Do you remember the bouncing DVD logo? I see it often because I'm still building a DVD collection (physical media can't be disappeared from online sources). If it's been a while since you've seen it, you can step back in time to twenty years ago on this oddly comforting website.
Pablo Rochat, a Spanish conceptual artist, creative director, and Neatorama favorite, captured the essence of the old DVD experience by melting a pat of butter shaped like the DVD logo on a hot frying pan. It's a great source of warm, buttery nostalgia.
Bern, the capital of Switzerland, is nestled in a bend of the Aare River. During the summer months, this river becomes popular for watersports. Some people like to pack their belongings in a dry bag (wickelfisch) and float down a stretch that takes about 90 minutes of travel.
Last year, Business Insider reported that some workers use the river to commute to or from work. It only works one-way (sorry, but few rivers flow in a circle). Aside from the time that it takes to change clothes and pack one's belongings into a dry bag, this can be an efficient mode of transportation.
The character stares off screen at something that has captivated their attention. Often the expression is one of wonder and awe. It is always a turning point in the story.
This is the Spielberg Face--a film narrative technique that Steven Spielberg has richly developed over the course of the five decades of his career. In this video, filmmaker, critic, and educator Kevin B. Lee explores the development of the Spielberg Face.
It is not a technique that Spielberg actually invented, but it is one that he brought to the fore of his medium, especially in his 1977 science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. His much-maligned 2001 film A.I. demonstrates the fulfillment of the Face and, in his post-9/11 films, the subversion of it as the Face transforms from one of wonder to fear.
Watch this entire video as Lee explains how Spielberg has mastered the Face over the course of his career.
The rock band Aerosmith's iconic song "Sweet Emotion" has captivated audiences since its release in 1975. The soaring opening is immediately recognizable to two generations of rock fans.
The media network EYNTK suggests using it as takeoff music, which is evidently a thing for frequent air travelers. The narrator, while recording his takeoff from the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, demonstrates how effective "Sweet Emotion" is for this purpose. Just start the song as the engines rev for takeoff and you should feel yourself rising into the air just as the volume kicks in thirty-six seconds later. Try it the next time you fly!
Kim Yeji, an athlete who represents South Korea at the Olympics, took a silver medal, a world record, and the hearts of fans with her perfectly calm demeanor during the women's 10-meter pistol shooting competition in Paris.
What are Yeji and other shooting competitors wearing on their faces? Core77 describes these unique optics that world-class shooters wear. They are mechanical irises that allow competitors to adjust their vision to match specific conditions, including light and fatigue. This particular example sells for $285.
It's far too easy to pick up an infestation of bedbugs while staying in a hotel and then bringing the critters back home with you. That's why travel writer Lydia Mansel advocates for placing your luggage in the hotel room's bathtub as soon as you arrive.
Travel + Leisure magazine explains that bedbugs prefer to live in fabric surfaces, so the most straightforward solution is to reduce contact between your luggage and fabrics, such as the carpet.
You can also leave a note on your luggage to ask the housekeeping staff to leave your luggage in its otherwise puzzling location.
In 1968, the Catholic Church established the Diocese of Orlando, which encompasses a large amount of central Florida. This area includes Cape Canaveral, from which the Apollo moon missions were launched in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
A 2019 article in L'Osservatore Romano, which is the Vatican's newspaper, republished at ETWN, reports that after the Apollo 11 landing in 1969, Bishop William Borders asserted episcopal authority over the moon.
The 1917 Code of Canon Law granted such authority over newly-discovered territories to the location of the launching expedition. Since Apollo 11 was launched within the boundaries of the Diocese of Orlando, the moon was the turf of Bishop Borders.
Bishop (later Archbishop) Borders once verbally asserted his lunar claim to Pope Paul VI, although the pontiff's response remains unknown.
-via Depths of Wikipedia | Photo: Archbishop William Borders and Pope Paul VI
Jose Romero has been a dishwasher at the Red Lobster restaurant in Pueblo, Colorado for twelve years. He's also responsible for unpacking newly arrived lobsters. The Pueblo Chieftain reports that, on July 12, Romero spotted an orange lobster. Romero and his coworkers had never seen or heard of that coloration before.
