Neatorama

How NOT to Erect a Monument Posted: 25 Aug 2008 06:06 AM CDT (LiveVideo link) Some stone monuments last forever. Sometimes a video lasts longer. -via Arbroath

45 Beautiful Motion Blur Photos Posted: 25 Aug 2008 06:04 AM CDT Smashing Magazine has a collection of charming pictures showing how a motion blur effect can add a sense of speed to photographs. Link -via the Presurfer

Crime Does Pay: 6 Criminals Who Lived Very, Very Well Posted: 25 Aug 2008 02:27 AM CDT Contrary to the old adage, crime really does pay - at least for a while. Here are the stories of 6 rich criminals who, while didn't know how to live good, they did know how to live very well. 1. John Palmer (ca. 1947 - ) British bad boy John Palmer suckered over 16,000 people in a phony time-share scheme. Currently ranked Great Britain's wealthiest criminal, having amassed ill-gotten wealth of over £300 million, the notorious Mr. Palmer owns a fleet of cars and several houses all over England, including a huge estate at Landsdown in Bath. He even has a cool nickname: Goldfinger. Which doesn't mean he has a golden rep. Palmer defended himself in the fraud trial, lost, got eight years in the clink, and has so far been slapped with fines of £5 million. But this wasn't his first criminal activity. In 1983 he took part in the U.K.'s greatest-ever robbery, in which he and a partner stole £26 million in gold bullion from a cargo storage company at Heathrow Airport. He smelted the gold himself and was arrested when police found two gold bars, still warm, under his sofa. (Photo: BBC) 2. Pablo Escobar (1949 - 1993) Picture every stereotypical South American drug dealer you've ever seen in a movie. They're all based in part on Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria, head of the Colombian Medellin cartel. Escobar ran his empire from a lavish pad complete with Arabian horses, a miniature bullfighting ring, a private landing strip, a Huey 50 helicopter, and a private army of bodyguards. Clearly money wasn't an object for the man. After all, he could afford to pay local authorities $250,000 each to turn a blind eye. Plus, he used his money to build schools and hospitals, and was even elected to the Colombian senate. But eventually the pressure from authorities, including the American DEA, got to be too much and he turned himself in. Of course, incarceration didn't stop him from living the lush life. Escobar used some of his loot to convert his prison into a personal fortress, even remodeling all the bathrooms and strengthening the walls. Once he left, he was a fugitive again, but he wasn't hard to track down. An obsessive misophobe, Escobar left a conspicuous trail of dilapidated hideouts with shiny, expensive new bathrooms. In the end, the cocaine kingpin was killed when the secret police tracked his cell phone to an apartment, stormed the building, and shot him. Many, many times. 3. Mother Mandelbaum (1818 - 1894) One of New York City's earliest criminal godfathers was actually a godmother. Fredericka "Mother" Mandelbaum, or "Marm" to her friends, was the top "fence" (buyer and seller of stolen goods) in post-Civil War New York. From 1862 to 1882, she's estimated to have processed almost $10 million in stolen stuff. In fact, Mandelbaum made enough money to purchase a three-story building at 79 Clinton Street. Running her business out of a bogus haberdashery on the bottom floor, and living with her family in opulence and comfort on the top two floors, "Mother" often threw lavish dinners and dances for the criminal elite, which included corrupt cops and paid-off politicos. Ma Mandelbaum could afford to eat well, too, and allegedly tipped the scales at over 250 pounds. But like any good criminal, she gave back. Well, kind of. Mandelbaum ran a school on Grand Street where orphans and waifs learned to be professional pickpockets and sneak thieves. She was finally arrested in 1884, but fled to Canada with over a million dollars in cash before the trial. She remained there in comfort and safety until her death in 1894. 4. L. Dennis Kozlowski (1946 - ) OK, so he's not a criminal in the classic "bang bang, shoot 'em up" kind of way. But this scumbag still has it coming. The former CEO of Tyco International, along with CFO Mark Swarz, allegedly embezzled an estimated $600 million from his company, its employees , and its stockholders. He borrowed $19 million, interest free, to buy a house, a debt that the company then forgave as a "special bonus." He got an $18 million apartment in Manhattan and charged the company $11 million more for artwork and furnishings, including a $6,000 shower curtain and $2,200 garbage can. He even threw his wife a little 40th birthday soiree on the island of Sardinia that cost the company over two million clams. Special musical guest: Jimmy Buffett. And while a mistrial was initially declared in April of 2004, the best lawyers couldn't keep Kozlowski and his cohorts from changing residences from their very big house to the Big House. 5. Leona Helmsley (1920 - 2007) The famous New York real estate mogul and class-A witch lived the American Dream. Well, except for the whole prison thing. Leona was a divorced sewing factory worker with mouths to feed before she met and married real estate tycoon Harry Helmsley (the fact that he was already married mattered little). In 1980, Harry named Leona president of his opulent Helmsley Palace Hotel, which she ruled like a despot. Her tendency to explode at employees for the smallest infraction (like a crooked lampshade) earned her the title "Queen of Mean." The tyranny didn't exactly last. In 1988, Leona and Harry were indicted for a smorgasbord of crimes, including tax fraud, mail fraud, and extortion. And after numerous appeals, Leona served 18 months in prison and was forced to pay the government $7 million in back taxes. A healthy dose of irony for the woman who once said, "Only the little people pay taxes." Of course, that doesn't mean things turned out that badly for poor Leona. Said to be worth over 2.2 billion bucks, the dreaded Ms. H. still owns the lease to the Empire State Building and lives in luxury with her aptly named dog, Trouble. [Ed. note: Leona Helmsley died in 2007, two years after this article was first published] 6. Al CApone (1899 - 1947) He killed people. He bought cops by the precinctful. He bootlegged liquor. He ran Chicago like his own personal kingdom. He was damn good at what he did, and he did it with style. Al Capone (aka Scarface) maintained a swank Chicago headquarters in the form of a luxurious five-room suite at the chic Metropole Hotel (rate: $1,500 a day). And when those Chicago winters proved a little too chilly for him, he bought a 14-room Spanish-style estate in Palm Island, Florida, which he spent millions turning into a well-decorated fortress. Capone's total wealth has been estimated at over $100 million (not a penny of which was kept in his vaults, as Geraldo Rivera learned on live TV). Not bad for a guy whose business card said he was a used furniture dealer. Of course, he didn't pay taxes on any of it, which is what eventually sent him up the river. From mental_floss' book Forbidden Knowledge: A Wickedly Smart Guide to History's Naughtiest Bits, published in Neatorama with permission. Be sure to visit mental_floss' extremely entertaining website and blog!

