The concept of deus ex machina has saved many an unbelievable story, when the gods step in and do something that no mere mortal could do to advance the plot or resolve it. The modern counterpart is a real machine -the computer. Since a computer can conceivably do anything, especially in the future, writers make them do pretty much anything they need to power a movie plot. This was especially true in the 60s and 70s, and although it's still being done today, the older movies that feature computers look deliciously ridiculous as state-of-the-art is very different now that those "futures" are here. Wired runs down some of those films in two posts that will bring back memories, or inspire you to watch those older movies. Shown is a computer from Rollerball, set in 2018, which uses punch cards. Link to part one.
Link to part two. -via mental_floss
Miss Cellania's Blog Posts
An attractive cat in Finland is determined to fit into a small box. Can he do it? Why yes, but it ain't easy! -via Daily Picks and Flicks
The cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation were surprised when a fan's photo opportunity turned into a surprise proposal. Wil Wheaton tells the story:
About 30 minutes or so into this particular session, these two people came in. The girl went to stand between Patrick and Frakes, and the guy directed her to stand in the front, instead. All of us tried to figure out what was going on (usually it's small kids who come to the front, usually sitting on Brent's lap or Gates' lap), and the guy said, "I really love Star Trek, but I love [her name] even more." He got down on one knee, and proposed to her.
Marina started to cry, I felt like I was going to cry, and we all applauded and celebrated when she said "yes." Apparently, they'd met Marina earlier in the day, and Marina had given him shit for not marrying her, so Marina was embarrassed about that.
The photograph snapped at that moment managed to capture the famous Picard facepalm. Link
And here's another picture. Link -Thanks, Blake Wilson!
Engage!
This Twaggie was made when Matt Lassen illustrated a Tweet by Ethan Trex. I didn't get a sticker as a reward for voting. I got to stand in line for 30 minutes while the smell of delicious soup made everyone hungry, just to find out afterward that it was $1.50 a bowl! Check out more illustrated Tweets at Twaggies. Link
Hyder the kitten goes the extra mile to retrieve her favorite toy. She didn't break any of the blinds -this time. This game night not be so entertaining when she reaches her full size. -via Everlasting Blort
It's time for the 250th edition of our collaboration with the always amusing What Is It? Blog. Can you guess what the pictured item is? Or can you make up something interesting?
Place your guess in the comment section below. One guess per comment, please, though you can enter as many guesses as you'd like in separate comments. Post no URLs or weblinks, as doing so will forfeit your entry. Two winners: the first correct guess and the funniest (albeit ultimately wrong) guess will win T-shirt from the NeatoShop.
Please write your T-shirt selection alongside your guess. If you don't include a selection, you forfeit the prize, okay? May we suggest the Science T-Shirt, Funny T-Shirt and Artist-Designed T-Shirts?
See all this week's mystery objects at the What Is It? Blog. Good luck!
Update: the pictured object is a vintage brass trigger guard for a gun. The first comment, from Anker, had the correct answer, which is good for a t-shirt from the NeatoShop! The funniest answer came from The Professor, who gave an explanation of how to "point Percy at the Porcelain," which may be a little racy for delicate sensibilities, so you can go read it for yourself, and maybe even give it a ♥. So he wins a t-shirt from the NeatoShop as well! Find the answers to all this week's mystery items at the What Is It? blog.
The more presidential election cycles you live through, the harder it becomes to recall who lost -even among the major parties. Today's Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss adds another level of difficulty. Can you remember who came in third place in past presidential elections? Most are before your lifetime, but you may have learned about them in history class or in your personal reading. I didn't; I missed every one through 1924, and got the rest right. I hope you do better! Link
This dramatic footage was obtained by placing the camera and the laser pointer in a box together and pulling the box around with shoe strings. Yeah, it's a GoPro ad, but well worth a minute to watch. -via Laughing Squid
In 1962, Richard Nixon quit politics after losing the California governor's race. His poor showing in the 1960 presidential election is often blamed on the televised debates that made John Kennedy look more presidential. So Nixon laid low for a few years and hung around with comedy writer Paul Keyes, who became his media consultant. In 1968, Nixon ran for president again, against Vice-president Hubert Humphrey. Neither candidate appealed to the young voters left behind when candidate Bobby Kennedy was assassinated.
Then came what Nixon later characterized as a godsend: the series premiere of “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,” network television’s flower-powered precursor to sketch comedy shows like “Saturday Night Live” and “SCTV.” (Oh, BTW, here’s my favorite “SCTV” sketch. Watch if you want.) While “Laugh-In” purported itself to be the hippy dippy countercultural hub Monday nights on NBC, it was only posturing as some kind of groovy thing. After all, its head writer was a staunch conservative — one you already know, and one who was able to score airtime with the Republican presidential nominee.
