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Episode 789 - The left side

In this episode I'm joined by Phil Costa, and first up on the agenda are the stories linking us to Bologna defender Riccardo Califiori. We chat about how this a deal that feels dependent on a significant departure from the defensive ranks, before we talk about the player himself, what he might bring to the team, and more generally about Arsenal's left-side and what could happen there. There's also transfer stuff around Albert Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares, and Emile Smith Rowe, a look ahead to the Euro 2024 quarter-finals, and more.


Follow Phil @_philcosta


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Episode 790 - The final countdown

In this episode I'm joined by Lewis Ambrose to discuss England's 2-1 win over the Netherlands on Wednesday night, which sends them through to the final of Euro 2024. We chat about the goal England conceded, the contentious penalty award which provided the equaliser, the second half in which fatigue clearly played a part for both sides, and how an injection of energy was so important. Should Ollie Watkins goal propel him into the starting line-up for Sunday's clash with Spain? All that, plus a round-up of the Arsenal transfer news.


Follow Lewis @LGAmbrose


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Episode 791 - Plug and play

In this episode I'm joined by Clive Palmer to chat about the kind of incoming transfer business Arsenal will look to get done, and why someone like Mikel Merino might not be the most exciting arrival, but someone who can easily plug and play into Mikel Arteta's system. We also chat about some potential departures, what we need to see from Fabio Vieira this season, Ethan Nwaneri and how pre-season could be very important for him, and lots more, including some US tour chat


Follow Clive @clivepafc


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Arsenal Women Arsecast Episode 85: The Art of (Reporting) the Deal

On this episode of the Arsenal Women Arsecast Tim is joined by Tom Garry from the Guardian to talk about the process of transfer reporting. Tom talks about his many years breaking WSL transfer exclusives and explains how information gathering and reporting of transfers works, how it has developed in the women’s game over time and Tom and Tim swap some anecdotes about breaking different transfer stories.


You can follow Tom on Twitter @tomjgarry and Tim @Stillmanator



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Episode 792: Make signings, play the kids

In this episode I'm joined by Lewis Ambrose to chat about last night's 4-1 friendly win over Bayer Leverkusen. We analyse the very familiar looking team line-up in the context of Mikel Arteta's comments about needing more from the players we have, leading to discussion of Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz among others. There's also some focus on young players like Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri after they impress again, but how do you find the balance between their integration and further additions to the squad? There's some transfer discussion, Arteta's pickpocketing high jinx, and a goodbye from an old (angry) friend.


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Arsenal Women Arsecast 86: Rosa Kafaji signs

In this episode of the Arsenal Women Arsecast, Tim talks to Swedish journalist Amanda Zaza about new signing Rosa Kafaji from Hacken. Amanda talks about the type of player she is, her rise to prominence in Sweden and in the Swedish national team, her best position and why her attributes and her personality will be well suited to helping to solve Arsenal’s issues against deep blocks.


You can follow Tim @Stillmanator


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Arsenal Women Arsecast 87: August Mailbag

In this episode of the Arsenal Women Arsecast, Tim and Jamie Spangher to discuss the signing of Rosa Kafaji and the departure of Cloe Lacasse. Then Tim and Jamie answer listener questions on how the midfield will look next season and whether changes are afoot there, the future of Kathrine Kuhl, a big season ahead for Kyra Cooney-Cross, where Arsenal most need reinforcements and whether the women’s team should have its own away kit every year.


You can follow Tim @Stillmanator and Jamie @jamiespangher


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Arsenal Women Arsecast 88: Behind the Scenes on Arsenal Women’s tour of DC

In this episode of the Arsenal Women Arsecast, Tim is joined by ESPN’s Emily Keogh to compare notes on Arsenal Women’s tour of Washington DC. Emily and Tim were the only two UK based journalists to travel and they compare notes on the tour, the commercial and media benefits of it and Emily talks a little about interviews she conducted with Jonas Eidevall and Clare Wheatley in DC.


