Neatorama

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• <i>Star Trek</i> Christmas Ornaments Just Keep Getting Weirder
• First Trailer for <i>Wonder Woman</i>
• Dog Saves Owner's Life
• A Journey Worth Taking
• Study: Music Is Becoming More Narcissistic
• The Animals of World War I
• Play Pokémon Go Safely with the Poké-Han
• Sailormon - Cosplay Isn't Gender, Or Species, Specific
• Grandmothers in the Wedding Party
• "Streets Of Whiterun" From Skyrim Played On A Beautiful Harp Guitar
• Funny Vanity Plates Can Backfire on You
• New Gadget Tells You Where You Missed a Spot While Applying Sunblock
• NASA: On the Edge of Forever
• Janine Ker's Technicolor Graffiti Hair

<i>Star Trek</i> Christmas Ornaments Just Keep Getting Weirder Posted: 24 Jul 2016 04:00 AM PDT Hallmark has offered a different Star Trek keepsake Christmas ornament every year since 1991. And since this year is Star Trek’s 50th anniversary, you’d expect something really special. Well… they did go back to the premiere episode of the original Star Trek TV series. But if you thought last year’s ornament that depicted the death of Spock was weird, get a load of Captain Kirk being attacked by the M-113 creature, also known as the salt vampire, from “The Man Trap.” And it talks! First airing back in 1966, the first Star Trek™ episode to be broadcast featured the crew’s visit to an outpost to conduct medical exams, only to be attacked by a murderous shape-shifting alien, the Salt Monster. Press a button on this Keepsake Ornament to hear dialogue from this famous episode. Won’t this add cheer to the Christmas tree! The ornament is available now from Hallmark. Better order yours soon, because collectors will snap them up.  -via Metafilter

First Trailer for <i>Wonder Woman</i> Posted: 24 Jul 2016 01:59 AM PDT The trailer for the upcoming Wonder Woman movie debuted at San Diego Comic Con. We first saw Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and now it’s time for her to kick ass and take names in her own film. (YouTube link) Chris Pine is Steve Trevor. The movie will be out in June of 2017. -via Uproxx

Dog Saves Owner's Life Posted: 24 Jul 2016 12:00 AM PDT (Photo: CNN Newsource) This is Guy, a dog who lives in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania. On Thursday, he was hiking in the woods with 79-year old human, who fell and hit his head. The human lay there for 12 hours while Guy frantically tried to get the help of other nearby two-legs. WJLA reports: The dog reportedly ran up the bank where the rescuers were, and would stop every 20-30 feet, barking until he led them to where the elder man was lying. […] "It was like watching an episode of 'Lassie,'" says emergency responder, Matthew Mariscano. Good boy. -via Stephen Green

A Journey Worth Taking Posted: 23 Jul 2016 10:00 PM PDT When you are deeply involved in video games, and then Pokémon GO comes along, you gotta go out and catch ‘em all! But maybe you aren’t as familiar with the “real world” as you should be. Try to remember that there aren’t charging stations everywhere in the real world wilderness. This is the latest comic from Kevin Erdmann at The Meerkat Guy. -via Geeks Are Sexy

Study: Music Is Becoming More Narcissistic Posted: 23 Jul 2016 07:59 PM PDT (Video Link) Explicit bragging and self-congratulation used to be a phenomenon of rap music. Now, according to a study conducted by University of Michigan-Dearborn psychology professors Pamela McAuslan and Marie, Waung it's pervasive in all popular genres. The Pacific Standard describes their research method: McAuslan and Waung analyzed the lyrics of the top 100 songs from the years 1990, 2000, and 2010, as compiled by Billboard magazine. (Its ratings are based on sales, streaming, radio airplay, and “audience impressions.”) Coders looked for examples of eight categories of self-promotion, including referring to oneself by name and demanding respect. More recent songs demonstrated increased narcissism: “Compared with earlier years, songs in 2010 were more likely to include the singer referring to the self by name, general self-promotion, and bragging about wealth, partner’s appearance, or sexual prowess,” the researchers report. “A similar, albeit nonsignificant increase, was also seen for bragging about musical prowess and demands for respect. Overall, the most popular music from 2010 contained more self-promotion than music from 1990 or 2000.” McAuslan and Waung assert that this trend reflects a cultural shift about the role of the self in society: “Music both reflects and influences the values of the culture,” McAuslan and Waung write. The hit songs we listen to “both represent the increasing individualistic/narcissistic tendencies in the culture, but also further convey that promoting oneself through bragging, demands for respect, and self-focus is acceptable.” -via Jonah Goldberg

