Escaping the Costa Concordia

Teen films as family escapes the ship.

This 5 minute amateur video chronicles their evacuation, from the moment they felt the crash during the magic show, until they reached the emergency shelter on shore.

The kid added explanations (in text windows) so you know what's going on during each individual video clip. Interesting raw footage, and well worth a look.



Imagine getting in a lifeboat like that, and then just when you think you're rescued, it tips so badly that you have to go back onto a sinking ship. And try to fathom what was like, climbing down the side of that giant boat in the dark!

Scary, nightmare scary...

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Bring Us Your In-Laws

`
I like amusement parks...

Especially the ones with quirky, unique rides.

I remember going to Disneyland as a teenager, and thinking 'Gee, wouldn't it be great to -live- here?!'. Then I grew up and realized that perhaps a few more vegetables and a few less decibels might make for a better life.

Yet I still yearn to see these two in person:


Cool Water Slide in St. Joseph, Missouri.

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and
Wildwood NJ's not-so-spooky boat ride:



Marvel at the bright day-glow colors.

Then lol at that final sign inside.

Thrills for the entire family...

so plan ahead for Halloween. ;-)

For our H'ween TThursday topic: 'Thrill'
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One Fish Two Fish Red Fish OMG FISH

A five foot flying fish, actually.

Ever want a 5 ft remote-controlled helium-filled flying fish? The video below shows a family that owns both the Shark and the Clown Fish 'Air Swimmer' models:



They fly both of them throughout the house.
And in the city. Just watch it. Awesome.

So awesome that I got my own 'Nemo' on Monday.

The box it came in is surprisingly small;
it fit into a regular priority mail box.

Now to find a helium source so mine can fly.
And hopefully I'll avoid the ceiling fan.
You know how fish hate ceiling fans.

And BTW, thanks Mrsupole for
our great new TT topic: 'FISH'
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How To Tell if Someone is Lying

Nonverbal clues, anyone?...

Chimpanzees can't talk, but they can still fib. Researchers found that chimps can divert other chimps, and thus keep them from realizing that the first chimp is hiding (and not sharing) a banana.

We humans are so much smarter, we should be able to tell when others are trying to deceive us, right? Just to be sure, here are two short videos:



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There, now I feel smarter, don't you?

For TT's Communication day
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Watching Letters Fly By

A quick post about fonts and flicks...

You see common Kinetic Typography when movie credits zip by as you sit in a darkened theater. btw, Its much more difficult to add floating notes during the film itself, like those sliding rules in 'Zombieland'. (a fun movie, if you can stand gooey gore.)

Below is a narration enhanced with active letters.



A person named Chris did the kinetic typograph above,
using the villian's speech from 'V for Vendetta';
a movie w/ Hugo Weaving & Natalie Portman, kinda
'Black Swan meets the bad guy from The Matrix'...

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This next flight of word & letter fancy is


called 'X versus O', by

Reminds me of those Sesame Street bits, but for adults.


* Hope you've enjoyed these very moving letters... ;-)

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for TT's 'letter' day
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Into The Woods

Walk among Redwoods... in the middle of the Pacific ocean.

An experiment 95 years ago led to a forest on the slope of a volcano. Someone decided to see if these California trees could survive in the relatively cool temps of Maui's upcountry, 5000+ feet up on the non-lava side of the Haleakala crater.

Now they're over 100 feet tall and still growing.


Looking up in Poli Poli State Park, Hawaii.



Normally I'm not in favor of adding non-native plants to the Hawaiian islands, but if redwoods can survive where no native plants could grow, it seems okay.
Any botanists want to weigh in?

fyi: If you go hiking on Maui, remember to refer to any area uphill of the town of Haiku as 'upcountry' - you'll sound a bit less like a tourist.

But as your burnt skin peels like a banana,
you're still gonna look like one.

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for TT's 'country' day
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Fun On A Boat With Your Chum

And look, a new pal drops in...



