Boing Boing

Zero reason to be "bored" out there, people. Take inspiration from the Heller family who made --in their "spare time" -- a shot-by-shot recreation of Journey's "Separate Ways" music video! It's SO GOOD.TODAY:The lip-sync performance, which was shot entirely on iPhones in Maple Valley, Washington, stars Steven and Jana Heller and their children, Lily, 15, Jackson, 14, Asher, 12, and Violet, 9...The Hellers worked hard to nail every move — including the legendary air keyboard and four-person head turn. On Facebook, Steven wrote that they "copied 100% shot for shot."“We wanted to be able to 10 years from now, say, ‘Remember when we were stuck in our home and we did this crazy thing and it was so much fun?’” Steven said.(Geek Girl Authority)screengrab via Vimeo Read the rest

Jim Starlin has drawn classic issues of many major comic book characters since the early 1970s, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Legion of Super Heroes, and more. But his real claim to fame is his artistic obsession — both as an artist, and a writer — with exploring mythological archetypes on a meta-galactic scale. Starlin pioneered characters like Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, and also created Thanos, Drax, Gamora, and many other characters that were thematically fascinating but never commercially successful until the recent explosion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.One of Starlin's pet projects in the early 80s was a book called Dreadstar. Dreadstar existed in its own universe outside of Marvel and DC, and gave Starlin a vessel through which he could continue to explore the philosophical implications of literary classics with a shameless embrace of pulpy space opera, and this time without (too much) corporate meddling.Nearly four decades later, Starlin is returning to the Dreadstar universe with a new Kickstarter-funded original graphic novel that already raised more than $50,000 in the first few days — a testament to the cross-generational appeal of Starlin's work. From the campaign page:The original, long-running Dreadstar series centered on the exploits of Vanth Dreadstar, newly arrived in the Empirical Galaxy after the necessary destruction of the Milky Way. Vanth attempts to live a pastoral existence on a planet populated by peaceful cat-people. That peace is quickly disturbed when Dreadstar and the crew he assembles are thrust into the conflict between the two major forces in the galaxy: The Monarchy and the Theocratical Instrumentality and its Lord High Papal. Read the rest

In 1946, Australian engineer Ben Carlin decided to circle the world in an amphibious jeep. He would spend 10 years in the attempt, which he called an "exercise in technology, masochism, and chance." In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe Carlin's unlikely odyssey and the determination that drove him.We'll also salute the Kentucky navy and puzzle over some surprising winners.Show notesPlease support us on Patreon! Read the rest

"My wife hates it when I work from home," writes Banksy on Instagram. Read the rest

Murray Berrill Constructions in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia created this wonderful "easy access wine cellar" in the dead space under a stairway. With a few modifications to the design, it could be entirely secret storage! (via Laughing Squid) Read the rest

While many people are taking this strange "time off" to unplug, decompress, and practice mindfulness, some instead are making the most of their extra hours to tackle goals ranging from odd jobs, like finally fixing that leaky shower head, to lifelong dreams—like actually writing that book they've always wanted to. If you fancy yourself a literary social distancing superstar, then this Digital Creative Fiction Writing Certification Bundle is perfect for you.Now is a particularly good time to rekindle your love of writing, because having a creative outlet during a crisis can help your overall wellness and decrease anxiety by giving your wildly-running imagination something to better focus on. As Deepak Chopra said, “The best use of imagination is creativity. The worst use of imagination is anxiety.” Even when you're not in the midst of a pandemic, creativity can improve your health.With this bundle of 4 online courses, you'll get reacquainted with the basics of what makes good fiction writing good, get your creative juices flowing in the right direction, and learn the steps involved in getting your book published. In total, there are 128 hours of training content from Write Academy that over 200k students have gone through. The Academy features an elite team of bestselling authors, editors, and publishers that have designed courses to help you get on the path to your own professional fiction writing career.Write Fiction Online CourseTo start, you'll cover the key facets of fiction writing: character, plot, setting, dialogue, narrative voice, and genre via 14 interactive online modules that encourage you to start work on your novel from day one. Read the rest

From BB contributor Gareth Branwyn's excellent Tips, Tools, and Shop Tales e-newsletter:In this video a fan rescued from the old MythBusters site on Discovery, Jamie goes through his essential toolkit, the tools he doesn’t let anyone else touch... He recommends several somewhat unusual tools, several that bear pointing out, a unibit, a telescoping inspection mirror, and Knipex cutters. Read the rest

