Neatorama

---

• The Future of Education is Immersive (as in a Video Game)
• <i>Prophecy:</i> A Photographic Exploration of Hairless Dogs
• Judge Officiates at Man’s Wedding, Then Immediately Sentences Him to Prison
• Do You Like Flowcharts?
• Cretaceous Chic
• Plowing Snow with a Motorized Toilet
• 32 Sandwiches From Around the World
• Why Do Mirrors Flip Objects Horizontally But Not Vertically?
• Adventure Meal - It'll Make You Smack Your Lips, Not Your Buns
• The 6th Annual Pawscar™ Winners
• Teacher with Phobia of Young Children Lost Lawsuit Against School
• This Jar of Peanut Butter Costs $761
• Bacon-wrapped Pizza
• Ninja Day Is an Actual Holiday in Japan
• Coming Soon: A New Dr. Seuss Book
• 80 Facts About the 80s
• It’s Deep in New England
• High-Tech Hello Kitty Toilet Seat
• Why Men Always Think Women Are Flirting With Them
• Little Cthulhu - He Came From Beyond To Take A Bath!
• Back to the Future Hoverboard Stencil by JPS
• Can You Find All 16 Hidden Faces?
• 10 Fun Things You Can Do With Your Dog
• Why Vaccines Work
• A Maze and Playground Made out of Snow and Ice
• Deskloop
• The Crazy Sides of Ten Famous Film Directors
• Woman's Reaction to "Fake Selfie" Marriage Proposal Is Precious!
• Jerry's Kid: the Story of Gary Lewis & the Playboys

The Future of Education is Immersive (as in a Video Game) Posted: 19 Feb 2015 05:00 AM PST Grand Theft Auto veteran Navid Khonsari swerves into Tehran, Iran, circa 1979. The revolution will be played. Tehran, September 1978. Black Friday. You’re young and reckless, a photographer in the middle of a protest against the shah. Your friend is beckoning you toward the front of the crowd. You try to force your way through a group of people. You want to be at the center of the action. Then the soldiers begin shooting. Navid Khonsari is developing a video game about the Iranian Revolution, and he needs it to be exciting. You have to watch who you trust and how you talk to people—your family, the woman in charge of the revolutionary headquarters, the storekeepers who sell lemon and cheesecloth to protect your face from teargas. “The line should be, ‘Oh, I played this sick game, where I was throwing rocks at these soldiers, and then I had to navigate the crowd once the soldiers started shooting,’” Khonsari says. “And then, ‘Oh, and it was about the Iranian Revolution, which was kind of crazy.’ ” Khonsari knows how crazy games are made. For five years at Rockstar Games, he contributed to blockbuster titles in the Max Payne and Grand Theft Auto series, some of the bestselling games in the world. As a cinematic director—working on storyboards, directing voice actors, and shooting motion-capture scenes—he made games feel more like movies. Now, he has gone indie with his own company, iNK Stories, and his job is closer to a game designer’s—creating a sweeping vision for his new game, Revolution 1979, and finding the right people (and the money) to execute it. He thinks that games can do more than entertain, and he’s not shy about his role in making that happen. “What I’m creating is the template for how future generations are going to be engaging with history,” he says. Khonsari, now 44, was 10 years old when his family fled Iran. They landed in Canada, where his father once studied medicine and Khonsari and one of his brothers had been born. The family settled in a small city north of Toronto, but Khonsari’s peers weren’t exactly warm and cuddly to the only Iranian they’d ever met. The new kid’s lack of English didn’t help. But pop culture did—Khonsari was fluent in Star Wars, video games, and comics. He grew up on Tintin, loved Marvel’s philosophical Silver Surfer, and later started reading the subversive work of Daniel Clowes as well as Art Spiegelman’s genre-transcending Maus. Soon enough, he started writing stories of his own—comic books and movie scripts, which led him to film school. Not long after moving to New York City, Khonsari did a test shoot for Grand Theft Auto III, was hired to direct voice-overs for Max Payne, and, for half a decade, had a hand in every blockbuster Rockstar produced. Though he’s worked on games with huge budgets, Khonsari has a soft spot for quirky stories: His first project after Rockstar was Pindemonium, a documentary film released in 2008 about introverted, obsessive collectors of Olympic pins. He met his wife, Bessie, a filmmaker, while working on the movie; she became “co-everything on it.” Their next project together was her documentary film, Pulling John, about competitive arm wrestlers. Today, they live in Brooklyn with their two daughters, and while Khonsari tends to want to do “big, big, big grand things,” he says Bessie (who’s a collaborator on the new game too) “really appreciates the subtlety in the emotional journey of characters and putting that at the forefront.” With 1979, they’re aiming to hit both notes. To create the game, Khonsari has been researching the revolution history as if he were making a documentary—by interviewing people from his parents’ and grandparents’ generations. Much of his research comes by way of his own family, including cousins who were in college during the revolution and relatives still living in Iran. He’s also enlisting academic and political experts, like the Carnegie Endowment’s Karim Sadjadpour. Still a history major at heart, Khonsari says he is interested in moments of sweeping change—not just dates but stories from people’s personal experiences. His own experiences color the game too, and the one that most strongly influences it is his sense that most people don’t understand the real diversity of Iranian political opinions. “Someone like my grandmother, who lived in Iran, prayed three times a day and never ate bacon … she never wanted a theocracy,” he says. (YouTube link) When a player begins the game, he or she will get a quick run-through of the history of the revolution. But Khonsari is also working on building rich historical detail into the world that players will navigate. The main character is a photojournalist, and players can take pictures in the game and compare them with real shots of historical events. If they want to, they’ll be able to walk around an Iranian house, check out what’s on the walls, and turn on the TV and see Iranian TV shows. This exploration isn’t required to get through the game. But it’s there for people who are curious, and Khonsari thinks it could give players a sense of the revolution’s history, much like The Deer Hunter or Apocalypse Now taught a younger generation about the Vietnam War. Although making the game educational comes second to making it fun, Khonsari wants players to understand that Iran has a deep history, with independent women and a secular life. “For us to be able to put in different types of stories, that’s the icing on the cake,” Khonsari says. “It’s a very different animal; it’s very forward thinking,” says Asi Burak, president of the nonprofit Games for Change. “This game starts saying: This is a viable medium to say something smart. That’s not obvious to everyone.” And, Burak says, it makes the job of producing 1979 an uphill battle. Games like this one often get plenty of good press, but the real challenge is grabbing the attention of actual gamers—and funders. 1979’s Kickstarter campaign didn’t meet its $395,000 goal late last year, but Khonsari says it helped attract potential investors. (And the success of the movie Argo, set during the Iranian hostage crisis, hasn’t hurt: It proves that there’s a mainstream appetite for stories from this era.) He is currently working on developing these leads and asking fans of the Kickstarter campaign to continue to donate through PayPal. “This is meant to be a mass-appeal project,” he says. “I’m still playing games, and I’m in my forties. I love being a gangster; I love taking out aliens. But I started getting fascinated with what would happen if you could engage people within a real experience but make it entertaining—make it a game.” The goal is to release the game’s first installment this summer. When that happens, Khonsari’s own gaming revolution will be alive and well.   View image | gettyimages.com [Update: Since this story was written, the game 1979 Revolution has been completed. It was featured at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, and you can read the highlights of that experience. The game is scheduled to be released to the public this spring. You can keep up with developments at the game’s Facebook page.] _______________________ The article above, written by Sarah Laskow, is reprinted with permission from the March-April 2014 issue of mental_floss magazine. Get a subscription to mental_floss and never miss an issue! Be sure to visit mental_floss' website and blog for more fun stuff!

