On any movie set, there's a lot of waiting around while scenes are set up or details are worked out. In this behind-the-scenes photograph from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Zoe Saldana, Chris Pratt, and several other folks are busy on their phones, while Kurt Russell knows the real priority is to get enough sleep between takes. He is a wise man. -via reddit
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English is a language that's always evolving. Every day, we use words that weren't in existence 50 years ago. Then there are words that have been around a long time, but they've changed. One way the language has changed is by condensing sentences we use a lot down into one word. Lots of these words have a history that may be surprising to you.
Linguist Arika Orent takes us on a tour of words that once were entire phrases, but became condensed with use. You might be saying something completely different from what you thought! -via Geeks Are Sexy
James Bennion is an artist in Utah. Harmon's Grocery displays his artwork that's also advertisements for their wares on chalkboards throughout the store. They are not only artistic, but clever, too!
See a selection of Jimbo's best grocery signs at Laughing Squid, and more of his creations at Instagram.
If you are a Star Wars fan and couldn't attend Star Wars Celebration this past week, you can enjoy the highlights of the convention. See the passionate fans, the cute kids, the movie stars, the music, the cosplay, and the excitement surrounding the 40th anniversary of Star Wars.
Fans got to see previews of the new Star Wars video game, new toys, the planned Star Wars theme parks, and the first trailer for episode eight. And then there were the tributes to Carrie Fisher. A good time was had by all. -via Tastefully Offensive
There is an old Yiddish proverb that says, "We make plans, and God laughs." Or, as in the case of the latest comic from The Awkward Yeti, He sends rain and lightning to show how ephemeral your plans can be. I've seen this happen twice today. One of my daughters' job hours were cut to below the pay-the-rent level, while another daughter's summer internship requires her to be in place before her finals are over. You can make plans, and you should, but you also have to be flexible about dealing with changing circumstances you will no doubt encounter.
Earlier this month, the Motor City Furry Convention took place in Novi, Michigan. They selected Pets for Vets as their charity this year, and asked Cheryl Wassus to come to the convention and speak about it. Wassus is an enthusiastic volunteer for the organization, which provides therapy dogs for veterans, so she agreed. But she had no clue what a furry convention would be like. She assumed it was for pets and pet lovers.
In an interview with New York Magazine, Cheryl said, "I really had no idea what to expect going in on Saturday. This organization had chosen us as their charity."
Cheryl explained to Cosmopolitan.com that the organizers of the event contacted her asking her if she'd like to do a presentation for the non-profit, and she agreed, though she didn't quite understand what the convention was for."I usually try to do some research the night before I go to these events but the website was pretty obscure," she said. "It had a links and information on how to register but no pictures. So I just assumed it was a regular business convention of some sort."
my mom thought furrycon was a pet event and volunteered w our therapy dog pic.twitter.com/mizlydLxjl
— kenny wassus (@kgw) April 8, 2017
But she went with her therapy dog Link, and although she was surprised to find out what furries really are, they had a wonderful time. Read about Cheryl, Link, and the Furries at Cosmopolitan. -via Metafilter
(Image credit: Cheryl Wassus)
Screenwriters who were nominated for Oscars this year tell stories about the notes that studio executives and producers would leave in their scripts. Although I'm sure that they contribute good suggestions sometimes, these tidbits lead one to believe that executives and producers have to complain about something to justify their job titles. Many of the best stories are about "totally missing the point."
Theodore Melfi (“Hidden Figures”)
“Most of the notes you get are from actors. They’re bad. This one studio [Fox Searchlight] person said, ‘Do we have to have so much math?’ So I pretended to be interested but, no, it’s about math.
***
Todd Black (producer of “Fences”)
“We made a Western called ‘The Magnificent Seven’ [with Sony Pictures]. And the biggest note in development and shooting it was, ‘Do they have to wear cowboy hats and have facial hair?’ And I said, ‘Do you not want them not to have horses either?’ That was a huge note on a daily basis.”
Another story revealed that the people arguing for changes turned out to really not know what changes they were arguing about. Read more of these at The Wrap. -via Boing Boing
A new law in India went into effect on April first that says all bars and liquor stores must be at least 500 meters from state and national highways. A lot of businesses have closed or moved since then, but one enterprising bar owner in Paravoor, Kerala, found a workaround to the new law. The Aishwarya Bar rearranged the fencing and built a maze from the street to lengthen the distance the distance to the bar!
"We have done nothing illegal. The plot behind the bar also belongs to the owner and we have constructed an extended way to reach the bar. Now it is 520 metres from the highway. We are set to approach the circle inspector of excise with the new route map to authorize the reopening of the bar," said Shiju P, bar manager.
