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2015/10/30

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FuturHalloween - A Bending Unit In Disguise

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 05:00 AM PDT


FuturHalloween by MacWhirr

Halloween is the one time a year when it's okay for humans and robots alike to let it all hang out, when even the glorious Mom gets in on the fun, so it makes sense that Halloween is Bender's favorite human holiday. Every year he comes up with a costume idea that involves removing his head, and while he usually comes up with the idea while he's drunk this year he actually conceived of the concept while sober. Playing off Fry's irrational fear of jack-o-lanterns Bender decided to swap his head out for a carved pumpkin and scare the slurm outta that overgrown delivery boy!

Get geeked up with this FuturHalloween t-shirt by MacWhirr, it's like wearing a costume and a tee at the same time!

Visit MacWhirr's NeatoShop for more geek-tastic designs:

The GodhomerWanted RubberMinionJokerCaptainRock

View more designs by MacWhirr | 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!

In Praise of Light Beer

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 05:00 AM PDT

Light beer may be easy to drink, but it's hard to make. Here's why the weakest brews deserve more applause.

By Jed Lipinski, with photography by Tim Soter.

On a hot summer night in Manhattan, the young beer connoisseurs were talking shop inside Good Beer NYC, a craft-beer store on East Ninth Street, when the conversation turned to light beer. The consensus: Three of the top-sellers in America—Bud Light, Coors Light, and Miller Lite—were barely worth the glass they're bottled in.

"I used to hate beer because I thought it all tasted like Natural Light," said Jennifer Dickey, the store manager, who was leaning against a shelf of Stone Brewing's Imperial Russian Stout.

Al Alvarez, an accountant who spent his formative beer-drinking years in Germany, thanked God that even the diviest American bars carry Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

Melissa Brandt, another Good Beer employee, chimed in. She'd recently bought her father a case of craft beer but couldn't convert him. Once he'd polished off the gift, he retreated to his basement kegerator full of Bud Light.

"It was a sad moment," she said.

It's common to disparage light beers. As craft beers have elbowed their way into American refrigerators and taps, light beers have become punch lines. What few drinkers know, however, is that quality light beers are incredibly difficult to brew. The thin flavor means there's little to mask defects in the more than 800 chemical compounds within. As Kyler Serfass, manager of the home-brew supply shop Brooklyn Homebrew, told me, "Light beer is a brewer's beer. It may be bland, but it's really tough to do." Belgian monks and master brewers around the world marvel at how macro-breweries like Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors have perfected the process in hundreds of factories, ensuring that every pour from every brewery tastes exactly the same. Staring at a bottle, it's staggering to consider the effort that goes into producing each ounce of the straw-colored liquid. But perhaps the most impressive thing about light beer isn't the time needed or the craftsmanship or even the consistency, but how many lives the beverage has saved.

Before it was light beer, it was "small beer." A popular drink in late-medieval Europe and colonial America, small beer was necessary for certain civilizations to grow. In the days before Brita filters, beer staved off disease and dehydration by packing just enough alcohol to kill off pathogens found in drinking water. Kids drank it. George Washington brewed it. Ben Franklin guzzled it for breakfast. Populations grew. Later, during Prohibition, some breweries stayed afloat by selling a similar concoction—"near beers" or malt beverages that contained less than 0.5 percent alcohol, often described as "light." But it wasn't until 1967 that Joseph L. Owades, a biochemist for Rheingold Breweries in Brooklyn, produced a variation that would change the fate of the drink and make him the "Father of Light Beer." His invention: Gablinger's Diet Beer.

Owades's drink hoped to reverse a trend he'd noticed—people had stopped drinking beer to avoid gaining weight. To reduce the brew's calorie count, Owades employed an enzyme that broke down starches found in malt, leaving behind fewer carbohydrates. While Gablinger's Diet Beer was ahead of its time, Rheingold's marketing was not. The beer company pushed Gablinger's as a healthier alternative to traditional beer. But the poorly conceived ads featuring "a man with the girth of a sumo wrestler" devouring a plate of spaghetti, then washing it down with a diet beer, didn't appeal to the weight-conscious women it supposedly targeted. The beverage flopped.

