It took 238 takes for MysteryGuitarMan and friends to shoot this video using four iPhones. The preparation and choreography had to be just right! You can see a making-of video at Laughing Squid. Link
Miss Cellania's Blog Posts
Photographer Tony Karp took this photograph of a young model in 1962. Then he was drafted, his family moved, and his negatives were lost. But the print survived, and as photography moved into the computer age, Karp went back and made digital copies of his earlier photographs. In this post, he explains how advanced the process of image manipulation became over time, and shows some of the different ways a picture can turn out, even decades later. Link -Thanks, Tony!
Surely you recall the campaign slogan, "Ma, Ma, Where’s my Pa?" James G. Blaine used it when he ran against Grover Cleveland in 1884. However, Cleveland won that race, with his own negative but catchy rhyming slogan that also made the list. After the election was over, Blaine's campaign slogan was amended in the popular press as "Ma, Ma, Where’s my Pa? Gone to the White House, Ha, Ha, Ha." Whether the candidates were winners or losers, these eleven campaign slogans from history (with accompanying political cartoons) win the prize for making you stop and think, "What?" Link
Tipp-Ex is like white-out with an applicator. Their viral advertising involves a birthday party that is interrupted by a meteor. To escape, you'll have to take the party to a different year, which you can do over and over in this interactive YouTube video. -via the Presurfer
Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles welcomes 100 different artists and their works on the theme of internet memes. The exhibit is called "Memes," and opens May 4th. See more at Laughing Squid. Link
(Image credit: Dan Lydersen)
This Twaggie was illustrated from a Tweet by an intriguing Twitter account named @VeryShortStory. Be sure to bookmark Twaggies for new illustrated Tweets every day! Link
John Flammang Schrank is not as well-known a name as Lee Harvey Oswald or John Wilkes Booth or even John Hinkley, Jr. That's because the president he shot was already out of office and running again on a third-party ticket in 1912. And Theodore Roosevelt survived being shot in the chest. In fact, you are probably more familiar with the story of how Roosevelt gave his intended hour-long speech before going to the hospital!
The story of the incident at the Past Imperfect blog at Smithsonian tells how Roosevelt's life was saved by the contents of his pocket, but also has the background of the shooter Shrank and his motive for assassination. Link
He took the podium to great cheering, then spoke softly to the thousands in attendance. “Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don’t know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose. But fortunately I had my manuscript, so you see I was going to make a long speech, and there is a bullet—there is where the bullet went through—and it probably saved me from it going into my heart. The bullet is in me now, so that I cannot make a very long speech, but I will try my best.”
Roosevelt went on to speak of the importance of the Progressive movement. He said he did not know the man who shot him, but that he was a coward and that the untruths printed in newspapers, on behalf of his opponents, had incited “weak and vicious minds” to acts of violence.
“Now, friends, I am not speaking for myself at all, I give you my word, I do not care a rap about being shot; not a rap…. Friends, every good citizen ought to do everything in his or her power to prevent the coming of the day when we shall see in this country two recognized creeds fighting one another, when we shall see the creed of the ‘Havenots’ arraigned against the creed of the ‘Haves.’ When that day comes then such incidents as this to-night will be commonplace in our history.”
The story of the incident at the Past Imperfect blog at Smithsonian tells how Roosevelt's life was saved by the contents of his pocket, but also has the background of the shooter Shrank and his motive for assassination. Link
Warning: this is scary in places. A motorcycle rider cruises through an abandoned highway in Japan. "Abandoned" means there has been no maintenance for years. The road is covered with water, moss, potholes, and earth in spots. There are overhanging branches, broken pavement, useless guardrails, and hitchhikers. And also places where it's difficult to find where the road once was! The road eventually ends about the way I expected it to. -via Dark Roasted Blend
In 1969, illustrator Ronald Searle's wife Monica was diagnosed with breast cancer. During her treatment, Searle made a "Mrs. Mole" illustration to cheer her after every chemotherapy session. They were a gift of love, never meant for publication. Monica Searle survived until last summer, and Ronald Searle passed away in December. Now 47 of those illustrations are collected in the book Les Très Riches Heures de Mrs Mole. You can see several more of the cheerful images at Brain Pickings. Link -via Not Exactly Rocket Science
One of the benefits of Bisleri Mountain water is that it can keep your child from choking on his food! -via the Presurfer
The new tower at the World Trade Center site is scheduled to become the tallest building in New York City today.
The official address of the Freedom Tower is One World Trade Center. It is scheduled to open late in 2013 or possibly early 2014. Link -via Gizmodo
(Image credit: Craig Warga/New York Daily News)
As long as the weather cooperates, the tower will surpass the 1,250-foot Empire State Building at 2 p.m. on its way to a final height of 1,776 feet.
“It’s wonderful,” Mayor Bloomberg said Sunday.
“It’s taken a long time. This is probably the most complex construction site in any place ever. I think what we’ve shown is that democracy works.”
Once completed, the Ground Zero skyscraper, often called the Freedom Tower, will have 104 floors, including 71 office floors with 3 million square feet of space.
