(via Bad Newspaper)
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
What Is A Photocopier?
This would be funny even if it weren’t verbatim from an actual legal deposition. It’s from a 2010 case in which the Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Recorder’s office was sued for charging $2 a page to make copies of public documents. The exchange, re-enacted verbatim from the court records, shows the lengths a person can go to to avoid answering a simple question. The expanded story is at The New York Times, although I cannot read it because I’ve already reached my limit of ten free articles this month. (via Viral Viral Videos)
Humble Beginnings
Maryanna had high aspirations when she was four years old. Her older sister kept this because she knew it would be meaningful someday. And when Maryanna recently received her acceptance letter from Berkeley, it was time to bring it out. The top comment:
I've heard that Berkeley has one of the top postgraduate dishwashing programs in America. Go for your dream!
(via reddit)
Seal Gets a Belly Rub
Jason Neilus took a GoPro camera on a diving expedition off the Farne Islands in the UK. These clips show that seals are definitely the dogs of the sea. They are curious, friendly, and love being petted. Watch the facial expression on this seal when he gets a belly rub! (via Viral Viral Videos)
Commencement Backflip
The most exciting part of the Davenport University commencement festivities in Grand Rapids, Michigan, happened about three hours into the ceremony. Robert Jeffrey Blank received his diploma, of which he is understandably proud, but then he tried to make his graduation memorable by doing a backflip for the camera. The “thud” you hear, and the expressions of those on stage, lets us know that it didn’t turn out as expected. But Blank is now a viral star, and isn’t that what you went to college for four years for, anyway? (via Daily Picks and Flicks)
Miss Cellania's Links
Star Wars VII Cast Announced.
Silly Rock Band Names Rendered In Pictures. (via Lauren Hansen)
14 Delicious And Charming Reasons To Throw A Kentucky Derby Party.
What (Else) Can Men Do? Grow Up. Women can’t stamp out sexism without your cooperation. And related:
Not All Men: A Brief History of Every Dude’s Favorite Argument.
Game of Thrones is Arrested Development.
Siena the lioness was gored by a buffalo, a wound that looks horrible, but did not affect any of her major organs. Her surgery is documented in photographs at Africa Geographic, but be aware that they are gory. (via Boing Boing)
12 Facts About Mean Girls That Could Make Fetch Happen.
The Health-Care System Is So Broken, It’s Time for Doctors to Strike.
World Class Butt Wiggle
Ohagi has concentration, focus, and a procedure. 1. Lock eyes on target. 2. Wiggle hindquarters in a rhythmic manner until completely wound up. 3. Raise one front paw. 4. raise other front paw and hover like an alien spacecraft (that last part gets me every time I see it). 5. Launch! Let’s see it again.
(via reddit)
Breaking Bad: A Tribute
Alexandre Gasulla crafted a video about Breaking Bad that doesn’t really give away any plot points, but it does explain the show as an overall concept. We see the emotional changes Walter White goes through as a result of confronting his mortality and the decisions he makes regarding what he does with the remainder of his life, and the effect those changes have on the people around him. Those who followed the series will realize how much they miss it, and those who haven’t may want to look into starting with season one real soon. (via Digg)
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Anti-Bullying Messages
I’m not sure what to think about this PSA from VH1. The ids who are victimized by bullies as children dream of growing up and being just as cruel in adulthood. Well, maybe it’s supposed to be entertainment instead of a PSA. I don’t think there are too many children watching VH1 anyway. (via Time Newsfeed)
A much better teaching moment comes in author George Saunders’ commencement speech to the 2013 graduating class of Syracuse University, animated by Above Average. The world can be changed by kindness becoming the cool thing. Because that’s one thing you will not regret 40 years later. If the coolest, most popular kids stood up for the underdog, things would change for the cool kids, the victims, and the bullies. (also via Time Newsfeed)
How to Flatten a Hamster
Did you know that when a hamster is relaxed, it turns into pancake batter and flows out to the sides? YouTube member ghiblilover25 shows us how it’s done. Careful, or you might have some relaxed hamster dripping over the side of your hand onto the floor. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Breaking Bad: A Tribute
Alexandre Gasulla crafted a video about Breaking Bad that doesn’t really give away any plot points, but it does explain the show as an overall concept. We see the emotional changes Walter White goes through as a result of confronting his mortality and the decisions he makes regarding what he does with the remainder of his life, and the effect those changes have on the people around him. Those who followed the series will realize how much they miss it, and those who haven’t may want to look into starting with season one real soon. (via Digg)
Miss Cellania's Links
The word “chemical” is often treated as a bad thing, as many commercial interests want you to reject “chemicals” and “go natural.” As if the natural world wasn’t made of chemicals. (via Metafilter)
What Ridiculous Food Day is Your Birthday?
