At 1AM last Sunday two men were enjoying a ride in their Amish buggy with a banging stereo and enjoying a 12-pack of Michelob Ultra when the cops showed up! Rather than discuss their apparently aberrant behavior with representatives of local law enforcement, the two revel-seeking reportedly Amish gents took to the woods! Leaving their horse, beer and stereo laden buggy ambling on down the road.

Mlive:

The men were drinking a 12-pack of Michelob Ultra that was settled atop the buggy while blasting music and riding through North Bloomfield, Ohio, deputies said. There were several open bottles in the buggy.

The Amish community is generally known for shunning high technology and typically avoids alcohol.

While the men ran into the trees, the horse continued down the road, police said. The horse and buggy were eventually caught. The buggy was towed while the horse was turned over to someone who can take care of it until the owners come forward.

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Gears of War 5 is absolutely the 5th game in the Gears of War series.

I loved the first Gears of War game. The story was interesting and the commercial for it remains my favorite video game commercial of all time -- even better than the live action Halo stuff. However, everything great about this game series was in that first commercial.

Gears of War is beyond repetitive. You basically run on a track around a map, hiding and ducking behind things, popping up to take shots, and occasionally throwing a hand grenade. There isn't a lot of playing the game and it feels a lot like button mashing to me! This gameplay was fun when the story was fresh and interesting. Doing the same thing 5 games later, with the same story being played basically over and over again? Dull.

The graphics are beautiful. The game runs so smoothly on my Xbox One X it makes me wonder why other games do not. The game itself is OK to play through with friends but is limited by a campaign mode that stops at 3 people. Fortnite lets very large groups of players play together. Fortnite is also more fun.

I do like Gears, but this is getting tired. Read the rest

In Neverseen Shannon Messenger continues to torture young Sophie Foster like I've never seen.

Sophie Foster is a very confused teen and some sort of Elven genetic experiment to create a Messiah gone-marginally awry, but maybe she is still the Messiah! Everything bad that can happy to Sophie does. The Elves who claim to be her family and biggest supporters are total sociopaths. Living lives of lies within lies, I am constantly entertained to see what horrible thing the author will do next.

Book Four does not disappoint!

Twice Sophie almost tells a boy she has romantic feelings for them inappropriate of a 12-year-old, and in both instances the boy nearly dies. Imagine having just stopped short of telling your big crush you like him, then watching a giant beetle pierce his heart with a horn?

That is Sophie's life.

Sophie copes with it while also stretching her rebellious wings and only sort of gets permission for some of her pre-teen schemes to save all life on Earth.

While coping with constant lies, deception, and betrayal Sophie does meet one person who both loves her and tells her the truth. That person is removed from her life by the end of the book.

I am already well into Book 5 and HOLY SMOKES does it start off with some baffling stuff!

Neverseen (Keeper of the Lost Cities Book 4) Read the rest

I was perfectly satisfied with the OG Battlestar series. The 1st remake's pilot and first season or two were great!

Verge:

NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock, will launch next April with a substantial number of fan favorites and original series, including a reboot of Battlestar Galactica from Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail.

This isn’t a remake of Ronald D. Moore’s Syfy version of Battlestar Galactica that drew in a dedicated fan base in the early 2000s. Still, Esmail’s version of the show will be inspired by Moore’s, according to The Hollywood Reporter, not Glen A. Larson’s original 1978 series. The new series is supposed to have a more modern focus, but details on the reboot are being kept under wraps.

Times were simpler: a commercial about how much fun it is to deliver water. Read the rest

The Beverly Hills 90210 reboot is everything a fan could hope for.

I avoided watching BH90210 for about as long as I could. I have been disappointed too many times by things like Gremlins 2, Ghostbusters 2, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and AfterMASH. I do not count on entertainers being able to reliably recreate their magic (Star Wars prequels.)

The Wild Wild West movie adaptation????

These days even the most popular shows can't get to the end of their series.

I watched Beverly Hills 90210 through my teens and 20s.

In high school, I remember my sister torturing me because I had a crush on Shannen Doherty.

My very first night with my terrible bad back was spent on flexoril, wine and watching Kelly and Matt irresponsibly snort coke.

During my start-up days, during the boom of dotcom, folks marveled at how my Tivo was nothing but 90210 and The Wild Wild West.

I keep the series on my media RAID array and often rewatch seasons. The College years are likely my favorite.

I used to drive a 1955 Speedster.

I had the fear and didn't want to watch this new reboot. I was scared it'd ruin the old show. Then I heard about the wacky reality tv-esque thing they were attempting and I was really reluctant to watch.

