Neal Stephenson explores the fascinating science behind bullwhips. Bullwhips relate to a medical mystery in post World War II Germany, where multiple men went to doctors reporting “floaters” in their eyes that turned out to be nearly microscopic copper filament. P
I don’t get why a person would want to buy an AI recording gadget, for $179. Why not just use your phone?
Now you can read an excerpt of from “Winds of Wycaro," the book-within-a-TV-series whose author, Carol Sturka, is the main character of “Plur1bus.” “She would know that voice anywhere. As smooth as wyld bourbon and deep as the Robrionian Trench.”
Mitchellaneous CLXXXVII. Mitchellaneous's triumphant return! Fifteen things I found on the Internet
Five days ago, I mentioned here that I would stop posting memes, vintage photos, and other Internet found media here. But then I got a nice note from a friend who follows this blog, thanking me for the words and images. And I said to myself, oh, what the heck, why not just resume posting all that stuff here. So that’s what I am doing.
1930 Bathroom.
For that hard-to-shop-for serial killer.
"The torture was never ending"
Here’s where you can watch the censored “60 Minutes” report about CECOT, the brutal El Salvadoran prison where the United States is sending migrants to be tortured and abused. Trump supporter Bari Weiss, who now heads CBS News, killed the report, even though it had been approved by strict editorial and legal review. However, the report aired in Canada, and is now all over the Internet.
“There’s a sort of pride around the poor conditions, and around the suffering.”
“It’s the year 2025 and Americans have to watch a bootlegged international version of a news program because it was censored here in our country to protect a criminal president.” — @jojofromjerz
J. D. Vance Fails a Simple Moral Test. The vice president welcomes anti-Semites into the Republican coalition.
Dozens of Flock AI camera feeds were just out there
Anyone with links to the livestreams could view them — no credentials required, as reported by 404 Media.
“I watched a man leave his house in the morning in New York…. watched a woman jogging alone on a forest trail in Georgia. This trail had multiple cameras, and I could watch a man rollerblade and then take a break to watch rollerblading videos on his phone. How? Because the camera’s AI automatically zoomed in on it — just like it zoomed in on a couple arguing at a street market in Atlanta.”
Jewish Christmas
On reddit.com/r/Judaism, I asked what folks are doing for Christmas, and the thread is interesting
I’ve converted my shikse wife to the all-American Jewish tradition of going out for Chinese food. But the restaurant has been packed the past few years. I’m sure they’re not all Jews — the goyim must be catching on.
The big podcast shift to video
I love podcasts. I listen to about two hours of podcasts a day. Most of that is while walking the dog, and I add a few more minutes while driving (which I don’t do a lot of — just a couple of short hops a week) and doing chores.
I’ve been hearing over the past few weeks that podcasts are moving to video and YouTube. It seems alien and unnatural to me. Podcasting is, to me, a listening medium. I guess people have it on as video wallpaper in the background when they do things around the house, or in some kinds of jobs at work, the way stereotypical housewives used to do with daytime TV.
So many of my interests are and always have been niche interests. Science fiction. Books. Blogging. Maybe now audio podcasts are joining that list.
I listened to some Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner 2000-Year-Old Man routines this morning and now I’m going to be talking in a Mel Brooks Old Jewish Man voice the rest of the day.
“On December 24, 2025, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, will celebrate seventy years of tracking Santa’s sleigh.” – Heather Cox Richardson
Mitchellaneous moratorium
I’ve decided to take a break from posting memes, historical photos and other found images on mitchwagner.com and in Mitch’s newsletter. You can find them on mitchipedia.tumblr.com and @mitch@hachyderm.io and mitchwagner.bsky.social and facebook.com/mitch.wagner.
Mitchellaneous CLXXXVI. Twelve things I saw on the Internet
Moments from the Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour
19-1/2. I think I stretched out on a waterbed for a few minutes to try it out, but did not sleep or engage in carnal activities. Or maybe I did do both of those things (with a partner, wiseass), but the experience was so ordinary, despite a lot of hype that waterbeds were getting at that time, that I’ve forgotten it.
The Aérotrain a streamlined train manufactured by General Motors Electro-Motive Division in 1950.
Here’s something I saw while I was walking the dog: This fairy village, which we pass by every few days. They’ve arranged it nicely since the last time I stopped to take a close look.
They Get Wheeled on Flights and Miraculously Walk Off. Praise ‘Jetway Jesus.’
Natasha Dangoor at The Wall Street Jourrnal:
When Carlos Gomez’s recent flight from Guadalajara was delayed, he asked a gate attendant why. It wasn’t weather or crew shortages. There were 25 wheelchair passengers holding up boarding.
There were no such delays when Gomez’s flight landed. Most of the same passengers stood up without assistance and bounded off toward the baggage claim.
Social media has credited a divine intervention for this sudden return to mobility. An enigmatic “Jetway Jesus” is curing these passengers by the time they land, and the remarkable recovery acts have been dubbed “miracle flights.”
This year I traveled with someone who legitimately used a cane to walk, and it occurred to me that if I simply carried a foldable cane with me in my travel kit, I could get VIP treatment. But I only gave it a second’s thought and decided that would be a terrible idea, because I am not a psycho.