Cast shadows

Ross Marquand not only stars in "Walking Dead" but also does some impressive celebrity voice impressions, this time of actors delivering lines for famous movies they never appeared in. Or was Brad Pitt in "Jaws"...?

And William Osman's detailed laser-cut ham and cheese bust of Vin Diesel might be an idea for your next luncheon.

"One man's daydreaming is another man's day." -- Terri Guillemets

Transitive property

Bodypaint artist extraordinaire Ilana Kolihanov manifests macabre makeup magic with this cutaway-view optical illusion.

And Flag Waver turns any image (URL or uploaded) into a waving flag on your screen.

"Imagination is the eye of the soul." Joseph Joubert

Count me out

Woman proves herself a (super)human cash-counting machine by tallying up hundreds of notes of different denominations at lightning speed.

And the evolution of the American dollar bill and all its design changes from 1862 on.

"Mammon, n.: The god of the world's leading religion." -- Ambrose Bierce

Centrifuge in F major

Wacky stunt from the Discovery Channel series "Street Outlaws" involves a homemade "nitro chair" that spins at high enough RPM to cause queasiness just from watching.

And a little steadier, Scott Weaver's amazing toothpick sculpture, with more than 3,000 hours and 100,000 toothpicks over a 30-year period to make.

"The microwave oven is the consolation prize in our struggle to understand physics." -- Jason Love

Divine spark

Even creepier than an AI Big Mouth Billy Bass is Project Yorick, which combines Alexa with an animatronic skull to make for a different kind of personal assistant. Plenty of time to get yours ready for Halloween...

And these rapping robots doing a tribute (or parody of?) The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" are evidence that at least one job (?) is safe from encroachment by the machines.

"Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain." -- J.K. Rowling

Foam and games

The well-done action in these John Wick fight sequences reenacted with Nerf guns almost makes you forget that it's all toy projectiles.

And a little scary, this guy's homemade Nerf weapon that's powerful enough to shoot foam darts right through a can.

"Who overcomes by force hath overcome but half his foe." -- John Milton, "Paradise Lost"

Removable media

Japanese laptop maker Mouse has come up with an interesting and creative way to hawk its wares with its agency to thank for this novel ad.

And from 1 to 10, there's no explanation why this guy who installs every version of Windows ever made with a bizarre way to test compatibility between upgrades.

"Computers have lots of memory but no imagination." -- Unknown

At home on the range

Yeah, clearly he meant to do that. Instructor almost accidentally creates the gun safety video of the year.


And from Matthias Hoegg comes The Power of Privacy, a short animated wind through legal developments in the world of privacy, starting with, believe it or not, the chimney.

"Better a thousand times careful than once dead." -- Proverb

Office productivity

The Chinese cubicle version of Martha Stewart cooks full-fledged meals using only random office equipment, bringing new meaning to the words multi-function printer. She uploads new episodes to her YT channel once every week or few.


And this startled snake decided to "give back" its lunch (a whole deer, by the way) to make a getaway. It's quite the process, and not for the faint of heart. [Gizmodo]

"Pre-heat the oven? Really? If I was the sort of person who planned ahead, I wouldn't be eating this Totino's Party Pizza in the first place." -- Adam Peterson

Heads nor tails

It's tough to describe this short piece from Kirsten Lepore called "Hi Stranger", part of an anthology from a rotating collective of indie animators known as the Late Night Work Club.

And a little easier to discern, an animated graph that shows how the U.S. has become more polarized in last 20 years.

"A hunter of shadows, himself a shade." -- Homer

Mental math

Get a glimpse into the prestigious world of ridiculously fast calculator operators on display in Japan, allegedly to the tune of nine keystrokes per second.

"I never did very well in math - I could never seem to persuade the teacher that I hadn't meant my answers literally." -- Calvin Trillin

How do you mean?

Though not really coming to a theater near you, Mr. Bean recut as a psychological thriller might sell some tickets somewhere this summer. (Or at least probably better than the horror flicks that were the original Bean movies.)

"It is now life and not art that requires the willing suspension of disbelief." -- Lionel Trilling

Justice is served

Woman escapes her kidnapper by jumping out of the trunk of his moving car after he stopped at a gas station. [bOING bOING]

And if you order just "cheese" from a McDonald's self-service machine, and you'll get what you ask for (and probably what you deserve), this fellow found out.

"Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point." -- C. S. Lewis

Headstart

I don't know if this St. Patrick's Day challenger downing a pint in 15 seconds while standing on his head is Guinness record-worthy, but he probably can drink you under the table (literally).

And this analog camera made from 32,000 drinking straws gives you some light-captured moments with a unique giant-pixel look.

"An Irishman is never drunk as long as he can hold onto one blade of grass to keep from falling off the earth." -- Irish Saying

Blanket statement

Note to self about train stations and fresh snowfalls... remember to stand back from the track, lest ye be blasted.

And it's bracket time again, so you're no doubt focused on who will win Name of the Year. Here are your top seeds:

• Kobe Buffalomeat, Illinois State football recruit
• Marmaduke Trebilcock, late 19th-century Cornwall immigrant and Wisconsin lawyer
• Chardonnay Pantastico, University of Hawaii softball recruit
• Quindarious Monday, Georgia high-school football player

Names are serious business.

"Winter is nature’s way of saying, 'Up yours.'" -- Robert Byrne

Molasses transit

It's man vs. machine as this fellow hops off the London Underground and beats the train to the next station.

And telling the time was never so annoying... MNTNT's Albert Clock makes you do math to tell the time. (Also available as a mobile app if you're inclined to bring the agony with you.)

"Who forces time is pushed back by time; who yields to time finds time on his side." -- The Talmud

Veggie melt

Watching frozen fruits and vegetables peacefully defrosting is both relaxing and colorful.

Also frosty, an intense cold snap turned this home on Lake Ontario in New York into an ice castle/prison.




And finally, states with the most miserable winters, ranked.

"Nobody ever drowned in his own sweat." -- Ann Landers

In sickness and in health

Man works through meticulous plan (including a small plane flight, "marry me" sign on the ground, etc.) to propose to his girlfriend, then promptly barfs at her feet. Ah, true love.

Garth Algar: Uhm, Wayne? What do you do if every time you see this one incredible woman, you think you're gonna hurl?

Wayne Campbell: I say hurl. If you blow chunks and she comes back, she's yours. But if you spew and she bolts, then it was never meant to be.

[imdb.com]