A short history of text for the blind, with fascinating museum displays. (via the What Is It? Blog)
Building the Perfect Painkiller. (via Not Exactly Rocket Science)
Monty Python’s Last Show to be Broadcast Around the World.
Patrick Stewart on Sci-Fi and Robots.
Awkward: Americans can't pass the US citizenship test. (via Digg)
A Mission to Find Jack's Keys from 1943.
The Question of the Bobba Fett Movie. Can you make a Disney film with an evil protagonist?
Synchronized Air Swimming
These 5th grade students came up with a clever entry for the talent show at W. A. Porter Elementary School in Hurst, Texas, earlier this month. You know they put a lot of practice in, plus they had to watch videos to see what synchronized swimming was all about. They deserve a medal! (via Pleated-Jeans)
Monday, April 28, 2014
Talking Parakeet
Take notice of what you say to your parakeet; it may end up saying it back to you. It’s not easy to teach a parakeet to talk, but this one picked up the sweetness and baby talk he got when he was young. That certainly beats the bad language and incriminating phrases we’ve heard from other birds! (via Daily Picks and Flicks)
Moving Carriage Illusion
Here we get a look behind the scenes at how a Chinese movie production creates the effect of movement without movement, special effects, or computers. If this were a Hollywood production, there would be a visual effects team working on this, or maybe a specially-created set. This is why filmmakers who grow up making movies in their backyards are better at staying within a budget. (via Daily Picks and Flicks)
Miss Cellania's Links
It's time to launch the largest protest the FCC has ever seen.
Over 60 Amazing WonderCon Cosplay Pictures.
Are dinosaur fossils a national resource for research and education, or do they belong to those who own the land they are found on -or who buy them from the owners?
12 Things You Might Not Know About The Goonies.
Over 60 Amazing WonderCon Cosplay Pictures.
Are dinosaur fossils a national resource for research and education, or do they belong to those who own the land they are found on -or who buy them from the owners?
12 Things You Might Not Know About The Goonies.
The Name of the Year tournament used to happen somewhere around March Madness time, but in recent years has been scheduled whenever they get ready. And now, the 2014 tournament has wrapped and the winner is… Shamus Beaglehole! (via Metafilter)
The Starving, Naked, Hysterical Mind of Allen Ginsberg.
The Stereotype Map Of Every U.S. State — According To British People.
The Most and Least Expensive States to Live In. (via Digg)
How to Survive a Lightning Strike. (via Laughing Squid)
Today's image from The Hobbit Sequel Title Generator. (via the Presurfer)
Curious Alice
Curious Alice is a 1971 anti-drug film produced by the National Institute for Mental Health. It relates the tale of Alice in Wonderland to drug abuse, which doesn’t really require a great leap. It was aimed at 8- to 10-year-olds, and doesn’t seem all that effective in making drugs unattractive. Media Matters says,
In the 1972 publication, Drug Abuse Films, the National Coordinating Council on Drug Education (NCCDE) criticized Curious Alice for being confusing and potentially counterproductive to drug abuse education. In the report, the NCCDE, an independent organization that received funding from NIMH, evaluated scores of films for scientific accuracy and effectiveness. The review panel classified Curious Alice as “restricted”, writing that young viewers “may be intrigued by the fantasy world of drugs” and that it should only be presented with a “very skilled facilitator” in order to “probe for the drug attitudes” of an elementary school class. (In other words, teachers, don’t bother trying to use this film to get kids to stay away from drugs because it’ll require way too much extra work on your part.)But for adults, it’s a beautifully animated hoot. (via Metafilter)
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Squirrel Report
Police blotter items will be told as simply and completely as the cops want it to be reported. At first this one sounds like the same item I posted a couple of months ago about a squirrel running around in circles. But the punch line is indicative of the crazy modern world we live in. (via Uproxx)
Frasier's Celebrity Callers
The TV sitcom Frazier ran from 193-2004. Frazier Crane was a psychiatrist with a radio show featuring call-ins. The people that called in were often celebrity voices that few recognized, but the actors who called in were credited at the end of each season. Here, we know who’s talking in each one. We also get to see Dr. Crane (Kelsey Grammer) age ten years over just a few minutes. (via Viral Viral Videos)
Cat Dances for Kittens
There’s not much explanation for this video, but it appears that Momotaro is both confused and excited about the kittens. That seems like the most reasonable explanation, but if you want to believe that he’s trying to teach the tiny things some cool dance moves, go ahead and believe that.