He-Man + Mustache + Mullet + Chaps = Rio-Blast! Posted: 25 Aug 2008 02:26 AM CDT What do you get when you add a mustache, a mullet hair-do and chaps to He-Man? Why, you get the best Masters of the Universe character ever: Rio-Blast! According to Wikipedia, Rio-Blast is a cowboy and an old, good friend of He-Man (hmmm, Brokeback Mountain good, maybe?). In fact, he’s so cowboy that his favorite thing in the world is cooking chili. Super Punch blog has more on the guy: Link (with video clip)

Wind-up Remote Control Posted: 25 Aug 2008 02:25 AM CDT Don’t you hate it when you want to change the channel only to find out that your remote control’s battery is completely dead? If you think about it, your remote doesn’t really need a battery … here’s one that you power by manually winding it up (plus, it may be the only form of exercise for couch potatoes everywhere): Link

The Devil Bird and Other Animals Thought to be Extinct But Really Weren’t Posted: 25 Aug 2008 02:25 AM CDT Our pal mental_floss has a really neat article about the Lazarus species, basically animals that were once thought to be extinct, until they were rediscovered. This one to the left is the devil bird: This diabolical ave wasn’t thought to be real until 2001. In Sri Lanka, where the Devil Bird legend originated, the bird is known as Ulama. It has a shrill shriek that sounds eerily human-like and is said to predict the death of a loved one. But when the Spot-bellied Eagle-owl was discovered seven years ago, it was quickly realized that it matched the description of the Devil Bird quite closely. Check out the rest of the 10 creatures people didn’t think existed anymore: Link - via i met a possum

Nick Pitera Sure Can Sing (Like a Girl) Posted: 25 Aug 2008 02:24 AM CDT Nick Pitera is an animator by day, and an incredible mimic singer by night. This YouTube clip of Nick singing the duet (all by himself) A Whole New World from Disney’s Aladdin has gotten more than 6 million views: Link [embedded YouTube] If you still want more after that, check out his Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys, and Mariah Carey (more? Check out the entire list)

Google Street View Proposal Posted: 24 Aug 2008 11:29 PM CDT Michael Weiss-Malik works for Google. They don’t normally announce when the Street View vehicles will be out, but they did once to allow people to line up and get their pictures taken. Matt took advantage of this to “upgrade” his proposal to Leslie. She had already said yes, but this gives her something for the scrapbook! See the result on Google Maps. Read the story at a site Matt created for the occasion. Link -via Digg

Planet of the Cats Posted: 24 Aug 2008 11:26 PM CDT (YouTube link) The Cat House on the Kings is a no kill, no cage shelter for homeless cats. Lynea Lattanzio has cared for 16,000 cats since 1992. -via Gigglesugar

The Avenging Narwhal Posted: 24 Aug 2008 11:25 PM CDT The studies revealed that millions of years ago, penguins, snow seals and koalas ruled the earth. For sustenance, they feasted upon whales, dolphins, and other sea mammals to the point of near extinction. But the Narwhal went into hiding beneath the ice of the North Pole, biding their time, planning their revenge and sharpening their tusks. Finally, they re-emerged, tusks gleaming with newfound magical power, and fought back against the adorable creatures that threatened their existence. The battle was long, and many Narwhal were lost, but their strong will and sharp tusks were enough to stave off the cute ones temporarily. See a closeup and read the full description from the back of the package at the West Virginia Surf Report. Available from Archie McPhee. Link -via Reddit

