Cool Shit 4/30

The hunt for a drug lord. Any article that starts the story with a line like this:

One afternoon last December, an assassin on board a K.L.M. flight from Mexico City arrived at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.

is ok with me.

It's rare to spot a celebrity do something genuine, as most of the time they're just faking it. But every so often a ray shines through the cold, black murk of fakeness. Emma Stone - you are a piece of sunshine!



The story of the Star Wars sequel that was a contingency plan, in case Lucas ran out of money. Back in 1978.

Sure, this chart is meant to show you that the deadliest creature on the planet is the mosquito, but seriously, is anyone else as freaked out as I am that a snail kills 10,000 people a year?

You can't force a movie to become a cult hit; it has to happen organically. Wolf Cop, while promising with a name like that seems like a plausible candidate, sinks itself with its self referential nature.



When you let hipsters make a list of the best cop shows from television they're going to omit shows that shouldn't be omitted, and therefore make the list irrelevant. No TJ Hooker? No Hunter? No Bridge? At least they gave me the opportunity to link to this:



As this shows, it's not a question of the Earth getting overpopulated, it's a question of the Earth getting overpopulated in certain areas. But there's plenty of space for us all. And will be for quite some time. As in, collectively, we wouldn't even fill in the Grand Canyon. Check out that fact and many others in this video:



Did you know Salvador Dali put together a cookbook? And that it's exactly as insane as you're imagining right now?

Cool Shit 4/29

A look behind those Taco Bell ads suggesting Ronald McDonald doesn't always eat at McDonalds. Bet you'll never guess who directed them! Well, unless you guess after reading the article.

A few weeks ago we had inappropriate one star Amazon reviews. We are then obligated of course to now run inappropriate five star reviews.

I will go to my grave suggesting the Beatles are underrated, since, while they obviously have a huge following and fame, they're still not entirely appreciated by enough people for what they did with music. The common fan might like the songs, but doesn't truly appreciate that they offered so much more. For example, see what they did with these ten songs.

2014 best restaurant list is out, and I've eaten at exactly none of them.

Full trailer for HBO's The Leftovers. Again, after reading the book, I feel like the "universe" it's created in is full of potential, I'm not sure how they're going to show a lot of the internal struggle the characters went through. I'm guessing certain parts will be built up while others will be ignored. It will be interesting to see how they pull off something that begins with a "religious" vibe, but ends without one. Well, at least in my interpretation. And with Damon Lindelhof involved, my level of anticipation is stuck at "tepid."



Deep space imagery fascinates me because it both puts the universe's scale in perspective, while destroying our sense of the perspective of the universe AT THE SAME TIME.

I always wondered why Gallagher's front row crowd always seemed a little friskier than everyone else.

Cool Shit 4/28

Now that Everest, for all intents and purposes, is closed, maybe climbers will turn their attention to K2? Watch this video to see what would be involved in that...



Of feuds from days gone by, and today. I've never been involved in a Twitter feud, mostly because rarely do I take to Twitter to make or take something serious, nor do I believe people read my Twitter for anything serious. Also, I think if we were to take 1 to 2 minutes of reflection before responding to something we don't agree with, and weigh just what the cost would be to elevate the situation, I think we'd all be better off.

Warren Buffet gives you his secret and how to make a fortune with your investments. It's basically the Ron Popeil approach: set it and forget it.

Feel like taking a hike now that the weather is getting at least a little nicer? Check out these 20 trails in North America that will do you good.

Just know you're digital fingerprint is out there. Google's got it for all to basically see. I can't wait for this to be used as a common smear campaign against people ten years from now.

"Backyard rollercoaster" might be one of my favorite phrases. Unfortunately, this one looks solidly built and not very "back-yardy."

The 10 "most" overrated albums of the 90s. Because of course we have to take down everything that was popular for a chance to be edgy and hold an unpopular opinion. This is the internet, after all.

Know how you're watching television, and something comes on, and you proclaim how "you could do that." Yeah, after watching this video, I think you might at least pause the next time. Here's a guy attempting a bike course, who has no previous experience or skill...

