselves to plop a scoop on top of a hot slice of pizza.(USAToday)Previously, the pizza lovers edition: Pizza slice-shaped bags for, well, your slices of pizza

Otto Warmbier, the 22-year-old University of Virginia student who was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in North Korea for taking a propaganda sign from a hotel, has died in a US hospital. North Korea returned him in a comatose state to the United States last week after he'd served 17 months of his sentence. North Korean officials said Warmbier fell into a coma as a result of botulism and a sleeping pill, but US doctors express doubt that they were the cause. According to USA Today, "Much remains unknown about what happened to Warmbier in North Korea, but he reportedly has been in a coma for more than a year. Brain scans show severe damage."Otto's parents, Fred and Cindy Warmbier, issued a statement Monday afternoon, which read, in part:When Otto returned to Cincinnati late on June 13th he was unable to speak, unable to see and unable to react to verbal commands. He looked very uncomfortable — almost anguished. Although we would never hear his voice again, within a day the countenance of his face changed — he was at peace. He was home and we believe he could sense that.From NPR:As he spoke to the media Thursday, Fred Warmbier also said he was glad to be wearing the same jacket his son had worn during his court appearance in North Korea."I'm proud of Otto, and the courage he showed by going to North Korea," Warmbier said, "and having that adventurous side to him ... so the fact that he was taken and treated this way is horrible, and it's tough to process. But we're tremendously proud of him. So we're looking to the future.""We don't believe anything that they say," Fred Warmbier said, describing North Korea as a pariah state. He said his son had become "fodder" for the regime, after being lured into visiting the country by a Chinese travel company that promised its customers were never detained while on a tour in the isolated nation.

It is really easy to affix a camera to any foam board these days! This video was quite literally our first wave.I'm using these stab-through-the-board style GoPro mounts.Choose a location on top of the board where you want the camera. It is likely far more interesting to have the camera facing you in its default, and most secure position. If you want other angles, You can use the myriad go-pro and tripod mount adaptors to work it out. Remember the mount is designed with foam cutting blades that'll hold it steady in the board while you rush down the faces of awesome waves. Pushing it into place will permanently scar the board, so removing the mount is a bad idea. Installing is a 1-time thing, so get it right.You'll need a large diameter, Phillips head screwdriver, and a quarter. Again, installing one of these is a breeze if you give it a little bit of thought. Not thinking may result in ruining the board. If your board has a slick, laminated on kevlar/plastic type bottom and not exposed foam in a net style material, make sure to puncture the board THROUGH that layer (in the bottom and out the top,) because puncturing from the other direction will tear that layer loose. You MUST puncture a hole where you want to insert the mount to a) start the process and b) leave a clear channel for screwing the thing together.Insert the top piece with some force, centering the piece over the starter hole. The mounting plate will cut into the board! Select the appropriate size screw-in bottom plate from the two that came with the mount, and use the one you think is right. Using the quarter, screw the two pieces together until they are putting a bit of pressure on the foam, and feel secure in place.I suggest attaching the included string-tether to hold the camera to the mount in the event the screw-in bit fails. There is also a stabilizing plug seems impossible to affix once the camera is in place, and seems of dubious value. I have ignored it after failing to install it correctly.We have HOURS and HOURS of video already.No need to buy an expensive GoPro either, this $50 camera will work just fine.

Paul from Yog Soggoth Dot Com writes, "To celebrate 19 years of the YSDC web site we've released a Limited Edition Wax Cylinder recording of one of our podcast shows on 19 cylinders. Yes, there really is a podcast on it. Fewer than 19 cylinders are available from the set as some people already have them."

