IKEA Monkey

I mean...okay?

Last month Nvidia revealed its work on using competing neural networks to generate random, but convincing, photos of non-existent celebrities. A website called MakeGirlsMoe does almost the same thing, but instead of celebs, it churns out never-ending headshots of anime characters.

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Kevin Neal reportedly fired up to 100 rounds at the Rancho Tehama Elementary School.

The Republican National Committee has withdrawn from a joint fundraising agreement with Roy Moore, according to a Federal Election Commission filing posted Tuesday, as the GOP establishment continues to break ties with the Alabama Senate candidate.

A few months ago, my dad texted me a strange scribble, which I thought looked a bit like a knife sharing the canvas with a dot. A co-worker disagreed: She thought it resembled “the index finger of God … pointing down at a peon as if to punish them.” We were both wrong, of course: It was a butt drawing. Not a drawing of a butt, but a drawing by a butt.

The bright, 1,200-square-foot home seems like a real bargain

It’s said that the only guaranteed views in Chicago are eastern exposures along Lake Shore Drive. As a result, these kinds of premium properties typically command equally premium prices. This, however, does not appear to be the case with this recently listed two-bedroom, two-bathroom Lakeview residence overlooking Belmont Harbor and Lake Michigan.

The relatively attainable home is perched on the 10th floor of the 3410 N. Lake Shore Drive condominiums, an International-style tower designed by L. R. Solomon & Associates in 1955. The brightly-lit property does show a few signs of its age—notably through its somewhat dated windows, floor-mounted radiators, and a communal laundry room in lieu of a more convenient in-unit washer/dryer.

These drawbacks and annoyances can be easily overlooked given the condo’s bargain price of just $279,000. Building amenities include a mid-century lobby, fitness center, and rooftop sundeck with grilling stations. Parking at an adjacent garage is available to purchase for an additional $30K while HOA fees tack on $796 per month.

• 3410 N. Lake Shore Drive #10D, Chicago IL [Coldwell Banker Residential]
• Previous Lakeview coverage [Curbed Chicago]

Jeff Sessions on Tuesday said there was “not enough basis” to appoint a special counsel to investigate Hillary Clinton, a day after reports surfaced that the attorney general had authorized senior prosecutors at the Department of Justice to evaluate an inquiry into the Clinton Foundation. Testifying before the House judiciary committee, Sessions also appeared to push back on Donald Trump’s repeated insistence that the FBI should focus on investigating Clinton as opposed to potential collusion between his own presidential campaign and Russia.

On Monday night, the Atlantic's Julia Ioffe reported that Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of the President and a senior adviser to his campaign, had exchanged direct messages on Twitter with WikiLeaks during the course of the 2016 race.

Farmington High School won’t open until next year. When it does, it will serve the community in and around Farmington, a fast-growing city in northern Utah. But the school already has a mascot, the Phoenix. The mythical bird was chosen by a vote of area children; it beat out Farmers, Eagles, Firebirds, Silverback,…

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Multiple Republicans have called on Roy Moore to step aside from the Alabama special election in December.

Donald Trump has blasted "fake news" for reporting on his low approval ratings. Sharing a Rasmussen poll saying he had a 46 per cent approval rating on Twitter, the US President said: "One of the most accurate polls last time around. "But #FakeNews likes to say we’re in the 30’s. They are wrong.

On Monday, GQ magazine released its special issue naming former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick “Citizen of the Year.”

The world may seem like it’s in shambles, but ocean scientists are having quite a run. Over the last year, the ocean has periodically belched up prehistoric deep sea creatures for photographing, studying, and nightmaring over. The latest find? The brutishly ugly and scientifically storied frilled shark.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions directed senior federal prosecutors to evaluate “certain issues” requested by the House Judiciary Committee, involving the sale of Uranium One, alleged unlawful dealings related to the Clinton Foundation and the FBI, leaving the door open for an appointment of a special counsel.

Apparently it's wonderful, so we'll be very familiar with them by March.