Cool Shit 4/25

There were a lot of great movies made in the 70s. Probably plenty you haven't even heard of.

Speaking of movies, here's a list of what's going to be plaguing the multiplexes this summer.

And I guess we shouldn't leave out what's going to be happening on television this summer either. Take a look at these ten television shows coming soon.

One show in particular looks completely insane. And of course Michael Bay's name is attached to it. Enjoy The Last Ship!



I can certainly appreciate an article that offers tips on how to survive a lightning strike leading off with "Stay indoors." But it doesn't stop there, as it realizes humans are mostly stupid and will not heed this piece of advice.

From the ashes of Silk Road comes something darker, and allegedly harder to track. So if you need your drugs or murder for hire, you've come to the right place.

Cool Shit 4/24

Oral history of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Only the greatest show ever.

So Guy Fieri has a new restaurant out there, in probably the best place for a Guy Fieri restaurant: Las Vegas. And it's got everything you would imagine on the menu - Guy Fieri style!

Here's a completely depressing piece about Wall Street and how you should invest your money. Short answer: don't!

Here's a quick preview of 33 movies coming out this summer that you may or may not be excited for.

If you're bored today, or have recently thought you haven't been using the Internet to its capacity, check out these 10 kinda cool calculations you can do online.

BASE jumping from the tallest building in the world:



At first, hearing about a pirate show being created by NBC sounds completely lame. But then you take a look at this preview, see John Malkovich going full James Spader, and see all the other completely insane stuff going on, and you think, maybe. Maybe this has a chance to be somewhat palatable.

Cool Shit 4/23

Even the best directors take a misstep or two; we're lucky these examples of their failures didn't completely derail them.

I'm a sucker for a decent concept album, but not when they make me work too hard to figure out just what the hell is going on, like these albums do.

A look at all the asteroids that have blown up (nuclear bomb style) in and around the Earth between the years 2000 and 2013:



I'm always down for a good, old-fashioned abandoned city.

Hmmmm...I'm predicting we'll see an uptick in "artisanal toast" at all the hipster eating joints before long.

Louis C.K. will certainly go down as one of the greats...he's one of those rare famous people that seemingly doesn't have a detractor.

Want to make some cash? Some serious cash? Develop a solution to any one of these 10 problems, and you won't have to work.

Look, the idea of releasing 1.5 million balloons into the sky sounds like a fun idea, but after giving it 5-10 seconds of thought, the negatives surely outweigh the positives...unless it's 1986, and you'r win Cleveland.

Methinks the people designing these covers for Nabokov's Lolita are REALLY missing the point of the book. Also, some of them may have wished they could have sex with a 12 year old.

Cool Shit 4/22

In the shadow of the tragic avalanche on Mt. Everest, John Krakauer takes a look at the many standards of life out there.

Panning for gold in the hills of California. In 2014.

Watching fireworks from the ground is so late 2013. It's all about drone watching now:



Look, I'm not saying you can't hate a classic and give it a poor review, but please, save the one-star reviews for the truly bad books, and at least consider the skill and talent of some of these books. Same goes for 5 stars! We don't have to be so quick to use the extremes in reviews that only wekane the entire system in the first place.

Yelp is great and all, but it unfortunately can't give me any reviews on massage parlors of ill repute. Thankfully, RubMaps is here to fill that void!

Interactive Game of Thrones map. Because I challenge anyone to have any idea where anything is going on in these books!

Oh nothing much here, just pictures of meat stuffed in clear bottles.

Cool Shit 4/21

I know we like to think the terror of terrorists is an enormous threat, but in reality that's probably not the case. Proof here.

Some pretty interesting things you might not know about the overall product of wine.

Movie directors think they're so smart and clever, hiding stuff in their movies so they can pop up ten years later and say how stupid you are for not seeing all the clues in the first place.

Just in time for today, check out what running a marathon does for your body. (Note: it's not good.)

Cooking in Antarctica. A history.

Cool Shit 4/17

4 states. 4 parks. 4 days:

Four in Four from TRUE MVMNT on Vimeo.

Possibly some facts you didn't know about Fight Club?

