“Big Brother, it turned out, was wearing a MAGA cap”

A federal judge in New York on Tuesday denied a request that accused serial sexual abuser R. Kelly be released from jail, rejecting claims by his lawyers that he is at high risk of contracting COVID-19.READ THE DECISION: [PDF]In her opinion, Ann M. Donnelly, United States District Judge in Brooklyn, NY, wrote that lawyers for R. Kelly failed to prove their client is no longer “a flight risk or a danger to the community.” News reports say 'at least 2' workers at the Chicago jail where R. Kelly is housed have tested positive for coronavirus.Judge rejects R Kelly's request to be released due to COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak pic.twitter.com/b0sftq9fY9— Charlie De Mar (@CharlieDeMar) April 7, 2020From reporting by Marina Fang for HuffPo:On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly rejected the attempt, pointing out that Kelly, 53, is younger than the age group that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention consider to be at high risk. His alleged history of abuse means that he continues to be “a flight risk or a danger to the community,” she wrote in a court filing, and his lawyers have failed to prove that has not changed.In addition, Donnelly said his surgery in January, which was reportedly to repair a hernia, has been completed, and he “does not explain how his surgical history places him at a higher risk of severe illness.” “While I am sympathetic to the defendant’s understandable anxiety about COVID-19, he has not established compelling reasons warranting his release,” she wrote Tuesday. Read the rest

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, will be staying in a London hospital's intensive care unit for the second night in a row, officials tell various news reporters late Tuesday U.S. time.Johnson is receiving oxygen support but is in 'stable' medical condition, in good spirits, and is not on a ventilator, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told a daily news conference. Raab is standing in for Johnson.From Reuters:Johnson, 55, was admitted to St Thomas’ Hospital, across the River Thames from parliament, late on Sunday after suffering symptoms including a fever and a cough for more than 10 days.His condition deteriorated, and he was moved on Monday to an intensive care unit in case he needed to be put on a ventilator.In an update on Tuesday evening, his Downing Street office said he would remain there for close monitoring and no further update was expected before Wednesday. Read more:UK PM Johnson, battling coronavirus, set for second night in intensive care[Reuters, William James, Costas Pitas] Read the rest

She did not.

According to the latest figures from NBC News, Wyoming is the only U.S. state or territory not to have marked a single death from Covid-19.... the White House’s best-picture scenario of 100,000 to 240,000 deaths ... predicts the U.S. will hit a peak death rate of more than 2,000 deaths per day in mid-April. President Donald Trump warned that this week in particular would be the "toughest."Finland has a number of deaths, but had an even better day than Wyoming yesterday, tallying "-1" deaths. "Es beggint", writes Marina WeisbandEs beginnt. pic.twitter.com/JTtfcsgon7— Marina Weisband (@Afelia) April 6, 2020 Read the rest

Have you ever had more time to hone in on fine details than right now? Sure, at first glance, this might not seem like the time to get tripped up on the nitty-gritty of minutia. But how often are you ever going to have this much time to really stop and think about hows and whys and make a truly informed, truly considered decision about anything?Like which Adobe photo editing app do you need, Photoshop or Lightroom?The debate has raged for years — but since they’re both hugely popular with their own idiosyncratic skill sets, now’s the time to be a real imaging expert in both with the training in The Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop for Beginner Designers Bundle.The collection spans nine courses over 27 hours of instruction, all coming from one trusted authority you can count on to explain these elite apps. In fact, Marcin Mikus has legions of former students endorsing his curriculum, notching a 4.3-out-of-5 star rating for over 250,000 reviewers.While both Adobe programs get plenty of attention here, the lion’s share of your training will naturally fall on learning Photoshop, the undisputed king of image editing software. Mikus’ beginner-friendly coursework will get you familiar with all the app’s basic controls, then get you started working on a batch of projects to hone your skills, including retouching landscapes and adjusting portraits.Once you’re up and running with Photoshop, various courses focus in on more specific, yet highly useful training practice, helping students work with layers, curves and masks as well as LUT color fixes. Read the rest