With Rheingold's consent, Owades gave his recipe to Chicago's Meister Brau brewery, which released the equally unsuccessful Meister Brau Lite. But when Miller Brewing Company acquired Meister Brau in the early '70s, it sensed an opportunity. Miller tweaked the formula and repackaged the brand as "Lite Beer from Miller." The timing was fortuitous. Miller Lite, as it became known, debuted just in time to catch a new wave of "healthier" products, including diet soda and low-tar cigarettes.

To make a greater dent in the market, Miller would need to appeal to men. Backslapping pro-football heroes like Bubba Smith, John Madden, and Dick Butkus were recruited to shill for the brand. But the true stroke of genius was the "Tastes great! Less filling!" commercial featuring the New York Yankees' George Steinbrenner and Billy Martin. The ad managed to stress both flavor and lightness, suggesting that Miller Lite wasn't meant for weight loss, but instead to be consumed in large quantities.

By 1978, Anheuser-Busch, Coors, and Schlitz were all frantically marketing their own light beers to challenge Miller Lite's dominance. At the height of the rivalry, Miller's president, John A. Murphy, allegedly kept a voodoo doll of August Busch III (then president of Anheuser-Busch) in his office. It didn't help. After years of absurdly expensive marketing, Bud Light finally surpassed Miller Lite in annual sales in 1997. By 2004, Bud Light had strengthened its hold, becoming the true King of Beers as it overtook Budweiser. It has remained the top-selling beer in the U.S. ever since.

Most beer drinkers will tell you that light beers contain a relatively low alcohol percentage and number of calories. Bud is the real beer, Bud Light is the low-cal version. But there's a disagreement among brewers about what truly qualifies as a light beer. Peter Kraemer, a fifth-generation brewmaster and head of brewing for Anheuser-Busch InBev in St. Louis, Mo., is just the man to clear up this question. Kraemer, 46, holds a degree in chemical engineering and spent years apprenticing under August Busch III himself. All brewmasters at Anheuser-Busch undergo an extensive apprenticeship that exposes them to the entire supply chain and enables them to hone their beer-tasting skills. Today, he's responsible for making sure that every can, bottle, and glass of Bud Light in North America tastes exactly the same.

Kraemer believes that "light beer" has lost all meaning over the years. Budweiser and Bud Light are both lagers, which require an extended fermentation cycle called lagering, during which inactive yeasts are removed to allow still-active yeasts to do their job. Since Budweiser and Bud Light consist of the same ingredients (carbon-filtered water, barley malt, rice, hops, lager yeast) and require around 27 days of fermentation, Kraemer considers them both light beers.

So what's the difference? For the last 30 years, Anheuser-Busch has kept its own private barley-breeding facilities, where it breeds for a specific range of proteins strong enough to withstand the extreme conditions necessary to brew light beer. Today, two strains thrive there: two-row and six-row barley. The six-row has a higher enzyme content, which allows it to more easily convert starch into sugar, and it's been specifically designed for Budweiser and Bud Light. Where the beers truly truly differ is in the brewing process, which begins with mashing. For Budweiser and Bud Light, barley is combined with water and rice—an "adjunct" that lightens the body and mouthfeel. They're poured into a stainless-steel mashing vessel and heated. Mashing converts the starch in these grains into sugar. But whereas Budweiser is mashed for 30 minutes, Bud Light is mashed for three to four hours, allowing more starches to be converted to sugar and resulting in a lighter flavor.

Once the mashing is complete, the resulting liquid, wort, is boiled at 212°F inside a massive brew kettle. Peering into one, at Anheuser-Busch's sprawling Newark brewery, is like staring into the crater of a small volcano. When brewing any beer, if the kettle isn't perfectly clean—if there's even a trace of wort from the previous brew baked onto the kettle's interior, say—it will change the taste and ruin the drinkability. To produce beer at the stunning volume the big three do and to keep the flavors as consistent as they do, the pristine cleansing of each kettle is of utmost importance.

That's not the hardest part, though. The fermentation process is what truly separates the competition. Light beer relies on a temperamental yeast that needs to be activated, stored, and monitored at precise temperatures to yield the proper flavor. At the Newark Brewery, the lager yeast is stored at 32°F when it's not in use, slowing down the yeast's metabolism to near zero. "We basically put the yeast to sleep, so it doesn't freak out," says Tiago Darocha, the plant's general manager. When the yeast emerges from hibernation, it's given a specific mission. At all 137 Anheuser-Busch breweries around the globe, Budweiser and Bud Light undergo exactly five and a half days of primary fermentation and 21 days of lagering, all at 50°F, plus or minus one degree. Any warmer and the beer could end up thick and flabby, instead of "clean, crisp, and fresh."