Finally! My letter-writing campaign pays off! A Mrs. Doubtfire sequel is gaining some traction!

Before you go ahead and tag that Florida vacation picture as a "business trip expense" on Facebook, take a moment to think about who is really going to see it. Like possibly the IRS?

Final trailer for the latest and greatest X-Men movie, which brings everybody to the party!




Actual footage from Action Park (Traction Park!) - including footage of people using the loop slide AND surviving. This should go into our National Archives!



There is a lot going on in this spanish soap opera. I implore you to stay with it to see just how insane and awesome it really gets. I have go tot start watching more spanish tele novellas!

Cool Shit 4/16

Sick of big old commercial jets? Why not travel in style on a private jet? It's easier than you think. Not that it's completely easy, but I'm willing to bet you're thinking it's REALLY difficult, so I'm definitely not lying.

So there was a UF conference in New Jersey recently. Not only am I mad I missed it, I'm mad I didn't meet the people propagating some of these conspiracies.

A list of 25 "difficult" films to sit through, whether it's because of subject matter, content, violence, etc.

The word "best" is so overused on the internet that it's lost it's meaning, but these 12 long shots are still very cool:



Google X: A place inside Google (duh) that works on taking the fantastic and making it a reality.

This list of 10 movies that somehow received a big budget and the green light could easily be expanded to a million and it still wouldn't give us any better understanding of how Hollywood operates.

I'm not advocating (nor condemning) the use of psychedelic drugs, but I do think, in controlled situations, they have benefits. As this list suggests.

Cool Shit 4/15

The entire Fear and Lathing in Las Vegas: online, right here. Enjoy. And don't take too many drugs.

Want to play God? Or whatever else you may have created the universe? Enjoy this neat little game on how to plan and develop a solar system.

Ever since reading The Descent, I've had a mild fascination with the network of caves around the world. But not as much as these guys. (Also, I recommend The Descent).

Some of the more interesting television show related products you can buy. And if you don't think I'm getting that Gibbs standee thing, you're crazy.

Trailer for the movie, Gone Girl. I liked the book. I like Fincher (who directed), but this trailer didn't do much for me. Hopefully it's good though.



In case you only saw the movie and never read the book, here are some passages that may have made the Jurassic Park movie even better. Though I think some are a stretch.

Just read the book, and while I liked it, I'm not sure how well The Leftovers is going to translate to the screen (even if it is HBO). It's a lot more internal, and not a lot of action. In fact, not much really happens. It's more reflective of what happens to people and the choices they make. I guess I'll be interested how they flesh it out and what they're thinking if it's a series and not just a self-contained miniseries.



All 64 Stephen King novels ranked and reviewed!

Cool Shit 4/14

Here's another list on the internet you can get mad about. This week: debut albums.

If you didn't think you could be disgusted by pizza, this list will put your devotion to the test.

It's disturbing to think how much Hollywood is in love with sequels. This list of movies that could have been sequels shows us. And if they had made a sequel to Seven with Morgan Freeman suddenly psychic...

Thinking about a trip to Paris or Venice? Why not look at this list of different destinations around the world and expand your horizons a bit?

Beckett is one of my favorite author's expounding such thoughts as "“The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new.” Read that and 24 more of his thoughts on life (if you're feeling too chipper this morning), here.

The best of these awesome backyards is obviously the poorly conceived, obviously accident-heavy DIY dual waterslide backyard. 

Cool Shit 4/11

If you're a Jeep head, or even just like cool cars , check out these models currently out in the desert being off-roaded.

More documentary recs you can stream right now (if you have Netflix). Also fair warning about Dear Zachary (which is on the list), it WILL make you question humanity. Do not watch it if you have a warm heart.

A pretty damning piece (if you didn't think this actually went on to begin with) about paying collegiate athletes to play at specific schools. It will never stop; everyone is doing it.

Nootropics. Supplements to help possibly your most important organ: (get your mind out the gutter sickos) the brain.

Really cool aerial photography of famous places.