<i>Prophecy:</i> A Photographic Exploration of Hairless Dogs Posted: 19 Feb 2015 04:00 AM PST French-born, New York-based Sophie Gamand (previously at Neatorama) is a gifted fine art photographer who concentrates heavily on the subject of dogs. Sophie's projects don't just skim the surface of adorable appearance, however. Gamand deeply ponders her subject matter and uses her art to make a statement about her observations.  For this series entitled Prophecy, Sophie chose hairless dogs as her focus, specifically two major breeds, the Chinese Crested and the Xoloitzcuintli (Mexican hairless dog). In her discussion of the series on her website, Gamand explains, "I wanted to explore the unique beauty of hairless dogs who are often mocked or called "ugly." I wanted to look beyond their physical qualities and into their personality and charisma. I wanted to pierce the mystery surrounding them. I had never even touched their skin before. At the center of my photographic exploration is the idea that dogs have been engineered by men. Through artificial selection, for the past millennia, they have been selected, manipulated genetically, breeds have been created, shaped and trained to fulfill our needs. Whether it is to perform tasks for us or simply for companionship, humans have subdued an entire species for their own needs, alleviating their deep sense of solitude. In a way, dogs are the first example – and most striking one – of Man acting like a god towards Nature. This series is a reminder that playing God with Nature often comes with consequences and a price to pay, sooner or later. For this project I approached private breeders as well as rescue organizations specializing in hairless dogs (such as Bald is Beautiful and Bare Paws Rescue). To learn more about the Xoloitzcuintli, visit the Xolo Club of America's website." Visit Gamand's website to see the rest of this charming series,and keep up with her projects on social media via Facebook, Instagram andTwitter.

