Directed by Canadian-American filmmaker Ted Eshbaugh, this "Wizard of Oz" cartoon from 1933 predated the classic Hollywood movie by six years. From Wikipedia:

The story is credited to "Col. Frank Baum." Frank Joslyn Baum, a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army and eldest son of writer L. Frank Baum, was involved in the film's production, and may have had an involvement in the film's script, which is loosely inspired by the elder Baum's 1900 novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It runs approximately eight and a half minutes and is nearly wordless, working mainly with arrangements of classical music created by Carl W. Stalling.[3]

The film was originally made in Technicolor, but because it was made without proper licensing from the Technicolor Corporation (which limited use of its 3-strip process to Disney), it never received a theatrical release.

(via r/ObscureMedia) Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/03/31/watch-the-wonderful-wizard-of.html

In 1889, a dam failed in southwestern Pennsylvania, sending 20 million tons of water down an industrialized valley toward the unsuspecting city of Johnstown. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe some of the dramatic and harrowing personal stories that unfolded on that historic day.

We'll also celebrate Christmas with Snoopy and puzzle over a deadly traffic light.

Show notes

Please support us on Patreon! Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/03/31/in-1889-a-dam-failure-sent-a.html

It's been an anthem for cheeky introverts and hermits, for years. Now, it belongs to us all. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/03/31/shut-in-sounds-warren-zevon.html

Python is everywhere. Just look under the hood of virtually every major tech player of the 21st century and you’re likely to find a whole lot of Python-based coding language staring back at you. Case in point: Netflix. You may not know it, but from its security protocols to its much-hyped recommendations, it turns out that Python code is baked into virtually every movie, TV show or another piece of content you watch on the platform.

That’s just one example of the pervasiveness of this versatile, powerful, user-friendly language. Right now, you can both learn Python AND create some cool projects and games with the training in the Python 3 Complete Bootcamp Master Course ($10.99, over 90 percent off).

With access to over 370 lectures and more than 30 hours of content, this course demystifies Python at its most practical level by helping you build 15 different projects and games while you learn.

The course teaches basic Python operations through the creation of some simple games, like a dice roll simulator, a hangman game or simple tic-tac-toe. But as students start working through more advanced Python concepts like machine learning and data analysis, the project ratchets up as well.

Before long, you’re building a matchmaker app, a Tamagotchi-style screen pet and even exploring methods for starting your own databases.

By the time you’re creating your own big data analysis project using more than 60 million data points, you’ll have internalized enough Python knowledge to use Python like a pro or even get hired as a Python expert. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/03/31/building-15-fun-projects-and-g.html

Read the first post in our series on making your own sourdough starter and bread.

The third loaf of bread with my new-to-the-pandemic sourdough starter was a pleasure to bake.

Putting this loaf of bread together for its bulk rise was done in a pleasant couple minutes pause while preparing dinner for my parents. I have been pretty aggressively on my One Meal A Day diet and enjoying 20-24 hour fasts during the pandemic and thus tend to prepare dinner for the family most nights.

I decided to bake an all King Arthur bread flour loaf of bread this time, but I continued to go with 2 cup sized loaves instead of 4. The starter is behaving like it is on something like a 4-6 hour cycle, so I fed it around 1:30 pm and mixed up the dough around 6:30 pm.

I time it like this so that a) the yeast should be in a place where there are many fresh, new and hungry cells banging about the starter and b) the 12-ish hour bulk rise I give my bread will not need me to wake up earlier than usual. If the dough looks like it needs more time, I give it more time. 18+ hours were not unusual in my old home. I would forget to change the thermostat and at night my kitchen would get too cold. Here I put the rising dough on the closed lid of an indoor bbq, with a potholder as insulation.