That month of storage is essential to the beer's success, and trying to replicate these conditions is extraordinarily difficult for most home brewers. For Brooklyn Homebrew's Kyler Serfass, it took three months of experimentation to crack the code using an old refrigerator he discovered in the basement of his apartment building. "When I saw that fridge, it was like a light shone down from heaven," he said. Serfass made only two cases' worth of his "Budweiser clone," but the duplication was considered such an achievement that it won him a gold medal at this year's Homebrew Alley competition, held at the Brooklyn Brewery.

While brewing two cases of quality light beer is nothing to scoff at, it's a universe apart from shipping the roughly 18 million barrels a year that Budweiser and Coors Light do. "There are things you can't measure that nonetheless impact the taste of a light beer," Kraemer said, adding that certain taste compounds are present in just a few parts per trillion. To assure quality, all of Anheuser-Busch's 137 senior brew-masters taste the raw ingredients—including the water—at every stage of the brewing process. If a brewmaster samples beer from a lagering tank at the end of its aging process and detects that the beer has not fully matured, he can dictate that the tank age for an extra day or two before the beer is filtered and packaged. This level of precision exerted over so many millions of barrels of beer is stunning. And while it may not convince you to pull a cheap six-pack off the shelf, it should help you see the brew in a new light.

_______________________

The article above, written by Jed Lipinski, is reprinted with permission from the October 2012 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!

This Chef Can Dip His Hands in Boiling Hot Oil and Not Get Hurt

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 04:00 AM PDT

(Image: Gulf News)

Prem Kumar is, amazingly, still alive! His hands are in great condition, even though he regularly dips them in boiling oil.

Kumar, 65, is a chef in New Delhi. When he was young, he saw his father, from whom he inherited the restaurant, casually dip his hands in pots of boiling oil. Kumar tried it himself and found that he could do it, too.

Now people visit his shop not only for the fish, but for the amazing show he puts on. On request from his customers, he'll dip his hands in the oil.


(Video Link)

Are you worried about this practice being unhygenic? Don't! That oil is 200°C. It will kill any bacteria on his hands.

-via Oddity Central

Star Wars Cakes: The Farce Awakens

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 03:00 AM PDT

Some child turned seven years old and really wanted a Star Wars cake. The bakery decided to use all their science fiction decorations and hope they worked. If you don’t have a Millennium Falcon, the Enterprise will just have to do. I got a laugh out of this one, but it’s just one of eight Star Wars cakes singled out for their ugliness, oddness, or just plain wrongness at Cake Wrecks.

Beautiful, Pneumatic, Articulated Feather Wings

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 02:00 AM PDT


(Video Link)

Alexis Noriega of Tucson Estates, Arizona makes amazingly detailed and precise costumes and clothing using feathers. At her Etsy shop, Noriega says that she's already booked through November. I'm not surprised! Her craftsmanship is incredible.

In this video, Noriega shows off a pair of wings that almost look natural. They're pneumatically controlled with the push of a button, spreading and contracting. On Facebook (auto-start video), she explains that they cost about $2500 and that she hopes to put up a video tutorial about them soon.

-via Laughing Squid

Police Catch Speeding Hearse Full of Caviar

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 01:00 AM PDT

Police in Russia pulled over a speeding hearse that was supposed to be carrying a corpse to a funeral in Khabarovsk. The vehicle had signs attached to its windshield: one said “funeral,” while the other had a portrait of the deceased. However, a search found there was no body in the coffin. Instead, they found 1100 pounds of canned caviar -worth about $156,000! The driver and another person in the hearse were arrested, both denying they knew anything about the smuggled caviar.    

The fishing of sturgeon - which are traditionally associated with caviar - is banned in Russia to try to stop a decline in the population. But a study found that in 2010, only 19 out of 244 tonnes of caviar produced in the country were made legally.