The official address of the Freedom Tower is One World Trade Center. It is scheduled to open late in 2013 or possibly early 2014. Link -via Gizmodo
(Image credit: Craig Warga/New York Daily News)
Copper carried a camera on his back to gather observations of people in their natural environment. What he came back with was video evidence that a friendly dog on a leash is the best icebreaker in the world! -Thanks, Andy!
Sure, they did their fair share of burning and looting. But who knew pirates were ahead of our Founding Fathers when it came to good governance?
Everyone knows that swashbuckling types aren’t exactly known for obeying the rules. But years before the United States gained its independence, democracy was actually thriving aboard pirate ships. Perhaps that’s because they reasoned that a little law and order was better than the alternative. Crammed aboard a ship with 300 unruly sailors, pirates were quick to adopt a government rather than let anarchy ensue.
Democracy Now
Of course, why they chose democracy as their form of government is another matter. As it turns out, buccaneers were leery of absolute authority. Many were escaped slaves or indentured servants who’d suffered under the tyranny of plantation owners in the Caribbean. Others had served under iron-fisted ship captains, who were rarely held accountable for their abuses of power. So, pirates settled on a form of government that recognized the individual without putting too much control in any one person’s hands—democracy.
For a mob of mostly illiterate seadogs, their concepts of governing were pretty evolved. Typically, they divided authority into three branches, complete with checks and balances. The captain, who only ruled absolutely in times of battle, was the executive branch; the quartermaster, who arbitrated disagreements and doled out punishments, was the judiciary; and the entire crew served as the legislature, voting on matters of importance, such as when to attack other vessels and when to elect a new captain.
Continue reading
Everyone knows that swashbuckling types aren’t exactly known for obeying the rules. But years before the United States gained its independence, democracy was actually thriving aboard pirate ships. Perhaps that’s because they reasoned that a little law and order was better than the alternative. Crammed aboard a ship with 300 unruly sailors, pirates were quick to adopt a government rather than let anarchy ensue.
Democracy Now
Of course, why they chose democracy as their form of government is another matter. As it turns out, buccaneers were leery of absolute authority. Many were escaped slaves or indentured servants who’d suffered under the tyranny of plantation owners in the Caribbean. Others had served under iron-fisted ship captains, who were rarely held accountable for their abuses of power. So, pirates settled on a form of government that recognized the individual without putting too much control in any one person’s hands—democracy.
For a mob of mostly illiterate seadogs, their concepts of governing were pretty evolved. Typically, they divided authority into three branches, complete with checks and balances. The captain, who only ruled absolutely in times of battle, was the executive branch; the quartermaster, who arbitrated disagreements and doled out punishments, was the judiciary; and the entire crew served as the legislature, voting on matters of importance, such as when to attack other vessels and when to elect a new captain.
One year ago, Busch Gardens Tampa introduced the public to a cheetah cub and a yellow Lab puppy who are best friends.
Male cheetahs in the wild often hang with other male cheetahs, and zoos sometimes use a dog to fill the role, but this is Busch Gardens' first cheetah-dog pairing. -via Buzzfeed
The pair -- later named Kasi and Mtani by park fans via a Facebook poll -- spent only supervised play times together at first. Now, a year later, they live together full time at the park's Cheetah Run habitat and even travel together to schools, events and television studios, helping the park's education team teach the public about the plight of cheetahs in the wild and the importance of Busch Gardens' conservation efforts.
Male cheetahs in the wild often hang with other male cheetahs, and zoos sometimes use a dog to fill the role, but this is Busch Gardens' first cheetah-dog pairing. -via Buzzfeed
Anna Mackowiak, a 34-year-old dentist in Wroclaw, Poland, was surprised when 45-year-old Marek Olszewski came to her office complaining of a toothache. See, Olszewski had been her boyfriend until he broke off the relationship just a few days earlier.
Olszewski was quite upset when he looked at his mouth after going home. He said his new girlfriend, for whom he dumped the dentist, has since left him because she "can’t be with a man without teeth." Mackowiak is under investigation for malpractice. Link -via Arbroath
(Image credit: Flickr user dmmalva)
Update 5/9/12 by Alex: It's a hoax (Thank goodness!)
"I tried to be professional and detach myself from my emotions.
"But when I saw him lying there I just thought, 'What a bastard' and decided to take all his teeth out," she admitted.
After putting him to sleep with a heavy dose of anesthetic, the spurned dentist locked the door and then began plucking his teeth out one by one.
She then wrapped his head and jaw in bandage to prevent him opening his mouth and told him there had been complications and he would need to see a specialist.
Olszewski was quite upset when he looked at his mouth after going home. He said his new girlfriend, for whom he dumped the dentist, has since left him because she "can’t be with a man without teeth." Mackowiak is under investigation for malpractice. Link -via Arbroath
(Image credit: Flickr user dmmalva)
Update 5/9/12 by Alex: It's a hoax (Thank goodness!)
Email This Post to a Friend