This highly entertaining Screen Junkies video is the fifth installment of their ever popular "Before They Were Famous" series. This one is full of gems, including early appearances by Chris Pratt, Jeremy Renner, Melissa McCarthy, Charlize Theron, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mark Wahlberg. Contains NSFW stuff including a nearly-exposed Charlize and sexual language including seemingly out-of-nowhere musings by Ahnold. Yikes!
Via Laughing Squid
Scientists have captured photographic evidence of polar bears catching and eating white-beaked dolphins. This never-before-documented occurrence is considered to be a possible repercussion of climate change, specifically in that the dolphins are thought by scientists to have strayed too far north and become stranded in the ice.
The theory is posited in a study by Jon Aars of the Norwegian Polar Institute, which was recently published in the June 1, 2015 volume of science journal Polar Research. Aars and team initially recorded the phenomenon on April 23, 2014 in Svalbard, Norway. A quote from the study reads as follows:
“White-beaked dolphins are frequent visitors to Svalbard waters in summer, but have not previously been reported this far north in early spring. We suggest they were trapped in the ice after strong northerly winds the days before, and possibly killed when forced to surface for air at a small opening in the ice.”
Read more from their research and see additional photographs and graphics here.
Via io9 | Image: Polar Research
Self-described "3D generalist" Alf Lovvold dreamed up this faux movie, the trailer of which is better than many real reel deals. Lovvol's Dawn of the Planet of the Zombies and the Giant Killer Plants on Some Serious Acid is exactly what it says it is, and it's awesome. See the project breakdown video below, and hear Lovvold elaborate on his work on the Allan McKay Podcast. Via GeekTyrant
Project Breakdown Video
Vimeo Link
Image: i09
Ladies and gent(lie)s, did you wake up this morning with the urge to give your long, straight locks an updated edgy cut, and in the mood to ditch your glass stilettos for Dr. Martens, without a look in the rearview mirror? If you're feeling just that way or similarly Disney non-compliant, i09 has a list of alternate princess lit for you to roll around in shamelessly. Take Fables, for example. Here's their description:
1. Fables:
"Vertigo’s fairytale comic, created by Bill Willingham and Lan Medina, puts an incredibly smart spin on the myriad fairytales that remain popular in modern culture. For example, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella were all married to the same Prince Charming — who is kind of a cad, but has his moments. The Snow White who lived with the Seven (pretty horrible) Dwarves is the same one who has a sister named Rose Red. And a single witch was responsible for the curses on the Beast, the Frog Prince, and Rapunzel — and she tried to eat Hansel and Gretel.
But these characters aren’t just popular in the modern age; many of them are also living in present-day America. Snow White is a badass bureaucrat who can wield a sword when the occasion calls for it. Beauty and the Beast are still married, but have to work through their genuine relationship issues. And Cinderella is a spy who uses her reputation as a shoe-obsessed fashionista as a cover. All the princesses have to figure out ways to reconcile their past and present-day lives and find their own place in a world far from their fairytale kingdoms. Once Upon a Time tried to do something similar, but it never quite hit the heights of Fables at its best."
Read nine other suggestions for subversive princess stories to perfectly counteract Disney here.
Image: Vulture
Earlier this year I featured an article announcing that Harper Lee, celebrated author and 88-year old in reportedly bad health, would be releasing another book related to her classic To Kill a Mockingbird. On that particular day, with so many websites making similar announcements, significant controversy was generated.
Fans posed a number of questions, both pointed and philosophical, regarding the book deal. Had Ms. Lee been in full posession of her faculties when she signed the contract to release the found manuscript? For those who believed the answer was no, how much did such a question matter philosophically, considering that in the current state of publishing, so many manuscripts are published posthumously? The debate has continued and never quite disappeared.
The article linked here presents (in many cases, likely delighted) literary fans with news regarding upcoming publications. With contributions from Shirley Jackson to Ayn Rand to Dr. Seuss, these tomes certainly have built-in audiences. The circumstances regarding the publication deals vary, but each will never lose that stamp of "posthumous." Check out this list of eight new literary offerings from dead authors and let use know whether you have any strong opinions on the issues mentioned here.
