Stop Motion T-Shirt War

Stop Motion T-Shirt War - Watch more Funny Videos

Stop Motion T-Shirt War is an awesome video- 222 shirts. 2 days, 1 fire extinguisher. And a fantastic end result!! I don't think I have enough words for it- just watch and enjoy!

(From Break.com)

National Geographic Photo Tips

National Geographic's Photo Tips is a section of the NatGeo website dedicated to helping photographers hone their craft. The site is broken down into sections- areas of photography like Portrait, Action and Adventure, and Landscape.

As an amateur photographer of sorts myself, I enjoyed perusing the pages of tips, the quick tips, and the videos.

And while you're on the site and enjoying the photography, be sure to check out some amazing collections of photos on the site like:

Ultimate National Parks

50 Years of Covers

Life in Color Series

(From National Geographic)

Babies with Laser Eyes!

Babies with Laser Eyes! is a self-explanatory tumblr site that features babies photoshopped with lasers coming out of their tiny, observant, precise eyeballs. Anyone can submit photos for laserification to laserbabies[at]thefrogman.me.

Which apparently means The Frogman is behind this latest of interweb memes.

Can you hear the sound effects in your head? "Pew Pew Pew!" There you go.

(From Facebook, Pew Pew sound joke from CW)

3 Year old crying over Justin Bieber

I normally don't post things this late, that have this many hits, but I didn't want to be accused fo missing a huge phenomenon. 3 Year old crying over Justin Bieber is a Youtube video featuring a 3 year old girl who is deeply and emotionally moved by the saccharine tween tunes of Canadian Pop/R&B singer Justin Drew Bieber. She is held by her sister, who alternates between trying not to crack up and torturing the younger sibling with her fairly-in-tune and register-accurate immitations of Justin.

This is understandable because Justin is currently 15, but he looks about 4. She wails for about 4 minutes, until she is interrupted by the phone. The ringing phone triggers an inexplicably fast mood change in the girl. Amazing to watch an attention-seeking 3 year old. I love it. A+.

Embedding is disabled by request, so you'll have to click through for the video.
(From KW at the Greenhouse)

Booking a Flight the Frugal Way

Booking a Flight the Frugal Way is a NYT article by Matt Gross on the latest sites you need to check to find the cheapest flights. If you aren't doing this, you're living in the past!

I've been using Kayak and Farecast for years, but they did drop in a few new sites I'll have to check out.

I like the sliders that Kayak has, we need a giant meta site with moar sliders!

(From The Kott, image from State Library and Archives of Florida)

Chat Roulette

Chat Roulette is a website that randomly connects your webcam to others. As described in the Guardian, Chatroulette, is:

A new website that has been described as "surreal", "addictive" and "frightening" is proving a sensation around the world – and attracting a reputation as a haven for no-holds-barred, explicit material.

Chatroulette, which was launched in November, has rocketed in popularity thanks to its simple premise: internet video chats with ­random strangers.
When users visit the site and switch on their webcams, they are suddenly connected to another, randomly chosen person who is doing precisely the same thing somewhere else in the world.
Once they are logged in together, chatters can do anything they like: talk to each other, type messages, entertain each other – or just say goodbye, hit the "next" button and move on in an attempt to find somebody more interesting.

I played a couple of rounds, and did not talk to any weird sex people. I had a conversation about tuition fees and snow with a guy from Indiana, and a conversation in German with a Dutch guy about the Dutch language. It's a great place to waste time when Facebook is no longer cutting it.

(From ) The Internets

The One Who Got Away

The One Who Got Away is a photojournalism piece on Photory Magazine (which you can navigate through using the right and left arrows on your keyboard!). It's about the people in your life that have disappeared or faded out, and the re-editing we do of our own personal histories.

Light, nostalgic, brilliant. Here is an excerpt:

"Imagine studying abroad in a castle in Italy for three months, and falling in love with one of your friends while you were there. Locking eyes at the bar up the hill, sharing a tent in Verona because the hotels are full, hopping a train and heading south to the coast for a week with no itinerary at all, running around Venice in the rain. Imagine coming back home, and love fading back into friendship. Imagine what a disappointment that would be."

