You've heard about it for years; now you can see the entire movie at your leisure! The 1957 movie Plan 9 from Outer Space was a labor of love by director Ed Wood. Wood's ambition outpaced his talents and resources, but he managed to put together a stellar cast of Bela Lugosi, Vampira, and Tor Johnson. Bela Lugosi was at the end of his career and actually died during filming. That's why his character often holds his cape over his face- that is the stand-in who completed the role. Tor Johnson was a wrestler, and Vampira was a TV host. Plan 9 from Outer Space is often listed as the worst movie ever produced, but has a reputation as being entertaining specifically because of that. I can think of a few that are worse. (Thanks, WTM!)
An episode from Finland in the 1930s has lessons for us today. The nation was still reeling from the formation of the Soviet Union next door, and political factions split between the communists on the left (red) and the nationalist Lapua Movement on the right (white). Sure, most Finns weren't extremists, or even political, but they feared communism. When the right wing moved into violence, kidnapping, and election fraud, it lost support, yet gained power because the majority were afraid of them as well. In 1931, Pehr Evind Svinhufvud was elected president. He was a white, but moderate enough to be elected. Svinhufvud, however, believed in the rule of law and thwarted a coup attempt by the Lapua Movement. The lesson is that it's more important to elect leaders who care about the country as a whole than about their political party.
Some observed that when a chocolate ice cream cone sideswipes a vanilla ice cream cone, both of them end up with a bit of each other. Others of the TikTok generation rushed out to replicate the experiment because, hey, ice cream! James Orgill of the Action Lab explains why they don't just mix together and why it's always both cones involved.
I must admit he almost lost me in the middle of the video. I understand laminar flow, but not so much quantum physics and Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. But hang on, because all he's explaining there is what's not happening. Then he compares the two ice cream cones to planets colliding and it all becomes clear. Still, all I could think of during this video is the old Reece's campaign: "You got your peanut butter on my chocolate! You got your chocolate in my peanut butter!" Because after all, these ice creams are two great tastes that taste great together.
(via Everlasting Blort)is it time to bust out my "bigfoot is bears" photo collection again? if your mental image of a bear is a thick-furred, fat glossy male bear in autumn, you're probably not prepared for how weird their proportions can look in spring, or when walking upright, like they frequently do.
— Dildo Elysium (@amagire.bsky.social) January 20, 2024 at 11:21 AM
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"Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" was the first track on Elton John's 1973 album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. I don't think there's an official music video for it, but there are many live versions at YouTube. I selected this one because it has relatively decent sound, but it does not indicate when or where it was performed. I believe it is from the 21st century.
Update: Bicycle Rider added some info. "This is at Madison Square Garden. This was in 2007, the Elton John 60
Concert on March 25th, his 60th birthday and his 60th concert at MSG." Thanks!
This cat got caught in the freezing rain. Not only is she inaccessible, but her paws were frozen to the surface! Yes, he climbed out on those beams to get her. A vet found no lasting damage, and confirmed that she's a female about 12 weeks old. The guy took her home to his family and named her Chilly.
The coolest weapon in the Star Wars universe is the lightsaber, even cooler than the death star. It's a high-tech plasma laser, but you can swing it like a sword and show off your swashbuckling skills. The real genius of the lightsaber is that you can kill all kinds of people on film and never have to spill any fake blood (or clean it up). The ability to sell a ton of them as cool toys is a bonus. The best fictional weapon ever.
Lightsabers come with an in-universe explanation, which is that the business end is made of superheated ionized gas, or plasma. It would be hotter than the surface of the sun. In the real world, such a weapon would be impossible to train with, too dangerous to wield, and its actual use in battle would probably be a war crime. YouTuber Mr. Death explains in gruesome detail what a lightsaber wound would do to you. The good news is that such a weapon isn't at all feasible in the real world. (via the Awesomer)
