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The Parasite Fighters "The idea of using an aircraft to launch another aircraft has been around since at least the First World War. Such "composite" aircraft became nothing particularly unusual, with experimental aircraft like the Bell X-1 and drones being launched off carrier aircraft platforms on a routine basis. However, the notion of actually launching and then recovering an aircraft in mid-air -- for example, a heavy bomber carrying its own "parasite" fighters for escort -- was more ambitious, and in fact nobody's ever really made a go of it, if not for lack of effort." Including a mid-70's idea of using a heavily modified 747 for midflight launch and recovery of 17.5 foot wide and 10000 lb "micro-fighters." [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 11:34 PM PST - 25 comments

While Aotearoa New Zealand is in Level Four lockdown, one man's efforts are multiplying. Gruff Harding lives in Dunedin. First, he had the boys over. Routine is important. So is music. Bathrobes. Meditation. Games. Gardening. Scones. Like all good blokes, in the shed. Hanging around the street. Planning session. Cafe scenes. THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE. Formal Friday. Jousting on the lawn. Chores.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 10:27 PM PST - 9 comments

Nirvana played ManRay in Cambridge 30 years ago tonight. Here’s video.
posted by jessamyn at 6:58 PM PST - 25 comments

Pope Simulator [YouTube][Game Trailer] “The game begins on Conclave day, when the College of Cardinals elects a new Pope—that's you. You'll begin your reign by choosing a coat of arms, which will apparently impact the course of your papacy, and from there you'll set out to influence the course of the world through the application of "soft power": Organizing pilgrimages, advocating for world peace, moderating conflicts, and otherwise strategically wielding the influence of the Vatican.” [via: PC Gamer]
posted by Fizz at 12:17 PM PST - 39 comments

Virtual choir of 1120 people sang an old, optimistic Finnish rock hit Pidä huolta (Take care). The lyrics tell us to take care of ourselves and others, take care of the environment, take care of our elderly, take care our young people (by not sending them to fight wars). People who have been helped later become the helpers. The original by Pave's Mistakes (1981). [more inside]
posted by severiina at 11:08 AM PST - 7 comments

ANGLING FOR THE JOURNALIST: Concoct a well thought-out story. TV news producers, writers and reporters are greatly under the influence of Hollywood. Hollywood is equally influenced by what appears in the news. Our culture is reflected in both of these forms of media. So it’s important to combine the necessary theatrical elements to attract them. In essence, give them what they want! The Well Cooked Journalist: A traditional Joey Skaggs recipe (PDF). From "Cathouse for Dogs" and "The Fat Squad" to "Portofess," "Baba Wa Simba," "Metamorphosis: Roach Cure," and "Solomon Project," and more recently, Trump's Kool-Aid Marathon, artist, activist, educator, and notorious media prankster Joey Skaggs is a master in the Art of the Prank [trailer; full documentary; his own write-up on the docu].
posted by filthy light thief at 10:17 AM PST - 1 comments

While social distancing, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down rehearsed for 5 hours before filming a synchronized Zoom video for their new song, Phenom.
posted by dobbs at 9:33 AM PST - 16 comments

In the Banter Blitz Cup - in which chess players have to talk the whole time about what they're thinking and feeling while playing rapid games - dominant world chess champion Magnus Carlsen has been defeated by 16-year-old Alireza Firouzja in a dramatic and entertaining final match.
posted by clawsoon at 9:13 AM PST - 25 comments

The New York Times called it “the most famous work of American art that almost nobody has ever seen in the flesh.” The artist who designed it said it was “the edge of the sun, a boiling curve, an explosion rising into a fiery prominence.” And the woman who financed it said it was “very primal, almost a kind of Luciferian sort of art. There’s something underworld about this particular spiral.” That piece of art is the “Spiral Jetty” — a swirling, 7,000-ton landmark off Rozel Point in northern Utah, built of salt crystal, mud and basalt rocks, that stretches more than 1,500 feet into the Great Salt Lake. And April 2020 marks its 50th anniversary. [more inside]
posted by inflatablekiwi at 8:14 AM PST - 18 comments

Samsung redesigned its TV boxes to be easily converted into cat houses.
posted by Literaryhero at 3:43 AM PST - 33 comments