Now here’s a song that’s very easy to learn. And when I say easy, I mean it’s very easy. This song only consists of one word, so it really doesn’t take that much time and effort to master the song. Just give yourself at least 5 seconds. Or even 3 seconds will do.
(Image Credit: Bill Wurtz/ YouTube)
Scotland — The North East Police Division, alongside some folks from North East Wildlife and Animal Rescue Center (or New Arc), responded to a call from a family one afternoon. The family apparently had an unexpected visitor who flew in through an open door in their house. That visitor then perched on a branch of their Christmas tree. The visitor was a sparrowhawk.
New Arc officials said the hawk was examined and determined to not be injured. The bird of prey was released outside.
"The New Arc assisted the Police this afternoon when they apprehended an intruder suspected of stealing X-Mas fairies. After a full body search she was released without charge," the rescue group said in a Facebook post.
The North East Police Division remarked on their post that this was “definitely a change from a partridge on a pear tree.”
I wonder what made the bird go inside the house. What do you think?
(Image Credit: THE NEW ARC/ Facebook)
(Image Credit: North East Police Division/ Facebook)
Why have a burger with a bun when you can have one with none, but with more meat in exchange? From November 20 to December 3, Burger King Japan sold the Extreme Chou (超, meaning “super”, “ultra” or “extreme”) One Pound Beef Burger. The burger, which has four patties and no bun, weighs over 500 grams and over 1,200 kcal.
Those who order the burger will get a sticker that reads, “I did it. Extreme Chou One Pound Beef Burger.”
Would you have ordered this burger?
(Image Credit: Burger King/ YouTube)
An unnamed man in Rio Linda, California, is known to the neighbors for flying around in his powered parachute. On Sunday, he dressed up as Santa Claus and headed out with the aim of delivering candy canes to community children. But instead, he got caught in the overhead power lines!
"A powered parachute lost power on takeoff near a school in Rio Linda, Calif., and then hit and became suspended in power lines around 11:00 a.m. local time (Sunday)," said a spokesperson with the FAA.
Power was shut off to about 200 customers in the Rio Linda area during the rescue, according to Sac Metro Fire.
“Immediately after power was shut off, we were able to move firefighters up into the power line and then lower the pilot — Santa Claus — down to safety,” said Chris Vestal with Sac Metro Fire.
Neither Santa nor anyone else was injured. -via Boing Boing
While every successful singer eventually does a Christmas album, which may have a single, they are mostly cover versions of earlier Christmas hits. And you can’t beat an original. The most familiar, comforting songs of the season come from the 1940s and ‘50s. The reasons for that have to do with the epic changes in how we consume music and entertainment in the middle of the 20th century. After those Christmas classics were introduced and became classics, any new version of the same song just seems unnecessary. -via Digg
Redditor olives4me designed her family's Christmas card to be the encapsulation of 2020. They weren't the only ones who made personalized greeting cards that couldn't be used for any year other than this one. And some were even for sale.
The best 2020 holiday card, courtesy of my brother and sister in law pic.twitter.com/4S72fZjnSJ
— susan rinkunas 🙋🏼♀️ (@sueonthetown) December 9, 2020
See 21 of these cards that people sent in remembrance of 2020 at Buzzfeed.
Ketamine was discovered in 1956. The drug was used initially as anaesthesia and in pain relief, but researchers have been looking for new uses for the drug ever since its discovery. Last year, the drug was approved for patients with major depression but who are treatment-resistant, and compared to standard antidepressants, it proved to be very effective.
Unlike standard antidepressants, which can take several weeks to have an effect, ketamine works within hours. Until now, little was known about the molecular mechanism that triggers the antidepressant effect of ketamine on the brain.
But what makes ketamine so effective in combating depression? The answer may be found in a group of proteins called 4E-BPs, which are involved in memory formation.
Learn more about the study over at MedicalXpress.
(Image Credit: Benjah-bmm27/ Wikimedia Commons)
Despite the fact that movie theaters were closed for a big part of the year, and many productions were postponed, 2020 still had movies. And like every year, Sleepy Skunk made an artistic and emotional mashup of those movies with footage taken from their trailers. See it in widescreen mode at YouTube. If you stayed home this year and don't have a multitude of different streaming services, you may well find something here you want to explore further. There's a list of the movies here. This video contains NSFW language.
Photographers knew a long time ago that the best way to make people look good in photos is by using secondary flash devices that are not attached to the camera. The photographer then positions these flash devices with various factors in mind, such as the angle of the subject’s face, as well as other light sources.
Google designed Portrait Light with this concept in mind. Portrait Light is a feature on Google’s Pixel phones “that can be used to enhance portraits by adding an external light source not present at the time the photo was taken.”
The engineers explain they achieved this feat using two algorithms. The first, which they call automatic directional light placement, places synthetic light into the scene as a professional photographer would. The second algorithm is called synthetic post-capture relighting. It allows for repositioning the light after the fact in a realistic and natural-looking way.
[...]