Curious about these cats, I looked through the YouTube channel and determined that the kittens were born to Momotaro’s sister. He is actually a pretty good uncle to them. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Dog Has a Peculiar Snore
You recall the ominous sound that was used in the Inception trailer (and many other trailers afterward)? If you don’t, push this button. Now listen to this dog snore. Yep, that’s the same sound. A few years ago we would have described it as a foghorn, but the Inception sound is much more familiar to a modern audience. (via FilmDrunk)
Runaway Toilet
The winds were a bit blustery in northern Utah last week, with gusts of over 70 mph recorded. The strange weather was evident in the town of Lehi when a portable toilet ran down the street by itself. Dan Pierce captured the incident on video. (via Arbroath)
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Who Invented the Internet?
Asking who invented the internet is like asking who invented politics or plumbing. A complex system is the result of many innovations built upon by many different people over time. Some of the technological breakthroughs were from people working on a specific task that later became used for something completely different. The internet as we know it was developed not only by those who invented the technology, but also by those who saw extra potential in each innovation and exploited it for other uses. This video is from Kurzgesagt. (via Laughing Squid)
Redneck Rocketry
What is going on here? Looks like plenty of fun when you’re not in the line of fire. Not only are there explosions and barrels flying skyward, but, you know what they say: Everything that goes up must come down. How hard can a falling barrel hit you? Probably hard enough to flatten you!
A few commenters suggested this is a reaction of calcium carbide and water, which produces acetylene. That would makes these calcium carbide cannons. This is what happens when a village has no movie theater or bowling alley. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
Friday, April 25, 2014
Ellen's Appearance on Game of Thrones
Ellen Degeneres returns to her standup roots for a guest appearance on the HBO show Game of Thrones. She plays -what else- the court jester. Despite what she tells you, I see hardly any spoilers here. There might be if it made any sense, but we don’t watch standup comedians for their logic. (via Tastefully Offensive)
9 People Who Just Did It Anyway
This week’s mental_floss video entitled 18 Famous People Who Are Missing Body Parts reminded me that April is Limb Loss Awareness Month. You may be aware that we have a continuing series
about people who are technically classified as “disabled,” but don’t
let it get in the way of doing as they please. While it’s still April,
let’s meet some other people who are excelling in areas they weren’t
supposed to because of lost limbs or other anomalies, in an article I wrote for mental_floss.
Miss Cellania's Links
That Time Cleveland Released 1.5 Million Balloons and Chaos Ensued. (via Metafilter)
20 Things You Might Not Know About E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
Nip Vann: Outlaw on the Big Screen. (via Digg)
How Sloths Breathe Upside-down.
Adjusting to minimum-wage retail work is not easy for a middle-aged former white collar worker. But it is certainly eye-opening.
The Worst Possible Thing That Can Happen When You’re Testing The Oculus Rift In A Russian Shopping Mall. It’s a virtual reality freakout!
25 things turning 25 in 2014. 1989 was a busy year for innovation, entertainment, and politics.
Five former Buffalo Bills cheerleaders are suing the team for unpaid work and sexual harassment. Wait until you get a taste of the job requirements and pay scale.
