Friday, May 31, 2024

Southern California high school students marched off campus for the second time this week demanding answers as to why their principal and vice principal are missing



CBS (the articles I've seen don't hint as to what's going on, but uniformly indicate the students like the principal):
Students say it's been about a month since Principal ... has inexplicably been gone, and they want to know what happened, and they want him back in time for graduation to sign diplomas.

In a student-written official list of demands, they say the vice principal has also not been at the school.

New video game Humble Bundle to benefit the Trevor Project

"It’s all about matters of the heart and the joy of human connection in this bundle of poignant story-heavy games"

Today's news and jokes



(A write-up)



Biopunk pistols



Thursday, May 30, 2024

The last issue of the terrific pay what you want comic "Friday" has been published

Absolutely love the art by Marcos Martin and Muntsa Vicente. Buy The Private Eye, Barrier, and The Walking Dead: The Alien, too, if you don't already own them.

Leaning back in his chair...and guilty

CNN has a live blog.



Update: CNN says he is "staring ahead motionless"

Star Wars Black figures of the evil droids from the Doctor Aphra comics are available

They sold out right away at the BBTS, but are still available at Entertainment Earth.

Today's news and jokes





The podcast episode of My Perfect Console with author Veronica Roth is fun

She wrote the Divergent series (which I haven't read/seen), and likes video games a lot. (The through line is that the discussion helps her realize she's consistently attracted to destroying stuff with fire, indeed, she doesn't notice toward the end when he points out that the specific detail she cites about the last game is also about fire.)

Fanmade animatronic Bubo the owl from Harryhausen's Clash of the Titans

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Marvel Legends Cyborg Spider-Woman is 61% off right now

The fun and ambitious figure is all the way down to $22.99 at Amazon.

Investigating a North Carolina aquarium that grabbed national attention by claiming a stingray had been miraculously impregnated




NBC in February, for example:
The surprise pregnancy of Charlotte, a stingray living in a tank without any male rays, has captivated people across the world and stirred a sudden interest in parthenogenesis, a scientific term that essentially means virgin birth. 
That’s when I was approached by a member of the Hendersonville police. Officer ... asked if I was a news reporter, then explained that they’d received a call that I was harassing people. I told her I’d only interviewed one couple who’d been eager to talk. [The officer] said I could carry on with my work, as long as I wasn’t harassing anyone, then she and a second officer walked into the aquarium. 

When they came back out, they told me that [the owner] wanted them to book me for “trespassing.” They weren’t going to charge me with anything, they said—I looked “sweet.” But if I went back into the aquarium, they would have no choice but to arrest me.

New Humble Bundle to benefit World Central Kitchen

Restaurant-themed video games.

New Marvel Legends "The Cabal" set featuring classic comic Taskmaster, Doom with alternate Doombot head, and Norman Osborn as Iron Patriot up for preorder

Amazon exclusive. Per the Hasbro marketer, the listed price is apparently an error and should be adjusted to $75:

Today's news and jokes





The daily deals include 30% off the battle-damaged Cain figure from Robocop 2 by Hiya Toys

Various Godzilla toys, too.

Fallout's Lucy as a custom action figure and Lego figure




Tuesday, May 28, 2024

From roughly 2006 to 2022, approximately 52,000 guns that were previously sold by police agencies were recovered from crime scenes

From a CBS article about police agencies selling unwanted firearms:

Like Philadelphia, every department we reached out to has traded used weapons back to a federally licensed firearms dealer in exchange for a discount on new firearms purchases. 

...

Of the data we uncovered about the 52,000 former police weapons found at crime scenes, the ATF wouldn't reveal which police departments once owned those weapons.

Amazon is offering a deal on 10th gen iPads right now

The 64GB is $300 and the 256Gb is $450 after the coupons. (As opposed to $349 and $499 from Apple)

Today's news and jokes











The daily deals today feature Marvel toys, clothing, and comics

Marvel Select Blade, Silver Surfer Minimate, Spidey hoodie, and more.

Powerful podcast discussion between Dan Le Batard and Stan Van Gundy about the devastating loss of their loved ones

Dan lost his brother to illness, and Stan lost his wife to suicide. Intense discussion about dealing with unexpected loss. (And no, there's no ad for internet therapy services, or any ads at all.)