BH90210 is a scripted 'reality' view of the cast coming back together to try and reboot the show. Each actor plays a dramatized version of themself. Based loosely on their actual lives but embued with the essence of their character: each actor is now a caricature. Read the rest

James Stangroom has set out on a quest to find the Stormtrooper who banged his head inside Death Star 1.

You can tell this trailer is a parody as it doesn't give away the whole thing. Read the rest

My life is missing a quasi-sarcastic robot to follow me around and point out the shit I've carelessly missed.

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Rest in peace, Mr. Money.

People:

Eighties hitmaker Eddie Money died on Friday following complications from stage 4 esophageal cancer. He was 70 years old.

“The Money family regrets to announce that Eddie passed away peacefully early this morning,” his family said in a statement to PEOPLE. “It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our loving husband and father. We cannot imagine our world without him. We are grateful that he will live on forever through his music.”

The “Two Tickets to Paradise” singer’s death came less than a month after he announced that he had been diagnosed with the disease.

'To Be Taught, If Fortunate' Becky Chambers latest, set in the same universe as her Wayfarer series, revolves around one of my favorite 'time-travel' tropes, long space flights at near the speed of light.

Augmented humanity is sent off to explore the stars, discover their secrets and report back to Earth-based humanity. During their long, long time away humanity has changed. What type of society will be there to welcome them back, or not? Have they been gone so long to have been forgotten?

Becky Chambers writes the hopeful, charming and insightful fiction I want my daughter to read.

To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers via Amazon

Previously:

Becky Chambers' 'A Closed and Common Orbit' brought me to tears

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Tim Gonzales has loving edited together a trailer for an Ahsoka Tano feature film. Using old footage from Star Wars Clone Wars and Rebels, the story is focused on Ahsoka, one of the few worthwhile Jedi, as she proctors, the galaxies' remaining Jedi and faces off against her old Master.

This arc in Star Wars Rebels tries to lend Obi-Wan's lie credentials. The whole 'Vader killed Annikon Skywalker,' i.e. that Anni wasn't a massive asshole the entire time story.

He was and sematic bullshit seems to be a form 3 lightsaber move. Read the rest

I mean he did win a MAJOR AWARD. Read the rest

I gave my mother my treasured 5-quart Lodge deep skillet and lid when I found a lovely antique to restore. I've been using it while visiting with them.

It was no easy thing when I gave my Mom my Lodge chicken pan. I had been using it for ages as my primary skillet and perfected fried chicken in it, as many of my colleagues here at Boing Boing will attest.

I have been instructed that his style skillet be called a chicken ROASTING pan and the lid's stalactite-like points are what makes it a 'self-basting' lid. Evidently 1 roaster size chicken (3-5lbs iirc) will fit in it, and with the lid on the bird will roast up nice and juicy.

I have never done this. I bought it to fry chicken. I learned it was awesome for frying eggs, bacon, pancake and sauteeing things. It became the most used item in my kitchen. Then I started baking in it like a Dutch Oven.

The Lodge ended its daily use, however, when I found a larger Wagner pan at the Goodwill and restored it. I started baking in my dutch oven. It is a bit easier to maneuver. When cast iron sits and isn't used, it needs to be used and this pan was truly special. I tried alternating between it and my Wagner, but the extra space and smoother finish of the Wagner kept it on my stove. It was a little easier to fry bacon and sear steaks and fish in the #9 vs the #8 pan. Read the rest

my dad sent me this vid of the dog picking and eating a tomato from the garden pic.twitter.com/L6q69fXdcm

— jenny (@fvrmvn) September 8, 2019

So much better than supermarket tomatoes. Read the rest

This chair pic.twitter.com/iXoRpVUS99

— Steampunk Tendencies (@Steampunk_T) September 5, 2019

Very cool! Read the rest

YoYo Factory's Loop 2020 is their top of the line competiton looping yoyo.

YoYoFactory already made a really fantastic looping yoyo, the Loop 1080, before they partnered with the world champion, Shu Takada, to make one even better. This super customizable looper sports an interchangeable axel, spacers and response system. You can swap starbursts out for different types!

I love this yo-yo but will be back to my Duncan Imperial when a daughter or niece swipes this one and loses all the parts.

Here is how the world champion sets one up!

While I have long held a preference for string-trick yo-yos like the Duncan Butterfly, I have been playing with loopers lately.

YoYoFactory Loop 2020 Yo-Yo - Looping System - Shu Takada YoYo (Orange) via Amazon Read the rest

Tish! Would you like to see me blow up three trains?! Read the rest