The search was captured on a phone video. -via Arbroath

Argument: The Destruction of Alderaan Was Completely Justified

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 12:00 AM PDT


(Image: Lucasfilm)

It is trendy to argue that, in Star Wars, the bad guys are actually the good guys and vice versa. This is the geeky version of #SlatePitches--deliberately contrarian takes for the sake of argument that Slate has became famous (or infamous) for. For example, just last week I linked to a video that stated that gangster and slaver Jabba the Hutt was a fine fellow.

Most of the arguments in favor of Palpatine's Empire in Star Wars falter over at least one major problem: in Episode IV, Grand Moff Tarkin uses the first Death Star to blow the heavily-populated world of Alderaan to bits. You can watch the scene here.

Who is actually going to say that the massacre of the people of Alderaan was a reasonable and ethical course of action? Sonny Bunch of the Washington Post does. He argues that Tarkin had no reason to believe anything that proven liar Princess Leia said and that the obliteration of Alderaan was acceptable for a larger goal of establishing peace:

So, Alderaan was a legitimate military target. Was the level of force used against it justified? It’s a tricky question, but it seems the least bad of all the alternatives. Consider another option the Empire could have taken: invading Alderaan, removing its leaders and installing a pro-Empire regime. However, putting boots on the ground in this manner would likely have destabilized not only the planet but also the entire region, creating a breeding ground for religious terrorists and draining blood and treasure for decades. It’s not hard to imagine a Jedi State of the Alderaan System (JSAS, for short, though they’d likely prefer the simpler Jedi State (JS)) arising from the ashes of some ill-conceived invasion and occupation.

This was probably just the sort of catastrophe that Grand Moff Tarkin was trying to avoid when he devised his Death Star-centered defensive strategy. The Tarkin Doctrine, discussed here, is one based on deterrence and the threat of force rather than the use of force. Granted, you have to use force once for the threat to be useful, but it’s easy to see the appeal of such a tactic, which is designed to save lives in the long run. Imagine the human toll — not to mention the enormous fiscal cost — of launching invasion after invasion of breakaway systems. The utilitarian calculation is complicated, but it’s not hard to imagine a scenario in which fewer people died as a result of the destruction of Alderaan than would have died in a series of costly invasions.

The destruction of Alderaan, then, is more analogous to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki than it is to a “genocide.”* Yes, it was horrible, and yes, it would be nice if it didn’t happen. But it was an attack on a legitimate military target and defensible under Just War Theory, an attack intended to save lives by deterring other major powers from beginning conflicts of their own. The Imperial Grand Moff Tarkin is no worse than Democratic President Harry S. Truman — and no one worth listening to considers Truman to be a monster.

Thus the destruction of Alderaan was the right thing to do--from a certain point of view.

-via Popehat

The Park of Monsters

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 11:00 PM PDT

The Sacro Bosco in Bomarzo, Italy, is also known as “the Park of Monsters.” It was pretty much an obscure local secret until Salvador Dali discovered it.  

(YouTube link)

Dylan Thuras of Atlas Obscura tells us how the bizarre sculpture garden came to be build in the 16th century. Put this one on your bucket list!

Michelangelo's <i>David</i> Is Now a Posable Action Figure

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 10:00 PM PDT

(Photos: Jörg Bittner Unna, Figma)

On the left is Renaissance master Michelangelo's iconic statute David, now in Florence. On the right is an action figure of that statue made by Figma. It's composed of plastic and has articulated joints, so it's a lot more flexible than the original marble.

You can put the Biblical hero in his original pose, a martial arts stance, or anything you like! Put the sling, which is included, into his hands and he's ready to slay a giant. He'd make a great gift for an imaginative child who likes to play with action figures, or even a dollhouse that needs something new and different.

This is one of a few famous statues made into action figures by Figma. We've already seen Venus de Milo with arms. In addition to her and David, Figma also offers Rodin's The Thinker.

What other classical statue is ready for this treatment? I'd love to see a Venus of Willendorf action figure.

-via Technabob

You’re Not the Only Fraud

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 09:00 PM PDT

You can fool some of the people all of the time! This guy is obviously suffering from Impostor Syndrome. But that’s okay, because he’s not alone. I get up and start working every morning thinking I have no idea what I’m doing. John McNamee of Pie Comic actually has the answer for those of us who feel this way. When you’re floundering and feeling totally out of your league, take joy in the fact that you’ve got other people fooled into thinking you’re just fine.

