Vvicked

In this, the latest installment in his outstanding "True Facts about _________" nature series, Ze Frank takes a hilariously perceptive look at one of our favorite animal subjects: the octopus .

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That somebody is German engineering firm Festo. The company, which has a history of turning to nature for inspiration, is also responsible for this mechanical seagull and these claw-tipped Doc Ock arms (which were modeled after an elephant's trunk).

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A college professor once offered the following creative final exam: Write a suitable final exam for this course and supply a key. The first paper handed in read ‘Final Exam: Write suitable final exam for this course and supply a key. Key: Any reasonable variation of the previous sentence = 100%.’

– Michael Stueben, Twenty Years Before the Blackboard, 1998

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New Cyanide and Happiness Comic.

Behold! The Diction-fairy! From This City's Lungs/Kelsey Parks.

"Diction-fairy" (via Seanan McGuire)

Whee!

I thought this was neat - a woman had photos of her maternal line going back to her Great-great-great-grandmother, and she decided to recreate each shot and display the original and recreated photos side-by-side.

In this example, she is on the right, and her Great-great-great-grandmother Martha, who was born in 1821, is on the left:

Check out the rest. I saw this on our Genealogy Group's listserv, which linked to an article with more information.

BONUS COMIC AT THE NIB TODAY!

Walter Penney of Greenbelt, Md., offered this poser in the August 1969 issue of Word Ways: The Journal of Recreational Linguistics. Below are five groups of English words. Each group appears also in a foreign language. What are the languages?

1. aloud, angel, hark, inner, lover, room, taken, wig
2. alas, atlas, into, manner, pore, tie, vain, valve
3. ail, ballot, enter, four, lent, lit, mire, taller
4. banjo, chosen, hippo, pure, same, share, tempo, tendon
5. ago, cur, dare, fur, limes, mane, probe, undo

Click for solution …

If there were a divine creator who loved us and watched over us, this Michonne Barbie doll would be a real product I could buy right this instant. But instead it's a beautiful figure custom-made by Park Seoung and it taunts me with its perfection, forever out of my reach.

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Thinkgeek's Tauntaun Costume Hoodie not only has horns and ears, but its lining includes line-art innards and gore, to really bring home the feeling of climbing inside your trusty steed's guts to be shielded from the elements.

Tauntaun Costume Hoodie (via The Disney Blog)

Jen from Cake Wrecks made this amazing AT-AT rocking-horse, documenting the build online (she's promised plans to follow). It will be auctioned for charity at Megacon by the Florida chapter of the 501st Legion.

As I said, little Isaiah (son of my Wrecky minion Julianne - and resident of the Ninja Nursery, if you remember that!) was afraid of rocking on the AT-AT, even though he loved it and kept standing next to it and patting it. So to help him feel brave, I got him a Vader mask and cape. And, hey, never underestimate the power... of a Vader mask and cape:

Isaiah is rocked all the way forward here, so as you can see the bumpers really prevent it from going very far. (He didn't want to rock backward at all. Heheh.)

If you missed it, you can see some construction shots of the AT-AT here. Oh, and I still don't have a pattern for you guys, but I promise it's on the to-do list!

Finished AT-AT Rocker Reveal!

27p20 is a post from: The Adventures of Dr. McNinja Ads by Project Wonderful! Your ad could be here, right now.

27p20 is a post from: The Adventures of Dr. McNinja

Ads by Project Wonderful! Your ad could be here, right now.

 

In studying the parasitic protozoan Plasmodium ovale in 1954, English parasitologist William Cooper volunteered to receive the bites of about a thousand mosquitos, and nine days later underwent a laparotomy in which a piece of his liver was removed. On recovering, he stained the sections himself, located the malaria parasite stages in his own tissue, and painted these in watercolors to accompany the resulting article.

His coauthor, University of London protozoologist Cyril Garnham, wrote that Cooper “attained everlasting fame by this episode.”

(P.C.C. Garnham et al., “The Pre-Erythrocytic Stage of Plasmodium Ovale,” Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 49:2 [March 1955], 158-167)

(Thanks, Andrew.)

In a medieval fantasy version of Batman, the Joker transforms himself into a hideous dragon, laughing gas leaking from his toxic maw. But even in his new form, the Joker still remembers to grin. See the full image below.

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New Cyanide and Happiness Comic.

Photograph: Hemedia/Mark Sutherland

West Dunbartonshire council has had quite enough of listening to that woman complain about her assigned public housing being inaccessible to her disabled child. The Guardian:

Clare Lally, 33, spent two years campaigning for improved access for her daughter Katie, seven, who uses a wheelchair, after the council gave them a home at the top of three flights of stairs. But she was shocked at the solution, a £40,000 60-metre steel ramp which winds from the front door to the pavement.

