John Farrier's Blog Posts

8 Things You Might Not Know about "Bohemian Rhapsody"


(Video Link)

40 years ago this past weekend, the British rock band Queen released its famous song "Bohemian Rhapsody." This bizarre and majestic mixture of musical styles and stories has since become a cultural icon for multiple generations.

To mark the occasion, PBS NewsHour has rounded up 8 fascinating bits of trivia you might not know about the song. For example, the version of the song that appeared in the 1992 movie Wayne's World took longer to shoot than the original music video:

The original video, directed by Bruce Gowers – later of “American Idol” – took three hours to make and cost 3,500 pounds ($5,400).

In 1992, the unforgettable car singalong in “Wayne’s World” took about 10 hours to shoot, director Penelope Spheeris told the BBC. Afterward, there were complaints from the actors of sore necks and headaches from all the headbanging.

Mike Meyers, who played the film’s title role revealed to Vanity Fair in 2014 that the song was nearly replaced with a Guns N’ Roses track.

-via Althouse


This Is Goalball, A Sport Played by Blind Athletes

This is goalball, a sport designed for people who can't see. It was invented in 1946 to help blinded war veterans. But even people who aren't visually impaired can play because everyone wears goggles that completely block out their sight. This puts everyone on a level playing field.

Goalball players can't see the ball, but they can hear it because it has bells inside. 3 competitors on each team line themselves up along tape-covered ropes that serve as tactile markers for the court. The object of the game is to get the ball inside the opposing side's goal.


(Video Link)

This video shows a 2011 competition between the national teams of Germany and Japan.

-via reddit


Optical Illusion Cube Lamp Sinks into the Table

It's a real lamp, not the result of a transporter accident from Star Trek. Cédric Dequidt's Urbicande lamp is designed to rest on a flat surface, but appears to be partially embedded in it. You can see more photos at Fubiz (translation).


Reverse Trick-or-Treating


(Video Link)

Trent Toney and his friend played this classic Halloween gag last night. They carried a door frame up to houses, then knocked on the front doors. When residents came out to offer candy to trick-or-treaters, they found their roles reversed. Toney and his friend pretended to be elderly female homeowners who adored the costumes worn by the little adults who knocked on their door.

-via Boing Boing


Clever Dog Surfs to Her Tennis Ball in the Pool


(Video Link)

Christie the Westie may love to swim, but Abby the Labrador has other plans. She just wants her tennis ball, which is inconveniently in the middle of the pool. So she paws a boogie board over to herself, climbs on, then paddles it toward her ball.

This is tricky work because the board really isn't bouyant enough to support her. She has to balance herself very carefully.

It works! Abby gets the ball and is able to drift toward the side of the pool. She got a bit wet, but not completely soaked.

-via Nothing to Do with Aborath


Argument: Jar Jar Binks Was a Brilliant Sith Manipulator

Many Star Wars fans despise Jar Jar Binks as his silly comedic presence disrupted the dramatic nature of the Star Wars prequels. He was comedy relief in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But redditor Lumpawarroo argues that Jar Jar was anything but a buffoon who survived only through good luck and the mercy of the other characters. He systematically explains that Jar Jar was actually a highly skilled Force user, combatant, and political manipulator who was the true power behind the intrigue of Episodes I-VI:

Here I will seek to establish that Jar Jar Binks, far from being simply the bumbling idiot he portrays himself as, is in fact a highly skilled force user in terms of martial ability and mind control.

Furthermore, I assert that he was not, as many people assume, just an unwitting political tool manipulated by Palpatine-- rather, he and Palpatine were likely in collaboration from the very beginning, and it's entirely possible that Palpatine was a subordinate underling to Binks throughout both trilogies.

And finally, given the above, I will conclude with an argument as to why I believe it is not only possible, but plausible that Jar Jar will make a profound impact on the upcoming movies, and what his role may be.

The real Phantom Menace is not Palpatine and the Sith, but Jar Jar. Lumpawarroo argues for this with clear evidence.

-via Wired


An Awkward Conversation with Patrick Stewart

Patrick Stewart, the actor who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation, offers this tweet without context or explanation. None is needed.

