In the Star Wars universe, Tattooine is the home planet of the Skywalker family, but it looks like Tunisia because that's where many of the exterior shots were filmed. In fact, Tatooine got its name from the town of Tataouine in Tunisia. A lot of the buildings and landscapes you know from the films look pretty much the same today, and many of them welcome tourists. This photo is of a fisherman's hut which was used as the home of an old hermit named Ben Kenobi. Read about more of these Tunisians locations at LosApos. Link -via reddit
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In the Star Wars universe, Tattooine is the home planet of the Skywalker family, but it looks like Tunisia because that's where many of the exterior shots were filmed. In fact, Tatooine got its name from the town of Tataouine in Tunisia. A lot of the buildings and landscapes you know from the films look pretty much the same today, and many of them welcome tourists. This photo is of a fisherman's hut which was used as the home of an old hermit named Ben Kenobi. Read about more of these Tunisians locations at LosApos. Link -via reddit
On the surface, B. Traven's 1927 novel The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is a suspenseful, propulsive can't-put-it-down adventure story about three down-and-out Americans who trek deep into the Mexican mountains on a doomed search for gold. It's a terrific read. But it's more than just a page-turner; the work recasts the classic American adventure story as a mythic battle between reason and madness. It stands as one of the greatest novels about the United States ever written by a foreigner, right up there with Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. But above all else, Traven's masterpiece is the rare pop novel that had the heart of a thriller and the soul of a social commentary.
When Treasure was published in Germany, it quickly became a sensation. So, too, did its up-and-coming author -a remarkable fact considering that no one had the slightest idea who he was. B. Traven was a nom de plum, one of the most successful in literary history. The author's true identity, nationality, and background have been hotly contested from the start, a literary guessing game surpassed only by the who-wrote-Shakespeare controversy.
For decades, the tantalizing mystery, along with John Huston's extraordinary Hollywood adaptation in 1948, overshadowed the book itself. But in recent years, more and more scholars and everyday readers have rediscovered the original text.
Treasure's plot is deceptively simple. Dobbs and Curtin are two chronically unemployed laborers who are stuck in Mexico, staying in filthy rooming houses and begging for a few centavos for food. When their job prospects dwindle from dismal to nonexistent, the pair join up with Howard, a grizzled old prospector, in the hope of striking gold in the Sierra Madre mountains.
The three men head to a remote area where they find a rich deposit of gold dust, and that's when the story really gets moving. As the bags of gold pile up, so do their suspicions of one another. In such deserted country, what's to stop one partner from bumping off the other two and keeping the whole haul for himself? It's a scenario that's been played out in scores of heist stories before and since, but Traven does a remarkable job of depicting the prospectors' collective slide into distrust and then outright paranoia.
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When Treasure was published in Germany, it quickly became a sensation. So, too, did its up-and-coming author -a remarkable fact considering that no one had the slightest idea who he was. B. Traven was a nom de plum, one of the most successful in literary history. The author's true identity, nationality, and background have been hotly contested from the start, a literary guessing game surpassed only by the who-wrote-Shakespeare controversy.
For decades, the tantalizing mystery, along with John Huston's extraordinary Hollywood adaptation in 1948, overshadowed the book itself. But in recent years, more and more scholars and everyday readers have rediscovered the original text.
Treasure's plot is deceptively simple. Dobbs and Curtin are two chronically unemployed laborers who are stuck in Mexico, staying in filthy rooming houses and begging for a few centavos for food. When their job prospects dwindle from dismal to nonexistent, the pair join up with Howard, a grizzled old prospector, in the hope of striking gold in the Sierra Madre mountains.
The three men head to a remote area where they find a rich deposit of gold dust, and that's when the story really gets moving. As the bags of gold pile up, so do their suspicions of one another. In such deserted country, what's to stop one partner from bumping off the other two and keeping the whole haul for himself? It's a scenario that's been played out in scores of heist stories before and since, but Traven does a remarkable job of depicting the prospectors' collective slide into distrust and then outright paranoia.
The following is an article from the book Uncle John's Fast-Acting Long-Lasting Bathroom Reader.