Apparently anyone can submit a captioned photo (very bottom of the page).
Enjoy!
(From Kottke)

Government Prohibition Killings

"It was Christmas Eve 1926...Before hospital staff realized how sick he was — the alcohol-induced hallucination was just a symptom — the man died. So did another holiday partygoer. And another. As dusk fell on Christmas, the hospital staff tallied up more than 60 people made desperately ill by alcohol and eight dead from it. Within the next two days, yet another 23 people died in the city from celebrating the season....The deaths, as investigators would shortly realize, came courtesy of the U.S. government."


Slate has an amazing write up on the now-forgotten "Chemist's War on Prohibition" written by Deborah Blum who found out about this war while researching for her book The Poisoner's Handbook. The article is pretty interesting and makes you worry a bit as to the lengths our government will go.

(From Slate)

The Pluto Files

Pluto is no longer considered a planet (old news, I know).

Apparently, school age children have taken serious umbrage with this change.

The Pluto Files is a collection of letters from school age children who miss seeing Pluto among the other planets.

From the link:

"It's not easy being a public enemy," writes Neil deGrasse Tyson in his book The Pluto Files. When Neil's museum grouped Pluto not among the planets but rather with icy comets in an obscure region called the Kuiper Belt, he heard from thousands of outraged Pluto defenders. It's tough being called a heartless Pluto-hater, particularly by a dismayed eight-year-old. Below, peruse a few of the letters elementary schoolkids sent Neil, and see how their tone shifted over the years, as the public slowly came to accept Pluto's fall from planethood.—Susan K. Lewis

My favorite letter was one from Madeline, dated Sept 2006.

Power to the planet Pluto, Madeline. Power to the planet.

(Since I now have 2 posts collected because of Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, I guess this means I have to become a card carrying member of his fan club. )

(From PBS, Nova)

How To Report The News

How To Report The News - Watch more Funny Videos

How To Report The News is a BBC video by reporter Chris Booker. We've all seen the "hard hitting" news stories that all follow the same formula- explained in detail here by Chris Booker.

With this as a guide, your future as a field reporter has never been brighter.

(From Break.com)

Third and Delaware

Third and Delaware is a site dedicated to analyzing the monstrosities against fashion featured on the show Roseanne. I don't know what's worse, the bedazzling or the artist-formerly-known-as-prince-eing.

Enjoy?
(From CC)

Hipster Puppies

Hipster Puppies is a site featuring puppies dressed up as hipsters. Sounds awful, and it is, but also super cute. How can you argue with the brilliance of this self-mocking caption?

"arlo says the bullshit “no taping” policy at bb king’s blues club is a “third reich thought police tactic” and that it’s a tragedy this ween show will go undocumented"

(From CC)

If Travel Worked Like Healthcare

If Travel Worked Like Healthcare is a shockingly accurate portrayal of health care in the USA, complete with the hassle of arranging every portion of the trip via fax, calling numerous other providers, and being charged extraordinary amounts of money for simple procedures. Until Obama gets the reforms pass, I´m so glad to be living in Europe.


(From ) Youtube

Don't Play With Your Food... Or Do

Don't Play With Your Food... Or Do is a nauseatingly cute photo essay on cuteoverload.com about a pair of cheetahs playing with a captured impala for about 15 minutes. It's rather impressive to see how gentle these two Cheetahs can be with such a tender, and presumably tasty meal.

(From Cute Overload)

Patrick Stewart is not a Gamer.

So, I was tempted to save this beauty for my personal blog, but let's face it; everyone you know should see this side of Mr. Stewart.

Below is a video from Vimeo with actor-extraordinaire Patrick Stewart talking briefly about his likes, dislikes and thoughts on today's technology. Enjoy!

(From Vimeo, Neatorama)

How long could you survive chained to a bed with a velociraptor?

Tonight's main question could be "Will you be my Valentine?" But there's folly in that query as the true question should be "How long could you survive chained to a bed with a velociraptor?" I've been trying to answer this question since I saw the kitchen scene from Jurassic Park and concurred that I would have shamelessly wet myself. Then I saw The Land Before Time series and realized I could have taken on those sissy dinosaurs.