Personal information on 198 million Americans – or roughly 61 percent of the US population – was accidentally leaked after "a marketing firm contracted by the Republican National Committee stored internal documents on a publicly accessible Amazon server," according to Gizmodo. The information includes phone numbers, addresses, and detailed personal political opinions.The data leak contains a wealth of personal information on roughly 61 percent of the US population. Along with home addresses, birthdates, and phone numbers, the records include advanced sentiment analyses used by political groups to predict where individual voters fall on hot-button issues such as gun ownership, stem cell research, and the right to abortion, as well as suspected religious affiliation and ethnicity. The data was amassed from a variety of sources—from the banned subreddit r/fatpeoplehate to American Crossroads, the super PAC co-founded by former White House strategist Karl Rove.Deep Root Analytics, a conservative data firm that identifies audiences for political ads, confirmed ownership of the data to Gizmodo on Friday...In a statement, Deep Root founder Alex Lundry told Gizmodo, “We take full responsibility for this situation.” He said the data included proprietary information as well as publicly available voter data provided by state government officials. “Since this event has come to our attention, we have updated the access settings and put protocols in place to prevent further access,” Lundry said.Check out the article at Gizmodo for the full story.Image: Nicole-Koehler

There are plenty of extremely talented young women who make good money running social media feeds of their fantastic makeup artistry, but they don't have a patch on the artistry of the women and girls who specialize in horror makeup effects, perfecting and sharing techniques for the grossest, greatest prosthetic-and-paint monster and gore effects. (more…)

Princeton computer scientist and former White House Deputy CTO Ed Felten (previously) writes about the security lessons of the 2016 election: first, that other nation-states are more aggressive than generally supposed, and second, that you don't need to hack the vote-totals to effect devastation on an adversary -- it's sufficient to undermine the election's legitimacy by messing with voter rolls, "so there is uncertainty about whether the correct people were allowed to vote." (more…)

"I would hate to be thought of that we didn't think about things, y'know?" said Talking Heads guitarist Jerry Harrison. "But I think our music is really meant to be felt as much as anything."Dig this excellent live footage and interview with The Clash and Talking Heads from a 1979 episode of ABC's 20/20 TV news magazine. "It ain't about playing the right chord for a star!" said The Clash's Joe Strummer.

An Asian-American band has a first amendment right to call itself The Slants and to register it as a trademark, ruled the U.S. Supreme Court in a unanimous decision.From Reason:At issue in Matal v. Tam was a federal law prohibiting the registration of any trademark that may "disparage...or bring...into contemp[t] or disrepute" any "persons, living or dead." The Patent and Trademark Office cited this provision in 2011 when it refused to register a trademark in the name of The Slants, thereby denying the band the same protections that federal law extends to countless other musical acts. Justice Samuel Alito led the Court in striking down the censorious rule. "We now hold that this provision violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment," Alito wrote. "It offends a bedrock First Amendment principle: Speech may not be banned on the ground that it expresses ideas that offend."From NPR:The case could inform arguments over other, much larger entities than The Slants.As NPR's Nina Totenberg has reported, "the trademark office has denied registration to a group calling itself "Abort the Republicans," and another called "Democrats Shouldn't Breed." It canceled the registration for the Washington Redskins in 2014 at the behest of some Native Americans who considered the name offensive."From Hollywood Reporter:Today's decision also has the potential of alleviating a great amount of confusion as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's response to offensive marks hasn't been particularly consistent over the years. For example, N.W.A — the rap group also known as Niggaz Wit Attitudes — was able to register while actor Damon Wayans couldn't obtain "Nigga" for clothing. Bravo's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Channel Four's Queer as Folk were fine, but not the registration from a group of lesbians who wished to sell videos of a "Dykes on Bikes" parade. Alito notes in his opinion that the "vagueness of the disparagement test and the huge volume of applications has produced a haphazard record of enforcement."From Washington Post:In a Facebook post after the decision, Tam wrote:“After an excruciating legal battle that has spanned nearly eight years, we’re beyond humbled and thrilled to have won this case at the Supreme Court. This journey has always been much bigger than our band: it’s been about the rights of all marginalized communities to determine what’s best for ourselves.”https://youtu.be/C_Eswa5jQgs