Judge Officiates at Man’s Wedding, Then Immediately Sentences Him to Prison Posted: 19 Feb 2015 03:00 AM PST [Insert here a joke that my wife would not find at all funny.] Am I right, guys? Ha! So, anyway: Israel Silva of Lovell, Wyoming took a plea deal on several charges related to a high-speed, alcohol-fueled police chase after he was caught in a burglary. District Court Judge Steven Cranfill accepted the arrangement and sentenced Silva to 6 to 10 years in prison. But, first, despite any possible legal problems, Judge Cranfill performed Silva’s wedding in the same courtroom. C.J. Baker writes in the Powell Tribune: “There will be no, ‘You can kiss the bride,’ or whatever they say when people get married,” said Israel Silva’s defense attorney, Sarah Miles, before her client’s impromptu Wednesday wedding in Park County’s District Courtroom. In fact, there were few of the usual marriage traditions in the hastily organized ceremony. While a detention deputy was trying to determine whether the inmate’s wedding had been cleared by jail supervisors, District Court Judge Steven Cranfill entered the courtroom and wed Silva and his 19-year-old bride. With the groom clad in the Park County Detention Center’s standard orange jumpsuit and shackles — and the bride required to stay about 15 feet back to comply with the jail’s no-contact rules — they exchanged vows and were pronounced man and wife in a roughly one-minute ceremony. It was witnessed by around a half-dozen of the newlyweds’ family and friends, some court officials and a couple of the people whose property Silva damaged during an August crime spree. The crime victims were there to testify to the monetary damage caused by Silva as he is disputing the amounts. Immediately after the pronouncing the marriage, Cranfill directed the couple to retake their seats, and Silva’s sentencing hearing began. -via AP | Unrelated photo by Brian Turner

Do You Like Flowcharts? Posted: 19 Feb 2015 02:00 AM PST Randall Munroe at xkcd presents us with a flowchart to determine what kind of chart or graph you prefer. And he then attempts to give you what you want, in one way or another. But as you and I know, there’s no pleasing some people. The arrow at the bottom points to the “random” button at the website. Which ought to please anyone.

Cretaceous Chic Posted: 19 Feb 2015 01:00 AM PST Tyrannosaurus Rex may get teased for not having arms long enough for a proper embrace, but no one ever said anything about its tail. Tame the powerful beast enough to wrap him around your finger with these rings from Applelatte at Etsy. The brass rings come in sizes 5-9 and in antique silver or antique gold finishes.  The Applelatte Etsy shop has a large variety of rings and other jewelry with animals and various adornments. Check out their selection here.

Plowing Snow with a Motorized Toilet Posted: 19 Feb 2015 12:00 AM PST http://youtu.be/gtShXoPfdHs] (YouTube link) David Goldberg owns a hardware store in Bethesda, Maryland. Last summer he built a motorized toilet as a parade entry, and eventually won several awards for his creation. He calls it “Loo-cy.” When it came time to shovel all that snow on the sidewalk in front of his store, Goldberg figured Loo-cy could do a better job of it than his shovel. So he attached a plow to the front and cleared the whole block in no time! Now, don’t you wish you had a toilet snowplow? -via Uproxx

32 Sandwiches From Around the World Posted: 18 Feb 2015 11:00 PM PST Pork chop bun, Macao |  Image: Ydolemw | Asian-marinated pork with sweet Portugese bread Gained popularity worldwide after being featured by Anthony Bourdain in 2011 When it comes to whipping up a bite to eat, there's nothing like a sandwich. One can put just about anything in the fridge on a sandwich and have it be delicious. It's possible to please nearly everyone by making them a sandwich, from vegans to hardcore meat-a-holics. Start with a great loaf of bread and that's half the battle won. In the linked article, BuzzFeed presents 32 sandwiches from countries all over the world. Quite a few of them look pretty tasty to me. What's your pleasure? Zapiekanka, Poland | Image: Michrzan  Open-faced baguette covered in sautéed mushroom, onion, and cheese, baked in the oven Medianoche, Cuba | Image: jamslopz  Mustard, pork, ham, cheese, and gherkins layered over sweet Cuban bread, pressed

Why Do Mirrors Flip Objects Horizontally But Not Vertically? Posted: 18 Feb 2015 10:00 PM PST That’s a good question! If you hold a sign up to a mirror, the words appear backwards, but not upside-down. Why? Dianna the Physics Girl explains. (Video Link) Objects in mirrors aren’t flipped on the X-axis (horizontal) or the Y-axis (vertical) but the Z-axis (depth). Objects only appear to be flipped horizontally because our minds are doing that. Our bodies are symmetrical along the Y-axis. So when we look at ourselves in the mirror, we don’t perceive that we are being flipped along the Z-axis. -via The Presurfer

Adventure Meal - It'll Make You Smack Your Lips, Not Your Buns Posted: 18 Feb 2015 09:00 PM PST Adventure Meal by Amanda Flagg Don't you wish your meal came with a side of danger and some extra mathematical sauce for dipping? Then you're hungry for an Adventure Meal, from Pendleton Farms! It comes with Jake's Double Decker Bacon Pancake Burger, a side of non-GMO BMO Fries and a Finn Shake, or you can upgrade to the Ice King Deluxe shake for a buck more! The Adventure Meal- it's what the cartoons eat, so you know it's good for us flesh and blood folks too! Bring some deliciously geeky flavor to your wardrobe with this Adventure Meal t-shirt by Amanda Flagg, it'll satisfy your appetite for food and cartoon fun! Visit Amanda Flagg's Facebook fan page, Instagram and Twitter, then head on over to her NeatoShop for more mighty tasty designs: Time For Adventure Toad A Heart Is A Heavy Burden Woodland Owl Hello Stranger View more designs by Amanda Flagg | More Funny T-shirts | New T-Shirts Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's chat! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!