The dough was sticky and needed a bit of flour to let me work it. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/03/31/pandemic-sourdough-baking-thi.html

AI artist Mario Klingemann used Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), one of the primary techniques to create deepfake videos, to make this incredible, unsettling, and wonderful video that facial expressions to music. (Song: "Triggernometry" by Kraftamt, 2014). Check out another deepweirdfake from this series below.

One more of those. This one needs a bit of patience. And to be unmuted.Song: "Dropping out of Lightspeed" by Kraftamt, 2013 #StyleGAN2 #realtime #aiart pic.twitter.com/wMRJdbbbez

 Mario Klingemann (@quasimondo) March 31, 2020

(Thanks, Jeff Cross!) Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/03/31/astonishingly-weird-video-of-a.html

Jack Black's energetic performance put a smile on my face.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jack Black (@jackblack) on Mar 29, 2020 at 5:31pm PDT

Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/03/31/jack-blacks-awesome-stay-at.html

This is satire, right?

Harbor is a community of makers, thinkers, and doers that can become your sanctuary. Harbor will give you an opportunity to meet, mingle, and collaborate with some of the brightest, forward-thinking individuals - no facemask required.

The villa is located in Southern California, and the exact location will be provided to the program participants once they are accepted.

Standard bedroom (bathroom shared with one other room) - $3000 per month

Premium bedroom (with full private bathroom) - $4000 per month

Deluxe bedroom (full private bathroom+office) - $6000 per month

https://boingboing.net/2020/03/31/are-you-sufficiently-wealthy-a.html

If you’re routinely prone to being stressed out, hurried or generally made out-of-sorts by the hectic pace of the world and life changes, then...yikes. We don’t envy what you must be going through these days.

Right about now, even the most zen and centered among us are bound to be feeling some level of anxiety and uncertainty. In these ultra trying times of social distancing, working from home and herculean routine change, we could all use a little extra help keeping our heads on straight, our minds clear and our fears in check.

To help calm those jangled nerves, we pulled together three mediation and relaxation apps that might just do the trick chilling you out. It also doesn’t hurt that they’re all between 50 and 90 percent off right now. Namaste.

If you’re looking for endorsements, it doesn’t get much better than “the most positively reviewed app in the history of the Apple App Store.” That’s Relax Melodies, an app focused on regulating your sleep. It combines soothing sounds, bedtime stories, breathing techniques, body-mind exercises and more to create your own perfect sleep ambiance to get you the 7 or 8 hours of restful sleep a night you need.  From overcoming insomnia or tinnitus to night-time anxiety to lowering everyday stress, these sleep expert-approved techniques could be just what you need to face tomorrow the right way.

Welzen is all about dropping just the right pearl of zen at just the right moment. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/03/30/need-help-mellowing-out-lately.html

The nearly US$10 billion James Webb Space Telescope is set to take off aboard an Ariane 5 rocket one year from today.

Scientists and space enthusiasts of all stripes are excited about what this successor to the Hubble Telescope will further our understanding of the cosmos. Forbes science writer Jamie Carter:

“Webb” will study the solar system, directly image exoplanets, photograph the first galaxies, and explore the mysteries of the origins of the Universe. By detecting infrared light, Webb will be able to look further back in time than any other telescope thus far.

Webb is the most ambitious and complex space science telescope ever constructed, and tantalizingly soon it will be the plaything of scientists ... or, at least, that’s the plan.

Then the sad reality of how our world and the timelines for everything might be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Originally conceived in the 1990s and at first expected to launch in 2007, Webb has been beset by delays—the latest being COVID-19—but at the time of writing the massive telescope was safely in its cleanroom at Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, California, and March 30, 2021, was still the target date for Webb’s launch. However, there could be an announcement on April 15, 2020 about a new schedule.

