You know those cooking shows where you see chefs furiously stirring their broth or risotto? That's the only time stirring has ever looked cool.

For the rest of us, it's an unbearable time-sink and a quick way to get sore arms -  especially if you're preparing thick foods like mashed potatoes. For that reason, we heartily recommend you let technology take over in the form of the StirMATE® Smart Pot Stirrer.

This device is far more than just a spoon attached to a rotor. There are actually two paddles attached to a high-torque rotator that clamps onto the side of the pot. The upper paddle does the heavy work of actually mixing up your food in the middle layers while the lower paddle rests at the bottom, gently wiping the pot surface clean and making sure there's no nasty caked-on residue to deal with.

It's adjustable to pots and pans of various diameters, up to 9 inches deep. The StirMATE is now on sale for 16% off retail, and you can take an additional 15% off that final price by entering the coupon code HAPPYHOLIDAYS. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/go6QIEG7rLQ/multitask-your-meals-better-wi.html

Friends of mine in Palm Springs are up to some real Hanukkah hijinx. Kudos to Mel, Jessica, and Sasha (the tall one in yellow) for making the world's first crazy sky dancer menorah. Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate! Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/g-cGSdnYiiw/crazy-sky-dancer-menorah.html

Writing for the Washington Post, Gene Park argues that Star Wars has been at its best in recent years the closer the product has been to a video game. He praises the narrative in the game Fallen Order, and the game-like structure in the show The Mandalorian. Rise of Skywalker fails, he says, partly because it mostly takes the bad aspects of video games:

The Macguffin chasing/fetch quests aren’t the only problem associated with bad gaming practices. There are also the “microtransactions” and DLC-like elements required to fully appreciate the main property. The modern day Star Wars moviegoer is now required to read the comic books and watch the old “Clone Wars” cartoon (now available on Disney+!) to fully appreciate the import of items and characters making sudden appearances in this universe.

...

Sure, the experience of investing this much time and money can be satisfying and sometimes pays off. But it isn’t enough to have seen all eight movies before seeing this one. “The Rise of Skywalker” is overstuffed with references to the past, and also to future potential franchises and brand opportunities. It’s glaringly more obvious that these new films are not meant to be definitive, tell-all works, but rather a jumping-off point for other properties.

You can read his entire review here.

On the same topic, the opening crawl itself refers to something that happened in last weekend's Fortnite/Star Wars tie-in:

Disney is an investor in Epic Games. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/usOxD-lpuVE/microtransactions-overwhelmed.html

I'd call this madness if it weren't for the fact that the event was used to raise awareness about world hunger. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/sguAGm1uC5w/a-world-record-for-the-most-gh.html

Wine is great, but wine poured with an aerator is even better.

It's true that a jolt of oxygen does wonders for the flavor of a wine just before it's poured. This Electric Wine Aerator & Dispenser makes sure that every pour gets its fair share of air, delivering oxygen over a wide surface area. Not only that, but the design makes sure every glass is free from sediment, which stays in the dispenser.

When you're not pouring, it stays airtight, which is crucial for maintaining the integrity of the taste. Push a button and it cleans easily, flushing itself out after each bottle.

The aerator comes with a travel bag, and they're both already 25% off the retail price. You can take an additional 15% off that by using the holiday discount code HAPPYHOLIDAYS. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/r1FLQHASiMg/get-the-best-pour-out-of-any-w.html

How many times a day do you wipe your glasses clean? If you actually care about your specs, you're using a microfiber cloth and not your shirt. In which case, good for you. But even so, you're just removing the surface dust on those lenses - not the grime and oil that accumulates on a daily basis, which in turn attracts more dust.

There's a better way, and not only does it not involve any additional elbow grease, but it can also save you some time: The Smartclean Vision.7.

Not only does this innovative cleaning casework wonders on your glasses, but it can also be used on most small jewelry items. It works by way of tiny ultrasonic waves. Simply fill it up with water, immerse your glasses, and the ultrasonics turn the bubbles into tiny shockwaves. They won't scratch your lenses in any way, but they will do a deep clean on your glasses by removing built-up oil and stubborn stains - all without you lifting a finger.

The Smartclean Vision.7 is already 20% off retail, but you can take an additional 15% off by using the holiday coupon code HAPPYHOLIDAYS. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/uYYMhotrsVs/give-your-glasses-a-deep-clean.html

I just discovered Pavel Chilin's YouTube channel. There's only five videos there so far but, my friends, they are glorious.

As near as I can tell, Pavel's love of trains has translated into his building a rat-rod-as-all-get-out  steam engine just big enough to conduct himself and a pal around a good length of track, which again, I'm guessing that he built himself (but please correct me if I'm wrong.) I'd love to see how much work it took to put all of this together if, for nothing else, it might lead to other folks to do it as well. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/kq4QCkK-syI/arts-crafts-build-your-3.html

When you're doing long-term workouts, you know the recovery can be just as important as the exercise itself. And when the intensity gets to a certain level, a simple stretch won't cut it.

From there, you've got two options. Either head to the spa for a professional massage, or take matters into your own hands with the Evertone™ Prosage Deep Tissue Massager.

