Early Elvis/Cash/Perkins/Holly Footage - Classic

Here is (as it says in the video) perhaps the earliest footage of Elvis on record. I'm not a huge fan of Elvis himself, but the time period depicted, along with the key players in it - Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Buddy Holly - really intrigues me.

Cthulu Jesus

Click on the above image to enlarge it, because you simply can't get the level of detail needed to enjoy it by the limited scope here. It's a Photoshopped version of an earlier picture (though this one is obviously much better), and I just couldn't help but post it. Again, the level of detail is just magnificent.

[img source=p3on]

Idle Thumbs: Resident Evil 5 PC Hilarity

A classmate of mine in the English Ed. cohort told me about a video games podcast called Idle Thumbs, and once I have the time, I'm totally going to dive into it. Until then, however, all I've been able to watch is the video posted above, regarding the joy of playing RE5 with a REALLY experienced player.

New Super Mario Bros. for Wii Trailer

The new trailer for the side-scrolling Wii Mario Bros. is out, and it makes the game look phenomenal. I know they're making a Super Mario Galaxy II, but that seems redundant, or wrong, somehow. Every Mario game gets bigger in scope - Brothers, Land, World, 64 (3-D), Galaxy - and to repeat it makes it look like they're out of ways to have Mario transcend humanity. However, the old-school take on the franchise looks like a good way to go. I, for one, am looking forward to it.

Ron Jeremy Was in 'Ghostbusters'

Indeed, Ron Jeremy - you may know him as "The Hedgehog" - was an extra in 'Ghostbusters'. Photographic proof was needed, and now here it is.

The Beauty of Photoshop

Talking about beauty being overrated is hard for me (because I'm so handsome), but I guess the least I can do is post this video, of a young woman - who looks more or less plain in the beginning - being Photoshopped into a state of beauty for an advertisement.

Sci-Fi Burger King

Burger Kings across the nation are trying to go a little more upscale by renovating their nearly 12,000 locations for a more sit-down feel.

According to the Huffington Post,

The company said the new design, called "20/20" at the Miami-based chain, is already in place at about 60 locations around the world. Burger King expects about 75 more redesigned restaurants to be open by the end of next year. But it will take years before all its locations are transformed.

However, based on my observations, the new BK stores look more like approximations of 60s science fiction sets. And I like it! Kind of makes me want to go and get a Whopper right now.

Steampunk R2-D2

Here is a steampunk R2D2, made by Deviant Art user ~amoebabloke.

[img source=~amoebabloke]

Jack the Ripper Identity Revealed?

According to the UK Telegraph:

[Historian] Mei Trow used modern police forensic techniques, including psychological and geographical profiling, to identify Robert Mann, a morgue attendant, as the killer.

There has been no shortage of suspects in the Jack the Ripper case - even Patricia Cornwell has put her two cents in - so it should be noted that the "case closed" notion should be taken with an air of skepticism.

However, the evidence here seems to jibe well with the facts in the case, and also may add two victims to the list.

After the killing of Polly Nichols, Jack's first recognised victim, Mann unlocked the mortuary for the police so they could examine the body and as such, was called as a witness in her inquest to help establish the cause of death.

Most damningly, he undressed Polly's body with his assistant, despite being under strict instructions from Inspector Spratling to not touch the body, and Trow suspects that this was an opportunity to admire his handiwork.

Post-It Note Atari

BoingBoing posted a video Tony Pichotta and Justin Grizzoffi made a few years ago entirely out of Post-It Notes. The result is a surreal approximation of a few notable Atari games.

Related Posts:

• DEADLINE - A Stop Motion Video
  

Star Wars Uncut

Star Wars: Uncut Trailer from Casey Pugh on Vimeo.

From StarWarsUncut.com:

You and 472 other people have the chance to recreate Star Wars: A New Hope. Below is the entire movie split up into 15 second clips. Click on one of the scenes to claim it, film it, and upload it. You can have up to three scenes! When we're all done, we'll stitch it all together and watch the magic happen.

You can go to the site and watch already finished scenes, or volunteer to take on one as-yet unfilmed scene. In addition, you can also follow them on Twitter.

No Posts Today

No posts today, as I am too sick to be at the computer. Tune in tomorrow; hopefully, I'll be feeling better.

Hot Sauce is Not a Toy

I'm a fan of hot sauce. Hell, I'm a fan of hot things, in general. I like spicy food. I recently met my match with an especially hot serving of twelve wings from a local establishment, wings I had consumed dozens of times before but that, on that particular day, well exceeded my level of comfort. To my credit, they were the hottest wings on the menu, and I had consumed them before, but that day those wings put me under the table.

They are covered in a thick habanero sauce, but sometimes the sauce is thicker than other times. Sometimes it is an entirely bearable amount; others, it is not. This time, it definitely was not.