A few months ago, my son bought a cute mini-zine from the Zine Machine vending machine at The Bindery in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury. What we noticed right away is that the 8-page zine was ingeniously folded from just a single sheet of paper. In the above video, Austin Kleon, author of the wonderful Steal Like An Artist, explains how it's done. And Umami Design posted a layout template here. In the video clip, Austin recommends this book by Esther Watson and Mark Todd that looks like fun: Whatcha Mean, What's A Zine? The Art of Making Zines and Mini-Comics. Read the rest

I would have completely lost it.On a road in the Far East of Russia, a driver is reported to have spotted of the world’s most endangered big cats, an Amur tiger, and captured this amazing video. Here's that video via the Siberian Times of Russia.A road in the Far East of Russia, a driver who kept good distance and one of the world’s most endangered big cats, an Amur tiger pic.twitter.com/Me6SHn0IlP— The Siberian Times (@siberian_times) April 15, 2020In Russia's Far East, a driver bumped into an Amur Tiger, and managed to get some decent footage. Due to a big conservation effort, there are now around 550 of the endangered cats in the wild, mostly in Russia's Primorye region. Up from about 350 in 2005. pic.twitter.com/7K5saHrXG8— Bryan MacDonald (@27khv) April 15, 2020Nature is the calming force we all need right now. Enjoy this little moment with an Amur tiger from the Russian Far East! pic.twitter.com/XEAnRi1L2r— wwf_tigers (@WWF_tigers) March 28, 2020 Read the rest

In the late 1960s, the US Department of Agriculture released this LP titled "How To Buy Meat." The voice is that of Sandra Brookover, Consumer Meat Specialist. The record, a collection of public service announcements, was meant for radio stations and never saw a commercial release. Due its scarcity, I expect the imminent release of a 180 gram, gatefold reissue of the record. Limited edition, 'natch.Have a listen: "How can you tell a blade chuck roast from an arm chuck roast?" (MP3)(Weird Universe) Read the rest

By ‘grace of God,’ no one was injured in a massive explosion at the Androscoggin Mill in Jay, Maine, earlier today, reports the Bangor News.A bystander's video can be viewed in its original form here on Facebook.Excerpt:A large explosion severely damaged the Androscoggin Mill in Jay on Wednesday morning, causing wood pulp to rain down on the surrounding area.Amazingly, no bystanders were harmed in the incident, which sent a large plume of smoke and debris into the sky that was visible for miles around.“It’s nothing short of a miracle,” Androscoggin Mill spokeswoman Roxie Lassetter said Wednesday at a press briefing.There was no one near the site of the explosion, Lassetter said. Some people on site were experiencing respiratory issues following the explosion, but were treated and released, according to Joel Davis from the fire marshal’s office. The explosion occurred inside of the mill’s digester, which is where wood is broken down using water and a chemical to create pulp. Lassetter said it is not immediately clear what caused the malfunction that led to the explosion.And from the Associated Press:A rising cloud of smoke that was recorded by a bystander was followed by raining debris that made bullet-like noise as it struck cars in the area. Video recorded after the explosion showed extensive damage to the mill, which employs about 500 people and is a key piece of rural Maine’s economy.Emergency responders rushed to the mill, and the state fire marshal planned an investigation. Read the rest

Check out these GLORIOUS images of a wonderful 1980s robot-space-tech themed watch with little pop-out mechanical arms. There's a cool Reddit discussion about exactly what brand it is, and the consensus seems to be that it's a bad knockoff of the Kronoform watch.From the comments: A Kronoform would have had Takara’s name and Kronoform on the face of the watch. Kronoform was the outside Japan release of their brand Microchange which was a line of realistic items that changed into robots. One of the original toy lines Hasbro used to create the Transformers brand in 84. It included toys that would become the characters of Soundwave, Megatron, Blaster, and Perceptor.More at the OP:Vintage '80s watch - I had It when i was a kid[r/interestingasfuck/]Vintage 80s watch Read the rest