7 Fairy Tale Castles. These real places look better than anything you'll see in a Disney movie.
Firefighter Having a Bit of Trouble
The original title on this video is “Firefighter on a ladder having a bad day on a slippery truck…” But honestly, he’s a firefighter. Any day you fight a fire and make it home is a good day. But the trouble he’s having in this short clip will remind you of some ridiculous predicament you got yourself into once or twice in the past -maybe even on a ladder. It’s okay to laugh, because we’ve all been there. (via Arbroath)
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Cats in Shades
The Shironekoshiro cats, the most laid-back cats in the world, enjoy a little springtime outside with their fashionable sunglasses protecting their eyes. If you have a couple of minutes, you can watch Tyatora, Shiro, and Chibi soaking up the sunlight. If you don’t have that much time, just pretend this is a still photo. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Miss Cellania's Links
Friday, an avalanche on Mt. Everest resulted in the death of 16 Sherpas. The disaster throws a light on the Nepali people who cater to wealthy but inexperienced mountain climbers who pay dearly to say they’ve climbed Everest.
30 Things You Might Not Know About Cheers.
After criticizing the new ‘Teen Titans’ cover, Janelle Asselin was name-called and threatened with rape. The worst part? No one is surprised.
New Art from Hanksy.
Here's How Much Money Doctors Actually Make.
The Post-Shooting Life of Sixteen Film Sets. (via mental_floss)
How punctuation is killing the hashtag. There are certain limitations to writing on interactive machines like Twitter.
It’s Scandalous to Keep Using Black Boxes in Airplanes Like MH370. Better technology has been available for years.
What’s It Like To Suddenly Become Attractive? Several self-described “ugly ducklings” tells us -and show us.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Teens React to Mean Girls 10th Anniversary
Mean Girls is only ten years old? I thought it was much older than that. But I recall when it came out, that I meant to watch it because I love Tina Fey. But I didn’t get around to it. Then when my daughters hit middle school, I made a point to watch Mean Girls with them, because I trust Tina Fey. Now the movie is ten years old, and these teenagers think that’s, like, ancient. But it has a universal message that’s still as relevant now as it was then -or even forty years ago when I was in high school. My message to my daughters was “Don’t ever be a mean girl,” although I suspected that they would more likely need a defense against mean girls, which first comes with understanding what is happening. I know from experience how such dishonesty, manipulation, and head games can mess with your adolescent years.
Mean Girls should be required viewing for every middle school student, and the book it is based on should be required reading for parents. Besides, if you’re not in the midst of dealing with teen angst, it’s hilarious. (via Viral Viral Videos)
Miss Cellania's Links
Nik Freeman made a map of the United States based on census data from 2010. The green parts are census blocks in which nobody lives. (via Metafilter)
With Google Maps technology, you can now explore the lands of George R.R. Martin’s world from A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones. Check out the map of Westeros and Essos. (via The Daily Dot)
50 Years Into the War on Poverty, Hardship Hits Back.
Celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Ghostbusters With Witty Art Inspired by the Film. Gallery 1988 is taking the show on the road.
Keep Your Kitten Away From Your Laptop With This Handy Cat Desk. It gives them something better to do than bothering you.
In the wake of 16 Sherpa deaths last week, Nepali Sherpas are sitting out this year’s Mt. Everest climbing season. Why should they risk their lives to take Westerners up the mountain for just a tiny share of the profit?
The NYPD Just Learned A Very Valuable Lesson About Asking The Internet To Use A Twitter Hashtag. They asked for pictures of New York cops and got a ton of digital brutality.
The Danger of the Monster Myth. A man confronts the popular notion of rapists as aberrant, violent strangers, like the one who murdered his wife. (via Metafilter)
Why Mindy Kaling is the body positive icon of the moment. Despite a medical degree, her TV character in the same spot as many women.
