Pages

▼

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Crushable

Crushable

14 Unexpectedly Friendly Fictional Aliens

Posted: 15 May 2011 10:15 AM PDT

The universe is big. Really, really big. In fact, in the words of Douglas Adams, it’s staggeringly vast. And with a universe so big, one would hope that there’s life on other planets out there. Trouble is, thanks to films like Alien, we’re all very away of the fact that if there IS life on other planets, most of it probably wants to kill us. However, there’s also a lot of alien life that DOESN’T want to kill us. In fact, a lot of it really wants to be friends with us! Need a guide to recognizing the amiable aliens out there that are just waiting to sit down and have a drink with you? Read on!

Post from: Crushable

14 Unexpectedly Friendly Fictional Aliens

Saturday Night Live: Ed Helms In a Live Action ‘Ambiguously Gay Duo’

Posted: 15 May 2011 09:32 AM PDT

The Ambiguously Gay Duo have always been one of my favorite recurring bits on Saturday Night Live, so seeing a live-action version was a huge highlight for me. Fortunately, the casting was right on: Jon Hamm and Jimmy Fallon were the titular pair, while the evening’s host Ed Helms played one of the villains (modeled on Batman‘s Two Face). Also, I’m pretty sure that was Stephen Colbert I saw as the mad scientist. That sketch could have gone really, really wrong, and I’m so glad it didn’t.

Unfortunately, this sketch where Helms played a black-and-white movie director wasn’t nearly as funny. Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig were fine as louche ’40s film stars, but Andy Samberg just came in and chewed up all the scenery. I don’t understand how Andy manages to be so funny in all the digital shorts and so annoying and over the top in sketches – I think he’s best when balanced out by his Lonely Island cohorts. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am going to watch the Ambiguously Gay duo sketch again.

Finally, I know that Kenan Thompson‘s “What Up With That” sketch isn’t the most popular, but I do like it, largely because of the random guests they manage to get. Said guests usually just sit there while Kenan yells over them, but that’s what makes the bit funny. Last night, the guests were Paul Simon (not surprising, since he was that night’s musical guest), Chris Colfer (aka Kurt from Glee) and Bill Hader’s impression of Lindsey Buckingham.

Post from: Crushable

Saturday Night Live: Ed Helms In a Live Action ‘Ambiguously Gay Duo’

Video Gallery: Neil Patrick Harris and Other Awesome Hosts of the Tony Awards

Posted: 15 May 2011 08:45 AM PDT

Hey everyone, remember that rumor floating around that Neil Patrick Harris was going to host this year’s Tony Awards? Well, it’s not a rumor anymore! On Tuesday, it was announced that Harris will, in fact, emcee the 2011 ceremony. In the press release, Harris notes that he’s both “honored” and “stoked” to have been asked to host. "It should be a great show,” he says. “We’ve got a fantastic mix of live performances, a few secret surprises, and since they’re closed for retooling, we’re using all the rigging equipment from Spider-Man. What could possibly go wrong?" Ceremony producers Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss go on to say that they’re thrilled to have him, and that they’re “even happier he fits in the Spider-Man rigging.”

This, of course, is awesome news. In fact, except for the years where they decide to do something silly and have no host, the Tonys are generally known for their awesome choice in hosts. Therefore, in honor of Neil Patrick Harris and the spectacular job he will undoubtedly do, here’s a look at some of the best hosts in recent Tonys history:

2010: Sean Hayes
Will and Grace star Sean Hayes hosted last year’s ceremony, in which he was also up for the Best Actor in a Musical award for Promises, Promises. By the time of the awards in June, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark had already seen the first of its many, many opening night delays (it was originally scheduled to open in February of 2010), so naturally the jokes were already surfacing. This clip makes me wonder if maybe the creative team of Turn Off the Dark missed an opportunity here…

2009: Neil Patrick Harris
Yep, our beloved NPH has hosted the Tonys before! We’ve covered this briefly earlier, but just in case you need a reminder, here’s why we’re so psyched that he’s coming back again this year:

2008: Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi is a familiar face at the Oscars, having hosted that event four times; however, she also hosted the Tonys in 2008. The running gag during that year’s ceremony inserted Whoopi into iconic scenes of well-known musicals like Spamalot and Mary Poppins, which, naturally, resulted in much hilarity. Whoopi is one of those people who’s at the top of my list of people I’d really like to sit down and have lunch with one day. Here’s a collection of her funniest Tony moments:

Post from: Crushable

Video Gallery: Neil Patrick Harris and Other Awesome Hosts of the Tony Awards

Sunday Cute: Ducklings Are Fascinated By Yo-Yos

Posted: 15 May 2011 07:15 AM PDT

Apparently ducklings really dig yo-yos, because if you spin one in front of them, they’ll sit mesmerized by it for hours. I wonder if they’re secretly yo-yo champs and just haven’t let us know it yet? Happy Sunday!

Post from: Crushable

Sunday Cute: Ducklings Are Fascinated By Yo-Yos

Video Gallery: Recapping Eurovision 2011′s Best Songs and Craziest Outfits

Posted: 14 May 2011 04:34 PM PDT

Eurovision is one of the best holidays of the year. It’s when almost every country in Europe competes against each other in a song contest that is sort of like American Idol crossed with Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome with the outfits from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Past winners have included ABBA and Celine Dion. Eurovision is a haven of all things campy and delightful – and the surest sign that it won’t sell out is that the Americans are very staunchly not invited. Let’s go through some of this year’s best entries.

