To those who think violins are for people who are either out for a romantic dinner or looking to watch an orchestra, clearly haven’t seen Teppei Okada in action before. The said violinist has several videos up on his YouTube channel (vissionclassicjp), usually with Okada in a white tux (I’m sure some people will refer to this as a geek suit) and a big TV behind him. A video game is played on the TV and the violinist provides the score. Here are two of my personal favorites:
Still think his tuxedo’s funny? The violin gives the classical touch while Okada’s epic musical timing certainly lends that “realistic” score. For more of this guy’s awesomesauce playing (watch out for Donkey Kong and Xevious), check out his YouTube channel.
There are several reasons why people work, the most popular of which would probably be the all important Salary. Of course, in the course of a career, people’s priorities change and the reasons for keeping one’s employment evolve (and maybe even devolve).
The folks down at MadAtoms have put together a pie chart indicating the reasons why we work, including the low quality daytime TV shows, free coffee (among other stuff), happy hour, and nagging parents. The reasons that took the biggest parts of the pie are hot interns and happy hour. The biggest chunk went to everybody’s desire to eventually stop working, i.e. Retire. Priorities, right?
Armageddon is basically the end of the world; an Electronic Armageddon would be the end of the world as we know it. Can you imagine your life without Google and the Internet? Without your TV, PS3, cell phone, or (gasp!) microwave? Well, according to National Geographic, there are two things that can bring about a catastrophic EMP wave: the Sun and an EMP bomb.
According to NASA, the sun can awaken from its “deep slumber” and wake up grumpy – unleashing massive solar storms. The EMP (electromagnetic pulse) bomb, on the other hand is a bomb that is detonated in the atmosphere and releases energy, frying chips and overloading power lines. An EMP bomb would thrust us back to the Dark Ages – or at least, a 21st century without power and technology rendered useless.
If Hollywood action movies are to be believed, we can safely say that a. action heroes never run out of ammo, b. silencers are a spy’s best friend, and c. machine guns are effective as “little friends.” If you’re a fan of MythBusters or Cracked, you’d know to take a lot of what you see in the movies with a warehouse-full of salt. So what gun myths have Hollywood been notoriously peddling?
First off, the silencer will hardly muffle a gunshot – it will only lower the sound from an earsplitting 140 to 160 decibels down to a still earsplitting 120 to 130 decibels. As you may have guessed, that’s still about as loud as a jackhammer.
Who can forget that scene in Scarface? “Say hello to my little friend!” Tony Montana pulls an M16A1 and mows down the thugs rushing his mansion. There are two problems with this scene: One, if you go fully-automatic, it will take about four seconds to run out of bullets; and two, in real life, people need to change magazines or reload.
More movie gun myths were discussed and if you want to check them out, click the via link below.
US Coast Guard agent Paul Schultz found a camera in a waterproof case in Florida, and to help find the owner, he posted the pictures in the digital camera’s memory on the Internet. He also found a video dated January 10, 2010, a few months before he found the said camera.
According to Schultz, his first though after seeing the video was that the diver was being attacked. Apparently, the turtle’s attempts to eat the camera resulted in accidentally turning it on. The camera’s owner, a Dutch sailor, was eventually found; the camera was reportedly lost while diving in Aruba, around 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) away from Key West, Florida where the camera was found.
I’m sure most of you want to know these details: The camera’a a Nikon Coolpix L18 with a Ikelite waterproof housing. It’s quite possibly indestructible.
Snowy was taken to the vet when she stopped eating and became ill. The vets were a little baffled when a change in diet and antibiotics didn’t help the ailing West Highland terrier. A urine test and a diet change later, the small dog was then taken to get an X-ray.
Well, there’s your problem.
The X-ray revealed the little Snowy had swallowed an entire family of 5 toy cats, including papa (which was big enough to be seen on the X-ray) and mama cats and their three kittens. The toy feline victims were removed from the not-too-bright pooch through an emergency operation. Snowy’s owner vowed that their family will make sure that their family pet never downs another toy cat.
We’re pretty sure that few balls have received as much criticism as the Adidas’s Jabulani. The official ball for this year’s FIFA World Cup has taken flak for pretty much everything, from being too fast, too light, too unpredictable, and too round. Well, depending on who you ask, there are a thousand little ways in which this ball can ruin goalies, strikers, and everybody else on the football field.
Jabulani was named after the Zulu word for ‘rejoice’ and is a technologically advanced – made of eight thermally bonded panels. Anyway, the video below shows the balls trip through the factory, and which processes it undergoes.
The iconic bridge is today’s featured Who Knew episode, featuring some fun facts about the said bridge. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced earlier this month that the Brooklyn Bridge is about to get a $500 million makeover. Considering the Brooklyn Bridge has been around since 1883, I’d say it deserves a fresh coat of paint and some structural repairs.
The Brooklyn Bridge was designed by John Augustus Roebling, opened in 1883, and cost around $15 million. At the time of its first unveiling, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. (The longest suspension bridge at the moment is Akashi Kaikyo in Japan.) The bridge’s makeover will last for four years, and will feature a special shade: Brooklyn Bridge Tan.
Religious monuments serve as not only works of art, but also as an inspiration to devoted believers. Unfortunately, one of Monroe, Ohio’s most revered and admired monuments was burned down in a huge fire resulting from a lightning strike that ignited a six-story monument of Jesus Christ and his cross.
Fondly tagged “Touchdown Jesus,” the “King of Kings” statue on southwest Ohio’s evangelical Solid Rock Church along Interstate 75 was burned to the ground at around midnight on Monday, June 14. The six-storey tall sculpture measures 62 feet up and 40 feet wide and was made of plastic foam and fiberglass, held high by a steel frame. Today, only the steel frame is visible from the I-75.
The incident caused traffic to slow down and observers to come closer and pick up what was left of the statue, believing that the event had a deeper meaning to it. The fire also damaged the nearby amphitheater, which recorded damages to amount to $400,000.
We’ve all seen the FIFA World Cup shocker in the match between the USA and England (a draw, 1:1), and Robert Green may be nicknamed Sir Butterfingers for the rest of eternity. Too bad for the unfortunate goalie, the football world is not done with rubbing it in yet. The unbelievable fumble now has a brick version, courtesy of Lego Fussball.
Lego Fussball takes the best moments in the matches and makes stop-motion Lego animation out of all of them. So if you’re up for some football highlights in bricks, head on over to Lego Fussball’s website.
