Google images could not uncover the origin off this fluffy yet menacing elder one. If this is your adorable abysm of immemorial lunacy, drop us a note. [via]

Freedom of information requests for public records are getting harder to complete, especially now that some governments are suing requesters. (more…)

Fresh off a decisive victory against a man who used Pepe the Frog in an Islamophobic children's book (previously), artist Matt Furie is fighting alt-right stars for unauthorized use of his Pepe the frog character. (more…)

Mogol Art Animals are Japanese pipe cleaner kits that transform into charming kawaii animals. Watch this bear unboxing through completion. (more…)

Someone on the D&D 5th Edition Facebook group posted a link to these really lovely and very playable-looking 5e character sheets. The designer of the sheets, William Lu, posted them on ArtStation and writes:

This is the Dadbag. It's a fanny pack that looks like a guy's belly.*On Bored Panda, its designer, Albert Pukies of London, shares:

(more…)

If you were wondering what the budget for the new Tomb Raider movie is, the answer is "No."

California Gov. Jerry Brown compared Trump supporters to cave dwellers at an event in New York. He also said that everything Trump does, including the way he handles climate change and North Korea, are "stupid and dangerous and silly." He predicts that Trump will "fail very soon."According to Politico:

Watch this persistent gentleman try three times to get knocked over by a kid on a scooter. He finally makes it happen but he didn't know he was being recorded on a security camera, so his attempt to shakedown the kid's dad ended in failure.From YouTube:

Georgia Tech student Scout Shultz refused to put down a closed multitool and walked toward cops, daring them to shoot. So they did.

Salto is a jumping robot from UC Berkeley's Biomimetic Millisystems Lab. It has aerodynamic thrusters to ensure it lands on its foot.[via Bruce Sterling]

Nigel Stanford enlisted the talents of a number of Kuka industrial robots to perform "Automatica."Here's a video of the robot testing:https://youtu.be/yFUPeXTAY_E

With just his violin and his hands, Sebastiaan Kulwanowski creates an amazing Super Mario Bros. soundtrack. He says on his YouTube page that he created this out of boredom – proof that boredom can be the perfect catalyst for creativity.

If Michael Ramirez can win two Pulitzers for labeling alarming things with the word "DEBT", I think Alan McAtee should win one for this photograph of vomit on the red carpet at the Emmy Awards.Previously: Celebrities have a gas with Sean Spicer at the Emmy awards.

In July, the Director of the World Wide Web Consortium overruled dozens of members' objections to publishing a DRM standard without a compromise to protect accessibility, security research, archiving, and competition. (more…)

For $5 the Crazy Cube is a great trick and small enough to carry in your pocket. The spectator puts a die into a small plastic canister, remembering the side that is facing up. The smaller canister is placed into a larger canister. You are able to tell the spectator which side is facing up.

Florida Power and Light's grid did not fare well under Hurricane Irma, despite the company's assurances that it had spent billions hardening its systems after 90% of its customers lost power to 2005's Hurricane Wilma. (more…)

California AB 375 was a bill to restore the online privacy rights that the Republican Congress stripped away in March when they passed a bill that allowed your ISP to spy on you and sell data about your online activities. (more…)

Perfect execution by the folks at Wear Dinner: CureExorcist t-shirt

The island of Barbuda has lost its civilization – not one human is left on the island after Hurricane Irma devastated it. With 95% of the islands structures completely destroyed, all 1,800 residents have evacuated to nearby Antigua, and now live in shelters or with relatives. The only living creatures left on Barbuda are pets and livestock, which the non-profit group World Animal Protection are trying to feed and rescue.According to Mashable:

Is President Trump feeding stories to the ‘National Enquirer’?The magazine boasts an “exclusive” story this week claiming that the Pentagon has developed a space laser that “could zap North Korea off the map” by focusing the sun’s energy into a “beam of pure destructive power.”At first glance it’s just another fact-challenged ‘Enquirer’ sci-fi fantasy, and yet the magazine does have unprecedented access to President Donald Trump, who is on the record saying the rag deserves a Pulitzer prize, and cited its dubious stories on the campaign trail.It’s not inconceivable that this ‘Enquirer’ story was planted by Trump himself, echoing his threat to engulf North Korea “with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”But even if the story came from the Oval Office, it’s likely to be as accurate as the rest of the ‘Enquirer’ offerings this week. America obliterating North Korea doesn’t even merit inclusion on the ‘Enquirer' front page, which is devoted instead to these gems: Julia Roberts’ divorce “turns nasty,” NBC’s Megyn Kelly has been “fired,” and 95-year-old actress Betty White is “battling crippling illness.” Unsurprisingly, none of these claims are supported by the stories inside.How has Julia Roberts’ divorce turned nasty? It hasn’t, since there is no divorce. The ‘Enquirer’ claims that the actress's’ husband Danny Moder is “furious” about Roberts’ “romantic reconnection” with her ‘Pretty Woman’ co-star Richard Gere. “Kiss destroys 15-year marriage,” reports the mag, displaying an incriminating photo of Roberts and Gere bussing lips. But it’s not what it seems: the embrace was the pair’s greeting on TV’s ‘Today’ show in 2015 - a public, innocent and friendly greeting, not a passionate clandestine lip-lock. Is Danny Moder divorcing his wife because he suddenly saw a rereun of his wife greeting an old friend on TV two years ago? Yeah, right.“Megyn’s out!” screams the ‘Enquirer’ headline - except as viewers can tell, Kelly is still on our screens. And the ‘Enquirer’ story concedes she hasn’t gone yet, but merely claims: “NBC’s ready to kick her off ‘Today.’"Betty White was “forced to make a desperate dash to her doctor’s office after collapsing at home,” the ‘Enquirer reports. But aren’t desperate dashes made to hospitals? Trips to one’s doctor are usually less than life-threatening.But White is fortunate to have the medical expertise of New York internist Dr Stuart Fischer, who admits never treating the actress, but insightfully informs the magazine: “This is likely the result of arteriosclerosis.” She could have saved herself a desperate dash to the doctor and just phoned the ‘Enquirer.’The ‘Globe’ continues its almost weekly Royal soap-opera, claiming that the Queen has “changed her mind - once again” - and decided to cut out son Prince Charles and bequeath the crown directly to grandson Prince William. Apart from the fact that the Queen can’t just give the throne to anyone she likes - there’s a legally established line of succession - she supposedly made this decision in anger after learning of Charles’ alleged love child. What’s more, the ‘Globe’ claims “Prince Charles’ illegitimate son is real successor.” Okay, take a deep breath. Firstly, Charles’ alleged love child was first reported by the ‘Enquirer’ in 2000, so this is not news to the Queen, or anyone in tabloidland. Secondly, alleged love child Jason was born in 1984, almost two years after Prince William’s birth - so Jason wouldn’t be first in line for the throne even if he were recognized as Charles’ son and heir. It’s a 16-year-old story, and it’s laughable to report that “the love child scandal has outraged . . . Charles dying 91-year-old mother.”‘Us’ magazine devotes its cover to its exclusive story revealing that Prince Harry’s love, TV’s ‘Suits’ star Meghan Markle, finally met the Queen earlier this month. “It went well,” says a source. “It’ll no doubt be the first of many encounters.” And on the basis of that uninspiring tid-bit, ‘Us’ mag spins out four pages plus its cover. The mag also promises us the story of Katie Holmes and Jamie Foxx: “The truth behind their secret romance.” After years of privately dating, “they’re going to start going public,” reveals an unnamed source. Or maybe that’s just what happens when paparazzi catch you walking hand-in-hand along a Malibu beach.‘People’ magazine devotes its cover to an interview with Angelina Jolie, in which she reveals: “I’m a little bit stronger.” But that’s pretty much the only words she says about her personal life and break-up from husband Brad Pitt in an interview that otherwise reads like a series of questions submitted and answered by email.Jolie steals the cover from Hillary Clinton, who merits a three-page profile on the launch of her latest memoir, having reportedly “found peace in yoga, chardonnay and silliness with her grandkids.” Freed from the tyranny of daily pantsuits, she says: “It’s liberating!”Fortunately we have the crack investigative team at ‘Us’ mag to tell us that Cindy Crawford’s daughter Kaia Gerber wore it best, that Fred Armisen wishes “avocados were illegal,” that actress Melissa Rauch carries sunglasses, hand lotion and chewing gum in her Henri Bendel bag, and that the stars are just like us: they do yoga, feed parking meters, pump gas, take taxis, and buy produce. Earth-shattering, as ever.Leave it to the ‘National Examiner’ to bring us the delightful story of alien mummies found in Peru - five bodies that appear more reptilian than human, according to researchers. X-rays of the alleged 1,500-year-old mummified remains supposedly disprove claims that they were fake models, but the authenticity of the remains, and their questionable provenance, leave many questions unanswered, with the entire enterprise reeking of a money-making hoax. Of course, the ‘Examiner’ can’t resist taking the story a step too far, claiming that “Archaeologists suspect living ETs are still guarding tomb.” Because what alien race wouldn’t watch over the tomb of loved ones for 1,500 years?Onwards and downwards . . .