But since the days of LiveJournal and their myriad online personality quizzes, i.e. Which finger are you? What is your birth color?, people have been trying to figure out who they are when the critical question was "How long could you survived chained to the hip with a carnivorous dinosaur?

Two decades later, we have an answer. Finally.

(From Cam)

Selleck Waterfall Sandwich

Selleck Waterfall Sandwich delivers exactly what you would assume from such an aptly titled blog. Tom Selleck. With a sandwich. By a waterfall. No gimmicks, no fine lines, no small print.

Enjoy the latest internet meme and Tom Selleck's sandwich of the day choice.

(From a friend of a friend of a friend)

Atul Gawande on the Daily Show

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Atul Gawande
www.thedailyshow.com

Atul Gawande went on the Daily Show to promote his new book "The Checklist Manifesto. How to Get Things Right." The book includes basic recommendations like washing your hands and knowing all the staff's names, then backs it in numbers with how many lives it saves. Pretty awesome.

(From BW)

Vans and the Places Where They Are

Vans and the Places Where They Are is an art project by Joe Stevens depicting vans in lonely places in the Western United States.

It "documents surviving custom and conversion vans across the West and examines the dialogue which exists between a van’s design aesthetic and that of its surrounding environment." Joe's previous work has been exhibited at the Hammer Museum of Los Angeles and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

It's a lot of pretty vans in pale colors.

(From Kottke)

Unhappy Hipsters

Unhappy Hipsters is a website devoted to picturesque shots of purported lonely hipsters. The photos seem to be ripped out of various architectural digests, but the captions is what makes them brilliant. You can send tips in to unhappyhipsters@gmail.com.

Enjoy!
It was unclear how her life had become so riddled with obvious metaphors.
(Photo: Paco Perez; Dwell, July/August 2004)

Everyone always leaves.
(Dwell, April 2009)

The octopus was full of judgment.
(Photo: Mark Compton; Dwell, October 2009)

(From TJ )

They Can't Turn the Lights Off

They Can't Turn the Lights Off is "HitRECord's animated short about the Prop 8 trial, transparency, media, freedom and the future". And a "freaky computer spirit" and people who look like that guy from Pokemon. But the message is serious: transparency IS up to you and me and everyone deserves equal rights..

(From ) Youtube

What pregnant women won't tell you. Ever.

I came across a great article from Skepchick on the less glamorous details of pregnancy that may not make it past the editor's desk for What to Expect When You're Expecting. The best part of this article is that it's just one of the many great reads at Skepchick.

So, what is Skepchick?

From their site: "Skepchick is a group of women (and one deserving guy) who write about science, skepticism, and pseudoscience. With intelligence, curiosity, and occasional snark, the group tackles diverse topics from astronomy to astrology, psychics to psychology." Below is an excerpt from the article.

"[W]hile the human-baking process has been going on for like at least 6000 years or so, it’s hardly a process that’s been perfected. And shockingly, a good portion of the process is not discussed. Really. If you think that being pregnant is anything like what you’ve seen in the movies or heard from your friends or co-workers, you might be surprised to hear that normal uncomplicated pregnancies can suck.

So I made a list of things no one tells you about pregnancy until you’re already sucked in. Not everyone experiences all of these. Some women experience none of these. Some women experience all of these and more. And these do not include any of the things no one tells you about complications, miscarriages, infertility or unwanted pregnancy. So this list is only for the lucky ones.

You’re pregnant with a baby you want and you and your husband planned for! Congrats! You must be thrilled! Everyone else is! Don’t you love being pregnant? Everyone else does! It’s magical! It’s wonderful!

Except… you’re not. Don’t try to talk about it with anyone. It’s like explaining mustard to a frog. Women who are already parents will explain to you that you’re just dealing with some stress, and that everything will be fine. Everyone who is not a mother will just be confused or think you’re joking."

