Once again, Beutler Ink has produced a year-end poster paying tribute to the newsmakers, celebrities, trends, and memes of the closing year, titled Here's to 2017. This year, that involves a lot of details. I'm happy that Wonder Woman is front and center. Among the politicians and protesters, you'll see plenty of pop stars, athletes, and fictional characters -and a crowded RIP section. That's a lot of people, which makes it hard to see at this size. Enjoy a much larger -and enlargeable- version at Beutler Ink, where you'll a link to purchase the poster if you choose. -via Nag on the Lake
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Being a cat lady is not something you can turn on and off like a light. It's a lifestyle. My older daughter used to carry a camera everywhere. When she visited friends, she didn't take pictures of the friends, or what activities they enjoyed; she brought home pictures of their cats so she could remember them, even though we had plenty of cats at home. This comic from Yasmine Surovec at Cat vs Human reminds us that if the things you want to do are the things you already do, life is good.
Anthony Daniels is 71 years old, and still playing the droid C-3PO in the Star Wars saga. C-3PO is one of the few elements of the series that never changes, since he is mechanical and is as good as new with replacement parts (even if his new arm is red). And while his creator Anakin can grow up, rule the galaxy, die, and then be called "Grandfather," C-3PO is still there to be all fussy about protocol and translate what R2D2 says.
In 1976 Daniels was appearing in a London stage production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and was determined not to take a job on a trivial sci-fi film. Then he saw Ralph McQuarrie’s concept sketch for C-3PO. He saw something in that face. The first three Star Wars films (1977, 1980, 1983), all narrative drive and swashbuckle, still hold up. Fast-paced and funny, they repackaged an archetypal quest for revenge and reconciliation as an outer space western. Good versus evil, dark against light. Simple. R2-D2 and C-3PO are the mismatched comic relief, an intergalactic Odd Couple as Greek chorus: Threepio the neatnik Felix to R2’s slovenly Oscar, reminding the audience what’s at stake and how the principals really feel.
“You need a balance of elements in all these films. It’s a fairy story, it’s a romp. So there’s serious bits, the dangerous bits, whatever, and then occasionally the refreshment of a character who doesn’t really fit into the environment,” Daniels says. “That was another brilliance of George [Lucas], that you come back to the protocol and etiquette thing, these are the last skills ever to be required in a horrible desert surrounded by ghastly people.”
Read more about Daniels and the droid he's inhabited for 40 years at Smithsonian.
I cried when I first read the book Charlotte's Web, and in some subsequent readings, too. I cried when I watch the animated film in 1973. And I cried at the live-action remake in 2006, although my kids didn't understand why. By then it was a flashback to my childhood experience of the story. If you have fond memories of watching the 1973 animated version of Charlotte's Web, you'll want to read a trivia list about the movie.
10. Debbie Reynolds offered to forego her salary to play Charlotte.
Reynolds loved the book so much that she was willing to voice Charlotte’s part just for the fun of it. That’s true dedication to one’s craft.
4. The author wasn’t too fond of the movie.
Just as he feared the director and the animators changed too much about his book. He watched it once and then never again.
E. B. White objected to the songs in the film, but Hollywood did not change the story as much as it changes most stories. Read more about the 1973 Charlotte's Web at TVOM.
It's time for a little warm-and-fuzzy break! Take a few minutes and revel in seeing all kinds of animals giving hugs to people (or vice-versa). We have cows, chimpanzees, parrots, fish, elephants, poultry, bears, pigs, goats, cats, dogs, and ferocious wild animals -some you may not even be familiar with. Need we say it? Don't try this with just any animal.
When you feel the world is falling apart, enjoy the power of touch and the pure signs of affection from critters who don't care about our wealth or our pasts or our politics. -via Tastefully Offensive
Here's a hotel room you will tell your grandchildren about. TheKrane is an abandoned crane at the harbor in Copenhagen, a real crane, converted into an overnight suite for two. The experience won't be cheap (currently €2,500), but you'll have certain amenities:
As a homage to its industrial past, the interior is lined from floor to ceiling in black-stained Douglas planks. Designer Danish furnishings in the signature color complete the minimalist palette, allowing the scenery to shine through the surrounding windows. Below, a gray-stone spa sits in front of floor-to-ceiling glazing, affording expansive views of the city and sea from the sauna and soaking tubs. Amenities include a concierge, airport pickup, and your own BMW to explore the capital.
