What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains

I can say from experience that this is true.
I feel that I used to achieve a far deeper level of thinking before the advent of the internet.
Habits need to change.

THIS must not happen:

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He Just Wants Out

Legend tells of a passenger cursed to ride the subway train FOREVER.

"Home Without, Marleqta"

Every indie film ever.

Shatner of the Mount

Captain Kirk is climbing a mountain.
Why is he climbing a mountain?

I'll let William Shatner explain this one.





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Too Much Green Screen and CGI!

I always wondered why passersby to a film/TV series crew shooting a scene in the street are so oblivious to what is happening.

I mean... many scenes take place on busy city streets or at sites teeming with tourists. 

Places which are practically impossible to close off even for a few hours in order to film a scene. 

And yet no one stops to stare at the big (or smaller) stars. 

No one is even a tiny bit curious as to how a scene is shot. 

Could all these people be so self-disciplined or just indifferent?

Could all these people (sometimes hundreds of them) be extras?

No. The answer is green screen (and CGI).  

As you can see from the following, very enlightening video which contains scenes from well-known TV series (I recognized Ugly Betty, Heroes, Grey's Anatomy, Monk, among them), street scenes are at best filmed on a closed off street, and at worst, completely inside a studio filled with green screens.

So much fakery.

The video is from 2009, so green screen and CGI technology must have advanced even further since then. However, it makes me happy that when I watch contemporary American TV series, I can at least still detect this artificial and confined feel in most of them.


Update:

I just found the 2012 video of the same visual effects company (Stargate Studios).
They are just getting better and better at this.

People Who Became Classic Internet Memes

Let's go back to the "classics".

Here are three cases of people who become internet celebrities and whom, surprisingly, I haven't featured here previously.

Starting with this lady, who became an internet sensation after she described her harrowing escape from a fire.

1) Sweet Brown - Ain't Nobody Got Time For That!




This guy also became famous following an interview on a local news channel.

2) Antoine Dodson - They're Raping Everybody Out Here!





Antoine Dodson capitalized on his success by selling t-shirts and merchandise containing his quotes, as well as receiving royalties from the "Bed Intruder Song" sold through iTunes.






In January 2010, Youtube user Hungrybear9562 (real name Paul Vasquez) uploaded a video of himself sounding rather ecstatic at the sight of a double rainbow at Yosemite National Park.
The video was "discovered" and went viral 7 months later.

3) Hungrybear9562 - Double Rainbow (All The Way)

Amazing Supercell Thunderstorm Video

Beautiful time-lapse video from June 3rd 2013 of a rotating supercell thunderstorm near the town of Booker, Texas.

As always, full screen, HD is recommended.



A supercell near Booker, Texas from Mike Olbinski on Vimeo.


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The Amazing Skidboot

Check out this really smart dog from Texas named Skidboot.
I don't think I've ever seen a dog obeying verbal commands so well.

I'm sure they had (yap, it has died) practiced this lots of times, but still, it's very impressive.






Here's a video with more info on Skidboot's life and his relationship with his owner.





Skidboot died in 2007 at age 15.

There is a page devoted to him and there is hope that one of his younger relatives will exhibit at least some of his characteristics.

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Driving Into An Arizona Haboob

From trusted Wikipedia:

A haboob (Arabic: هَبوب‎ "blasting/drafting") is a type of intense dust storm carried on an atmospheric gravity current.

The music is atmospheric, but perhaps a bit too much.
I mean, it's an intriguing meteorological phenomenon, but not the prelude to the Apocalypse.





Update!

It's well worth watching everything in HD.

Here's the same haboob from July 5th 2011 engulfing Pheonix, Arizona.



The Phoenix Haboob of July 5th, 2011 from Mike Olbinski on Vimeo.



And here's a video showing the formation of a dust storm in Arizona.



The birth of an Arizona dust storm from Mike Olbinski on Vimeo.

Dove Real Beauty Ad Parodied

Dove has done it again.
They've produced another truly stupid ad which just begs to be parodied.

Here is the original.




And here are two of the best parodies.


Dove Real Beauty - Men






Dove Real Beauty - Balls

(probably NSFW because... balls) 

Skilled Ferry Captain

This is a video from April 7th 2013, showing the very skilled captain of the ferry "Adamantios Korais", under quite bad weather conditions, coming into the port of the Greek island of Sikinos, unloading-loading, and leaving within 7.5 minutes.

Everybody waiting to board (especially the lady with the bags and coat) must have got drenched. And imagine the rest of the trip with the ship going up and down. Gives me nausea just thinking about it.

"Informer" (Snow) vs "Imposter" (Jim Carrey)

A few days ago I rediscovered a song that was a big hit when I was young in the early 90s.

It's "Informer" by Snow and I doubt any of us back then had any idea what the song was about.





Personally, I just thought it went something like this:

"In forma, you know sadarma stormy, I go blum, Aliki bonboner"

(Aliki is in capitals as it is the name Alice in Greek)

Along with the original song, through the power of the internet, I discovered Jim Carrey's parody of "Informer", titled "Imposter", which is still funny twenty years on.

Enjoy.

NASA Plans Girl Approach By 2018

Sounds like a plan.

Conan The Barbarian: The Musical

I can't believe I haven't posted this before.

It's a classic.

♫ "Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of the women" ♫

Cat Sends Urgent Fax

 

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