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Arsenal Women Arsecast 89: UWCL qualifying recap

In this edition of the Arsenal Women Arsecast, Tim and Jamie go back over the UWCL qualifying victories over Rangers and Rosenborg last week, the performances of Mariona Caldentey, as well as Laia Codina and Kyra Cooney-Cross and whether it will be difficult to dislodge them from the team, Tim and Jamie also look ahead to the next qualifying round against Hacken. Then there are listener questions about low defensive blocks and Arsenal’s finishing, team selection and whether Arsenal will add before Friday’s WSL transfer deadline.


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Episode 797 - Arteta signs + Black Arsenal

In this episode I'm joined by Sam Dean to talk about Mikel Arteta signing a new contract, with discussion of the timing of the announcement, and what this next

cycle will demand of the Arsenal boss. Then we turn our attention to the injury-filled Interlull, paying close attention to the Martin Odegaard injury, and trying to figure out what Arteta is going to do without his captain – a player who is fundamental to the way the Gunners play.


Then, I catch up with Tayo Popoola, a contributor to the new book Black Arsenal by Clive Chijioke Nwonka and Matthew Harle. We chat about the significance of this publication, before Tayo catches up with Femi Koleoso - Drummer from Ezra Collective; Eddie Otchere - Photographer; and Amy Lawrence to go more in depth on the book and its themes.


Music – "Don Gargan Talk” by SPMC : “Cry Tuff Dub” by Tayo


Black Arsenal is available in all good bookshops now – please consider ordering from your local independent bookstore, rather than giving any tax-dodging corporation money they don't need.


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Arsenal Women Arsecast 90: Arsenal 2-2 Man City

In this episode of the Arsenal Women Arsecast and the first in our new format. Tim and Jamie break down the starting line-up, the tactical approach and the big moments and incidents in Arsenal’s 2-2 draw against Manchester City at the Emirates. In the second half, there are listener questions on Arsenal’s wayward finishing and whether it is a long term concern, how much is profligacy a coaching issue v a personnel issue, the midfield setup, Kafaji on the wing and how much the game plan v City was a one off versus how things might look longer term.


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Arsenal Women Arsecast 91: Leicester 0-1 Arsenal

In this episode of the Arsenal Women Arsecast, Tim and Jamie talk about Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Leicester at the King Power. Tim and Jamie discuss a rotated starting line-up, how much the packed early season schedule contributed to a leggy performance, whether the game can be taken in isolation or whether concerns about the attack in particular persist and the performances of Daphne van Domselaar, Alessia Russo, the midfield partnership of Lia Walti and Kyra Cooney-Cross, defensive injuries and a lack of creativity without Mariona and Kafaji starting the game.


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Episode 800 - Solidity and variety

In this episode I'm joined by Phil Costa to look back at Arsenal's 2-0 win over PSG in the Champions League. We discuss the many ways in which Mikel Arteta's team can play, including shifts within games, evidenced by excellent first half pressing and then shifting to a more defensive approach in the second half. We chat about the contributions of Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz, how Bukayo Saka combines incredible output with superb defensive work, the contributions of full-backs Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori, holding PSG at arm's length as a way of measuring our development, and lots more.


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Arsenal Women Arsecast 92: Arsenal 0-0 Everton

In this episode of the Arsenal Women Arsecast, Tim and Jamie talk about Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Leicester at the King Power. Tim and Jamie discuss a rotated starting line-up, how much the packed early season schedule contributed to a leggy performance, whether the game can be taken in isolation or whether concerns about the attack in particular persist and the performances of Daphne van Domselaar, Alessia Russo, the midfield partnership of Lia Walti and Kyra Cooney-Cross, defensive injuries and a lack of creativity without Mariona and Kafaji starting the game.


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Episode 801 - Law-ball

In this episode I'm joined by Philippe Auclair to discuss how much that surrounds the game of football is taking place in the courtroom. We begin by chatting about Man City's legal challenge to the Premier League's associated party transaction rules, and how it was reported in sections of the media, before moving onto the case involving Lasana Diarra and what it might mean for the transfer market going forward. Then we talk about how top footballers are talking more openly about the demands placed on them and the possibility of a strike at some point, FIFA's ghastly Club World Cup idea, as well as some Arsenal chat as we reflect on the season to date.