Soapbox derby looks like Indy, Willie, and Short Round in the mine cart from Temple of Doom

@redbullsoapbox we're still trying to figure out who's driving ๐Ÿ˜… #redbull #givesyouwiiings #redbullsoapbox ♬ original sound - Red Bull Soapbox

Monday, May 27, 2024

An American won the punishing Gloucestershire Cheese Roll race again










Guardian:
there was a false start in the women’s race. One woman tumbled all the way down the 200-yard (183m) hill only to find out she hadn’t won any cheese at all.

A past winner, Abby Lampe, from North Carolina, won again when the race was re-started. Asked what her technique was, she said: “You just have to roll.” She said she was feeling a little pain, “but it’s going to be temporary

An interview from 2022 where she discussed her training regimen 

FYI The 1980 version of Shogun starring Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune is streaming on Paramount+ now

Today's news and jokes

@gabsandcharley

Mercedes fans be like... ๐Ÿซ 

♬ original sound - Gabs and Charley ๐Ÿ‘ฏ‍♀️






Restaurant's showy flaming steak goes hilariously awry

@lorgiemayne Tomahawk Steak fire gone wrong!!๐Ÿ’ฆ๐Ÿฅฉ #firealarm #ohno #yikes #restaurant #splashzone ♬ original sound - Morgan Pettit


@ebo_mvip Dinner and a show(er) ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚ #Harpers #TomahawkGoneWrong #Nashville ♬ original sound - ebo_mvip

Samurai helmet looks like a monstrous fish



Sunday, May 26, 2024

This is exactly how James Roday would do an impression of Luka Doncic in Psych

Lego playset based on Jenny Nicholson's Starcruiser character and her archenemy

The FBI suspected a job applicant would spy for China, set up a fake job for him as a ruse, and then monitored his activities for eight years

He pleaded guilty "to conspiring to gather and deliver national defense information to the People’s Republic of China":

As detailed in the plea agreement, in March 2003, while living in Hawaii, [he] applied for a job as a contract linguist in the FBI Honolulu Field Office. The FBI, aware of [his] ties to PRC intelligence, hired [him], as part of an investigative plan, to work at an off-site location where his activities could be monitored and his contacts with the PRC investigated. [He] worked for the FBI from August 2004 until October 2012.

AP:

During a sting operation, he accepted thousands of dollars in cash in exchange for past espionage activities, and he told an undercover FBI agent posing as a Chinese intelligence officer that he wanted to see the “motherland” succeed, prosecutors said.

They figured out why that car exploded in a Los Angeles market parking lot a few days ago



CBS:
An SUV parked in a Van Nuys parking lot on Thursday night suddenly exploded after the driver lit a cigarette next to some propane canisters he stored inside
...
The sound of the explosion could be heard at least a few blocks away

If you want even more Disney Star Wars hotel commentary, here's a long podcast from several months ago

It's a group of adults describing their disappointing immersive Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience in detail--a funny point made is that, when you think about it, most "high end" Disney hotel experiences are extremely lackluster compared to high end experiences at non-Disney hotels and restaurants. 

(That's certainly my opinion of the hotel on Oahu.)

Today's news and jokes





Lego sea-goat (Capricorn)

Saturday, May 25, 2024

Rebecca Romijn at a convention with Jerry O'Connell, who is dressed as Mystique



Here's a list recommending a bunch of free games on Steam

Thread starts here.

New Humble Bundle featuring TMNT comics

Starting at one volume for $1. (I really like Sophie Campbell's art, but don't know if there's a convenient list identifying issues she drew.)

Today's news and jokes





Fiddler with a broken arm engages in two-person fiddling for a concert

@maryfrances903 #brokenbones #theshowmustgoon #memories #brokenwrist #celticmusic #fiddle #irish #scottish #capebreton ♬ original sound - Mary Frances

Friday, May 24, 2024

Today's news and jokes





Paintings of Molly, Riviera, and more from a very limited edition version of William Gibson's Neuromancer




Limited and very imited editions available.