This year’s average global temperature is almost certain to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial times – a milestone that should spur urgent action, say climate scientists

The climate impact of flights taken by the super-rich rose sharply from 2019 to 2023, fuelling calls for a carbon tax on private aviation

Genetic analysis of five individuals preserved as plaster casts in the ruins of Pompeii contradicts established beliefs about the people and their relationships

Allowing for moves that create quantum superpositions makes a quantum version of a Rubik’s cube incredibly complex, but not impossible to solve

Seven major datasets used to train audio-generating AI models are three times more likely to use the words "man" or "men" than "woman" or "women", raising fears of bias

Voyager 2 flew by Uranus in 1986, giving us our only up-close look at the planet – but unusual space weather just before the craft arrived has given us a misleading idea about the planet’s magnetic field

Campaigners are calling for stricter controls on rodenticides after finding that birds of prey in England are increasingly being exposed to high doses of rat poison

An AI-assisted robot can listen to spoken commands and assemble 3D objects such as chairs and tables out of reusable building blocks

An annual accounting of CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels and land use change finds no sign emissions will peak this year

Chain will still accept payments via JCB/American Express cards or other means

Also: The Great Queen Victoria Winner Ostwen Has Arrived! launches in English

David Wald claims Crunchyroll opened his private mail, threw away letters, gave away contents to staff

Hinata, Veldora, Milim join cast of game

Sequel of Morishita's Shōnen Ashibe manga launched in 2017

Namikawa appears as young Count Piast in 8th episode on Saturday

Matsuena launches Kichijōji Shōnen manga on December 12

Both anime screen N. American premieres at Anime Frontier on December 7

Manga by Yonemura, Fudeno Saki launches in English on January 29, 2025

Manga about sales representative who likes condom researcher Musubu-san launched in 2017

“My very first experience was in asking the cards about a novel I was writing at the time and it wasn’t going anywhere," says Chelsey Pippin Mizzi in an interview with Lauren Parker. “Up until that point, so much of my writing had been informed by visuals. And then suddenly there were these three pocket-sized pictures that were inviting me to consider creative ideas.” 

Continue reading “Tarot for Creativity” helps writers and artists get through creative blocks at The Wild Hunt.

"I really appreciated that instead of simply highlighting one queer aspect of history," writes Sprocket Wagner, "this zine emphasizes the encompassing nature of queerness throughout time: that it is everywhere and always has been."

Continue reading With anti-trans bigotry on the rise, “Dreaming of the Transcestors” is a necessary work at The Wild Hunt.

Archaeologists have uncovered more of the monumental Temple of Poseidon in Greece’s Peloponnese, revealing rare artifacts and unique architectural features that shed light on ancient religious practices .

Continue reading Temple of Poseidon at Samikon is larger than expected at The Wild Hunt.

In a new installment on computer history, [Bradford Morgan White] takes us through the sordid history of Cyrix, as this plucky little company created the best math co-processors (FasMath) and …read more

Once upon a time, computers didn’t really have enough resources to play back high-quality audio. It took too much RAM and too many CPU cycles and it was just altogether …read more

Sheltered under beckoning spires  Prismatic windows spin fire Onto cold stone Taking a pew, he sits alone.  Votives burn and flicker   Incense ghosts’ bicker A monstrance gleams  Nothing is what it seems.  Sacerdotalism misplaced  Prayers gone to waste  Hearing sermons unwritten Gospel footfalls unbidden.  Indelible markings,   Infinity’s shores harkening,  Gathered not in twos and threes […]

The post Thoughts In A Lyonnaise Church appeared first on Waiter Rant.