Wow, man. Some of us take on more extreme projects during the Great Coronavirus Quarantine than others. This ambitious fellow shows you how to build a Nintendo Switch, with a beautiful and wholesome purpose: “to Starve Online Price Gougers” who are jacking up the prices because demand is high for Nintendo Switch, and availability is nil. Here's their introduction to the HOWTO gallery, which is amazing and stupendous.After playing New Horizons and hyping it up to my friends, they decided they wanted a Switch. They called around to different retailers every day for a week with no luck finding anyone who had one in stock. No one knew when the next shipment would be. This led to an online search like Craigslist, OfferUp, and Ebay. Unfortunately everyone knows the rest. Upwards of $450 to $600 in the Seattle area for a used Switch. Some with and without all the accessories. This enraged me to the point of telling them I could build one cheaper out of spare parts. So they hired me to do just that. If anyone is interested in doing the same here is my step by step buying guide along with assembly instructions and a pricing guide. 1. Game Cartridge Card Slot Socket Board w/Headphones Port - $152. NS Console Micro SD TF Memory Card Slot Port Socket Reader - $53. Nintendo Switch HAC-001 CPU Cooling Heatsink - $74. Game Cartridge Card Plastic Cover - $15. Console Speaker Replacement Parts For Nintendo Switch Built in speaker - $86. Read the rest

Back in the day, sometime after the first assumed vaporizer invention but before modern e-cigarettes were a thing, people used to use lighters to smoke solids instead of batteries to smoke liquids. Wild, right? Well, if retro vibes are your kind of thing or if you simply prefer herbs, flowers, and resins to cartridges of concentrates, you're going to love the Hippie Pipe Analog Vape Pen.The ideal little vaporizer for on-the-go smoking, this brown rosewood or ebony blackwood device offers a hands-on element that adds an extra level of satisfaction to the whole experience. As user, Justin L. tells it, "This right here is a great product. Took mine to the TOOL concert in San Diego — perfect for rockin' out and on the go!!"With the Hippie, you'll get the clean smoke and convenience of a vape pen without the need for batteries, chargers, cartridges, atomizers, cartomizers, or clearomizers — no more worrying about losing parts. The new design is pretty to look at and nice to hold, with stunning carbon fiber, wood, and stainless steel build. Plus, it's highly efficient, manufactured with the highest grade of materials. It features a manual telescopic heating chamber that you push out to fill; once you slide the chamber back in place, simply heat it with a double jet flame torch lighter and let the magic happen. Once the ideal temperature is reached, the indicator slot changes color from black to chrome, and you'll know it's time to indulge.Measuring just 1" x 5" x 2", each non-electronic Hippie Pipe includes a brush and packing tool. Read the rest

"I feel so brain dead I can't even speak." Find out what happens when two editors from Popular Science quit their six-cup-a-day coffee habit for two weeks.From the YouTube description:Caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive drug on the planet. Like all good things in this world, it should be consumed in moderation—but PopSci editors Jess Boddy and Claire Maldarelli were definitely not following that unwritten rule, guzzling between six and ten cups of coffee per day. That put them at risk for disrupted sleep, heart palpitations, unusual nervousness, and more. So they decided to detox. Will their torturous 14-day cut regulate their sleep patterns and teach them to respect caffeine for the powerful drug that it is? Find out on this week's episode of Test Dummy. Read the rest

The person who posted this video to YouTube said, "I was waiting for my suitcase at Lynden Pindling International Airport in the Bahamas when one of the iceboxes opened when falling down with the suitcases. People blocked and caught the crabs."<em>Image: YouTube</em> Read the rest

Every musician has been trying their hand at livestreaming from quarantine. But of all the ones I've watched, none of them have filled me with as much joy as Swedish folk singer/songwriter Kristian Matsson AKA The Tallest Man On Earth celebrating the 10th anniversary of his album, The Wild Hunt.There's so much to love here, from Matsson's confusion about buffering speeds, to his partner's helpful advice about commenters. Then of course there are the songs themselves, delivered with such adorable energy by Matsson. Ellen Johnson of Paste said that, "Matsson makes the acoustic guitar sound like an orchestra," and I think that accurately describes this video, and everything I love about The Wild Hunt as an album. As far as I can tell, Mattson is just performing straight into the camera, with no additional audio setup — yet it sounds exactly as it does on the record. This is impressive, but also impressive to Matsson's brilliant guitar work and charismatic voice. The record is raw, using clever open tunings to fill out the sound, and the same goes for the performance in the video.If you're a fan of folk music and Dylan-esque crooning (but more on key), check it out.The Wild Hunt Turns 10: How The Tallest Man On Earth Changed Indie-Folk For The Better [Ellen Johnson / Paste]Image: Matt Perich / Flickr (CC 2.0) Read the rest

I've been a great admirer of the design work of House Industries since the early 90s. They're famous for their logos and font designs (like the one they did for Jimmy Kimmel's show). I just got my copy of the brand new House Industries Lettering Manual and I'm looking forward to doing the exercises in the book.The book itself is beautifully designed, and makes great use of hand-lettered type as a design element for the book. (I love self referentiality like that.) Read the rest