As per usual, I dug into the first two or three wings, thinking that, as always, I would grow accustomed to the stinging in my mouth and be able to enjoy the flavor (I do like the taste of habanero), but the sensation only grew worse.

My stomach burned. My eyes watered. My lips became numb, and when I talked, my mouth, too, watered profusely. It's the kind of place that gives you one big cloth rag rather than a napkin, and the wings were so full of sauce that I quickly ran out of space on the "napkin" and had to resort to licking the red poison off my fingers. Bad idea. Even heaping dollops of bleu cheese dressing and stick after stick of celery could not alleviate this particularly heinous form of discomfort.

I felt true physical pain, like someone had doused my face with kerosene and lit a match. I drank three 32 oz. glasses of Coke and 2 smaller glasses of water and became as miserably full as I was just plain miserable. Sad thing was, I didn't even finish all of the wings.

Needless to say, I've given up on the idea that I can eat anything spicy, but I just read a story on the Times Online that makes my story pale by comparison. Go check it out, because it has definitely cheered me up on this gloomiest of days.

[Help, quick – I’ve unscrewed the top on a ticking bomb]
[img source=fortune cookie (wiki commons)

Brutal Legend

The demo is live for Brutal Legend, which will be released on October 13 for XBox 360 and PS3, starring Jack Black as the voice of Eddie Riggs, whose mission in the game is a hellish one.

The game's soundtrack will feature over 100 heavy songs from 75 bands, and below is a list of sonic highlights (the LA Times:

• Black Sabbath - Children of the Grave
  
• Children of Bodom - Angels Don't Kill
  
• Dethklok - Mermaider
  
• Diamondhead - Am I Evil?
  
• Dragonforce - Through the Fire and Flames
  
• Judas Priest - The Hellion/Electric Eye
  
• Mastodon - Crack the Skye
  
• Ministry - Thieves
  
• Ozzy - Mr. Crowley
  
• Rob Zombie - SuperBeast
  
• Slayer - MetalStorm/Face the Slayer
  
• And Plenty More
  

Better than 'Guitar Hero'? 'Brutal Legend' packs 100+ heavy metal songs

Cinema's Top *Human Villains Montage

This is a pretty well-done montage regarding the best human film villains of all time. It covers a lot of ground, but of course it couldn't have gotten everyone in a matter of three minutes. It's still worth a look, though I don't know how well the music fits. What are your thoughts?

Super Hero Cocktails

Comics Alliance has posted a list of alcoholic bevs named after super heroes and comic book characters. If you enjoy that sort of things - or have no friends, drink by yourself, or don't care if your friends think you're a nerd - then mosey on over there and have a look-see.

Two Million Minutes Trailer

2 Million Minutes is (obviously) a documentary about education in the 21st century. Filmmaker Robert A. Crompton searched the world, looking for schools that exhibited the kind of curriculum conducive to learning in today's environment.

This film takes a deeper look at how the three superpowers of the 21st Century - China, India and the United States - are preparing their students for the future. As we follow two students - a boy and a girl - from each of these countries, we compose a global snapshot of education, from the viewpoint of kids preparing for their future.

Our goal is to tell the broader story of the universal importance of education today, and address what many are calling a crisis for U.S. schools regarding chronically low scores in math and science indicators.

The film's name is a reference to the number of minutes a youth experiences in his/her teenage years. You can watch the above trailer or order it on the site.

Only One of the Truest Things CNN Has Ever Reported

Typewriters in the Pre-Electric Age

Typewriters did, in fact, exist in the days preceding electricity, and people speaking English had it fairly easily even then, considering the sparse number of characters in the language. But what about the Japanese? What did they do, with their thousands upon thousands of characters?

The answer is the kanji typewriter (和文タイプライター or 邦文タイプライター), which was invented by Kyota Sugimoto in 1915. This invention was deemed so important that it was selected as one of the ten greatest Japanese inventions by the Japanese Patent Office during their 100th anniversary celebrations in 1985.

Believe me, it was a very complicated process. I mean, of course I don't know, for a bevy of reasons, but according to the blog post I checked out, it was extremely cumbersome but a technological innovation nonetheless. There are more pictures and in-depth explanations of its function on the site itself.

[img srce=miya (wiki commons)
Japanese Typewriters - GT! Blog

Sandwich Calculator

This post could go under the 'frugal' or 'OCD' label, but BoingBoing just posted a link to a sandwich calculator, in which you can plug in all of your ingredients and find out just how much money it takes to make a sandwich in your home. Well, basically. There are only a few ingredients in each category, but still. Cut me a break.

Lose/Lose (Game) Situation

lose/lose from zach gage on Vimeo.

The video game Lose/Lose isn't just mindless entertainment. Indeed, there are real-life consequences associated with playing it.