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Arsenal Women Arsecast 93: Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea

In this episode of the Arsenal Women Arsecast Tim and Jamie pore over the 2-1 defeat to Chelsea on Saturday and try to dissect how to separate this result and performance from the wider funk that Arsenal seem to be in. Did Arsenal just 'get varianced'? And is it possible to separate that from the wider malaise? Tim and Jamie talk about the defending on the goals conceded and whether a lack of confidence in attack had an impact on the result with more than one proven player low on confidence. In the second half, Tim and Jamie deal with listener questions on Rosa Kafaji and the lack of integration for young players, on Clare Wheatley's role and whether more communication from 'upstairs' is needed at the club and on the delicate balance between rotation and trying and failing to find partnerships that work.


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Arsenal Women Arsecast 94: Jonas Eidevall resigns

In this emergency episode of the Arsenal Women Arsecast, Tim and Jamie run the rule over the resignation of Jonas Eidevall as the Head Coach of Arsenal Women. Tim talks a little bit about how Arseblog News became aware of and were able to (just about) break the story on Tuesday morning. Then Tim and Jamie analyse where things went wrong, how the situation took a serious turn in the last week, why it didn't quite click the way the club and Jonas wanted it to and looked ahead to how Arsenal might succession plan for his departure. Tim and Jamie then each share one high point from Eidevall's reign.

 

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Episode 802 - A goal and a cuddle

In this episode I'm joined by Alex Moneypenny from The Different Knock to chat about the international break, and concerns over the fitness of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli. There's more discussion of the Brazilian and his role, a chat about Gabriel Jesus and what we can get out of him this season, how full backs like Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori offer tactical variety, Mikel Merino, how the Interlulls prevent early-season rhythm and lots more.


Find The Different Knock on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DiffKnock


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Arsenal Women Arsecast 95: West Ham 0 Arsenal 2

In this episode of the Arsenal Women Arsecast, Tim and Jamie comb through the 2-0 victory at West Ham. Tim and Jamie look at Arsenal's tactical approach and selection and some of the issues with chance creation rearing their head again, question how much has changed and how much change we could expect from Renee Slegers' interim charge and look at the impact of the quadruple substitution early in the second half. In the second half, Tim and Jamie take your questions on the midfield, whether Kafaji should have an increased role now, Steph Catley at centre-back, the goalkeeper situation, whether Arsenal need a 'clean break' with a new manager ASAP and then Tim and Jamie consider Manu Zinsberger's recent LinkedIn post and consider the lines between criticism and abuse.


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Arsenal Women Arsecast 96: Man Utd 1 Arsenal 1

On this episode of the Arsenal Women Arsecast, Tim and Jamie discuss the frustrating 1-1 draw with Manchester United. Tim and Jamie comb over the performance, the encouraging display of Alessia Russo but the irritation at again seeing Arsenal struggle to convert dominance into goals and ask whether there are any green shoots here. They also discuss Arsenal's lack of aerial prowess in defence and whether it can be fixed by any other means than the transfer market. As ever, in part 2 Tim and Jamie take listener questions on the attacking issues, whether the Russo / Stina split works, the relationship between the attackers, the lack of goal celebrations and the new manager search.


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Arsenal Women Arsecast 96: Arsenal 5 Brighton 0

In this episode of the Arsenal Women Arsecast, Tim and Jamie dissect the 5-0 win over Brighton at Emirates Stadium on Friday evening. Tim and Jamie consider how far this was a vintage Arsenal performance and a bad Brighton one, whether trademark goals from Mead, Foord, Maanum and Hurtig suggest that Arsenal are back in the swing of things attacking wise and they consider Renee Slegers' willingness to make early substitutions. In the second half, they take listener questions on the new manager search, the decision to switch the Bayern Munich UWCL game away from the Emirates, the future of the midfield and a team featuring players who were largely signed several years ago.

 

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The Council is Meeting to Discuss You

(Image credit: catcurio)

There exists a delightful subreddit called Council of Cats. This is where you'll find groups of cats having important discussions of matters both urgent and mundane. I have four cats, and I find it difficult to get all of them in one picture if they aren't asleep, so seeing many cats getting along is really nice. You can often guess what they are discussing at their council meeting, or they might be enjoying some group activity like birdwatching or annoying their human. They often get together to make demands on your time, or in other words, they gang up to get what they want.  

