Nicolas Cage Gets Around, A Parody Where Nic Cage is Digitally Implanted Into Classic Movie Scenes

By Justin Page on August 22, 2013

“Nicolas Cage Gets Around” is a parody video

Cosplay Music Videos From Otakon 2013 Feature a Dance Party and More Amazing Costumes

By Kimber Streams on August 23, 2013

Cosplayers show off their hard work dressing up as characters from video games, television shows, movies, and even webcomics in these music videos created by Beat Down Boogie at Otakon 2013 in Baltimore, Maryland. The first video includes a cosplay dance party and some impressive breakdancing skills, and you can spot a Samurai Darth Vader in the second video.

submitted

Game of Thrones Season 3 Visual Effects Breakdowns

By Justin Page on August 23, 2013

Spin VFX has released an amazing demo reel with visual effects breakdowns showcasing the work that they did on season 3 of Game of Thrones.

Five-time Emmy nominated VFX Supervisor Jeff Campbell and three-time Emmy nominated Supervising Producer, Luke Groves led Spin’s team to deliver over 200 shots for the season, including Mance Rayder’s Camp, the Direwolves compositing sequences in the Northern Forest, CG crows, the 3D Unsullied Army, the Twins matte painting and The Wall 3D environment.

video

Lord of the Rings Characters Illustrated as Tarot Cards

By Kimber Streams on August 23, 2013

Russia-based artist SceithAilm has illustrated various characters from The Lord of the Rings as tarot cards. To see the rest of the collection, head over to her DeviantART gallery.



images via

Remember 2006, A Video Compilation of Popular Culture From 2006

By Kimber Streams on August 22, 2013

Siminz, also known as

World’s First Vending Machine To Make Hot Belgian Frites

By Rusty Blazenhoff on August 22, 2013

In just 95 seconds, this coin-operated vending machine can fry up an individual serving of hot frites –using beef fat not vegetable oil– on demand. Each serving comes in a paper cup with a fork and is offered with either mayonnaise or ketchup. The machine is a creation of Belgian company BreakTime Solutions and is located at the entrance of a supermarket in Brussels.

photo 1 by Nicolas Maeterlinck

The Video Dating Tape of Desmondo Ray, Aged 33 & 3/4, A Live-Action and Animated Short Film by Steve Baker

By Rusty Blazenhoff on August 21, 2013

“The Video Dating Tape of Desmondo Ray, Aged 33 & 3/4” is a combination live-action and animated short by Steve Baker about the video dating tape of Desmondo Ray. Steve says, “I met a very interesting fellow recently. His name is Desmondo Ray, and this is his video dating tape

Artist Plans To Transform Bridges Into ‘Human Harps’

By Rusty Blazenhoff on August 21, 2013

For her “Human Harp” project, artist and researcher Di Mainstone plans to transform bridges around the world into instrumental sculptures that will allow anyone to “play” them. In collaboration with Queen Mary University of London, she is hoping to bring this unique sound and movement installation to the reopening of New York City’s Brooklyn Bridge in 2014. The Creators Project recently featured Mainstone in a short documentary film that describes her project more in-depth.

Serial Taxi, Short Animated Film About a Woman Afraid She is Riding With the Notorious Taxi Killer

By Justin Page on August 16, 2013

“Serial Taxi” is a short animated film by 3D artist Paolo Cogliati about a “young business woman who takes a chilling ride and realizes her cab driver could be the notorious Taxi Killer.” Paolo produced his film at the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. The “Serial Taxi” soundtrack is available to download for free on SoundCloud.

The film took approximately one year to produce, starting from concept and story to final render and composite.
The story of “Serial Taxi” was actually based on a real experience Paolo had while visiting Russia. Although he came across no killers, a particular taxi driver that was supposed to take him to the airport (and eventually, thankfully did) behaved very much like Boris from the film.

video

8 Bit Cinema – Blade Runner Retold in 120 Animated Seconds

By Justin Page on August 15, 2013

CineFix has released a new episode of 8-Bit Cinema where the classic 1982 Ridley Scott sci-fi thriller film Blade Runner is retold in 120 animated seconds. It was created by filmmakers Norwood Cheek and David Dutton.
submitted via

ah,,,,,,,,yeah........

Religious People Branded As Less Intelligent Than Atheists In Provocative New Study

Are religious people less intelligent than atheists?
That's the provocative conclusion of a new review of 63 studies of intelligence and religion that span the past century. The meta-analysis showed that in 53 of the studies, conducted between 1928 to 2012, there was an inverse relation between religiosity -- having religious beliefs, or performing religious rituals -- and intelligence. That is, on average, non-believers scored higher than religious people on intelligence tests.
What might explain the effect?
Scientists behind studies included in the review most often suggested that "religious beliefs are irrational, not anchored in science, not testable and, therefore, unappealing to intelligent people who 'know better.'”
But the researchers who conducted the new meta-analysis say the answer is a bit more complicated. They suspect intelligent people might have less of a "need" for religion.
"Intelligence may also lead to greater self-control ability, self-esteem, perceived control over life events, and supportive relationships, obviating some of the benefits that religion sometimes provides," study co-author Jordan Silberman, a graduate student of neuroeconomics at the University of Rochester, told The Huffington Post in an email.
So if you're a believer, does this mean you're a dope?