When Stephanie Russell-Kraft signed up to work for Law360, she naively entered into a probably unenforceable noncompete "agreement" that asserted that by looking at court filings for interesting news stories, she'd be privy to "critical and sensitive proprietary information" -- but she didn't really think about it until Law360 used her signature on the agreement to get her fired from her second industry job, with Reuters, costing her a generous compensation package that included overtime and health insurance. (more…)

Senator Joe Manchin [D-WV, @Sen_JoeManchin, +1 304-342-5855] is a right-wing Democrat Senator whose inglorious career includes breaking with his party to endorse President Trump's deal to sell record quantities of weapons to the Saudis. (more…)

Dozens of the richest executives in China have disappeared under mysterious circumstances and are assumed to be in police detention as the country pursues an aggressive anti-corruption agenda. (more…)

The Coding Powerhouse eBook Bundle comprises 9 titles covering everything from front-end web frameworks to cross-platform mobile application development, and it's available now in the Boing Boing Store.These books give a detailed overview of current technologies and programming languages. You’ll learn how to write modern code for the web using modular JavaScript, as well as application frameworks like Angular 2 and React. In addition to building iOS Apps with Swift, you can also make your code compatible with the Android ecosystem using Xamarin. Once you have a solid foundation of knowledge, explore advanced topics like high-performance computing and machine learning.This digital library includes the following titles:Learning Angular 2Java Deep Learning EssentialsMastering PythonMastering ReactMastering JavaScriptMastering GitXamarin Cross-Platform Development CookbookSwift 3 Functional ProgrammingScala High Performance ProgrammingThe Coding Powerhouse eBook Bundle is available here for $29.

Asked on the Tonys red carpet why Donald Trump should come see her perform in her current Broadway show War Paint, legendary performer Patti LuPone didn’t mince words, noting: “Well I hope he doesn’t because I won’t perform if he does." When asked why, she calmly explains, “Because I hate the motherfucker, how’s that?” You can watch the amazing exchange at the start of this Variety video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwIrm3KawkkAnd LuPone might not be exaggerating. She’s famous for stopping shows mid-performance to chastise audience members for using their phones or taking pictures. There’s every reason to think she’d be equally unequivocal with The Donald.[Photo by Joan Marcus]

Senate Republicans are currently working in secret on a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and overhaul the American health care system. The process is so secretive, in fact, that even Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price hasn’t seen what’s in it yet. But we do know that Senate Republicans are working from the bill passed by the House of Representatives, which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found would leave 23 million fewer Americans insured by 2026. And the 13 GOP Senators crafting the bill (who all happen to be men) are doing so without any public hearings or open drafting sessions.And it’s happening quickly. Republicans are reportedly hoping to vote on the bill by June 30 so that it can be finalized before the July 4 holiday recess. Given that the bill will affect 1/6 of the American economy not to mention millions of lives, it’s more important than ever to speak out. Here are some resources for doing so:The most effective way to make your voice heard is to call your representatives and share your story and thoughts about the bill. You can find the name and contact information for each GOP senator’s dedicated health staffer at Is TrumpCare Still Dead?If you aren't represented by a GOP senator, you can also use the same database to call the offices of the 13 GOP Senators working on the bill: Mitch McConnell (KY), Orrin Hatch (UT), Lamar Alexander (TN), Mike Enzi (WY), John Thune (SD), Ted Cruz (TX), Mike Lee (UT), Tom Cotton (AR), Cory Gardner (CO), John Barrasso (WY), John Cornyn (TX), Rob Portman (OH), and Pat Toomey (PA).This simple-to-use Trumpcare Toolkit has pre-written tweets and Facebook messages, as well as phone numbers, for specifically targeted Republican Senators. The site also provides stats on the number of people in each of those Senators’ states who would lose health care coverage under Trumpcare.You can sign this Save My Care letter demanding GOP Senators hold a public hearing on the health care bill before the Senate votes on it.And here are some resources for health care talking points:Visit ACASignups.net to find detailed health care stats for all 435 congressional districts. The stats are based on the CBO score of the House bill, which, again, is the template Senate Republicans are working from. California, for instance, would likely see over 2.5 million people lose coverage under Trumpcare.Get talking points and more information on Indivisible’s website. Is TrumpCare Still Dead? also has a page of talking points and statistics.And, finally, Axios takes a different approach by sharing stats on how many people gained coverage under the Obamacare.Many thanks to writer and comedian Nicole Silverberg for sharing these resources with me. You can follow Nicole on Twitter.

