On the surface, it seems ridiculous that governments would try to ban things like video games, certain clothing and hairstyles, or reincarnation without government permission. Weird, huh? Every one of these bans has a reason behind it, whether it makes sense to us or not. For example, in China, the movie Avatar cannot be shown unless it is the 3D version.
While the army in Avatar is undoubtedly American, the idea of people siding with an indigenous population against an imperialistic force is something that China was not comfortable with. That's why shortly after the release of the movie in China, the authorities decided the movie could only be shown in 3D. Since there are very few 3D theaters in China, the move was effectively a ban on the film.
Read the reasoning behind the other bans at Oddee. Link
After a two-year absence, the site Damn Interesting is back, with a post about the notorious game show contestant Michael Larson. In 1984, Larson won $110,237 in cash and prizes on the show Press Your Luck -an amount far exceeding any previous winnings. That's because Larson had a system.
His demeanor alternated between intense concentration and jubilation. The strategy worked even better than he had anticipated due to the large number of Free Spin bonuses that appeared in his safe slots. Host Peter Tomarken became increasingly flabbergasted each time Larson made the “spin again” gesture. $30,000 was considered an extraordinary payoff for one day on any game show at that time, and the likelihood of missing the whammies for more than a dozen spins was considered to be vanishingly small. By his 13th spin Michael had $32,351 and nervous giggles. By his 21st spin he had $47,601 and conspicuous anxiety. But he pressed on.
The Press Your Luck control booth had grown silent as the show’s producers began to realize that Larson was consistently winning on the same two spaces. In a panic, the booth operators called Michael Brockman, CBS’s head of daytime programming. “Something was very wrong,” Brockman said in a TV Guide interview. “Here was this guy from nowhere, and he was hitting the bonus box every time. It was bedlam, I can tell you.” Producers asked if they should stop the show, but Larson did not appear to be breaking any rules so they were forced to allow the episode to play out.
The amount of game show money Larson won in one day was not eclipsed until 2006. Find out how he did it and what happened to Larson after his big win at Damn Interesting. Link
A team of doctors and medical researchers at the University of Pennsylvania tried a bold new experiment on three leukemia patients who seemed to have no hope left. One of them was 65-year-old William Ludwig.
Doctors removed a billion of his T-cells — a type of white blood cell that fights viruses and tumors — and gave them new genes that would program the cells to attack his cancer. Then the altered cells were dripped back into Mr. Ludwig’s veins.
At first, nothing happened. But after 10 days, hell broke loose in his hospital room. He began shaking with chills. His temperature shot up. His blood pressure shot down. He became so ill that doctors moved him into intensive care and warned that he might die. His family gathered at the hospital, fearing the worst.
A few weeks later, the fevers were gone. And so was the leukemia.
Another patient had a complete remission, and the third had a partial remission. What is surprising about the experimental treatment is that it uses diabled HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS, to carry the new cancer-fighting genes to the patient's T-cells.
The University of Pennsylvania team seems to have hit all the targets at once. Inside the patients, the T-cells modified by the researchers multiplied to 1,000 to 10,000 times the number infused, wiped out the cancer and then gradually diminished, leaving a population of “memory” cells that can quickly proliferate again if needed.
The researchers remain cautious, because so few patients have been given the treatment, and because the therapy itself can be dangerous. But Mr. Ludwig has gained 40 pounds and a playing golf again. Read how they did it at the New York Times. Link -via Metafilter
This flash game will test your knowledge, or memory, of TV shows from the 1990s. Select from the 72 squares and you'll get a screenshot for each plus some theme music to jog your memory. The square will sprout a check mark if you are right. I must have missed the '90s, because I only got 22 of them! But if you are Generation Y, you'll get a real kick out this. Link
South Africans Michael and Sunette Adendorff went to New Zealand, but had trouble finding the Majestic Hotel, where they had made reservations. They inquired at a chemist's shop for help, but found there is no hotel at all in the town of Eastborne! Shop assistant Linda Burke looked at their paperwork and realized the hotel they wanted was in the UK -on the other side of the globe!
Ms Burke rang around but discovered all the local bed and breakfast places were full, so she offered them a room for the night in her house.
The couple, who were exploring New Zealand while visiting the country to watch South Africa play in the Rugby World Cup, had mistakenly booked into the hotel in Eastbourne, Sussex, on the internet.
"I booked into the right hotel, just in the wrong country," Mr Adendorff told the Dominion Post newspaper.
Despite the good-natured ribbing they received, the couple said Eastbourne was very nice and the locals were friendly.