(From Skepchick via reddit)

Illustrated Celebrity Tweets

Celebrities are ridiculous, and celebrities on twitter even more so. Tweetmuseum offers graphic depictions of all the wacky things celebrities have tweeted. My favo(u)rite is Lidsay Lohan's comments of coining the phrase "self out" and the picture of Anderson Cooper sexual healing himself with strange forest animals.
(From ) Steven Neptune

What happens if you fall into a Black Hole?

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson at The Richmond Forum - What happens if you fall into a Black Hole?
is a video of a talk given by astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson. In it, he describes, based on known science of how Black Holes operate and how the human body responds to such conditions, what would happen to your body if you fell into a Black Hole.

For a few extra hours of science fun... check our Dr. Tyson's website. Besure to check out the video of Dr. Tyson on The Colbert Report- funny stuff! Or his appearance on The Daily Show.

I wish someone had told me how fun science can be back when I was required to learn it in exchange for grades that determined my future...

"Science is, in fact, interesting. It's just never been presented that way." - Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson


(From my friend, Daniel )

Poof! You're Now Using a Touchscreen!

Okay, so maybe not right this moment, but soon, everyone with a computer monitor can have a touchscreen!

Displax is a Portugese-based company that has created a wonderful, paper-thin polymer film which contains a grid of nanowires which has the capacity to interact with up to 16 fingers, sense air movement over the film, and "can be applied on any non-conductive flat or curved surface including glass, plastic and wood with a thickness under 15 mm. It works in daylight or at night, indoors or outdoors, and isn’t affected by light conditions."

Apparently, the film is applied to the backside of the screen which protects it from all our grimy hands. Looks like we're one step closer to having interactive computers like those from Minority Report. Pretty groovy!

(From Gizmodo)

Man Eggs

ManEggs is a webcomic by tom@tombland.net.

It's not very funny. Except the enclosed one. That one is funny. There you go.

(From Metafilter)

First Person Tetris

First Person Tetris is a take on Tetris that I've never seen before!

When the game starts up, you see what appears to be Tetris playing on a TV- with a VCR on top and everything. When you flip the pieces... the TV and entire setting flip!

Try it out... it'll blow your mind!


(From Neatorama)

Letter Me Later

Letter Me Later is a website that lets you send out emails at a specific time in the future. According to their self-description, the site "allows you to send emails to anyone you wish, with the ability to have them sent at any future date and time you choose. "

The basic service is free, and of course there is an upgraded service available for a fee.

Overall very useful for Gmail, which currently does not have the capability to natively schedule emails in advance--a feature necessary for large scale social organizing and general productivity. Sure, you can use Thunderbird, but your computer has to be on for the email to be sent at the future date.

This site is a decent but not perfect fix (are you hearing me, Google Gmail team?! Make my dreams come true!). (From my frustration with not being able to preschedule gmails)

Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky Discuss Lord of the Rings

Below is a sample from McSweeney's website which contains unused commentary by Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky from The Fellowship of the Ring. It's beautiful dialogue on a different take on the conflict in the book/movie series.

Chomsky: One of the problems with the perspective offered by the Man-Elf coalition is that you have to try so hard to get at the truth of the conflict, at what is really going on; it's so obscured by their propaganda and relentless militarism. I mean, here we have swords being distributed to the Hobbits by Strider so they can protect themselves against these "evil creatures." Now, in this case, it's probably warranted, though the "evil creatures" are looking for the ring in their own individual self-interest. They're behaving in a purely rational way.

Zinn: The Nazgul have been ordered to get the ring. So, that's what they're doing.

Chomsky: There are conflicts in rationality as well. Sometimes valid rationality is forced into conflict because of the structures of culture. But working through those cultural differences is where the peace lies. It doesn't lie in destroying some magical ring. This takes me back to the media's involvement in all this, and the way the media is being controlled by Gandalf, such as when he covers Saruman's palantir in Orthanc. This is the stone that allows one to see, and thus communicate with, different cultures.

Zinn: Right. "What does the eye command, my lord?" This is what the Orcs ask Saruman. In other words, what does the palantir say? Clearly the Orcs know a lot more about the people of Rohan and Gondor than the people of Rohan and Gondor have ever cared to know about them. They're curious beings.

(From McSweeney's Internet Tendency)