User-generated content on the internet can reach more people than high-budget films. How long will it be before Hollywood comes up with a completely user-generated film? Darius Monsef of COLOURlovers has written an article for Cineleet that looks at examples that show how close we are getting.

Spike Lee doesn’t think we’re too far off. He has teamed up with Nokia to direct a film made with mobile phone footage from every day people. “You are seeing first hand the democratization of film,” Lee said in a statement on Thursday. “Aspiring filmmakers no longer have to go to film school to make great work. With a simple mobile phone, almost anyone can now become a filmmaker.”

See video evidence in the post. Link -via Digg

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The little xylophone has a strange effect on this cat. -via Arbroath

The Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss will test your knowledge of TV situation comedies of the 80s (and there were a lot of them). I only scored 60% today, because back in the 80s I didn’t think to ask if there would be a test on this material. Ha! http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/14627

A goldfish named Comet has been trained to play soccer, basketball, and even dance the limbo! He can also fetch and swim a slalom around tiny poles in his tank. Comet’s owner, Dr. Dean Pomerleau used the technique of positive reinforcement by rewarding Comet with food.

Dr Pomerleau insisted there was nothing fishy about his claim, saying anyone can teach their pet to perform similar tricks.

"There is mounting evidence that fish are more intelligent than people give them credit for," the fish training expert said.

"With the correct tools and the basic promise of a food reward, fish can very quickly learn complex tricks - like the limbo, slalom or playing fetch.

"Now people in the market for a dog might want to consider a fish instead."

The two-year-old fish has been called the world’s most intelligent goldfish. Link -via Fark

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People who have lost the ability to move have been using “gaze technology” to communicate by computer for years, but the technology has been too slow to operate in virtual worlds, until now. A team led by Stephen Vickers of De Montfort University, Leicester, UK has developed new software that allows the eyes to select functions and temporarily turn off tracking just by the movement of the gaze.

"Even though a user in, say, Second Life might look as if they are able-bodied, if they can't operate and communicate as fast as everyone else, they could be perceived as having a disability," he told New Scientist, adding that there is a privacy issue for players who may prefer not to reveal their disability in the virtual world.

The developments are "hugely important", according to Mick Donegan, who works with severely disabled children and adults at Oxford-based charity and COGAIN partner, SpecialEffect.

"Enabling someone to express themselves and engage with people in ways that they can't do in real life – because they are restricted to a wheelchair or a bed – can have a really positive effect on their self-esteem and motivation," says Donegan.

Link -via Geek Like Me

The aim of the game is to escape from the pig pen using a combination of fart skill and aviation techniques and stay airborne for as long as possible.

Start by using the left arrow. Then all you need is the up arrow for fart power, but don’t fly too high. Keep an eye on the fartometer! Collect beans to replenish it, and avoid the white doves. http://www.panlogic.co.uk/zed/fart_game/ -via the Presurfer

Brenda Owen was walking her golden labrador retriever Penny by the Elwy River in St. Asaph, Wales when she spotted a wheelchair on the shore and a body in the water.

“I shouted: “Are you all right love?”

When there was no answer, Brenda shouted: “Fetch! fetch!” and instinctively Penny jumped into the torrent.

Brenda said: “The current was quite fast. It was obvious that the woman was unconscious and myself and the man went to help Penny who had dragged the woman back to the riverbank.

“The woman was unconscious for about five minutes and had injured herself.”

The victim, who had been reported missing from a nearby home, was taken to a hospital for treatment. Owen is proud of her ten-year-old dog.

“Penny is a very obedient dog and we’ve had her since she was a pup. She’s a local dog but this is the first time that she’s saved anybody’s life‘,” added Brenda.”

Link -via Arbroath

Elephants are expensive to feed and care for, and many of India’s elephants earn their living with years of hard work. Then after the elephants are too old for labor, they are often neglected or cast aside due to their maintenance costs. But a new retirement home is opening on a thousand-acre preserve at Kottur, Kerala. The government will pay a nominal fee to buy elephants too old for work and provide them with room to roam and proper veterinary care.

"We want them to enjoy their last years after being such good workers without worrying where their next meal will come from," said V.S. Verghese, Kerala's chief wildlife warden who is in charge of the scheme.

"They'll get special treats like big slabs of rice, a course sugar called jaggery, and honey. And vets will be on hand."

