Missy may be an older dog, but she's hardly one to eschew the idea of newer technology. Thanks to an iPad and an internet connection to YouTube, Missy is kept endlessly entertained by videos. In particular, she likes videos of wolves, to which she responds with animated enthusiasm.
Readers, do you have animals that watch and react to videos on television, laptops or tablets? Both of my dogs react even more than Missy when they see animals of any type on video, especially other canines. Comment with your experiences, if you'd like. Via Tastefully Offensive
Lisa Marcus's Blog Posts
Nana, the adorable pit bull terrier pictured above, sadly suffered years of abuse by her former owners. Estimated to have given birth to as many as 15 litters of puppies, she was obviously viewed as a breeding tool and not much else. Nana's teeth were pulled and her ears were removed. The severing of her ears caused medical problems such as polyps and fungus. Nana is now deaf as a result of the necessary medical treatment. Eventually, the abusers dropped the dog off at an animal shelter; she was soon adopted by a selfless, compassionate woman named Stephanie Doris.
Once Doris came into Nana's life, the dog began to know love and tender care. Doris said in an interview with The Huffington Post,
"To this day, I cannot explain what sparked me to impulsively apply to foster her. What I do know, though, is that it was one of the best decisions I have made. Even though I will never understand why or how they could treat a dog like that, especially a dog as sweet, as innocent and as gentle as Nana, I am thankful they surrendered her. Otherwise, she would not be with me now. She has forgiven humans and, in a sense, I have forgiven, too."
See additional photos and read more about Nana's wonderful new life as a canine advocate for pit bull terriers everywhere on Facebook and Instagram.
Via The Huffington Post | Images: Facebook
Image: André
Few people don't remember their first concert. It's a rite of passage of sorts. Maybe that was the day that your eyes were first opened to the joy of music, live and loud. Or maybe it was a night of tweenage rebellion, capped off by a ride from mom and dad. Perhaps it was both.
In the linked article, Vulture asked celebrities of all ages what their first concert experience was. Some of them are now famous musical acts themselves, and they relate how their first concert was a seminal experience that inspired them to become what they are today. Here are a few examples:
Sting: "I went to see Jimi Hendrix. I was 14. Well, I’d never seen a black man before, or ever seen anyone play a left-handed guitar before, and it completely blew my mind. It blew my worldview away. And it’s why I’m a musician. It was in my hometown in Newcastle, in the north of England, a little club called the Club of Gogo, tiny room. I was right next to the stage, completely in awe. He was like an alien from another planet. Maybe he was."
The Beastie Boys' Mike D: "My first concert would be the Clash, at the Palladium on 14th Street. I was 12 or 13. One of the best shows I’ve ever seen. Well, they’re one of the best bands ever. I just wanted to see the music. I was only focused on the music. They were, at the time, as far as I was concerned, the best band in the world. So I was really happy to see them. I was a little kid, so I went with my older brothers."
James Taylor: "A North Carolina Symphony Orchestra concert in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in the early 1950s. And Peter, Paul and Mary in North Carolina. My friend’s family took me along. Well, I didn’t know until some years later that music would be my main chance for finding a place in this world. I was just impressed. It’s what you get from a concert with live music. These days, music is ubiquitous and in the background, but when you go to a concert with like-minded people, it sweeps you away and creates an instant community."
Read 60 more stories from celebrities of their first concert experiences here.
Image: Delia D. Blackburn / Via deliasphotos.com
In this poignant story, an Ohio father moved everyone at the scene when he stopped in mid-aisle walk during his daughter's wedding to ask her stepfather to help him walk her down the aisle.
When Todd Bachman, father of bride Brittany Peck, stopped the ceremony, there was an awkward moment; none of the wedding party members or guests knew what was happening. Bachman turned to Peck's stepfather Todd Cendrosky and grabbed his arm. Wedding photographer Delia Blackburn said in an interview with BuzzFeed News,
“I think he said something along the lines of ‘You helped raise her.' There wasn’t a dry eye in the house."
Tommy Edison (previously at Neatorama) shares his interesting perspective as a blind man in his video series. In this latest video, he talks about his least favorite things to touch, and the outspoken Edison has some strong opinions. Some things that he didn't like the feel of, even in childhood, he made a point never to touch again. It's interesting that some incredibly popular things among people without vision problems — pasta for example — is something that repulses Edison. Click play to see what other things have almost literally "rubbed him the wrong way" over the years. Via Laughing Squid
College Humor pretty well nails it with their amusing video highlighting everything wrong with trendy restaurants. Smarmy, condescending staff? Check. Wanting more than small plates? Adieu. Hungrier for something more than a whimsically placed dewdrop on an acorn? Good luck. But enjoy your ironic cocktails! (NSFW, language.) Via Tastefully Offensive
Image: Miekin
Anyone who has ever worked as wait staff in a restaurant or knows someone who has is aware that it's tough work. Working with the general public can be fraught with all types of problems in general, but when it comes to food and drink, people can be picky and exceptionally demanding. Or they could be dim bulbs, which is the case in the article linked below.
Readers submitted stories of especially dense people dining at restaurants, and the replies are varied and, in some cases, pretty pathetic. Here's one example:
"I once had a guy out for dinner with his wife. Although our restaurant is pretty upscale, it is in a touristy area of San Francisco, so we inevitably get the tourists who would never dream of spending that much money at home. This seemed to be the case with these two.
After adjusting the temperature of their water twice, I finally came to take the order. The guy told me he was allergic to all seeds and tree nuts. That’s fine, I pointed out anything on the menu that had pine nuts or seeds so that he knew what would be safe to eat. He then proceeded to order the steak with mustard cream sauce. I tried to explain that mustard is made from seeds—we used real mustard and not the yellow powder stuff. He could not understand, and asked if I could just give him mustard sauce then, without the allergens. When I tried to explain again that the mustard was the part with the allergen, he argued that it was not. Eventually I just offered to adapt the meal to his dietary needs and he agreed. I exchanged the sauce for our housemade steak sauce and brought the meal out. When I returned to check on him, he asked me where the mustard sauce was.He then proceeded to order the strawberry and mixed nut dessert." -Courtney Martin
Read many more stories of ridiculous restaurant customers here.
Screen Rant's latest video presents ten movie scenes that were especially hard to shoot. Here they're talking about scenes that don't make use of green screen or the addition of computer graphics.
For example, Christopher Nolan's Inception contains a scene that is less than a minute long, but it took three weeks to produce, for reasons they explain in the video. Like many things in life, until one learns about a process, it's easy to take that process for granted. Via Design Taxi
After perusing the collection of posters for popular movies sans print that is linked below, I was surprised by just how much attention I give to the words instead of the pictures. Once the writing was stripped away, elements of the illustrations that I had not taken note of before seemed to jump out at me.
For example, I had never noticed the slight attempt at beefcake made by the Raiders of the Lost Ark poster, with Harrison Ford's shirt unbuttoned to near nip-slip territory. They have him posed almost like a cheesy Chippendale dancer.
Want to see a huge grouping of movie posters without words? Naturally, there's a tumblr for that. Via BuzzFeed
Mejgon, 16, with her caseworker at a shelter run by Afghan women in Herat, Afghanistan. Mejgon’s father sold her at the age of 11 to a 60-year-old man for two boxes of heroin.
Worldwide, each year a staggering 14.2 million girls under the age of 18 are forced to marry. After learning about heartbreaking cases such as Mejgon's (above photo), National Geographic photographer Stephanie Sinclair set out to document the problems of child brides.
Sinclair's series, "Too Young To Wed," is a campaign to raise awareness and funds for girls who are trapped in child marriages, which can lead to situations such as abuse, death from complications of childbirth and other health issues. Sinclair told The Huffington Post,
“I have no idea what became of [Mejgon]. I’m sure it wasn’t good. The fact that I was powerless to do anything about it has been one of the main reasons why I continued the project and why I’m still working on it today.”See additional pictures and learn more about Sinclair's project here. Via The Huffington Post
The Nepalese wedding ceremony of Niruta, 14. Niruta moved in with the family of Durga, 17, and became pregnant when they were engaged. She was nine months pregnant at her wedding.
Image: dinguistb
If there's anything more smile-inducing than an adorable canine, it's an adorable, happy canine with a big smile. This user-submitted article is an ever-growing collection of doggies who are openly expressing their joie de vivre. Their enthusiasm is positively contagious.
Image: Watson009
Image: gunar
Image: Kastey
When Etienne Harris returns home after being away for the day, his pit bull terriers Missy and Laydie are excited and happy to see him and exchange greetings. Yet when it comes to the topic of any mischief they may have participated in while Harris was away, the dogs make it clear that he can talk to the paw. Via Tastefully Offensive
Alicia Head's elaborate lies carried her to the top of a 9/11 survivors' group, despite the fact that she was out of the country that day.
A LUSH LIFE IN SPAIN
Alicia Esteve Head, despite a life of wealth and privilege, was a misfit among her crowd, the Spanish elite. Born in 1973 and raised in Barcelona with every possible luxury from horses to yachts, her feelings of inferiority persisted throughout her youth. Alicia was the youngest and only girl in a family with five brothers. She was spoiled with extravagant gifts and the permissiveness of doting parents.
Always obese and uncomfortable in her own skin, Alicia often concocted falsehoods about handsome boyfriends and impressive accomplishments to tell her peers. When confronted with her lies, she became hostile; any friends Alicia had learned to nod and smile in response to her mythology. She worshipped the United States, to the point that a U.S. flag always hung on her bedroom wall. Perhaps Alicia fantasized that, as a Spanish outsider, she would be given the attention and love she felt worthy of in America.
Alicia’s innate sense of shame and inadequacy worsened when her father and eldest brother were convicted and jailed on embezzlement charges, causing a scandal amid the Spanish social set and destroying her parents’ marriage. Estranged then on from her father and brothers, Alicia’s friendly façade hardened. People described her as driven and often ruthless; she was not above hurting others to get ahead.
Further darkening Alicia’s outlook was a bad car accident at age 18. Her arm was severed in the crash. Family members claimed that immediately after the accident, she was found sitting near the wreckage, holding her severed limb. It was surgically reattached, but the scars were obvious.
After obtaining an undergraduate degree, Alicia took a job with a real estate development firm, where she gained a reputation as an efficient yet controlling, entitled brat who was unsatisfied with her lower-level position. Soon she left her job and enrolled in an MBA program at Esade College in Barcelona. The ambitious student sailed through courses and earned her graduate degree. By then it was 2002, and Alicia was ready. Telling her friends that her dreams were too big for Barcelona, she set out to make a new life for herself in the United States.
THE SUPPORT GROUP
After exchanging messages with the other members of the World Trade Center Survivors online forum for months, Alicia, now known as Tania, decided it was time to tell them her story. She logged in and conjured the hellish images.
Most women would agree that they are subjected to beauty standards that are, at times, uncomfortably high. Admittedly experiencing that type of discomfort, a few of the female employees at BuzzFeed recently revealed what they believe to be their biggest facial imperfections. When they all had weighed in with their opinions, their headshots were Photoshopped to fix the "flaws" each of them cited.
Upon seeing the resulting images, however, their reactions weren't exactly what they expected. Only three of the subjects are pictured above and below; see all of the participants' before and after shots here.
Via DesignTAXI | Images: Macey J. Foronda/Charlotte Gomez/BuzzFeed
In 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1910, French artists Jean-Marc Côté and other of his contemporaries prepared these illustrations of what life in France would be like in the year 2000. Initially they were printed on paper cards placed in cigarette and cigar boxes; later they were used as artwork on post cards. The first series was created exclusively for the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris.
Some of these now whimsical drawings come close to actual inventions that appeared in future years. Others are simply amusing in their fanciful ideas, such as the "whale bus."
See a collection of these drawings at The Public Domain Review. Via Open Culture
Email This Post to a Friend