Prop tip: One of those options is a lot less expensive and more personalized to boot.

The Evertone Prosage comes with three interchangeable massage heads, allowing you to target specific muscle groups with the exact amount of intensity you need. Choose from three modes on the massager, and, after as little as 30 seconds, you'll be able to see and feel results on those trouble spots that hold onto pain after every session.

The battery lasts up to two hours on a charge; more than enough for multiple workouts. Whether it's joint or muscle fatigue, you know your body best. This system allows you to target the areas that need relief the most.

The Evertone™ Prosage Deep Tissue Massager is already 29% off the MSRP, but you can take an extra 15% off the final price by using the discount code HAPPYHOLIDAYS. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/LO3PkG6v-hU/this-percussion-deep-tissue-ma.html

Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH Bob figures out how to escape from terrorists

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/yGhKd7CDnvQ/bob-figures-it-out.html

"What's even the point of having an Internet if I can't buy a replica kid's plastic Santa Claus mask from 'It's a Wonderful Life'?" That's the question my friend Evan Prodromou recently posed on Facebook. He then tagged me in the comments, "I'm pretty sure Rusty Blazenhoff could find these if I asked her."

Well, I don't anything about them or where to find them but I'm always up for a challenge. So, I went to my expert-in-all-things-novelty friend David Wahl, the Director of Awesome for Archie McPhee, and asked if he knew anything about the masks. I figured if anyone would know, it would be him. His response made me chuckle. He told me it's something he and Shana Iverson, the company's High Priestess of Rubber Chickens have already discussed. Because, of course they have!

This is what he knows:

"It’s papier m^ach'e, so it probably wouldn’t have survived unless someone took special care of it. We haven’t seen them anywhere in any catalog or weird show. I think it was made just for the movie. It also could just be a local item to LA during Christmas that year. There were tons of small companies doing stuff like that."

Sounds right. Just to see, I searched on the internet for any mention of the masks.

In a Movieweb interview from 2006, Jimmy Hawkins, the child actor who played Tommy Bailey in the 1946 film, recalls the masks being uncomfortable:

"...I also remember sitting on Jimmy Stewart's lap.

Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/boacaVrFYIU/does-the-creepy-santa-mask-fro.html

Jack Russell Hurdle Racing is a lightning fast race where the dogs leap over three obstacles while chasing lure, and then cram through the narrow finish arch. The television broadcast that was on over the weekend was as well-produced as a premier NFL game:

Here's an older video featuring almost twelve minutes of Jack Russell Hurdle Racing:

It's just one of several events at the Incredible Dog Challenge, including agility, diving, and fetch, Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/rCKduH3kovs/jack-russel-hurdle-racing.html

While looking up something else on YouTube, I came across Santa Claus, the world's first Christmas movie! This British silent film, a little over a minute long, was made in 1898 and was directed by George Albert Smith, a "stage hypnotist, psychic, magic lantern lecturer, Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, inventor" and noted film pioneer. It was considered a technical marvel in its time and definitely worth a watch.

Michael Brooke of BFI National Archive reports that the movie had "considerable technical ambition and accomplishment for its period," and that it "uses pioneering visual effects in its depiction of a visit from St. Nicholas." He also writes that it is "believed to be the cinema's earliest known example of parallel action and, when coupled with double-exposure techniques that Smith had already demonstrated in the same year's The Mesmerist (1898) and Photographing a Ghost (1898), the result is one of the most visually and conceptually sophisticated British films made up to then."

In this picture you see two children being placed in bed by a maid, lights are then shut off. Santa Claus enters the room from the fireplace and proceeds to trim the tree. He then fills the stockings that were previously hung on the mantle by the children. After walking backward and surveying his work, he suddenly darts at the fireplace and disappears up the chimney. This film surprises everyone and leaves them to wonder how old St. Nicholas disappears.

Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/9sKwEBckdA8/the-worlds-first-christmas-m.html

The staff at Vilnius Airport in the capitol of Lithuania decided to celebrate the holidays a little differently this year — by creating a Christmas tree out of the various objects they'd confiscated from passengers. Scissors, guns, blades, lighters, and a tree-topping star made of cheese knives. Basically it looks like the set piece for a death metal band's touring holiday stage show.

Check out the creativity of the Aviation security officers at Vilnius Airport! A tree made of confiscated items. "Knives, scissors, lighters, blades, and all sorts of other dangerous goods – this Christmas tree has them all." https://t.co/OAOyHxUKmo pic.twitter.com/WTwaPhP2gJ

 Lithuania Travel (@LTtravelUSA) December 11, 2019

In an interview, the director of the Lithuanian Airports Security and Safety Department, Vidas Ksan, said that the tree does not include any food or liquids, which comprise a large portion of their confiscated items. Instead, the airport donates these, usually sending about 7 tons of food to charity each year. If Google Translate is actually correct (which, who the hell knows), the most commonly confiscated items are gas dispensers and electroshocks. I'm guessing that means portable plastic gas canisters, and tasers—which is still kind of a weird combination, especially for an airplane. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/IgVmU89VCHs/this-christmas-tree-is-so-fuck.html

Sleep masks work wonders on the sleepless. A hot towel on the face is one of the best sensations of a spa treatment. So we're not sure why eye massagers aren't more of a thing - even though just talking about how this latest model works relaxes us.