Born into bondage, Robert Smalls rose from slavery to the Halls of Congress. In between, he helped the Union win the Civil War by doing what no black American had ever done before -he commanded a naval vessel.
AT HOME ON THE WATER
Robert Smalls was born a slave on April 5, 1839, in the coastal town of Beaufort, South Carolina. His first taste of a sailor's life came at 12 years old when his master hired him out to work at a shipyard in Charleston Harbor. Smalls took to it, displaying a natural talent for seamanship. By 19, he had risen to the highest sea rank available to a slave: a ship's pilot. Although Smalls could neither read nor write, his photographic memory recalled every bar, shoal, and current in Charleston Harbor.
In 1858 Smalls married another slave, Hannah Jones, and two years later they had a son, Robert, Jr. Being a respected sea pilot, Smalls life was better than that of most slaves ...but he was still a slave. Longing to be his own master, he set out to buy his family's freedom. And he almost did it -Smalls had saved $700 of the $800 purchasing price when the Civil War broke out in 1861. Then everybody's life was put on hold.
STEALING A SHIP
The Confederate army immediately put the 22-year-old Smalls to work doing what he did best: piloting a vessel. He was given the wheel of the CSS Planter (formerly the USS Planter), a 147-foot-long steamboat. With Smalls at the helm taking order from Captain Charles Relyea, the ship hauled ordnance and supplies to the rebel forts guarding Charleston. A few miles offshore lay a fleet of blockading Union ships, and Smalls knew that freedom awaited him in that blockade. He formed a plan.
Continue reading
Born into bondage, Robert Smalls rose from slavery to the Halls of Congress. In between, he helped the Union win the Civil War by doing what no black American had ever done before -he commanded a naval vessel.
AT HOME ON THE WATER
Robert Smalls was born a slave on April 5, 1839, in the coastal town of Beaufort, South Carolina. His first taste of a sailor's life came at 12 years old when his master hired him out to work at a shipyard in Charleston Harbor. Smalls took to it, displaying a natural talent for seamanship. By 19, he had risen to the highest sea rank available to a slave: a ship's pilot. Although Smalls could neither read nor write, his photographic memory recalled every bar, shoal, and current in Charleston Harbor.
In 1858 Smalls married another slave, Hannah Jones, and two years later they had a son, Robert, Jr. Being a respected sea pilot, Smalls life was better than that of most slaves ...but he was still a slave. Longing to be his own master, he set out to buy his family's freedom. And he almost did it -Smalls had saved $700 of the $800 purchasing price when the Civil War broke out in 1861. Then everybody's life was put on hold.
STEALING A SHIP
The Confederate army immediately put the 22-year-old Smalls to work doing what he did best: piloting a vessel. He was given the wheel of the CSS Planter (formerly the USS Planter), a 147-foot-long steamboat. With Smalls at the helm taking order from Captain Charles Relyea, the ship hauled ordnance and supplies to the rebel forts guarding Charleston. A few miles offshore lay a fleet of blockading Union ships, and Smalls knew that freedom awaited him in that blockade. He formed a plan.
If Thomas Edison were alive today, he would be celebrating his 165th birthday. Jeremiah Warren made this quick overview of his life and work, so you'll know more than just "Edison invented the light bulb." -Thanks, Jeremiah!
