15 years ago, uptalk was ruining women's speech; five years ago, it was vocal fry (with accompanying, science-free warnings about damage to the larynx and vocal apparatus); in the First… Read the rest of the article: Vocal fry, uptalking, nasal: women's voices can never be "right"

When internet laymen suggest that Trump is manifestly mentally ill—the abusive narcissism, the total absence of empathy, the 400-word sentences tracing random paths through the vaporwave fractal landscape of his… Read the rest of the article: NYT: Trump is "psychologically off the chain"

Interesting video about the most poisonous (not venomous) animals, from the Cane Toad to the Striated Surgeonfish. From the YouTube description (which includes references): In comparison to venomous animals, poisonous… Read the rest of the article: 15 most poisonous animals on earth

Ryan Stock and AmberLynn Walker, a pair of folks with no common sense at all, appeared on America's Got Talent recently. He is a sword swallower, magician, and "daredevil," while… Read the rest of the article: Woman shoots man in the throat with a flaming arrow on AGT

Brand New Subway is an online toy/game that lets you redesign, from scratch, New York City's mass transit system. The UI is complex and broken and slow to react to… Read the rest of the article: Can you design a better NYC Subway system?

We often mock the Dear Abby column for its surrealistically backwards advice. But things have gotten worse lately, with the author (supposedly Jeanne Phillips, daughter of the original) describing rape… Read the rest of the article: Dear Abby recommends sex addiction treatment to 18-year old complaining about her 10-year relationship

Just when you think you've absorbed the full horror of each scene, you notice something new: a plastic eagle or floral linoleum tiles, perhaps, or an electric range with a… Read the rest of the article: 1970s "model interiors" genuinely fascinating, horrible

Every issue of Nintendo Power published between 1988 and 2001 is available at the Internet Archive. With all the tips, tricks and maps, one can "behold crudely drawn comics of… Read the rest of the article: Nintendo Power at Internet Archive (Update: Nintendo yanked it)

Lou Cabron writes, "Finally, after five years of work, Rhombus Tech has gone from a free/libre/open source "spec" to their first actual modular devices! The video is amazing.

Brother Phil writes, "The Public Defender's Office in Missouri is chronically underfunded by a governor who can always find money for his pet projects. However, they do have the power… Read the rest of the article: After repeated budget cuts, Missouri's underfunded Public Defender drafts the Governor to work for him

Kudos to this guy for all the work he had to do to come up with a way to park his car. He is stuck with the particular car model… Read the rest of the article: Elaborate DIY parking spot

"It's a mineral, Marie!"

A British woman of Muslim descent was detained and questioned by police under terror laws after a flight crew member noticed she was reading a book about Syrian art while… Read the rest of the article: British Muslim detained for reading a book about Syria while on a plane

THIS is CNN. (Thanks, UPSO!)

They've "expressly prohibited" turning anything from the Olympics into "animated formats such as animated GIFs (i.e. GIFV), GFY, WebM, or short video formats such as Vines."

Aerospace corporation Airbus's Light Rider concept motorbike looks a bit like something HR Giger would draw (although his, of course, would be much cooler). In reality, the 3D-printed frame was… Read the rest of the article: Airbus designed and 3D printed a motorbike inspired by a skeleton

See sample pages from this book at Wink. Building Stories by Chris Ware Pantheon 2012, 260 pages, 11.7 x 16.6 x 1.9 inches (hardcover, softcovers, boxed) $31 Buy a copy… Read the rest of the article: Building Stories – Chris Ware's magnum opus includes 14 lavishly presented stories in different formats, all in one box

I'm flying into Kansas City for part of Midamericon II, the 74th World Science Fiction Convention, and while there, I'll be on panels, give a reading, and sit down with… Read the rest of the article: My Kansas City World Science Fiction Convention schedule

When New Jersey police went to the wrong house to investigate a 911 hang-up call they shot resident 76-year-old Gerald Sykes, who called 911 to let them know he'd been… Read the rest of the article: "Please send the police. I've been shot," says 76-year-old man mistakenly shot by police

At the Daily Grail, Greg Taylor posted a fascinating essay about the Pokemon Go experience seen through the lens of medieval occult practices in which "incorporeal entities have sometimes been… Read the rest of the article: The occult magick of Pokemon Go