It sure beats suffering from the Dunning–Kruger effect, in which people are perfectly confident in their abilities because they are too incompetent to know how incompetent they are. Or maybe “suffering” isn’t the right word. They might be the happiest people of all!

"No Thanks!" Little Girl Nopes Out of Weird Trick-or-Treating Encounter

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 08:00 PM PDT


(Video Link)

The little girl, who appears to be dressed as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, sees the animatronic monster in front of the house. She realizes that she's not in Kansas anymore and decides that she wants no part of trick-or-treating at this house. I don't blame her. As she says, "That's freaky."

-via 22 Words

Shame - Mario Is A Square, Through And Through

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 07:00 PM PDT


Shame by FnC Works

Itsa Mario the most super of the Super Bros., but where are his clothes? And what has happened to his signature moustache pixel? No wonder he looks so embarrassed, some-a koopa kreep SNUCK in while he was sleeping and stole all the squares right off-a Mario's blocky body! Will the super powered plumber ever live down his shame? Does this mean that Luigi is now star of the show? And is this what Princess Peach is exposed to after he saves her from Bowser? The Mushroom Kingdom will never be the same after this revelation...

Hide your gamer body with this Shame t-shirt by FnC Works, it's a hilarious way to show you've got style to spare and you're not afraid to go full geeky with your fashion!

Visit FnC Works's Facebook fan page, Twitter and Instagram, then head on over to their NeatoShop for more ridiculously cool designs:

House Of Chopper (Dark Version)Spirit Of The ForestThe Truth (Color Version)Scrooge McLannister

View more designs by FnC Works | More Video Game 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!

Biisuke Ball’s Big Adventure

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 07:00 PM PDT

Biisuke is a little red ball who lives with his two brothers, Biita and Biigoro, who are also small balls. When two of them are kidnapped, Biisuke has to go on a grand quest to save them.

(YouTube link)

This is a tale tale told through a Rube Goldberg contraption, which is impressive even without the story (subtitled in English) and the cute little song that goes with it. From the Japanese kids’ show Pitagora Suitchi (Pythagora Switch). -via The Kid Should See This

Ridiculous Pictures of Vladimir Putin

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 06:00 PM PDT

Shirtless Horse Whisperer

It only takes a brief perusal of Vladimir Putin images on Getty's archive to see it. The man has a massive investment in trying to look politically shrewd, virile, animal friendly, nature loving, mechanically inclined and all other things wonderful. He's a friend to baby animals AND Steven Seagal. He's hairless and naturally in a state of muscle flex. He has his shirt off more often than Matthew McConaughey at a celebrity sand volleyball game.

But don't take my word for it. Check out some of these Putin glamour shots above and below. Then get additional amusement at Putin's expense on this page, which has more photos and adds appropriate "context" and imaginary quotes. 

Images: Getty
 

Shirtless Sharp Shooter
 

Martial arts master
 

Shirtless angler

 River contemplation, sans chemise

Brooklyn's Rent-A-Mom Service for Millennials

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 05:00 PM PDT


(Photo: Nina Keneally)

Nina Keneally, 63, raised 2 millennial sons of her own. Now, through NeedAMom, she's offering that expertise to other young people in Brooklyn's trendy neighborhood of Bushwick. She provides professional-grade mothering to her clients who want a mom but, the New York Post stresses, "not their own nagging, guilt-tripping, real-life mom."

What does Keneally give her clients? What adults still need from their moms:

She’ll dish out criticism-free advice over coffee, help plan and shop for a dinner party, bake a cake and bring it over, and even buy presents for your actual mother and wrap them for you.

NeedAMom is a shoulder to cry on, not a cleaning service, Keneally stressed on Wednesday.

“Don’t expect me to clean your closet or do your laundry,” she warned, adding in true mom fashion, “I’m not your maid!”

Keneally realized that she had something to offer when millennials that she met casually sought her out for advice:

“I found they’d reach out to me,” she said of the millennials she’d meet in yoga studios and cafes.

Keneally offered advice and a compassionate ear, and realized she could monetize her mothering.

She’s had about six clients so far, all in Bushwick.

“All the friends and people around me are the same age, and shrinks are just kinda impersonal,” Natalie Chan, 34, explained. She pays Keneally $40 for coffee and counseling sessions after their Thursday yoga class each week.