The Conservative Party -- and free market ideologues -- have waged a long war on "safety culture," insisting it was a nonsensical, incoherent regulation that acted as a drag on every business except no-win/no-fee lawyers, who exploited these rules to victimise poor corporations with punishing lawsuits. (more…)

Whether you desperately need to locate your wedding ring in the sink drain or accurately determine how much hair is clogging your shower, this Waterproof Endoscopic Camera will give you a clear window into your home’s tightest crevices.This rugged camera comes with an adjustable LED lamp to illuminate the situation. Its 720p HD resolution provides plenty of detail for your view, which streams directly to your phone over WiFi. The camera snakes 3 meters long to help you get a read on crawlspaces, pipes, and mechanical interiors and an IP67 waterproof rating ensures it can be completely submerged in water.You can get this WiFi HD Waterproof Endoscopic Camera here for $32.99.

The Lost Arcade, a documentary about the encroachment of gentrficiation upon the last real video arcade in Manhattan, is now available to watch online.Directed by Kurt P. Vincent, the story is as much about the Chinatown Fair's community as the games, celebrating the final years of a pop culture phenomenon that moved into our homes so slowly we never realized what we were losing."I wanted to create a film that would capture the spirit that hit me the first time I walked through those doors," writes Vincent. "There was a melting pot of a community that congregated there, where all walks of life came together and shared one common interest: video games. It was a microcosm of what New York was all about. Not the overpriced New York we've come to accept, but what this city originally stood for and still does when you look deep enough."The Lost Arcade sheds a behind-the-scenes light into the demise of arcade culture, as it coincided with the rise of home console and online gaming, and showcases the dichotomy of how gamers connected then vs. now. But more importantly, it highlights the diversity and camaraderie among the competitive gamer community that arcades like Chinatown Fair were so uniquely able to foster. View links: iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, VHX, Vimeo, and Vudu.Previously: The Lost Arcade: doc about rebirth of legendary NYC arcade

Reason Magazine's C.J. Ciaramella filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the FBI for the Bureau's file on TSR, the company that E Gary Gygax founded when he created Dungeons and Dragons (now a division of Hasbro). (more…)

I bought this set of snap-nesting measuring spoons in 2015 and they are my favorite set. Each spoon is two-sided. There's a round side for liquids and a narrow side for spice jars. It's on sale right now as an Amazon Prime add-on item for $5.

Raphael Fabre modeled his face with 3D software and used it for his French national ID card.On April 7, 2017, I applied for an ID card to the 18th Army. All the papers requested for the card were legal and authentic, the application was accepted and I have my new French identity card today.The photo I submitted for this request is actually a 3D model created on a computer, by means of several different software and techniques used for special effects in movies and in the video game industry. It is a digital image, where the body is absent, the result of an artificial process.The image corresponds to the official demands for an ID: it is resembling, is recent, and answers all the criteria of framing, light, bottom and contrasts to be observed.The document validating my french identity in the most official way thus presents today an image of me which is practically virtual, a version of video game, fiction.[via Kottke]

"Senate Republicans can't answer simple and critical questions about the health care bill they're crafting in secret," says Vox after asking eight Republican senators how their bill will actually improve the health care system in the United States. Their vacuous non-answers are truly mind-boggling.Highlights: Tara GolshanBut generally speaking, what are the big problems it is trying to solve?John McCainYou name it. Everything from the repeal caucus, which as you know, they have made their views very clear — Rand Paul, etc. And then there are the others on the other side of the spectrum that just want to make minor changes to the present system. There’s not consensus....Jeff SteinSo you're saying [the bill] will lower the rates?Chuck GrassleyUm, if you're talking about lowering the rates from now down, no. The rates could be way up here. [Points to sky] And if they — if we get a bill passed, it maybe wouldn't go up or would go up a heck of a lot less than they would without a bill.Jeff SteinBy "rates," are you talking about premiums?Chuck GrassleyYeah, premiums. … I'm sorry I have to go.Image: Gage Skidmore