Did I mention the views from the crane are spectacular (for a harbor)? See a gallery of images at Uncrate. -via Boing Boing
AMC has promised that the mid-season eight finale of The Walking Dead will have a shocking and devastating moment for the audience. We are not surprised, as that's the kind of talk we hear about every episode. But the series tends to kill off characters right before the show goes away for months at a time -and that's why we have these polls. Who do you think is going to bite the big one this Sunday night? Continue reading for specific predictions for each character, which will contain spoilers for those not current with the show. Or go ahead and register your prediction in the poll.
A young girl is excited about the school's holiday talent show, and puts in plenty of time practicing her dance. But her father is always busy working. Will he make it to the big event? Will he even remember it?
Sometimes parents can surprise you. This heartwarming Christmas short film is from BBC One. -Thanks, Ken D!
Hey, I got a shirt that color! Actually, more than one shirt that color. The Pantone Color Institute has announced the Color of the Year for 2018, and it's Pantone 18-3838. We laymen can call it Ultra Violet.
“Purple is a complex color,” Lee Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, tells Co.Design. “We’re in a complex time; this is a complex color.”
I dunno, it looks like medium purple to me, but I like medium purple. Get ready for Ultra Violet pots and pans, Ultra Violet bathroom accessories, and Ultra Violet clothing, of course. You can browse the ways that Ultra Violet can be used at Pantone. -via Digg
This stunning photograph of the Milky Way over Harvey Dam in Western Australia was taken by Flickr user inefekt69 in February. It was selected as one of Flickr's top images of 2017. So was this magnificent picture of Mont Saint-Michel in France, with its reflection showing in a puddle of water by Flickr user Loïc Lagarde.
To select the best images of the year, Flickr relied on user metrics, such as how many views and favorites the pictures received, to whittle the contenders down. Then the final 25 were selected by the Flickr staff. See all 25 of Flickr's best photos of 2017 here. And if you've got time, there are 612 galleries of top photos broken down by category here. -via Metafilter
This is fine. Christmas is filled with so much joy that we can smile while warming our hands by the toasty flames of our bank accounts incinerating. Honestly, sometimes I think that Christmas exists to make sure we enter the New Year completely broke. That way, the only way to go is up! Until income tax season, that is... This is the latest comic from Sarah Andersen at Sarah's Scribbles.
Andersen's latest book, Big Mushy Happy Lump: A Sarah's Scribbles Collection, is an economical Christmas gift.
A universal basic income (UBI) has been proposed now and then in different places as a response to income inequality, unemployment, low wages, automation, and inadequate social safety nets. Everyone would be given enough money for basic survival, whether or not they also have a paid job. The theory is that some will still work and earn extra money, while those who cannot work (the elderly and disabled), can't find a job, or choose not to work (new parents, family caregivers, students) will not starve. Others will find the freedom to start their own business, go to school, or do volunteer work.
Kurzgesagt explains the basic principles of UBI, the many ways it could be implemented, and the arguments for and against. Don't hold your breath, though.
Competitive creative dog grooming is an activity that makes dogs into an art medium. The biggest competition is the annual Groom Expo, which took place in Hershey, Pennsylvania, in September. Watch as dog groomers Adriane Pope and Angela Kumpe negotiate the four-day grooming exposition and sculpt and dye their poodles, transforming them into magnificent, if odd, works of art.
As with other obscure pastimes, creative dog groomers know each other, know the rules and trends, and work diligently to make a name for themselves among those in the creative dog grooming community. The short film Well Groomed by Rebecca Stern is being developed into a feature film. -via Laughing Squid
(Image credit: Flickr user MR38.)
Nominative determinism is the hypothesis that people tend to gravitate toward a profession that is reflected in their name. The Wikipedia page cites a 1977 article titled "The Urethral Syndrome: Experience with the Richardson Urethroplasty" co-authored by two Australian doctors named Splatt and Weedon as one of the inspirations for the term. It's not clear whether this is really a trend, or whether those who fit the theory just get attention for it. However, it seems to be rampant in the medical profession. This could be because we have so many terms associated with health and illness. The wide use of euphemisms plays a part, as you can tell in the great number of urologists and gynecologists that fit the profile. Let's meet some of them.
The 2008 movie The Hurt Locker followed a bomb disposal unit in the Iraq War, which meant lots of violence and explosions, but the film was ultimately about how war changed the men in it. Kathryn Bigelow became the fist woman to win an Oscar for Best Director for the movie, beating her ex-husband's film Avatar. Let's learn some of the details behind The Hurt Locker.
10. The film was shot on location in Jordan.
Kathryn Bigelow wanted to shoot part of the scenes on a Kuwait military base but she was denied.
9. The director claimed that no scenes were left out of the final cut.
It would seem that everything that was filmed was put into the movie, which is kind of hard to believe but kind of intriguing as well.
Here's more to learn about The Hurt Locker in a trivia list at TVOM.
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