“She doesn’t judge,” Chan added. “She just kinda, like, smiles and says, ‘Stop doing that.’ She’ll never say, ‘You’re stupid.’ ”

-via Glenn Reynolds

Vintage Photos Of Tough Roller Derby Girls In Action

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 04:00 PM PDT

People thought the bang-up sport of roller derby was nothing but a flash in the pan, a staged "sport" that would fade away by the 21st century.

But those people were dead wrong, and even though it's not as widely televised as it used to be roller derby is still very much alive and jamming.

At the heart of the sport is a global community of roller derby girls passionate about keeping the sport alive and teaching the younger generation how to skate tough and deliver a solid hip check.

See many more vintage roller derby photos at Dangerous Minds

The Best of the Trumpkin

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 03:00 PM PDT

Especially after the presidential debates started, Donald Trump has been teased in just about every possible way. You might even be tired of seeing his mug all over everything, in a constant state of lampoon. 

But wait: before you say you're Done with All Things Trump, consider the Trumpkin. Out-of-control strands of straw go with it like peanut butter goes with jelly. It's bumpy. Naturally lined. It's orange and meant to be scary. Hideous expressions are encouraged. This could be THE way to poke fun at Donald Trump! Feast your eyes on some of these lovelies. See even more Trumpkins here. 

10 Famous People Who Vanished Without a Trace

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 02:00 PM PDT

Some mysteries linger for years, and the longer they go unsolved, the more likely they never will be solved. People go missing, and are sometimes found, sometimes a body is recovered, and sometimes we never have a clue as to what happened. Some of those people were pretty well-known in life, like New York socialite Dorothy Arnold, who disappeared in 1910.  

On December 12, Dorothy left the house to go shopping for her sister’s “coming out” ball (a phrase with a very different meaning in 1910). She was repeatedly sighted along Fifth Avenue, where she spoke to shopkeepers and exchanged greetings with friends. Then she took a stroll to Central Park, waved goodbye to an acquaintance and was never seen or heard from again.

Predictably, the theories about her fate are too numerous to count. Some think she was murdered in the park, others that she secretly went to an abortion doctor that afternoon and bled to death on the table. It’s been suggested that a possible lover of hers, George Griscom, may have killed her, or she may have been abducted by her own parents after they discovered she was pregnant and forcibly sent abroad to save the family name. But it could be something else entirely. As with many on this list, we’ll probably never know.

That’s just one of ten famous people who were never found that you can read about at Urban Ghosts.

What Your Favorite Halloween Candy Says About You

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 01:00 PM PDT

Even if you hate the costumes, the trick-or-treaters at your door and the spooky decor hanging everywhere chances are you still love Halloween candy.

Those fun size versions of our favorite candies are a Halloween tradition that just about everybody can get behind, and everybody has a personal favorite that they'll gladly munch by the bagful.

This "strictly scientific quiz" reveals What Your Favorite Halloween Candy Says About You, and it's about as accurate as your average horoscope, meaning most people will find it to be spot on!

My sugary drug of choice is the Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkin, meaning:

You're a free spirit. You march to the beat of whatever instrument you want to. You have a strong sense of self, and enjoy being around people who challenge you. You're in an artistic field, or you're a lawyer. You've thought about going Paleo once or twice, but decided it wasn't for you.

See What Your Favorite Halloween Candy Says About You here

This "strictly scientific quiz" reveals What Your Favorite Halloween Candy Says About You, and it's about as accurate as your average horoscope, meaning most people will find it to be spot on! My sugary drug of choice is the Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins, which means I'm

Cinderella: Rags to Riches Costume

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 12:00 PM PDT

The question is, should you be Cinderella or a Transformer for Halloween? Or maybe a better question is, should you be Cinderella before meeting your fairy godmother, or after? Why not both? Just say, "Bibbity-bobbity-boo!"

(YouTube link)

Bumbly Bee is a costume designer and cosplayer. She designed, made, and modeled this award-winning Cinderella transformation. It's downright magical! -via Buzzfeed

(Image credit: Bubbly Bee Cosplays)

Ex-Con Publishes Prison Food Cookbook

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 11:00 AM PDT

(Photo: Gustavo Alvarez)

In 2009, Gustavo Alvarez (right) was serving time in Chino, California when a horrible race riot broke out. The black and Hispanic inmates were at each other's throats. To make peace, Alvarez said to the other men in his housing unit, "Gather up whatever food you have, and let’s feed these guys." Their hospitality paid off by diminishing some of the tension.