Here's what we've learned: an enormous swine may enjoy having his back rubbed, but that doesn't mean it will allow a large primate to jump on it in hope of a ride around the pen.No you can't

Celebrate the life and works of James Joyce, at the Hammer Museum, tonight at 7:30pm. Admission is free!“The stirring live readings from the book—presented by a cavalcade of dramatic actors in the museum’s Billy Wilder Theater—is most certainly gratis, and most certainly glorious.” —Alysia Gray Painter, NBC LA The Hammer’s eighth annual Bloomsday celebration features a staged reading of James Joyce’s only play, The Exiles, drawn from his short story “The Dead.” Followed by live music by Rattle the Knee, Guinness on tap, and Irish snacks available in the courtyard.Bloomsday at the Hammer, 2017

Dan Grayber's Cavity Mechanism series of sculptures are a hymn to "purposeful objects that solve their own problems," in which gravity acts upon systems of pulleys and scaffolds and wires to suspend weighty rocks in motionless perfection under glass domes. (more…)

While the portability of smartphones and tablets is undeniably convenient, the occasional need to support your device while typing or video chatting can get exhausting after awhile. To give you an extra hand with your mobile devices, this trio of foldable stands is available in the Boing Boing Store.These device props have an adjustable metal back, so you can keep your screen in 9 different positions. When not in use, it can be folded flat to fit inside your wallet. And since you get three in a pack, you can leave one at work to use as a discreet extra monitor for Netflix.These sturdy stands are designed to hold everything from smartphones to tablets up to 11”. Get a 3-pack of Credit Card Sized Smartphone & Tablet Stands here for 33% off the usual price at $19.99.

In this great piece for Vulture, pop culture critic and Wonder Woman aficionado Angelica Jade Bastién digs into Diana’s Prince comic book origin story. Unlike Batman and Superman, whose backstories are both iconic and straightforward, Wonder Woman’s origin is a little weirder and a little less familiar to mass audiences. Traditionally, she’s molded from clay by her mother, Queen Hippolyta, who leads the Amazons on the all-female island of Themyscira; Diana leaves Themyscira when Captain Steve Trevor crash lands on the island and needs an escort to take him back to the world of man. Like many comic book characters, however, Wonder Woman has seen her origin—not to mention her personality, ethos, and biographic details—shift over the years. And Bastién argues that in this case, those shifts aren’t just part of the normal ebb and flow of comic book storytelling; they also specifically relate to Wonder Woman’s relationship to feminism. Bastién writes:Due to the fact that she’s so intrinsically tied to the feminist movement, Wonder Woman is also often burdened with having to represent all facets of womanhood in ways other female superheroes, like Black Widow, Storm, and Captain Marvel, have not, which has created a more muddled sense of who she is. Charting the tangled lineage of Wonder Woman’s origin is to chart the history of American feminism itself and how female power is negotiated in a world that abhors it. At the beginning of her history, Wonder Woman carried the echo of the suffragette movement and first-wave feminism. The way her mythos reflected ongoing debates about womanhood only continued from there.Bastién continues: One of the most fascinating aspects in the wake of Wonder Woman release is the criticism, positive and negative, that demonstrates the unique burden the character faces in regards to feminist expectations. Her politics are so baked into her origin that she’s expected to be all things to all women. A recent Slate essay, “I Wish Wonder Woman Were As Feminist As It Thinks It Is,” demerits other critics for their emotional connection to the recent film. A Wired piece titled “Wonder Woman Overcame Her Origin to Become a Feminist Icon” misconstrues aspects of her story. Throughout her history, Wonder Woman has been either too feminist or not feminist enough. She’s either a wonderful step forward for intersectional portrayals of womanhood or a film that continues the obsession with exalting white womanhood. She’s either a BDSM-tinged pinup or a glorious example of female heroism. No one character and mythos could ever live up to such stringent expectations. These arguments have raged about the character and her origins long before Gal Gadot ever wielded her iconic golden lasso. That Wonder Woman has finally gotten to star in her own live-action film just as the conversations around female power and intersectionality have hit a fever pitch is not surprising to me. The character has always been a vehicle for such discussions, whether it be how she was depowered in the late 1960s, much to the chagrin of [Gloria] Steinem, or her 1987 revamp, which gave the Amazons a backstory that echoed ongoing conversations about sexual violence happening within the second-wave feminist movement.In addition to detailing comic book history, Bastién’s piece is also just a great deep-dive into Wonder Woman as a character. As she observes, “Wonder Woman isn’t a bloodthirsty warrior á la Xena, but someone who solves problems with compassion rather than a carefully timed roundhouse kick. This puts her in a precarious position in a genre defined by a very particular, at times noxious, power fantasy.” Bastién goes on to write:Wonder Woman offers what no other superhero can: an essentially female-power fantasy. Close your eyes and imagine an island with achingly gorgeous vistas in which a diverse group of intelligent, strong women have created an immensely more advanced society. No men. No sexism. No capitalist burden to perform that leaves women, especially women of color, vulnerable. At its best, Wonder Woman’s origin is a bold, feminist-minded refutation of the masculine, hyperindividualistic nature of her superhero peers. That it has been heavily criticized, reframed, and rewritten so often isn’t a mark of its failure, but the failure of DC Comics, and perhaps American culture as a whole, to understand and respect female-power fantasies on a larger scale.You can read the full piece over on Vulture.

