Squib is a fun word to say, and squibs are fun to talk about because their name sounds so funny people can't help but ask "what the hell is a squib?!" when they hear it said aloud.
But filmmakers know squib isn't just a funny word- it's the secret to making gunshot effects look realistic on camera.
This tutorial video by John P. Hess of Filmmaker IQ shares a brief history of the squib and shows us how we can make our own air powered blood packs on a backyard movie budget.
So far Kylo Ren hasn't been the most interesting Sith in the Star Wars universe, and his angsty and whiny personality leaves a lot to be desired.
Kylo's so annoying, in fact, that the whole thing may be an act used to drive his enemies crazy and get his captives to confess. Maybe he's perfecting some sort of whine-based ASMR technique to use on any Rebel scum he captures?
Nah, he's just a whiny brat with a dark side, but this parody video by Auralnauts shows us what it might look like if Kylo Ren used ASMR triggers during an interrogation. It's surprisingly soothing!
World 1-1, aka the first level in Super Mario Bros., is one of the most iconic levels in video game history, and even those who have never played the game know how the level looks.
Mario comes bouncing in, smooshes a Goomba then starts punching bricks, discovering tiny Mario can't break through the brick blocks until he eats a mushroom that makes him tall.
This iconic level has been recreated by artists and game designers many times before, but this is the first time World 1-1 has been recreated in augmented reality, allowing designer/coder Abhishek Singh to play in Central Park.
Abhishek used Unity3D to create the game and wore a Microsoft HoloLens rig to play the game, and the Mario costume Abhishek wore was purely optional but appreciated!
Wil Wheaton has had to come to terms with the fact that no matter what else he does as an actor he will always be known for playing Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
But at least he's known for playing a good role on a legendary show, so he can be proud of the role he's best known for, and Wil has definitely embraced his TNG past and ain't afraid to revel in his gloriously nerdy roots.
A few years back he was reunited with the original sweater he wore on the show back in 1987, and now he has been reunited with Wesley's actual uniform from the show.
It doesn't fit, but it sure was cool to see and hold Wesley's acting ensign uniform for the first time in 30 years. pic.twitter.com/C4sJDThyWd
It's not always a bad thing for a movie or TV series to leave us with a head full of questions, and it can be fun to speculate and answer these burning questions by imagining our own storylines that solve the mystery.
But many of these mysteries already have answers that were included in the show so subtly viewers may have missed it- like the mystery of why a film crew is following around Dunder-Mifflin employees:
Shortly before the events of The Office, a Dunder Mifflin employee committed suicide. This was revealed during the show's second season. In the episode "Performance Review," Michael Scott cleans out a suggestion box that's been gathering dust for years. In the box is a suggestion from a man named Tom that the office should provide better counseling for depressed workers. Michael doesn't know who that is, and so another character mimes blowing her brains out.
That's why the camera crew is there: A man killed himself, and the filmmakers wanted to document how his friends were dealing with it. The really sad part is that no one really seems to care. According to the writers, Ryan the temp was hired almost immediately after Tom's suicide, because death or no death, Dunder Mifflin is a business that cannot shut down, or even slow down, just because someone lost a battle with depression. Huh, you know, maybe The Office was more realistic than we gave it credit for.
Another enduring pop culture question that has an answer- why didn't the Good Witch tell Dorothy she could use the ruby slippers to return home if she supposedly knew the whole time?
That's because the book features two Good Witches- Glinda, the Good Witch of the South and Locasta Tattypoo, the Good Witch of the North met by Dorothy in Munchkin Country.
In the book Locasta tells Dorothy how to use the ruby slippers, since Glinda doesn't have a clue about the shoes, but in the movie the Good Witches were merged and an inconsistency was born.
Brandon Alinger takes Star Wars fandom more seriously than the average fanatic. He started building his own Star Wars props when he was 12, and at 17 talked his family into vacationing in Tunisia, where he got to see the Tatooine movie set. Alinger studied film in college, worked at the Prop Shop, and worked his way into Lucasfilm. All that time, he collected Star Wars props and memorabilia. Alinger found some internet fame in January when he appeared on Mark Hamill's Pop Culture Quest and reunited the actor with the original light saber prop he used in Return of the Jedi. Alinger gave an interview to explain his amazing journey to the apex of Star Wars prop collectors. Here's a sample:
Collectors Weekly: Why did Mark use Obi-Wan’s old lightsaber in the third movie instead of the original made from the Graflex flash gun?
Alinger: Luke had to use a different lightsaber because he lost the weapon when he lost his hand in “The Empire Strikes Back” fight with Vader. Howard Kazanjian had a lot of the production photos for “Jedi.” When we were researching the book, we found a contact sheet with photos from the very first day of filming “Jedi.” One image showed Mark Hamill on the sandstorm set—for a scene was cut from the movie—and he’s holding the lightsaber prop from “A New Hope” and “The Empire Strikes Back.” I don’t know exactly what happened. But it sure seems to me like someone brought out the old “Empire” lightsaber and then a decision was made right then and there that they needed a new prop because the “Empire” one fell into the Cloud City air shaft with Luke’s severed hand.