All science is social science, because the development of knowledge of the laws of nature take place within society, are subject to the limitations of resources produced by society, and in turn have an effect on society. As capitalism was clawing it’s bloody way toward world dominance, it brought with it a remarkable boom in … Continue reading All Science is Social Science

Among the most engaging passages in Trotsky’s History of the Russian Revolution are those dealing with the weeks and days leading up to the October insurrection,  when the Petrograd Soviet, under the leadership of the Bolsheviks, began pushing.  That is, they gradually took for the Soviet more and more power from the Provisional Government, waiting at … Continue reading Creeping Fascism

Let’s talk about art and commerce. To get the obvious stuff out of the way, first, I am using here a very broad definition of art, so we can simply skip the arguments about what is and isn’t art. Second, those of you who want to make Garfunkle jokes, or any of the other oh-so-original … Continue reading On Art and Commerce and Pseudo-Activism

Prologue       Chapter 1      Chapter 2      Chapter 3       Chapter 4 Chapter 5       Chapter 6      Chapter 7      Chapter 8       Chapter 9 Chapter 10    Chapter 11     Chapter 12     Chapter 13    Chapter 14 Chapter 15     Chapter 16     Chapter 17     … Continue reading Lyorn Discussion–Major Spoilers

In the late 60s and early 70s there was an epidemic of “everything I hate is fascism.”  We seem to be back to that again.  But there are differences, and they are important. We warned then, and it is worth repeating now, that we use a narrow and precise definition of fascism because it is … Continue reading On Fascism–Things Are Different Now

One thing ive found myself doing lately now that im sorta 'well fuck that twitter shit' is i am rambling on a LOT more when i type stuff. This can be viewed as a good or bad thing. Maybe for me it's not a bad thing. It's a bit like working in a 4 panel comic format. You can do a lot with a four panel setup, almost the first entire chapter of MT is all 4 panel. It has its own kinda pacing, setup, delivery, variables, etc. But there are things i can...

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Even though my kids are not yet on summer break and even though I, as an adult, do not have a thing called a summer break, I’ve apparently helped myself to one. I’m sneaking off to the beach on weekdays (oops), reading novels, gorging myself on cherries and crisp-from-the-market cucumbers, playing midday tennis like a lady who lunches, and getting vexed when I receive work-related emails and texts. [“Alex, why are they texting me on a Sunday?” “Deb, it’s Tuesday.”]

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Last summer, when my younger child joined my older child at sleepaway camp for a month for the first time, leaving us unmoored and a little restless, we made a list of restaurants we’d been meaning to try and friends we don’t see enough and took this task on like it was our job. I barely cooked once. By the end of the third week, everything hurt and we realized our template for a child-free life (going out late, cocktails on weeknights, and generally behaving despicably) was based on our age and energy level when we were last child-free, which (I’m sorry as this fact seems to upset you guys as much as it does his actual parents) was almost 15 years ago.

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Consider this the summer flip of one of my favorite recipes in my third cookbook, Smitten Kitchen Keepers — the apple butterscotch crisp.

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If you were to make a multi-part Venn diagram combining my favorite salad things, you could nestle this right in the center. It’s one part wedge salad, the fork and steak knife kind, something I am so into I talked my podcast co-host Kenji (okay, it wasn’t hard) into dedicating a whole episode to it. And it contains cabbage, and not just cabbage but Napa cabbage, which I think deserves more credit as a salad green. [This can be convenient to know as it often comes in heads large enough to feed a small family for a week.] Napa cabbage is a little leafy, a little crunchy, and yet kind of juicy too and I’ve used it, sliced thin, in everything from this Italian-style salad to a classic Caesar.
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Ever heard of Stanley Stinkbug? 

 Yeah, me neither. 

 Apparently he's a children's character who looks like this:

As far as anthropomorphic bugs go, I guess he's not TOO terrifying. I'd put him somewhere between Heimlich the caterpillar and Hopper the evil grasshopper: Not a bug you'd want to cuddle, exactly, but that probably wouldn't make you run screaming from the room, either. Plus the neckerchief is fun.

Anyhoo, of course - of course - bakers have been asked to make cake versions of Stanley, and of course some of those bakers have done so... poorly.

The good news is today's baker was only asked to do a flat illustration on a cupcake cake (patooie!), which is a running head start, right? No molding or sculpting, just a picture. Heck, they could even print one out!

So what do you think, did they make Stanley's eyes all wonky? Is his scarf the wrong color, is he missing some legs? Oh! I know! I bet... you just want me to just show you the cake, don't you.

 Fine.

 BEHOLD!

Actual footage of my reaction:

Also now this gif is blocking my view of the cake, so... BONUS.

