Who said life is fair?

Tired of hearing people whinge about life not being fair? Tired of people offering up conspiracy theories as to why things don’t work out the way they want them to? There just don’t seem to be that many things that are objectively fair anymore. Right?

And then I saw this little piece on THE FOCUS website about coin flips and the now scientifically proven fact that there is a better-than-even chance of a coin landing with the same side up. It’s not quite “heads I win, tails you lose” but when fifty researchers flip 46 different kinds of coins a combined total of 350,757 times … it’s hard to argue.

I mean, really, here’s a link to an 18-page abstract on the study. Yikes.

There is, of course, a scientific explanation for all this: once flipped, coins tend to spend more time in the air with the intial up-side facing up. As a result, coins have a higher chance (albeit slight) of landing on the same side as it started.

What do you get when you cross a Bamboo Shark with a Stingray?

It seems like a bad dad joke, but TikTok is all over Charlotte, the pregnant Stingray (according to Wired Magazine). Or maybe she impregnated herself – a theory which has now spawned comparisons to the VIrgin Mary. This has, inevitably, led to the immaculate conception and birth of the “Stingray Jesus” memo because … well … it’s the Internet and that’s what it does. 

Not sure how Pope Francis might feel about that, but then again who knows the Vatican’s position on Holy Seafood any day other than Friday?

And, as far as I know, the Alabama Supreme Court has yet to weigh in on this latest news item.

Shane Gillis is still getting smacked around for his hosting gig on last Saturday’s SNL

He was okay, I guess, but they’ve had better hosts this season. And while I don’t necessarily share all the same opinions about the episode as NPR’s media critic Eric Deggans (who is really, really good, btw), I do agree with his summation which was more of an indictment of the state of stand-up comedy and SNL producer Lorne Michaels than of Gillis:

Gillis’ turn on SNL last night felt more like an attempt to court a new demographic and poke a bit at liberal sensibilities, allowing longtime executive producer Lorne Michaels to still feel like a rebel rather than the Lord of Showbiz Comedy he has become.

I mean, he’s not wrong.

It’s Bond-O-Rama time (again)

Gentleman’s Journal is handicapping the expected hunt for the next James Bond. From the gratuitous choices to the obvious choices, the only guy I think is a slam dunk who isn’t Henry Cavil is Richard Madden (GAME OF THRONES) – but doesn’t he have a job to do as Ikaris in the inevitable sequel to THE ETERNALS?

Oh. So maybe he’s available then.

Oh, those nutty Swiss cartographers

What could possibly be more fun than finding line drawings of spiders, naked ladies and aeroplanes in your maps? You guessed it, just about anything.

But that didn’t keep me – a chronic map-a-holic – from reading this little bit on AtlasObscura about intentional “gags” included in maps created by the Swiss Federal Office of National Topography (aka Swisstopo for those of you keeping score at home). Never fear, the maps are still accurate (after all, getting lost in the Alps is serious business), but for those more fun-loving cartographic connoisseurs, this is a real treat. 

I guess.

Who knew looking a little flushed could be so dangerous?

This piece in Interesting Engineering shares the latest research into how other species communicate. And in this instant, we’re talking giant, attacking fish.

As it so happens, Marlin change their color when pursuing their prey and it’s now believed these color changes aid in communication between hunters as they coordinate their attack strategies (which happen very quickly). The research, conducted by researchers out of Humboltd University in Berlin, shows how Marlin can synchronize their hunting efforts and avoid colliding with one another in the process.

Say “Goodnight” Elsie

So it looks as if the “hot new travel trend” is a recreational activity known as “Cow Cuddling.” Really.

Currently placed in the “top 10” of wellness trends in 2023, interest in cuddling-related activities grew by 85% over the previous year (2022). Cow sanctuaries and creameries now boast hundreds of thousands of social media followers and millions of people watch cow cuddling video content on TikTok and YouTube.

As a born and bred Iowan whose spent a few days on farms, I’m not sure what to think about this. I suppose if you’re going to cuddle something other than a pet or a horse, a cow is probably your best bet. My only advice: if someone offers to let you experience “pig petting” or “bison bonding” you should probably take a hard pass.

Okay, so maybe not as daily as I’d like. But I had some wild stories (or is it “stories from the wild”) come in over the weekend, and I thought I’d share them with you today. Some of these are epic …

Not sure what to watch on Netflix in August? This list from Wired Magazine gives you 44 titles to choose from. Films on the list include John Boyega’s latest film, THEY CLONED TYRONE. It looks fantastic.

Other movies suggested for an evening “in” include THE RAID (complete with classic fight scenes that inspired Netflix’s DAREDEVIL series), MATILDA (the musical), historic/courtroom drama THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7, and THE TWO POPES.