They filled the entire yard with it!

January was a month of extremes for the continental United States. Pretty much everywhere east of the Rockies endured unusually cold conditions, while most regions west of the range experienced record-breaking warmth (most notably in California, where a devastating drought recently extended into its 13th month).

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This post originally ran during the LAST Winter Olympics, in 2014. I think it’s STILL VERY RELEVANT.

stirring olympic narratives: • the athlete trained very hard • his/her country wants him/her to win • his/her family is very supportive

— David Malki ! (@malki) February 13, 2014

Like lots of you perhaps, I’m watching bits of the Olympics, and it’s interesting to watch how the same basic narratives are played over and over in an attempt to add drama to the sports. Fundamentally, the Olympics is about world-class athletes competing with one another, so of course they’re all going to be dedicated, and the pride of their country.

But what if…THERE WAS MORE TO THE STORY???

better olympic narratives • the last practitioner of a dying sport • in the olympics by mistake • possibly replaced by a bear in a costume

— David Malki ! (@malki) February 13, 2014

better olympic narratives • needs pure gold from medal to save dying spouse • in curling contest for immortal soul • skis are actually feet

— David Malki ! (@malki) February 13, 2014

better olympic narratives • actually snowboarding to save community center from developers • little white lie on first date has gone too far

— David Malki ! (@malki) February 13, 2014

better olympic narratives • back half of horse costume took a wrong turn • deep undercover narcotics agent • trying to outski her past

— David Malki ! (@malki) February 13, 2014

better olympic narratives • bionic sequined tutu has mind of its own • every 4 years we must cavort to thrill the icedemon • make-a-wish kid

— David Malki ! (@malki) February 13, 2014

@malki Traveled back in time to kill world leader but fell into sport due to missed date

— Recovering ninja kat (@Kouban) February 13, 2014

@malki here to save their homeworld from a crippling gold medal shortage

— Erik Peterson (@miniwombat) February 13, 2014

@malki Lost hunter accidentally wins biathlon. Training for Gymkata II: This Time It’s In Snow? Actually a wizard just showing off.

— Jon Bergdoll (@jbergdoll) February 13, 2014

• country ceased to exist mid-ski jump à la Tom Hanks in The Terminal • presidentchancellorking of micronation must do every event himself

— David Malki ! (@malki) February 13, 2014

• elaborate costumed ruse to trap international gambling cartel • athlete switched minds with family dog • in olympics ironically

— David Malki ! (@malki) February 13, 2014

• wants to prove that a scientologist can also be a world-class snowboarder • family was killed by a metal target and now out for revenge

— David Malki ! (@malki) February 13, 2014

• v. precise fetish requires winning a bronze medal specifically • hates snow and wants to crush it • just wants to get on the wipeout reel

— David Malki ! (@malki) February 13, 2014

@malki Didn’t realise where those stairs really went until it was too late…

— alison (@alisonborealis) February 13, 2014

@malki Elaborate spinoff of popular 1995 Sega Genesis game Izzy’s Quest for Olympic Gold

— Jon Bergdoll (@jbergdoll) February 13, 2014

@malki Meant to sign up for Summer Games. Checked the wrong box.

— Erik Peterson (@miniwombat) February 13, 2014

@malki Ineffectual attempt to get divorced parents back together Chasing dream of starring in local furniture store commercial in ten years

— Jon Bergdoll (@jbergdoll) February 13, 2014

• need to collect all five colored rings to heal the planet • just love hearing accents • ruse to sell all this ski wax before it spoils

— David Malki ! (@malki) February 13, 2014

@malki Believes winning gold medal will lead to an audience with Zeus

— Recovering ninja kat (@Kouban) February 13, 2014

• wheaties box photographer who always wanted to take a selfie • there against wishes of every country • forgot NOT to be in the olympics

— David Malki ! (@malki) February 13, 2014

@malki ghost who needs to win 100 gold medals to get into heaven.

— Joe Hopkins (@Balthazarlove) February 13, 2014

@malki · Primary role on hockey team is enforcer, really just wants to dance · Speed skater is forced to maintain 55mph or bomb will go off

— Ned Keitt-Pride (@BigNed) February 13, 2014

@malki foolishly chose “dare” instead of much safer “truth” option

— Tim Willmott (@holterya) February 13, 2014

@malki blindly following guy who keeps getting into bobsleds

— James Webber (@james_t_webber) February 13, 2014

• making the best of speed-skate-shaped foot tumors • uncomfortable in clothes not emblazoned with national insignia and sports brand logos

— David Malki ! (@malki) February 13, 2014

• using biathlon as research for existential novel • splashed with paint while nude and mistaken for member of norwegian curling team