Alvarez was a grill cook in prison. After he got out, he wrote and published a cookbook filled with recipes from prisoners who have to improvise with ingredients and kitchen facilities. It's called Prison Ramen: Recipes and Stories from Behind Bars.

In a fascinating interview for the food blog First We Feast, Alvarez describes prison food culture:

(Image: Workman Publishing) 

OUTSIDE OF THE CAFETERIA, DID THE INMATES EAT TOGETHER?

“Yeah we had ‘spreads,’ which are like prison potlucks. Maybe a group of guys don’t want to go to dinner, so we just want to hang out by the bleachers and watch a baseball or basketball game that’s happening in the yard. One guy is responsible for the canned goods, one for the sodas, one guy brings a side dish or dessert. That’s what we called spreads.”

AFTER JA RULE’S STINT IN PRISON, HE MENTIONED THERE ARE ACTUAL PRISON COOKBOOKS THAT FLOAT AROUND WITH RECIPES RELATED TO DIFFERENT FACILITIES. DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT?

“I’m kind of surprised he mentioned that. That’s kind of an in-house thing. That’s something that’s stayed within the prison. There was a couple of guys—especially lifers—that have their collected recipes that they share with people. That’s where I found the idea to make teriyaki sauce out strawberry jam and a little bit of soy sauce. So, yeah, those books are floating around.

Bad Lip Reading of the First Democratic Debate 2015

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 10:00 AM PDT


YouTube Link

Once again, Bad Lip Reading presents us with a hilarious interpretation of a political forum, this time taking aim at the first Democratic party debate. How do babies exit mothers' bodies? Who is about to get the beatdown for staring? Who's going to do what to Chewbacca? Press play and find out. Via Esquire

Ronda Rousey's Advice On How To Kick Ass

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 09:00 AM PDT

This is the best advice you'll ever get about fighting- avoid getting into a fight whenever possible.

But when a physical altercation can't be avoided it's best to be prepared for the battle ahead, and who better to help you prepare for a fight than a professional MMA fighter?

Ronda Rousey is one of the toughest fighters in the world, a woman who has been in so many fights that scrapping is second nature to her, so her advice on the topic is sure to be sound.

Here's what she has to say about taking a punch:

"The best way to take a punch is to look at it. Honestly. Someone could hit you with the hardest punch that they have, but as long as you see it, it's not going to knock you out. It's the punches that you don't see that knock you out."

And here's a great tip on how to win a bar fight:

"Grab a chair. That's what my mom [judo champion AnnMaria De Mars] told my sister when she went off to college. She didn't give her advice on how to do laundry. She said, 'Listen: You're a small person, so if s@#t goes down at a bar, you grab a chair and you just start swinging it around.'

Read Ronda Rousey's fighting advice at Esquire

Ghibli Wars - An Anime Invasion

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 08:30 AM PDT


Ghibli Wars by Adam Works

Han and Chewie are back but they look different somehow. Maybe it's all that time they spent in the Anime-9 quadrant of the galaxy, or their new haircuts, but they don't look like the stars we know and love. Chewie isn't nearly as vocal as he used to be, and he appears to have put on some weight, but it's hard to tell one hairy beast from another. But if you solo out Han you can see that his face simply isn't what it used to be, oh, and he keeps telling everyone to call him Lupin. Will the Rebels be able to win the war against the Empire without their two star smugglers? Something tells me their replacements have a whole new set of skills they can use in battle...

Add a new pair of studio stars to your geeky wardrobe with this Ghibli Wars t-shirt by Adam Works, it's sure to force a smile onto the faces of your fellow sci-fi fans!

Visit Adam Works's Facebook fan page, official website and Twitter, then head on over to his NeatoShop for more action packed designs:

HellbossSplat Loops30 Years- RetroSplat Festival

View more designs by Adam Works | More Sci-Fi 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!

Howling with the Big Dogs

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 08:30 AM PDT

Babies learn by imitating others. Usually, we think of that as a baby imitating his parents. But when the family dogs begin to howl, that’s a learning experience for this 5-month-old baby.

