The San Diego Comic-Con includes a glitzy cosplay fashion show called Her Universe. You can see many of the costumes from it in a Twitter thread by Hot Topic, one of the sponsors of the show.
Among them is this disturbingly amusing costume by designer Samantha Strickland. Pennywise from Stephen King's It looks a lot more friendly and buoyant in this balloon-filled outfit.
-via Super Punch
At the Wattana Panich restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand, you can eat soup has been cooking for 45 years.
The family owned restaurant is locally famous for its beef stew. It's cooked in a big pot, which you can see above. At the end of the night, the staff drains the broth out of the pot and uses it to cook stew the next day. In the morning, the broth is mixed with stewed beef, sliced raw beef, meatballs, tripe, and unnamed organs. The prep time is over four decades.
Do you see the shiny ring around the pot? That's soup residue which has been collecting and solidifying for 45 years. It's formed a basin around the pot.
You can watch a brief documentary by Great Big Story about the restaurant and its famous stew on Vimeo.
-via Nag on the Lake
The old 1971 Caddy was a local landmark. Residents aren't sure how long it had sat in the same spot, but it dates back to at least 1994. The anonymous owner kept it registered, but never drove it. Even when movie shootings required that all cars be moved, the Cadillac remained in place. MSN Cars reports:
Interestingly, the 1970s sedan had a current New York inspection sticker. After a recent complaint however, the car was ticketed by a street cleaner and, shortly after, towed to the NYPD’s Erie Basin Auto Pound. [...]
However, not everyone was happy when the vehicle was towed by the city. “That car is a staple in this community,” said a neighbor that goes by the name of Jake. “Those who gawk at it and want to get rid of it aren’t real Brooklynites."
-via Dave Barry | Photo: Motor1
In 1930, Governor Charles W. Bryan went on vacation and left Lieutenant Governor T.W. Metcalfe in charge. In the absence of the governor, Lt. Gov. Metcalfe decided to form the Great Navy of Nebraska.
Nebraska is landlocked. In fact, it's triply landlocked. That means that all states that border it are landlocked, as well as all of the states that border those states. That, of course, does not preclude a nation from forming a navy. Nebraska does, after all, have rivers and lakes.
But Great Navy of Nebraska is not a military organization. It is an honorary society to which the Governor appoints people who have distinguished themselves. Appointees become Admirals (there are no junior ranks) along with a decorative certificate suitable for display. The certificate, which is signed by the Governor, reads:
Know ye, that reposing special trust and confidence in the patriotism, valor, fidelity and abilities of [name of recipient] and knowing him to be a good fellow and loyal friend and counselor I have nominated and do appoint him an Admiral in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska. He is therefore called to diligently discharge the duties of Admiral by doing and performing all manner of things thereto belonging. And I do strictly charge and require all officers, seamen, tadpoles and goldfish under his command to be obedient to his orders as Admiral--and he is to observe and follow, from time to time, such direction as he shall receive, according to the rules and discipline of the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska. This commission to continue in force during the period of his good behavior, and the pleasure of the Chief Admiral of the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska.
Many Admirals join the Nebraska Admirals Association, which exists to:
To promote education and educational activities throughout the state.
To promote tourism in the state.
To promote Nebraska products.
To enhance Nebraska's agricultural industry.
To seek and save Nebraska's sea.
To develop and maintain ports throughout the state.
To enjoy fun activities such as "walking the plank".
To build Nebraska pride and esprit de corps.
To recycle Nebraska's assets.
To increase the fleet of flagships of the Nebraska Navy.
To continue efforts to have U.S. Naval ships named after Nebraska, its people and places.
Photo: US Air Force/Josh Plueger
Colonel America and McThor are ready to take down Thanos. But first, they need a few calories to fuel the fight. These cosplayers spotted at the San Diego Comic-Con illustrate the best way to do so quickly. I'm lovin' it.
-via Cosplay in America | Photo: Angelo Martinez
More San Diego Comic-Con 2019 posts
Carved Lake Art is a company that creates laser-cut maps and depth charts of lakes and ports around the world, with an emphasis on the waters of the United States. They're cut from up to 8 sheets of Baltic Birch plywood and take the form of framed display maps, tables, clocks, and cribbage boards.
The company is based on the shore of Lake Michigan, so it's natural that the work began with the Great Lakes. But it has also produced nautical charts of New York City, San Francisco, the Mediterranean Sea, and more.
Some Metallica songs naturally lend themselves to a young audience. Here's a selection from "Seek and Destroy":
Running on our way, hiding you will pay
Dying one thousand deaths
Running on our way, hiding you will pay
Dying one thousand deaths
But this book will be far less morbid. The heavy metal band is selling an alphabet book starting on November 26. All proceeds will go to the All Within My Hands Foundation, the band's charitable organization that has donated millions of dollars to workforce education, community colleges, and hunger relief.
-via Dave Barry
If I were a passenger on a small, single-engine plane, I would find the experience far less tedious. The landing would have my full attention. But this kitty is more blasé about it than I.