Even the excise officials admitted the move by the management is acceptable. A Vijayan IPS, additional excise commissioner said,
"We do not measure the aerial distance but only the walking distance. However, they will be fined for altering the entrance."
A fine for a building code violation is much less painful than losing one's liquor license, as any bar owner will tell you. Still, you have to feel sorry for the patrons of the bar who have to find their way through the maze to get back home after a night of drinking. See more pictures of the maze at the India Times. -Thanks, John Farrier!
There's a difference between sadness and clinical depression. We all feel sad sometimes, possibly often, but that doesn't always mean we are suffering from a chemical imbalance. As The School of Life points out in this video, sadness is often a rational -and normal- response to the world around us.
They offer some techniques for battling the sorrow and loneliness we feel in response to life's circumstances. However, if you cannot identify the source of the sadness, or if it affects your everyday functioning, you should seek help for possible clinical depression. They followed up that video with another that points to anger as a possible cause of sadness.
In short, the world is horrible and depressing, but we can make it better. Our emotional response to the world can be difficult, but with understanding, we can make that better, too. -via Laughing Squid
Peter Flax crossed the U.S. four times in a 36-hour period for the Hollywood Reporter. That sounds like pure hell for most of us, but his assignment was to experience and compare four different airlines' premium first-class service. He had to compare the VIP lounges, the wine lists, the meals, the seats, and the concierge services. It turns out that airlines really go the extra mile for their most profitable customers.
On Tuesday morning, I was greeted curbside at LAX by a rep with American's Five Star Service who led me into the Flagship First Class entrance. This check-in area is unassuming but a world away from the normal airport chaos just a few yards away. The room was hushed and spare and everyone greeted me by name. The efficiency actually was staggering — within five minutes of stepping out of my Lyft ride, I had checked in, taken an elevator and a series of secret passageways, been escorted to the front of a long security line, put my laptop in a bin and was on my way to the lounge.
The appeal for high-profile Hollywood actors and other power players is obvious — no paparazzi or phone-wielding fans snapping photos, no plebeian security lines, no earthly hassles. For true A-list talent — the morning I was traveling Julie Andrews also was flying to New York, and Julia Roberts and her kids had been there the day before — American and TSA collaborate to empty the queue so no other travelers are in the room when they pass through security. And there's a back entrance to the Admiral's Club so heavy hitters can be escorted into the First Class Lounge without strolling through the main entrance.
And that was even before he got on the first plane. Reading Flax's experiences is an exercise in envy, as he enjoyed the best luxury treatment from American, JetBlue, Delta, and United. Of course, 10,000 miles is a long time in the air, but not being shoehorned into a tiny coach seat with screaming children makes it tolerable. Read the entire article at The Hollywood Reporter. -via Digg
Vikings are cool because we can use them in pop culture as a shortcut to connote violence and manliness -just right for a superhero action movie. But Vikings were a real group of seafaring Scandinavian conquerers who invaded far-flung places for hundreds of years. And guess what? They were quite manly and violent -at least the ones who did the conquering. They left their legacy in places all over Europe and even North America.
Learn something new about Vikings in a trivia list at TVOM. Be warned that some of those things can be disturbing.
The market for Hollywood movies in China is so lucrative that Hollywood producers will change anything they want in order to get in theaters there. That can mean dropping references to ghosts, international crime, or politics. Oh, always drop the politics.
In some cases, entirely new scenes were shot to make Chinese officials happy, as you'll see in this video from Looper. After all, only a limited number of American movies will be shown each year in China. -via the A.V. Club
Not all heroes wear capes, and even some that do won't make it into in superhero comic books or movies. If you can help someone, even if it's just making them smile, that makes the world a better place. And that's super. This comic is from Chris at Lunarbaboon.
If you're going to pay someone to take a picture of your proposal, you may as well get your favorite celebrity involved, too! Alex and Amanda attended Star Wars Celebration Saturday in their Han and Leia costumes from The Empire Strikes Back. They waited in line for a photo opportunity with Mark Hamill. When the moment came, Alex dropped to one knee and popped the question. Hamill's mouth popped open, too, in surprise.
So today- THIS happened! (Twice actually-though I couldn't find a picture of that other couple.) Very cool. #StillTheMasterThirdWheeler pic.twitter.com/fliRdImtzh
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) April 16, 2017
Hamill sent his congratulations by Twitter, and let us know it happened twice during the weekend. So while this photo may not be exactly one-of-a-kind, it is highly personal for two avid Star Wars fans. -via Mashable
The annual Boston Marathon took place today. If you've ever wondered how regular pedestrians cross the street when it's full of marathon runners (and I bet you've never thought about it unless you live in Boston), here's how it happens. -via reddit
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