(via Mostly Forbidden Zone)
Friday, January 30, 2015
Where Are The Unicorns?
This ad for the French cable channel Canal+ from the ad agency BETC Paris gives a little twist to the old story of why there are no unicorns in existence today. Yeah, the setting is still Noah’s Ark. Read more about this minute-long epic film at AdFreak. About one second of the video may be NSFW, but fine by barnyard standards. I hope that doesn’t give away too much. (via Daily Picks and Flicks)
Miss Cellania's Links
The Gacy Files. Decades after the fact, Jason Moran is determined to identify all of John Wayne Gacy’s victims.
The long, troubled history of the new Ghostbusters movie. We thought it would never happen, but now we’ve even got a cast.
5 Great Australian Frauds. When you lie Down Under, you gotta go big or go home.
5 Criminals Who Were Hilariously Good at Escaping Jail.
Anita Sarkeesian Shares One Week Of Harassment On Twitter.
When Ice Was Hot: A Skater Shares His Lifelong Love for Ice Show Razzle-Dazzle.
World Population Cartogram 2015. Each tiny square represents half a million people. (via Metafilter)
Snickers Super Bowl Ad
Snickers has unveiled their Super Bowl ad. It features the Brady Bunch, Danny Trejo, and a surprise appearance by… well, let’s leave that as a surprise. (via Digg)
Thursday, January 29, 2015
The Fifth Marx Brother
The “fifth Marx brother” would be Zeppo if you’re going by birth order, or Gummo, in order of popularity (Gummo only did Vaudeville and did not appear in any of the movies). However, the title actually refers to actress Margaret Dumont. Dumont is best known, even by movie fans who don’t know her name, as the “straight woman” in seven Marx Brothers films. She joined them in The Cocoanuts (1929), Animal Crackers (1930), Duck Soup (1933), A Night at the Opera (1935), A Day at the Races (1937), At the Circus (1939), and The Big Store (1941). But she had quite a career outside of the Marx Brothers. Read about Margaret Dumont in an article I posted at mental_floss.
Millions of Americans Don’t Have Internet Access
The vast majority of my two kids’ homework assignments must be handed in electronically. The required format for most classes is an online word processing program that my kids’ 2009 Mac Mini cannot access because their system is suddenly obsolete. There was also a required online homework program or two that was not accessible by a Mac, only a PC. So they stay after school at the media center, which is often crowded with kids that have no computer at all at home. The public library is even more crowded.
Now imagine that your family cannot afford to buy an up-to-date computer. They also cannot afford to have a landline or cable installed, much less pay for the required services to access the internet. Maybe you don’t even have a permanent address. Those waiting lines to do homework are an every day thing, if you have a parent who can take you to the library. If not, you’re out of luck.
Older folks, who have enough trouble learning to use computers, now have to have internet access to get IRS forms, sign up for unemployment, get Social Security information, and so many other government services. But library budgets keep being cut, so they cannot expand their computer services, much less upgrade the obsolete equipment they have. Something’s gotta give sometime. (via Metafilter)
Extreme Pogo Artists are Insane
You could call them insanely good. This combination sport and art form is called Xpogo, and it looks terrifying. At least these guys are wearing helmets. That only makes sense, as the best practitioners are well aware of how many falls it takes to achieve this level of competence. This compilation is brought to you by the folks who do the People Are Awesome series. (Thanks, Dan!)
Miss Cellania's Links
The real story behind Ship Your Enemies Glitter. Part joke, part marketing stunt, but the existing orders will still be filled.
Facebook Employees Reveal 22 Awful Things About Working At Facebook. Considering the pay, each one seems minor when compared to struggles at the average Joe job.
It’s Very Hard Not To Laugh At This Sleeping Dog Whose Owners Keep Dressing Him Up. Rufus makes the perfect somnambulistic art model.
Watch a Weatherman Stay Cool When His Map Shows Ridiculously Hot Temperatures. “I think steel boils at about this temperature.”
New York During the Great Blizzard of 1888. http://mentalfloss.com/article/61301/photos-new-york-after-blizzard-1888
Almost-two-year-old Violet Pietrok’s facial bones didn’t fuse together properly prenatally. Dr. John Meara at Boston Children’s Hospital performed surgery, with the help of 3D models made of the toddler’s skull. (via Metafilter)
Beware Of Dogs Pretending To Be Human.
10 Unsettling Urban Legends from the Battlefields of History.
The sorry state of maternity leave in the United States.
The Alien Chestburster Scene
It’s a scene that we will never, ever forget. The 1979 film Alien introduced the monster by having it emerge from John Hurt’s chest where it was apparently incubating. We were horrified, not only by the idea of an alien growing inside his body, but also the death of a major movie star so early in the film. The new series Art of the Scene by Cinefix looks at the nuts and bolts of conceiving, designing, and pulling off the horrific scene in the days before non-stop CGI. (via Laughing Squid)
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
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