I have a feeling Donald Trump (and most of the rest of the human race) would be happier if he were starring in the sitcom suggested by this photo insteading of serving the American people as a federal bureaucrat. In actuality, it's a photo of Nikos Giannopoulos, Rhode Island’s teacher of the year, who said he wanted to be ‘visibly queer’ when he posed for this photo with Mr. and Mrs. Trump.From Washington Post:

Apple released this lovely new commercial featuring Carl Sagan reading from his magnificent 1994 book Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space, now available as an audiobook. This surprising partnership spurred Adweek to interview my friend Ann Druyan, Sagan's wife, collaborator, and creative director of the Voyager Golden Record, about being the "keeper of (Carl's) flame," her own work, and the politics of science. As always, Annie is profoundly eloquent and inspiring. From Adweek:

That bright blue object in the center of the photo is NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover as imaged by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter earlier this month. From NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory:

LED light bulbs are now very cheap, but dimmable ones have commanded a premium. Today, Amazon is selling a 4-pack of Cree's 60W equivalent soft white bulbs for just $10. I bought them after reading the reviews that stated they don't buzz, which is a problem that a lot of LED bulbs have.

This week's Cool Tools Show guest is Tim Ferriss. Tim was listed as one of Fast Company's "Most Innovative Business People" and one of Fortune's "40 under 40." He's an early-stage technology investor and advisor (Uber, Facebook, Alibaba, and 50+ others) and the author of four #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers, including The 4-Hour Workweek and Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers (reviewed on Cool Tools). He is the host of The Tim Ferriss Show podcast, which has exceeded 150 million downloads and has been selected for "Best of iTunes" three years running. (more…)

ARKit is Apple's new iOS framework for building augmented reality experiences on the iPhone and iPad. In this video, you can see how Tomás García used ARKit to simulate the Apollo 11 Lunar Mission un his kitchen.

I am very happy with the solar power solution I've adapted for my van camping needs. I can power all my toys! (more…)

This film of New York City was shot in 1911, and it is in excellent condition. Everything is in sharp focus. It is as vibrant and picturesque as a Scorcese period film. Almost everyone wears a hat. All the men wear suits and ties. There are all kinds of public transportation - trolleys, cable cars, trains. Lots of horse-drawn carriages, and more automobiles than I would have guessed.From MoMA:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH0JOx0SV0U&feature=youtu.beElly Blue (previously) writes, "Bikequity is the 14th issue of my long-running (since 2010) feminist bike zine, Taking the Lane." (more…)

Maud Lewis is the subject of Maudie, a biopic being released later this year as an awards contender. Canada's National Film Board made this charming 1976 short subject portrait of her life and work. (more…)

Given that film criticism is overwhelmingly white and male, film critic (and great Twitter follow) Valerie Complex decided to put together a list of women of color currently working in the field. She points out that while they may be underrepresented at larger mainstream publications, there are still many talented women of color working at smaller sites, self-publishing, or freelancing. And as she notes:

After 40 years of trademark threats and general grousing, the Y.M.C.A. (or at least one international branch of it) is embracing the eponymous Village People song, Y.M.C.A.: it's commissioned a cover version from singer and D.J. Boy George to promote the organization.

For the recent Wizard World Comic Con in Sacramento, Rob Cockerham made a working six-foot fidget spinner costume. It's quite a sight.He writes:

The YouTube channel Wendover Productions took a trip to Barrow, Alaska to learn all about America’s northernmost town, where it snows during the summer and everyday items are incredibly expensive because it takes so much work to ship them in (a DiGiorno frozen pizza can cost $17; a pack of toilet paper can cost $20). The town is home to just over 4,000 people, the majority of whom are members of the indigenous Iñupia tribe. Since the area has been the cultural center of the Iñupia for thousands of years, Barrow (known officially as Utqiaġvik) is one of the oldest permanently inhabited settlements in North America.

Randy Bryce wants to challenge Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan for the First District of Wisconsin, where Ryan beat his most recent Democratic challenger by 35 points. (more…)

USA Today undertook a year-long investigation into southern California truckers, so-called "independent contractors" who form a critical link from America's busiest port to the rest of the country, and found that drivers are sunk into deep pits of debt due to predatory contracts they signed under duress, debts that are used to force them to work unsafe hours, falsify their work records, and sometimes bring home literal pennies a week after working 80+ hours (some drivers even finish the week in deeper debt, owing money to the companies they "contract" for). (more…)

Ever since the Ukrainian "Maidan" revolution, the country has been subjected to waves of punishing cyberwar attacks, targeting its power grids, finance ministry, TV networks, election officials, and other critical systems. (more…)

Mozilla has extended and improved its Firefox Focus browser, heretofore an Ios product, bringing it to Android, with auto-blocking of trackers and ads and making it easy to erase your browser history. (more…)