Before we Neatorama authors post anything here, we are supposed to search the archives to make sure that it has not already been posted. So if Alex ever looks through the database of search queries for the site's content management system and sees "patrick stewart enema," he will know why.


Restaurant Turns into McDowell's from Coming to America

(Photo: DNAinfo/Mina Bloom)

In the 1988 movie Coming to America, Eddie Murphy plays an African prince who comes to New York City in search of the sort of woman he wishes to marry: an independent-minded American woman. Casting aside his royal wealth and position, Prince Akeem gets a lowly job at McDowell's -- a fast food restaurant is that is clearly a knockoff of the McDonald's brand.

(Image: Paramount Pictures)

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Classic Monster Cereals for Modern Horror Movies

General Mills's line of monster-themed cereals have never been particular intimidating. Count Chocula, Boo Berry, and Franken Berry seem like fun people to eat breakfast with. But I'm less confident of surviving a meal with these cereal mascots by Kate Willaert. Her Restricted Mills cereals include Shark Mates, Krumpuffs, and Machete Mateys--all terrifying villains from modern horror flicks. You can see more pictures of them here.

-via Geek Tyrant


Periodic Table of Jack-o'-Lanterns

In 2007, the student chapter of the American Chemical Society at Clarkson University celebrated National Chemistry Week with this display of the periodic table of elements carved into pumpkins. I wonder if the transuranic pumpkins rotted before the others?

-via Marilyn Bellamy


Cat Staircase Surfing

Wayne Burns keeps his cats--and himself--entertained by encouraging them to surf down the stairs in a cardboard box. They need just a bit of encouragement to climb in. A laser pointer is sufficient for the task.

-via Gifsboom


Slave Leia Loki

(Photo: David Ngo)

Harley Kat offers this fresh take on Loki, the bad boy of The Avengers movies who makes so many people swoon. Loki has fallen far since being cast out of Asgard. She ended up on Tatooine in the service of Jabba the Hutt, who is apparently visiting Comikaze Expo in Los Angeles.


Why Do Dogs Tilt Their Heads When We Talk to Them?

(Photo: Taro the Shiba Inu)

When we talk to dogs, sometimes they tilt their heads while looking at and listening to us. Why? What does this attentive behavior represent?

There are at least 2 possibilities. Dr. Meredith Stepita, animal behaviorist and veterinarian, thinks that a dog is adjusting its inner ear in order to hear more precisely:

Since dogs can understand some human language, including words and tone of voice, a head-cocking dog could be concentrating on picking out a key word or inflection that relates to that favorite activity. So your dog may cock her head when you start talking about taking her for a walk or giving her a bath or playing a game of fetch — whatever it is that she loves to do.

Stanley Coren, a specalist in dog behavior, says that dogs carefully read the body language and facial expressions of their humans. Since their muzzles create blind spots, a head-tilting dog may be trying to get around the blind spot in front of its nose in order to read your expressions more carefully:

We know that dogs continually scan our faces for information and to read our emotional state. Hence it is likely that one reason why dogs may tilt their heads when we talk to them is because they want to see our faces better, and to compensate for the way in which their muzzles obscure part of their vision.

-via VA Viper


25-Foot Pumpkin Rampages through Town


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The owners of Big AZ Promotions were shocked when their massive inflatable pumpkin got loose and rolled down the street. They thought that it had been securely anchored. Instead, the 350-pound, 25-foot tall jack-o'-lantern rolled into the middle of an intersection in Peoria, Arizona.

The inflatable briefly became stuck under a lamppost. Then it kept going with the wind, hopping over a wall, and moving through a parking lot, traveling a quarter of a mile before coming to a halt in a park.

You can read more at the local NBC news affiliate (warning: auto-start video).

-via Ed Driscoll


Woman Has Romantic Photo Shoot with the Love of Her Life: Pizza

Nicole Larson didn't settle for second best. She waited until Mr. Right came along and then snatched him up. And when it came time for the couple to get photos of themselves together to share with their friends and family, they went all out. Larson, a college student in Alberta, hired Miriam Ott to photograph her and her pizza together in romantic scenes.

Larson is usually a private person, but she decided to share these charming photos with her friends and, later, the world. You can see more of them at BuzzFeed. Hopefully we'll eventually get to see an engagement shoot from the loving couple!


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Profile for John Farrier

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