Nick (@voemas on Twitter) tweeted this video of his chameleon Laura sitting up and popping bubbles. The tweet soon was getting a lot of attention. Thankfully though, when Nick told Laura about her internet fame, she didn't let it inflate her ego, as evidenced by her photo below. She knows what is full of air and what isn't. Stay grounded, Laura! Via Laughing Squid
I have just informed Laura that she is going viral on Twitter. She seems to be taking it well. pic.twitter.com/9yQMaXiuCY
This older Asian footage captured adorable Alaskan Malamute puppies listening to music played and varied by their human and clearly not knowing what to make of it. They cock their heads again and again, alternately turning to their litter mates to look for clues. Via Tastefully Offensive
According to this report at Death and Taxes, over 100 firefighters were called to the scene when a Chinese firecracker chemical plant exploded. Reportedly the fire occurred early Thursday morning and there isn't word yet as to whether anyone was injured. That is certainly some frightening footage.
When a higher-up at the Nylon magazine offices asked Daniel Radcliffe if he would "fill in" for their receptionist for an hour, the actor good naturedly accepted. He soon learned that working at the front desk was not his calling, nor was it a line of work he's interested in mastering. A Nylon employee wrote the following about Radcliffe's shift:
"Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that there was a man sitting at the desk. I turned my head, and, to my delight, I realized that... it was Daniel Radcliffe sitting at the front desk. Yes, that Daniel Radcliffe. Confused and more than a bit dazed, I stared for a moment before accepting this fact and returning to my desk.
Staring at my computer screen, I thought: That was strange. Was I supposed to say something? Should I say something? Probably not. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed another sight. It was an intern, crying. My peripheral vision was not failing me that day. They were tears of shock and, I think, joy. I looked around and I saw a lot of smiling, blushed faces. They had all "happened" to walk by the lobby. And while some of them engaged with the actor, some of them chose to play it cool and freak out later.
I received no phone calls during that hour, which was strange. And a package that was supposedly delivered to the office for me never made it to my desk. As I started to track down the aforementioned package, I heard a squeal. Apparently Joe Jonas had come into the office, to surprise Daniel and try to resume his job."
Grant Snider of Incidental Comics has a delightfully artistic and poetic way of expressing himself. Wiith this comic, he conveys in appropriate black and white the opposing ways in which people can view their worlds. Shown above are only two panels of the comic; see the other six panels here. Poster prints of various works are available at Snider's website.
Australian comedians Josh Hawkins (on YouTube channel and website "Hi Josh") and Rhys Keir present an amusing public service to the non-Australians of the world with their video on "How to Speak Australian." (The first lesson is that it's pronounced "How to speak 'Strayan.") Via The Guardian
Willow Shields, a/k/a Primrose Everdeen, gave an interview in which she revealed a number of on-and-off-set "secrets" of her fellow Hunger Games cast members. Who is most likely to initiate a hangout after work? Who is most often late to the set and who takes the longest to get ready? Shields answers sisxteen questions of that naturehere.
Rainer Hoess standing near the spot in which his grandfather, Nazi Rudolf Hoess, was hanged
The concept of the "black sheep" brings to mind stories of scandal and shame brought upon decent people by a lone, errant family member. But depending on who your family is, absolute rebellion and denunciation of them may just be a good thing. Take the case of Rainer Hoess, grandson of Auschwitz concentration camp commandant and high-ranking Nazi officer Rudolf Hoess. Rudolf, who lived in a stately home near the Auschwitz camp just a few minutes walk away from the gas chambers, killed 20,000 prisoners daily before going home to play the role of loving father to his family.
Rainer’s father Hans-Jurgen would play in the garden as thousands of people were simultaneously being killed just feet away. When Hans reached adulthood, he barred any of his family to say a single harsh word about Rudolf Hoess. Said Rainer, you had to “admire (my) grandfather like a hero.”
Despite his family's silence on the matter, by his teenage years, Rainer had learned the horrific truth that was his grandfather's legacy. Rainer's only sympathizer was his mother, who often bore the rage of her husband on the issue. At age 16, Rainer ran away from home, never to return. Since then, he's devoted his life to speaking out against extremism.