Meanwhile, the debate continues to rage over SOUND OF FREEDOM, which seems to be making the jump from a “little independent movie that becomes a respectable financial success” to a “right-wing talking point.” This story by VOX breaks it down.

Between allegations the filmmakers mislead audiences on the realities of human trafficking, to a press tour that included the feature’s star sharing Qanon-fueled conspiracy theories, to accusations backers of the film were buying out movie theaters in order to give the impression more people were going to the movie than they actually were, this film has managed to persevere and put a respectable take at the turnstyle. 

But this last week, word dropped that one of the film’s financial backers was arrested for kidnapping and a new uproar over the film and its depiction of human trafficking started all over again.

It’s exhausting. 

But don’t let arguments over political correctness, Q-anon, or wokeness get you down. Not when there are animal stories worth sharing …

And as long as you’re in a cinematic frame of mind, here’s a story from The Guardian that instantly brings back memories of Jurassic Park. As if Dr. Ian Malcolm’s (Jeff Goldblum) warnings weren’t enough, when could it ever be a good idea to bring an extinct creature back to the present?

I mean, really, just how much damage could one woolly rhino do?

Apparently, not as much as the 400-pound black bear, Hank the Tank, who was captured this weekend in Lake Tahoe after breaking into at least 21 homes in the area. Lauren McCarthy at The New York Times has the story.

The latest news about Hank is that she (yes, she) may be one of a gang of bears guilty of rummaging and ransacking their way through Lake Tahoe dating back to 2021.

What is it with these gangs of animals putting humans in their place? Between Hank and Friends in Tahoe, pods of Orca’s attacking speeding pleasure craft in the Mediterranean and teaching other Orca how to do the same … I’m starting to get the feeling our place as “apex predators” in this world might be coming to an end (if we don’t end it ourselves).

Tired of all this negative news?

Here’s something to share with the kids … petting your dog is good for you.  As it turns out, caring for animals (like your fluffy fur babies) is beneficial to our mental and physical health.

My cat says: “You’re welcome.”

Stay tuned for more news updates as they come in.

What sort of nonsense hit my Inbox today? I’m glad you asked. Here’s a quick rundown of the articles I thought were worth sharing …

Entertaining entertainment

It just seems a little ironic to me that following a weekend with dueling box office debuts for OPPENHEIMER and BARBIE, we seem to be forgetting how William Friedkin’s masterpiece lined up people looking for a good scare five decades ago. According to this article in the LA Times, THE EXORCIST is still turning heads at fifty.

And that BARBIE movie … good, but was it as good as this version which featured Babs and friends reliving the lives of not-so-plastic Karen and Richard Carpenter.

Are you spending as much on streaming as you did for bundled cable and are now feeling like you have thousands of choices and nothing worth watching? Join the club.

In the interest of public service, here’s a handy post from WIRED featuring the “best” offerings on Disney+.

This seems like an important story … ice cream is good for you. At least as good as wine. Which seems to be the perfect lead-in to a review of a new wine bar/ice cream parlor in the East Village. Could this be the next big restaurant trend? (Thanks to The New Yorker and The Atlantic)

And as long as we’re talking about the unexpected health benefits of ice cream – who’s going to investigate the health benefits of “fair food”? Specifically, the “pickle-on-a-stick” phenomenon which has managed to surpass fried butter as a top carnival treat. (h/t The Smithsonian, so you know it’s legit)

Filed under “Life could be better”

People seem to think “the good old days” seem to be so much better than the world we live in today. But were they? (from The Atlantic)

And for those of us looking for that post-capitalist utopia promised by Gene Roddenberry, the search continues. This article on the JSTOR Daily website asks if Star Trek’s warp drive is even possible.

I suspect the answer is “no” and we’ll be stuck having to rely on non-human technology currently stored in an aircraft hanger somewhere near Roswell, NM.

Don’t worry. Congress is on it. What could possibly go wrong?

I’m trying something a little different. I’m sharing my Spam.

Okay, the truth is that I’m not actually sharing my spam with you. But I am sharing some of the dozens of articles I read each day that are sent to me by a variety of people, publications, organizations, and more. It’s a mish-mash of content that – while it all makes sense to me – might overwhelm a lot of people (after all, it’s taken nearly 30 years to curate this odd assortment of sources and fonts of inspiration).

But dang it. It’s interesting.

I get overwhelmed with email so you don’t have to

No kidding. I get 300 – 400 emails a day. A lot of it is junk, but there’s plenty of golden nuggets. And those are what I share in this column.

I intend to make these columns a quick read (one cup of coffee or less) and hope you will, from time to time, find something interesting or inspirational in the pile I leave for you each day.

With that little gem, I also leave you with this … the inspiration for the use of the word “spam” to represent unsolicited, junk email.