Joseph Herscher's machines are pretty funny. You will be amused, and then there will be cake. www.youtube.com/watch?v=auIl...
The Cake Server | Joseph's Most Complex Machine Ever?
YouTube video by Joseph's Machines
youtube.com
gwembel
@gwembel.bsky.social
Reader & puzzle game player. Interested in science, culture, math, music, art, education. Politically liberal work-within-system. Hobby-writer of Interactive Fiction IF text adventure (stories about time travel/magic/humor/mystery). Wife, mother, grandma.
Our planet has two lungs: trees and oceans are the lungs of the Earth. Plant more trees, don't cut them down, and reduce plastic waste in the sea. Protect our forests and oceans to preserve the health of our planet.
For what it's worth, I got today's Wordle answer on my own but had to look up the fact that FWIW is a texting abbreviation meaning "for what it's worth" and actually has nothing to do with Wordle puzzles at all.
Merriam-Webster@merriam-webster.com · 3w agoFWIW, the first known use of the Wordle word today was in 1607.
According to Paramount, their $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros will go ahead as planned in September. That's time enough before the midterm elections. (1/7 #BlockTheMerger) bfmbreakdown.substack.com/p/who-gets-t...
Who Gets to Tell America’s Stories? Hollywood’s Biggest Merger Is Becoming a Fight Over More Than Money
When a handful of companies control what gets made, who gets hired, and which voices reach audiences, is that just business—or does it become a question about the future of creativity itself?
bfmbreakdown.substack.com
Another fatal shooting into a car by ICE, this time in Maine. That's less than a week after their murder in Houston while looking for a target who wasn't even inside the car whose driver they shot to death. Click this link for evidence of recent horrific ICE behavior in this NYT gift article.
Sherrilyn Ifill@sifill.bsky.social · 3w agoGift link. It’s as bad as we can imagine. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/13/u...
"High Note," a short animated film from 1960 www.youtube.com/watch?v=DATu...
Looney Tunes High Note 1960
YouTube video by antoine orsero
youtube.com
We're divided by abilty, age, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual/gender orientation. We know what it's like to be treated unfairly by those who don't like who we are. May our own battles help us to see that we should stand together.
NyyxVeil 🏳️🌈@nyyxveil.bsky.social · last mo.Happy Disability Pride Month to all my friends, and individuals who have a form of disability whether it be physical, neurological, etc. There is a lot going on with the disability community at this very moment in our country & the world. But know that you are absolutely worth it.
Koho Shoda (Japan, 1871–1946) : Moonlit Sea, 1930 woodblock print 28.3 × 22 cm | 9-1/2 x 6-7/8 in Private Collection Further descriptions in the alt text 👇
How ancient earthquake data might resolve controversial issues about the creation of the Tigris/Euphrates fertile crescent and large quantities of salt found at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea: www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/s...
Scientists May Have Discovered the Origins of the Euphrates River, Which Helped Nurture Some of the Earliest Known Civilizations
The famous waterway began as two rivers, a new study suggests. Tectonic activity around five million years ago probably made them change course and merge, helping to birth the Fertile Crescent
smithsonianmag.com
As a kid I was fascinated with the numerical index of Roget's Thesaurus. With all the possible ways to categorize all of its words into a single sorting scheme, how could they possibly decide what would be the best strategy? www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/rog... www.roget.org/hierarchy.htm
Roget's Thesaurus
More than just a collection of related words—Peter Mark Roget intended his Thesaurus to be a classification of all knowledge
merriam-webster.com
A river of spilled starlight glides through a silent, otherworldly landscape toward a radiant beacon beneath the Milky Way. There, between darkness and light, the journey promises no destination—only an endless invitation to wonder.
Y'all, today is, of course, Juneteenth. I have written a ton over the years about this celebration and its historical roots in Texas. The best thing I ever wrote was this. texashighways.com/travel-news/... I hope y'all take the time to read it, to study the photos, and to ponder the meaning.
The History of Juneteenth in Photos
Junteenth commemorates the issuance of General Order No. 3 in Galveston, informing enslaved people of their freedom and the end of the Civil War.
texashighways.com
In Israeli politics, Arab-Jewish parties struggle to be trusted. Can a new party with bipartisan leaders bring in enough new voters without splitting October's anti-Netanyahu vote? #APlaceForAllOfUs Makom Lekulanu GiftShareLinks: www.haaretz.com/israel-news/... www.nytimes.com/2026/06/16/o...
Jewish-Arab movement Standing Together launches Knesset run with new party
Co-founders Alon-Lee Green and Rula Daood Will Lead A Place for Us All, a Jewish-Arab Party Seeking to Mobilize Voters Who Would Otherwise Abstain, and Which Pledges Equal Representation for Jews and ...
haaretz.com
The contradiction between who I am and what I've brought to share is all that's left of both. Except for the other stuff, of course.
womensartbluesky.bsky.social@womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 2mo agoChilean ceramics artist Livia Marin, from her 'Nomad Patterns´series, 2012 #womensart #Sunday
Good morning. From my #landscape #art, #illustrationart, and #photography portfolio: "Hope in the Morning of Despair"
Ukrainian artist Lyudmila Bolbas focuses on the ancient technique of encaustic painting, which originated in the 5th-4th centuries BC.
According to a post from Merriam-Webster, the usage of the word "spam" to mean "unsolicited usually commerical messages" (as opposed to canned meat) comes from Monty Python. But this amateur video song about Mr. Spam-Man is just my own bit of fun: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx5j...
Mr. Spam-man
YouTube video by mvu9876
youtube.com
Belonging to a group can provide its members with the security of identity plus self-esteem pride. But uberOutrage, labelSlinging, blamePointing, & gateKeeping can lure us into shooting ourself in the granfalloon, letting out any survival benefit that cooperation might yield. #vonnegut #granfalloon
Love the photo posted by Anna Quent of a red squirrel who seems to be thinking in German: "First things first: a siesta." More red squirrel photos posted by pixelgraphix@pixelgraphix.de #BotanischerGartenBerlin Wikipedia shows this image of red squirrels holding nuts on a German coat of arms.
Anna Quent@annaquent.bsky.social · 2mo agoErst mal Siesta. #squirrel #wildlife #photography
Rest assured that no snakes or humans were harmed in the making of this video. Hognose snakes are drama queens, and the voice-over is great. www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-J0...
I AM DEAD SNAKE (Hilarious Voiceover!)
YouTube video by The RPG Chick
youtube.com
KK's shared video of a young clouded leopard is wonderful! Here's an adult clouded leopard photo from the San Diego Zoo. Per Wikipedia, some clouded leopards have been seen to climb down vertical tree trunks head first & hang on to branches with their hind paws bent around branchings of tree limbs.
KK@kk-maker.bsky.social · 2mo agoVideo: clouded leopard baby Azi smacking a large stuffed animal, biting it, and flopping next to it to Kill It Dead. [via Nashville Zoo]
"The politics of the number line teaches us this: every dimension excluded creates a class of outlaws. And every outlawed dimension carries knowledge the system desperately needs but cannot yet afford to admit." Jaime Hoerricks, PhD autside.substack.com/p/the-square...
Jaime Hoerricks, PhD@jaimehoerricks.bsky.social · 6mo agoImaginary numbers were once exiled—now they power the world. A seanchaidh-teacher tells how maths learned to turn, not march—and how gestalt minds, long called unreal, may be the dimension our moment needs. open.substack.com/pub/autside/...
This artwork is a Japanese woodblock print titled Dotonbori, created by artist Uehara Konen in 1928.