The 6th Annual Pawscar™ Winners Posted: 18 Feb 2015 09:00 PM PST The American Humane Association has announced the winners of the sixth annual Pawscars™, the awards for animal acting and other cinematic achievements by animals. Picture above is Crystal, a capuchin monkey who was recognized with the Lifetime Diva Achievement Award. This beloved capuchin monkey has been an animal star for 18 years starring in more than 25 films including the “Night At The Museum” series, “The Hangover: Part 2,” “American Pie,” and the “Dr. Doolittle” films, as well as television shows, and commercials. One amazing fact about Crystal is that she is a rescue animal. Crystal is far from the only rescue animal working today: approximately 80 percent of the cats and dogs you see on the large and small screen are rescues or adopted from shelters. This monkey is so beloved that the late Robin Williams called her “his favorite leading lady.” There were winners in ten categories. You can see the announcement video and read about all of the winners at the Humane Association’s website. -via Time

Teacher with Phobia of Young Children Lost Lawsuit Against School Posted: 18 Feb 2015 08:00 PM PST Kids are scary. I know. I have three of my own. But if you have a phobia of young children, then perhaps you shouldn't be a teacher. That's what a woman named Maria Waltherr-Willard just found out as she lost her appeal in a lawsuit against her local school district. According to SFGate, the 63-year-old high school Spanish and French language teacher was transferred to a middle school. There, the seventh- and eighth-graders triggered her phobia, causing "her blood pressure to soar" (which is probably what seventh and eight graders do even to normal adults) and forced her to retire. Waltherr-Willard sued for breach-of-contract as she stipulated that the high school had promised not to let little kids come near her, but the court decided against her claims. (What better thumbnail to illustrate this post than the creepy Disaster Girl?)

This Jar of Peanut Butter Costs $761 Posted: 18 Feb 2015 07:00 PM PST (Photo: unknown) This is Standard Reference Material No. 2387. It’s the finest peanut butter in the world—from a purely scientific point of view. The National Institute of Standards of Technology, an office of the US Department of Commerce, uses it as a baseline when analyzing the chemical properties of peanut butters. In 2003, New York Times food critic William Grimes got to the chance to sample this government-manufactured delicacy. He writes: The government's peanut butter tastes a lot better than it looks, which is like dark-brown industrial paste. I wasn't sure whether to eat it or lay down some new bathroom tile. As a food product, it seemed to aim for dead average. The peanut flavor was muted, and it lacked the creamy, unctuous quality of storebought brands. If you like peanut butter to stick to the roof of your mouth, this is one for you. At that price, I would hope so. For as Nicole Wakelin of That’s Nerdalicious writes, “choosy Moms choose Standard Reference Material No. 2387.”

Bacon-wrapped Pizza Posted: 18 Feb 2015 06:00 PM PST This deep-dish pizza is wrapped all the way around the crust with strips of bacon- three and a half feet of bacon! Little Caesars announced today that they will offer the Bacon Wrapped Crust Deep! Deep! Dish Pizza for a limited time starting Monday, February 23rd. At $12, it’s just about the most expensive pizza the outlet offers. It’s not only wrapped with bacon, but it has pepperoni and bits of bacon as toppings. Read more about the new bacon-wrapped pizza at USA Today (link contains auto play video). -via Buzzfeed (image credit: Little Caesar Enterprises)

Ninja Day Is an Actual Holiday in Japan Posted: 18 Feb 2015 05:00 PM PST (Image: @dobi_yobi) For some people, Ninja Day comes only once a year. But I say: live every day like it’s Ninja Day. Brian Ashcraft of Kotaku explains that February 22 is Ninja Day because of a pun in the Japanese language. The cities of Iga and Koka are historically associated with ninjas, so people there are celebrating enthusiastically. Government workers are dressing as ninjas and interacting with residents appropriately. On this most cherished of holidays, wish the ninjas in your life, such as the one on the ceiling directly above you, a merry Ninja Day!

Coming Soon: A New Dr. Seuss Book Posted: 18 Feb 2015 04:00 PM PST The beloved children’s book author Theodor Seuss Geisel, known as Dr. Seuss, died in 1991, but he’s got a new book coming out in July. What Pet Should I Get? is believed to have been written between 1958 and 1962, and features the same brother and sister from the 1960 book One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish.    Geisel's widow, Audrey Geisel, found the manuscripts and illustrations in their La Jolla, California, home soon after her husband died. She set the materials aside, only to rediscover them in 2013 while cleaning out his office. "While undeniably special, it is not surprising to me that we found this because Ted always worked on multiple projects and started new things all the time," Audrey Geisel said in the release. Random House announced the new book today, and said that two more new books from the discovered materials will come later.  (Image credit: Random House)

80 Facts About the 80s Posted: 18 Feb 2015 03:00 PM PST YouTube Link In the new episode of List Show by Mental Floss, John Green presents viewers with 80 facts about the big haired, new wavy, Aqua Netted 1980s. Why did the Wendy's "Where's the Beef" lady get canned? What was Yoda named in early outlines for The Empire Strikes Back? How did Simon Le Bon get noticed in his audition for Duran Duran? How long did it take John Hughes to write the scripts for Sixteen Candles and Ferris Bueller's Day Off? These questions and 75 more are answered.

