We all know that social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are all very powerful tools on the Internet that allow each one of us to 1) connect with friends, 2) connect with strangers, 3) gain infamy on the Internet and maybe in RL as well, 4) become fans or befriend RL celebrities who have their own Friendster, MySpace or Twitter account (who would ignore you otherwise if this weren’t the Internet), and 5) watch as seemingly great people become bumbling idiots and dbags as they post nonsensical or irrelevant thoughts, pictures and even videos on their personal profiles.
But some fun does come out of these social networking sites from time to time. Just take Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez for instance. Urged by the information that sites such as Facebook and Twitter were dominated by his socialist government’s opponents, he decided to set up his own Twitter account aptly named chavezcandanga. He was so happy when he learned that after just two days on Twitter, he was able to gather some 106,000 followers. In his elation, he even asked his closest allies Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Bolivian president Evo Morales to join Twitter. Now, wouldn’t it be interesting to read this trio’s tweets (if only we could all understand the language)?
Recently, the National Archives of Scotland released an unusual correspondence from a police chief to a government official in the 1930s.
The chief constable of Inverness-shire, William Frasier, wrote a letter in 1938 expressing concern over Loch Ness’ famous cryptid. In the letter, the chief constable was worried about a hunting party of 20 men led by Peter Kent, who was determined to hunt down the Loch Ness monster. They even had a special harpoon gun made.
Obviously, the idea of a giant harpoon gun did not fill Frasier with joy and as he expressed in his letter: There is some strange creature in Loch Ness seems now beyond doubt, but that the police have any power to protect it is very doubtful.
Yes, he was worried for the creature’s safety.
Not much is known about what happened later (Did the hunting party go through with the plan?); though if Nessie had made an appearance for Peter Kent and his merry men, we’d all have heard about it.
Anyway, the Chief Constable Frasier isn’t alone in his concern for a mythical/legendary creature. Sandra Mansi of Vermont, the one who photographed Champ (another yet-to-be-proven-to-exist creature), advocates measures to protect the creature.
Never underestimate the power of a bunch of music geeks with their guitars. Glee’s very own mashups pales in comparison with Axis of Awesome’s “4 Chord Song”, a mash up they performed during the 2009 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Jordan Raskopoulos, Lee Naimo and Benny Davis comprise the Australian musical comedy act that is reminiscent of America’s Dan Band, who gained further popularity after teaming up with American Idol 7’s finalist Michael Johns to sing Total Eclipse of the Heart.
But I digress. Axis of Awesome’s musical talents puts even the Philippines’ very own Moymoy Palaboy to shame. Tingnan mo nga naman ang true musical ingenuity! Yan ang astig!
Serial killers are perhaps one of the vilest types of vermin in the history of mankind, but we take interest in them nonetheless. We’ve all probably heard the grim stories surrounding Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson and his “family”, Ted Bundy and Mary Ann Cotton. They are the more well-known serial killers to date but there are countless more individuals who are as vile and as cunning as they are who never make the front page of the papers or are never sensationalized in news shows.
One of these serial killers is Herman Webster Mudgett, also known as Dr. Henry Holmes. In 1893, he built a hotel with a basement in Chicago for the World’s Fair. This provided a convenient way for the doctor to get victims such as hotel guests and his own hotel’s female staff. The rooms in the hotel were fitted with gas pipes so he could asphyxiate victims or throw them in airtight and soundproof vaults to suffocate them. Holmes also mutilated his victims’ bodies and sold them to medical students, cremated them or dissolved them in acid. It was assumed that he killed many others when he traveled all over Canada and the United States. He confessed to murdering a total of 29 people, but only nine of these deaths were confirmed.
Woo Bum-kon was said to have killed 57 people and wounded 35 others. This South Korean cop went on a killing spree after he and his girl friend had an argument, after which he gathered a rifle, some grenades and ammunition. He first killed three local telephone operators so no calls could be made, and then proceeded to kill people house after house, alternating from using his rifle and grenades. After he had gone through five local villages, he blew himself up with a grenade along with three other hostages that he had grabbed.