Spoken Word with Electronics is an audio series delivering to you a two side recording of unusual stories paired with vintage modular electronic sounds THIS WEEK:Episode #4: "To Forget to Remember"Welcome back to Spoken Word with Electronics. I hope this week has gone well for you, all things considered. Here's some audio theater:This week we lead off with an uncommon recording of E.E.Cummings. One of my favorite poems of his is anyone lived in a pretty how town. It was first published in 1940 and has some interesting resonance today. He has a beautiful speaking voice, which surprised me, a blend of Oscar Wilde with Truman Capote, just with no capital letters. (E.E.'s name was often capitalized, unlike his poems)Here's the track:Side A: E.E. Cummings Reads 'anyone lived in a pretty how town' — with a Yamaha Loop and a Metasonix R55 VCOMusic for this track is a blend of a few things, but primarily a loop from a Yamaha Reface CP (GREAT FUN) along with other yamaha-based loops recorded over the last few years, and a Metasonix Voltage Controlled Oscillator, specifically the R55. The R55 (and its current version, the RK7) is based on a very unpredictable thyratron tube and is a wonderfully unpredictable source of noise and completely unique. It's not unlike a tesla coil with sound. You can hear it floating through this isolated track at a gentle dissipating scrape about halfway through. Plugging an LFO into its VCA can produce a wonderful snoring sound; this is audible in the ending third of the track. Read the rest

Dr. Drew is a snake oil salesman. Really terrible stuff here. What a disgrace. pic.twitter.com/Eh35Ky8yVO— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) April 4, 2020Someone with the handle @DroopsDr posted a supercut of celebrity doctor Drew Pinsky downplaying the severity of the coronavirus epidemic ("way less serious than influenza") and then later claiming that he had always taken it seriously ("We predicted from the beginning that this was going to be worse than the flu.")Dr. Drew contacted YouTube and made them remove the video, citing copyright.Then Dr. Drew went after people on Twitter who retweeted the video, with the warning: "Infringing copywrite [sic] laws is a crime. Hang on to your retweets. Or erase to be safe."Ars Technica reports that lawyers jumped into let people know they could safely retweet the video:[Preet] Bharara, a former US attorney, and Boutrous, a high-profile attorney, were among the many who replied to defend or amplify Ali."You are safe from any 'copywrite' lawsuit, @yashar," Bharara tweeted. "Know your writes.""Truth and fair use got you," Boutrous added in a tweet that quoted Pinsky's now-deleted threat.It appears that either Pinsky or YouTube was inclined to agree. Sometime around noon Monday, give or take an hour, the YouTube video listing very quietly started working once again. Similarly, every message on Pinsky's @drdrew Twitter account relating to the video has been deleted.Watch on #Periscope: #DoseOfDrDrew 4/4/2020 (Take 1) Apology.https://t.co/jLJU779hb5— Dr Drew (@drdrew) April 5, 2020On April 4 Dr. Read the rest

While using a bandanna is one excellent way to craft a face mask, this jock strap hack takes only three easy steps and doesn't require anything extra. I made a Jockstrap Mask Tutorial, because I’m ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/JiYhV3K8uh— Emerson Collins (@ActuallyEmerson) April 3, 2020 Read the rest

A U-Haul parking lot burst into flame after a man threw a lit firework at his girlfriend, unknowingly disturbing a gasoline thief. All sorts of antics are captured on camera. Read the rest

This would be that thing.Today's installment of the hottest thing on local TV: "What Day Is It?" by @fox8news in Cleveland pic.twitter.com/YfOxbxn9q5— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) April 7, 2020 Read the rest

In 1994, exercise equipment maker Life Fitness partnered with Nintendo on the Life Fitness Exertainment System with games designed for the Exertainment bike. Above is a promotional video for this short-lived product.The footage shows how the system works and also alludes to Tetris and Pac-Man being made for the system as footage was even shown, but the only games to come out for the system were Mountain Bike Rally and Mountain Bike Rally/Speed Racer combo for the Lifecyle 9XS gym version.And here's a description of the the Exertainment System Mountain Bike Rally/Speed Racer cartridge that now sells for more than $1300 on the collector market:Welcome To The Exertainment System Game Pak! In this one Game Pak you can select from three exciting game titles: Program Manager Your Very Own On-Screen Trainer! Life Fitness Program Manager is your electronic personal trainer. It sets your personal workout goals and retains personal workout information for up to four members of your family. Program Manager is perfect for motivating you to get in shape and for tracking workouts - all while you're having fun on the Exertainment system! Mountain Bike Rally Wow! What a ride! Hop on your Lifecycle trainer and race against riders bent on winning at all costs. Watch out for punches and strike back at those cycling foes. But keep one eye on road obstacles. They're at every turn. Quick, choose the ramp routes and leave your opponent in the dust! Speed Racer Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines. Read the rest