Richard Kadrey is a novelist and screenwriter living in San Francisco. His books include Sandman Slim, The Everything Box, Butcher Bird, and the forthcoming, Ballistic Kiss. Cool Tools asked him to describe four things he keeps in his bag, which include a Roku streaming TV player, a portable hard drive, Ultimate Ears MEGABOOMs, QuietComfort 35 Bluetooth headphones, and Pocket Travelers notebook. Read about them here, or better yet, sign up for the weekly What's in my bag? newsletter. Read the rest

Reporting TV news from home can make for a much more colorful broadcast. Take this Welsh BBC weather forecaster, Owain Wyn Evans, who ends his segment by giving us an awesome drum performance. His motivation? As he says on YouTube, "When they said try working from home, I didn't realize they'd expect me to do the music too." Read the rest

Someone keeps writing "Steve & Lacy were here" on rocks in Death Valley National Park. Park rangers suspect "Steve" is a gentleman from Grand Forks, British Columbia and that Lacey is his unwitting canine companion.From National Parks Traveler:Graffiti and other forms of damage to parks is illegal. The “Steve & Lacy” graffiti was found on rocks and historic structures in Echo Canyon, Butte Valley, Homestake Dry Camp, and Crankshaft Junction. Defacing any part of the national park degrades the experience of other visitors. Repair of vandalized sites is costly and time consuming, and often cannot restore the site to its former condition in some cases permanently defacing unique historic sites or natural features.“It is heartbreaking to see treasures like Death Valley National Park get damaged by intentional acts such as these,” said Superintendent Mike Reynolds. “We ask park visitors to help us find those who should be held responsible, and thank hard working park rangers for efforts to prevent further damage.”The National Park Service has a tip line: call or text: 888-653-0009; visit www.nps.gov/ISB and click “Submit a Tip,” or email nps_isb@nps.gov.Images: National Park Service Read the rest

The guy who runs the Nippon Wandering TV YouTube channel hopped on his bike and took a video of Tokyo's Shinjuku ward six days after the Japanese government declared a state of emergency. The video was shot at 7:30 at night, which is usually a busy time for this area. Many of the businesses still have bright lights on but the number of pedestrians is much lower than usual.Image: YouTube Read the rest

I still have an iPhone SE, replaced twice in the last four years because I don't fancy any of the gigantic modern models from Apple or leading Android brands. (Anything less is, frankly, impractical.) While the new iPhone SE is superficially a warmed-over iPhone 8, and so still too big, it is at least smaller than other models and comes with the latest CPU and camera. Best of all, it's cheap for what it is, at $300. It'll do. It comes in black, white and red and preorders start Friday.1. The 2G networks used by older dumbphones are being turned off and don't carry modern MMS-format text messages. Recent 4G dumbphones generally have poor compatibility with U.S. LTE bands and come with hinky, bloatware-infested KaiOS installations I don't have time to root and santize. Read the rest

Elizabeth Warren today backed Joe Biden as the Democratic Party's candidate in the 2020 presidential election, capping a three-day endorsement extravaganza featuring former rival Bernie Sanders and president Barack Obama."Empathy matters. And, in this moment of crisis, it's more important than ever that the next president restores Americans' faith in good, effective government," Warren says. "Joe Biden has spent nearly his entire life in public service. He knows that a government run with integrity, competence, and heart will save lives and save livelihoods. And we can't afford to let Donald Trump continue to endanger the lives and livelihoods of every American.""That's why I'm proud to endorse Joe Biden as president of the United States," she added. Read the rest

This delightful cover was released a while ago, but I only just discovered it via Vanyland. The 3-song EP by the B-69s also includes B-52-esque covers of Billie Eilish's "bad guy" and Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road," which are all just as fun. I'm just a big fan of anything "Mr. Brightside."Image: raph_ph / Flickr (CC 2.0) Read the rest

Viral again this week is the casting wishlist for Star Trek: The Next Generation, which reveals that Denise Crosby was originally to be cast as Counselor Troi, not Lt. Tasha Yar, and Predator's Kevin Peter Hall was considered for both Lt. Cmdr. Data and Lt. Geordi LaForge.Best of all, Bond and Alien legend Yaphet Kotto was close to being cast as captain Jean-Luc Picard, a part that ultimately went to Patrick Stewart. I've shooped how the big fella might have looked in the role: take me to that timeline!From an interview:You also turned down the role of Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation?I think I made some wrong decisions in my life, man. I should have done that but I walked away. When you’re making movies, you’d tend to say no to TV. It’s like when you’re in college and someone asks you to the high school dance. You say no. Read the rest

Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH the mischievous imp little Donald is warned of a coming alien virus invasion and leaps into inaction

Already among the richest people in the world, Jeff Bezos and the Walton family are even richer thanks to the lockdown. The BBC reports that Amazon founder Bezos's money mountain surged $24bn to $138bn in the last few weeks. And between them, the Walton family, owners of Wal-Mart, now share a growing $168m fortune. But other billionaires are out of luck, according to Bloomberg, with the pandemic wiping half a trillion dollars of the top 500's collective wealth. With millions now working from home, online meeting site Zoom has seen founder Eric Yuan's fortune more than double to $7.4bn.The Bloomberg Billionaires Index said the world's 500 richest people lost $553bn so far this year.Investors in the global oil and gas industries have seen sharp drops in net worth as crude prices plunged on reduced global demand and a row - now resolved - about oil production between Saudi Arabia and Russia. Read the rest

To the uplifting eternal disco of Miki Matsubara [Amazon], talented drivers drift their boxy early-1990s automobiles around the curves and corners of Japan. Read the rest

Crazed, cooped up children, tightly-wound parents at their wit's end, lighter fluid, baking soda, and burning sugar -- what could go wrong?Image: YouTube Read the rest

In the age of smart homes, everybody wants to own the house that does everything for itself. Unfortunately, the reality is that creating a smart house usually takes a lot of work. And if you’re trying to turn a previously dumb house into a 21st century web-enabled palace of technology? That’s gonna take even more work.Case in point, you usually have to pretty much be a locksmith if you want to put one of those web-connected smart lock systems on your home. In case you don’t have all those tools of the trade, the Gimdow Peel and Stick Smart Lock is geared for those who want the advantages of a smart lock, but don’t want to disassemble their entire front door to do it.The Gimdow adheres like a vise over your existing American or European style door lock with no modifications to your door or the lock required. The adhesive is reusable and setup should take less than 10 minutes. Once it’s firmly in place, the Gimdow then performs all the tasks you’d expect from a grade-A smart lock.You can get in either through using the Gimdow app on your smartphone or by entering the code on the included wireless keypad posted by your door. It all connects via Bluetooth, so there’s no wiring needed ever. You can even protect your code from prying eyes by entering random numbers around your actual code. Gimdow is smart enough to spot your sequence in all the coverage and open sesame. Read the rest

• Trump intent on "reopening" some U.S. states within weeks, ignoring medical experts and the state's rights the GOP is generally so concerned with. The Washington Post reports today on FEMA and CDC draft plan that enables him to do this. Late on Tuesday, right after we learned that Trump is halting WHO funding even as Americans die by the thousands of coronavirus -- the Washington Post is reporting that the CDC and FEMA have created a plan to reopen America. Impeached and manifestly unfit president President Trump wants a final detailed plan on reopening the country right now, so he can order some states to reopen May 1, officials said. Note: He has no such power, though he falsely claimed to have ultimate authority.It guides state and local governments on how they can ease mitigation efforts and move from drastic restrictions like stay-at-home orders in a phased way to support a safe reopening. CDC and FEMA officials have worked on the public health response for at least the past week, and the resulting document by the two agencies has been discussed at the White House including by members of the coronavirus task force, according to two administration officials speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.Other agencies and White House officials have drafted similar planning documents, a White House aide said. The version obtained by The Post appears to be an early draft by FEMA and contains granular instructions for a phased reopening of institutions such as schools, child-care facilities, summer camps, parks, faith-based organizations and restaurants. Read the rest

During a coronavirus task force briefing, America learned today that impeached and manifestly unfit U.S. President Donald Trump has just ordered a halt to funding for the World Health Organization. Donald Trump suspends US funding to World Health Org, says the organisation ‘failed in its basic duty and must be held accountable’ #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/u35cy4I3iy— Samira Sawlani (@samirasawlani) April 14, 2020He made this bizarre decision amid growing criticism of his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, even from members of his own party.As the world is fighting the Coronavirus pandemic, Trump says the admin is halting US funding to WHO pending a review.— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) April 14, 2020This is such a win for China. https://t.co/v21SKAS4gz— Laura Rosenberger (@rosenbergerlm) April 14, 2020BREAKING: Trump tonight said he would halt funding to the World Health Organization while his administration reviews the group’s response to the coronavirus pandemichttps://t.co/s2MNAysJRf— POLITICO (@politico) April 14, 2020I’ve been trying my best to stick to science and not politics but as a public health professional and an American it makes me ill to see @POTUS cutting funding to @WHO at any time but especially in a pandemic— Marc Lipsitch (@mlipsitch) April 14, 2020Meanwhile: pic.twitter.com/t3xtMUhgZj— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) April 14, 2020 Read the rest