(Image source: reddit)

But there are also pictures that show cats just like each other's company. Bored Panda has collected 50 of the most amusing photographs from Council of Cats to give us a taste of a cat colony's strength in numbers, presented in a ranked list for your amusement.




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Happy Birthday, Harrison Ruffin Tyler!

November 9 is the 96th birthday of Harrison Ruffin Tyler, a retired chemical engineer and a historical preservationist who lives in Virginia. His claim to fame is that he is the grandson of U.S. President John Tyler, our tenth president who served in office from 1841 to 1845. That's like, 180 years ago. How is that possible?

President Tyler fathered 15 children. The thirteenth was Lyon Gardiner Tyler, born in 1853, when the former president was 63 years old. Lyon Gardiner Tyler had six children, the fifth being Harrison Ruffin Tyler, who was born in 1928 when his father was 75 years old. Therefore, a president who was born 234 years ago has a living grandchild today. 

Harrison Ruffin Tyler is also a descendant of Pocahontas and several other prominent figures from both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. Happy Birthday, Mr. Tyler. -via Boing Boing

(Portrait of President Tyler from Wikimedia Commons)




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VISOVASO Ceramic Vase by Jimmy Lanza

Here's a vase that's sure to be a conversation piece for your next family gathering. Just put it at the center of the dinner table, and make sure that the face is pointing towards the person you love the most. Or the least. We're not sure.

Check out VisoVaso, handmade ceramic vase by Italian artist Jimmy Lanza over at his Instagram page.




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The Nutty Narrows Bridge Puts Washington State Squirrels on the Map

You've certainly heard of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, but have you heard of the Nutty Narrows Bridge? Futility Closet introduces us to this bridge that was built in 1963 in Longview, Washington.

Workers in an office building near the R. A. Long Park noticed a number of squirrels that were killed crossing the street from the park to an area with abundant nut trees. They proposed that the city build a bridge for them. Two local architects and an engineer designed the bridge, and it was built by contractor Amos Peters. He built the bridge with recycled aluminum piping and a recycled fire hose, for a total cost of a thousand dollars. The bridge is 60 feet long and 22 feet high over the street. A city councilwoman named it the Nutty Narrows Bridge. The bridge has since been removed and repaired several times, and the location has been changed slightly a couple of times. The squirrels love it and use it regularly. The tourist attraction is known as "the world's narrowest bridge," and inspired the city to launch their annual Squirrel Fest in 2011. The bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. -via Nag on the Lake  

(Image credit: SounderBruce)




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A Surprise from the Classroom Bunny

Breanna Teel is a high school science teacher who keeps things like fish and eels in her classroom. She did not foresee becoming a rabbit rescuer. A student brought a rabbit to school not knowing she was pregnant. While there, the rabbit gave birth to two bright pink baby bunnies, but didn't feed them, so Teel went into overdrive to save the newborns. She would have done so under any other circumstances, but when your students are following along, you go the extra mile to set a good example. I can imagine that no one in the classroom has ever seen newborn rabbits. I certainly haven't.

Teel's efforts paid off when the babies began to grow and flourish. They appear to be some odd breed of show rabbits that resemble large powder puffs with wiggly noses. Are they tribbles? At any rate, they've become a permanent part of the classroom into which they were born.    




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Would You Let Your Child Ride in a Classic Car?

Car manufacturers have made great strides in automobile safety in the last few decades. When I was a child, my family drove everywhere in a Volkswagen Beetle or a Microbus that didn't have seatbelts. Nor did they have crumple zones, antilock brakes, or airbags. Riding in the bed of a pickup truck was a regular experience. Fifty years later, my oldest child wanted to get a classic Beetle, but was dissuaded when my brother called them "death traps." Now she has children, and purchased an SUV the size of a tank to keep the kids safe.