The Animals of World War I Posted: 23 Jul 2016 05:59 PM PDT Horses, mules, dogs, pigeons, cats, camels, koalas, even elephants were enlisted for their service in World War I. While a few were just mascots for the purpose of morale, most were put to work carrying soldiers and equipment. The British dog pictured here was photographed around 1915, delivering medical supplies to the front lines. The Atlantic has a collection of 45 photographs of animals in wartime. Warning: while not overly graphic, a few images contain deceased men or horses. -via Everlasting Blort

Play Pokémon Go Safely with the Poké-Han Posted: 23 Jul 2016 03:59 PM PDT Have you been walking around for hours gathering Pokémon? You may develop "gamer's arm" -- a medical condition incurred after holding up your arms for hours at a time. Thankfully, the staff at Rocket News 24 has a solution! They invented the Poké-Han. It's a hands-free cell phone holder. All you need is a wire coathanger and a rubber band. You can make a frame for your phone that makes it readable, all while using your hands elsewhere. (Video Link) This tutorial video shows you how to make your own.

Sailormon - Cosplay Isn't Gender, Or Species, Specific Posted: 23 Jul 2016 02:00 PM PDT Sailormon by Samtronika Pocket monsters often dream of breaking out of their pokeball and becoming something more than an arena fighting machine, but until they evolve into something big enough to crush their human captors they have to settle for cosplay. Pikachu loves to dress up like the God of Thunder, Snorlax likes to dress up like a sloth, and the ever adorable Squirtle dreams of becoming Sailor Moon. If your Squirtle starts taking his role as a Sailor Scout too seriously just give him a little time alone in the poke ball, and if he actually starts fighting crime don't stop him until the threat has been eliminated. But beware of guys with funny voices dressed like Tuxedo Mask, it's probably just James from Team Rocket trying to steal your Squirtle out from under your nose! Show the world how pocket monsters do cosplay with this Sailormon t-shirt by Samtronika, it's the perfect shirt to wear while you're out on the go trying to catch 'em all! Visit Samtronika's Facebook fan page, Tumblr and Twitter, then head on over to her NeatoShop for more delightfully geeky designs: Porco Rosa What does the vulpix say? MutenRoshi Wild Kaiju appeared View more designs by Samtronika | 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!

Grandmothers in the Wedding Party Posted: 23 Jul 2016 02:00 PM PDT When Maggie and Josh Wakefield got married, Maggie asked her grandfather to walk her down the aisle. The couple also wanted to include their grandmothers in the ceremony, as both women were influential in their lives. So 75-year-old Joyce Benedict and 74-year-old Drue Fitzgerald were the flower girls! The two grandmothers picked out their matching gray gowns together, and walked down the aisle dispersing rose petals for the bride to walk on. A good time was had by all. -via TYWKIWDBI  (Image credit: Ashley Elizabeth Photography)

"Streets Of Whiterun" From Skyrim Played On A Beautiful Harp Guitar Posted: 23 Jul 2016 12:00 PM PDT Watching musician Andy McKee play is a delight for both eyes and ears, since his harp guitar sounds as wonderful as it looks, as you can see/hear when he plays Jeremy Soule's “Streets Of Whiterun” from the Skyrim soundtrack. (YouTube Link) Andy's magical instrument was made by Greenfield Guitars in Montreal, Canada, and proprietor Michael Greenfield shared a bit about the instrument's composition: My harp guitar has its own, proprietary body shape and many unique features. While inspired by the early 20th century harp guitars, this is truly a contemporary instrument incorporating all of the modern physics and design features found on all of my guitars. …My harp guitar is made of a laminated rim set, with laminated linings and a system of aerospace composite carbon fibre trusses and buttresses. This makes for an extremely rigid and stable skeletal structure. The soundboard is lattice braced. The Laskin style extended arm rest is included, as is a mini-rib rest on the rear of the pointed section of the upper bout. (YouTube Link) -Via Laughing Squid