David Bowie's Let's Dance was released 37 years ago today. His 15th studio record, Let's Dance would become his most commercially successful album but it was not well-received by critics and hardcore fans at the time and Bowie himself would end up regretting the record and the tours and albums that followed (Tonight, Never Let Me Down), referring to that time as his "Phil Collins period."I've been a big fan of Rick Beato's YouTube channel for years where he deconstructs iconic tracks and attempts to answer the musical question "What Makes This Song Great?" In this episode, he explains what makes "Let's Dance" great. Although I count myself as a hardcore Bowie fanatic, I've always liked the record for what I thought it was: a great pop dance record. But this Beato breakdown shows some of the underlying musical genius behind even one of Bowie's poppiest confections. Read the rest

Oh, yes this is real. Florida has officially declared WWE pro wrestling shows an 'essential business' that must be allowed to continue to operate during the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. “People have been starved for content ... we're watching, like, reruns from the early 2000s,” Florida's Republican and Trump-aligned governor Ron DeSantis said today about his decision to classify live professional wrestling shows as an “essential service” for Floridians during the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Peak Florida Man."People have been starved for content ... we're watching, like, reruns from the early 2000s," Gov. Ron DeSantis says of his bizarre decision to classify live pro wrestling shows as an "essential service" during a deadly pandemic pic.twitter.com/rWeCOJKkh2— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 14, 2020Florida Governor Ron DeSantis deems pro wrestling ‘essential business’ amid statewide stay-at-home orderhttps://t.co/kktQsuGYNW— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) April 14, 2020As most businesses in Florida have been shutdown to help fight the spread of the coronavirus, the state has deemed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) -- a company with past and present links to Pres.Trump -- "essential." https://t.co/VeaafmWfjg— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) April 14, 2020ROH and MLW say wrestling with a national audience being deemed essential in Florida does not mean they'll now be running shows there. https://t.co/tf4mhYoWH0— Pro Wrestling Sheet (@WrestlingSheet) April 14, 2020 Read the rest

To mark last week's release of the new Trolls World Tour movie, Smithsonian's Michelle Delgado tells the origin story of Troll Dolls, from their birth following World War II their modern day big screen revival. The tale begins in Gjøl, Denmark, home to baker Thomas Dam (1915-1989) who could no longer work when the local flour factory went out of business. From Smithsonian:Dam would sit near the fireplace, carving bits of wood while he thought. He often carved funny creatures to entertain his children, and eventually, his wife persuaded him to try selling the figurines. Dam packed up as many as he could carry and traveled to Aalborg, the nearest city, where he planned to knock on doors. He came home empty-handed, having successfully sold them all.As Dam’s figurines found fans in Aalborg, customers began commissioning bigger projects. Before long, Dam became a working sculptor whose reputation eventually exceeded Denmark’s borders. In 1956, a Swedish department store hired him to create a large sculpture of Santa Claus, kicking off the chain of events that nudged Dam to fully embrace toy making.When he finished installing the Santa Claus sculpture, Dam realized that it wasn’t completely visible from the street. He proposed an accompanying window display with a clever design. First, he sculpted tiny figures of Christmas elves—designed in a similar style to his soon-to-be-famous troll dolls—and dismantled a mattress, hiding a spring in each figurine’s body. Next, Dam built a display with a mechanism that lifted and dropped a long piece of wood. Read the rest

“[U.S.] officials are seriously pursuing the possibility that a natural sample of the virus escaped a laboratory.”The question was dismissed as a conspiracy theory in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak. But now, some intelligence experts admit they are seriously looking into the possibility that the COVID-19 pandemic might have been touched off by an accident at a research facility in China, various news outlets report. “It’s definitely a real possibility being bandied about at the high levels of the administration,” says one of those quoted experts.Business Insider also reports that intelligence services for the British government are reportedly considering the same possibility. Obligatory reminder:Maybe, but maybe not.We just don't know yet.“After extensive research, scientists in the U.S. and elsewhere have determined that the new strain of the coronavirus discovered in China in December is, as Chinese officials have maintained, of natural origin, but they are taking seriously that its route to human infection may have started in a lab in Wuhan,” writes Yahoo News' Jenna McLaughlin: “It’s absolutely being looked at very closely at the highest levels,” said one intelligence source with knowledge of the investigations. One reason for the suspicion is the lack of information coming from China. Beijing’s quick denials of involvement, and the decision to immediately identify the Wuhan Seafood Market as the source, raised eyebrows among some U.S. intelligence officials.“I find it very funny that China very quickly blamed the market,” said one recently retired intelligence official. Read the rest

Wonder how much of the airlines' hides the government gets to own now.Late on Tuesday, reports are circuating that the major U.S. airlines and impeached president Donald Trump's Republican Treasury Department have reached some sort of loose deal on government aid. A formal announcement and details are expected to come later today, report various news outlets.BREAKING: Major U.S. airlines and Treasury Dept. reach deal in principle on government aid; announcement to come later today - sourceshttps://t.co/CxcP6Ql9O5— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) April 14, 2020 Read the rest

The coronavirus has destroyed America's job market, and there is no immediate relief in sight. This interactive data project from NBC News shows just how devastating the sudden employment losses are, and which US states have been hit the hardest.Excerpt:“I compare it to a natural disaster, a terrorist attack and a financial shock all at once,” said Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. “We've never had this in history.” California was the first state to issue a stay-at-home order and has seen the greatest number of job losses. In a state with an estimated labor force of 19.5 million, 2.2 million Californians have filed unemployment applications since March 14. But the torrent of claims is coming from everywhere. Twenty-one states and territories have seen more than one-in-10 eligible workers file for claims in the last month. Hawaii, Michigan, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania have seen the largest percentage of cuts, with 1-in-6 workers in each of those states losing their jobs.Comparing the weekly claims reported by the Department of Labor to the same period a year ago shows that while job losses have hit every state and territory, the damage has been unique to each region.Go play with the interactive chart and bum yourself out EVEN MORE while you look for a new job:The coronavirus has destroyed the job market in every state[NBC News, Nigel Chiwaya and Jiachuan Wu, April 14, 2020]PHOTO: “Bowery men waiting for bread in bread line,” New York City, Bain Collection Public Domain. Read the rest

“FACEBOOK already paid $238,000 in 2018 to resolve a previous dispute over political advertising in Washington state.”

Been noodling around with a podcast idea for...what, years now? Well, it’s time to get serious, people. There is no time like right now to work out all the logistics of turning your marinating idea into an actual real, profitable podcast.And no, that isn’t a mistake. It could actually be a profitable enterprise. According to Bloomberg, several top podcasts make more than $1 million a year. In fact, The Daily, a podcast created by the New York Times, cleared more than $10 million in advertising in 2018.Sure, you won’t be launching with the prestige and power of journalism’s foremost publication behind you, but with the training in The Start-to-Finish Guide to Launching a Successful Podcast Bundle, you’ll know just how to get your podcast idea off the ground and immediately headed toward a sustainable future.With the nine classes and nearly 40 hours of instruction offered here, your vision can start falling into place. Start Your Own Podcast and The Podcast Masterclass start the conversation about where to begin to record, edit, publish, grow, and monetize a podcast. If you’re worried about the technical side, Podcasting in 24 Hours: Setup, Record & Podcast in 1 Day discusses which equipment you’ll need and Music Production in Logic Pro X: Audio Mixing for Podcasts examines the audio mixing and editing that will make your podcast sing.But people aren’t listening for your technical skills. The Complete Presentation and Public Speaking Course will help polish your delivery as a podcast host; Putting Yourself Out There focuses on ways to inject more of yourself and your authenticity into your shows; and Podcasting 101: How to Interview Your Heroes Online has some tried and true tips for how to land some top-level guests for your growing podcast. Read the rest

The plant is “built around efficiency,” keeping workers in close quarters and making it impossible to social distance, Cargill saysSmithfield Foods, Inc. recently closed a major pork processing plant in South Dakota, after workers were sickened with coronavirus in what has since become an outbreak hotspot. Now, U.S.-owned Cargill is cutting production at one of Canada's biggest beef-packing plants, after several dozen Cargill meat processing workers there were confirmed ill with the new coronavirus.The workers' union says the Cargill plant, which produces patties for McDonald’s restaurants, is now slaughtering 1,500 head of cattle per day, down from around 4,500. From Reuters:The Canadian arm of U.S. agribusiness Cargill temporarily idled its second production shift at High River, Alberta, on Monday, spokesman Daniel Sullivan said.It adds to the list of roughly one dozen North American meat plants that have closed temporarily or cut production due to the pandemic.The move came after workers unsuccessfully asked the plant and two other meat-processing companies in Alberta to close for two weeks amid concerns about their safety, said Tom Hesse, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 401. Thirty-eight workers at the Cargill plant have tested positive for coronavirus, he said.The plant is “built around efficiency,” keeping workers in close quarters and making it impossible to safely operate it under current conditions, Hesse said in an interview.Read More:Cargill reduces beef production at Alberta plant as virus spreads[PHOTO SOURCE, by Gajda-13 at da.wikipedia Read the rest

The Trump-aligned GOP governor of South Dakota resisted the urgent appeal by epidemiologists to issue a “stay-at-home” order. Now the state is home to a COVID-19 outbreak. Ignoring science has consequences.“As governors across the country fell into line in recent weeks, South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem stood firm: There would be no statewide order to stay home,” the Washington Post reports today in a review of what went so wrong in the state.Thanks to the governor's stupidity and science denialism, South Dakota is now home to one of the largest single coronavirus clusters anywhere in the United States, with more than 300 workers at a giant Smithfield ­pork-processing plant now confirmed to be sick with the virus."Edicts to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, Gov. Kristi Noem said, reflected a 'herd mentality.' It was up to individuals — not government — to decide whether 'to exercise their right to work, to worship and to play. Or to even stay at home.'" https://t.co/7iTQo5Uztp— Griff Witte (@griffwitte) April 14, 2020Remember, the *best case* scenario is the drug reduces the symptoms of the disease (and that is far from evident). It does nothing to slow the spread of the virus and can never be a substitute for prevention. https://t.co/JPzUCk3Gga pic.twitter.com/UlcHd57c4T— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) April 14, 2020https://twitter.com/i/events/1250113407744978945 Read the rest

It is the perfect time to revisit this classic from Jason Headley."If you find your mind wandering to other thoughts, don't let it concern you. Just acknowledge that all that shit is fucking bullshit."(Thanks, Kelly Sparks!) Read the rest

deMilked posted a fine selection of the "50 Weirdest Stock Photos You Won’t Be Able To Unsee." Many more at Bored Panda's archival post "177 Completely WTF Stock Photos You Won’t Be Able To Unsee." And for a constant stream, there's always r/WTFStockPhotos!(via Kottke) Read the rest

The RetroFlag GPi Case, which uses a Raspberry Pi Zero, looks very nice. In this video, MakeUseOf gives it a 9/10 score.If the idea of making retro game players using Raspberry Pis appeals to you, I invite you to check out a book I co-wrote this year, called Raspberry Pi Retro Gaming: Build Consoles and Arcade Cabinets to Play Your Favorite Classic Games. Read the rest

The coronavirus pandemic is being seen as a get-out-of-jail free card for imprisoned creeps. Bill Cosby is trying it. So is Michael Cohen and Lee Baca. If Jeffrey Epstein was still alive you know his swarm of lawyers would be trying to spring him, too.The latest imprisoned creep who thinks he's too special to be locked up is Paul Manafort, who is serving 7½-years for "tax evasion, failing to report foreign bank accounts, witness tampering, and engaging in unregistered lobbying for foreign interests," as reported by Politico.“Mr. Manafort is at a high risk of contracting COVID-19 at FCI Loretto due to his age and pre-existing health conditions, and it is imperative that Mr. Manafort be transferred to home confinement immediately in order to minimize the likelihood of Mr. Manafort contracting or spreading the potentially fatal disease,” [Manafort lawyer Kevin] Downing wrote in a letter obtained by Politico.According to The Washington Post, "Federal prosecutors declined to comment on Manafort’s request."Image: By Alexandria Sheriff’s Office - Alexandria, Virginia Detention Center, Public Domain, Link Read the rest

Last week Disney shared its recipe for Dole Whip and Churro Tots. This week, its sharing the recipe for the grilled three-cheese sandwich from Woody’s Lunch Box at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida. View this post on Instagram We’re sharing the recipe for the delicious grilled three-cheese 🧀 sandwich from Woody’s Lunch Box at Disney’s Hollywood Studios! Visit the Disney Parks Blog for the full recipe now! #DisneyMagicMoments✨A post shared by Disney Parks Blog (@disneyparksblog) on Apr 11, 2020 at 2:17pm PDTImage: Disney Read the rest

This isn't the first chronological montage showing Trump's bungled response to the covid-19 pandemic, but it's definitely a good one - worth the watch. Read the rest