A new article from Nature describes the discovery of a 100-million-year-old fossilized reptile egg with a soft, leathery shell that's nearly a foot long. It's the second-largest egg fossil ever discovered (after the egg of the elephant bird, which had a hard shell about five times thicker), and also the first such discovery made on the continent of Antarctica.

As National Geographic summarizes:

The 68-million-year-old egg, called Antarcticoolithus bradyi, is the first fossil egg ever found in Antarctica, only outsized by the eggs of Madagascar’s extinct elephant bird. Antarcticoolithus is also one of the few fossil eggs ever found in marine sediment. “For the first egg remnant from Antarctica to be a nearly complete egg that has finely preserved microstructure is kind of insane,” says Julia Clarke of UT Austin.

[…]

Under a microscope, Antarcticoolithus not only lacked the internal structure of hard eggshells, but also the pores of hard-shelled eggs, suggesting the large egg was soft.

At the time the egg was laid, large marine reptiles called mosasaurs lived in the Antarctic waters where the fossil egg was entombed. The bones of a mosasaur were found less than 700 feet from the site, suggesting the egg may have belonged to these 20-foot-long swimming reptiles.

Here's the real kicker though: the scientists didn't find any bones inside of the egg. And while they think it would have belonged to a mosasaur, or some other 20-plus-foot-long swimming reptiles, that wouldn't gel with their current knowledge of those leviathans. From Nature(emphasis added):

The identity of the animal that laid the egg is unknown, but these preserved morphologies are consistent with the skeletal remains of mosasaurs (large marine lepidosaurs) found nearby.

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/largest-known-soft-shell-repti.html

This idiot driving on the wrong side of a Connecticut freeway has the same mindset as a person who won't wear a facemask in public during a pandemic: "Screw all of you, I'm doing what I please."

Does anyone know the full story? Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/car-driving-on-wrong-side-of-f.html

The New York Times reports that Facebook took down Trump campaign advertisements that "prominently featured a symbol used by Nazis to classify political prisoners during World War II."

The symbol was a red triangle, which ran alongside ad copy that said, “Dangerous MOBS of far-left groups are running through our streets and causing absolute mayhem.”

According to the Times, the red triangle is "a symbol that Nazis used to identify Communists and other political prisoners in concentration camps, just as they used a pink triangle to identify people they labeled as homosexual."

From The New York Times:

The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum also weighed in on Twitter, noting that the red triangle was “the most common category of prisoners registered at the German Nazi #Auschwitz camp.”

Mark Bray, a historian at Rutgers and the author of “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook,” said that “the origin of the symbol is universally agreed to be with the Nazis and the concentration camps.” He added that the red triangle was not part of the symbolism of antifa in the United States.

The fact that the triangle has been reclaimed by some anti-fascists, Mr. Bray said, does not give the Trump campaign license to use the same symbol to attack antifa. “This is a symbol that represented the extermination of leftists,” he said. “It is a death threat against leftists. There’s no way around what that means historically.”

A red triangle that marked 'political prisoners' was the most common category of prisoners registered at the German Nazi #Auschwitz camp.

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/trump-ad-uses-nazi-symbol-to-a.html

With no movies, concerts, or sporting events to get out and enjoy, the scope of your entertainment universe probably hasn’t strayed too far beyond the edge of your sofa in months. And all that time living life on your A-1 piece of furniture has likely resulted in some unfortunate drink-related accidents. 

In this couch-based lifestyle, drinks have to sit on a coffee table, which results in a fair share of reach-related mishaps. And don’t get us started on the disasters that happen when trying to balance a drink on the floor near the sofa. You always forget it’s there — and invariably kick it over.

In this life of beverage calamities, the CouchCoaster rides into town like Clint Eastwood, intent on restoring order to your liquid lawlessness.

The CouchCoaster has a flexible silicone body that wraps neatly around a sofa armrest to hold a drink. Whether it’s a mug or tumbler, bottle or can, hot drink or cold, any container up to 3.5 inches wide slips easily into the CouchCoaster’s tight grip and stays there.

