The Dodgers are Heading to the World Series Again!

The Dodgers have swept the Brewers in the National League Championship Series (NLCS) and are heading back to the World Series to try to repeat as World Champions.

In today's game, Shohei Ohtani pitched six dominant shutout innings and hit 3 home runs. Wow! For this effort, he was named NLCS Most Valuable Player.

With this win, the Dodgers are the first team to win back-to back pennants since the Phillies in 2008–2009. They are trying to become the first back-to-back World Series champions since the Yankees in 1998–2000.

Los Angeles Without Smog

This picture is amazing!

Los Angeles with no smog..

Aerial view of downtown from Silverlake via @alanwdang pic.twitter.com/qOxAAzDzmX

— Bill Gross (@Bill_Gross) April 10, 2020

(Tip of the cap to Predrag Cvitanovic.)

Another Sign of the Apocalypse: Oxford has Cancelled its Conventional Exams

And we are definitely in the end of times: University of Oxford has cancelled its conventional exams this year and is replacing them with alternative forms of assessment.

The First Hipster?

Monk-dude with cool glasses gazing at the world around him while his fellow monks sing songs - manuscript datable to 1325-1350, which makes this an early depiction of spectacles (Besançon, BM, 140). pic.twitter.com/o43bnHHxn5

— Erik Kwakkel (@erik_kwakkel) May 14, 2019

(Tip of the cap to Nicholas Christakis.)

Spot-On SMBC Comic about Scientific "Findings"

The comic-strip author this one.

Mouseover text: "Somewhere, there's a scientist reading this, wonder[ing] why I made a comic with no hyperbole."

Some scientists get all the breaks pic.twitter.com/l327NT5vFd

— Adam J Calhoun (@neuroecology) June 14, 2019

Lego Monuments

Wow!

15 Stunning LEGO Versions Of World Famous Monuments https://t.co/XvWqciWHEl

— Archpng (@archpng) May 11, 2019

Upcoming Film: The VelociPastor

And in today's WTF news, The VelociPastor is apparently a real film. See the trailer in this article, which has a slightly incorrect title (and which I saw before looking up the IMDB entry).

Naturally, the first thing that came to mind is that they are trying to give Black Sheep (the very baaaaaaaad "comedy" horror film) a run for it's money.

Here is how the movie is described on IMDB: After losing his parents, a priest travels to China, where he inherits a mysterious ability that allows him to turn into a dinosaur. At first horrified by this new power, a hooker convinces him to use it to fight crime. And ninjas.

So. Very. Wrong.

(Tip of the cap to Chris John.)

A Funky Visual Illusion: What's the Frequency?

From my own experimentation, the frequency matters.

You can only see this optical illusion if you shake your head (I’m serious) 😂 pic.twitter.com/WhtZ1b0r4t

— Dr Michelle Dickinson (@medickinson) January 10, 2019

(Tip of the cap to Jenna Walrath.)

Amazing Visual Illusion: A Dynamic Müller–Lyer Illusion

This visual illusion is amazing. It is a dynamic Müller–Lyer illusion.

This is probably the best illusion I've ever seen. The blue and red lines are all the same length; none is moving or changing size, and they’re all at the same level. Only the arrowheads are moving. https://t.co/bDyeOKXgbC pic.twitter.com/V6KrmLkiPr

— Steve Stewart-Williams (@SteveStuWill) October 4, 2018

(Tip of the cap to Marcel Salathe.)

Referee Reports for the Watts–Strogatz 'Small World' Paper

This is a great document!

Steve Strogatz posted his referee reports (with annotations for their revision plans) about his genre-defining 1998 ‘small world’ paper with Duncan Watts.

It just goes to show that misguided, skeptical reports (see Referee 2 in the upper right) happen to the best of us.

Referee 2 was confused about the implications of the work to systems other than those studied (and possibly even to those applications)…

(The source is Steve's tweet. I posted the picture separately to orient it correctly.)

A Phase Transitions in the New York Times Front-Page Picture Density?

Visually, it seems like it resembles a phase transition (watch how suddenly the density changes), so I expect that one could see that arise in a simple model.

Every single New York Times front page since 1852. Look at the growth of pictures in news.
(h/t Josh Begley). pic.twitter.com/zLxe01U2QX

— Carl Miller (@carljackmiller) November 3, 2017

(Tip of the cap to Sabine Hossenfelder.)

New Technology: Playable Records Made from Oreo Cookies

I know this sounds nuts, but I'm serious! And I from a physics perspective, this seems eminently doable.

I know of a great song that would be perfect to turn this into a Caltech-themed prank...

Given these developments, we clearly need a DJ Cookie Monster to take proper advantage of this new technology.

21-Game Winning Streak!

This year's Cleveland Indians now are alone at the top with an American League record 21-game winning streak that matches the 1935 Chicago Cubs for the second-longest streak since 1900. The Major League record is 26 non-losing games (it included a tie) by the 1916 New York Giants.

Wow!

Update (9/15/17): The Indians lost today to the Royals. They won yesterday, so their win streak reached 22 games. Wow!

Dodgers Have Best 50-Game Run Since 1912!

With their come-from-behind win today, the Dodgers are now 43–7 in their last 50 games, the best 50-game run since the 1912 Giants! Wow!

A 1995 Dystopian Vision of the Web

This article, presenting a dystopian vision of the Web, was written by astronomer Clifford Stoll in 1995. A recent article discusses Stoll's 1995 piece.

(Tip of the cap to Manlio De Domenico, who retweeted Valids Krebs.)

"The Tonight Show" Starring Edward Teller?

Wow. Here are some pictures of Edward Teller as a television-show host.

OMG OMG. Edward Teller tried a run as a television show host in 1955. How did I not know this? These photos are AMAZING. This is so bonkers. pic.twitter.com/lGsPPpQkbz

— Alex Wellerstein (@wellerstein) July 19, 2017

Do the Laws of Australia Supercede the Laws of Mathematics

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull apparently thinks so. To quote him, "Well the laws of Australia prevail in Australia, I can assure you of that. The laws of mathematics are very commendable, but the only law that applies in Australia is the law of Australia."

Good luck with that one.