The newer a car is, the safer it will be, but when does that become overkill? We know large SUVs are safer for the occupants, yet more dangerous for others around them. We also know that accidents can happen anywhere, but deadly accidents are more likely at high speeds on highways than a short trip to school. And we know that children learn situational awareness and how to test their limits and manage their fears by being in slightly unsafe situations, such as old-fashioned playgrounds. Today, we have young adults who are terrified at the idea of learning to drive.

Jason Torchinsky at Autopian asked reader's opinions on letting their child ride in a classic car such as the original Volkswagen Beetle, and got plenty of replies about how much automotive safety is enough, from farm kids who drove tractors at a young age to ultimate safety advocates. The best comment: "Being unsafe in a car was how I got kids in the first place."




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Scientific Replication is Harder Than YouThink -and Can Be Hilarious

Science experiments are not considered completely valid unless they can be replicated. Replicating an experiment is pretty much impossible unless you've been steeped in the various factors of scientific theory. And even if you are thoroughly trained in those factors, it's easy to lose track when you're doing a casual experiment at home. That goes double when your aim is to debunk something that you find obviously wrong.

Sage the Bad Naturalist jumped into such a debunking experiment with both feet, and then got entangled in them. She spent an entire year trying to replicate a dubious TikTok, which turned into an embarrassing adventure in how not to do science. But negative results are still results, and the goal of science is always to learn something. She bravely admits all the things she did wrong, because scientists have to have humility to be accepted. What's funniest is how many things went wrong, and how they all piled up to the end. What she ended up with is an amusing and rather charming video on the dangers of throwing your heart (and time) into debunking something you saw on the internet. -via Metafilter




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Michelangelo Depicting Breast Cancer

Nightis a sculpture on the tomb of Giuliano de Medici, the Duke of Urbino, in the city of Florence. Michelangelo carved it between 1526 and 1531 and composed these lines to place in the mouth of this personification of the night:

Precious is sleep, better to be of stone,
while the oppression and the shame still last;
not seeing and not hearing, I am blest;
so do not wake me, hush! keep your voice down

In a 2000 letter to the New England Journal of Medicine, James J. Stark and Jonathan Katz Nelson argue that the model that Michelanglo used likely had advanced breast cancer. Her left breast has lumps indicative of a tumor in the nipple or the lymphatics beneath the nipple. As these shapes are not present in the other female breasts that Michelanglo composed, it's likely that this shape reflects, tragically, the model herself.

-via TYWKIWDBI




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What You Should Know About Baking the Perfect Cheesecake

This is the time of year we think about overindulging on rich and elaborate foods. We also open our doors to family and friends to celebrate winter holidays. That's why you've always wanted to impress them with a delicious home made cheese cake. There are plenty of classic recipes on the internet that involve cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and flavoring, but the process is rather delicate. If you've tried before and had a less-then-perfect result, The Takeout will troubleshoot for you with the 12 most common mistakes in baking cheesecake. If you've never made a cheesecake before, so many possible mistakes may intimidate you. Relax, I've made cheesecake a few times and it's not as difficult as you might be led to believe. Even when it isn't perfect, it's still cheesecake, and that's a wonderful thing.

But if you have perfected the art of baking a cheesecake, you might want to take it up a notch and make Japanese cheesecake, which is the light and airy soufflé version. The Takeout has you covered with instructions for that, too. Now you'll be ready to really impress your holiday guests.   

(Image credit: Alice Wiegand)




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Mario Visits the Overlook Hotel

There's no doubt that Mario is king of the video game universe. His many adventures take him to strange places, the latest of which is the Overlook Hotel from the 1980 Stanley Kubrick movie The Shining. This isn't just another castle; it's the setting for weird and creepy hallucinations brought on by isolation. The tricycle is there, as are the twins, the blood flood, and room 237's bathroom. How many other callbacks from The Shining can you spot? There are a lot crammed into this 90-second video, so you'll have to watch this CGI mashup from Mark Cannataro Films more than once to catch all the references. Other characters from the Mario universe take on familiar and frightening roles roles from the horror film, some of them infinitely appropriate; others absurdly contrary. All in all, it's an absurd mashup that is sure to give you a smile. -via Geeks Are Sexy




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The <i>S.S. Relief</i>--A Floating Outhouse in California

Altas Obscura tells us about the S.S. Relief--the formal name for an outhouse that floats in Lake Casitas near Ventura, California. The artificial lake is an important water reservoir for the thirsty people of southern California, so the Casitas Municipal Water District takes its cleanliness very seriously.