Jedward, Ireland

Twin act Jedward (aka John and Edward) are known for being over the top, which is exactly what makes them a superb choice for Eurovision. Although they didn’t win, they were a great showing for Ireland and for people who love wacky hairstyles. How is Lady Gaga not BFF with them yet?

Mika Newton, Ukraine

Last year’s winner, Lena, was an ingenue type, which meant that this year’s competition was full of cute girls in sexy outfits. Ukraine’s Mika Newton was one of my favorites in that bunch, mostly because of her angel wings.

Post from: Crushable

Video Gallery: Recapping Eurovision 2011′s Best Songs and Craziest Outfits

Creepy Things That Seem Real But Aren’t: The Marble Hornets Project

Posted: 14 May 2011 02:40 PM PDT

Creepy Things That Seem Real But Aren’t is a new series that explores modern urban legends, bringing you a new tale each week.

Well, well, well. Back for more, are we? Let’s see what I’ve got for you this time. How does the tale of a filmmaker driven mad by his work sound? What if I told you that his work was floating around out there, ripe for the viewing by unsuspecting Internet users? And what if I told you that we haven’t quite seen the last of our friend Slender Man? Shall I go on? Welcome to:

THE MARBLE HORNETS PROJECT
Shortly after Slender Man surfaced into the collective unconscious, Something Awful user ce gars posted a tale of his own. He told the forums of a friend of his from film school– Alex Kralie– who had stumbled upon something troubling while shooting his first feature-length project. The project itself was called Marble Hornets, and it is from this that the Marble Hornets Project draws its name. After about two months of on and off shooting, Alex apparently abruptly halted shooting and dropped the project completely. He became a recluse and the footage sat in his attic gathering dust– until ce gars, real name Jay, convinced him to let him come over and check up on him. He asked what Alex planned to do with the tapes. “Burn them,” Alex said. Somehow, Jay talked Alex into letting him have the tapes; Alex agreed only with the understanding that Jay would never, ever bring up the tapes with him again. Ever. Shortly after, Alex transferred to an out-of-state school, and Jay hadn’t heard from him since. That was roughly five years ago, during which time Jay held onto the tapes, but curiously never watched them. Then, when the talk of Slender Man began in 2009, he unearthed them, posted his story, and told us that he would inform us of anything he found of interest contained within the Marble Hornets footage.

Three days later, he posted this:

It spread like wildfire. Jay continued posting entries as he found more and more unusual occurrences, eventually beginning to record his own attempts to get to the bottom of the mystery. Later on, a mysterious entity called totheark joined the party as well, leaving strange and troubling responses to Jay’s videos.

Creepy, yes; but real? Nope.

The Marble Hornets Project found its basis in the Slender Man tale before spinning off into what’s known as an Alternate Reality Game, or ARG. ARGs are interactive narratives that use the real world as their playing field, entertaining the “what if?” ideas that drive so many other creators of fiction. They also tend to use the “This Is Not A Game” aesthetic; that is, the world created by the game should be as real as possible. Any phone numbers mentioned should actually work, locations should be real… you get the idea. It’s about total immersion, and if you let it take you away with it, it can be pretty convincing. Marble Hornets functions mostly on YouTube, though ARGs are by no means limited to that platform. Anything is fair game.

I’ve watched a handful of other Slender Man-inspired ARGs, but Marble Hornets is by far the best of the bunch, largely because it’s so well constructed. Some entries may only be 30 seconds long; others may be 8 minutes long. The thing it gets so right is never giving you anything more than what you absolutely need at any given point, laying out the story with remarkable precision. The first 26 entries of it were so successful as to see a DVD release as “Season 1″ of the project, and Season 2 is well under way even now. Want to know the whole story? You can view all of Marble Hornets on its YouTube channel, and check out totheark while you’re at it. There’s also an in-game Twitter you can follow, @MarbleHornets.

I do, however, recommend watching the videos during the daylight hours, preferably in non-wooded areas.

Post from: Crushable

Creepy Things That Seem Real But Aren’t: The Marble Hornets Project

Infographic: The Post-Grad Hipster Guide to Inhabitable U.S. Cities

Posted: 14 May 2011 01:20 PM PDT

Imagine that you’re a hipster who’s just graduated college. Scratch that; maybe you ARE a hipster who’s just graduated college. No doubt you are now faced with that all-important question: Where should you live now? Detroit for street cred and something vague about hopeful post-apocalyptic urban gardening? Brooklyn to talk shit about Park Slope and Williamsburg while feeling guilty about your own contributions to gentrification? There are just so many options!

[Via Buzzfeed]

Post from: Crushable

Infographic: The Post-Grad Hipster Guide to Inhabitable U.S. Cities

15 Celebrities With Unexpected Hidden Talents

Posted: 14 May 2011 11:50 AM PDT

I don’t know about you guys, but I have two weird talents in my arsenal of bar tricks, and only two: 1) I can tie a cherry stem into a knot with my tongue (it’s really not that hard, I promise); and 2) I can play five-finger fillet without losing any fingers. I’m pretty proud of those two tricks, especially since they’re not things I actively tried to learn. That’s right: They’re just things I know how to do. Don’t ask me why, because I honestly don’t know. But hey, guess what? Loads of celebrities have even weirder and more unexpected talents hidden beneath their bright, shiny exteriors! Which celebrities, you ask? And what talents? Read on to find out. Some of them are truly surprising!

Post from: Crushable

15 Celebrities With Unexpected Hidden Talents
at

No comments:

Post a Comment