The new BBC documentary Scotland — Contains Strong Language explores the Bannatyne Manuscript from 1568. Written by Edinburgh Merchant George Bannatyne while he was quarantined during — appropriately enough — a plague, the collection includes a poem titled "The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy," an account of a duel between two poets said to have been conducted before the court of King James IV.As Ars Technica explains:Flyting is a poetic genre in Scotland—essentially a poetry slam or rap battle, in which participants exchange creative insults with as much verbal pyrotechnics (doubling and tripling of rhymes, lots of alliteration) as they can muster. (It's a safe bet Shakespeare excelled at this art form.)And it is in that poem that these words were found, amidst the barbs shot back-and-forth between these poets: "wan fukkit funling."According to Dr Joanna Kopaczyk, a historical linguistics expert from Glasgow University, that makes it the first recorded use of the word "fuck."To me, that looks more like Scots than Middle English, although both languages were derived from Olde English. There are also some people who insist that Scots is merely a dialect of English, rather than its own language. Scots should also not be confused with Scottish Gaelic. That being said: is anyone surprised that Scotland would be home to the first "fuck?"Scotland's claim to fame as birthplace of the F-word revealed [Brian Ferguson / The Scotsman]500-year-old manuscript contains earliest known use of the “F-word” [Jennifer Ouelette / Ars Technica]Image: Gareth E. Read the rest

Ironically, Ramsey Lewis' 'Dancing in the Street' has been the song most at play during the few short trips I've had to make around Venice and Santa Monica.Very little dancing on the streets of Los Angeles. Read the rest

No change in hospitalized UK PM Boris Johnson's condition, say government officials.An update on the coronavirus patient Boris Johnson from No. 10: “The Prime Minister’s condition is stable and he remains in intensive care for close monitoring. He is in good spirits.”No further update from Downing Street expected today.No10 update: No change in Boris Johnson's condition“The Prime Minister’s condition is stable and he remains in intensive care for close monitoring. He is in good spirits.”— John Stevens (@johnestevens) April 7, 2020 Read the rest

There are plenty of productive ways to spend time while stuck indoors. While it’s undoubtedly fun to binge all 15 seasons of Supernatural or sink days of playtime into an Overwatch campaign, learning something new is definitely a more meaningful and long-term beneficial use of open hours.And if you’re going to invest time in learning something new, you better make sure it sticks. More than half a million Apple App and Google Play users have given the Babbel Language Learning system a 4.6 out of 5-star rating for its innovative and impactful methods in helping students learn a new language. So you know it works.Right now, they’re making their award-winning services available again at 60 percent off the regular lifetime subscription price, just $159.With this deal, you can learn 14 of the world’s most popular languages at your own pace with Babbel, the top-grossing language learning app around the globe.Developed by over 100 linguistic experts, Babbel even says they’ll help you start speaking confidently in your new language in only 30 days. Just choose the language you’d like to learn, and you’ll immediately get access to more than 8,500 hours of high-quality language education.Before you get overwhelmed, all those hours are broken down into easily digestible 10- to 15-minute lessons, so you can also find time to fit them into your day naturally.The focus of the Babbel method is building your basic conversational skills, working you through real-world scenarios on real-world subjects like your family, your business, ordering a meal, booking transportation and more. Read the rest

Enjoy this important reminder that the internet is intimately attuned to our problems and seeks out new ones for us to experience together.Embedded below is a cleaner extended mix. Read the rest

1952 Vincent Black Lightning is a song that makes me think about fresh starts, old habits, love and loss—topics that we all currently have way too much time to ponder, just now. Read the rest

This news segment from WSAV-TV in Savannah, Georgia, reports on fraudulent coronavirus tests being hawked at pop-up drive-through sites. Both worried patients and medicaid are being defrauded.[Taylor Durden WSAV-TV] Broadway Metro Council President David James says it's a scam. [Tara Bassett, Activist] If they're your insurance was not on the list ... they charged them two hundred and forty dollars. [Durden] There are two companies running these BXK Marketing and Community Outreach Marketing Group. When we called a Florida number supposedly associated with BCK Marketing the woman who answered said she'd never heard of BCK Marketing. We talked to two men from Community Outreach Marketing Group who said they were overseeing this pop-up test site on 17th and Broadway. ... When they were confronted, they tore everything down and left.The venture capitalist Paul Graham recently wrote a blog post marveling at Fox News hosts who had no idea their lies about coronavirus would be exposed.They didn't realize there was any danger in making false predictions. These people constantly make false predictions, and get away with it, because the things they make predictions about either have mushy enough outcomes that they can bluster their way out of trouble, or happen so far in the future that few remember what they said.An epidemic is different. It falsifies your predictions rapidly and unequivocally.There's a moment in this footage when they're interviewing the scammers and you can see something flicker in the interviewee's eyes. A sudden awareness that the consequence of the thing he's doing is about to move from "LLC gets sued" to "beaten to death in the street." Read the rest