Against his numerous advisers’ wishes, 55-year old Richard Nixon was convinced by Keyes to appear on the series premiere of “Laugh-In,” Monday, September 16, 1968. (The show was picked up for a full season after a one-off special in September 1967.)
That appearance on Laugh-In is often credited with giving Nixon the White House in 1968. Read how it came about, how difficult the filming was, and the fallout it created, at Death and Taxes. Link
J. Caleb Mozzocco's blog Every Day is Like Wednesday has a couple of pages of posts on the topic of who comic book characters, mostly superheroes, would vote for. Shown here is only a part of a comic strip. You have to read them in their entirety to get the full humor. Link -via Metafilter
PS: in the Metafilter comments, Mefites run down other fictional characters, like Disney Princesses and LOTR characters, and how they might vote.
The first election results are in, from tiny Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. The village is famous for opening its polling place at midnight on Election Day and voting -and reporting the results immediately. This morning, ten citizens cast their vote, and in the presidential race, there was a tie: five votes each for President Obama and Mitt Romney. However, in Hart's Location, New Hampshire, which also opened the voting for just a short time at midnight, Obama got 23 votes and Romney received nine. Most polling places across the country will be open for a large part of the day, and results will not be announced until tonight. Link
To find out the polling hours and locations for your community, one handy resource is Vote411. You can enter your address and bring up exact information, with alternate links if you want to double-check. Or you can scroll down the sidebar and enter a state. I entered "New York" and found plenty of information and links about how voting will go on in the wake of hurricane Sandy. Link
Jackson is an Australian shepherd mix. That means part Australian shepherd and all awesome! I mean really, my pets still won't close the refrigerator after they get their water bottles out. -via reddit
I don't want to wear no silly costume! I want to howl at the moon and dance like Michael Jackson!
by Michael Cammer
Director of Light Microscopy and Image Analysis Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Yeshiva University, The Bronx, New York
(Image credit: Flickr user Nathan LeClair)
We investigated the morphological behavior of chocolate chip cookies as reported by previous investigators.
A hallmark of the male-dominated scientific establishment is the disbelief in or marginalization of the outsider or other. Two children undertook to prove their hypothesis that the popular drop-cookie recipe1 for chocolate chip cookies (known as “Toll House cookies”) would not yield preshaped cookies or that preshaped batter would not maintain its morphology through a trial of heat shock (a.k.a. “baking”).2 Because their results were exclusively qualitative, i.e. based on exclusively descriptive data drawn from repeated experimentation and because the experimenters were mere children, we sought to disprove the results via quantitative computer analysis of batter under heat stress conditions.
We were unable to effectively challenge their results.
(Image credit: Flickr user Nathan LeClair)
Methods
To challenge the results, we prepared the Toll House formulation in its standard form.1,2
Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website.
In November of 1966, The Monkees' first single "Last Train to Clarksville" went to number one on the charts, two months (to the day) after The Monkees TV series premiered. The Partridge Family, a TV series semi-similar to The Monkees, actually beat that record. The Partridge Family premiered on ABC on September 25, 1970. The Partridge Family single "I Think I Love You" hit the number one spot on the charts four days shy of two months after the series' premiere.
The stars of The Partridge Family (a series about a fictional singing family/rock group) were Shirley Jones and David Cassidy. Although there were two other very talented performers on the show (Susan Dey and Danny Bonaduce), Jones and Cassidy were the only two members of the cast to appear on Partridge Family records. Suzanne Crough and Jeremy Gelbwaks (later replaced by Brian Forster) were also featured on the show, but were fairly nominal characters.
Interestingly, although there was a huge uproar about The Monkees (another series about a fictional rock group) "not really playing their instruments," no such fuss was ever made regarding The Partridge Family.
Shirley Jones had an almost perfect storybook Hollywood career. She had starred in such classics as Carousel, Oklahoma, and The Music Man. Although known as a typical movie "good girl," she won an Academy Award for the movie Elmer Gantry in 1960, in which she played a prostitute. So Shirley Jones is actually on a very short list of actors and actresses who have won an Oscar and had a #1 record.
Shirley had already been cast as the mother of The Partridge Family before the rest of the cast were hired. But the producers of The Partridge Family were wary and worried about casting Shirley's stepson, David Cassidy, to play her son in the show. At this point in time, of course, no one knew much about David Cassidy or what he would bring to the show. But it was soon realized that David would be the springboard and centerpiece for the entire series. After a few episodes, he became a teen idol to millions of swooning teeny-boppers all over America, and soon, the world.