The first 30 elephants are scheduled to move in this month. Link -via Fark

Abdolhadi Mirhejazi of Dubai has built a one-horsepower vehicle, but it’s not your average horse and buggy! This fully-enclosed cart has the horse in back, walking on a treadmill. The treadmill not only powers the car, it charges a battery which can take over when the horse is tired.

Mirhejazi also discovered the horse can power two LCD advertising screens mounted on the sides of the Naturmobil

"Bearing in mind the originality and uniqueness of the idea, Naturmobil was designed and built to achieve the maximum level of attention from its audiences," said his marketing manager, F. Minooeifar.

Mirhejazi plans to exhibit his Naturmobil in Pittsburgh, California in June. http://www.xpress4me.com/news/uae/dubai/20007183.html -via Arbroath

Nitpick compensates for his limited fighting ability by pouncing on points that are only marginally relevant to the discussion. For example, if his opponent in a sports forum conflict casually mentioned the Cubs' 4-2 victory in the 1908 World Series, Nitpick would quickly counterattack with something like, "4-2 !? Any moron knows the Cubs won the Series 4-1! Someone so ignorant about baseball history can't possibly know anything about salary caps!" Even if the minor point is conceded by his opponent Nitpick will return to it whenever the battle turns against him. Though weak, Nitpick is very tenacious and will never admit defeat. Nitpick is a close ally of Artful Dodger.

Illustrator Mike Reed began caricaturing the personalities that forum users display during flame wars some years ago, and the collection has expanded over time. There are now 89 distinct warriors! Surely you will recognize some of these from your own experience. Flame Warriors should be required reading for all users before participating in any online forum. http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/index.htm -via Everlasting Blort

Good Times Adventures employee Brian Mislansky and his dog Lulu were the only ones inside the business’ building in Breckenridge, Colorado when an explosion caused it to collapse. Mislansky was rescued four hours later and was hospitalized. He is expected to recover from his injuries. Lulu was found eight days later! Building owner Brian Holt heard a whimper as he was looking through the rubble. He called out Lulu’s name and heard her yelping.

It took Lulu's rescuers nearly an hour to dig down to her. The dog was huddled 15 feet down, in a crawl space.

"She basically had a two-story building on top of her," Holt told the newspaper.

Lulu was checked by a veterinarian who said she was remarkably well, suffering only mild dehydration and some trauma to her left eye.

The springer spaniel was later taken to visit Mislansky in the hospital. The cause of the explosion is under investigation. Link -via Two Kitties and a Puppy

Wrongcards are ecards that say things normal ecards don’t. Like “Get well soon, because I’m not going back to jail for necrophilia” and “four out of five mental health professionals agree that i'm no danger to anybody.” They also have some lovely Mothers Day ecards, like the oh so sentimental one you see here. Link -via Shiny Shiny

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When Brad and Amy got married, her friends and family put together an elaborate production number as a toast, totally without her knowledge.

We are not sure how this was kept secret by everyone involved but it was truly an incredible production. Check out Amy’s utter shock when people start springing up from the crowd to join in the fun in this heartwarming tribute to Amy and Brad on their special day…

And it was all captured on video. http://amcvideo.com/weddings_blog/?p=30 -Thanks, PAgent!

Update: Thanks to zondron for the Metacafe link!

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Flapping lips are a lot funnier in slow motion. And the music just adds to it! -via b3ta

Bat Conservation International (BCI) is an organization dedicated to our flying mammal friends. They are mobilizing in response to a bat affliction known as white-nose syndrome {wiki} that has killed thousands of bats.

Entire bat species are potentially at risk if scientists cannot solve this puzzle soon. White-nose syndrome (WNS), named for a white fungus found on the faces of some affected bats, has been reported since the winter of 2006-7 in New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and possibly Pennsylvania. Mortality rates of up to 95 percent have been documented in some populations hit by WNS. Five bat species are affected by the syndrome, with little brown myotis hit the hardest. Endangered Indiana myotis also are taking losses.

The cause remains elusive. (Few scientists believe the fungus is the source of WNS.)

BCI is co-sponsoring a meeting of scientists in June to discuss white-nose syndrome. You can help by joining BCI or by making a donation. Or just read to find out more. Link -Thanks, Thor!

(image credit: josdiiri)