It's your basic scrolling shooter, a la Galaga, but for every alien you kill, a file on your computer is deleted. If your ship is destroyed, then the application is deleted.

lthough touching aliens will cause the player to lose the game, and killing aliens awards points, the aliens will never actually fire at the player. This calls into question the player's mission, which is never explicitly stated, only hinted at through classic game mechanics. Is the player supposed to be an aggressor? Or merely an observer, traversing through a dangerous land?

It's an ironic take on gaming, and it's something I, personally, will NEVER be playing, unless I take on a vendetta against someone. But, if you're willing you can download the game right now, if you like. I, for one, will stick to mindless violence.

The Game That Kills Your Files

He-Man Covers "What's Up" by 4 Non-Blondes

This is pretty self-explanatory but also entrancing, like Bo Derek's trek across the beach in '10'. Enjoy.

Oh, and as an added bonus, if you would like to see Masters of the Universe characters drawn as hipsters, go to Street Level.

[Comics Alliance]

'Ardi' Fossil Revealed - Oldest Known Hominid

An international team of researchers has revealed the remains of the oldest known hominid in existence, nicknamed Ardi due to its name (Ardipithecus ramidus).

The details can be found in the Science journal:

Researchers have unveiled the oldest known skeleton of a putative human ancestor--and it is full of surprises. Although the creature, named Ardipithecus ramidus, had a brain and body the size of a chimpanzee, it did not knuckle-walk or swing through the trees like an ape. Instead, "Ardi" walked upright, with a big, stiff foot and short, wide pelvis, researchers report in Science. "We thought Lucy was the find of the century," says paleoanthropologist Andrew Hill of Yale University, referring to the famous 3.2-million-year-old skeleton that revolutionized thinking about human origins. "But in retrospect, it was not."

Scientists urge, though, that we not jump to conclusions. Some, among them David Pilbeam, think the chimpanzee and Ardipithecus ramidus did not evolve in a mutually exclusive manner: "I find it hard to believe that the numerous similarities of chimps and gorillas evolved convergently." We have no evidence that Ardipithecus gave way to Australopithecus, and more tests will have to be done to discover what exactly occurred. But still, this is a HUGE find!

[Ancient Skeleton May Rewrite Earliest Chapter of Human Evolution]
['Ardi,' Oldest Human Ancestor, Unveiled]

Romero to Pen His First Novel

I won't say that George A. Romero single-handedly created the zombie film genre, but he is widely regarded as the father of it. What he did was take what was ostensibly a throwaway movie trope and turn it collectively into a viable force in the horror genre. Today there is a certain canonical zombie archetype, which can ultimately be traced to Romero, and that is why it's impressive that he's writing a novel about it.


Here is what The Guardian UK had to say about the project:

"There is no one more qualified to write a zombie novel," said Mellor, who pointed to the success of the films Shaun of the Dead, I Am Legend and 28 Days Later, and the runaway bestselling book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, as proof that the genre "has legs". "You just have to look on the internet and around the world at the enthusiasm with which Romero, and zombies, are greeted, to see that there's a huge amount of potential for these books," she said. The Living Dead will be published in July next year.

The problem is, and I'm just being honest, by writing this novel, Romero is ultimately not playing to his strengths. He's not the best writer, and it's his visual style that defines him most successfully. If he can manage to translate the gritty, gory, paranoid claustrophobia of his films intact in the novel, then it may be hugely successful. Let's hope that's what happens.

[Cult director George A Romero to pen zombie foundation myth]
[George Romero to Write his Definitive Guide to Zombies]

Harold Ramis on Ghostbusters III

I love Ghostbusters. I love Ghostbusters II a little less, but still I love it. I cannot wait for a third Ghostbusters movie, if, in fact, it happens. Chances are, it will. But I heard about a fourth Indiana Jones movie for a looooong time before it actually hit the screen. In other words, I hope the Ecto 1 isn't a set of interlocked Rascal scooters. That's all I'm saying.

Over at Den of Geek, they recounted an interview with Harold Ramis regarding the potential release of the new movie. Though everything is in a hypothetical state so far, I'm a little giddy to hear the familiar bu-da-da-da-da-dow-dow of the theme song on the screen. Here is what Ramis had to say about it:

He went on to deny that the film is set to deal with the Mayan calendar, and confirmed that, as of yet, no actor has been approached or signed up to appear in the film (save for the confirmation of the returning names). He ended by saying, "Yeah, we definitely are introducing new Ghostbusters. That much is for sure. And there will be inter-dimensional creatures visiting New York. And we will deal with it. That's all I am allowed to say at this point."

Ramis admitted that Dan Aykroyd is the "driving force" of the third film, so it appears that he really is the gatekeeper of this franchise.

[img srce: Chad Davis]
[Harold Ramis on Ghostbusters III
[Chad Davis on Wiki Commons]