Funny Vanity Plates Can Backfire on You Posted: 23 Jul 2016 10:00 AM PDT Getting a vanity license plate for your car is an opportunity to bring smiles to the drivers around you. Thousands of people have used the system to make jokes and puns. But there are some words that have unintended consequences when they are attached to your car. In 1979 a Los Angeles man named Robert Barbour found this out the hard way when he sent an application to the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) requesting personalized license plates for his car. The DMV form asked applicants to list three choices in case one or two of their desired selections had already been assigned. Barbour, a sailing enthusiast, wrote down "SAILING" and "BOATING" as his first two choices; when he couldn't think of a third option, he wrote "NO PLATE," meaning that if neither of his two choices was available, he did not want personalized plates. Plates reading "BOATING" and "SAILING" had indeed already been assigned, so the DMV, following Barbour's instructions literally, sent him license plates reading "NO PLATE." Barbour was not thrilled that the DMV had misunderstood his intent, but he opted to keep the plates because of their uniqueness. Four weeks later he received his first notice for an overdue parking fine, from faraway San Francisco, and within days he began receiving dozens of overdue notices from all over the state on a daily basis. Why? Because when law enforcement officers ticketed illegally parked cars that bore no license plates, they had been writing "NO PLATE" in the license plate field. Now that Barbour had plates bearing that phrase, the DMV computers were matching every unpaid citation issued to a car with missing plates to him. Barbour received thousands of such notices over the next few months, and it was years before anyone did anything about it. He was far from the only one. Read about other people with different vanity plates that got them into trouble through bureaucratic means at Snopes.  -via reddit (Image credit: Randall Munroe/xkcd)

New Gadget Tells You Where You Missed a Spot While Applying Sunblock Posted: 23 Jul 2016 07:59 AM PDT (Image: Voxelight) Enjoy the summer sun, but make sure that it doesn't burn you! Put sunblock everywhere. Yes, even there. Sunscreenr is a new device invented by the startup Voxelight to make sure that you get complete coverage from your sunblock. It's a pocket-sized camera that looks for ultraviolet light. When that ultraviolet light is blocked--which is what sunblock does--then it shows up black on the camera. Whatever isn't black didn't get covered with sunblock. Mashable explains: Inside Sunscreener is a 1.3 mp UV camera that looks for reflected UV rays. If the sunblock is doing its job, it absorbs the rays. As a result, any place where you did apply the sunblock will look, through the viewfinder, black — because it's not reflecting UV light — and the uncovered spots will look pale. If you are alone, you can record up to 30 seconds of video in the device and then watch back inside Sunscreenr to see if you missed covering any spots. Voxelight representatives tell me that this method will work on darker skin complexions as well, though the contrast will be somewhat diminished. -via Ace of Spades HQ

NASA: On the Edge of Forever Posted: 23 Jul 2016 07:00 AM PDT To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek and the opening of the new film Star Trek Beyond, NASA has produced three videos about the link between the science fiction franchise and the real-world space agency. The first one is about the International Space Station (ISS). (YouTube link) NASA has always loved Star Trek. The fictional universe inspired generations of young people to pursue science and technology careers, and among those who didn’t, it engendered a respect for space exploration that enables NASA to continue funding projects like the ISS and Mars exploration. -via Boing Boing

Janine Ker's Technicolor Graffiti Hair Posted: 23 Jul 2016 05:59 AM PDT It's called "graffiti hair." Like a lot of graffiti art, it involves stencils and a spray paint. Janine Ker, a hairstylist in Pasadena, California, makes her unique compositions by spraying a dye over stencils. By combining different layers of colors and shapes, she creates vibrant images on the hair of her clients.  -via Fubiz

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