The Friday Link for 1/2/26

Happy New Year, everyone! 

This week (and year), we start with Astro Alexandra, a fantastic YouTuber/TikToker who is a must-follow if you like science and space. Her videos are wonderful, talking about major discoveries in the scientific world, stories that used to get covered in national news media, but today are often ignored.  As I said, I'm a big fan of her videos and shorts, but it was one she did earlier this year on the scientific findings from the asteroid Bennu that was the biggest scientific news of the year, and something that should have been one of the biggest stories of the year as well.  Follow the link to see for yourself (Shorts on YouTube are harder to share, so just follow the link). https://www.youtube.com/shorts/stbcn0QB6C0

Alexandra also seems to be one of the most congenial people ever.  Here is a video of her debunking the multiple conspiracy theories about how the moon landing is fake. I admit that I would probably let out a "You're a bunch of F-ing idiots" in response to these bozos, but Alexandra just keeps knocking them down with a smile and cold, hard facts. 

Next up, a fun video from Antiques Roadshow. This time, they feature 6 items which were found in thrift shops, but ended up being worth quite a bit more money. I had a friend who once found a painting worth a few thousand dollars at Goodwill. I think she spent 2 dollars on it. 

Finally tonight is a nice, easy video from Watch Mojo where they talk about 20 movies that were way ahead of their time, whether that was because of special effects, how they were filmed, or the subject matter they broached (Metropolis, Blade Runner, and Network still stun me for how ahead of their time those movies were).  

This is interesting because I have recently watched two movies which seem to be reactionary to the modern world we are currently in (One Battle After Another, Wake Up Dead Man, both of which are very good), but it is amazing when you get something that is calling their shot from decades in advance. 

Have anice weekend, everyone! 

Make sure you get vaccinated and stay safe!