It’s Deep in New England Posted: 18 Feb 2015 02:00 PM PST The Great Boston Blitz of 2015 (new blog post) - http://t.co/DNQyjIRXhFpic.twitter.com/hfySQuEmwa — Eric Fisher (@ericfisher) February 11, 2015 Boston now has 95 inches of snow, and other towns in Massachusetts have recorded over a hundred. The snow scenes coming out of New England are insane. The mayor of Boston warned residents to stop jumping out of windows into the snow -or off roofs and balconies- because it’s dangerous. It’s become a thing on YouTube and Vine. Marty Walsh’s speech probably did not have the effect he intended. Greater Boston resident Christina Phaup, 25, told The Huffington Post that she hadn’t even heard of anyone jumping out of their windows before Walsh’s speech. “I haven’t had contact with the outside world in days," said Phaup, who was snowed in at her apartment over the long weekend. Now that Walsh gave her the idea, though, “I’m putting that on my to-do list.” Phaup’s friend, 25-year-old Andrew Rosenblatt, lives in the Boston suburb of Quincy and told HuffPost he would definitely heed Walsh’s warning. However, after learning of Phaup's response, he stated, “If she’s doing it, I’m doing it.” One of the gigantic snow piles near MIT. They're calling it Mt. Cambridgemanjaro (or Mt. Simmons. It has many names). pic.twitter.com/uzkCqaVzjW — Braden (@coltmonday) February 14, 2015 See 24 pictures illustrating how incredibly deep the snow is in New England at Buzzfeed.

High-Tech Hello Kitty Toilet Seat Posted: 18 Feb 2015 01:00 PM PST (Photo: AFP/Yoshikazu Tsuno) Coming soon to the Neatorama headquarters executive restroom: it's the Hello Kitty collectible electronic toilet seat! Sanrio, the company that owns the Hello Kitty brand, showed this new toilet seat design at a show of new Hello Kitty products in Tokyo two weeks ago. It has built-in heating and a variety of warm water jets to cleanse various parts of your body which we all insist remain vague and nameless.  -via Inventor Spot

Why Men Always Think Women Are Flirting With Them Posted: 18 Feb 2015 12:00 PM PST Well, maybe not always, but men are much more likely to misinterpret a woman’s friendliness as flirting than women misinterpret men’s behavior. About 90% of American women report that a man thought she was romantically interested in him when she wasn’t at least once in their lives, while American men say the converse happened to 70% of them. While both rates are high, that’s quite a disparity.   But what accounts for this gender difference? As Mons Bendixen, a psychologist at the Norwegian university of Science and Technology, writes in a study recently published in Evolutionary Psychology, there are two main theories: Error-management theory argues that men have evolved to overperceive sexual interest in non-familial female relationships so they don’t miss out on the opportunity to reproduce — at best, they get to pass on their genes; at worst, the woman ends up saying no and they move on. Women, on the other hand, have evolved to underperceive sexual interest, because sex with the wrong guy means risking pregnancy and child-rearing without the help of a mate, not to mention lost opportunities to procreate with other, less flaky men. In other words, the sexual stakes are higher for women than for men — or they were, at least, in the distant past, when evolution shaped behaviors that linger to this day. Social-roles theory, on the other hand, argues that gender differences in rates of sexual misperception — not to mention in other sorts of behavior — come down to societal norms and expectations. So in places that lack gender equality, one would expect a large disparity between men’s level of misperception and women’s, with the rates becoming more and more similar the more gender-egalitarian a culture is. Are we hard-wired by evolution, or were we just raised that way? The next step was to study men and women in a more socially egalitarian society than the U.S. to see if the same disparity holds up. Read what happened when Bendixen reproduced a 2003 American study in Norway at New York magazine. -via Digg

Little Cthulhu - He Came From Beyond To Take A Bath! Posted: 18 Feb 2015 11:44 AM PST Little Cthulhu by Raki Martinez Cthulhu wasn't born a big, bad squidfaced monster- he started out looking pretty darn cute! With his wide eyes yet to pierce the veil of madness and his tender tentacles yet to have crushed the life out of a human victim Cthulhu was a pretty ordinary kid. He liked nothing better than to play submarine voyage in the bathtub, and loved it when his mommy Katethulhu read black magic incantations to him before bed, but a social worker named Lovecraft would soon turn his squidly soul from bright green to ink black... Show the world what a horror legend looked like in his younger years with this Little Cthulhu t-shirt by Raki Martinez, it proves that even the Great Old Ones started out looking all cute and innocent! Visit Raki Martinez's Facebook fan page, Tumblr and Twitter, then head on over to her NeatoShop for more mighty geeky designs: Chomp Awakening Jake's Bacon Pancakes Alien Evolution Smash Hero View more designs by Raki Martinez | More Funny T-shirts | New T-Shirts Are you a professional illustrator or T-shirt designer? Let's chat! Sell your designs on the NeatoShop and get featured in front of tons of potential new fans on Neatorama!