It happens every time some new technology threatens to put people out of work: a public campaign to save jobs. One example was in the 1920s and '30s, when synchronized sound was added to movies, which meant that theaters no longer had to pay live musicians to accompany the films. The Music Defense League sprang into action, with a $500,000 advertising budget to rally the public against soundtracks recorded by just "300 musicians in Hollywood." Read about the battle against canned music in theaters at Paleofuture. Link
You don't often think of a garbage can as an art medium, but some artists do. And how nice is it to disguise an ugly-but-necessary object as something delightful? My favorite of the collection at WebUrbanist is this graffiti-embellish can by Job Willemsen and Tom v.d. Hurk in the Netherlands. Link
(Image source: Wooster Collective)
You don't really need to "teach" a baby goat to jump, but the interaction looks like a lot of fun for both teacher and student! -via reddit
Can you imagine anything more romantic, personal, and memorable than a proposal at a pizza chain? Pizza Hut is offering a deluxe Valentine's Day proposal package that includes an engagement ring (no diamonds though -it's ruby), photographer, videographer, limousine, fireworks, and a ten dollar pizza! The cost? Just $10,010. Better hurry and reserve your package, because they are only selling ten of them. But hey, if you miss out on the deal, you can a) make your proposal a surprise, 2) do it in a more personal place, and c) save enough money to pay for a nice wedding and/or honeymoon. Link -via Jezebel
Jordan Correa, a developer on the Microsoft Robotics Team, built a robot to interact with his dog, Darwin, while he was away at work. It's got a lot of neat features. Geeks that don't even have dogs would enjoy having one of these around! -via The Daily What Geek
Tomorrow is Abraham Lincoln's birthday, which used to be a holiday until it was consolidated with Washington's birthday. Then Tuesday is Valentine's Day! Do you have any special plans for Valentine's Day, or are you one of those who doesn't care for the over-commercialized, artificially guilt-induced romance of the date? Either way, we've got what you need to get through the holiday: a little romance, a little schmaltz, some comic relief, some alternative time-wasters, and a lot of neat stuff on Neatorama! Just in case you've missed any of our exclusive features this past week, here are some handy links so that you can catch up.
Jill Harness wrote It’s Never Too Late to Thank Your Mail Carrier in honor of Thank A Mailman Day last weekend.
Sunday is Lincoln's birthday, which got Eddie Deezen thinking about history, so he wrote The Man Who Shot John Wilkes Booth. Shooting Booth was the least interesting part of his story.
For no particular occasion at all, we reprinted Witness Protection: 5 Not-so Wiseguys from Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.
The Annals of Improbable Research gave us Hard Looks at Doctors’ Handwriting.
And History’s Wildest Ballet Riot came from mental_floss magazine.
In the What Is It? game this week, the exact purpose for the item in question was never actually verified, but Rob at the What Is It? blog thinks it might be “a form for a medicine ball.” Since we don’t know for sure, we are awarding t-shirts for the TWO funniest answers this week. One came from meiao, who said it’s the ball for Mortal Tetherball. Another good one was from Steve Pauk, who said it was a Rubik’s globe! Those are both worth a t-shirt from the NeatoShop. See the results for all the mystery items of the week at the What Is It? blog.
As of now, there's a three-way tie for the most-commented-on post of the past week, between Psst, Environmentalists! Earth-Friendly Lifestyle Actually Doesn't Matter, PETA Sues to End Killer Whale Slavery, and Why French Parents Are Superior. None of those are surprising, as parenting, PETA, and the environment are all hot-button issues.
Over at our Facebook page, you can catch extra content you won't find at Neatorama, and follow us on Twitter, too! And now we're also on Google+ as well! Happy Valentine's Day!
Jill Harness wrote It’s Never Too Late to Thank Your Mail Carrier in honor of Thank A Mailman Day last weekend.
Sunday is Lincoln's birthday, which got Eddie Deezen thinking about history, so he wrote The Man Who Shot John Wilkes Booth. Shooting Booth was the least interesting part of his story.
For no particular occasion at all, we reprinted Witness Protection: 5 Not-so Wiseguys from Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.
The Annals of Improbable Research gave us Hard Looks at Doctors’ Handwriting.
And History’s Wildest Ballet Riot came from mental_floss magazine.
In the What Is It? game this week, the exact purpose for the item in question was never actually verified, but Rob at the What Is It? blog thinks it might be “a form for a medicine ball.” Since we don’t know for sure, we are awarding t-shirts for the TWO funniest answers this week. One came from meiao, who said it’s the ball for Mortal Tetherball. Another good one was from Steve Pauk, who said it was a Rubik’s globe! Those are both worth a t-shirt from the NeatoShop. See the results for all the mystery items of the week at the What Is It? blog.
