The world recently lost a video game legend, a man responsible for giving us such beloved franchises as Super Smash Bros. and Kirby, Nintendo’s mythical mastermind Satoru Iwata.
Satoru helped bring Nintendo back from the brink of destruction with both the Nintendo DS and the Wii console, and his legacy at the gaming company he loved like family will never be forgotten.
But Satoru’s creations didn’t just make the world a better place for gamers, his works inspired artists of all kinds to follow their hearts and chase their dreams no matter how lofty. Rest in peace, Satoru, and thanks for all the gaming goodness!
Take off your shoes, ya filthy humans! Do I have to do everything around here? Would it pawsibly kill you to pick up the mop and clean up a bit here? Help meow-t ... What am I a cat or the cleaning lady? So pre-paw-sterous!
This terrifying photograph has gone viral on the internet over the past 24 hours. Once upon a time, when almost every TV was in black and white, shows were lit in a way that made them look normal. But the Teletubbies are pretty much defined by their colors, and the bright cheerful colors of their surroundings. Without that palette, they are plastic soulless aliens.
In the 1970s kids shows became totally far out in both style and subject matter, full of psychedelic characters and imagery that must've felt just right to the offspring of the Flower Power generation.
Here's a collection of ten kid oriented TV shows from the 70s, which is nowhere near exhaustive and is purposely lacking obvious shows like Sesame Street and The Elecric Company.
As you peruse the list you’ll see the name of two siblings come up on this list many times with good reason- Sid & Marty Krofft have cornered the market on strange kid’s TV shows ever since they brought their own brand of psychedelic TV magic to the small screen with H.R. Pufnstuf (1969).
The Bugaloos flew right into the hearts of kids who loved fantasy when they made their television debut in 1970. Starring a cast of British teens (who were also conveniently a four piece band) the Bugaloos were able to fly in their stylish insectoid outfits, and constantly avoided being captured by the evil Benita Bizarre.
The Wombles are the original puppet environmentalists, little pointy nosed critters who collected and recycled trash dumped by humans in order to help keep the environment clean.
This British oddity is based on a series of novels by Elisabeth Beresford, and the Wombles encouraged kids to be more environmentally friendly, thereby becoming the original spokespuppets for going green!
Before Linda Carter brought Wonder Woman to life on the small screen there was a mighty cool show called The Secrets Of Isis, about a science teacher turned superhero.
Using the power of the Isiac Amulet mild mannered teacher Andrea Thomas transformed into the Egyptian goddess Isis, giving her "the powers of the animals and the elements".
The Secrets Of Isis brought superheroic action into the lives of young girls, and the show also brought them a line of action figures so they could battle their brothers!
Borders, fences, fortifications, demarcations- whatever you call them, there are a lot of dividing lines in history. Here are some of the most famous.
1. HADRIAN’S WALL
Milecastle 39 on Hadrian’s Wall near Steel Rigg. (Image credit: Adam Cuerden)
In AD 122, the Roman Empire was near the height of its power, but in the far-flung imperial province of Britannia, the empire was having some trouble near its northern border. To control that line in the heath, Emperor Hadrian ordered the construction of what became the most heavily-fortified border in the Western world at the time: a 73-mile wall of limestone and turf, with small forts roughly every Roman mile occupied by a few dozen troops. Additionally, larger forts were also constructed. The Romans built the wall well enough that it survived the Roman Empire, and what remains of it became a World Heritage Site in 1987.
There’s a reason that the citizens of Brazil speak Portuguese while nearly all of the rest of South America speaks Spanish: that reason is the Tordesillas Meridian. In 1493, Pope Alexander VI offered a papal edict saying that Spain (Alexander VI’s native country) would control any land west of a meridian (a line stretching from pole to pole) that lay 100 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands, which were off the coast of Africa. This meant that the pope was giving the Americas to Spain, which did not sit well with the Portuguese, who thought they were entitled to it.
In 1494, the Spanish and Portuguese signed the Treaty of Tordesillas, which nudges that papal line further west -giving Portugal the eastern “bump” of the South American continent that would become Brazil.