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be installing a number of upgrades into my shotgun and converting my iPod classic to use SD cards for storage and a 3,000 mAh battery. Both projects will allow me to get a lot more use out of the stuff that I already own. That said, I'm feeling kind of bummed that I don't have the parts on hand to build my own motorized drift trike. Read the rest

From Nature.com (emphasis added):Here, we describe easily deployable hardware and software for the long-term analysis of a user’s excreta through data collection and models of human health. The ‘smart’ toilet, which is self-contained and operates autonomously by leveraging pressure and motion sensors, analyses the user’s urine using a standard-of-care colorimetric assay that traces red–green–blue values from images of urinalysis strips, calculates the flow rate and volume of urine using computer vision as a uroflowmeter, and classifies stool according to the Bristol stool form scale using deep learning, with performance that is comparable to the performance of trained medical personnel. Each user of the toilet is identified through their fingerprint and the distinctive features of their anoderm, and the data are securely stored and analysed in an encrypted cloud server. The toilet may find uses in the screening, diagnosis and longitudinal monitoring of specific patient populations.tl;dr — Data gathering for toilets using biometrics of your anus. Got it? Okay cool. The article itself is paywalled, as far too many academic articles are, but one Twitter user shared screenshots of this screening, diagnosis, and longitudinal monitoring technology:In other news Stanford has made a toilet that identifies you based on your butthole https://t.co/JKSuLk4lD7 pic.twitter.com/RHbMa59ZPO— quaranbean (@christapeterso) April 6, 2020THREE CAMERAS in the toilet! pic.twitter.com/C0ao0ISzpf— quaranbean (@christapeterso) April 6, 2020Other pages explain:We performed 410 fingerprinting [Ed note: butthole] trials from 10 participants … Among 11 participants, two video clips of the anus per participants were acquired from 7 participants, whereas one video clip of the anus per participant was acquired from 4 participants … As an input, individual frames of the anus from participant 1 were used for identification purposes. Read the rest

It brings me, and my future sheltered-in-place mail art projects, a lot of joy that Ruth Asawa postage stamps have been announced. Sadly, USPS hasn't revealed the release date just yet. So, instead, I'll just be over here clicking "refresh."Showcasing Asawa’s wire sculptures, the pane includes 20 stamps, with two each of 10 designs, featuring photographs by Dan Bradica and Laurence Cuneo. The selvage features a photograph of Asawa taken by Nat Farbman in 1954 for Life magazine. Ethel Kessler served as art director and designer.(Ruth Asawa Facebook page) Read the rest

In a live broadcast Sunday, Queen Elizabeth II spoke about the coronavirus situation. It was a serious and reassuring speech. But, she wore a green dress, a green-screen-green dress. The internet, starting with Peter Chiykowski, took it from there.A few of you said my queenscreen photoshops are disrespectful, and you're right.The Queen is definitely a corgis > cats lady. pic.twitter.com/XmQI5jJ5Ao— Peter Chiykowski respects the Queen, I promise (@rockpapercynic) April 5, 2020Okay 2020 let's break the Internet pic.twitter.com/dBgi7IgEae— Peter Chiykowski respects the Queen, I promise (@rockpapercynic) April 5, 2020One commenter quipped that the dress was the Queen's "'Easter egg' to provide entertainment to the quarantined masses." Unlikely, but fun to think about.THIS ONE:This canvas speaks to me pic.twitter.com/iWk6FuGsPM— Ned Pyle (@NerdPyle) April 6, 2020green-screen-screengrab via Peter Chiykowski/Twitter Read the rest