As of now, there's a three-way tie for the most-commented-on post of the past week, between Psst, Environmentalists! Earth-Friendly Lifestyle Actually Doesn't Matter, PETA Sues to End Killer Whale Slavery, and Why French Parents Are Superior. None of those are surprising, as parenting, PETA, and the environment are all hot-button issues.
Over at our Facebook page, you can catch extra content you won't find at Neatorama, and follow us on Twitter, too! And now we're also on Google+ as well! Happy Valentine's Day!
Digital artist Petros Vrellis created an interactive version of Vincent Van Gogh's painting Starry Night. The brushstrokes movie and activate music. Vrellis tells more about the project at Creative Applications. Link -via The Daily What
See also: Starry Night is Everywhere!
See also: Starry Night is Everywhere!
For those of you looking for ideas for a romantic Valentine's Day date, the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Brooklyn is offering a morning tour of its sludge-processing facility.
One thing's for sure -it will be a Valentine's Day neither of you will ever forget. Link -via Breakfast Links
(Image credit: New York City government)
Put on some comfortable boots, snuggle up with your companion, and hold your breath when the plant’s ruggedly handsome superintendent, Jimmy Pynn, explains how the city cleans 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater each day.
You’ll get to see every aspect of the plant’s waste treating process, and even take a trip through its suggestively shaped digester tanks, where plucky microorganisms break down what you and your date ate for lunch yesterday, producing methane and carbon dioxide gas.
And at the end of the tour, Pynn will give each attendee a Hershey’s Kiss — because there’s nothing sweeter than protecting the environment.
One thing's for sure -it will be a Valentine's Day neither of you will ever forget. Link -via Breakfast Links
(Image credit: New York City government)
Mario fans, make your own 1UP Mushroom Burger with tips from momo! at Instructables. This particular burger has a veggie mushroom patty, but you can get the same effect with meat. The spots on the bun are mozzarella cheese! Link -via Laughing Squid
The art of the thank you note is not practiced as much as it once was, even though they always make the recipient happy. Mental_floss has collected some of the best thank you notes ever from the archives of Letters of Note. For example, here's a note Neil Armstrong sent to the Extravehicular Mobility Unit engineering team.
You'll enjoy the others just as much, if not more. Link
To the EMU gang:
I remember noting a quarter century or so ago that an emu was a 6 foot Australian flightless bird. I thought that got most of it right.
It turned out to be one of the most widely photographed spacecraft in history. That was no doubt due to the fact that it was so photogenic. Equally responsible for its success was its characteristic of hiding from view its ugly occupant.
Its true beauty, however, was that it worked. It was tough, reliable and almost cuddly.
To all of you who made it all that it was, I send a quarter century’s worth of thanks and congratulations.
Sincerely,
(Signed) Neil A. Armstrong
You'll enjoy the others just as much, if not more. Link
This video introduced me to Jaimie Mantzel. He not only builds toys, he builds everything else! The top comment at reddit tells more about him.
Anyway, this toy does not yet have a name, but he is working with a toy company to eventually produce it. -via reddit
This guy is a complete and total bad-ass. Seriously. (He's also nearly constantly manic too, but I digress.)
He has this giant tree-house he built in the middle of the woods by hand which he actually lives/lived in. When he realized he needed a lumber mill to build a giant workshop to go along with his tree house in the woods, he made one himself, with two tires, a motor, and some aluminum poles (no joke).
Why did he need a giant workshop in the middle of the woods, you ask? To build a working life size version of this robot of course! And he did it using 99% junk yard scrap MacGyvered together (like everything else he does). He also wore chain-mail while doing all this to 'stay fit'.
He has a video blog with tons of videos on YouTube. This guy is so interesting he has caused countless people to spend 10+ hours watching his videos in a single sitting (myself included!). Just look at the other comments here and you'll see how common an occurrence this is.
P.S. Almost forgot! His "tree house" has a giant trampoline in one of the rooms integrated into the floor (one of those giant backyard ones).
P.P.S. He also somehow convinced his lady-friend to move out into the middle the woods and into his tree-house with him while he did all of this. :o
Anyway, this toy does not yet have a name, but he is working with a toy company to eventually produce it. -via reddit
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