"I'm sure there are intelligent religious people and unintelligent atheists out there," Silberman said in the email. "The findings pertain to the average intelligence of religious and non-religious people, but they don't necessarily apply to any single person. Knowing that a person is religious would not lead me to bet any money on whether or not the person is intelligent."
The researchers acknowledge the limitations of the meta-analysis. It did not look at type of religion, for example, or at the role culture might play in the interaction between religiosity and intelligence.
In addition, The Independent pointed out that the researchers used a narrow definition of intelligence. In the paper, intelligence is defined as “the ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, and learn from experience." This excludes other forms of intelligence, like creative and emotional intelligence.

Shittens......

“‘Cause poop is gross.”
In February 2013, we wrote about a concept for disposable mittens that protect your hands from poop called Shittens. Lo and behold, these fecal-free moist wipe mittens are now available to buy online

Angry monkey scalp-tattoo

Cory Doctorow at 12:55 pm • 12 •

An anonymous Internet fellow had the back of his scalp tattooed with a rather fetching angry monkey. I'm not sure if he had his head shaved and inked, or if this is male-pattern baldness, but I would appreciate any background you could provide in our comments.

Molars colonized by ambitious antiquarian architecture

Cory Doctorow at 6:13 pm • 9 •

This pair of striking images of teeth colonized by ambitious antiquarian architecture are part of a campaign for Maxam toothpaste from JWT Shanghai; the slogan is "Don't let germs settle down."

Elaborate Dioramas Populated by Fish-Headed Figures

By EDW Lynch on August 13, 2013

In her ongoing series “Les Temps Modernes” (“Modern Times”), French artist Anne-Catherine Becker-Echivard creates elaborate dioramas of everyday life that are populated by human-like figures with fish heads. Each diorama takes up to three months to build. When the diorama is finished, Becker-Echivard purchases fresh fish, decapitates them, and adds them to the scene. The fish bodies are sent to the kitchen, where they become dinner. Becker-Echivard has been working on the series since 1997.



via

Nihilist Toothpaste Has ‘No Flavor, No Color, Nothing’

By Rusty Blazenhoff on August 13, 2013

Nihilist Toothpaste is a tube of plain, flavorless toothpaste wrapped up in stark minimalist packaging. If you’d like to brush with a “big dollop of reality,” it’s available at Archie McPhee.

We don’t believe in dental hygiene
Nihilism is a philosophy defined by what it doesn’t believe. At its most extreme, Nihilists don’t believe in anything. So, when we decided to make toothpaste for nihilists, we decided that it shouldn’t taste like anything because they don’t believe in flavor. Brushing your teeth with Nihilist Toothpaste is really brushing them with a big dollop of reality. This is a perfect present for your favorite philosopher, a moody teenager or a fan of The Big Lebowski.

Better Book Titles For Children’s Books With Questionable Morals

By Kimber Streams on August 8, 2013

Comedian Dan Wilbur has renamed a number of children’s books that contain questionable and sometimes downright unsavory morals for his blog, Better Book Titles. Previously we posted about the website, which “improves” famous book titles with jokes relevant to the text. You can find more Better Children’s Book Titles at the blog.



images via Better Book Titles
via

Guillermo of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ Crashes Matt Damon Interview

By Justin Page on August 8, 2013

Earlier in the week, Matt Damon took over Jimmy Kimmel Live and renamed the show “Jimmy Kimmel Sucks.” To get his sweet revenge, Jimmy sent show regular Guillermo Rodriguez out to crash an interview with Matt Damon while he was promoting his upcoming sci-fi film Elysium.
Here is the clip of Matt Damon taking over Jimmy’s show:

Bad Chemistry, Chemical Diagrams Break Down Characters From ‘Breaking Bad’

By Justin Page on August 7, 2013

Walter White | Tyrant
The creative folks at Shutterstock have made “Bad Chemistry,” a series of chemical diagrams that break down the characteristics of individual characters from Breaking Bad. You can view more diagrams from this collection, which were created “using assets from the Shutterstock library,” at The Shutterstock Blog.

Part two of Breaking Bad‘s final season kicks off in just a few days, and we’re growing increasingly anxious, wondering where the end will take us. For four-and-a-half seasons, we’ve watched the characters grow and change, with no transformation as significant as Walter White’s own personal journey from meek and innocent to ruthless and evil. Years of watching Breaking Bad has taught us which chemical elements combine to make meth, and now, as we await the show’s denouement, we decided to break down the characters in the same way.

Jesse Pinkman | Outcast

Walter White Jr. | Hungry

Gus Fring | Two-Faced Tyrant
submitted

A White Walker and Other ‘Game of Thrones’ Characters as 1980s and 1990s Stereotypes

By Kimber Streams on August 7, 2013

Tokyo-based graphic designer Mike Wrobel has continued his project of redesigning Game of Thrones characters as stereotypes from the 1980s and 1990s. All of the illustrations so far are available to purchase as prints, t-shirts, and iPhone cases from Wrobel’s society6 shop. Previously we’ve posted about several other installments of the project, and you can view more of the illustrations on Wrobel’s blog.



images