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- 10 Controversial Horror Movies For Halloween
- Entombment Technologies to Protect You from Being Buried Alive
- Spell Check Tattoo
- The Geek Pronunciation Guide
- Blast Boxers Protect Your Nethers from Severe Injury
- Flowchart: How to Explain the Internet to a Street Urchin, Circa 1835
- T-Shirt Gatling Gun
- China Unveils the Fastest Computer in the World
- Really, Really Dumb Moments in Sports
- Mal and Chad's Fill in the Bubble Frenzy 10
- Pet Hummingbird
- Pumpkin Skull
- Dawn of the Ted
- Musical Style
- What Is It? Game 153
| 10 Controversial Horror Movies For Halloween Posted: 29 Oct 2010 05:05 AM PDT If you're looking to ramp up for Halloween by watching some horror flicks, you could go the typical route of Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street marathons, but if you're really looking for a spooky movie fest, why not go the extra mile. The films on this list are all so violent and so offensive that they have been subject to protests, boycotts or censorship and many have even been banned in a few countries. While many of these are lesser known and hard to find, some of the big name controversial movies may surprise you. Because offensiveness and scariness are so subjective, these are presented in order of release date. Warning: this post contains video clips that may be disturbing to some viewers, as they are from intentionally disturbing films. The Last House on the Left (1972)Video link This movie was the directorial debut of Wes Craven and depicted two teenage girls who are kidnapped by escaped convicts on their way to a rock concert. They are then sadistically tortured, raped and eventually murdered. By using a grainy, hand-held 16 mm camera, Craven's picture seemed all too real to many movie viewers. He tried to defend the violence by saying it was “a reaction on my part to the violence around us, specifically to the Vietnam War.” Craven's excuses didn't do much to quell the controversy and the movie was censored in many countries, particularly the U.K., where it was banned for seventeen years and remained subject to censorship until 2008. The Exorcist (1973)Video link You probably already know this is a darn creepy movie, but you may not know that it was so shocking to movie goers that many viewers were subject to nausea, convulsions, fainting and shocking displays of anger –one viewer in San Francisco attacked the movie screen, attempting to kill the demon. Paramedics began to be called to the screenings and it wasn't long before picketers started showing up at the theaters. The film was even banned on video for 14 years in the U.K. After the film was released, there was a major increase in requests for priests to perform exorcisms and a drastic rise in alleged spiritual possessions and psychoses by people claiming to be possessed. Taking advantage of the hysteria, Reverend Billy Graham claimed he “felt the power of evil buried within the celluloid of the film itself.”
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)Video link While this film is a classic horror favorite known for its violence, it actually shows little blood and no close ups of the fatal blows, making it quite a bit more tame than most horror films to follow. Even so, it was loathed by censorship boards, resulting its being banned in Australia, Brazil, Finland, France, West Germany, Chile, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Singapore, Sweden and the U.K. France banned the film twice claiming it would incite violence and the U.K. even instituted a rule banning the use of the word "chainsaw" in a films title shortly after they first banned the film. The country didn't allow it to be issued uncut for 25 years. Bloodsucking Freaks (1976)Video link (I couldn’t post the trailer because it’s too R-rated for Neatorama) Bloodsucking Freaks is one of the most legendary films from the goremasters at Troma Entertainment. The film is a story of a theater troupe in New York that specializes in performances of humiliation, torture and murder of the group's white slave ring. It has been voted as one of the worst films ever by a number of critics and review sites and was subject to protest by the Women Against Pornography for its violent sexual depictions of women. Zombi (1979)Video link Whether you call it Zombi or Zombi 2, it was undoubtedly one of the best of the many highly controversial films by renowned Italian director Lucio Fulci. While the film was