Bobby Hill may not be the most physically attractive, physically fit or physically capable kid in Arlen, and he ain't exactly a smartypants neither. But there is no wiser or more tuned in kid than Bobby Hill, Texas's answer to the Dalai Lama.
Okay, that may be overstating it a bit, Bobby's more like Buddha, Pooh Bear and Curly from the Three Stooges all rolled into one lovable cartoon character.
And yet Bobby Hill seems so real, like someone we've all known and cheered for as they take on the world, unafraid to be an adorable oddball in a world full of bullies.
Nintendo doesn't just make games and consoles that change our video game lovin' lives- they make consoles that are built to last a lifetime, and it's not uncommon to hear about gamers who own NES consoles that still work.
And now with the release of the Switch they've changed the world of gaming once again, giving us the hybrid console of the future we didn't know we needed.
Along the way there were some misses like the Nintendo GameCube, later improved by the Panasonic Q, which was basically a GameCube with remote that can play DVDs.
The Q was only released in Japan and was a commercial flop, so Nintendo discontinued it two years after it was released.
There is still one thing I've always wondered about the NES and the original Japanese version the Famicom- why didn't the NES have cool controller holders like the Famicom?
Disneyland may be the "happiest place on earth for visitors," but for employees, things are different. Over on Reddit, past Disney park employees recently discussed the most outrageous things they ever saw on the job. For those who think the Mouse represents a squeaky clean image, you might be surprised what those employees have seen. For example:
I worked on a ride where there was a holding area before the main room and ride. One night before close, apparently a guest had taken a shit in the holding room and everyone else tracked it through out whole queue and ride. We had to close early and every inch of our whole ride was sanitized that night. A guest seriously asked me, "There's poop on my flip flops... what do I do...?"
Many employees start off innocent when they come in, but then things like this change that:
[My] manager that told me I wasn't happy or cheerful enough so I should come in early to do a line of "pixie dust" before work. I showed up early to be a smartass, walk into her office and found her and a server doing lines of cocaine off the counter. I transferred as soon as I could but it was the same stuff in all the other areas as well. Disney still holds the title of most exciting job I've had. Over those 6 years I was assaulted, groped, bribed, spit at, whored out, and drugged. It was my sex, drugs, rock and roll experience.
Fans praised The Human Centipede for its unique concept and fresh take on body horror, but the film's gimmick was too disgusting for many people to handle- and the next two films were even grosser.
So film analyst Georg Rockall-Schmidt couldn't help but wonder- did The Human Centipede trilogy actually have something to say, or were they made for pure shock value? (NSFW material)
People have made all kinds of comics, short films and cartoons about the mighty Link and his quest to save Hyrule, and they're all great fun to check out- but they're also all missing a little something.
So which magical element of the Legend Of Zelda games do the artists paying homage to the games nearly always forget to include? The activity I spend hours doing every time I play a Zelda game- smashing pots for rupees.
Animator Callegos Yavolitak created this fan film for the pot smasher in all of us, which focuses on the greatest pastime in Hyrule and shows us we're not alone in our obsession to destroy and collect gems.
A good movie poster will intrigue potential viewers by revealing just enough about the movie to draw someone in without giving away any spoilers.
Of course, a good poster should also incorporate great artwork and this list of movie posters with the best artwork from the last decade is a great look at how drastically different artwork can be while still looking amazing and serving to attract people to go see a new film.
Even if you don't like some of the movies, you can still enjoy the impressive design choices that went into making it.
When people hear "artificial lifeform" they think of robots or androids, but technically any magically animated object could also be considered an artificial lifeform and would therefore have a lot in common with robo-sapiens.
But the odds of a factory built robot and a farm scarecrow ever meeting is a million to one, except for at outdoor music festivals apparently, where the two strange beings are free to be themselves.
Robot & Scarecrow was written and directed by Kibwe Tavares for Factory Fifteen, and I must say they did a really good job of blending the 3D robot character in with the live action footage, it looks so real!
Wax statues are often so realistic looking you can hardly tell them apart from the person they're made to resemble, but it's hard for wax sculptors to reach this eerie-high level of hyperrealism.
So instead of trying to do the famous person's face justice some sculptors turn the whole thing into a horrific mess by using The Penguin as reference for Meryl Streep.
Sculptors of wax statues shaped like celebrities are also known for making odd choices about the details they include in each piece, which is how we end up with a sweaty J. Biebs statue nobody wants.
And speaking of pop stars named Justin- get a load of this wax statue of Justin Timberlake, aka J. Tim. You can't say it doesn't not resemble him just a little bit, I mean the hair color's spot on!
Food can make you feel really good, food can make you feel sick, eat certain foods before bed and they may make you have some very strange dreams.
Most people will be in love with food their entire lives, and whether it's the healthy fruit and veggies, the meat or those sugary sweets there's always at least one kind of food that makes us swoon.
And it's often hard to choose between them since they all look so good!
Cheat Day was created by Ringling College of Art and Design student Diem Tran, and aside from the wonky sound effects Cheat Day was a pretty darn good short with a fun foodie punchline.