Sexy People Blog Documents Sublime, Perfect Portraits of Regular People Posted: 24 Aug 2008 05:43 PM CDT Like I often said, there’s everything for everyone on the web. Like those who happen to like "the perfect portrait." This blog, with a tongue-in-cheek name of Sexy People, is dedicated to finding and displaying portraits of some strange … (L) Policeman: something’s wrong with the proportion there (R) Hunting Season: hmm. … but mostly ordinary people who just so happen to take "perfect portrait." (L) Cousins - looks just like certain famous plumber duo (R) Zack: business up front … Check out the rest of the "Sexy People" here: Link [despite the name, it's SFW]

Caesarea Aqueduct, Photo by Michael Melford Posted: 24 Aug 2008 03:11 PM CDT Photo: Michael Melford If you haven’t discovered it yet, National Geographic magazine’s Our Shot is one of the best daily photo gallery sites on the web. Their photos are always fantastic and cover a wide berth breadth of subjects. Case in point, this photo of an aqueduct built by King Herod during the first century B.C. to carry water from a lake across 17 miles of desert into the ancient city of Caesarea (present day Israel). Michael Melford took this fantastic shot by moonlight. Link

Hi! I Made Your iPhone! Posted: 24 Aug 2008 03:10 PM CDT When Mac Rumors forum user markm49uk turned on his brand new Apple iPhone 3G, he found a little "surprise": some photos of a factory worker that assembled it! Looked like someone at the production line was having a bit of fun (they’re probably sooo fired!): Link - via Gizmodo

New Fashion Trend: Girl Gone Mild Posted: 24 Aug 2008 03:10 PM CDT There’s a strange (and refreshing) fashion trend afoot with today’s teenage girls: they’re dressing modestly! While skimpy clothes still dominate the fashion scene, today there’s a flip side to girls gone wild. Call it "girls gone mild" — a building modesty movement among many young women. "The young girls themselves, they are the ones leading the modesty revolution," said author Wendy Shalit. The "modest fashion" these girls wear may not be to everyone’s taste, but most looks are straight off the catwalk. A slick new magazine Eliza caters to the modest dresser. Shalit said the thousands of young women she’d heard from wanted to fit in and be cool, just not trashy. These new modest fashionistas prefer their necklines higher and their hemlines lower — no more than four fingers above the knee. Link | See also this CNN article "Mom shocked by teen’s modest clothing" - via AdFreak It seems that the Texas polygamist sect’s new online clothing store is catching on!

George Clooney Hit a Fan’s Car, Suprised Her with a New Replacement Posted: 24 Aug 2008 03:09 PM CDT That George Clooney is one classy guy. Here’s what happened when he accidentally hit someone’s car: The 47-year-old Ocean’s Eleven star shunted the woman’s Lancia Ypsilon from behind in his black saloon, leaving minor damages. But he quickly accepted blame for the accident, which happened in Penabilli, central Italy. When the woman went to collect it from the repair garage she found a brand new model and a note of apology on the windscreen. The Hollywood star, who rose to fame in ER, had written: "I’m so sorry . Hope you’ll forgive me. George Clooney." Link

How Does it Feel to Die a Gruesome Death? Posted: 24 Aug 2008 03:08 PM CDT You, me, and all living things on Earth will - some day - die. But some deaths are more gruesome than others. Anna Gosline of New Scientist wrote a morbid yet fascinating article about what some of the worst ways to die feel (or technically, should feel) like. Take for instance, decaptiation: Quick it may be, but consciousness is nevertheless believed to continue after the spinal chord is severed. A study in rats in 1991 found that it takes 2.7 seconds for the brain to consume the oxygen from the blood in the head; the equivalent figure for humans has been calculated at 7 seconds. Some macabre historical reports from post-revolutionary France cited movements of the eyes and mouth for 15 to 30 seconds after the blade struck, although these may have been post-mortem twitches and reflexes. Link - via Look at this

What’s Wrong With This Sign? Posted: 24 Aug 2008 09:31 AM CDT This sign, saying “For Rent” in Swedish, was located in an industrial park outside of Karlstad, Sweden. As far as I know, the place is still for rent… Link

Why “Daisy” in 2001: A Space Odyssey? Posted: 24 Aug 2008 08:37 AM CDT Why did the HAL 9000 computer sing “Daisy Bell” in the 1968 science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey, written by Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke? Maybe this video clip, taken from a documentary where Arthur C. Clarke is visiting Bell Labs back in the early 60s, will give you an answer to that question. Link [YouTube] - via Fanboy

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