The lake is popular among boaters and fishermen. After a few hours out on the water, people need to relieve themselves. They can then paddle up to the S.S. Relief, which is a 2-seater outhouse that floats on the surface of the water. The waste is contained on the barge, so there's no contamination of the lake's purity.




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How Harlan Ellison Claimed <i>The Terminator</i>

Prolific science fiction author Harlan Ellison wrote two episodes of the TV series The Outer Limits, "Soldier" and "Demon with a Glass Head." They both ran during the show's second season in 1964. In 1984, Ellison heard that James Cameron was working on a film that seemed quite similar to the plot of "Soldier," which you can watch in full. Hemdale Productions wouldn't let him see the script. When he saw The Terminator, Ellison was ready to sue.

The lawsuit never came about, because Hemdale Productions settled the case, for money, screen credit in subsequent releases of the film, and a gag order. To this day, people argue over whether The Terminator was at all plagiarized and if so, how much. Read what Ellison had to say about the case at the time and the reaction from James Cameron at Den of Geek. You've probably already seen The Terminator, and it's up to you to watch The Outer Limits episode if you want to form your own opinion.  




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Doc is Caught in a Time Loop of His Own Making

If you had a real working time machine, the temptation to use it as much as you could would be overwhelming, even when it doesn't make sense. Would you get stuck on trying to make everything perfect, just for the excuse to go back and forth? Doc's become a little obsessed, to the point where you might want to take his keys away and make him remain in one timeline for a while. Why make the 1985 Marty always save the day when you could just ask 2015 Marty to do the same? Or maybe even take care of the problem yourself. Maybe this is why Doc eventually decided to stay in the 19th century in the third film. No, right, that was for love. Studio C did a good job of recreating the characters of Back to the Future 2 in order to explore the absurdities of what that kind of power can do to someone.




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Cats Are Masters of Camouflage

(Image source: daddyisproudofme

Cats, like most animals, have developed camouflage appearances so that they blend into the background in their natural habitat. But they can also blend into the background in manmade spaces, like the kitchen cabinets, so they can hide and spy on their humans. Have you found the cat in the image above yet? It took me an embarrassing amount of time to see it, but now I can't un-see it. But that's just the beginning. In the picture below, you can easily see three cats. But there are four.

(Image credit: No_Internal9345)

The subreddit Find the Sniper is full of these kinds of puzzles -and they're not all cats. Bored Panda selected 30 very hard ones for a ranked list that may drive you insane. I believe finding the owl was the hardest. There are answers in the comments, but if you want to find the hidden thing on your own, you can click the credit under each photo and go the the original reddit post, where you can enlarge the picture greatly. If you try more than a couple, it will suck up hours of your time.   




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Why The Blog?

Why the Blog?

Because there’s some great cultural events happening around the Queen City and I wanted to make it easier for folks to discover them. My hope is this collection of selected current events exemplifies the best view of a dynamic city whose cultural boundaries continue to expand.
Read on for some Charlotte offerings that caught my eye. Enjoy!

Please note:
This list is very subjective. Information was gathered from public sources and should be verified with the venue or organizer.




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Untitled






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Key to Life FAIL










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Oh My of the Day: George Takei Has Perfect Response For Facebook Troll

George Takei really sucks—and he's proud of it!

The Star Trek legend and Internet darling had the prefect response this week for a Facebook troll trying to bring him down.

He shared a screenshot of the exchange with the caption: "Sorry, couldn't help myself.‪ #‎Trollololollol‬"

BOOM!

Takei is known for his epic Internet takedowns, so mark this one down as another win for Sulu.




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What About Winterfell?! of the Day





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Girl Texts Guy Insult in an Attempt to Flirt, and Ends up Getting Stonewalled after Some Serious Awkwardness

It all starts with the anything-but-smooth introduction...