From the Washington Post:During a time of global crisis, climbing death tolls and widespread uncertainty, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been hailed globally for her compassionate handling of the coronavirus pandemic.She continued to win hearts Monday when she clarified who exactly has made a list of “essential workers.”“You’ll be pleased to know that we do consider both the tooth fairy and the Easter Bunny to be essential workers,” she said, smiling. “But as you can imagine, at this time they’re going to be potentially quite busy at home with their family as well and their own bunnies.”New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern confirms Easter Bunny is classed as an “essential worker” but it might be “difficult for the bunny to get everywhere” in current circumstances.Tooth fairy also confirmed as an essential worker. pic.twitter.com/Jv6o4t2tkG— Daniel Rosney (@DanielRosney) April 6, 2020It's not clear if these essential workers are also deserving of a living wage like all other essential workers, or if trickle-down economics will impact the income of Tooth Faeries across the globe. In my humble opinion, even immortal cryptids deserve fair compensation for their labor.Tooth fairy and Easter Bunny are ‘essential workers,’ New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern confirms [Jennifer Hassan / Washington Post]Image: Public Domain via NeedPix Read the rest

ICYMI, Actor John Krasinski has a new web show made up entirely of positive news stories aptly called, Some Good News. It's resonating with folks, its first episode came out a week ago and already has 13M views. Episode 2 dropped Sunday and included a big surprise for Aubrey, a 9-year-old girl who missed out on going to see Hamilton for her birthday because of the coronavirus situation. I won't spoil it, but it's a lot of fun and totally 100% heartwarming. I may have cried.screengrab via Some Good News/YouTube Read the rest

Yoga studios are closed nationwide. The irony is that between the anxieties of the outside world and those popping up inside your very own home with everyone trapped indoors, there’s probably never been a time where yoga’s calming zen was more vital and needed.Rather than just throwing in the yoga mat and subjecting family members to very un-zen-like displays, a one-year subscription to YogaDownload can help restore the relaxed, centered you that you need to be to survive all this.Offering up everything from increased muscle strength and athleticism and improved energy and vitality to a more balanced metabolism and a more ordered, peaceful mind, the healthy benefits of yoga were established literally centuries ago.With Yogadownload, you can achieve all those benefits right from home with access to over 1,5000 top-rated online yoga and fitness classes to help tone up your body and tune up your mind whenever you need the attention.Whether you’re a beginner or already an experienced practitioner, you’ll find a course that syncs with your skill level anytime you could use a session. And the sessions really do run the gamut, including courses in nearly 20 different disciplines.You can choose from the synchronizing breathing and physical demands of Anusara yoga to the strength training of power yoga to the calm of restorative yoga to more specialized training like prenatal or beginner’s yoga. Heck, there’s even kids yoga to help those tiny terrors burn off some of that excess energy with a hearty, kid-centric routine. Read the rest

Coronavirus outbreak fears are not sufficient reason for the governor of Wisconsin to postpone the state's Tuesday primary election, a state supreme court ruled late Monday.Gov. Tony Evers said the risk to the health and lives of Wisconsinites was too great, and this is why he wanted to postpone the election.The GOP-led state court denied his authority, public health concerns be damned. Further court challenges are likely.Good luck and stay safe, Wisconsin voters.JUST IN: Wisconsin's presidential primary election will proceed Tuesday under an order from the state Supreme Court that came just hours after Gov. Tony Evers tried to postpone voting as part of a last-ditch effort amid growing fears over the coronavirus. https://t.co/i1BExKBRjA— Star Tribune (@StarTribune) April 6, 2020BREAKING: Wisconsin Supreme Court blocks Gov. Evers’ executive order suspending all in-person voting for Tuesday's primary. pic.twitter.com/50L3E1vdcU— MSNBC (@MSNBC) April 6, 2020NEW: Wisconsin's Supreme Court has ordered the state's primary on Tuesday to proceed, overruling the governor's order to postpone the election. Further court challenges are likely.https://t.co/crUL2sa1pl— NPR (@NPR) April 6, 2020As the @POTUS boasts of the value of mitigation, the Rs in Wisconsin, supported by the @GOP-dominated supporter state Supreme Court, are pressing ahead with Tuesday’s primary, overruling the governor’s emergency public health order.— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) April 6, 2020BREAKING: Wisconsin Supreme Court blocks Gov. Evers’ executive order suspending all in-person voting for Tuesday's primary. pic.twitter.com/ZVsPe2tqLu— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) April 6, 2020Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signs an executive order suspending in-person voting for tomorrow’s primary election: “... Read the rest

President Trump says that there is "light at the end of the tunnel" in the coronavirus pandemic. Optimism from Dr Birx and Mr Trump contrasted with other leading US experts, including top advisor Dr Anthony Fauci, who earlier said the short-term outlook was "really bad". The US surgeon general, meanwhile, warned that this will be "the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans' lives". Read the rest