billed as a sequel to George Romero's Dawn of the Dead, it actually was unrelated in any way, other than the fact that both movies have zombies. The plot involves a small tropical island where a mysterious disease is affecting the local population. As you may have guessed, the people suffering from the disease all become zombies and hunt down the uninfected people on the island. The film is pretty well known and was even featured in a Windows 7 ad recently –the scene on television with the zombie bonding with the shark. While it was a big hit and fairly well received by critics, the gore content caused it to be banned in a number of countries, including Finland and the U.K., where it was not released uncut until 2005. Cannibal Holocaust (1980)Video link This fake documentary about a film crew researching the last remaining cannibalistic tribes in the Amazon is filled with sickening images such as a woman receiving an abortion with a rock, human impalement, castration and surprise, surprise, cannibalism. One of the most upsetting scenes to modern audiences doesn't involve the torture of a human, but shows the slaughter of a giant tortoise -and unlike the human torture scenes, this one is completely real. Even so, the footage of murder looked so convincing that the director, Ruggero Deodato, was arrested and charged with murder after the Milan premiere of the film. Unfortunately, the actors all signed a contract agreeing that they would not appear in public for one year after the film's release in order to keep up the idea that the movie actually featured lost documentary footage. When Deodato denied the actors were dead, the police countered by asking where they were if they were still alive. Finally, Deodato was able to beat life imprisonment after he voided the contracts and had the actors appear on an Italian television show. After the trial, the courts still banned his movie for the genuine animal slayings, but he was able to have the ban lifted 1984. The film was also prosecuted for obscenity and banned from the U.K. in 1983, an edited version was released in 2001, but it is still unavailable uncut in the United Kingdom. While the film distributors claim it was banned in 40 countries, this is unconfirmed. It has been confirmed to have been banned from Australia, Norway, Finland, New Zealand and, as mentioned earlier, Italy and the U.K. The Evil Dead (1981)Video link If you haven't seen The Evil Dead and you like horror movies, you're missing out…of course, if you don't like horror movies, then why are you reading this? The story follows a few students staying in a cabin in the middle of the woods. One of them plays an audiotape in the cabin that releases the evil spirits of the The Book Of The Dead and then things get nasty. The film launched the career of Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. Unlike the remake, Evil Dead 2, or the sequel, Army of Darkness, this film is not as comedic and involves far more brutality, including a woman being raped by a tree. Because the film was so violent, the movie was banned in seven countries, including Finland, Germany, Iceland and Ireland. In America, the film was rated NC-17, and the movie has only recently been released in its entirety to many countries although some still ban the unedited version. Evilspeak (1981)Video link Evilspeak follows a military academy cadet that is rejected by his classmates and turns to Satanism to get revenge. There is a lot of violence and murder, as well as Satanist themes, which led to the film’s banning in the U.K. and the uncut version was not released in the country until 2004. Adding to the movie's controversy was the fact that the founder of the Church of Satan, Anton LaVey, was a big fan of the movie and said it was highly Satanic. Supposedly there is an even bloodier version than the one released, but much of it was cut to get a lower rating from the MPAA. This director's cut has never been released though. Tenebrae (1982)Video link (Believe it or not, this was the only clip I could find without excessive gore or nudity.) Tenebrae is often considered one of the greatest films by horror director Dario Argento, but its original release was censored and many critics loathed it, only to change their mind when the uncut version was released. The movie follows an American writer who is promoting his novel in Rome, when a serial killer starts to follow the plot of his murder-mystery tale, forcing the writer to take plot in the manhunt. The film was immediately banned in the U.K. for its sexualized violence and its release in America was delayed two years. When it did come out in the U.S., it was highly edited and released under the name Unsane. While the uncut film has been available in the U.S. for some time, it was only released in its entirely to the U.K. in 2003. Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)Video link How do you really get people up in arms? Don't just show blood and gore, show the perpetrator of the violence dressed as an adored childhood icon. Silent Night, Deadly Night featured a young boy who saw his parents murdered by someone dressed as Santa…naturally, he grows up and goes on a killing spree dressed as Santa. The National PTA fought against the movie. Protesters picketed the theaters showing it, and critics loathed it. Leonard Maltin asked, “What’s next, the Easter Bunny as a child molester?” The movie was never officially banned in the U.K., but that's largely because it was never submitted for distribution approval until 2009. It probably would have been banned though, given that the sequel was in 1987. Sources: Film Site, Wikipedia #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6  |
| Entombment Technologies to Protect You from Being Buried Alive Posted: 28 Oct 2010 05:15 PM PDT The fear of being buried alive is an old one, and is even the origin of the phrase “saved by the bell”. Annalee Newitz of io9 has a roundup of technologies developed over the years, right up to the present day, to prevent a person from meeting this fate. Pictured above is Thomas Pursell’s 1930s-era tomb that featured doors that could be opened from the inside. |
| Posted: 28 Oct 2010 05:02 PM PDT Todd from Cleveland, Ohio submitted this picture of his latest tattoo to Geeky Tattoos. The only thing that could improve it is a cursor hovering over a right-click menu. |
| Posted: 28 Oct 2010 03:12 PM PDT
You’ll also want to check out the best way to pronounce FAQ, Ubuntu, and meme, among others. Link (Image credit: the NeatoShop) |
| Blast Boxers Protect Your Nethers from Severe Injury Posted: 28 Oct 2010 01:51 PM PDT |
| Flowchart: How to Explain the Internet to a Street Urchin, Circa 1835 Posted: 28 Oct 2010 01:42 PM PDT So, you’ve used a time machine to travel back to the London of 1835. You encounter Oliver, an impoverished street urchin of 12 years of age. For some reason, you’ve decided to explain to him what the Internet is. How do you proceed? Comedian and graphic designer Doogie Horner created a flowchart to illustrate your options. Previously by Doogie Horner: What Your Facebook Portrait Says about You |
| Posted: 28 Oct 2010 01:27 PM PDT The robot-building team at Bellarmine College Prepatory School in San Jose, California built a t-shirt cannon that can fire 200 t-shirts before reloading. It can spit them out as fast as three shirts per second. Link via Make | Photo: Team 254 Prevously: The T-Shirt Cannon |
| China Unveils the Fastest Computer in the World Posted: 28 Oct 2010 01:19 PM PDT
Link via Popular Science | Photo: NVIDIA |
| Really, Really Dumb Moments in Sports Posted: 28 Oct 2010 11:14 AM PDT
During the NFL draft in 1946, the Washington Redskins were giddy when they nabbed UCLA running back Cal Rossi. By pairing Rossi with star quarterback “Slingin’ Sammy” Baugh, Washington hoped to build a backfield that would give opponents nightmares. There was just one problem: Rossi was still a junior in college, and in those days, only seniors were eligible for the draft. How did the Skins fumble so badly? The team’s owner, George Marshall, was too cheap to send scouts across the country; instead, he just picked new players by scanning the sports page. The team selected Rossi again the next year, but amazingly, it was yet another wasted draft pick. As soon as the team selected him, the Redskins learned that Rossi had joined the Navy and had no intention of playing pro football. HOT POTATOES
Creative? Definitely. Successful? Not so much. The umpire scoffed at the ploy and called the runner safe at home. The bush league play also enraged Williamsport’s manager, who yanked Bresnahan from the game, fined him $50, and kicked him off the team. The fans, on the other hand, loved the stunt so much that Williamsport retired Bresnahan’s number the following season. At the ceremony, he joked, “Lou Gehrig had to play 2,130 consecutive games and hit .340 for his number to be retired, and all I had to do was bat .140 and throw a potato.”