Maria and Delfina de Jesus Gonzalez were sisters who owned a brothel named Rancho El Angel in Guanajuato, Mexico. The sisters recruited local women for prostitution and then killed them and got rid of them once they became too ill, too old or had been raped repeatedly that they were no longer profitable for the brothel. The sisters also robbed and killed clients who came to the ranch. When the police finally investigated Rancho El Angel, they found corpses of 11 men, 80 women and several fetuses.
Parental supervision is essential especially for little tykes, though some parents seem to forget their wards and we all get terrorized by little monsters running around and screaming. Some shop owners have taken the humorous solution by posting these amusing signs. Kittens, puppies, coffee, and Red Bull in odious combos guarantee that children will be attended to as the alternative is too horrifying to contemplate. These establishments go to great lengths to get the warnings across, and pity the parent who disregards a warning from a store that takes its warnings seriously.
We’re curious though, which agency or store trades children for donuts? And they would be sold as souvenirs to whom? Tourists?
Even if it’s still a mystery to some scientists, this photo from the Associated Press shows that a volcano is indeed conjuring up a storm–complete with visual lightning effects! An Icelandic volcano whose name we cannot possible spell to save our lives (Eyjafjallajokull Volcano–we told you so.) has been rumbling and grumbling in the past few days, coloring the afternoon sky different shades of purple and pink with its ashfall.
“Truly a wonderful experience to see the lightning crawl around the lava eruption. A pity we couldn’t get any closer,” said photographer Olivier Vandeginste, who was just outside the town of Hvolsvollur in Iceland when the volcano erupted. Check out more photos of this spectacular natural phenomenon here.
Here’s an interesting look at the odd creatures that came up around the world in the last few years. Apparently, humans have a knack for scaring the crap out of each other by speculating that these creatures are some descendant of a dinosaur or the embodiment of a widespread myth. Taking a closer look though, there may be more important things to be scared of, like mange. Watch the video below to find out more about these ‘odd creatures’.
The best part of waiting for new seasons of your favorite shows is getting sneak peeks, behind the scenes footage and promo clips. Networks have also turned to viral campaigns to promote their television shows, with creative ads such as posters plastered on websites, newspapers and magazines. Such is the case for True Blood, which returns with its third season this June 13th. Check out their viral campaigns, which are explicitly smart and mysteriously sexy–the same qualities we’ve grown to love in the vampire series.
The much-awaited sophomore season of one of today’s most popular primetime series is back and it’s going to be another pop-filled season with hits from Madonna. Over the last few months, the cast of the award-winning show has worked hard to produce a season that will surpass the show’s debut, which garnered much success after being partnered with another FOX hit, American Idol.
The Glee kids are back, also debuting on the cover of Rolling Stones’ latest issue, which garnered mixed reactions from the magazine’s more hardcore rock fans. Nonetheless Gleeks all around the world will be happy to grab a copy, which will hit magazine stands soon. Check out some great behind the scenes clips of the second season of Glee below, and an awesome cover of All American Rejects’ “Gives You Hell”.
You know you have a hit single when it tops the charts and suddenly becomes the one song everyone dances to on their home-made YouTube videos. But more than just home videos, we get a wide array of spoofs, including the distasteful version of Joe Jonas and the hilariously appealing Saturday Night Live skit including Justin Timberlake in spandex and high heels.
Two home videos caught our attention though–the first being the one featured on television, with over 4 million views on YouTube–Single Ladies Gone Wrong, which features two black women wearing masks, dancing to the tune of Beyonce’s award-winning hit, Single Ladies.
The second video doesn’t feature anyone dancing, but is equally hilarious as well. It shows three kids on the backseat of the car, happily waving their hands to the song until the father of one of them tells the third kid, who happens to be a little boy, that he isn’t a single lady. Watch his reaction below upon hearing the sad, sad news that he can’t be a single lady.
