Thursday, July 26, 2012

Bear Grylls is awesome

Why would Discovery cancel this guy?! HE MADE A GODDAMN SUIT OUT OF A SEAL.


 I love this guy.

 Earlier links: http://www.dannyfinnegan.com/2011/01/teenager-lost-on-snowy-mountain.html & http://www.dannyfinnegan.com/2011/02/man-vs-wild-returns-to-wear-seal.html

500,000+ miles in a Gelandewagen

From the BBC site: Back in 1989, as the Berlin Wall fell, Gunther Holtorf and his wife Christine set out on what was meant to be an 18-month tour of Africa in their Mercedes Benz G Wagen. Now, with more than 800,000km (500,000 miles) on the clock, Gunther is still going. 

The best part about this is the quote in the video here about how he "did this under the radar". So many incredible overland journeys are well-documented, sometimes realtime, this guy is just doing it for the sake of doing it. Since his wife passed away from cancer in 2010, he's also been doing this journey alone. He plans on retiring next year, in addition to retiring "Otto" to the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.

 Definitely click the BBC source below for a great video about it, I can't seem to embed it.

 Sehr Gut Gunther.

 Prost!

 
Gunther Holtorf talked about his Africa hyena experience from alubavimeo on Vimeo.
Sources -> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18910560 & http://jalopnik.com/5929390/this-couple-took-a-500000-mile-road-trip-around-the-world & http://business.inquirer.net/62233/globetrotting-german-logs-800000-km-in-23-year-trip

I just realized I love women's hurdling too

Here's a video that is spreading like wildfire. Its 19 year old Aussie hurdler Michelle Jenneke warming up before the Barcelona championships. She didn't make the Aussie Olympic squad this year, but something tells me she isn't fading from the spotlight anytime soon...



Michelle Jenneke from Losse Veter on Vimeo.
Source -> http://www.thehighdefinite.com/2012/07/michelle-jenneke-warms-up/
via http://vimeo.com/45784191


Alerts to Terror Threats in 2011 Europe (by John Cleese)


ALERTS TO TERROR THREATS IN 2011 EUROPE

By John Cleese – British writer, actor and tall person
The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have therefore raised their security level from “Miffed” to “Peeved.” Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to “Irritated” or even “A Bit Cross.” The English have not been “A Bit Cross” since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from “Tiresome” to “A Bloody Nuisance.” The last time the British issued a “Bloody Nuisance” warning level was in 1588, when threatened by the Spanish Armada.

The Scots have raised their threat level from “Pissed Off” to “Let’s Get the Bastards.” They don’t have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from “Run” to “Hide.” The only two higher levels in France are “Collaborate” and “Surrender.” The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France’s white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country’s military capability.

Italy has increased the alert level from “Shout Loudly and Excitedly” to “Elaborate Military Posturing.” Two more levels remain: ” Ineffective Combat Operations” and “Change Sides.”

The Germans have increased their alert state from “Disdainful Arrogance” to “Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs.” They also have two higher levels: “Invade a Neighbor” and “Lose.”

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual; the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Australia, meanwhile, has raised its security level from “No worries” to “She’ll be alright, Mate.” Two more escalation levels remain: “Crikey! I think we’ll need to cancel the barbie this weekend!” and “The barbie is canceled.” So far, no situation has ever warranted use of the final escalation level.


Pasted from Source -> http://www.exohuman.com/wordpress/2011/04/john-cleese-european-terror-threat-alerts/

Friday, July 20, 2012

Aussies keep their cool around sharks...

Somehow dealing with unbelievably dangerous wildlife is built into Aussie DNA.*


From The Sun:
Nathan Podmore and pal Dave Richards were spear fishing off the coast of Western Australia when the 9ft beast started circling them. Footage — captured on Nathan's head cam (posted below) — shows them paddling helplessly in the ocean as the shark comes alarmingly close to them. Cut off from their boat they could only wait to see what would happen. The shark circled the friends three times in three minutes — before swimming directly at them.

*I have no proof of this.

 Source -> http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4428200/Spear-fisherman-fight-off-Great-White-Shark.html

 Earlier related links -> http://www.dannyfinnegan.com/2011/06/great-white-sharks-like-acdc.html & http://www.dannyfinnegan.com/2012/07/its-still-in-your-line.html

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Oz The Great and Powerful

My Cairn terrier really didn't like the green hand...
  Clickable link -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyywumlnhdw

 This looks fantastic.

 Source -> http://disney.go.com/thewizard/

No free views of 2012 Olympic sailing

...because they'll be building a wall.

























I'm all for protecting an event like this and wouldn't the stands be built in the best view anyway? I get security guards patrolling the paid seats (stands, etc) but why prevent local residents with a water view, etc from enjoying the event from their balcony? Why make a public park temporarily private?

From the Daily Mail:

Residents of Weymouth in Dorset will not be allowed to watch the 2012 regatta without a ticket even if their property overlooks the sailing competitions.
In a bid to stop people catching a glimpse of the Olympic regatta, officials have closed off the public park that boasts sea views.
A wall will be built around Nothe Gardens at Weymouth and Portland that stretches across 40,000 square metres of land and will play host to sailing events.

The park that is popular with residents could be out of bounds for walkers for up to four weeks while fences are erected and removed in preparation for the games.
People who have been using the public land for decades will be stopped from doing so by security guards.