(YouTube link)

The baby boy has joined a long line of canines who learn from their elders. Will he grow up to be a werewolf? Only time will tell. -via reddit

Angelina in Black and White: Photos by Brad Pitt

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 08:00 AM PDT



Actor Brad Pitt shows his versatility with these artful black-and-white shots of his wife Angelina Jolie that he took at the request of W Magazine. Some photos are of Angelina alone, showcasing her renowned beauty, and some are intimate family shots of Angelina and her children. As with all black-and-white photographs, the distraction of color is stripped away, allowing for the essential shapes, textures, shadows and contours to stand out.

Jolie, known for speaking honestly and sometimes bluntly, gives high marks to her husband's photography. She told W, 

I love his photography. Some people have a hobby, and they find the quickest way to it and are very pleased with the outcome right away. But he’s someone who will really study the camera—he’ll get the most complicated one and really understand the science behind it. And he’s very critical of his own work. I’ll see a photograph and think it’s amazing, but he’ll see all the different reasons why it can be better, and he’ll work very, very hard to improve it.”

See the entire collection of Brad Pitt's photography of his wife and family for W Magazine here.

13-Year-Old Creates PowerPoint On Why He Should Be Allowed To Play GTA V

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 07:30 AM PDT

The Grand Theft Auto video game series is rated M for a reason, because any game where you can beat hookers to death with a bat, kill cops and wantonly commit violent crimes simply isn't for kids.

But when kids turn into teenagers they begin to wonder why they're not allowed to play grown-up games, so they start coming up with creative ways to circumvent age restrictions.

Some will go to a buddy's house to play, or rent it on the sly from a DVD kiosk, but Jestersheister's son went corporate with his argument, creating a PowerPoint presentation detailing why he should be allowed to buy GTA V.

The boy makes all the right claims, saying he'll skip the campaign mode because it's "just horrible with swearing and killing and sex and what-not", but his presentation starts to fall apart when he reaches this slide:

Looks like he'll be playing GTA V at a buddy's house after all!

See the kid's entire GTA V Powerpoint presentation here

What Is It? game 345

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 07:00 AM PDT

Hey look! It's time to play a game, from Neatorama and the wonderful What Is It? Blog! Do you know what the object in this picture is? It doesn't really matter if you do, because we are looking for the funniest guesses. You can win a t-shirt from the NeatoShop! But first, read the rules:

Place your guess in the comment section below. One guess per comment, please, though you can enter as many as you'd like. You can only win if you haven't already won in the month of October. Two winners who submit funny and/or clever (albeit ultimately wrong) answers will each win a T-shirt from the NeatoShop.

If you guess the correct answer, you'll get a big pat on the back. There are more clues about the object at the What Is It? blog. 

Please write your T-shirt selection alongside your guess. If you don't include a selection, you forfeit the prize, okay? May we suggest the Science T-Shirt, Funny T-Shirt and Artist-Designed T-Shirts? Pick your favorite T-shirt and leave it with your comment -and it would help us if you also include the URL or the name of hte artist. Have fun with it, and good luck!

The Very First Episode Of Bob Ross's "The Joy Of Painting"

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 06:30 AM PDT

Bob Ross became one of the most iconic figures in the world of public broadcast television and art instruction, but before he had a legion of fans painting "little happy trees" at home he was the new guy on the PBS block.

His instructional show "The Joy Of Painting" quickly became a viewer favorite, but only after Bob got into the flow of hosting his own show, a flow he had yet to tap into while filming the first episode.

(YouTube Link)

It's endearing to see Bob a bit nervous and stumbling over his words on the show's premiere, and you can tell right off the bat that he got the gig because of his passion for painting and teaching his techniques.

-Via Huffington Post

8 Easy Last Minute Halloween Decorations

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 06:00 AM PDT

For those of us who wait all year for the spookiest of holidays, it's hard to believe that Halloween is finally almost upon us. But if you're a bit of a slacker and still haven't finished decorating, don't worry, there's still time.

In fact, there are some downright delightfully spooky additions you can make to your decor in no time. We even did you the favor of roundin up quite a few clever, quick a creepy ideas you can do today and tomorrow to make sure your home is ready for all the ghosts and ghouls visiting over the weekend. So don't miss the full article at Homes and Hues: 8 Super Easy Halloween Decorations You Can Make Last Minute
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