#NASAWebb is now a fully assembled observatory, and has accomplished multiple large deployments and movements that it will perform in space. This new time-lapse video highlights these recent critical milestones. #JWST #timelapse pic.twitter.com/N027BGFjuv

 NASA Webb Telescope (@NASAWebb) February 26, 2020

Read the rest of the Forbes piece. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/03/30/one-year-from-today-our-knowl.html

The world is currently full of absolutely shitty news—like, way more than usual. Actor/Director/Seemingly very nice fella John Krasinski's not OK with that. Instead of moping about it, he and a few pals, both online and off, took it upon themselves to throw together close to 16 minutes worth of video that features nothing but good news. As we shelter at home, worrying about our loved ones and community, this is exactly the injection of feel-good shit that we need.

  Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/03/30/good-news-john-krasinski-has.html

Folk legend Joan Baez, upon hearing the news that fellow iconic American singer-songwriter, John Prine, was hospitalized with COVID-19, decided to play Prine's classic "Hello in There" from her home and dedicate it to him.

News began to circulate yesterday through Prine's family that the 73-year-old singer was in the hospital and in critical condition with COVID-19. Today, his wife, Fiona, told SF Gate that the singer, who's been dealing with both lung and neck cancer in recent years, had improved overnight and was now in stable condition.

Image: YouTube Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/03/30/joan-baez-serenades-john-prine.html

Publisher's Weekly writes:

Not to be outdone by the children’s and YA authors "signal boosting" their fellow authors on Twitter, two novelists, Caroline Leavitt and Jenna Blum, are promoting their colleagues with an ambitious initiative called A Mighty Blaze. Anyone can participate in the conversations on A Mighty Blaze on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram about new releases, but for authors wanting their books to be signal boosted on these platforms, there are a few requirements: the book has to be traditionally published for adult readers, and the author’s book tour has to have been canceled.

You can find the Mighty Blaze Facebook group here.

And here is the rest of the Publisher's Weekly piece.

[H/t My long-suffering agent, Laurie Fox]

Image: Photo by Danny on Unsplash Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/03/30/shut-in-novelists-with-cancell.html

Let's just get down to it: the Detroit Auto Show (AKA the North American International Auto Show) has been cancelled. Not becasue of concerns around social distancing or community spread, which, let's face it, most of us are down with right now. No, their reason for nixing Detroit's annual orgy of new cars, concept vehicles and exhausted automotive journalists is due to the fact that the TCF Center, they venue they normally get it on at is currently being used as a massive field hospital for individuals afflicted with COVID-19.

From The Verge:

“Although we are disappointed, there is nothing more important to us than the health, safety and well-being of the citizens of Detroit and Michigan, and we will do what we can to support our community’s fight against the coronavirus outbreak,” Rod Alberts, executive director of the show, said in a statement announcing the decision.

This past weekend, The Detroit Free Press reported that Detroit was dealing with 4,650 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Of those, 11 individuals have died, due to complications from the virus.

Detroit's not the only city that's had to postpone or cancel their auto show due to the current pandemic. According to The Verge, similar motor vehicle soirees in Beijing, New York and Geneva had to change their plans as the toll of COVID-19 continues to mount.

Image via Wikipedia Commons Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/03/30/detroit-auto-show-cancelled-ov.html

NightHawkinLight shows how he made a carbon filament light bulb. He starts by showing how an electric arc light works (invented in 1802 by noted nitrous oxide aficionado Sir Humphrey Davy), then moves to incandescent lighting. He ends up making a working incandescent light bulb. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/03/30/guy-recreates-carbon-filament.html

Last night some asshole smashed a glass door at the Singer Laren museum near Amsterdam and stole Vincent van Gogh's oil painting “The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring 1884." The museum has been closed due to COVID-19. From the Associated Press:

The value of the (10" x 22") work, which was on loan from the Groninger Museum in the northern Dutch city of Groningen, was not immediately known. Van Gogh’s paintings, when they rarely come up for sale, fetch millions at auction...