Fandom Jesus is no match for canon Jesus, and a Tyrannosaurus Rex is no match for fandom Noah in this meticulously faithful retelling of the Bible's greatest ark-builder. (more…)

What was last week posed as an indefinite leave of absence is now for good: Travis Kalanick, CEO of scandal-wracked rideshare company Uber, announced that he is leaving the company.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love, the city of San Francisco has created a trippy 13-poster series of "trading card" posters.Conceived by Kate Haug and produced by Ivan Uranga, both Bay Area artists, the groovy posters feature the "all-stars of 1967s counterculture and political scene," including the likes of Joan Baez, Timothy Leary, Jerry Garcia, Sly Stone, Sonny Barger, Bobby Seale, Lenore Kandel, Allen Ginsberg, Janis Joplin, Reverend Cecil Williams, Janice Mirikitani, Joan Didion, and even Ronald Reagan.According to a press release from the San Francisco Arts Commission:

I know what you're probably thinking and, nope, this isn't a concept design for a refrigerator that looks like a Volkswagen Bus. They actually made a VW Bus fridge!This stylish kitchen icebox is a collaboration between Volkswagen and Gorenje, a Slovenian manufacturer of large home appliances.

This novel mapping technique developed by Yasamin Mostofi allows two drones to map the interior of an unknown building by using wifi signals and some impressive number-crunching. (more…)

Lufa Farms is a commercial rooftop greenhouse built in 2010, one of three such gardens that help feed 2% of Montreal. (more…)

In this fascinating video analysis, Nerdwriter1 examines Logan through the lens of John G. Cawelti’s essay, “Chinatown and Generic Transformation in Recent American Films,” which tracks the evolutionary cycle of genre films.

Belle Gunness was one of America's most prolific female serial killers, luring lonely men to her Indiana farm with promises of marriage, only to rob and kill them. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of The LaPorte Black Widow and learn about some of her unfortunate victims.We'll also break back into Buckingham Palace and puzzle over a bet with the devil.Show notesPlease support us on Patreon!

Jeronimo Yanez was acquitted Friday after killing Philando Castile last July. Castile, unarmed, had disclosed to Yanez that he was a legal owner of a concealed-carry firearm as he reached for his driver's license, as Yanez had requested. Yanez shot him seven times in front of his wife and child, later claiming that the smell of marijuana, and his inability to see what Castile was reaching for, justified the killing. Viewers watched the aftermath on Facebook Live, broadcast by Castile's distraught wife. The Star-Tribune synchronized and superimposed the two videos — only the dashcam footage is embedded above.

Chips, dips, chains, whips. Kelly LeBrock's custom studded leather jacket she rocked as Lisa in "Weird Science" (1985) is up for auction. Starting bid is $30,000 and it's estimated to go for $50,000. From Profiles in History auctioneers via eBay:

Most of us vastly overestimate our understanding of how things work. We think we know more than we do. Why? Because we get by with a little help from our friends. (Sorry.) Cognitive scientists Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach explore why we think we're so smart in a new book titled The Knowledge Illusion: Why We Never Think Alone. Over at Scientific American, Gareth Cook interviews Sloman about how thinking turns out to be more of a community activity.

Aaron from EFF writes, "EFF has just launched the Summer Security Camp, a two-week membership drive that challenges people everywhere to gather ‘round the online rights movement and prepare for the privacy and free speech challenges in their paths. Through the 4th of July, everyone who signs up as a Silicon level member and above can receive a set of three different miniature field guides with shareable digital security tips:" (more…)

This is a problem as I will be flying there shortly to visit my family.Hoping it's just a software glitch on the Chicago Transit Authority station sign.(via r/softwaregore)

My daughter built The Phantom. I wanted the Chopper and Grand Admiral Thrawn minifigs, (Kanan is ok too.)She had a great time building the set in an afternoon. The laser canon work and the projectiles sting a little. The minifigs are delightful.LEGO Star Wars The Phantom 75170 Building Kit (269 Pieces) via Amazon

I don't know what's weirder – the fact that a bar uses an amputated human toe as a cocktail ingredient, or that the toe was stolen. But both happened at a saloon in Canada's Dawson City, Yukon.The Sourtoe Cocktail Club started in 1973 at Dawson City's Downtown Hotel. To join the club, you need to down 1 oz of hard liquor – preferably Jack Daniels – with a severed toe bobbing in the glass. To earn a membership certificate, you need to make sure the toe touches your lips. But last week the toe was stolen."We are furious," said Terry Lee, the hotel's "Toe Captain" in a news release. "Toes are very hard to come by."And where do these toes come from? The first one – the one that inspired the original Sourtoe Cocktail – was a toe from the prohibition era. To avoid gangrene the toe was chopped off and stored into a mason jar. Some 50 years later the toe was discovered and voila, the Sourtoe was born. Since that toe, however, others have been donated from people who have had to part for whatever reason with one of their digits.According to CBCNews:

These 1-foot-long extension cords make it possible to use all the outlets on a power strip when connecting bulky AC adapters to it. A 10-pack normally costs $18 but if you use code WQFRS4Z5 they will cost you $10.