When is a line not just a line? When it is “the Pale” -an area on the eastern shore of Ireland that was directly under the control of the English crown during the Middle Ages. It derived its name from the Latin word palus, which literally meant a stake, but figuratively meant a fence or line, the lands beyond which one does not have control (and indeed, the Pale had a border fence, or some say a line of dikes). This is what people are referring to when they use the expression “beyond the pale.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jimmy Fallon do a QVC skit on The Tonight Show in which the only real aim is to get Schwarzenegger to say the classic line “Get to the Chopper!" from the film Predator. You have to admit, no one does a Schwarzenegger impression like Arnold.
Here’s a musical fushion that I’ve never heard before! It’s a combination of Japanese surf rock and classical western European music. Terauchi Takeshi is the musical mind responsible. He formed the eponymous Terauchi Takeshi & the Bunnys in 1966 in Yokohama. Takeshi experimented with other genres, borrowing heavily from classical music. Here’s his mix of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
You can hear more classical tracks at WFMU’s Beware of the Blog, including selections from Brahams, Schubert and Tchaikovsky.
Here's a digital 8 bit improvement on the harmonica created by YouTube user basami sentaku, and while it may not be the sonic improvement that harmonicaholics hoped for it makes sweet video game sounds when you blow into the cartridge, and playing this instrument will feel like you're trying to get an old school console cartridge to work- just like the good old days!
He created this digital music marvel with a NES sound chip housed inside a Famicon cartridge case, and it even has a Mario coin sound setting so you can add that colorful ba-ding to your next video game themed blues band performance.
Ken Zwick and Carol Hollar-Zwick bought a home in Neenah, Wisconsin in 1999. They knew there was a fallout shelter on the property, but didn't explore it for years. When they did, it was like opening a time capsule. The shelter was fully stocked with supplies bought fifty years ago!
When the Zwicks unlocked the heavy, metal hatch, they found watertight Army surplus boxes floating in 5 feet of water that had seeped into the shelter. The contents of the boxes, though, were in pristine condition.
A few of the boxes bore labels suggesting they might contain explosives, so agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to investigate, but nothing dangerous was inside.
“It was Hawaiian Punch,” Hollar-Zwick said. “It was all of what you would expect to find in a 1960s fallout shelter. It was food, clothing, medical supplies, tools, flashlights, batteries — items that you would want to have in a shelter if you planned to live there for two weeks.”
The Zwicks donated the supplies to the Neenah Historical Society, which is putting them on display as part of an exhibit called “Take Cover Neenah! Backyard Family Fallout Shelters in Cold War America.” Read more about Cold War fallout shelters at the Post Crescent. Link -via mental_floss
One of the earliest existential ideas to come about was the concept of subjective morality. Formulated in the 19th century by Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard and German misanthrope/syphilis victim Friedrich Nietzsche, this theory rejected the long-held belief in a “universal truth” of right and wrong. Rather, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche recognized that most situations that appear black and white actually aren’t. Depending on the situation and its consequences, even the most seemingly benign action could turn out to be malevolent – and vice versa. But, if a universal truth can’t properly govern behavior, then what can? The answer, they contended, is you. Yes, you! According to the philosophers, personal experience, personal convictions, and the specific context of a situation are the only things that can define morality. Consequently, the definition of morality has to be left to each individual.
While Kierkegaard and Nietzsche were actually proto-existentialist, their ideas heavily influenced philosophy’s big breakout in the 1940s and 1950s. Largely because of the groundwork they laid, existentialism evolved into a philosophy of individualism and self-actualization. It’s also a lot more positive than it’s given credit for. Kierkegaard claimed that the highest moral good was for an individual to figure out his or her unique truth and passion and use that knowledge to live life to the fullest.
Step # 2 Think Like Spider-Man
Say it with us now: “With great power comes great responsibility.” Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben must have been reading a lot of stuff by French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre when he imparted that little nugget. Expanding on the writing of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, Sartre determined that if Man is the maker of his own morality, then his greatest power is the freedom of choice. Thus, choice is inescapable. Even choosing not to choose is a choice. What’s more, each person is defined by his or her choices and the actions they lead to. In other words, no matter how much other people may try to objectify you, you still have the power to determine your own fate.
These two rabbits are playing a game in the backyard. Arbroath called it "opposite of leapfrog," and the video uploader called it the "bunny hop," and said he watched for several minutes before getting his phone to record it. A commenter thinks it's a mating dance. I wonder if they ever switch off and let the other bunny be "it"? -via Arbroath
