Shock treatment

Willing test subjects strap on shock collars to prove that it doesn't hurt one bit.


Discernible enmity at You Are Not A Photographer in mocking examples of crap photography. Occasionally funny, but in sum, seems to point to deeper psychological issues.

"Persuasion is often more effectual than force." - Aesop

 

Zombie octopus

Somewhat disturbing, this clip of a dancing eight-legged meal-to-be... should I take solace in the technicality that no octopi were harmed during filming? [Scientific American]


And there's always room for a Jell-O Mold Competition, especially one as imaginative and artfully done as this.

"Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are." - Bertolt Brecht

 

The Comedy of Science

Scientist takes to the stage and creates a potent mixture with a novel stand-up routine.


And I Can Has Cheezburger has an amusing gallery of cat / chemistry jokes.

"I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior." - Hippolyte Taine

 

NASCAR prayer

I thought the Constitution might have provided for separation of NASCAR and State, but this pre-race prayer proves otherwise. These guys shouldn't take themselves so seriously.


Speaking of blatant promotion, some out-of-this-world advertising visible from space.

"Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often." - Mark Twain

 

Benny Hill behind bars?

Investigator makes a comedy video of an inmate's escape attempt to the tune of "Yakety Sax" that does Benny Hill proud. The sheriff's office is not amused.


And author Danny Wallace toys with a closet passive-aggressive "fan" who starts an email exchange and gets a little more than he bargained for.

"A mistake is simply another way of doing things." - Katharine Graham

 

Planet Monkeywood

Time to party down as Planet Of The Apes meets Benny Benassi for some sort of music vid mashup.


And a blog dedicated to people caught wearing the same clothes as someone else. As B3TA puts it, "...every girl's nightmare. And ours."

"Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them." - W. Clement Stone

 

NYTimes-lapse

Software developer accidentally captures a nytimes.com front page screenshot every 30 minutes from September 2010 and July 2011, and packages up a time-lapse video. The nytimes they are a-changin'...


Think you can pass Harvard's 1869 entrance exam? Doubtful, but good luck. Comments are amusing, too.

"He that would live in peace and at ease must not speak all he knows or all he sees." - Benjamin Franklin

 

DJ Kitty

Kittens scratching some vinyl and tearing it up.


And with the economy stil swirling down the crapper, finally a way out of the mess: Cats 4 Gold.

"A man is usually more careful of his money than of his principles. - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

 

Splitscreen

Two people, two continents, two directions, two minutes. A love story.


And the infographical truth about cat people and dog people in Woof vs. Meow.

"At every party there are two kinds of people - those who want to go home and those who don't. The trouble is, they are usually married to each other." - Ann Landers

 

Parkour park job

I hate when someone takes up more than one space in a parking lot. Check out this incredible accidental parking job that rated an across-the-board "10" from the judges. [Jalopnik]


And also on this side of ridiculous, some Onion-like headlines in real life. [bOING bOING]

"If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?" - John Wooden

 

Beasties vs. Muppets

Extra-fine results in this one-minute mash of the Beastie Boys' "Sure Shot" and muppetage, entitled, Sesame Street breaks it down, almost like it was made this way. [Gizmodo]


And some incredible (and edible) animal cake sculptures for this dog-eat-dog world.

"Do not make the mistake of treating your dogs like humans or they will treat you like dogs." - Martha Scott

 

Catatonic

Quick demonstration of how to deactivate a cat. Next trick: grab a giant clamp and a Bengal tiger...? [bOING bOING]


And a useful service to kitten-ify faces in your photos. A must-have for the upcoming back-to-school and holiday seasons.

"Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty." - Ronald Reagan

 

Framed

A dramatic demonstration of how your brain is easily fooled by your biases and expectations, from the mind of Simon Singh.


And Wheels of Steel, for fun with little virtual turntables in your browser. Scratch one out.

"A smart man only believes half of what he hears; a wise man knows which half." - Jeff Cooper

 

Salt mind

Some good portraits, from Bob Marley to Lady Gaga, artified in grains of salt.


And crime pays -- a lot, it seems, according to these interactive graphs that bring the daily wave into focus.

"Statistics: The only science that enables different experts using the same figures to draw different conclusions." - Evan Esar

 

Squirrel vs. Lambo

Reckless tree-rat crosses paths with a sports car and takes the checkered flag.


And why in Heaven's name would you create realistic anatomies of cartoon characters?

"Life is movement. It's the person who sits on the couch who's living dangerously." - Grete Waitz

 

Suspended disbelief

A young filmmaker obtains a mysterious device that unleashes the full force of cinema on his front lawn.


And weird things people say in bookstores, as blogged by a London writer who works in one.

"Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money." - Jules Renard

 

Toy Soldiers

Toy Soldiers is a wunderbar stop-motion video of the parade on French National Day (often mistakenly called Bastille Day). The tilt-shift effects really do this one justice.


And show what you know about U.S. history by having a go at these sample questions for 4th-, 8th- and 12th-graders.

"Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance." - Will Durant

 

Great grandma?

Ode of a sort to an unborn grandchild, "I Am Your Grandma" is far better than the title makes it sound. Lady Gaga might be proud. Careful not to frighten the kiddies.


And a little genealographic mapping Jesus' bloodline from the creation to immaculate conception.

"What a good thing Adam had. When he said a good thing he knew nobody had said it before." - Mark Twain

 

Hitler vs. Carmageddon

Classic Hitler mashup reprised, wherein he learns to his chagrin that the 405 freeway in Los Angeles will shut down this weekend. Contins subtitles, obviously. (If you want to know what he's actually saying, watch Hitler's Downfall with original subtitles. Also, a PSA from Erik Estrada.) [bOING bOING]


And by contrast, drag and drop some stuff to make your own relaxing musical something. (Thank Joe)

"Anyone who thinks there's safety in numbers hasn't looked at the stock market pages." - Irene Peter

 

Morning glory

A month's worth of beautiful time-lapse Windy City sunrises packed into "Good Morning Chicago". [Gizmodo]


And from another major U.S. city, Sketchy Miami, a website with the simple and impossible goal of creating a portrait of every person in Miami.

"True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country." - Kurt Vonnegut

 

Get smashed

A word of caution: beer and Gallagher impressions don't mix.


And the semi-humorous Drunk or Child, where you can vote on whether words were said by sot or tot.

"The worst thing about some men is that when they are not drunk they are sober." - William Butler Yeats

 

Bus a move

Bus 62 is never late, come hell and/or high water. Is this a scene from "Speed"?


And might learn a tip or two from 15%, a blog where servers, deliverers, and the like vent their spleens about poor tippers.

Also, a state-by-state look at how America tips in restaurants, barbershops, hotels and more.

"A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money." - John Ruskin

 

The Georgia-Pacific 500

"Receipt Racer" is an ingenious game idea if you own a paper mill or a lot of Georgia-Pacific stock. Would be even better if crashed cars burst into flames.


And a collection of "everyday posters every day" promoting the trivial, boring, and mundane activities in your life.

Not to be outdone in mind-numbing, winners of the Boring Magazine design contest.

"Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong." - Winston Churchill

 

Braids

Funny TV advert from Argentina that took gold at the Cannes Lions 2011.


And a face a day, adorned with humorous captions.

"Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don't have for something they don't need." - Will Rogers

 

Wreck-less

You should never, ever stop your car on the tracks, but if you do and find yourself in a tough spot, consider using this technique to save your skin.


And sort of similarly, there's DrawHappy, an interweb art project that invites people to (not surprisingly) draw stuff that makes them happy.

"If we don't change our direction we're likely to end up where we're headed." - Chinese Proverb

 

Snatch and grab

First person shooter video of a seagull making off with a camcorder that couldn't have been better scripted. Which of course it was, according to Mashable, but see for yourself.


And some nice carve-work in these trees made out of old used books.

"Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever remains to them?" - Rose Kennedy

 

Let freedom ring

Fireworks and other stuff exploding in slo-mo, set to the finale of the 1812 Overture. Happy Independence Day and God bless America. [PopSci]


And a project called 50 and 50 where in fifty designers, one per state, have illustrated their state motto in a unique and artist-y way.

"Liberty is the great parent of science and of virtue; and a nation will be great in both always in proportion as it is free." - Thomas Jefferson

 

Kinectic energy

"Sound artist" uses Microsoft Kinect to orchestrate sound samples into some interesting music stylings.

And Balloonasaurus Rex, a life-size replica of the terrible king made with 1,400 balloons.

On the beach, an impressive piece of sand sculpture.

"Do not let spacious plans for a new world divert your energies from saving what is left of the old." - Winston Churchill

 

Holy mackerel

Watch as this fishing boat is besieged by Jumping Asian Carp. A little unnerving, though cool because you can fish without a pole. [Laughing Squid]


And dozens of cosmetically challenged canines faced off at the Sonoma-Marin Fair for the 2011 World's Ugliest Dog Contest, but only one could be crowned the ugliest. And the winner is...

"I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters, and my enemies for their good intellects. A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies." - Oscar Wilde

 

Fight Shrub

A quick mashup of Fight Club and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Two great things that go great together or...? I'll let you decide. [bOING bOING]


The blog Stuff Expat Aid Workers Like pours on the cynical sarcasm about humanitarian "work" (and deservedly so, I imagine).

"My pessimism extends to the point of even suspecting the sincerity of other pessimists." - Jean Rostand