According to YouTube user Shannen Hussein, she was feeding the lizards in "their enclosure" when one overzealous lizard jumped on the back of Maisy the orphaned lamb, and the duo made a break for it like a couple of outlaws. While it's not clear what sort of facility they are escaping from, I can only wish these two rebels luck... or at least a temporary sense of fun adventure. Via Arbroath
This sweet, nine-month old koala joey at the San Diego Zoo and Aquarium gets his weekly weigh-in and medical checkup with the help of a stuffed likeness. The stuffed animal was used by the staff to minimize the baby's separation anxiety from his mother, who watched closely during the exam. According to staff,
"The joey’s mother, Cambee, stayed nearby during his health check, keeping an attentive eye on her offspring. She quickly nurtured her joey when his exam was complete and resumed their daily routine of perching and mostly sleeping. While Cambee has occasionally allowed the joey to try eucalyptus, he is still nursing as his primary source of nourishment and will continue to nurse until he is around 14 months old."
From October 1972 to July 1997, if a kid came home after school to have a snack and chill in front of the television for a bit, one TV rabbit hole possible to fall into was the ABC After School Special. The network made these cautionary tales more palatable to kids by starring young actors who looked as if they might be future movie heartthrobs.
Indeed, some of the stars of these specials went on to bigger and better things, as evidenced by the video clips included in the article linked below. See River and Joaquin (billed as Leaf) Phoenix in the video above, and check out the ABC After School Special debuts of Ben Affleck, Meg Ryan, Wil Wheaton, Viggo Mortensen, Marisa Tomei, Michelle Pfeiffer and more here.
Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine | Image: The Weinstein Co.
Cinema enthusiasts have no doubt read one or more accounts of what it was like for a partcular actor to film a sex scene in a project on which they worked. Most of the time, the standard answer is that filming sex scenes is awkward, uncomfortable and not in the least bit sexy. Yet occasionally, an actor will tell another story: one in which they found the experience arousing and enjoyed it. Which is the truth? Likely all of the above. It depends on the chemistry between the actors, who is allowed on set while the scene is being filmed, the style of the director and a number of other extraneous factors.
The linked article at Esquire has fifty different quotes from actors regarding their take on the filming of sex scenes. Read their individual anecdotes and varying opinions on the process here.
Also, if you feel so inclined, share which actor or actress you'd select to have a sex scene with in the comments. Who's your type? Enquiring minds...
ChebuRussiaTVrecently set up an experiment using a hidden camera placed on a man who would be posing as half of a gay couple, walking hand-in-hand with another man through Russian city streets. As expected, Russia's well-known anti-gay sentiment manifested in a number of ways; mainly profanity and physical roughousing such as pushing and shoving. English subtitles give one an idea of the hate that openly gay Russians face every day. Via Design Taxi
French fries: who doesn't like them? I frequently fall prey to the call of their salty goodness, how about you? July 13 was National French Fry Day. And, although I probably wouldn't be above such a thing, I'm not just making that up to justify some french fry lovin'.
In the ever-strange world of North Korean propaganda continually inflicted on its citizens in order to keep their behavior in check, a popular American meme has recently been employed. Remember the "stoned" birthday canine? Riley, shown in the photo above that launched the meme approximately five years ago, was photographed by the mother of his human at a birthday celebration in Riley's honor. His adorable, squinty-eyed smile caused some on the internet to think he was a perfect representative of the marijuana smoking population. Chill. Smiling. Ready to eat. Meme lovers also ate up Riley's stoner message.
Recently, Riley's photo was snapped up by North Korea's state-run media KCTV to slam America for its income inequality. The photo supposedly illustrates a picture of American billionaires constantly having lap-of-luxury canine birthday parties. The YouTube video below is of North Korean talk show Today's World, which presented the narrative in this program footage.
According the The Guardian, KCTV also inexplicably used a picture of Giant George, the world’s tallest dog in the same report. Perhaps they were implying that Giant George was fed too much hifalutin' fancy food and it make him gargantuan?
Read more about this piece out of North Korea here.