Remember the "Truman Show Delusion" in which someone is convinced they are starring in their own reality TV show? In a similar delusional vein is the "Matrix Defense" used in the last few years in courts by accused murderers who either truly believe (or pretend to believe) that they are living in the same simulated reality that's the setting of the 1999 film The Matrix and so their heinous crimes were not "real." (Of course, many people do think we may be living in a simulation, but they don't kill others with the "simulation argument" as their excuse.) Over at Mysterious Universe, Brent Swancer tells of these tragic acts:

The Morale Raiser, invented in 1950, would be the perfect gift for those people in your life who require a steady stream of attaboys.Devised by a retired army colonel in the UK, the Morale Raiser made its debut at the Festival of Britain's "eccentrics' corner."(Weird Universe)

"If only you could see what I've seen with your eyes."https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBaXd7dz404

Ten years ago, Warren Buffett bet celebrated hedge fund manager Ted Seides of Protégé Partners that an investment in a low-cost S&P 500 index fund would outperform an investment in Seides's "fund-of-funds," a basked of five funds managed by his firm. (more…)

Pennsylvania State Rep. Aaron Bernstine, a Republican, wrote on Twitter that he would drive through protestors who got in his way. Linking to an article about protests in St. Louis, where a white police officer was acquitted of murder after killing a black man, Bernstine called the protestors "thugs" and made clear his willingness to do likewise.The remarks come barely a month after a white supremacist killed Heather Heyer, and hurt twenty others, by driving through a crowd of protestors with his car.

43% of Canadians believe "science is a matter of opinion," 47% think the science of global warming is "unclear"; 24% of Canadian millennials are anti-vaxxers, all according to a Leger survey of 1,514 Canadians. (more…)

Downtown LA's vacancy rate is 12%, which is the highest it's been since 2000 and triple the overall rate for LA -- and downtown LA is also the site of LA's skid row, whose population surged by 20% last year, thanks to a dramatic increase in homelessness among veterans and under-24s. (more…)

Sean Spicer, the former Trump press secretary who said Hitler didn't use chemical weapons, was a surprise guest at last night's Emmy Awards. Welcomed by Stephen Colbert, he was even given a kiss by a British comedian whose name escapes me but who everyone already hates because he was once a dick to Patrick Stewart.

Evolution is one of 170 topics that have been purged from the high-school curriculum by the Erdogan regime as part of its efforts to cozy up to the reactionary religious right that has backed its extreme authoritarianism. (more…)

Lovely new video from Iceland.

CCleaner is a clean-your-computer app beloved of people who own inexplicably slow PCs. If you installed recent editions of it, you were installing malware. But the company behind it hasn't gone rogue, reports Reuters. Hackers compromised their systems.

The Mag Hand Workstation[Amazon link] by Hobby Creek is a 4.5 Lb steel platform with flexible, magnetic arms that hold delicate objects in place while I paint, solder and study them. Since my side projects involve tiny antiques with itsy bitsy locking mechanisms, I used to have a habit of losing important pieces - but those days are behind me.My Hydra-like workstation comes with 2 magnetic trays that can be positioned anywhere on the platform.And because of built in magnets, even if tip the whole thing upside down, everything stays put. The pieces are modular and allows me to set the flexible matrix in any way I want. In fact, the arms and optional Mag Helper can simply be used by themselves when placed on any steel object.Check out Hobby Creek if you enjoy delicate work but don’t like crawling around on your hands and knees looking for tiny, lost metal things.

A Republican Pennsylvania state representative suggested he’ll run over anyone blocking highways in a tweet that also links to an article about protestors shutting down streets in St. Louis.“If anyone EVER tries to stop my car on a highway with negative intentions...I will not stop under any conditions,” Rep. Aaron Bernstine tweeted Friday.

Conversations with Siri are about to become a whole lot deeper and likely much more unsettling as users begin seeking personal guidance from the voice assistant.Apple is preparing Siri to become iPhone customers’ virtual therapist, according to the International Business Times. The tech company is ideally seeking someone with a psychology background and programming capabilities, according to a job posting from April.“People have serious conversations with Siri,” the description reads. “People talk to Siri about all kinds of things, including when they’re having a stressful day or have something serious on their mind...They turn to Siri in emergencies or when they want guidance on living a healthier life.”Let’s just hope Siri is better at diagnosing our unresolved childhood issues, than she is at voice recognition.Image: Jacquelinekato

This is one of those things I wish I had thought up: an incense burner that looks like the RV meth lab from Breaking Bad.More like Breaking rad, amirite?It's called the "Krystal Ship" and it's available from ThinkGeek for $29.99.

