"Look At Me Son, I'm Talking To You"

This police lieutenant from Louisiana is the most stereotypical American thing I've seen in a very long while. My Europeanness just cringed, pissed herself and hid under the bed.





"Watch, as a man commits his crime"
(I was expecting a Valar Morghulis at some point there)

So many things to comment on:
 
The DNA on a rock,
the hardworking and generous Stellys,
the sheriff being a fan of Stelly's,
the cheeseburger with coke and fries he'll have afterwards,
the nice tip he'll give to the waitress,
the fact that he knows nobody likes the perp.

Is he for real? Is he a cartoon? Did he come out of a movie or something?

He really makes me want to give myself up, but I haven't done anything.


(source)

Amazing Waterspout Footage from Greece

Amazing footage of a waterspout (tornado over water) caught in 2009 by a tourist at the beautiful beach of Egremni on the Greek island of Lefkada.








Don't be fooled though.
65%-80% of tornadoes worldwide occur in the USA.
Hank Green, host of the SciShow explains "why tornadoes hate America".

Kansas vs Arkansas

A common query among non-American English speakers is why Arkansas is not pronounced like Kansas, but with an "Ar" in front.





Apparently, there is a French connection to the two different pronunciations.

Also, from Wikipedia 1 & 2.

Amazing Footage of Rare Off-Season 2013 Tornado in Illinois

The main tornado season in the United States is between April and July.
Of course that doesn't mean that tornadic events outside these dates do not happen.

One particularly late event happened last November.

During the tornado outbreak of November 17th 2013, 8 people lost their lives as a direct result of tornadic activity. The outbreak affected the states of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee.

In this gripping video, a dad and his daughter are inside their home in Washington, Illinois, as the tornado approaches. The tornado was an EF4 (Enhanced Fujita scale) with winds speeds of 267-332km/h (166-200mph). Fortunately, they were both unharmed, albeit understandably shaken.





A constant question coming from us Europeans when we see footage like this is why do Americans build their houses out of wood? Why not use cement and steel?

I have read in comment sections and forums Americans insisting that no house, whichever way it is built, can withstand an EF5 or even EF4 tornado (winds >267km/h). It would be interesting to see the effect of a strong tornado on a house made with a cement-steel skeleton, foundation and walls. Personal opinion, there might be a lot of damage through weak points, like windows, but the structure itself should remain standing. Of course it might need to be demolished afterwards, but at least the walls could provide some protection against deadly debris (instead of becoming debris themselves). In the end, the true reason why Americans use a lot of wood and other light materials in their homes is because they are cheaper that way, plus the probability of a house being hit by a tornado is actually so small that it doesn't justify adding the extra cost to all houses being built.  

Some before and after images from Washington, Illinois, can be found here (Daily Mail) and here (esri.com). Below, you can see the path of the tornado.

It's amazing how houses that were not directly in the path of the tornado (perhaps just 50m away) appear almost undamaged.


(source)

The Roof, the Roof, the Roof is on Fire!

Four days ago, a fire erupted on the roof of an apartment complex that was being built in Houston, Texas. Everyone evacuated safely, except for one construction worker who was stranded on the top floor.

Here is the amazing footage of his rescue by the fire fighters.





This footage contains:

disaster (raging roof fire),
suspense (will he survive?),
action (falling to the lower level),
humour ("I was going to get an apartment over there too...", "they're cheaper now"),
obliviousness ("hey, hey,  what about this guy?", "they got him!", "oh, OK...")
and more.

Here's the fire from further away.





And a couple of photos.

And for anyone not getting the title.... click here.


(source) (news report)

Texan City Ice Avalanche

So... this thing can happen, and can obviously be very dangerous for unsuspecting passers-by.

The videos below are from a December 2013 cold spell in Plano, Texas (and they do appear to be in the same area, if not the same building complex).





That was... strangely satisfying to watch.

Here's more.





Somebody posted on imgur the damage to cars and trees.
Ouch.





(source)

The Ice Balls of Lake Michigan

It is a particularly cold night here and I thought I'd post something related.

Just a couple of weeks ago, during the previous appearance of the polar vortex, someone posted these ice balls that had appeared in lake Michigan.




Apparently, they are created when "small fragments of floating ice act like seeds, with layers upon layers of supercooled lake water freezing around them as the balls churn in the waves. Wind then pushes the ice concretions onshore."

(source)

Helicopter-Assisted Christmas Tree Harvest In Oregon

I had no idea.

From the "about" section of the video:

"Christmas Tree harvesting at Noble Mountain Christmas Tree Farm in Oregon. Pilot Dan Clark flying a Northwest Helicopters, LLC 206B3 Jetranger November of 2008. 

Oregon is the nation's biggest producer and exporter of Christmas trees, selling about 7.3 million trees a year, more than twice that of No. 2 North Carolina. The holiday trees represent a $101 million industry in Oregon."


As many commenters on Youtube mention, he's probably paid by the quantity of trees he transports and not by the hour.





Also, many mention that it's not as grueling (inertia-wise) as it looks.

Here's another video (probably not of the same pilot, obviously) from a... more sunny day, showing the cockpit view.





Still pretty impressive.


(source and source)

New Orleans (tilt-shift)

New Orleans is the most populous city in the US state of Louisiana (but not the capital, as is so often the case).

As always, make sure to watch in HD.

I was there for a couple of days recently. It was nice. Very touristy and pretty safe. The French Quarter was interesting, but not as large as I had expected. It is cool how that area's Franco-Spanish past (the architecture at least) has been largely preserved. I tried to imagine how it would have been in the city during hurricane Katrina. In general, I think you can see it all in 2-3 days. If you're a jazz music fan (which I am not) you might appreciate it more.

4th of July Fireworks Gone Wrong

I've been waiting a long time to post this, hoping not to miss the date.

So here it is, from two years ago, July 4th 2011.


Caution: Language.

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.


(source)

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.

(source)

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.

San Francisco in 4K/Ultra-HD

According to Wikipedia, 4K UHD is 2160p.
My screen is only 1080p.

Oh well, as always, full screen, HD, with sound is recommended.

Enjoy.


Teton Gravity Research Aerial Reel - The Bay Area in 4K from Teton Gravity Research on Vimeo.


(source)

Boston (tilt-shift)

I haven't posted a tilt-shift video for a while, so here is a lovely video of Boston shot during Thanksgiving 2012 (November 22nd).

As always, full screen, HD, recommended.

Sh*t Southern Women Say

Even if you don't get all the references, this is still quite entertaining.

Mitt Romney's Concession Song

Yap, that's pretty much true.

Finally, the election is over. In the end, not as tight a race as the media were projecting.
So, in a couple of years (or even sooner), the news will again be dominated this time by both the race for the Democratic and the race for the Republican nomination as the countdown to the 2016 election begins (2-3 years early, because you know, papers need to be sold, sites need to get clicks). Quite similar to what happens in my country actually, with the main difference being that in the US, elections are held exactly every 4 years and not 2-3 times a year...  

Obama vs Romney vs Cassetteboy

With the US presidential election fast approaching, here's Cassetteboy's take on the presidential debates.

Mitt Romney Does the Decent Thing

Finally!



(source)

Lesser-Known US Politicians

Vermin Supreme (Independent)

Here he is running as a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination for the 2012 US elections.

Jimmy McMillan ("Rent Is Too Damn High" party)

Here he is running for governor of New York in 2010.

Debate With "Rent Is Too Damn High" Candidate - Watch More Funny Videos