Attacked by a rabid raccoon and looking to her phone for answers, Rachel Borch noticed she'd dropped her cellular device near a puddle. Thinking that a drowning might stop the animal, Borch held it under until it was dead, dead, dead. Fear took over, and Borch ran home. (more…)

On June 16, 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. She orbited the Earth 48 times over a period of three days. Inspired by Yuri Gagarin who in 1961 became the first person in space, Tereshkova applied to the Russian space program and was accepted based on her extensive background as a skydiver. It wasn't until 40 years later that Tereshkova's nearly tragic experience in orbit was made public. An error in the spacecraft's automatic navigation software caused the ship to move away from Earth. Tereshkova noticed this and Soviet scientists quickly developed a new landing algorithm. Tereshkova landed safely but received a bruise on her face.She landed in the Altay region near today's Kazakhstan-Mongolia-China border. Villagers helped Tereshkova out of her spacesuit and asked her to join them for dinner. She accepted, and was later reprimanded for violating the rules and not undergoing medical tests first.Valentina Tereshkova: First Woman in Space (Space.com)

Yes We Mystic's video for "Working for the Future in the Interlake" is simple yet beautiful. As a dancer performs to the song, her silhouette gets faintly imprinted on a glow-in-the-dark screen behind her. (more…)

Former NASA engineer Mark Rober has invented a fancy in-dash car horn with three custom settings. The first one is sort of a swift and friendly 'toot, toot' for when your regular horn is too aggressive. The other two? Well, I won't spoil it but one is even friendlier than the first and the other is meant to get some real attention in "extreme situations."Mark says, "This horn is SO courteous my car was granted Canadian citizenship yesterday."(reddit)

Mike Pence, currently Vice-President of the United States of America, has hired independent counsel to help him weather the dark cloud that is the 'Russian election hacking collusion/obstruction of justice/Russian cash for sanctions' investigation. The vice president’s office said Pence’s decision to retain Cullen underscores his desire to fully cooperate with any inquiries related to the Russia probe and is in line with what Trump has done in hiring Kasowitz.Kasowitz has told some White House personnel that they do not need to hire their own lawyers, according to one person familiar with some of the legal discussions that have occurred inside the White House. But Pence’s move to hire an outside attorney could set off a scramble among other West Wing aides — many of whom are already bracing for subpoenas — to do the same, even if only as a protective measure. Cullen, a former Virginia attorney general, served as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia under President George H. W. Bush and worked on President George W. Bush’s legal team during the Florida recount in the 2000 presidential election.His other high-profile clients have included Tom DeLay, the former Republican majority leader who was investigated by the Department of Justice for his relationship with Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff; Elin Nordegren, the ex-wife of Tiger Woods, in her divorce from the golf star; and former senator Paul Trible (R-Va.), during the Iran-contra investigation.That is some client list Cullen has, Mr. Pence. Via WaPo