If your container is too small, no worries — the adjustable holder features its own adaptor to accommodate oddly shaped glass or even mugs. And the integrated weighted band has a tacky base that provides a secure fit either fabric or leather sofas. 

The CouchCaster pretty much eliminates the need for a coffee table or even a side table or tray. And when it’s not holding your drink of choice, it’s ready to store your remote, your phone, or pretty much anything else. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/save-20-on-the-ultimate-drink.html

Almost Famous (2000) is one of my favorite rock and roll moves of all time. Director and writer Cameron Crowe did a masterful job with his semi-autobiographical story of a young teen music journalist on his first assignment from Rolling Stone in the 1970s. It's a lovely, funny, and moving film that just feels real. Now, the killer cast, including Kate Hudson, Frances McDormand, Billy Crudup, Zooey Deschanel, Jimmy Fallon, Patrick Fugit, Jason Lee are joining Crowe, Nancy Wilson of Heart (Crowe's wife who wrote music for the film), technical consultant Peter Frampton, and others for a five-part podcast hosted by James Andrew Miller. The podcast series, Origins, is produced by Cadence13 and previous editions have focused on the birth of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Sex and the City, and Saturday Night Live. Here's the trailer for Origins: Almost Famous Turns Twenty, premiering July 8.

From Rolling Stone:

In addition, casting director Gail Levin, rock photographer Neal Preston and Pennie Trumbull — the real-life inspiration for Penny Lane — will also share their memories.

“Between his personable style, and the exhaustive research behind his wonderful questions, Jim Miller managed to summon all the spirit and emotion of Almost Famous with the original cast,” Crowe said in a statement. “It’s a little bit of a magic trick. He put the band back together.”

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/almost-famous-cast-and-creator.html

Harkening back to simpler times, when concern over something as silly as a mysterious white balloon grabbed a city's attention, people in an area of northeast Japan were "bewildered" and "excited" yesterday by an unexpected sighting in the sky. Some speculated it could be a UFO, while others wondered if it was spreading Covid-19. Phones started ringing in the Meteorological Agency in Sendai at 7am, asking what the heck the white orb with a strange metal object hanging from it was.

According to The Japan Times:

The Meteorological Agency’s Sendai office received a number of inquiries Wednesday morning over a white balloon-like object floating in the sky over the city, leaving agency officials bewildered and some Twitter users excited.

“It is not something flown by the meteorological agency, and we don’t have a clue what it is,” an agency official said. “We checked with the Sendai Municipal Government and the Self-Defense Forces, but they don’t know either.”

...A cross-shaped object is hanging underneath the sphere, and it hardly moves. An agency official said it looks like some kind of an observational instrument.

And from Reuters:

By afternoon it was the third-most trending topic on Japanese Twitter, with theories including UFOs and North Korean balloons used to drop leaflets. One user said it could be spreading novel coronavirus, adding, “This gives me a very bad feeling, as if Godzilla might suddenly appear.”

"As of this writing, the object, which presumably is long gone, has still not been identified," said Digital Trends late last night. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/unidentified-object-in-japan-l.html

While nothing will vindicate Episodes I and II, Star Wars Episode III is now available in a nearly redeeming cut!

Ahsoka and Obi-Wan's stories are so much deeper and more engaging than Anakin Skywalker's. Much like the amazing Vader kicking ass scene in Rogue One, this cut of Sith puts some needed perspective on Vader, and makes Order 66 the gut-wrenching event it should have been.

Obi-Wan and Satine's story remains a favorite. Ahsoka is the best character in Star Wars.

Search for the full cut, it is not hard to find. You can also skip back and forth in Disney+, but the fan cut is really impressive. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/star-wars-revenge-of-the-sith.html

Fortnite Chapter 2, Season 3 is an amazing tribute to Kevin Costner's epic Waterworld.

Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/fortnite-goes-waterworld.html

For such a terrible idea Opposite Worlds is shockingly fun to watch. Filmed in 2014 this reality tv disasterpiece has two teams facing off each week. One team has been living in a super modern home with all the advantages, and the other is emulating neanderthal living.