Websites you should know that can help with your professional life. Unless your professional life consists of not acting like a professional. Then you only need one site: xhamster (NSFW)

Want to get your hands on Google Glass? Have $1,500 burning a hole in your pocket? You've got a chance, but only for 24 hours.

A list of unnecessary movie sequels could be infinity long and still wouldn't probably grasp how stupid Hollywood can sometimes be. Fortunately this list only has 10.

By now you've heard about it, Stephen Colbert is taking over for David Letterman. My completely unnecessary, meaningless thoughts: I don't know what he brings new and innovative to an already crowded late-night marketplace. I have never watched a single second of his current show. I know what it is however, and know there's simply no way he can fully bring that to CBS. My guess is he will do a nightly segment where he morphs that into some sort of "news break" to take advantage of his talent. Unfortunately, it will be pandering and a fraction of what he does on Comedy Central. It's unfortunate that television can't think creatively, since you know, it is a creative medium.

Cool Shit 4/10

Unsolved Mysteries, back in the day, was my jam. And it's a crime that more episodes aren't on Youtube. Yeah yeah, I get it - copyright infringement and all that, but without the tease of it on Youtube, it will never reach a new audience. Plus, who knows how many more mysteries might get solved?

There's more to gin than just what Snoop Dog says about it.

Play the long con with the stock market and invest in these goods in services to (hopefully) get rich down the road.

I guess the explanation of "artillery fortification" explains these rings of water found at an old WWII German base, but I still hold out some hope for "alien nazi technology." Of course that's my go to for a lot of unexplained stuff.

Looking to refine your cooking skills in the kitchen? Start off by reading these tips from famous New York chefs.

While I'm not a woman, this is obviously good advice for just about anyone if they ever come across a lesbian in the wild. Also, this was written in 1988!

Cool Shit 4/9

It's amusing how far apart some people can perceive science and religion are, while others can make them seem so maddeningly intertwined. I have no horse in the science vs. religion debate (well I do, but I also don't think it matters since we most likely have to be dead to get evidence of a religious afterlife), but this theory that we could live on in another state after death seems to rub everyone faces into everything.

Tribeca Film Fest is coming up, and if you get a chance to go, here are 10 movies you should check out.

There's a lunar eclipse coming next week which apparently means we're all going to die. Or Christ is coming back. Or maybe both. It's hard to keep up with doomsday predictions.

Getting down to brass tacks, we finally know what the world's favorite number is.

Everything you wanted (and probably a lot of stuff you didn't) to know about the band Kiss.

News that former interns at Taco Bell came up with the idea for Doritos Tacos. Of course, every stones freshman in the 90s can also make that claim, so seriously interns? Shut up.

Cool Shit 4/8

The 10 most dangerous places on Earth, apparently decided by climate and or if you will be shot or raped there. Good to see Brazil make this list, what with the World Cup coming up!

Deleted sketch from the Anna Kendrick episode of Saturday Night Live that recently aired. No idea how this one didn't make the air - Sure it could have tightened up a bit and the punchline reveal could have been saved for a little later in the sketch, but I think it works regardless. Thoughts?



Of course, when you look at some of the things actual Nickelodeon game shows had on their sets, that sketch wasn't all that far fetched.

The good news: popular book The Leftovers is becoming a series on HBO. The bad news: Damon Lindelof is involved.



The answer to the age old question: where does it hurt the most to be stung: nostril, nipple or penis?

I'm sure I've shared this before, but it's too stunning not to share again. Time lapse video of Yosemite National Park:

Cool Shit 4/7

Ridiculous pictures of islands pre and post volcanic eruptions.

I assume we will be getting a lot of "Best of" Letterman moments in the next coming months, and I also realize all will be hugely subjective and none of them will have the ability to be all encompassing, but this one I just stumbled on is absurd. It has a strong political slant and barely reaches outside of the 2000s. I'm not really sure I understand the intent of it.

So there's a new show coming to television, Hillbilly Preppers. And it seems as though it's about a trio of guys that will help you outfit your home in case of societal collapse. Honestly vicious circle of shows like this that propagate the concept of societal collapse enough to get people scared enough to want to hire the people from this show is depressing.