It's called the Aurai Eye Massager, and let's get one thing straight: It's far more than a simple sleep mask. The massager itself resembles a set of VR goggles, though it's a bit lighter. The strap fits comfortably around the head, and the rig is attached to a reservoir that pumps water into a molded, soft compress inside the mask.

The compress fits just about any head shape, molding to your eyes as the water circulates through the mask. It rolls over your eyes in gentle waves, releasing tension in the muscles of your face and the eyes themselves.

As it does this, it can change temperature. Warm water can be especially good for eyestrain or dryness, while cool settings can help with those dark circles and age lines around the eye.

The Aurai Eye Massager is on sale now for nearly half off the retail price, but you can take an extra 15% off by using the discount code HAPPYHOLIDAYS. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/kcaIOjeoHR4/pamper-your-peepers-with-this.html

Sometimes it's easier to focus on needs rather than wants. And the one thing that almost everyone needs these days is power. Power for smartphones, tablets and any of the other gadgets we use on a daily basis.

That's why getting this pack of three 10-Ft. MFi-Certified Braided Lightning Cables is kind of a no-brainer.

Each cable is 10 feet long and made of durable, braided nylon. Unlike your typical plastic-coated cords, it resists tearing and fraying, and is a lot less likely to tangle up.

As for the interior, each cable is MFi-certified, meaning it's rated to work seamlessly with all of your Apple devices. And, the pack comes with a 14-day warranty for an additional dose of security.

Best of all, the 3-pack is already on a deep discount at more than 80% off retail - but you can take an extra 15% off that final cost by using the holiday coupon code HAPPYHOLIDAYS. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/vGkagFFNmR8/save-over-80-on-these-10-ft.html

Le Creuset offers this Han Solo Carbonite Signature Roaster. It's enameled cast iron and sells for $450. The product description points out that "the lid’s interior has been embossed with the word “France” translated into Aurebesh, the most recognizable written language of the Star Wars galaxy."

Most importantly though, they claim it is dishwasher safe.

Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/Z-fdH2Pc4Wk/le-creusets-star-wars-roast.html

On Christmas Eve, 1968, astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders, the first humans to orbit another world, delivered a Christmas Eve message from above the lunar surface. From NASA:

"We were told that on Christmas Eve we would have the largest audience that had ever listened to a human voice," recalled Borman during 40th anniversary celebrations in 2008. "And the only instructions that we got from NASA was to do something appropriate." "The firs

t ten verses of Genesis is the foundation of many of the world's religions, not just the Christian religion," added Lovell. "There are more people in other religions than the Christian religion around the world, and so this would be appropriate to that and so that's how it came to pass."

The mission was also famous for the iconic "Earthrise" image, snapped by Anders, which would give humankind a new perspective on their home planet. Anders has said that despite all the training and preparation for an exploration of the moon, the astronauts ended up discovering Earth.

Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/vOKP5-HpPiU/listen-to-the-christmas-eve-me.html

Photographer Eric Brummel created this magnificent time-lapse video of the Milky Way in which the sky is stabilized so you can experience the Earth's rotation. He captured the footage at Font's Point, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California. From Universe Today:

Eric created this time-lapse by using a star-tracker with his camera. A star-tracker rotates the camera at the same speed as the Earth, but in the opposite direction. It has the visual effect of stabilizing the sky. Usually, star-trackers are used to stabilize the camera during a long exposure, to avoid blurry or streaked stars in the image.

(via Daily Grail) Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/1ryBV4CJhVw/astonishing-stabilized-time-la.html

Alive From Off Center was PBS's pioneering TV series that featured experimental video and performance pieces by artists like Ann Magnuson, the Brothers Quay, Jonathan Demme, Bill Irwin, and Laure Anderson. For me, the program, which aired between 1985 and 1996, was a wonderful introduction to many avant-garde artists and filmmakers. Above is Laurie Anderson's "What You Mean We?" that first aired on September 6, 1986.

Here's a New York Times article about the episode from the time: "TV: Laurie Anderson Performs"

(via r/ObscureMedia) Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/JdC6NZ7yJVQ/watch-laurie-andersons-fanta.html

A Roman Catholic church in the rural community of Cow Island, Louisiana dumped 100 gallons of holy water from a crop duster airplane onto the people and their land below. From NPR:

"I've blessed some buckets for people and such, but never that much water," (Rev. Matthew Barzare of St. Anne Church) said.

The pilot had instructions to drizzle certain parts of the community, including churches, schools, grocery stores and other community gathering places...

The idea was first proposed by a parishioner who is studying to become a missionary who was looking for a way to spread both community togetherness and holy water across Cow Island.

And the more Barzare considered it, the more it made sense.

"Most parishes have a central location, but my area that I have to cover is a good 30 minutes to the next church, and so by plane, we realized, it might be the easiest way to sprinkle people's fields, rather than me going in a car to different locations," he said.

Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/Um258DXiwhg/catholic-church-dumped-holy-wa.html