Source -> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2008012/Olympic-officials-block-sea-view-stop-residents-watching-2012-sailing-free.html

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

How to use San Francisco as a personal race track

Gymkhana, and by extension Ken Block is awesome. Plug in your headphones and enjoy*.


  *yes I think the fake flickering thing in the beginning of the video is annoying as hell too

Ron Perlman dons the Hellboy getup for Make-A-Wish

This is a nice story for a really tragic situation. Ron Perlman of the Hellboy movies answered the call for a little boy in the Make-A-Wish foundation.

Spectral Motion said: In the past three weeks, Spectral Motion has been honored to host two wonderful Make-A-Wish children, Caleb and Zachary. Zachary loved his visit for two very special reasons. It was Zachary's wish to meet Hellboy and also to become Hellboy. When the Make-A-Wish Foundation contacted Spectral Motion with this request, Mike thought it would be fantastic to have Ron Perlman reprise his role for the day. Ron loved the idea and donned the makeup once more (with the assistance of Lufeng Qu and Eden Elizalde) and also ordered a Hellboy sized meal of burgers, shakes, and fries for Zachary and his family and the entire Spectral crew to enjoy. Later in the day, Zachary was transformed into Hellboy with the assistance of makeup artists Lufeng Qu and Neil Winn. Both of the Make-A-Wish days were a complete thrill for the families of the children, as well as for the crew at Spectral Motion!


I've only heard great things about Ron Perlman. Hellboy was a great comic and movie series. That's really cool that he was about to do this for that kid.


Source -> http://www.thehighdefinite.com/2012/07/zachary-meets-hellboy/ via http://www.superherohype.com/news/articles/171543-ron-perlman-puts-on-the-hellboy-make-up-again

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Happy Independence day!

USA! USA! USA!


Here's some fun (wife would say "weird") facts


31
Number of places nationwide with "liberty" in their name. The most populous one is Liberty,Missouri (29,149). Iowa has more of these places than any other state: four (Libertyville, New Liberty, North Liberty and West Liberty).

  • Eleven places have "independence" in their name. The most populous of these is Independence, Missouri, with 116,830 residents.

  • Five places adopted the name "freedom." New Freedom, Pennsylvania with 4,464 residents, has the largest population among these.

  • There is one place named "patriot" — Patriot, Indiana, with a population of 209.

  • And what could be more fitting than spending the day in a place called "America"? There are five such places in the country, with the most populous being American Fork, Utah, with 26,263 residents.
Earlier post about the Declaration of Independence possibly being deemed illegal by British lawyers, hahahahaha -> http://www.dannyfinnegan.com/2011/10/was-declaration-of-independence-illegal.html

Progression of the American flag over history.

As the exact pattern of stars was not specified prior to 1912, and the exact colors not specified prior to 1934, many of the historical U.S. national flags shown below are typical rather than official designs.



Betsy Ross Flag 
The 13 Star Flag 
The Star Spangled Banner 
The 1818 20 Star Flag 

The 21 Star Flag 
The 23 Star Flag 
The 24 Star Flag 
The 25 Star Flag 


The 26 Star Flag 
The 27 Star Flag 
The 28 Star Flag 
The 29 Star Flag 


The 30 Star Flag 
The 31 Star Flag 
The 32 Star Flag 
The 33 Star Flag 


The 34 Star Flag 
The Civil War 35 Star Flag 
The 36 Star Flag 
The 37 Star Flag 

The 38 Star Flag 
The 43 Star Flag 
The 44 Star Flag 
The 45 Star Flag 

The 46 Star Flag 
The 48 Star Flag 
The 49 Star Flag 
The 50 Star Flag 

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

He STILL has a very special set of skills...

Taken 2 is coming out. Taken (1) being one of the most under-rated under-the-radar movies I've ever seen*.


Clickable link -> http://youtu.be/VpaT8NzkLgE 

Source -> http://www.wwtdd.com/2012/06/its-the-taken-2-trailer/

-----------
Not just because he's a badass, I also like Liam Neeson for stuff like this. Here he is leaving a voicemail message for his first fan on the Graham Norton show.

  Clickable link -> http://youtu.be/1tJoNoOAY9Q

*Like tater tots, regardless of how much recognition that movie gets, it'll remain underrated.

I still haven't seen "Senna"...

But in the meantime this is really cool.

 
Evolution of the F1 Car from Ruf Blacklock on Vimeo.
Source -> http://jalopnik.com/5923215/watch-63-years-of-f1-evolution-in-60-seconds

BREAKING STORY (not sure what it is yet)

Sometimes the Onion is really funny...


Clickable link -> http://youtu.be/xTXz_4u-4mc
 Source -> http://www.thehighdefinite.com/2012/06/breaking-story-so-new-reporter-literally-has-no-information/

Them Duke boys are at it again

A recent heat wave in the Midwest has cause a large buckle on highway 29 located outside of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. An unlucky SUV appears to not have realized the gravity of the situation and due to maintaining speed offset the force of gravity a bit.

  Clickable link -> http://youtu.be/Nf0l3NO-35U 

Source -> http://jalopnik.com/5922904/heat+buckled-highway-causes-wild-dukes-of-hazzard-jump via http://www.wqow.com/story/18928016/highway-29-buckles-under-high-temperatures

Monday, July 2, 2012

"Ohhhh you met Spaghetti, I will not miss him"

No reason for this post other than I want some new episodes of Community... this should hold me over.