"Over a period of time we will get a good vaccine," says Dr. Anthony Fauci

The world is full of sad, maddening horseshit, right now. So, it's important that we latch on to any rays of light that can be found.In Calgary, Canada, firefighters are doing what they can to ensure that kids and elderly folks who are forced to celebrate their birthdays in a time of turmoil, have something to brighten what would otherwise be a shelter at home, friends-at-a-distance affair.From The CBC:Fire Chief Steve Dongworth says firefighters have already been delivering some birthday greetings outside homes with sirens and lights blaring.But he says the fire department has now formalized the practice through a new program called Drive-By Birthdays.The program is open to children between the ages of four and 12 or anyone 75 and older who has a birthday... Drive-By Birthdays can be booked online until the end of May.Of course, if an emergency call is received while the firefighters are serenading you outside of your home, you shouldn't be surprised to see them take off faster than shit through a goose. Officials speaking on behalf of the Calgary Fire Department mentioned that if social distancing measures were still in effect beyond the end of May, they'd be cool with extending the program.It's a small gesture, but times being what they are, small gestures are really all that most of us have to offer.Image via Wikipedia Read the rest

If you needed another reason to be scared straight into practicing impeccable sterile technique in an effort to reduce your risk of COVID-19, read on. For those of us who are immunocompromised (raises hand) or over sixty (reluctantly raises hand again) this is sobering stuff. I think I'll go wash my hands again.Of all the possible compounding effects of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, the cytokine storm is one of the most feared. An immune system overreaction in which the body is flooded with the eponymous signaling molecules, those who suffer a cytokine storm are at risk of dying at the hand of their own immune system, as an indirect effect of the virus they are fighting.My lab work was stunningly bad. A normal white count might be between 4.5 and 10. My white cell count was at 2,000. My lymphocytes — which are the cells that fight in a virus, normally fall somewhere between 1000 and 1,500 — they were under 200. I don't know if you know the term but the early cells that fight infection are called "bands," and you don't have [them] normally — I had 20% bands. My platelet count was around 100,000, which is low, and I knew I was in trouble.In the current context, we believe we have a biomarker of this condition, a serum level of a non-specific but is an acute phase reactant called serum ferritin. It looks like it may be to be one of the more reliable biomarkers of cytokine dysregulation. Read the rest

As usual, TikTok is a bit ahead of the curve. I.e., this is how the younger people in your house are likely self-educating right now. (This vid is 14hrs old, w/6.7M views and 740K likes.) pic.twitter.com/J09RIgJyCR— David Hobby (@strobist) April 3, 2020While I have nothing against the classic cowboy robber bandana mask, this technique, while it does require two hair rubber bands, is genius."How to Fold a No-Sew Bandana Face Mask" (Make:) Read the rest

This footage was captured from a demo tape used by home entertainment dealers showing off the high quality of the new D-Theater (D-VHS) digital video recording. Enabling the recording and display of HD content, D-Theater/D-VHS was the VHS videocassette format's last gasp. From Youtube Pedant:In 2002 D-Theater launched in the US - the dealers needed a demo tape of HD footage. JVC reused some HD video that had been shot as a demo for the Japanese HD market back in 1993. This footage would have most likely been originally used for a HiVision MUSE demo (an HD Broadcast, Tape & Laserdisc format). You can determine that the year is 1993 by the adverts in Times Square - The Radio 501 CD that's advertised on a billboard came out in 1993 and Paper Moon is playing at the Marquis Theater.(Thanks, UPSO!) Read the rest

In the early 2010s, I wrote a play called True Believers that was kind of a send-up and a love letter to comic-con culture. The play had a full production in Boston in 2012 (closing on the weekend of San Diego Comic-Con, when they first announced the Guardians of the Galaxy, which totally ruined the meta-level "I Am Groot" gag in the script), as well as staged readings at fringe festivals across the country, from New York to Chicago to Valdez, Alaska.I later tried to turn that script into a novel. It was an interesting writing experience — trying to adapt your own work across mediums, from one that's explicitly external to one that's largely internal is a weird challenge, to say the least — and ultimately, nothing really came of the manuscript.But now that we're all quarantine, and now that comic books themselves have also been quarantined for the foreseeable future, I've decided to serialize it on Medium, broken down into digestible chunks. The first 10 chapters are out now, and they each take (by Medium's calculations) about 4-9 minutes to read. I'll be adding new chapters every day through the end of the month. If you're looking for some nerdy laughs and nostalgia, it could be a delightful way to pass the time right now.Here's a fuller synopsis of the story, in case you're not convinced:It's the weekend of the big annual comic book convention, and Chad Mailer is a young professional comic book writer who hit his career peak five years ago with a series that he never actually finished, and he now wishes to re-ignite his career. Read the rest