The software is available in newer Pixel phones. Older camera users can try the new software on the Google Photos online service, while it's built into newer phones. Users can either accept the automatic enhancement provided by their phone or change it manually.
Cool!
(Image Credit: Google/ TechXplore)
December 8. Pembroke Pines, Florida. Police arrive at a men’s clothing store after responding to a call. The witness who called stated finding two men with rifles storming the place. The witness, however, did not know that the scene was staged. And so,...
… officers arrived to find a music video filming, all with the store owners’ knowledge.
[...]
The guns were not real and the men holding them were actors in a video, said Amanda Conwell, a spokeswoman for the Pembroke Pines Police Department.
[...]
Pembroke Pines officials said the city had not given a permit for the filming, and the shopping center’s management team said in a statement that it was also not aware of the video.
“We are extremely disappointed that our guests’ experience and peace of mind were compromised this morning ... and unfortunately proper protocol was not followed in this instance,” property manager Annette Alvarez said in an email obtained by The Herald. “We are very thankful for the Pembroke Pines Police Department’s immediate response and their assistance in expeditiously resolving this unfortunate situation.”
Those involved were not charged because they had permission to be in the store and did not display the fake guns in a threatening manner, Conwell said.
Whether it was real or not, the police here are worthy of praise for responding quickly to the call.
What are your thoughts about this one?
(Image Credit: cocoparisienne/ Pixabay)
Recovery drinks are essential for those who work out regularly, as these greatly help in replenishing energy and the fluids lost during workouts. However, most recovery drinks such as chocolate milk, and fruit smoothies, are designed for warm weather, and not for the cold. So what should you drink as you work out this winter season? And how do you make that drink? Outside Online provides us with easy-to-make recipes of cold-weather protein drinks. See them over at the site.
(Image Credit: Ajale/ Pixabay)
Visual artist Hadi Karimi depicts one of the greatest composers that ever lived — Johann Sebastian Bach — in a sculpted, 3D color portrait, and Bach looks majestic. Karimi based his reconstruction of Bach’s face from Elias Gottlob Haussmann’s 1746 painting of the composer, as well as an unverified skeleton which is said to be Bach’s skeleton.
Karimi’s collection of lifelike renderings show a modern take on the German composer’s only verifiably authentic portrait, revealing what he could look like if he was alive today.
[...]
Using a programme called ZBrush, and adding colour texture through Substance Painter, Hadi was able to create his realistic portrait.
Speaking to Classic FM, Karimi revealed his motivation behind the project: “We grew up with all these beautiful symphonies and memorable melodies, but do we know the minds behind them?
“Sometimes we remember them by just a name and if we’re lucky there’s a painting or a black and white photo from centuries ago that could barely show us what they actually looked like.”
Karimi hopes that he did the composer justice through his work, and I believe that he did. But what do you think?
(Image Credit: Hadi Karimi/ Classic FM)
You might expect that we’re no longer bound by myths and misconceptions today in the information age. But even in this age, these things are still a thing. Thankfully, there are those who debunk these myths and clarify misconceptions.
Cracked.com clarifies some misconceptions about the human body. See them all over at the site. For now, here are some of them.
(Image Credit: Cracked.com)
For several years, Ruby Silvious, an artist in New York, has enchanted the world with her delicate, precise paintings on tea bags. She has refined and expanded her art with every work, making use of her skills during quarantine lockdown to transform what we might think of as trash into aesthetic wonders.
This is one of Canada’s oldest trees. Recognized as a heritage tree under Forests Ontario’s Heritage Tree Program, this tree, which is believed to be over 250 years old, spans 78 feet (about 23.8 meters) and has a trunk circumference of over 17 feet (over 5.18 meters).
A decade ago, Heritage Toronto unveiled a commemorative plaque, which captured this great oak’s place in the city’s natural heritage, which reads in part:
“The large red oak (Quercus rubra) situated in the backyard of 76 Coral Gable Drive is more than 250 years old, making it one of the oldest in the city. Before Europeans colonized this area, the Humber River branch of the Toronto Carrying Place trail system Opens in new window passed nearby. The tree was part of its delicate savannah ecosystem. This network of trails and portages was used by Indigenous peoples to travel between Lake Simcoe and Lake Ontario and to trade throughout what is now Southern Ontario and beyond. The tree survived European settlement despite logging along the Humber River, clearance of the land for agriculture, and the development of this suburban neighbourhood in the early 1960s. The Coral Gable Drive red oak is a remarkable specimen of its species.”
But when the property where the great oak tree stood was bought by a homeowner, it was put on the verge of being cut down. Thanks to the effort of the Toronto City Council, however, the tree wouldn't be cut down.
On November 26, the Toronto City Council voted to preserve this mighty oak by authorizing the purchase of the property for the creation of a mini-park.
With generous monetary support from 1,300 donors helping to raise money, the city will make up any shortfall to secure the property’s purchase and establish the space as a parkette, to preserve and showcase this beautiful oak.
That was close!
(Image Credit: Toronto City Council (Concept Illustration))