The Sound Traveler is an alternate channel by the creator of Smarter Every Day. It focuses on memorable auditory experiences, like sliding down snowy Mount Adams, a large stratovolcano due east of Mount St. Helens in Washgington State. (more…)

The 8bitdo SN30 is a replica SNES controller that's both wireless and compatible with Windows, MacOS, Nintendo Switch and Android, all via USB-C or Bluetooth. In addition to the classic digital controls are two analog sticks, neatly designed into the otherwise accurate recreation of the original pad. But there's more! It also has two annoying modern perks—rumble and motion controls—ready to be disabled and forgotten the moment they interfere with play.The SN30 is $50 on Amazon and comes in US and EU/JP color schemes; note that it won't ship until December.(The key shortcoming appears to be that it doesn't work with iOS).

Legalist is a Peter Thiel-funded startup whose business-model is to buy legal grievances in exchange for a license to sue on behalf of its users, a practice called champerty that was most notoriously used by Thiel himself when he backed the lawsuits that brought down Gawker Media in an act of petty vengeance. (more…)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f09rTfV2U2wRicky from Inside the Magic writes, "For this year's Halloween event, Hong Kong Disneyland is featuring the Maze of Nightmares, which features scary versions of classic Disney and Pixar characters. Every year, it's always amazing how much further Hong Kong pushes the spooky fun for Halloween past the 'not-so-scary' version in US Disney theme parks."

The juggalos are marching on DC this weekend, to protest the FBI's classification of the music fandom/subculture as a dangerous gang, placing it on a watchlist alongside the Aryan Nation. (more…)

Harry Dean Stanton, who starred in Repo Man, Twin Peaks, Alien and many other movies and TV shows, is dead at 91.

I've never solved Rubik's Cube, but I've never seriously tried. One reason is that most of the cubes I've used are poorly made. They lock up when I try rotating a section, which is frustrating. I did a bit of research and was told to get the Moyu Weilong GTS2 ($15). It's a little smaller than the standard Rubik's Cube, which is a plus, because it's more comfortable to handle. And it's very smooth to turn, because of the rounded off interior corners. I also got the MoYu YJ Lingpo 2 x 2 x 2 Speed Cube, which I'm going to try to tackle first.

It sucks when you load a webpage and it starts playing a video with sound. It's startling and bothers people around you. (When it happens I right-click on the tab and select "mute tab" from the menu - a top I learned on the Recomendo newsletter I co-write.)Fortunately Google announce that it will being introducing new controls to allow users to disable audio on individual sites, followed by another release that will disable autoplay completely (unless you are that 1 person out of 10 million who like to be surprised with obnoxious blaring.

The sound reminds me of a David Cronenberg film.And here's how to make your own gold slime:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xau5CQdRckY

Shortly after Friday morning's terror attack with a crude bomb in a London Underground train in which 23 people were injured, Trump did the usual tweet-before-you-know-anything jig."Another attack in London by a loser terrorist. These are sick and demented people who were in the sights of Scotland Yard. Must be proactive!"

Don't you hate it when you buy a rock and learn that it's not one of a kind? No, because all rocks are one of a kind. But that doesn't stop French luxury brand Hermès from boasting that each rock it sells is "unique," and "exclusive to you." A rock sells for $840, which seems steep until you learn the rock comes with a leather handle, making it easy to tote around.Get one now, before Louise Linton buys up the entire inventory.[via Oddity Central]

Along with directing such classic films as Escape from New York, Halloween, The Fog, and The Thing, John Carpenter also composed the soundtracks. For those who want a survey of Carpenter's synth stylings, I recommend the new compilation from Sacred Bones Records, titled "John Carpenter Anthology: Movie Themes 1974-1998." The celebrate the release, Carpenter created this music video for the theme from Christine (1983), in which a woman summons an Uber and the demonic driverless 1958 Plymouth Fury shows up. Just kidding about the Uber part.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) is blaming a Democratic supporter for convincing Civil War reenactors to protest the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue — leading to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.Rohrabacher told the San Francisco Chronicle it was a liberal media lie to suggest the August protest was initiated by white nationalists. “It’s all baloney,” Rohrabacher said. “It was a setup for these dumb Civil War reenactors...It was left-wingers who were manipulating them in order to have this confrontation...put our president on the spot.”A version of the conspiracy was originally touted by far-right radio host Alex Jones.