October 20
Better Than News
Hellraiser: Open Source is a 1987 British software horror film about a copylefted code base which summons the Cenobites, a group of extra-dimensional, sadomasochistic software developers who cannot differentiate licensed and unlicensed intellectual properties.
The Sorrows of Young Leonardo is a 2006 American mystery thriller film about a professor of religious symbology (Tom Hanks) who is the prime suspect in the Sturm und Drang period in German literature.
Days of Leveling is a 1978 American romantic fantasy adventure film written and directed by Terrence Malick, and starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard, and Linda Manz.
Rotary Phone Rescue Service is an international service organization which promotes rotary phone technology, and provides resources for combatting the scourge of Touch-Tone™ services.
"If Eiffel" is a song by the British rock group The Beatles about the Eiffel Tower.
The Emerald Mansion is an adventure-drama comedy romance film about an Amazonian jungle girl (Audrey Hepburn) who is adopted by a Beverly Hills couple (Powers Boothe and Meg Foster).
"One does not simply 'cold fuse' hydrogen atoms." (Boromir of Gondor on cold fusion.)
Beyond Plausible
When a Psyche Calls is a 1979 psychological self-discovery thriller film film.
Yeast of Eden is a 1955 American period drama film about a wayward young baker (James Dean) who, while seeking his own identity, vies for the yeast of his deeply religious father against his favored brother, thus retelling the story of Cain and Abel.
Twittergrades is a 2022 book about how Twitter's work policies stimulated the evolution of new species of tardigrades.
It's a Smash Smash Smash Smash Kart is a comedy video game starring Mario with an all-star cast of game characters in madcap pursuit of $350,000 in stolen cash.
In Other Words
The Treachery of Surrealists is a 2022 photograph of the René Magritte Memorial Pipeline.
Interception is an epic science fiction crime thriller film written and directed by Christopher Nolan.
"Odorious" is an exotic fruit dessert prepared and served by the catering rock band Durian Durian.
The Man with the Golden Bun is a 1974 spy cooking film about the Solex Agitator, a breakthrough technological solution to contemporary baking designed by assassin-chef Francisco Scaramanga, the "Man with the Golden Bun".
Are You Sure
• ... that mathematician and academic Andrey Kolmogorov made pioneering contributions to the mathematics of probability theory, topology, intuitionistic logic, turbulence, classical mechanics, algorithmic information theory, and computational complexity?
Selected Anniversaries
1631: Astronomer and mathematician Michael Maestlin dies. He was a mentor to Johannes Kepler, and played a sizable part in his adoption of the Copernican system.
1947: The House Un-American Activities Committee begins its investigation into Communist infiltration of the cinema of the United States, resulting in a blacklist that prevents some from working in the industry for years.
1947: Mathematician and Gnomon algorithm theorist Alice Beta publicly denounces the House Un-American Activities Committee as "an intolerable blight on free association, free speech, free thought, and freedom itself."
1955: Saruman House, a fortress commissioned by the corrupt wizard Saruman, opens for business as a conference center and secret lair.
1987: Mathematician and academic Andrey Kolmogorov dies. Kolmogorov made pioneering contributions to the mathematics of probability theory, topology, intuitionistic logic, turbulence, classical mechanics, algorithmic information theory, and computational complexity.
Topic of the Day
Willie Nelson
"Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Gremlins" is a country music song about the perils of raising children to be AMC Gremlin automobiles.
"Don't Get Aroma Much Anymore" is a jazz standard written by composer Duke Ellington.
Tweet is a 1981 film by Michael Mann 1.1 about a thief and retired Twitter influencer (James Caan) who is forced to post one last tweet.