A team including forensics and art theft experts was studying video footage and questioning neighbors. [Museum General Director Evert] Van Os said the museum’s security worked “according to protocol,” but he added: “Obviously we can learn from this.”

https://boingboing.net/2020/03/30/van-gogh-swiped-last-night-dur.html

I've seen reports that Little Free Libraries are being turned into free food pantries to help folks in this time of coronavirus. Now, hilariously, there's one in Seattle that's been converted into a "Peep Show," complete with a hot pink neon sign, and a rooftop one that reads "Chicks! Chicks! Chicks!" But you won't find anything lewd inside. Instead, you'll find a fun diorama of marshmallow Peeps.

On Nextdoor, the Peep Show's creator, Cristie Kearny of Seattle's Crown Hill neighborhood, explains:

I've removed books from my Little Free Library to help slow the spread of COVID-19! I've converted it to a Peep Show, featuring Mary Peepins! Come by and take a peek! Social distancing approved! Hands free viewing or use provided sanitizing wipes for light switch.

She plans on changing her Peeps-filled diorama out every week. If you're in the area, you can go check it out at 9709 14th Avenue NW. She tells Boing Boing that she's already working on the next one: "Peeper Pan."

Thanks, Marcia!

photos by Cristie Kearny Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/03/30/little-free-library-in-seattle.html

Spoken Word with Electronics is an audio series delivering to you a two side recording of unusual stories paired with vintage modular electronic sounds

THIS WEEK:

Side A: "Paul Krassner's 1959 Underground News Report on the Birth Control Pill"

Greetings, all! This week continues my discussion with Paul Krassner, from an interview conducted in 2017. Paul is recognized as an early second-wave feminist, and one of the coolest things he did, in my opinion, was use his reach as a publisher to advocate for reproductive freedoms - including contraception.

In 1959, he began to change The Realist from a satirical paper into one blended with some sharp politics. Subsequently, he published one of the earliest news stories on Enovid, or the Birth Control Pill. At the time, it was sensationally referred to in America as the 1955 Puerto Rican Birth Control Experiments.

Hear Paul's recollection of this significant act of publishing:

Side B: "Henry Miller reads from "The Colossus of Maroussi" with a 1973 Buchla Music Easel, Linn Drum, and a Roland Jupiter-8

A fun side B, this is a reworking of Henry Miller's self-recorded vocal of "The Colossus of Maroussi". The vocal comes from a very rare LP, which is on colored red disc! - I visited a friend who has collected Henry Miller work for decades, who has a copy. Here's a look at one of the rarest literary records ever made, published in very small edition in 1949:

"Written in Greece and New York, 1940. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/03/30/paul-krassner-interview-part.html

So...exactly how many times a day are you singing Happy Birthday to your sink? Unless you’re among the most germaphobic among us, it’s unlikely you ever thought the simple act of handwashing would start to take on such a central role in our daily lives.

Of course, with all the touching and such, bar soap isn’t really the best idea these days, so it might be a good time to fully step up to a sanitation process worthy of our chaotic times. And that process means -- don’t touch anything.

This hands-free foaming soap dispenser not only serves up a handful of soapy goodness when you need it, it does so with a simple swipe over an infrared sensor. There’s no need to ever push a button or force down a pump. Just like all those fancy bathrooms in expensive hotels and restaurants, a single sweep of your hand gets the job done, so nobody’s grungy fingers get all over anything.

The unit’s motor churns out disinfecting foam in a quarter of a second to prevent any bacterial transmission -- and that cool little sensor works like catnip to a kid, while also not-so-subtly reinforcing the whole handwashing habit. If you’ve got a youngster who seems to constantly “forget” to wash up after a stint in the throne room, this might just be the attention-grabbing reminder they need.

Unlike other models, this dispenser also comes with a clear plastic soap reservoir, so you can always tell exactly how much soap is left before you’re going to need to pick up some more...if Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/03/30/clean-up-and-class-up-your-bat.html

Excellent editing chops by Austin-based video post-production house Cut to Black.

Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/03/30/fantastic-video-movie-and-tv.html