Now, before I nope right out of here, I'd like to point out that the baker CLEARLY thought management wanted an actual stinkbug cake for the display case, but never thought to ask A) WHY DEAR LORD WHY, or B) why it was named Stanley. 

 I mean, c'mon, you get told to draw a random bug named Stanley, tell me you wouldn't add some glasses and a sweater vest. That's just common sense.

Also, is this the sort of bakery where random horrific requests are this common? Was the baker asked to make a "Tiffany Tapeworm" last week, so Mr. Stinkbug was par for the course?

::dares to scroll up briefly to see the cake again::

K, last question: Did the baker think putting the giant semi-realistic stinkbug on a bed of lettuce... was helping??

Aaaaand I'M OUT.

Thank you(?), Emily S. I do not approve.
*****

P.S. After my crack about cuddle-worthy bugs, naturally I had to go see if I could find some. And I gotta say, the ant? ADORABLE:

Plush Bugs
*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

Welcome, foolish mortals, to the Haunted Bakery. I am your host, your ghost host.

Hey, ghosts of tennis rackets make awesome servers.

Ahem.

Our tour begins here, in this grocery, where you see pictures of some of our residents in their corruptible, mortal display cases.

Pilgrim ogres...

Zitty zombies...

... and beatniks.

Your cadaverous pallor betrays an aura of foreboding, almost as though you sense a disquieting metamorphosis. 

Is Frank's nose actually shrinking?

Or is it just cold in here, hmm?

And consider this dismaying observation:

This is a cupcake cake.

Patooie!

Also it's supposed to be a BAT.

::bloodcurdling scream::

I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you prematurely. After all we have 999 happy bakers here — but there’s room for 1,000. So please...

Hairy baaa-aaack.

Thanks to Jodee R., Marianne S., Janet R., Lauren M., M. D., Jeannie W., Lauren E., Rae L., & Anony M. for having our backs. Or at least this guy's.
*****

P.S. Here's something for your own mansion with hot and cold running chills:

Haunted Mansion Shower Curtain

Aww yeeeeah.

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

I'm back with more Halloween goodies, spoops and ghouls! 

I didn't have anything too specific in mind for this week's theme, so I ended up with a boo-tiful mix of everything from Gothic Glam:

(Cake Effect Buffalo, New York)

... to bright pastel eye candy.

(Wonderfully Whitty Cakes, California)

I couldn't decide which of Whitney's cakes I liked best, so you get two:

(Wonderfully Whitty Cakes, California)

Ooooh. Those stripes are swoon-worthy.

Have you ever seen a little kid smile with a mouth full of Oreos?
This is kind of like that, only cuter:

(Backfeevi, Germany)

Hee!

I know I usually err on the adorable side of Halloween, so here's something more dark and dramatic: 

(AyşenButikPasta, Turkey)

This could almost be a wedding cake! And that dry-brushed gold detailing? Gorgeous.

Ahh, but now I bet you want to see an actual Halloween wedding cake.

So to quote the coffin lid as it slammed shut,

BAM:

(MakeLuvBlog)

Isn't this stunning? The wrought iron gate trim, the autumn flowers, the chocolate casket toppers! I love the light gray icing, too; less dye AND you can see all the details better.


Veering right back into Cute with this magical lil guy:

(That Baking Girl)

Batty Potter. Ermergersh. 

And of course we need more Pumpkin King and friends in here:

(Lovlie Cakes & Brookies Cookies Co.)

Digging the vintage illustration style on this one: 

(Saucy Bakes, Canada & Arizona)

The bright green and red makes it pop, and then that bottom piped border made me do a double-take; it looks just like real lace! Whaaaaat.

And finally, even more cheery pastels, since I can't get enough this season:

(Cake Happy, Virginia)

Is this not the happiest skull cake you've ever seen?? I guess Mickey ears really do make everything better. :D

I hope these made you a little happier, too, friends. Happy Sunday, and may your Halloween this year be extra extra Sweet.
*****
P.S. Speaking of happy skulls, I don't know who needs to hear this, but there is such a thing as rainbow skull spoons:

Stainless Steel Skull Spoons, set of 6

They also come in black or silver, for the more traditional/boring goths out there. :p

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot: