Original image
Will Redditors ever be done poking Photoshop fun at Kim Jong-Un? I don't know about you, but I hope not. This time, the original image (above) is of the North Korean dictator on the arms of some of his weeping military devotees. Ready, set, Reddit, and we have:
Kim Jong-Hunk by TheBlazingPhoenix
Kim Jong-Onion by graphleek
Don't miss the supreme leader in more unusual (and sometimes compromising) poses here.
Via Design Taxi
Lisa Marcus's Blog Posts
Image: Quirk Books
The Big Bad Book of Bill Murray: A Critical Appreciation of the World's Finest Actor was released on September 15. The new book details, among other things, the beyond quirky manner in which Murray fields (or rather, neglects to field) film role offers. To quote the book,
"In 2000, he fired his agents — reportedly for calling him on the phone too often — and replaced them with an automated 800 number,” Schnakenberg writes. “Filmmakers who wish to pitch projects to Murray must leave a message on his voice mailbox, which he rarely checks. When he is interested in a script, Murray demands that it be faxed to him care of his local office supply store.This unique arrangement,” Schnakenberg says, “has resulted in Murray missing out on a number high-profile job offers.”
When the principals of a project get so far with Murray as to present him their script for consideration, his level of distaste for some scripts can only be measured by how far he throws them. When it came to the movie Splash, actress P.J. Soles, who gave Murray the script, said he "flung it across the room in disgust."
Read about other ways in which Murray and film projects never connected in this article.
Jake Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke and Josh Brolin on their way to the premiere of Everest
British photographer Greg Williams' series "Art of Behind the Scenes" captured candid and close moments among the celebrities attending the Venice Film Festival. The festival, which took place from the second to the twelfth of September, is in its 72nd year. The festival is buzzing with premieres and parties, yet Williams manages to catch the less public, more intimate moments in the minutes traveling to and from the events and on the periphery of the crowds.
See more of Williams' series here.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard on the boat leaving the festival
Dakota Johnson goes outside for some fresh air during the afterparty for Black Mass
This advertisement from New Zealand features something I'd pay serious money for: a sentient and stern doorknocker capable of doing away with any unwanted visitors. UPS or Fedex guy? No problem — the knocker can even sign for it with a pen in his mouth, if necessary. Selling something? Remove Yourself From My Verandahhhh! Via Laughing Squid
Having problems with your phone reception? Grant Thompson, a/k/a the King of Random, presents ten suggestions for improving reception on your mobile phone in this video. Tips include instructions on how to access a secret “field testing” screen on iPhone, how to see the actual strength of your signal ("bars” are rarely accurate) and more.
It should surprise no one that after all of the scathing parodies in the 18 seasons of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone have ruffled a few celebrity feathers. One such person was reality show star "Mama June" Shannon, the mother of "Honey Boo Boo."
After South Park's spoof ran, which had Honey Boo Boo selecting a pig for a heart transplant after heart attacks caused by her “s’ghetti and butter” diet, Mama June said she thought the episode was tasteless and “kind of trashy.”
Read about more celebrities who were upset about their South Park portrayals in this article.
What inspires the dark visions of film director Guillermo del Toro? Get a glimpse of that answer from this video, in which del Toro gives viewers a look at his "Bleak House," a home filled with creepy curiosities that spur his imagination. Watch to see all of the macabre items that influence the auteur, and you may gain a better understanding of his point of view and filmic choices. He says of Bleak House,
“Whatever it is, it’s here to provide a shock to the system and get circulating the lifeblood of creativity, which I think is curiosity. When we lose curiosity, we lose entirely inventiveness, and we start becoming old. So the man cave of Bleak House was designed to be sort of a compression chamber where we can create a stimulating environment."
Read more about Bleak House and see an additional video here.
Monet painting at Giverny
YouTube Link
Fine art enthusiasts will appreciate these fascinating film clips of four of the most celebrated artists in history. The film above features a 74-year-old Claude Monet (previously featured) painting in his glorious garden at Giverny in 1915. (This is the first time in memory that I've wished a black-and-white film was in color!)
The clip below shows a nearly incapacitated Pierre-Auguste Renoir, also age 74 in the year 1915, seated next to his easel as he paints. Son Claude, 14, stands by the master to assist him with his palette and brushes. At the time this footage was shot, Renoir was unable to walk and his hands were contorted. He relied on family and friends to move and position his wheelchair so that he could work. Renoir's son Jean, in his book entitled Renoir, My Father, described his father's condition at the time:
"His hands were terribly deformed. His rheumatism had made the joints stiff and caused the thumbs to turn inward towards the palms, and his fingers to bend towards the wrists. Visitors who were unprepared for this could not take their eyes off his deformity. Though they did not dare to mention it, their reaction would be expressed by some such phrase as “It isn’t possible! With hands like that, how can he paint those pictures? There’s some mystery somewhere.”
Renoir painting at home
YouTube Link
In the video below we see several sequences of Auguste Rodin at age 75, two years before his death. The first and second show the sculptor near a columned building and posing in a garden, respectively. The third sequence shows Rodin sculpting at what he considered his second home and studio at that time, the Hôtel Biron. Other notable renters of rooms at the Biron included Jean Cocteau, Isadora Duncan, Henri Matisse and Rainer Maria Rilke, who briefly worked as Rodin’s secretary.
Rodin sculpting in his studio
YouTube Link
The final clip shows elderly Edgar Degas at age 81, two years before his death. The disavowed impressionist (preferring to be known as a realist) and capturer of the dance leisurely strolls the streets of Paris.
Degas walking down a Paris street
YouTube Link
Via Open Culture
Charlie the almost painfully adorable miniature horse is full of enthusiasm and mini-swagger. The video description on this clip says Charlie "likes to get a little crazy in the late afternoons...there's a wild stallion in there somewhere." He may be a mini, but he's a major force to be reckoned with. Give that boy a carrot!
Image: Empcon54
The United States Practical Receipt Book, first published in 1844, offered its readers instructions on how to make all sorts of things and included references such as how to discern the quality of beef. It also offered this tidbit in between mentions of liquor and plaster:
"Baudruches, or Condoms
Take the caecum of the sheep; soak it first in water, turn it on both sides, then repeat the operation in a weak ley of soda, which must be changed every four or five hours for five or six successive times; then remove the mucus membrane with the nail; sulphur, wash in clean water, and then in soap and water; rinse, inflate, and dry."
But that is only the beginning. Read the remaining part of the tutorial at i09. You know, just in case you run into an occasion in which you need protection but find yourself without any.
Lovers of the female form, it's time to admit it: whenever you see a pretty lady in lingerie, you secretly wish that she had a fake fluffy tail attached in the back. I know. But now Japan has made everything right with this kitty cat lingerie. Each of three designs is based on actual breeds of cat. Don't just have her dressed to the nines, have her dressed for nine lives. The full effect is startling in its realism. And you're free to insert your favorite kitty lingerie-related joke throughout any encounters with your pretty pet. See more photos here. Via Geekologie
California's drought problem, the worst in the recorded history of the state, has created dry conditions that have been no help in a summer of wildfires burning out of control. This footage from the Valley Fire near Sacramento has thus far destroyed 400 homes and thousands of acres of forest. YouTube user mulletFive documented the destruction he witnessed in his neighborhood of Anderson Springs while escaping the area. Read more about the video here.
Mashable parodies the "100 Years of Beauty" videos with hamster model Joy showing off her sleek, trim figure, glossy hair, carrot-eating finesse and innate sense of style. It's all set to sexy music befitting such a stunner. I don't know about you, but I'm smitten. Via Mashable
The USDA’s economic research group issued a breakdown of how Americans' food budgets would look if they were in accordance with their dietary guidelines. That chart is shown above at left. Naturally, though, Americans spent their food bucks in a different way.
Half of our budget was spent on meats or “other foods” (a category including junk food, sodas, candy and energy drinks). A mere 20% was spent on fruits and veggies.
What you might find surprising is the breakdown of food spending by income levels. See that information and more here.
This is an unusual elephant video in that it is shot from much closer range than usual, thanks to a couple of baby elephants. Bryan Christy was shooting an investigative piece for National Geographic called “Tracking Ivory.” While filming, Christy came across a group of elephant calves at a wildlife preserve in Kenya.
The babies quickly became friendly with Christy, to the point that they led him to a group of mature wild elephants, which he proceeded to film. Without the calves leading Christy into the herd, he would have been in danger. But as it was, the herd remained calm, and Christy was able to capture this stunning close-up footage. Via Laughing Squid
Email This Post to a Friend