I have an irrational fear of 'Jaws', so this week's shark news gave me the creeps. Some researchers had a 9 ft, 1000~pound Great White Shark breech next to them, and then fall right into their boat. Yikes.

But in the end it did more damage to their pride than their persons.

And so, after they got over the shock, the crew ended up helping it back into the water.

What nice shark chums.
Wish one of them had a video cam...

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Make A Sparkler

Here are two simple 4-item recipes:

1. For this fireworks sparkler you need:

Potassium Nitrate - 6 parts
Granular Magnesium - 4 parts
Charcoal - 1 part
and a starch or sugar 'binder'

Mix, and coat a wire or stick.

This guy uses -marshmallows- for his binder.



Or, if that sounds too messy...

2. You can mix up a Bond Street Sparkler.

blackberry puree,
St.Germain elderflower liqueur
Fresh Mint
and a quality Champagne...

For a simply fun July, I might make both.

For TT's 'simple' day
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Catapulting Cows and Coconuts

aka Playing with your food, SpamALot style:

1. To begin, pick your side, the English, or ze French!
2. Use the mouse cursor to drag ammo to the catapult
3. Aim by sliding the object at the catapult up and back.
4. Then release your mouse button to launch. Good Luck!

Click the pic to start SpamALot, the game!

*Its like Angry Birds, but with cows ;-)

hint: Get {killer bunnies!} with a Spam product code.
Just click the upper right 'scroll' marked 'unlock weapons'

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Or, if you're the more cerebral type,
click pic below to go to the Spam Museum!

"The museum features 16,500 square feet of SPAM® artifacts, history and fun—and all for free! Yes, that’s right— it’s free admission to check out vintage advertising, answer SPAM® trivia, try your hand at canning SPAM® products, stock up on collectible SPAM® memorabilia, and learn about all the SPAM® products."

Spam artifacts? Ew. Hope they're really, really old so they'll be dry by the time I visit...
Have a great weekend!

for TT's 'spam' day
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The Hazards of Being Beautiful

A new giant cat may become extinct before most humans know they exist...


Here's 22 seconds of its first ever footage:



This is the Sundaland Clouded Leopard,
filmed in Sumatra for the first time.

This cat was filmed using a camera trap in Berbak Nat'l Park. Can you imagine being the first person to watch it? You're expecting yet another day of wild pigs, and then suddenly there it is!

...But then you'd realize that as soon as you report its existence, others will come to hunt it either for fur or 'conservation'. Having seen the disaster the Chinese wrought upon their pandas, I've lost faith in the programs that drag animals out of their natural habitat.

And we all know if it looked like a warthog it'd be left in peace.
I hope its future isn't as cloudy as its pretty pelt.

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fyi: found a 3 min slideshow of clouded leopard info:



*And sadly, just as the video says, it is true that many female leopards in captivity were killed by males. Just because the 'scientists' never bothered to study those leopard mating habits in the wild, before putting random leopards together. Shameful.

for TT's 'cloud' day
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You Can Believe It

Certain Celebrity Correctness ?

Its time has come,
with 'Gossip Cop'.

Their credo is "When a story appears on the Web, in print or on air, Gossip Cop will be on the scene, separating fact from fiction. Every day we’ll be posting new stories, photos, and video – and busting bad dish."

For example,
You'll be happy to know that ‘CSI’ Did Not “Ban” Justin Bieber.

So now when you jump into the shallow end of the gene pool, you'll be less likely to bump your head on some bad dirt.

I know I'll sleep better... while at my computer.

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Also just for fun,
here's the U.S. band GOSSIP singing
'Love Long Distance'

Whilst wearing giant balloon heads?...

For TT's 'gossip' day
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The Owl and the Pussycat

aka Gebra the owl, and Fum the cat



They don't have a pea-green boat, but they do have fun:



As you can see from the video, they did dance...

Whether they dined on mince & quince, who knows?
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