They named the lobster "Crush" after the formidable defensive line of the Denver Broncos during the late 70s. The team decided that Crush had to be saved. They donated him to the Downtown Aquarium in Denver on July 17, where he can spend the rest of his days. His rare mutation, which can be found in only 1 in 30 million lobsters, will make him a draw.
The Outside TV network covers a lot of outdoor sports, from competitive running to leisurely camping. They sometimes play around with fanciful inventions. Lately, the crew has experimented with practical uses for large helium balloons. For example, could a sufficiently large balloon negate the weight of a full pack? Yes, it can. Just make sure that you don't put too much helium in the balloon or you may lose your backpack.
Head to Grainger Street, just around the corner from the Theatre Royal, to grab your very own Greggs sausage roll from the Monzo ATM! 😍 pic.twitter.com/nl3ncLQFZG
— Newcastle Theatre Royal (@TheatreRoyalNew) July 18, 2024
Greggs, a bakery chain in the UK, and the bank Monzo recently had an online conversation about the possibility jointly creating an ATM that, instead of distributing money, distributes sausage rolls. ITV News reports that this project launched yesterday in Newcastle and had people lining up to make withdrawals.
Patrick Tomasso is a filmmaker and critic. His YouTube channel consists mostly of detailed analyses of particular aspects of particular movies. On X, though, he's posted this video that compiles egg cooking and eating scenes in films.
I instantly recognized Hot Shots, Cool Hand Luke, and Fury. Others I had to look up. Fortunately, Tomasso provides a complete list on Letterboxd. Can you think of any other egg scenes that he should have included? Aside from Star Trek: Generations, of course.
Faustin Wirkus was born in the Russian Empire and, as a child, immigrated to the United States. He lived in poverty, but was determined to better himself by enlisting in the US Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Times reports that he was among the troops participating in the US occupation of Haiti from 1915 to 1934.
In 1926, he was on Gonâve Island when he rescued a young woman who was threated with arrest for engaging in voodoo. This woman was Ti Memenne, the Queen of Gonâve.
Gunnery Sergeant Wirkus loved Haiti and eagerly sought reassignment to Gonâve Island. While there, he exposed rampant graft in the tax collection system, helped build the island's first airfield, and conducted the island's first census.
The people of the island loved Wirkus and his works. He also fit neatly into a prophecy that they had: a previous king, also named Faustin, had disappeared in 1848, promising to one day return. The islanders belived that Wirkus must be the reincarnation of this king and so, in 1926, crowned him King Faustin II in a voodoo ceremony.
King Faustin II and Queen Ti Memenne ruled together for three years and, by all accounts, ruled well. Then the Gunnery Sergeant received transfer orders back to the United States, bringing an abrupt halt to his reign.
Hurricane Beryl hit the Houston area this week, leaving at least 1.9 million people without electricity in 100°F. The response of the CenterPoint utility company has been . . . suboptimal. It can be hard to track which areas of the city have or do not have power, which is why, a few days ago, X user BBQ Bryan turned to the Whataburger app. Restaurants that are closed are greyed out on the above map.
KHOU News contacted the corporate offices of Texas's own haaaamburger chain, which advises also calling ahead to verify that particular restaurants are open.
Alessandro Tappa is an artist in Vigevano, Italy who designs and builds wonderfully weird bicycles that are just normal enough to serve as functional means of transportation. The above model, which has a name that translates as "bike on the belly", requires a fully prone position to ride.
Don Pettit is an American astronaut who has previously spent over a year living on the International Space Station. He's scheduled to return in September for six months.
On X, Pettit educates the public about life and science in space. Recently, he posted this image of the emergency eyewash station used in low Earth orbit. A 2014 article on Phys.org describes how it works.
To ensure that the water goes where it is supposed to go and, equally important, not where it is not supposed to go, the water flows into goggles. The machine pumps the water in and then out of the sealed goggles.