— David Malki ! (@malki) February 13, 2014

@malki Just prefers the temporary McDonalds in the olympic village

— Bryan Stoll (@BryanStoll) February 13, 2014

@malki Cryptozoologist, misheard name of event as “all imp pics”

— Emily (@erpurc) February 13, 2014

@malki Werewolf competing for either Gold or Bronze

— Emily (@erpurc) February 13, 2014

@malki •feverishly chasing ghost, later revealed to be a smudge on goggles •team of snowboard thieves pulling off heist of a lifetime

— Nate MacDonald (@lentilstew) February 13, 2014

@Malki Accidentally wandered into event while trying to figure out the source of that smell

— CSjostrand (@cjsjostrand) February 13, 2014

@malki Forgot to return rented ice skates and felt obligated to use them

— Josh Closs (@FiveIronFanatic) February 13, 2014

@malki Trying to avoid getting a “real job”

— Josh Closs (@FiveIronFanatic) February 13, 2014

@malki dying father made her promise to never enter the olympics; hates dying father.

— Andrew J. Plant (@AndrewJPlant) February 13, 2014

@malki Wrote now-forgotten MySpace password on back of one of the medals

— Josh Closs (@FiveIronFanatic) February 13, 2014

@malki Died overnight from hotel gas leak, being subtly paraded around by coaches Weekend at Bernie’s style

— Slinkydoodle Rick (@RicksWriting) February 13, 2014

• just wants to have fun on the bobsled without all the pressure of the World Championships in Königssee

— David Malki ! (@malki) February 13, 2014

@malki communicating with spies via precise sequences of national anthems

— Emily (@erpurc) February 13, 2014

@malki Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award winner going for coveted “EGOTO”

— Andrew J. Plant (@AndrewJPlant) February 13, 2014

and the number 1 motivator for today’s modern olympic athletes: breaking own ankles by hand just not that exciting anymore

— David Malki ! (@malki) February 13, 2014

@malki Final Boss fight with Putin being a close 2nd. Afterwards u unlock a new character and a recolor of your respective country’s uniform

— Spencer Stevens (@KryloGrad) February 13, 2014

i like twitter, twitter can be fun

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In composing a state map of New York in the 1930s, the General Drafting Company wanted to be sure that competing mapmakers would not simply copy its work. So the company’s founder, Otto G. Lindberg, and his assistant, Ernest Alpers, scrambled their initials and placed the fictional town of Agloe at the intersection of two dirt roads in the Catskills north of Roscoe.

Several years later, they discovered Agloe on a Rand McNally map and confronted their competitor. But Rand was innocent: It had got the name from the county government, which had taken it from the Agloe General Store, which now occupied the intersection. The store had taken the name from a map by Esso, which had (apparently) copied it from Lindberg’s map. Agloe had somehow clambered from imagination into reality.

Similarly, in 2001 editors placed a fake word in the New Oxford American Dictionary as a trap for other lexicographers who might steal their material. Fittingly, the word was esquivalience, “the willful avoidance of one’s official responsibilities; the shirking of duties.”

Sure enough, the word turned up at Dictionary.com (it’s since been taken down), citing Webster’s New Millennium Dictionary.

And as with Agloe, the invention has taken on a life of its own. NOAD editor Christine Lindberg, who coined esquivalience, told the Chicago Tribune that she finds herself using it regularly. “I especially like the critical, judgmental tone I can get out of it: ‘Those esquivalient little wretches.’ Sounds literate and nasty all in one breath. I like that.”

This one does exactly what it says on the tin, folks. And yes, it is the best thing.

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"This is an animated gif of a chicken wearing a prosthetic tail to counterbalance its weight and make it walk like a dinosaur."

John Scalzi's Hugo-winning, existentialist comedy space opera novel Redshirts is being adapted into a TV series by FX -- it's a natural! This is just wonderful news -- intelligent, funny science fiction from a novelist who plays with the tropes of the field, it's just what TV needs. Congrats, John!

Here's my review of Redshirts: "Redshirts both realizes and transcends its premise, and is at once a tribute to, and a piss-take on, the best and worst that space opera has to offer. It's the sort of thing that science fiction is especially good at, and the sort of thing for which Scalzi is justifiably loved."

Redshirts TV Series FXEXCLUSIVE: John Scalzi’s 2012 comedic sci-fi novel Redshirts is headed to the small screen. FX has teamed with veteran feature producer Jon Shestack (Dan In Real Life) and producer-director Ken Kwapis (Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants) and his partner Alexandra Beattie to develop a limited series based on the book, which won the 2013 Hugo Award. Search is underway for writers to pen the adaption, with Kwapis set to direct the opening episode. He, Shestack and Beattie executive produce.

FX Adapting Sci-Fi Novel ‘Redshirts’ As Limited Series [Nellie Andreeva/Deadline]

(via Tor.com)