I like to imagine that the other pigeons on the roof are waiting for their turn on this spinning rooftop vent.Pigeon carousel

This deck is absolutely beautiful!A stunning design by Simon Frouws for Theory 11, these cards feature gold foil stamped on lovely, lovely black paper. Just lovely.Artisan Playing Cards (Black) via Amazon

This video from 2013 is suddenly enjoying attention. It features a justifiably frustrated man trying to pay a freeway toll with a quarter that keeps getting rejected by the toll booth machine. Traffic behind him backs up and he becomes increasingly agitated, much to the delight of his giggling grandchildren in the card (one of whom is recording his struggle). The toll booth employee, who converse with the man via an intercom system, has the same saccharine politeness as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Why didn't she just open the dang blasted barrier arm and let him go?

Got one! pic.twitter.com/bfxE4TFTWr— Just Basic Dave (@JustBasicDave) June 14, 2017Just Basic Dave has quite a sense of humor. He has stickers that look like power outlets and he sticks them on walls and columns at airports, then records the people who try to plug chargers into them. I have to admit it's kind of funny, but still.Got em! pic.twitter.com/YFz4Dh80qo— Just Basic Dave (@JustBasicDave) June 14, 2017First outlet sticker is up. pic.twitter.com/awJEOxpzjq— Just Basic Dave (@JustBasicDave) June 14, 2017

This guy has a lot of nerve. Not only does he drive his Smart car right into a convenience store in Jiangsu, China, but then he honks to get the cashier's attention. The cashier is a good sport, hopping to attention and actually bringing yogurt and a bag of chips to the guy's window, as if it's a drive-thru. He then takes some cash and helps guide the driver out of the store. Can you imagine what a ruckus this would have caused had this happened at a 7-11 in the US? Thanks Mashable!

This image, taken by Matt Hallas in the East Midlands, was sent into the BBC's splendid Weather Watchers page, which has many more atmospheric delights.

The news of attempts by Russian hackers to compromise US voting systems will forever throw into question the results of close US elections -- but that's not just because voting machines are security tire-fires, it's because they're security tire-fires whose vote-counts cannot be audited. (more…)

The first short film from Neill Blomkamp, starring Sigourney Weaver, is online free of charge. Amazing to see such a big director work so forcefully outside the system. I hope it does well!Want to get involved or support this project? We've made film assets for Rakka available on Steam and will be adding more later. Join the discussion and support this experiment on Steam or our official web page: www.oatsstudios.com

TV's Batman, the recently-departed Adam West, will be honored in a ceremony perfectly fit for a Caped Crusader. DC Comics has announced that the Bat-signal will shine over the skies of Los Angeles on Thursday night to pay tribute to the late actor. If fans are not able to join in the tribute Thursday night, the West family encourages Adam’s “old chums” to make a donation to the Adam West Memorial Fund for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Idaho-based charity for children diagnosed with cancer and their families, Camp Rainbow Gold. Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti will light the signal at the event which takes place at 9 PM at City Hall. The public is welcome to attend.(Hollywood Reporter)

In 1629, a Dutch trading vessel struck a reef off the coast of Australia, marooning 180 people on a tiny island. As they struggled to stay alive, their leader descended into barbarity, gathering a band of cutthroats and killing scores of terrified castaways. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll document the brutal history of Batavia's graveyard, the site of Australia's most infamous shipwreck.We'll also lose money in India and puzzle over some invisible Frenchmen.Show notesPlease support us on Patreon!