The Adendorffs were unable to get a refund on the hotel due to short notice. Link -via Arbroath
(Image credit: Wikipedia contributor NordNordWest)
Divorce Hotel is not a particular place, but a service available to splitting couples in the Netherlands, in which they can go to a hotel for three days to work out an agreement. It's the brainchild of Jim Halfens, who is not a lawyer.
Couples thinking about going through the Divorce Hotel process have to start with a set of extensive interviews. If they decide they can settle their differences quickly, with a mediator instead of lawyers, then they choose a four or five star hotel.
Over three days, the mediator and other specialists – notaries, even psychologists – are on hand to help the couple.
"If the marriage can be saved, we always tell people they are at the wrong address at the divorce hotel," said Marie-Louise Van As, a lawyer who works as a mediator at the Divorce Hotel.
She notes that the three-day hotel stays are not a vacation. There are checklists, homework she calls it, that the couples have to do ahead of time.
But, Van As says, it's worth it for many couples.
"In Holland to get divorced usually lasts six to nine months," Van As said. "A bad divorce, a fighting divorce, can last five to 10 years. And cost 50,000 Euros or more.
The Divorce Hotel process costs about 5% of that. So far, participating couples have booked separate rooms. Link -via Fortean Times
This collage of 200 street portraits, taken by photographer Brandon Stanton, is combined with the song "Empire State of Mind" to create a love note to the city.
The Humans of New York Project is an effort to create a photographic census of New York City. The project seeks to collect 10,000 street portraits, and plot them geographically on an interactive map.
Stanton has taken over 2,000 portraits so far. Find out more about the project, and read some of the stories of the people behind the portraits, at the Humans of New York website. Link -via Everlasting Blort
Excerpted from the book Food Journeys of a Lifetime, NatGeo Traveler's new food section brings us a list of the best places in the world to find chocolate -or should that be the places in the world to find the best chocolate? Either way, it's mouth-watering time. For example, you should know where to get chocolate at 4AM in Madrid.
Few institutions offer better evidence of Madrid’s insomnia than its perennially popular chocolaterías (also known as churrerías), typically abuzz with late-night revelers from 4 a.m. to breakfast time. Their trademark dish is the churro, a long waffle-like stick of savory fried dough, eaten dunked into very thick bittersweet hot chocolate. Stop in at the venerable Chocolatería San Ginés, an 1894 throwback. Expect entertainingly brusque service, bright lights, and a frenzied atmosphere. Planning: Chocolatería San Ginés is downtown on Pasadizo San Ginés. It's open all night.
And that's just number eight on the list. Link-Thanks, Marilyn Terrell!
What's so cute about a crocodile? Their babies! Believe it or not, mother crocodiles are caring and nurturing to their young, despite belonging to an ancient group of reptiles. Baby crocs even "talk" to their mothers before they hatch! Find out how at Environmental Graffiti. Link
Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website.
Technically, it is hard to pinpoint the exact moment when the Beatles ended as a group. John Lennon had officially walked out of a meeting at Apple headquarters, with the other three Beatles present, on September 20, 1969. His immortal words, just before he haughtily exited, were, "I want a divorce. Just like the one I got from Cynthia (his first wife)."
Other things were said, but suffice it to say, with these words, the die was cast. Interestingly, Ringo had already quit the band, back in August of 1968, during the recording session for The White Album. In January of 1969, during the filming of The Beatles' last movie Let It Be, George Harrison too got fed up with the quarreling and the sniping -and Yoko Ono- and he, too, made for the nearest exit. "See you around the clubs, George said as he bolted.
Both George and Ringo were eventually talked into returning, although John never did. Paul was the first to publicly announce an end to the Fab Four, on April 10, 1970, with a formal newspaper interview, declaring, in so many words, the fact that "I'm quitting the Beatles." Although the four had split up in the real world, there was still a lot of legal red tape to be cut before the "official" split could actually take place.
Finally, after four long years of court battles, lawsuits, subpoenas, public and private acrimony, and millions of dollars, the official dissolution of the Beatles was about to take place. With just a few kinks left to iron out, the dissolution meeting was set to take place at the Plaza Hotel in New York City -ironically (and sadly) the first place the Beatles stayed in America when they first arrived there in 1964.
The meeting was scheduled for December 19, 1974. Both George and Paul made special arrangements and flew in to be present for the joint signing of the required papers. Ringo was the only Beatle not present for the historic occasion. He had already signed the necessary documents back in England.
At the Plaza, George arrived with his lawyer and his business manager. Paul came accompanied by his own lawyers. And Ringo's lawyer and business manager were present on his behalf. Two teams of lawyers for Apple (one for the U.S. and one for the U.K.) gathered around a very large table to get all the signatures on the paperwork dissolving the partnership. Ringo was on the phone, to confirm that he "was alive." Paul and his wife Linda had a camera set up to document the historic occasion.