Hey, John Krasinski: quit everything else you're doing and become a full-time Youtuber, please.Previously: Good news: John Krasinski has a whole bunch of good news Read the rest

Yesterday's outing inspired me to make a more fashion-forward mask, with distance warnings and an equalizer effect responding to the sound of my voice. Also a goofy mouth graphic because why not? pic.twitter.com/URDfQhbovO— Chelsea Klukas (@chelscore) April 6, 2020Chelsea Klukas is a product design manager at Oculus and she made this cool facemask with a color LED display.Here's a tutorial! Read the rest

Around 1pm on Tuesday, March 31, a 44-year-old train engineer named Eduardo Moreno allegedly derailed a train at full-speed, careening it towards the USNS Mercy, a Navy medical ship for COVID-19 patients that was anchored in the Port of Los Angeles. Fortunately, Moreno's train never actually reached the boat and no one was hurt, although did crash through some concrete barriers and leak a substantial amount of fuel into the parking lot.According to ABC News:Moreno allegedly told officers and FBI investigators that he deliberately derailed the train because he was suspicious of the Mercy's intentions and thought it was actually part of a government takeover, the complaint said."Moreno stated that he acted alone and had not pre-planned the attempted attack," according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Central District of California. "While admitting to intentionally derailing and crashing the train, he said he knew it would bring media attention and 'people could see for themselves,' referring to the Mercy."In an interview with FBI agents, Moreno stated that "he did it out of the desire to ‘wake people up,’" according to the complaint.In other words, Moreno was driven to potential mass destruction by his dogged belief in a conspiracy theory, much like PizzaGate and the MAGA Bomber.Upon reading this news, I immediately thought of the Trolley Problem, an ethical dilemma used in philosophy discussions where a (hypothetical) runaway train or trolley is on course to kill a certain people, but there is an opportunity to flip the switch and divert the train, which would cause some other sort of damage. Read the rest

How am I just finding out about this now? pic.twitter.com/kOOWqRyQkN— Padma Lakshmi (@PadmaLakshmi) April 5, 2020If you lack a Chip Clip, bulldog clip, clothespin, paperclip, or rubber band, this folding technique is a great solution. Of course, an even better solution is just to eat the whole damn bag. Read the rest

I fell for the BuzzFeed bait – "Sorry, but you won’t be able to pass this quiz if you’re over 30" – and took the quiz with a fair amount of confidence. And they got me – I failed miserably. I only got a couple of questions correct, including the free pass about a magazine that goes back to the 1970s (mistake on their part).What about you? Are you over or under 30? Take the quiz and find out!And don't look at this YouTube video until after the quiz - they might consider it cheating. Read the rest

Here are two lists of e-books being made freely available on-line. Please add more in the comments!PublicBooks.org's Public Books DatabaseThis is a list of academic presses making their books and research freely available.Jim C. Hines' list of Free and Legal Science Fiction and FantasyHines has collected a list of authors providing their work online for free.Naturally, your public library is a great resource and the Libby app is my best friend for e-books. We will also find that the public library gives incredible access to movies, music, and periodicals via the series of tubes we all know and love. Read the rest

Choose your fighter pic.twitter.com/l4i3FWP0Fl— zd alienbabe (@tifffanycuh) April 4, 2020The United States was woefully unprepared for a pandemic, as evidenced by these desperate attempts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Read the rest

Theatre companies have been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus quarantine. While the communal accessibility of theatre is a large part of the artform's pedigree and appeal, professional productions are often tight for money, even in the best of times. With limited runs, and plenty of hands-on-deck required on a nightly basis, many professional theatres in America rely heavily on donations — and right now, those are drying up, too.My wife, Bevin O'Gara, is the Producing Artistic Director for a small professional theatre, and has spent these last few weeks trying to figure out ways to salvage the company. Plenty of supposedly-helpful people call her every day and say "Why don't you just share the videos from the plays?", not realizing how that actually gets into complications regarding intellectual property rights and union policies. (Consider: actors, directors, and designers have already signed contracts promising them a certain amount of money for a certain thing; playwrights often license out their work based on a pre-determined number of performances. So who gets how much of a cut from streaming rights? Who gets to decide which performance was the best, and thus worthy of the stream? Plays don't always read as well on video, either — actors do different work on stage than on screen, and some might be concerned about their performances being captured and shared forever.)My wife recently directed a production of Cry It Out by Molly Smith-Meltzer, a new play about motherhood and class issues that's been well-reviewed all across the country. Read the rest