Back in 2005, Paul Tormanen looked like a rising star on the bass-fishing circuit. When other anglers struggled to find a decent catch, he managed to fill his boat with trophy bass in less than an hour. But unbeknownst to his rivals, Tormanen was arriving at each tournament a little too prepared. He would hit the lake before the competition, catch a mess of fish, and then leave the biggest ones tethered to a stump underwater. On tournament day, he’d simply retrieve his catch and collect the prize. Tormanen got away with the scheme for several months, but his plans went awry after another fisherman stumbled onto his stash one day. Fish and Wildlife agents secretly marked the illicit catch, and when Tormanen netted the fish, he was arrested for contest fraud. The dubious tactic earned hm 120 hours of community service and a lifetime ban from fishing competitions. Tormanen’s dirty tactics may seem crude, but they’re masterful compared to those of Robby Rose. During 2009’s Bud Lite Trail Boss Big Bass Tournament, Rose tried to make his bass seem bigger by stuffing 16 oz. weights down their throats. Contest officials realized something was fishy when Rose’s leaden catch sank to the bottom of the holding tank. __________________________
Be sure to visit mental_floss‘ entertaining website and blog for more fun stuff! |
| Mal and Chad's Fill in the Bubble Frenzy 10 Posted: 28 Oct 2010 10:34 AM PDT It’s once again time for the Fill in the Bubble Frenzy with boy genius Mal and his talking dog Chad! Tell us what goes in the speech bubble and win any T-shirt available in the NeatoShop -take a look around, pick one out and tell us what shirt you'd like with your submission in the comments. If you don’t specify a t-shirt with your entry, you forfeit the prize. Enter as many times as you like (text only, please), but leave only one entry per comment. For inspiration, check out Mal and Chad's comic strip adventures by Stephen McCranie at malandchad.com. Good luck! |
| Posted: 28 Oct 2010 10:28 AM PDT This young man rescued a baby hummingbird when it was attacked (by what, he doesn’t say). Music by Jack Johnson. -via Cute Overload |
| Posted: 28 Oct 2010 10:26 AM PDT When you produce a skull every day, what are you going to do for Halloween? Noah Scalin at Skull-s-Day carved a pumpkin and found the skull inside! Link -via The Daily What |
| Posted: 28 Oct 2010 08:58 AM PDT Misery Bear encounters zombie teddy bears in this Halloween offering from Chris Hayward and Nat Saunders for BBC Comedy. Not recommended for young children. -Thanks, Nat! |
| Posted: 28 Oct 2010 07:46 AM PDT
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| Posted: 28 Oct 2010 06:19 AM PDT It’s time for our collaboration with the always awesome What Is It? Blog. Can you guess what this strange object is used for? I have no idea! Place your guess in the comment section. One guess per comment, please, though you can enter as many as you’d like. Write no URLs or web links – doing so will invalidate your entry. Two winners as usual: the first correct guess and the funniest yet ultimately wrong guess will win free T-shirt of their choice from the NeatoShop. (May we suggest browsing the Science T-Shirt, Funny T-shirt, and Artist-designed T-shirt categories?). Please write your T-shirt selection alongside your entry, otherwise you forfeit the prize. For more clues, definitely check out the What Is It? Blog. You have until the answer is revealed there tomorrow. Good luck! |
There are many familiar terms you read on the internet, but if they came up in conversation, you might not pronounce the words the same as other people do -because you’ve only seen them typed! Geekosystem has a pronunciation guide for 21 words and phrases that you may not have ever heard spoken out loud. But if you ever do, you’ll be correct. Take, for example, the word “Cthulhu”.
The Tianhe-1A, which is at the National University of Defence Technology in Tianjin, is the fastest computer in the world:
REDSKINS DOUBLE THEIR BLUNDER
As a 1987 minor-league baseball game, catcher Dave Bresnahan made what looked to be a critical blunder. He threw the ball over the third baseman’s head, and the opposing team’s runner trotted home as the ball rolled into the outfield. But when the player arrived at home plate, Bresnahan tagged him out. How could the ball be in left field and in Bresnahan’s mitt? A quick investigation revealed that the so-called ball Bresnahan had thrown into the outfield was, in fact, a potato. In his spare time, the catcher had carved a tuber to look like a baseball and stashed it into his mitt.
FISHY BUSINESS
The above article by Ethan Trex is reprinted with permission from the Scatterbrained section of the 
Modern music and fashion have aways had a close relationship. 'Ensemble: The Style of Music' is a series of 20 posters featuring the classic outfits of some well-known musicians, from the over-the-top flamboyance of Elvis to the grunge look of Kurt Cobain. Designed by Glenn Michael of 
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