Bacon fat biscuits | Image and recipe Mimi Takano / Via nyu.spoonuniversity.com
Ah, bacon. Its long-lasting wave of popularity as a cult ingredient doesn't yet show any sign of disappearing. If one casually looks into factors that may have influenced the increased popularity of bacon in the last ten plus years, one is the rise of low-carb diets such as Atkins. Thus, if any of these 30 decadent bacon recipes strike your fancy and you end up making a batch, raise your glass of accompanying beverage in a toast to low-carb dieting everywhere. Sugary, carmelized bacon biscuits? Thanks, Dr. Atkins!
Bacon Espresso pudding shots | Image and recipe: Analiese Trimber/thebaconprincess.wordpress.com
Peanut butter, bacon and banana bites | Image and recipe Analiese Trimber / Via nu.spoonuniversity.com
Bacon, Jalopeno and Cream Cheese Poppers | Image and recipe: michigan.spoonuniversity.com
Classroom enhancement for the affected | Image: AFP
According to the South China Morning Post, an alarming number of men in Japan are middle-aged virgins with few prospects for future lovers and little confidence in their ability to turn their situations around. A 2010 survey by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research found a quarter of unmarried Japanese men in their 30s were still virgins, a fact that led to the coining of a specific term, ”yaramiso,” to describe such men. The figure was up approximately three percentage points from a similar survey taken in 1992.
A man interviewed for the linked article, Takashi Sakai, is a 41-year-old attractive, gainfully employed heterosexual who’s never had sex, one of a growing number of middle-aged Japanese men who are in similar circumstances. Sakai claims he has never had any sort of relationship with a woman and says he has no ideas for how he could change that.
“I’ve never had a girlfriend. It’s never happened. It’s not like I’m not interested. I admire women. But I just cannot get on the right track."
Learn more about Japan's middle aged, male virgin population at this article, including the economic situation that is thought to be related to the issue, a video about certain (mildly NSFW) training some men are gettting in an effort to combat the problem and more.
Vines: if one isn't careful, they'll gently grab on to the nearest thing around and take over. Especially in the summertime, one has to stay vigilant, as they are at their prime strength and season. These puppy vines are some formidable proof, my animal lover friends. You had better have a level head and stance so as not to be completely gripped and toppled by these ever loving, ever repeating cute loops.
See the entire collection of these heartbreakingly cute puppy Vines here.
In this blissful blending of Muppet and Wu-Tang, Dr. Teeth, leader of The Electric Mayhem, performs the Ol’ Dirty Bastard song “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” in a recent video edited by Mylo the Cat. Mylo used footage from appearances by Dr. Teeth on The Muppet Show and in The Muppet Movie.
The original version of “Shimmy Shimmy Ya" is below (NSFW, language).
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory | Image: Paramount Pictures
Some films truly have their own subcultures spring up around them, particularly beloved classics in which fans have many years to let their collective imaginations fly regarding what the films are "really about."
Take Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, for instance. Unsurprisingly due to its dark themes, theories abound as to its subversive nature. One popular theory maintains that Wonka knew in advance or planned that visiting children would disappear, only to face varied forms of violent remanufacture as sweets.
Feeding the theory is the fact that available seats on the modes of transportation for the visitor tours shrink down as people disappear. The two seats vacated by Augustus Gloop and his mother after their unfortunate departure are no longer shown. Instead, the boat is built specifically to hold four children and their guardians. Later, the remaining kids (now down to two, plus guardians) board another vehicle. Again, it has only as many seats as there are Wonka victims left.
Unlike Roald Dahl’s book, the film is unclear whether the children live, leaving open the possibility that Wonka is simply a sweet-peddling, kiddie serial killer.
Read more wild theories associated with nine other presentations, including The Big Lebowski, Groundhog Day, Doctor Who and Blade Runner here.