You will be unsurprised at how well-fed people getting lots of rest can outperform folks forced to huddle together for warmth and poop in a pit toilet!

I laugh and laugh as the show struggles to create some sort of competition. I hope they bring it back. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/this-absolutely-terrible-reali.html

NEW: "I don't think he's fit for office," former national security adviser John Bolton says of Pres. Trump. "I don't think he has the competence to carry out the job."

Watch more from Bolton's interview with @MarthaRaddatz Sunday at 9|8c. https://t.co/ZP6hogsbjv pic.twitter.com/N3eUNbElTU

 ABC News (@ABC) June 18, 2020

It's frustrating, to say the least, that former National Security Adviser John Bolton would not testify during the impeachment inquiry against Trump, but here is in a clip from an ABC interview with Martha Raddatz on Trump's incompetence and willingness to do anything to get reelected, even if it means endangering the nation. The full interview will be aired on Sunday at 9pm est. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/john-boltons-interview-with.html

The Apple Watch has a function that drives out water trapped inside. This slow-motion video shows it in action.

Image: YouTube Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/slow-motion-video-of-an-apple.html

In British Columbia, a driver behind a truck carrying an oversized load filmed the truck going under an overpass and scraping it. I wonder what was loaded on the truck? It's covered with a tarp, but I have a feeling it's expensive.

Image: YouTube Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/truck-with-oversize-load-scrap.html

Just a few hours after juicy morsels from John Bolton's upcoming tell-all book, The Room Where It Happened, started seeping into the media yesterday, The Lincoln Project whipped up yet another anti-Trump ad. This one focuses on Bolton's claim that Trump begged China's Xi Jinping to help him win this November's election.

"China beats him every time. No matter what he says, China's got his number," the narrator says in the Republican anti-Trump group's ad. "Trump even begged Chinese leader Xi to help him win re-election, like a dog."

Via The Week Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/the-lincoln-projects-new-ad-2.html

In 1982 during filming for Star Wars Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, Ewok actor Warwick Davis and first assistant director David Tomblin made this mockumentary, "Return of the Ewok," about how Davis landed the role of Wicket W. Warrick. The film also stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, David Prowse, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, and Frank Oz.

"The film is a curiosity, half-documentary about the making of Jedi, half-fairy tale about a little boy who becomes an Ewok," Tomblin said in a 1984 interview in Starlog magazine. "He thinks he's the only Ewok in the world, but eventually finds there are others."

Return of the Ewok has never been officially released in its entirety. From Wikipedia:

Filming took place during the production of Return of the Jedi, including at lunchtimes and on weekends. "At lunch times, I would rush around and try and shoot pieces for it," Tomblin said. George Lucas financed the film, though costs were limited to expenses such as film stock. "Everyone contributed their time and talent for absolutely nothing," Tomblin said.

(Happy birthday, Emmett!) Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/return-of-the-ewok-an-unrelea.html

pic.twitter.com/Rloh34F5ID

 Steadman™ (@AsteadWesley) June 17, 2020

The Hill reports that a pro-Trump activist named Brandon Straka was kicked off an American Airlines plane because he wouldn't wear a mask. A New York Times reporter who was also on the flight took a video that recorded Straka arguing with the flight crew:

“Sir, are you wishing not to wear a mask today?” a flight attendant asked Straka

“I would prefer not to,” Straka replied before later adding, "You're asking me to do something that's not a law."

The flight attendant responded by explaining that the request is part of a "procedure American Airlines follows."

There is currently no law that mandates passengers must wear masks while on a flight, but all major U.S. airlines, including American, announced on May 11 new policies that call on all passengers and flight crew members to wear face coverings. Exceptions are provided for children, people with certain medical conditions and while passengers are eating and drinking.

Straka told the flight attendant he had a medical condition, but did not specify what the condition was and did not provide any documentation regarding it. He was eventually ejected from the flight after a delay, drawing applause from passengers.