Thanksgiving stuffing done right: refreshingly simple takes on the overwhelming crowd favorite. Read More

After Sean Hannity made some questionable statements about statutory rape—even he agreed he should clarify what he said about Roy Moore’s “relationship” with a 14-year-old girl— Newsweek reported several advertisers were pulling spots from his Fox News show. These include such fine, upstanding brands as Eloquii,…

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So, you can’t make it home for Thanksgiving. Tough break. Instead of drowning your sorrows in booze while you eat a microwave dinner seasoned with tears, get some people together for “Friendsgiving.” It’s probably way better than real Thanksgiving with the family, anyway.

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It is an indisputable fact of modern life that dogs are good and airports are bad. There’s nothing Los Angeles likes more, though, than bringing the good and the bad together (see also: paleo donuts, Will Ferrell and Mel Gibson in Daddy’s Home 2, etc.). It makes a certain kind of sense, then, that the Pets Unstressing Passengers program (PUP), in which dogs don scarlet “Pet Me!” vests and hang out in airports comforting stressed-out passengers, was launched at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in 2013.

When I arrived at the PUP offices last Saturday, the volunteer pets of the hour—two Labrador retrievers, Ryu and Echo, and a portly French bulldog named Pierre—were snoozing under a table. The table was laden with stacks of trading cards displaying photos of the 72 dogs associated with the program, as well as their “statistics” (“Best reward: Belly rubs!”, “Favorite treat: Chicken!”).

"Kids go nuts for the cards," PUP program director Heidi Huebner told me as she and her three human volunteers grasped their dogs’ leashes and set off toward LAX Terminal 5. Huebner’s program is the first to bring dogs into airports for the express purpose of calming down fliers whose nerves have been frayed by lost luggage, long layovers, missed connections, and, of course, the increasingly present fear of harm; the PUP program’s dogs were in particularly high demand following the 2013 shooting at LAX that killed a TSA officer and injured several others, Huebner recalled.

The dogs were on call as thousands of Angelenos flocked to LAX in January to protest the Trump administration’s travel ban, and they have comforted traumatized travelers in the wake of national tragedies: “People light up when they see the dogs, and their minds go to a different place,” said PUP volunteer Naomi Jost, bending to scratch her dog Echo’s ear.

The PUP program requires that all its dogs be registered with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. The dogs come in all breeds and sizes, and their shifts—which mostly consist of being petted with varying degrees of tenderness—tend to last about two hours, just long enough to tire them out (as pictured below).

Police dogs are the animals most commonly associated with airports, but there’s a strict non-fraternization policy in place for K9 dogs and PUP volunteer pets. "The K9 dogs are at the airport to work, so we make sure to keep them separated,” said Huebner. (At this point, I had to restrain myself from muttering into my tape recorder, “Script idea: a 2017 Lady and the Tramp reboot where a drug dog and a therapy dog fall in love against all odds.”)

PUP dogs certainly generate more delight than their badge-wearing counterparts. Watching Pierre, Ryu and Echo waddle through the arrivals hall was something like witnessing the Beatles on their first US tour. Hyper kids and exhausted parents alike ceased bickering, yawning, and texting and ran to the dogs, wearing identical expressions of wonder.

AT one point, a young woman fell to her knees and began repeatedly cooing "I love you" directly into Ryu’s mouth.

“That was the best moment of my life, I’m gonna go now,” she called over her shoulder as she disentangled herself, beaming, from the dog’s embrace.

Although the PUP dogs are meant to “un-stress” fliers, the level of excitement they unleash in some children doesn’t exactly seem to alleviate stress for parents. Upon witnessing Pierre and Echo engage in the ancient canine ritual of booping snoots, Sebastian, a one-year-old Catalonian boy in a Mickey Mouse shirt, let out a primal scream that lasted a full minute.

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Watch: A visit to the only record label in the world making music for dogs

“He loves dogs,” sighed Sebastian’s mother wearily, watching her small son vibrate with the kind of manic joy normally unleashed only by a family size bag of Pixy Stix (or a medium-to-high dose of Ritalin.)

As we made our way through the terminal, Pierre started nosing in the direction of a tall, bandana-clad man leaning against a pillar. The man immediately stooped to pat Pierre, revealing the unmistakable countenance of 80s TV icon Mr. T.

“Even Mr. T like dogs,” laughed the former A-Team star as he hoisted Pierre into his arms, emitting the kind of high-pitched sounds people tend to make when they cradle bulldogs.