Back to the Future Hoverboard Stencil by JPS Posted: 18 Feb 2015 11:44 AM PST Photo: JPS/Facebook It's 2015, so if you're asking "Where's my hoverboard?" then street artist JPS (featured previously on Neatorama) has got the answer: here it is! But before you can say "Whoa. This is Heavy," you should know that the pink Mattel hoverboard used by Marty McFly in Back to the Future series shown above is just a stencil on a pavement. Bummer! Now who wants to see JPS make the Pit Bull series hoverboard?

Can You Find All 16 Hidden Faces? Posted: 18 Feb 2015 11:43 AM PST At first glance, you'd expect to see the faces of five people and another one in the painting for a total of six but this ad for LG's Viewty mobile phone tells us that there are sixteen. Can you find the remaining ten hidden faces?

10 Fun Things You Can Do With Your Dog Posted: 18 Feb 2015 11:00 AM PST Having a dog seems like a lot of fun when you're living a dogless life, but after a while all the stick fetching, leashed walking, rolling over and playing dead can start to feel mighty dull. That's why it's important to find fun new activities that allow you and your dog to spend some quality time together without boring you both to death. Here are ten suggestions that'll help you spice up your dog lovin' lives: 1. Go Skydiving- Skydiving is an activity on many people's bucket lists, but dogs would much rather keep their feet firmly planted on the ground. However if your dog is a daredevil at heart then it won't hurt to plan a tandem skydiving trip and take the plunge together! (Image Link) Dogs that bark in the face of danger seem to genuinely enjoy parachuting to the earth below with their owners (Image Link) Just make sure your dog can handle the experience before you jump, or you might end up with a face full of something far less pleasant than bugs! (Image Link) 2. Have A Tea Party- This is an oldie but goodie that kids of all ages will enjoy- place a tea set on a table along with some finger sandwiches and similarly dog-friendly treats and ask your pet nicely to sit. (Image Link) You may be surprised how patient your dog can be when the snacks start rolling in, and it's a great excuse to dress your dog up all funny fancy. Kids will get a big kick out of sipping tea with their favorite pet pals, and the photo ops are priceless! (Image Link) 3. Surfing- When you spend every morning and afternoon catching waves at the beach your dog can get mighty lonely, so why not teach them how to hang paws with you? (Image Link) Your dog may take to surfing like a duck to water, but they might like it so much that you'll have to buy them their own board! (Image Link) 4. Dancing- Dogs are natural dancers, some breeds more graceful than others, but they are a bit bashful about kicking up their dewclaws and dancing to the beat. However, with a funky drum beat and some encouragement from their owners dogs will dance the night away. (Image Link) Of course, once you start dancing with a dog you may not want to go back to dancing with a human ever again! (Image Link) 5. Ride A Jet Ski- Riding on a jet ski satisfies a canine's need for speed and the wind in their face, so hitting the open sea with your dog is not only fun for them- it's therapeutic. (Image Link) If you take your furry friend out for a ride on your jet ski remember to suit them up in a life vest before leaving the docks, or the whole thing will become a hair-raising experience for them. (Image Link) 6. Participate In An Adventure Racing Event- Dogs are either so lazy they don't give a crap about what their owners have to say or they're ready and willing to follow their master's oprders to the bitter end. Participating in a grueling Adventure Racing event is like taking an extended trip outdoors to a dog, and some dogs will join in on the "fun" whether you want them to or not! (Image Link) The dog in the picture above latched on to a group of Adventure Racers and refused to leave their side until the race was run, which earned him a forever home and a ribbon for finishing the race. 7. Let Your Dog Drive- Dogs are poised to become the newest species sharing the road, so if you're feeling adventurous you could let them attend a doggy driving school and get out on the highway. (Image Link) On second thought, you'd better keep canine driving restricted to a closed off track, for the safety of all feline pedestrians and so their driving privileges don't go to their head! (Image Link) 8. Attend A Renaissance Faire- Some dogs like to party like it's 1599, and for those highbrow hounds attending a Renaissance Faire makes for a howling good time! (Image Link) There's lots of good food for them to eat right off the bone, fun period costumes to wear, and plenty of activities to keep even the most restless dogs occupied. And if they start acting up you can strap 'em to a cart and make them earn their keep by hauling your booty around for you. (Image Link) 9. Start Your Own Motorcycle Club- Whether you have a bad dog or a good dog who wishes they were running with a pack of rebel mutts one thing's for certain- dogs love to ride motorcycles! (Image Link) The wind in their faces, the rumble of the engine below them, and some one-on-one time with their master as they hit the open road together make motorcycling a popular canine pastime. (Image Link) Motorcycle enthusiasts who like to bring their dog along for the ride attach some sort of carrier or seating to their bikes to make the ride more comfortable for their pooch passenger. Get enough doggone bikers together and you've got a canine friendly MC in the making! (Image Link) 10. Throw A Dog Wedding- When all other options are used up it's time for your dog to consider settling down and having a litter of puppies all their own, starting with a walk down the aisle with their beloved. (Image Link) Doggy weddings are all the rage for those who don't take life, or nuptials, too seriously, and it makes for some pricelessly precious photos! (Is it just me or does this guy look a bit too old for his bride?!) (Image Link) So there ya have it- ten fun activities that are far more fun than playing fetch, guaranteed to keep your dog entertained until their next trip to the dog park.