Flight Attendant: Excuse me, sir, do you have a condition that prevents you from wearing a mask?

Me: Yes.

Flight Attendant: May I ask what that is?

Me: Sanity.

 Brandon Straka (@BrandonStraka) June 17, 2020

Straka's attitude could help explain this:

I made a chart. On average, blue states have seen steadily declining coronavirus infections since mid-April.

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/pro-trump-activist-kicked-off.html

People who live with obsessive-compulsive disorder, especially those who have learned to manage it with cognitive-behavioral therapy tools, may actually be psychologically well-prepared for this pandemic. The techniques those of us with OCD practice to handle anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and all-consuming compulsions are well-suited to dealing with worries of infection and the endless what-ifs about what lies ahead. Those fortunate enough to have been treated for OCD with cognitive-behavioral therapy, often in combination with medication, are usually pretty comfortable being uncomfortable. (If you're suffering and not being treated, please seek help; you really can feel much better.) From the International OCD Foundation:

Accept anxiety instead of wishing it away and making it worse. No one enjoys anxiety and it’s normal to wish you weren’t anxious. But when you label your anxiety as “bad” and try to get rid of it, your brain then misinterprets the anxiety as a problem and dumps more stress chemicals into your body to help you manage this “threat.” The result? You feel more, not less, anxious.

Instead, accept that it’s likely you will continue to feel anxious during the pandemic, and that this is okay. Anxiety is uncomfortable, but it’s not going to hurt you, and if you tell yourself you can handle being anxious, your brain is less likely to get confused and think anxiety is a threat. Accepting anxiety, not being afraid of being afraid, is how to keep it manageable.

Tell yourself you can handle uncertainty, because you can. This situation is scary because there are so many unknowns.

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/obsessive-compulsive-disorder.html

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/bourbon-time-capsule-discovere.html

The recent Sesame Street seminar on racism has caused quite a stir on the Internet, thanks in large part to a scene in which Elmo's father, Louie, explains why people are protesting police brutality.

Beyond its socio-political importance, many were aghast to learn that Elmo — who is a muppet — also has a biological family.

Elmo has parents?? https://t.co/axESQB9KVN

 Mario Candelaria (@TheOtherMarioC) June 8, 2020

But Elmo doesn't just have a dad. According to his Muppet wikia entry:

Elmo lives in an apartment on Sesame Street with his mother Mae, his father Louie, and, in some storybooks, a sister named Daisy. He has a pet goldfish named Dorothy.

Other relatives in Elmo's family include his grandma and grandpa; his great-grandmother (featured in a 1989 episode) and his great-grandfather (named Selmo); his Uncle Jack, Aunt Jill, and cousin Jesse (featured in When Families Grieve); plus additional cousins Elmer (featured in Kids' Favorite Country Songs), Chester (featured in Here For You), and Mimsy. Additionally, the television special Sesame Street Stays Up Late shows Elmo's "international" cousins — Pep'e from Mexico and Elmonosuke from Japan. As seen in The Furchester Hotel, he also has an aunt Funella Furchester, an uncle Furgus Fuzz, and a cousin Phoebe Furchester-Fuzz.

In short, Elmo has a big family. Which means a lot of Muppet sex.

But what if Elmo's dad … isn't actually his dad?

They never discuss why Uncle Jack is dead but I HAVE MY THEORIES https://t.co/Qt2QAPQOTD

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/a-dark-fan-theory-explores-the.html

A clever meteorologist in Austin was able to give the weather report from his backyard, because his lawn is so lush that it doubles as a green screen! See the footage at CNN.

(Neatorama, Reddit)

screengrab via Reddit

Previously: The internet is having a field day with the Queen's "green screen" dress Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/tv-weatherman-uses-his-green-l.html

Madness was supposed to go on a U.S. tour this year but COVID changed that. But, that didn't stop the English ska band from making music with a string quartet from their studio, all socially distanced. The resulting 36-minute concert "Two Mad Men and a String Quartet" is a joy.

(Coudal)

Image: YouTube Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/06/18/madness-performs-with-a-string.html