Captain America: Civil War | Image: Marvel
The folks over at Den of Geek have put together a list of 48 upcoming comic book movies as well as other key bits of information about the films that should keep fans in anticipation. For each film, they pose and answer three questions for readers: what's it about, who is involved, and when is it expected to be released. Here are those answers for Captain America: Civil War:
"What’s it about? Here’s a film that Marvel has so much confidence in that it refused to budge when it looked like Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice wanted to nab its date.In the comics, Civil War is a sprawling crossover arc from 2006, which saw Tony Stark go toe-to-toe with Cap over a government bill aimed at forcing superheroes to register with the powers that be, reveal their identities and essentially become part of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The film? Well, we had a more detailed look at it here. Short version – it looks like Captain America: Civil War will take elements from the books (namely the Cap v Stark show-down and issues with the government), but perhaps steer away from an all-properties-inclusive mammoth crossover. Either way, it’s likely to be a huge turning point for the Marvel cinematic universe.
Who’s involved? Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans will return, and probably a few other familiar Marvel cinematic universe faces. We will also get the Marvel cinematic universe debut of Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman). On the directorial side, Captain America: The Winter Soldier’s dynamite duo – the Russo brothers – will return. On scripting duties are their fellow Winter Soldier alumni Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.
Interestingly, this is rumoured to be the film where Spider-Man will make his MCU debut. We await confirmation or denial on that, which we will pass on.
When’s it coming out? 29 April 2016 in the UK, 6 May 2016 in the USA
Get the facts on 47 more upcoming movies based on comics at Den of Geek.
Still image from Godzilla 1956 | Image: Toho Company
In pop cultural news out of Tokyo this week, it was announced that none other than the city conquering nuclear metaphor himself — Godzilla — is to become a citizen of Japan. As these marketing headlines tend to be layered, the announcement came upon the heels of another, which informed loyal fans of the monster that the first Japanese Godzilla movie in ten years will be released in the summer of 2016.
Image: panerabread.com
Roasted Turkey and Avocado BLT on Sourdough
510 calories
37 g protein
19 g fat (3.5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
60 g carbohydrates (6 g fiber, 3 g sugar)
960 mg sodium
Regardless of what one's general opinion is of fast food, there are times in which it makes sense. Perhaps we're traveling long distance by car and are pressed for time, without other healthy options in our posession. Maybe we have very limited time between local errands by car, or we have mere minutes to grab much-needed sustenance between work stints. Whatever the circumstances, many of us, even if we take a dim view of fast food, sparingly choose that option in less-than-perfect scenarios.
Image: mcdonalds.com
Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich
360 calories
32 g protein
6 g fat (1.5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
930 mg sodium
43 g carbohydrates (3 g fiber, 11 g sugars)
This article examines fast food nutrition values in order to suggest 26 healthy options. In this context, they have designated an item healthy if it meets certain predetermined nutritional values. Those requirements are stated as follows:
• Low in calories: For lunch, that means about 500 calories or less.
• Protein, to help you build muscles: Each of these meals has at least 10 grams of protein (ideally more!).
• Low in sodium (or at least not HIGH in sodium): We aimed for less than 1,000 milligrams of sodium per meal (which is high already, yes). Unfortunately some of the options are a bit higher than that — for anyone with high blood pressure, these are definitely not ideal.
• Low in sugar (or at least not HIGH in sugar): Each of these meals has less than 20 grams of sugar.
• No trans fat: Trans fats are related to heart disease, so each of these meals comes with 0 grams trans fat.
Obviously, if you're ordering a sugary drink or extra-large side of fatty, salty carbs with these items, the notion of your meal as "heatlhy" has just left the building. So self-restraint is called for in terms of ordering the items without additions that are costly, both to your health and wallet.
Check out their selections, and if you have any additional suggestions for fast food items that are healthier than most, please let us know about them in the comments.
Image: chick-fil-a.com
Grilled Chicken Cool Wrap
340 calories
36 g protein
13 g fat (5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
900 mg sodium
30 g carbohydrates (15 g fiber, 3 g sugar)
Lars Uhlrich
Aside from likely being complimented and encouraged regarding their early signs of musical acumen, what exactly is present in the physical and emotional development of rock stars to make them embark and persevere in their long and often arduous journeys to stardom? Perhaps, in addition to what we can glean from personal experience and rock bios, some of these early pictures of rock stars will lend some insight. Could Lars looking like an angelic child film star have been part of his secret?
See all seventeen shots from this collection here.
-Images and link via Guff
Pat Benatar
Tommy Lee