New trailer for Godzilla - looks like there's going to be some significant consequences associated with this film, which will hopefully elevate it over other disaster porn movies.



Get Harry Turtledove on the phone! We've got 10 alternate endings for World War II here!

Who knew that such a simple action of shuffling cards could lead to such a mind-boggling fact?

Cool Shit 4/4

So wait, illegal drugs CAN help you sometimes?

If skydiving isn't thrilling enough, now you have to watch out for meteorites!



I remember forcing myself to stay up to 12:30 on school nights, just in order to watch his opening monologue and first sketch. He's probably had the biggest influence on my humor; more than any other comedian, because he did it night in and night out. His apathetic nature to the business of television was refreshing and unique. It looked like he had a television show for no other reason than because he thought it would be fun to have a television show. I think the move to CBS killed that quality, but what are you going to do? Hope retirement treats you well, Dave!



I love fast food. I know it's bad, so I try not to eat it, but like a junkie that craves his fix, it's a battle not easily won. But even I can be disgusted by some of the offerings out there. If you take a step back, we really should be ashamed as a society, both because we've created these things, and created the market for them.

What the last 100 years' of bestselling books can say about us as a society.

Of wave collapse, multi-verses and parallel universes. Take a deep dive into some quantum theory on a Friday morning.

Cool Shit 4/3

Get this book and you can feel just like a bootlegger or moonshiner but without the risk of arrest. Well, unless you sell it or something.

Probably a repeat, probably old, but funny kids' test answers always get a chuckle out of me.

Some interesting facts about Raiders of the Lost Ark. Another interesting fact - my most beloved Dungeons and Dragons character that I ever created was an homage to Indiana Jones, named Mississippi Smith. Annnnd, I've shared too much.

This is not a good endorsement for the CIA.

This site the provides how much time you've "wasted" watching a show is clever, but incomplete. Because there's no way I've wasted ~3 days watching Seinfled - It's probably ten times that with the amount of repeats.

Law & Order: SVU has become a parody of itself, falling into the inevitable cycle of trying to push the boundaries of a simple procedural in order to titilize its audience, and in the process making it more and more unbelievable. Still, it's amazing how it casts some of its guest stars, between giving actors their big breaks and establishing itself as a place for former A list actors to go and do good work.

How did the dinosaurs die off? You might be surprised at with what some people theorize is the reason.

Cool Shit 4/2

Didn't watch a second of How I Met Your Mother, but apparently people were less than pleased with the finale? How does it rank with other sitcom series' finales

Having a bad day? A bad life? Look to the heavens this spring. Sometimes that kind of perspective can put things in better perspective.

I'm going to predict, based on the increased annual prevalence on the Internet, that April Fools' Day is going to become a national holiday. Because it seems more and more sites give it such weight.

Oh nothing much, just jumping into a 600 foot gorge with a rope tied around my waste...



Are we all really clamoring for a sequel to Top Gun? It's fairly obvious that it won't have the same chutzpah the first one did, especially if it's involving the debate between human pilots and drones.

Look, I'm all for being prepared, and analyzing everything we can in order to be ready in case anything happens, but the anecdotal evidence from a blogger that animals in Yellowstone Park are "leaving by the thousands" seems just a little flimsy to base the potential for the volcano underneath Yellowstone to erupt.. I do appreciate that he does have a few caveats that there could be other reasons, before basically saying there could be no other reason. But then again, maybe I'll be destroyed by the ash plume.

I don't think #3 on this list of facts about New York is anything anyone should be bragging about.

Cool Shit 4/1

Summer 2014: Season of the comedic movie?

I so hope the potential for me to own a 13-foot Baywatch era David Hasselhoff" sculpture isn't some sort of cruel April Fool's day joke.

Yes, at the end of the day this is a commercial for GoPro, but after watching it, I really don't mind. I can now finally understand what it feels like to kayak off a 60 foot waterfall:



Read this before you hop aboard your next flight. Or maybe don't if you're skewed out by flying.

Check out a scratched Louis CK skit from the last Saturday Night Live. While I appreciate its weirdness, you can see why they cut it.