Why Vaccines Work Posted: 18 Feb 2015 10:00 AM PST (YouTube link) What do scurvy and measles have in common? They are diseases we can defeat, as long as we take the proper steps to prevent them. This video from It’s OK To Be Smart goes over the basics of the immune system and how vaccines affect them. More of it is about the history of vaccines, and how it’s possible that we can sometimes forget how important medical breakthroughs are when we become used to better health. Talk to someone who is familiar with smallpox or polio, and the view changes. On another note, can you say “Citrus fruits cure scurvy” three times fast? -via Geeks Are Sexy

A Maze and Playground Made out of Snow and Ice Posted: 18 Feb 2015 09:00 AM PST Karl-Johan Ekeroth and Christian Strömqvist of PinPin Studio are designers in Gothenberg, Sweden. They explain that they "take play seriously." In cooperation with the Icehotel, a hotel built of snow and ice every year, they built a play area using just those materials. It consists of 2 slides, a maze, and a structure that they call a "snow lantern." The result is a winter wonderland that inspires play from both children and children at heart. You can see more photos of it at Design Taxi. (Photos: PinPin) -via Junkculture

Deskloop Posted: 18 Feb 2015 08:00 AM PST (YouTube link) In this short film by Evelien Lohbeck (previously at Neatorama), the computer’s fan sets off a chain reaction a la Rube Goldberg. But the action eventually returns to the computer, where the chain reaction continues on the digital screen, although in a strangely mechanical way. There’s a lot packed into a minute. No, you don’t have to understand all of it to enjoy it. -via Viral Viral Videos

The Crazy Sides of Ten Famous Film Directors Posted: 18 Feb 2015 07:00 AM PST Orson Welles, 1927 | Image: Wikipedia Celebrated director Orson Welles was known for films such as Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons and The Lady from Shanghai. Yet in spite of Welles' success, he had a complex about one of his physical characteristics: his nose. He was once quoted as saying that his nose had not "grown one millimeter since infancy." Welles, also an actor, cast himself in a number of his own films. In order to hide what he thought was an embarrassingly tiny nose, for every movie in which he made an appearance, he wore a prosthetic. As Welles grew older, his prosthetic noses did not. He reportedly had at least one new nose for every film, each bigger than the last. Once, Welles' prosthetic nose collection held up a shoot when it didn't arrive in Hong Kong by mail as planned. Sources on the set reported that a panicked Orson Welles dispatched 20 members of the film crew to every post office in Hong Kong to find his precious package. Editors later reported that Welles' noses changed in shape from scene to scene.  Read other strange stories about film directors including George Lucas, Wes Anderson and James Cameron here.

Woman's Reaction to "Fake Selfie" Marriage Proposal Is Precious! Posted: 18 Feb 2015 06:00 AM PST (Video Link) "What?! Oh my God! Yeah! Are you serious right now?! Is this for real?!" The look on this woman's face starting at the 0:17 mark is just perfect. Her boyfriend pretended to take a selfie with her, but actually began recording a video. As a result, we can all share in this amazing moment of surprise and joy. -via 22 Words