Finally, after a long wait, George said what everyone was thinking, "Where's John?"
"Good question," replied his lawyer. Incredibly, John had played hookey and ducked the meeting. To add to the growing anger of all present, John lived within walking distance (or at least a short cab ride) of the Plaza, right in New York City.
George's lawyer put in a call to John. (At the time, John was living with his secretary, a pretty girl named May Pang. He was going through a separation with his wife, Yoko Ono.) John refused to come to the phone. May took the call and told the lawyer that John had decided not to come to the meeting at the Plaza. His official reason: "The stars aren't right."
It was one thing to put up with John's fads and passions and idiosyncrasies, but to not attend this important meeting because of the misalignment of his astrological charts was pushing the envelope a bit too far.
George was already in a dour mood. He was in the middle of a tout, he was getting lousy reviews, and his voice was strained and nearly shot. First, he blamed his lawyer for John not coming. Soon, all the other lawyers erupted at George's lawyer. Then furiously, George picked up the phone. "Take off your G*****n shades and get the f*** over here!" he barked at his former bandmate. (George, although he did have a strong temper, nonetheless always idolized and worshiped John, no matter what Lennon had put him through over the years. George saying such a violent thing to John was completely out of character. It was very clear that the stress of his own unsuccessful tour, plus the weight of the moment, had overtaken the normally level-headed ex-Beatle.)
May asked innocently if George wanted to talk to John. "No! Just tell him whatever his problem is, I started this tour on my own and I'll end it on my own!" George barked and slammed the phone down.
John was listening over May's shoulder. Paul and his wife Linda came by the visit John the next day, realizing how upset John was over the agreement. Paul reassured John, "We'll work it all out."
George's rage didn't last long. A message arrived at John's home: "All is forgiven. George loves you and he wants you to come to his party tonight."
John and May did go to the party at the Hippopotamus Club, where George, John, and Paul all hugged. John and May left New York the following day to spend Christmas at West Palm Beach, Florida.
On December 29, 1974, the voluminous documents were brought down to John in Florida by one of Apple's lawyers.
"Take out your camera," John instructed May, wanting her to capture the moment for posterity. Then he called George's lawyer to go over some final points. When John hung up the phone, he looked out the window wistfully. According to May, she "could almost see him replaying the entire Beatles experience in his mind."
John finally picked up his pen and, in the unlikely backdrop of Disney World, at the Polynesian Village Hotel, officially ended the greatest rock'n'roll band in history by simply scrawling "John Lennon" at the bottom of a page.
Paul Tassi at Unreality magazine illustrated a long list of things suggested in a reddit thread that happen over and over in movies, but never in real life. So if one of these things happen to you, you must be in a movie. Link
The Art of Manliness posted the physical fitness requirements and testing process used in the U.S. Army during World War II.
The Army first introduced a formal fitness test to the troops in 1942. Millions of men were being called up to fight in World War II, and not all of them were prepared for the rigors of combat. To get the men in fighting shape, the Army implemented a systematic physical development program as part of the Combat Basic Training course. And the Army Ground Forces Test was designed to assess whether the program was having its desired effect. The test included squat jumps, sit-ups, pull-ups, push-ups, and a 300 yard run. The emphasis was on functional fitness and giving American GI’s the strength, mobility, and endurance they would need to tackle real tasks on the battlefield.
In 1946, a Physical Training School was created at Fort Bragg with the mission of exploring how to take the goal of functional fitness farther. The training program developed at the school and the fitness test were codified in the 1946 edition of FM 21-20, the Army’s physical training manual.
Basically, Grandpa was doing Cross-Fit before it was cool.
The physical fitness standards for service members has been relaxed since then, and more emphasis is placed on technical skills. Take a look at the fitness testing done in the 1940s, and see how tired you get just reading it. Or -you may want to try and see how well you would do! Link -via Nag on the Lake
Scott Benson made this animation for the song "The Murf" by the band Rendezvous.? It wordlessly tells the story of "growing up in the universe." The storyline, and the making of the video, is detailed at Benson's website. Link
Feast your eyes on some fantastic old architecture in New York City. The Trinity Building was built in 1904-1907. It is flanked by the U.S. Realty Building, constructed at the same time (making them the original "twin towers") and the older Trinity Church, rebuilt in 1800. The Trinity Building has classic Art Deco detailing that gives it a timeless look. The three buildings have all been photographed extensively over the last 100 years, which you can see at Dark Roasted Blend. Link