-via Nag on the Lake
Webcomic artist and father Seung Lee used an app to track his son's sleep patterns during his first year of life, then used that pattern as the basis for a knitting pattern for a baby blanket. Colossal reports:
Choosing to work with six minute intervals, Lee then converted the CSVs into JSON (using Google Apps Script and Python) which created a reliable pattern for knitting. The frenetic lines at the top of the blanket indicate the baby’s unpredictable sleep schedule right after birth. We can see how the child grew into a more reliable schedule as the lines reach more columnar patterns.
As Lee neared completion of the blanket, he shared, “All the disparate pieces felt really fragile but as I seamed it together, wove in loose ends, and removed stitch markers, it felt more and more sturdy. Something that I’d been handling like a delicate bird egg started to just feel like a blanket.”
The little tyke loves it, too. Lee says, "There's nothing quite like the feeling of someone loving the thing you made for them."
It would be interesting to see complimentary blankets for the baby's parents during this same year, assuming that they got any sleep.
Twitter user Mairéad Lynn received this video of a lizard undergoing surgery for the removal of . . . something . . . from his stomach.
Something big.
She reports that he is, fortunately, doing just fine now.
-via Aaron Starmer
It's a staple of science fiction: people unwisely dispose of toxic chemicals, animals eat or are immersed in them, and then become mutant super predators.
The latest toxic chemical to induce our horror movie nightmares is methamphetamine. Police in Loretto, Tennessee are asking people to dispose of their meth safely. Don't just flush it down the toilet. The alligators could get to it and then...change. AL.com quotes the Loretto Police Department:
Ducks, Geese, and other fowl frequent our treatment ponds and we shudder to think what one all hyped up on meth would do. Furthermore, if it made it far enough we could create meth-gators in Shoal Creek and the Tennessee River down in North Alabama. They’ve had enough methed up animals the past few weeks without our help. So, if you need to dispose of your drugs just give us a call and we will make sure they are disposed of in the proper way.
-via Instapundit | Photo: Rusty Clark
Tyler Cowen is an economist and general polymath. His blog, Marginal Revolution, is a long parade of his thoughts on a vast variety of subjects. He's not an expert on everything, but he has boundless curiosity and deep knowledge of topics as diverse as Sichuan food and game theory.
He's a knowledge worker; that is, he gets paid to use his brain. Recently, he was asked how he develops himself accordingly. Cowen has a lengthy list of regular practices. It includes:
1. I write every day. I also write to relax.
2. Much of my writing time is devoted to laying out points of view which are not my own. I recommend this for most of you.
3. I do serious reading every day.
4. After a talk, Q&A session, podcast — whatever — I review what I thought were my weaker answers or interventions and think about how I could improve them. I rehearse in my mind what I should have said. Larry Summers does something similar.
5. I spent an enormous amount of time and energy trying to crack cultural codes. I view this as a comparative advantage, and one which few other people in my fields are trying to replicate. For one thing, it makes me useful in a wide variety of situations where I have little background knowledge. This also helps me invest in skills which will age relatively well, as I age. For me, this is perhaps the most importantly novel item on this list.
6. I listen often to highly complex music, partly because I enjoy it but also in the (silly?) hope that it will forestall mental laziness.
For myself, I'm usually reading a work of high literature in addition to baser literature. I also try to learn at least one new technological skill, no matter how small, every work day.
What daily or regular practices do you have to develop yourself in an increasingly knowledge-based economy?
Do you see the hair on top of this man's head? It's fake!
Really!
Eagle-eyed police officers in a Barcelona, Spain airport grew suspicious of his coiffure when he arrived on a flight from Bogota, Colombia. After searching him, they found half a kilogram of cocaine cleverly concealed beneath his seemingly lifelike hairpiece. It's worth about $33,000 USD (the cocaine, not the toupee). The Daily Telegraph quotes the Spanish police:
"There is no limit to the inventiveness of drug traffickers trying to mock controls," said the police statement.
Photo: Reuters
Instructables member JohnO3 calls his invention the "Skittle Pixel8r". It was a sophisticated programming and mechanical challenge, as the printer produces a specific image using pre-sorted Skittles. A motor moves the hopper along to drop in one Skittle at a time, slowly building the image from the bottom up.
You can find detailed instructions, including coding and wiring diagrams, at Instructables. But be warned:
It was supposed to be a weekend project but ended up taking a month to design and build.
That's the way projects usually work.
-via Technabob
The official mint of the Canadian government has issued a coin that is shaped like the country itself. Artist Ali Giroux designed the 3-ounce silver coin, which sells for $340. Various animals native to Canada are arranged in the shapes of the 10 provinces and 3 territories. CBC News reports:
She turned Quebec into a snowy owl taking flight, and Ontario into a loon with its wings folded. British Columbia, meanwhile, became a spirit bear.
Giroux decided to design a two-colour version of her map for Canada's 150th anniversary and posted it online. About a year ago, she received a call from the mint, with an offer to have her design featured on a coin.
"I had a little cry, because it was immensely flattering, and surreal, and very special," Giroux told Ottawa Morning.
-via Nag on the Lake | Photo: CBC