Jerry's Kid: the Story of Gary Lewis & the Playboys Posted: 18 Feb 2015 05:00 AM PST Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website or at Facebook. Gary Harold Lee Levitch, the eldest son of comedian Jerry Lewis, was born on July 31, 1946. Gary was supposed to have been named “Cary,” because of his mother's great love of movie actor Cary Grant, but the hospital he was delivered in made a clerical error and he was to be “Gary" forevermore. Being the son of a hugely popular comedian of the 1950's and '60's, Gary grew up with a love of show business and made appearances in both TV shows and at least one movie featuring his father.   In 1960, when Gary was 14, his dad gave him a drum set for his birthday. In 1964, after the Beatles hit America, along with millions of other teenage boys, Gary formed a group. One day, two of the group members showed up late for rehearsals and Gary sarcastically asked them, “Where have you playboys been?" Everyone immediately loved the name and thus, “The Playboys" were officially christened. Soon, the five-man band got signed to play a string of gigs at Disneyland (at the time, no one realized the Jerry Lewis connection, and the band went by the name “Gary and the Playboys”). They were very successful and drew consistently big, enthusiastic crowds. All of this was unknown to father Jerry. Gary and the band would rehearse secretly in their home, but only when Jerry was out. Gary and the boys were soon spotted by a record producer named Snuff Garrett. Garrett liked what he heard, with one exception: another member of the band, guitarist Dave Walker, was singing lead on most of the vocals, with Gary in the background playing drums. Garrett came upon the revolutionary idea of having a celebrity's kid singing lead in a rock band and Gary was given a "promotion,” instantly becoming the band's resident Mick Jagger. It doesn't take much imagination to conceive how Dave Walker must have felt at this decision. Garrett set up an actual recording session for the still-fledgling group. This session was financed by Jerry's wife, Patti Lewis. Patti warned Gary not to say a word about the session to his dad. “Hey, if this venture fails, I gotta come up with some kind of excuse on where the money went, so don't tell your father about it,” she cautioned her son. At that secret session, Gary and the Playboys recorded a song called “This Diamond Ring,” a song that had already been offered and rejected by singer Bobby Vee. (YouTube link) According to producer Garrett, he recorded Gary's lead voice on the song, overdubbed it, and added in another singer's (Ron Hicklin) voice to the mix. Feeling the record "needed professional musicians,” Garret claims he also brought in session musicians to replace the band, as he needed to "put on solos or some kind of overdubbing.” But Gary disagrees with this memory, claiming the band played on all their records, with just a few minor touches added by session musicians. Soon after it's release, “This Diamond Ring" began racing up the charts and it had become time for Gary to tell father Jerry about his secret career as a lead singer in a band. According to Gary, his pop was pleased as punch and told him, “Oh man. that's great. I don't care what you do as far as a career, as long as you love it with all your heart and give it 100%. I only ask one thing: don't grow your hair like those damn Beatles!" Gary never did. Hair notwithstanding, Gary did like the Beatles style and the Playboys adopted their velvet-collar jackets and high boots look. But despite their name, the Playboys kept a clean-cut, wholesome image, rejecting the booze and drugs that were growing so popular in their field. As “This Diamond Ring" shot up the charts (eventually hitting the coveted #1 spot), the next step became the hype. Jerry pulled a few strings and got the boys booked on The Ed Sullivan Show, then the most popular variety show in america. Host Ed Sullivan had a firm policy on his beloved show that all singers or groups must actually sing their songs live during their appearances. According to Snuff Garrett, although this was Sullivan's policy, when Gary and the boys appeared, it was the first time in the history of Ed's show that an act did lip-sync. Gary Lewis and the Playboys soon joined their first tour, Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars, featuring Gene pitney, Sam the Sham & the Pharoahs, Brian Hyland and Bobby Goldboro. The boys played to screaming fans all over America and a second member of the Lewis family had now officially become a show business celebrity/star. During this heady 1965-66 period, the hit records poured down like manna from heaven: after “This Diamond Ring" hit #1 came “Count Me In" (#2), “Save Your Heart for Me" (#2), “She's Just My Style" (#3), “Everybody Loves a Clown" (#4), “Sure Gonna Miss Her" (#9) and “Green Grass" (#8). Gary Lewis and the Playboys became the first and only group of the 1960's to have their first seven releases all reach the top ten on Billboard's "hot 100" charts. In 1965, Gary Lewis was voted Male Vocalist of the Year by CashBox magazine, beating out Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. The demand for “This Diamond Ring" was so rabid, the pressing plant had to stay open 24 hours a day to meet it. Gary and the Playboys made more appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and also popped up on other popular shows of the time, including a memorable appearance with father Jerry on Hullabaloo. But like all of us in this seemingly pitiless universe, Gary Lewis was soon to get his undeserved comeuppance. On January 1, 1967, right after his final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, Gary received his draft notice. Basing his decision on Elvis Presley, Gary decided to serve (Jerry could easily have pulled some strings and wangled a deferment). Gary went in for basic training and was stationed in Korea. Because he loved music so much, Gary spent the time on his leave in a recording studio and recorded his final top ten song during this period, “Sealed with a Kiss" (#9). But like countless other Vietnam era vets, Gary was severely shaken by his service. Sadly, when he returned home to the States, two tragedies occurred. First, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin and scores of others had taken over the rock scene, and Gary Lewis and the Playboys seemed as relevant to the times as a 1920 phone book. Second, and far worse, Gary had developed a severe heroin addiction that caused himself, his family, and his father much anguish and grief. After a tough struggle, Gary Lewis finally got his act together. Still loving the music world, he released a few semi-successful "party songs.” He had some other marginally successful records and started touring again with several new incarnations of Gary Lewis and the Playboys.” Gary and his band also made routine appearances on his dad's perennial Jerry Lewis Telethon every Labor Day. The final tally for Gary Lewis and the Playboys: 8 gold singles, 17 top 40 hits, 4 gold albums, and 45 million total records sold. Not too shabby, and a recording career any musician or singer would be proud of. As of 2012, according to Gary's website, Gary Lewis and the Playboys still have a handful of concert dates scheduled around the country. (Image credit: Manfred Werner/Tsui)

You are subscribed to email updates from Neatorama To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States