Impeached and manifestly unfit U.S. President Donald John Trump stopped the U.S. medical expert Dr. Anthony Fauci from answering a question about hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug Trump is pushing, during Trump's daily COVID-19 standup act in front of the cameras. In a surreal disinformation briefing, this was an especially surreal moment.Trump spent much of Sunday's briefing yet again promoting the unproven treatment for novel coronavirus, asking over and over, “What do we have to lose?”This, as American voters should recall, was the line he kept using about why Black voters should vote for his racist ass in 2016. He's lying and he knows it, and this phrase is a tell.From the Washington Post:So toward the end, a CNN reporter turned to Anthony S. Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, for his opinion on the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine with a sharper question: “What is the medical evidence?”Standing at the microphone, Fauci opened his mouth — but before he could speak, the answer came out of Trump’s instead.“Do you know how many times he’s answered that question?” Trump cut in. “Maybe 15.”A tight smile stretched across Fauci’s face. His eyes, framed by a pair of wire-rimmed glasses, flicked quickly to Trump. He glanced back at the reporter, who was saying to the president, “The question is for the doctor. … He’s your medical expert, correct?”Fauci’s smile, for just a moment, was all teeth now. Trump raised his finger sternly, telling the journalist, “You don’t have to ask the question,” and so Fauci didn’t answer it, and the news conference shuffled right along. Read the rest

Morgue space overload.

If this is what a small project looks like, I shudder to imagine what a large project is.Classic Cylon Basestar. And a Saturn V rocket. Impressive. Deeply impressive. A small project I've just finished.... Read the rest

This 'rona GIF has me screaming. I don't know who created it.*screaming*I found it on IMGUR. Thank you, @Morchel03.You are welcome. Read the rest

British Prime minister Boris Johnson, hospitalized with "persistent symptoms" of coronavirus infection, is reportedly "in good spirits" but has to stay there for more tests.The prime minister's official spokesman said he remained in hospital "under observation", and described Russian reports that Mr Johnson had been placed on a ventilator as "disinformation".He is continuing to receive updates and briefings in hospital, the spokesman added. As an exercise in media studies, what might "in good spirits" be a Britishy euphemism for?ANSWER: Drunk or otherwise intoxicated. Jesus, what did you think it meant? Read the rest

The video conferencing app Zoom has become suddenly ubiquitous over the past few weeks, as the coronavirus shutdown closes schools, businesses, and keeps us all indoors. Shares of Zoom dropped 9% on Monday, adding to their sharp declines in recent days, as security and privacy vulnerabilities are reported. There is also new competition from other established video conferencing apps, who have access to more capital than Zoom. Skype, owned by Microsoft, is but one.The stock had surged to a record high in early March, but after critical reports last week revealed the company’s sketchy data privacy practices, investors are spooked. Now, more than a third of the company’s market value has now been erased from its record high.From Reuters:Brokerage Credit Suisse downgraded Zoom Video Communications Inc’s stock to “underperform” from “neutral”. Analysts, on average, rate the stock “hold,” according to Refinitiv data. “While implied new customer growth may seem undemanding compared to recently disclosed 20x participant growth, we expect much of the recent surge will prove ephemeral, and/or comes from free users or education, which are very difficult to monetize,” Credit Suisse analysts wrote in a note.Last week, at least two U.S. state attorneys had sought information from Zoom following multiple reports that questioned its privacy and security. Some school districts in the U.S. have started to ban the app for online learning from home because of growing security concerns, while the New York City Department of Education said teachers should instead work through Microsoft Teams, Washington Post reported on Saturday. Read the rest

This music video is delightful. Wait for the surprise ending. “The Harry Potter Theme but it's Played on Drinking Glasses,” by Fin Draper Music on Instagram. March 7, 2020.YouTube: Fin DraperTikTok: finlidrappermusicTwitter: fin_draper Read the rest

Nice to see Jamie Hyneman still getting TV gigs. Read the rest