Street performers are a dime-a-dozen in any city or country you go to now. Anywhere you walk, you are bound to see someone dancing or doing extreme acts of yoga or maybe even some cool (but cheesy) street magic. But how often do you encounter a crew who seemingly can keep you enthralled by doing all three at once? Seems pretty rare. In the case of the following video from Viral Hog, seems they found some incredibly talented street performers from South Africa and they turned the camera on them so the rest of the world could be as impressed as they are.

The thing to pay attention to is the floating hat trick. Not so much an actual trick as just a cool use of physics, it is still a really interesting and original move, and one I have never seen done so expertly anywhere else.

(YouTube Link)

So the next time you pass a street performer, toss them a buck or two. Just because they don't make a living doing what we do, doesn't mean they any less of a right to make a living. These guys prove that by putting on an awesome show.

Wimp

To start this post off right, I will say you need to know about the fox piano. This was a piano painted and put in Ontario as an art project by artist Katriona Dean. It is there to inspire, to incite, and to encourage anyone to sit down and make beautiful music at any point. She sometimes goes by her project with a camera to see what she can catch on film. On this particular occasion, she found Michael Anthony McNamara playing the A Great Big World/ Christina Aguilera duet solo, "Say Something."

Though already a beautiful and heart-wrenching song, this man's voice and sense of wisdom just brings something else to the song completely. It is very sad still, though. I will warn you. It almost feels sadder when a man sings it who is later in the years. 

(YouTube Link)

I will say this: the fly that seems to stay on his shoulder the whole time, as if it is listening to the song, makes it all the more surreal an helps keep you from completely breaking down and bawling at the beauty of it.

Wimp

Image Credit: Kevin Keele

If you are even a slight fan of art, the internet is like a magical paradise always feeding you more and more awesome stuff for you to digest with your eyes and soul. Like a gallery that updates every day and always, making it so you never have to see the same thing twice and can always discover new artists and master craftsman who will blow your mind with their work. That is just what happened to me this week when I stumbled on artist Kevin Keele's website. The man seems to be able to do anything, and do it exceptionally well.

From chalk art:

Image Credit: Kevin Keele

To simple (yet simply awesome) sketches:

Image Credit: Kevin Keele

His personal site (Be Awesome!) is linked above, and you can also check out his Tumblr too, which doesn't have much yet, but has a dinosaur with guns attached to it so it is still worth checking out in its earliest phase. I mean, who can refuse a dinosaur with guns? No one.

Art feeds the soul, so why not let Kevin Keele make you lunch today?

WhatAnArt

Image Credit: Robin Tarbet

It is crazy to think that there was a time when art was stuck in two dimensions. When creators were given canvas', not realizing all around them could be used and utilized as artwork. The art world has clearly changed and evolved over time. They say one man's trash is another man's treasure, but in this case, some people's trash is another man's fantastical sculpture.

The artist's name is Robin Tarbet, and the piece you see above is called "A Temporary State to Rise and Fall Again", which you can see in full detail on his site. If the circuit boards fit, he would stack them, one on top of the other. If they did not fit, that is when he would stack out wider with the boards. The end result is a wonderful facsimile of a city, made by what seems to drive us most lately:

technology.

Joquz

(YouTube link)

Finnish heavy equipment operator Juha-Pekka Perämäki shows off his skills by constructing a LEGO truck with an excavator! A Hitachi ZX210-11, With Engcon EC30 rototilt, to be exact. I know a heavy equipment operator who can’t even put LEGO blocks together with his hands. To be honest, I don’t even know how hard it is to put LEGO blocks together with your hands, much less with an excavator. -via Tastefully Offensive

GoPro videos seem to be the new go-to video if you want to experience something from a perspective you thought you never would be before. They have risen in popularity over the last few years as the rigs themselves have gotten less and less expensive. Though I did GoPro an afternoon of writing once, not too many people were too impressed, as they can live that themselves, any day. But a GoPro video of a master pool player sinking crazy shots from a bunch of great perspectives, including mounted to the cue itself?

Yeah, that is some great use of the technology, and shows just how impressive some of these shots really are.

(YouTube Link)

Truth is, you don't even have to be a fan of pool to be sucked into this one. There is just something mesmerizing about watching the fluidity and physics of some of the balls he sinks. Almost makes pool look easy for a minute. That is the thing about most GoPro videos. They trick you into thinking you can do it, too, for a second. Just for a second, though.

LaughingSquid

YouTube Link

This Japanese chef's slicing skills are impressive. He cuts an already thin cucumber into several shapes, and shaves off the skin so precisely it ends up paper thin. It's lucky I have an excellent sushi place around here, because this video made me crave sushi rolls with those delicate cuts of cucumber inside. My dinner for this evening is is allll planned. Via Viral Viral Videos.

(YouTube link)

Ophir Kutiel, who goes by Kutiman, is a musician and editor who took lots of YouTube clips of amateur music performances, from different people, different years, different places, and different songs, and edited them together into a new song. The vocals are by KarMaRedd, singing a cappella. Kutiman listed the source videos at the YouTube page. You can check out some of his other edits in this playlist. Kutiman’s YouTube editing projects will be available in an album next month.  -via reddit

See also: Kutiman’s edit of “Black Dog.”

This phenomenal athlete is Maibam Itomba Meitei of Imphal, India. For 14 years, he's trained for this task: doing more pinkie finger pull-ups than anyone else in the world. He weighs only 120 pounds, but that's muscle--especially in two of his fingers.

To earn his record, he had to start from a hanging position on the bar, then lift his chin over the bar, then fully extend his arms again. In 27 seconds, he did this 16 times!

(Video Link)

-via Technabob

First off, yes, this really happened. in 1988, there was a direct-to-VCR Puss in Boots musical that starred the enigmatic and awesome Christopher Walken as the titular lead. Yes. Again, not kidding. I know it sounds like something the internet would make up, but this exists. I know there are a lot of Christopher Walken fans out there, and with good reason. He is an odd, intruiging man who usually has a looming presence. But flash back to him in Puss in Boots and you see a whole different side to the star. We all knew he could dance because of the wonderful Fatboy Slim video he starred in, but did you know he was classically trained in theater acting, which means singing, too!? Just take a few minutes out of your day to watch this mad man leap around and sing about being a cat. Trust me, it will immediately improve your day, and quite vastly, I might add.

There are almost TOO MANY things worth mentioning here. From the outfit to the creepy mustache, even as a singing and dancing human-cat, there is something ominous about this man. The funniest thing about Puss in Boots is in Walken's biography, he claims it is his favorite work.

That just sort of blows the mind even more.

(YouTube link)

Can you support your weight with your fingers? How about your weight from a drop with just your fingers? Finnish athlete Miska Sutela is training to compete in Sasuke, which is known in the U.S. as  American Ninja Warrior. Each individual piece of the stunts involved takes strength, complete concentration, and lots of practice. Now, that’s dedication! Sutela will compete with Team Europe in the event “American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. The World” on Monday September 15. -via Daily Picks and Flicks

Writing is not as simple as it may look from the outside. Some people may see sites like Neatorama and think writing is easy and they want to do it, but the truth is, there are many rights and wrongs when it comes to grammar. It is stuff you may remember learning in grade school and on, but if you are not a writer, they are rules you tend to forget about. How many times a day on Facebook do you see someone use the wrong version of the word "there"? That is just one of many examples of how grammar can slip you up if you are not paying attention. But that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to grammar and all its fine-print.

Online College actually has a remarkable list of the 20 most controversial rules in grammar. Being one who uses the language often and every day for my work, I find this list incredibly helpful at pointing out some of the sillier rules of grammar whilst also reminding us why those rules actually exist. A good example here is about the word "irregardless":

"Irregardless" appears in at least three different official dictionaries, though all of them admit it's not exactly formal. More traditional grammar aficionados don't think the word deserves to move beyond its slang origins, while others think it's about time the rule-makers acknowledge the evolution.

That is but one of twenty remarkable facts about grammar and writing that anyone who has the slightest interest in the medium should check out with aplomb. 

(Video Link)

This talented pooch is ready for the circus! He remains perfectly still with a treat on his nose and another one precariously balanced on the end of a straw. When he is released, he immediately leaps into action. Good dog!

-via Boing Boing

This guy is fantastic! The absence of a leg doesn't prevent him from laying out some incredible moves. He uses his crutches as dancing elements, then drops them to work with his arms.

(Video Link)

Viewer tip: the video is repeats itself. So once you've watched the first 47 seconds, you've seen the entire routine.

-via Geekologie

There are gender norms in our society that are archaic and silly. Expectations thrust on either sex because of outdated reasons, and it takes big thinking to change that. To try and change something that has been a cornerstone in society for so long is hard, but this makes it a lot easier. There is a list over at ODDEE right now that I think many of you (us) need to see. It is a comprehensive list of some of the more well known female daredevils throughout history. Daredevils like Jolene Van Vugt, who is seen here shattering some records and melting faces with her awesomeness in a normally male-dominated sport. The best part is, that is just one example.

Image courtesy of ODDEE

How about a wing walking team of three females who risk it all and show the world the only thing between the genders are the invisible walls and fence we all put there? There is even a woman who went over Niagara Falls in a barrell.  Yes, we are talking that hardcore. So check out the list right here and allow yourself a moment to realize, we are all one, and we are all insane!