A City Intersection with No Traffic Lights
American drivers, imagine a busy intersection in a large city with no traffic lights and no traffic cops. This is the condition in many cities around the world. This intersection is in Meskel Square, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The thing that keeps drivers from constantly crashing is the idea that no one has any right-of-way, and you just go when you can, but don’t hit anyone. Could the famously traffic law-abiding American drivers deal with such a system? Probably not, because we are concerned with who has the right-of-way, and tend to get a little hostile when someone causes us a two-second delay in our travels. (via Arbroath)
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Everyone Peeps
Did you know where marshmallow fruff came from? Kate Hohman’s entry in the Washington Post Peep Show 2014 was one of the top finalists in the annual Peeps diorama competition. See more pictures at Blazenfluff.
10 Real Intersections With Unforgettable Names
If you lived in any of these places, no one would ever forget your address. You’d always be able to find someone to point you the right way home. But there’s an ever-present danger of your street signs being stolen. I've got ten of them in a list I posted at mental_floss.
Miss Cellania's Links
May 23rd will mark the 80th anniversary of he ambush in which Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were gunned down by police in Lousiana. In Gibsland, Louisiana, the son of one of those police officers runs a museum called The Bonnie & Clyde Ambush Museum.
Three generations of one family show how Tuscaloosa schools integrated and then re-segregated.
22 Fun Facts About Clueless.
Top CEOs Make 331 Times the Average Worker. Does Anyone Care?
12 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Field Of Dreams. Would there be no crying in baseball if Tom Hanks had played the lead?
The Definitive Ranking Of The 102 Best Animated Disney Songs. I don’t know how definitive it can be when they decide “The Circle of Life” or any Tarzan song must be excluded.
Hollywood’s worst medical errors. If you suspend disbelief to enjoy a show, it’s not so bad, but don’t rely on medical knowledge from TV dramas.
When a TV network sends out a broadcast signal that TV antennas can catch free of charge, is it copyright infringement for a company to pick up the signal and resell it? Or would that be just renting out an antenna service?
10 Pop Culture Elephants (Plus 4 Reasonable Facsimiles). Which pachyderm is your favorite?
The Tree That Fell Up
A tree uprooted and fell over in the Paul Firbas’ backyard when hurricane Sandy blew through. He called in a friend with a chainsaw to dismantle the tree. The friend takes all the branches off, then starts cutting the trunk in lengths from the top of the tree. In this sequence, he hits the sweet spot where the weight at the top of the trunk is suddenly less than the weight of the root ball. It’s all okay now! (via Daily Picks and Flicks)
Monday, April 21, 2014
Mr. Forthright's Tips for Raising Kids
Mr. Fortright tells us how to raise kids. He has some intriguing ideas. That idea about throwing them a birthday party with clowns at 4AM may be just the thing to keep them in line! I can’t wait for the next video on how to wake a teenager. (via Tastefully Offensive)
Winnie the Thulhu
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This Pool Rocks
This is not a wave pool. This is a regular Olympic pool in Mexico City, recorded by Brandon Ramirez Urzua as a magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit Mexico on Friday. Fortunately, there were no reports of casualties or major damage. I wouldn’t have wanted to be in the pool when it happened, though. (via Daily Picks and Flicks)
Miss Cellania's Links
Sunday was the 100th anniversary of the bloody Ludlow Massacre. (via Metafilter)
The Kindergarten Tribes.
We Need More Class Traitors: Solving America’s Meritocracy Problem.
11 Weird Varieties of Scotch Eggs.
In Sickness and in Health: A Couple's Final Journey. (via Metafilter)
This is another fine mess I’ve gotten myself into. Enjoy 30 pictures of animals stuck in odd places.
The Stacks: The Searing Story of How Murder Stalked a Tiny New York Town. Murder, suicide, and traffic accidents blew away too many of one high school’s most promising students in four short years.
This vine of a bouncy llama is fun even with the sound off, but to get the full effect, you need to turn it on to hear the DMX soundtrack. It’s six seconds of silliness you’ll want to watch over and over!
Alex Varanese designed a very particular ad campaign based on the premise that he could go back in time, take today’s technology with him, and make money selling those products. (via Metafilter)
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Fashions of the Future
This was the vision in 1939 for the fashions of the year 2000. Did they get it right? I have trouble remembering that far back. (via Weird Vintage)