Documentary Filmmaker John McDonald is making a documentary about a man named Mule. Mule lives outdoors and owns three mules, and can sometimes be seen walking with them through big cities like Los Angeles. Authorities don't know how to deal with him.

After watching this short documentary about sculptor Jeff Koons (narrated by Scarlett Johansson), I have more appreciation for what he does. I used to resent the fact that he has a team of artisans that do much of the actual work, but now I think, "so what?"Video has nudity.[via Kottle]

When I was a youngster, during the golden age of prank calls before caller ID, my friend and I found the name Zerba Zzyx at the end of the telephone book. We called Mr. Zzyx and asked if he realized he was the last name in the telephone book. Much to our surprise, he pleasantly told us that yes, he was aware of that fact, and hung up. (It wasn't one of our proudest prank call moments.)Anyway, I hadn't thought about Mr. Zzyx for many years until I just saw this post on Weird Universe about "Zzyzx Road," just outside of Baker, California. Here's the origin of the road's name:

The Samurai Guitarist brings some Morricone to Michael.(via Laughing Squid)

In this video, a hungry wolf chases a small goat across the face of a sheer, crumbling cliff. The wolf wins.

Amigous Cerveza is a craft beer that sports a glum Mariachi Trump sporting a swastika belt buckle, a sombrero that says "Luck You" on the brim, and a misspelled "Amigos." The back of the label declares that the orange guy belongs "in a mad house, not the White House."The beer was created by the cross-border team Epic Brewing in the US and Mexico's Casa Cervecera Cru Cru brewery. "We don't agree on how the president of the United States talks about Mexico. We wanted to show him that we can create great products collaborating between The United States and Mexico," says Cru Cru's CEO Luis Enrique de la Reguera.Launched in May, the first batch – 1,200 bottles and 400 liters on tap – sold out in one week. I don't think Trump's wall will be able to keep this beer away.https://youtu.be/RbPYAVVNVv0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCqxOzKNFksThese little remote control vehicles are designed to push each other out of a small circle. They dart so fast that it's hard to keep up.[via]

The Nation reports that people who try to steal yard signs for Democratic Congress candidate Jon Ossoff find themselves being covered in a mixture of glitter and vaseline. The sign-takers started to burn the signs instead, so the sign-owners attached American flags to the signs.Then there’s the women-led Pave It Blue, which is more Yippie than yuppie (though not many are old enough to know what that means). They describe themselves as “ninjas.” They dress up like dinosours and make Ossoff signs that “glitter bomb” (the signs are bordered in Vaseline with clear glitter, so people who attempt to remove them find themselves coated in Vaseline and glitter). It’s a brilliantly defensive move: Sign removal has been a problem in this traditionally red district. And when their Ossoff signs began being set on fire, they started attaching American flags to them, since conservatives believe flag-burning should be illegal.As one Twitter user commented: "The flag things reminds me of Fumi-e. To keep Christians out of Japan, people disembarking ships would have to step on religious images."Image: frankieleon

Loud sex. Stolen Amazon packages. Dog crap. Here are 34 angry letters of complaint and warning written by neighbors who've had it up to here.

Ask any photographer or filmmaker about the lamest question they get the most, and they'll probably say questions about what gear they use. Georges Antoni showed that camera doesn't matter as much as other factors by shooting the June Elle Australia cover on an iPhone 7 Plus: (more…)

Here's something you don't see every day, a swimming owl.In late 2016 Derrick Zuk and some pals were hiking through a canyon in Lake Powell (between Utah and Arizona) and discovered this great horned owl as it started swimming in the water. Zuk waded behind the white bird to capture this rare footage.While it looks rather beautiful, National Geographic reports that this behavior is a "last resort" for the bird:

It turns out that back in the 1920s, bridesmaids often wore white to match the bride. Meanwhile, today’s bridal party looks tend to be cohesive but not identical.

One subtext of the investigation into President Trump (especially its political dimensions) is the winking suggestion that the Russia stuff is small potatoes and the meat is in getting to prove everything else the man surely got up to: payola and piss tapes, oh my. But be wary of the expansive power of government to entrap, to trick, to effectively "produce new crimes" on their way to nailing a target. If they can do it to Trump, however satisfying and deserved it is, it's only a reminder how often they do it to the weakest and poorest among us. Here's Ken "Popehat" White, at the National Review:

If there’s one thing this video from AsapSCIENCE taught me, it’s that I have a terrible memory. Thankfully (or then again, maybe not), it turns out a lot of other people do too.

Josh Greenfield of Brothers Green Eats proves that fast food isn’t necessarily cheaper than cooking for yourself. As he explains: