Recommended Links of the Week #744

Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly, Telegram as the new Dark Web, never whistle at night and the ending of Game of Thrones by ChatGPT. That's just the hook to get you interested in reading this week's Recommended Links. Did it work? I hope so! Enjoy!

Back to the Future: When Eric Stoltz Was Marty McFly, Not Michael J. Fox: "Before Michael J. Fox became the iconic face of Marty McFly, the production of Back to the Future had already begun with a different actor in mind: Eric Stoltz. He, who had already made a name for himself in Hollywood for his roles in films such as: \"Fast Times at Ridgemont High\" (1982), by Amy Heckerling or later in The Fly II (1989), a film by Chris Walas and direct sequel to The Fly (1986) by David Cronenberg."

The Man Who Inspired the Character of Doctor Frankenstein: "Doctor Frankenstein is the protagonist of the famous work that Mary Shelley wrote as entertainment in 1816, the year without summer, to pass the time. Therefore, although we usually call Frankenstein the doctor's creation, the monster, that seems somewhat incorrect. Something made of patches would not be a Frankenstein, it would be, in any case, the Frankenstein monster. In any case, today we are going to talk about the man who inspired the character of Doctor Frankenstein."

A Walk Through the Current 'Dark Web', That Is, Telegram: "Accessing the 'dark web' and finding content is now easier than ever. It's as simple as installing the best messaging software that exists, the one that many of you already have an account for but don't know what it's for. Yes, I'm talking about Telegram, the instant messaging app created by the makers of VKontakte, the Russian Facebook. Telegram is a wonderful piece of software and, like atomic energy or artificial intelligence, it can be used for good and for evil."

Never Whistle at Night: "This type of [supposedly] paranormal incident occurs more frequently at night, when the person is alone, or is the only one awake, and the house is silent. Out of habit or that human need to fill the silence, the person whistles, but not a harmonic whistle, for example, as when trying to follow the melody of a song, but a random, shrill sound. Then, another whistle is heard, which may be distant or unsettlingly close, that responds."

What Is the Most Unexpected Scare in a Film That Isn't Horror?: "In an attempt to answer the question: What is the most unexpected scare in a film that isn't horror? Our favorite candidates are listed below. The box to vote for the contestants is at the end of the text, and the comments section is open and available to the public to contribute those scares that we might have missed."

Black Star, the Influence of Alien and Star Wars on Spanish-Language Science Fiction Comics: "The Black Star is the paradigmatic example. With a script by the prolific Ricardo Barreiro, the story placed us in a setting similar to the initial premise of Star Wars. On the planet Escoria, a strange character covered with a hood, like a friar, searches for the chosen one, someone capable of surviving a dangerous mission."

Interstellar Tune-Up: NASA's Voyager Spacecraft Receives Crucial Updates: "Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are still functioning after all these years, and NASA would very much like to keep them that way. In the latest attempt to extend the 46-year mission, engineers implemented modifications to the thrusters and introduced a software patch to ensure that the Voyager spacecraft continue their unprecedented exploration of interstellar space."

The Flâneur and Devotion to the City: "The term flâneur was coined in the context of the emerging modern society brought about by industrialization in 19th-century Paris. The poet Charles Baudelaire first mentions it in his book Les Fleurs du mal (1857) and with it describes a character who walks aimlessly through the cities with no objective other than the act of walking itself. However, thinking of him as a simple stroller is oversimplifying the concept."

George RR Martin Fan Finishes 'Winds of Winter' Using ChatGPT, and the Author Sues Him: "The versions of 'Winds of Winter' and 'Dream of Spring' generated by ChatGPT had over 45 chapters and 683,000 words (easily 3,000 pages). That is, they were even longer than the last book written by Martin, 'Dance of Dragons'. These versions had \"some twists that you didn't see coming, but they were well resolved,\" according to its creator, such as Jon Connington's betrayal of Daenerys Targaryen."

Why Are There Stones on Railway Tracks?: "Thus, since those first trains appeared, stones have never stopped accompanying them. We must take into account that trains daily face the expansion and contraction due to heat, movement, ground vibration, weed growth, water accumulation due to rain... A terribly complex polynomial that has a final derivative: maintaining a constant width without deformation."

27 Very Strange Things That Happen in Japan and You Probably Didn't Know: "That day, usually the first Sunday of April, everything is shaped like a penis in Kawasaki. One huge one is carried on shoulders by the crowd, others are made in different materials as souvenirs and many are sold as lollipop candies. Vegetables served in restaurants have phallic shapes and the illustrations and decorations are based on virile members. It was popularized by sex workers."

Linnahall, the Great Abandoned Soviet Monstrosity of Tallinn: "To simplify it greatly, Linnahall is a concert auditorium with 4,200 seats and an ice rink. And at the back there is a heliport, a restaurant, a ferry to the island of Aegna, and commercial spaces that today have no use. Linnahall is so large that, once you're there, it's quite difficult to get your bearings and understand what you're seeing and where everything is. The auditorium is in the central pyramid and the ice rink is under the giant walkway that leads to it."

VIDEOS: PC with cooling system, the loudest purr in the world, suit made of 1,600 spoons, porcupine eating banana, bloody Home Alone, a human blood cell chasing a bacterium, brush-tailed possum, main theme of Oppenheimer with Tesla coils, Immigrant with rubber chicken, robot dogs now talk, 1940s cover of Lovesong by The Cure, a day in New York 1940, I Need Something (by a cat), drone stolen by eagle, LEGO wind instrument, the smallest car on the biggest track, analyzing Humans at Reynisfjara, why classical music has such long names, manufacturing process of aluminum cans from recycled cans, and IIZUNA FAIR: Limited Time Release.

GALLERIES: Internet artifacts, the creepiest toys of the Soviet Union, the best photos of European Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Halloween costumes, more Halloween costumes, Halloween foods, the best photos of 'Imagine if...' 2023, winning photos of Honor Magic 2023, ghostly art with tulle, the Animated Dump and the Visual Dump of the Week.

Well, well, well... the end has arrived and here we are. Thanks for stopping by and until next time.