Friday Fun
Okay, so before we all kill our spouses and sell our children as lawn ornaments, there’s so much fun to do on the Internet.
Need to make your own facemask? Here ya go.
The coolest story time for kids read by semi-famous people. Click right here.
Places I go at least once a week: Reddit Artifact Porn, Reddit Ask Historians, Reddit Room Porn, Mostly, Reddit is junk but there is some fun stuff. Don’t read the comments.
And the most fun with pictures: NASA
Okay, start adding your own!
https://mailchi.mp/archipelagobooks/this-september-ambai-and-scholastique-mukasonga-232669?e=4501181965
30 Free e-books for a limited time. These are not books familiar to many of us but if ever there was a time to stretch our brains a bit this is it.
1Been traveling to http://yikes101.blogspot.com/ since 2016. There are pages of archived cartoons, if a historical perspective will entertain you.
And here: https://field-negro.blogspot.com/
And https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live
2The Republicans are now saying “we are at war, we should be in this together it is wrong to criticize Trump”. Of course, it is still right to criticize any Democrat.
3NASA’s “Astronomy Picture of Day” archive. Take it from an ex-astrophysicist, these are great photos, and some are truly astonishing.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
4Here’s another face mask pattern with a video. Mentioned on MSNBC.
How to make a Face Mask:
5https://www.deaconess.com/How-to-make-a-Face-Mask
New York Public Library made over 187K digital items in the public domain available for high resolution download. This is one of many experiments by the NYPL Labs to help patrons understand and explore what was contained in that release.
6Vast collection of images, prints, stereoscopic views, menus, advertising, architecture, prints, etchings etc.
http://publicdomain.nypl.org/pd-visualization/
WLOQ – Orlando’s Smooth Jazz Station
Also: The Standard – timeless Standards
Vinyl Jazz – Iconic Jazz from Original Vinyl
lhttps://www.iheart.com/live/wloq-5157/
7Lets try that link again (:–{p>
https://www.iheart.com/live/wloq-5157/
8Reddit threads r/mademesmile and r/eyebleach for just happy thoughts. There is a reddit subthread for almost every hobby under the sun – as mentioned above, stay out of the comments. Check your local library website – ours is providing temporary cards to access the vast resources from audiobooks to comic strips and movies online for locals who arent members.
9https://librivox.org/
10Free audiobooks of publications in the public domain. There’s a wide variety of topics — classic novels, theology, science, science fiction, biographies, historical works, etc.
House cleaning or making a general ruckus:
https://www.iheart.com/artist/martha-the-vandellas-41287/
11I was gardening until the rain chased me in (real rain, now accompanied by lightning. I don’t do lightning) and of course came here. BBC has some great pictures too, plus other neat stuff from all over the world. If you can mirror to the big screen, a lot of it is stuff that would be good for kids too, nature and history, space, etc. The News is just a shade scary now.
12The history blog :
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/
Heritage daily (NOT affiliated with The Heritage Foundation)
13https://www.heritagedaily.com/
If watching politicians squirm is a sport, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog scores every time out. HuffPo collected links to a number of Triumph’s greatest hits: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/triumph-insult-comic-dog-lindsey-graham_n_5e395075c5b6ed0033ac51e2
Karma says the only mic that should be allowed in front of IQ .000045 is one held by Triumph.
14http://folioolio.blogspot.com/ Ralph Henry is an Artist, Educator, Militant anti-theist and Writer. His blog is often irreverent and is the second thing I check after Juanita Jeans. He usually post a picture at the end of his blog that are not for kids. He is in South Carolina and posts at midnight Eastern time.
15All personal grooming places are shut down in NY.
Dear God.
16Is my husband going to have to cut my hair???
Here’s another face mask pattern. https://freesewing.org/blog/facemask-frenzy/
17I went and looked at “The coolest storytime for kids read by semi-famous people“, there are many real famous people on that list!
18Here in Alaska, we already know how to make a face mask: duct tape.
19Some good news.
20Despite the best efforts of the DCCC, bustos et.al. Lipinski lost the primary. Anti choice bigot despoiling the label of the D’s can no longer dump his manure upon the party while claiming protection from those nasty progressives.
Now if pelosi, the dccc and bustos hadn’t gone all out to protect lipinski’s brother in destruction cuellar he to might have become just another passing nightmare in the rear view mirror.
Chicago Aquarium let the Penguins loose to wander through and look at all the other exhibits of fish tanks.
21K — I’m not sure the fish appreciate that.
22Some of the tanks had sharks swimming in same tank as other species so I would think Penguins on other side of glass would be the least of their concerns.
23After all the ‘human’ faces passing their tanks, no doubt the fish are happy to see the penguins, a known species.
24No Waiting…
Woman gives birth in toilet paper aisle of Walmart as customers cheer
https://triblive.com/news/world/woman-gives-birth-in-toilet-paper-aisle-of-walmart-as-customers-cheer/
25I have been scrolling down Reddit Artifact Porn for what seems like hours. Is there no end? (Fascinating though)
26A Minnesota restaurant is giving away a roll of toilet paper with a takeout order of $25 or more:
https://mockpaperscissors.com/2020/03/20/news-you-can-use-all-day/
27When I need a smile I like to turn on the Tater Boys with Abby the Spoon Lady
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ufWmvdaTbs&list=RDvASD7kkGdqs&index=16
Bet you weren’t expecting that.
28Search for zoo cams, multiple zoos to choose from. Most operate during their daylight hours.
Nearly all museums closed so Please! check their websites for the great videos, virtual exhibit tours, streaming, online collections object databases that they’re doing right now. (shameless plug for my employer, Houston Museum of Natural Science on youtube)
Cultural art fans, Metropolitan Opera is streaming their productions for free! this week. And so many dance and music videos on multiple platforms it’s all too easy to go blissfully down a rabbit hole. Check the Alley Theatre website for their upcoming streaming of 1984, that one’s not free though.
And there’s always Randy Rainbow!
29Take part in some citizen science. My two favorites:
30http://www.iseechange.org is simple- take a photo (or just write) and describe what’s around you.
http://www.globeatnight.org is looking for people to go out and look at the stars and report what you see.
@Diane, #16:
My eldest sister informed us that in 16 days, we’ll know everybody’s true colors…
31Thoughts of dog Twitter feed is delightful.
Drawing or coloring can be relaxing.
Yes for zoo and aquarium live cams. The one where I live and volunteer is at aquarium.org. You can see seabirds, the sharks, and sea otters. Oh, and schools of fish do fine in with the sharks, which are fed 3x per week in our aquarium (in the wild they will sometimes eat only once per week) so are not hungry and do not snack on the little fish. There are interesting articles on the website as well. Of course it’s closed for now, just the keepers and other essential staff are around to care for the animals and property. I’m sad not to be able to see my favorite critters. Thankfully I’ve got my dog, and husband. 😉
32I made 7 facemasks yesterday. I have read having 2 layers is better than one. And to use tightly woven fabric, like cotton.
And for your viewing pleasure, drunk elephants:
https://www.livescience.com/drunk-elephants-china.html
33COVID cases are appearing in Texas hospitals, but it hasn’t yet thrown things in disarray, it’s still pretty much business as usual. Having read the accounts of the Italian heathcare system fighting to keep its head above water, I have such admiration for the calm courage of our hospital workforce, keeping it professional and upbeat and hopeful, as the sounds of enemy artillery can now be heard in the distance. Nobody ever got rich betting on Americans’ willingness to sacrifice their comfort and luxury, so I can imagine society giving up on staying home and social distancing before long. But it will be a betrayal of our healthcare workers’ courage and self-denial, and a positive harm to their effectiveness. Hang in there folks, your doctors and nurses need your help.
34McSweeney’s has some funny coronavirus stuff (yes, it is possible). This was my favorite:
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/famous-lines-of-poetry-revised-for-the-age-of-coronavirus
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