“Wow, they’re amazing,” Mr. T marveled as Ryu and Echo sidled up to him. “I’ve heard about this program, but this is my first time seeing y’all.” As Mr. T bid adieu to his new canine devotees, whispers began to circulate among PUP program volunteers and the assembled crowd about celebrities they’d previously seen at LAX; one person had spotted Jeff Goldblum in coach on a flight to Boston, and another had caught a glimpse of Kelly Ripa at an in-terminal Starbucks.

As their moment in the limelight began to fade, Echo, Pierre and Ryu let out a harmony of yawns and curled up on the carpet of the terminal floor, seemingly soothed by the ambient noise of celebrity gossip around them— they are LA dogs, after all.

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The Chase Sapphire Preferred easily won our reader vote for best travel rewards credit card, and whether you’re a seasoned points maximizer or just dipping your toes in, you should have a Preferred in your rotation.

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Roasted, spatchcocked, and fried: foolproof techniques for a perfect turkey. Read More

President Donald Trump on Saturday hinted that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin's denials that Russia meddled in the 2016 election.

Everyone knows that cinnamon rolls are a delicious indulgence. What this recipe presupposes is… maybe they should be bigger? I mean like a lot bigger. It’s possible, and honestly it’s beautiful, too.

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People have been stewing over the correct answer to a coffee-themed puzzle.

CHICAGO—Worrying that he could be caught off guard anywhere, at any time, area man Dan Moritz on Friday was reportedly afraid some woman might come out of the woodwork to hold him accountable for something. “I’m honestly starting to get a little freaked out that a woman could, out of nowhere, start demanding that I take responsibility for something that I absolutely did,” said Moritz, adding that he had no way of knowing if the woman who would suddenly hold him responsible for his actions would be a female friend, coworker, or even a woman he met only once at a party. “I can’t shake the fear that, one day, I’m just minding my own business when I’m blindsided by a woman who’s spent possibly years building up the courage to confront me with something horrible that was definitely my fault.” Moritz went on to say that while he was anxious, all he could do was hope for the best and just keep living his life as he always had.

Hilary Dugan is a limnologist, which means she studies inland bodies of water like rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, and marshland. Specifically she studies lakes:

As a limnologist, I study how terrestrial and atmospheric changes, such as warming air temperatures or land use patterns, alter biogeochemical fluxes and aquatic processes in lakes.

Right now, Dugan is in Antarctica on a research trip to Lake Vanda, where she took this amazing photo of the 12-ft sheet of black ice covering the lake. (She also took a video of herself walking on the ice.) Beautiful.

Lake Vanda sounds fascinating btw: three thermal layers of water that don’t mix (the bottom layer is a toasty 73 °F) and it’s one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world, more than 10 times saltier than seawater (although very little of that salt is contained in the upper layers). The lake is also home to the The Royal Lake Vanda Swim Club, a largely abandoned tradition of skinny dipping in the lake when the ice melts enough to permit it.

Tags: Antarctica   Hilary Dugan

The unusual North Shore home is straight out of the ‘70s.

Described by the listing real estate agent as an “architect's unique interpretation of a California midcentury modern home,” this nearly 7,000-square-foot property in suburban Winnetka, Illinois, is a bonkers throwback to 1976. From its old-school furnishings to its Shoji style sliding doors and funky gold wallpaper, the four-bedroom residence is a pristine time capsule.

The highlight of the home is easily its dramatic great room with 19-foot vaulted timber ceilings and a connected 60-foot-long indoor pool with a diving board. While the house boasts some of the greatest design hits of the 1970s, it also comes with drawbacks like a dated kitchen with appliances that border on antique. The listing photos also exclude the bathrooms—another worrying sign.

With all of its retro quirks, the North Shore home has been slow to find a buyer. It first listed for $1.6 million last year and has seen its price steadily tumble downward ever since. It returned yesterday for just one buck shy of $1 million.

• 1548 Tower Road, Winnetka IL [Estately]
• Previous Winnetka coverage [Curbed Chicago]

Keurigs and drip coffee makers are convenient, sure, but the coffee they produce can’t hold a candle to what you’ll get from these discounted gadgets.

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