by Maddie Stone on Gizmodo, shared by Mike Fahey to Kotaku
The flamethrower guitar was definitely one of the coolest bits of tech in Mad Max: Fury Road. But why should Doof Warriors on the post-apocalyptic warpath have all the fun? With an afternoon to spare and a good life insurance policy, you can be the proud owner of a fire-breathing instrument, too.
Let’s give a warm welcome to an adorable new animal friend. A baby pygmy hippopotamus has made his dazzling debut at Melbourne Zoo. The tiny, yet-to-be-named hippo was the first one to be born at the zoo in 34 years. He’s doing well with his growth progress, putting on up to half a kilogram a day reportsThe Guardian. Pygmy hippos—which are endangered creatures—can grow to reach six feet in length and weigh up to 600 pounds.
A food truck crashed into a tree with a beehive in West Hollywood, leaving four people trapped inside the truck as angry bees swarmed the scene. [ more › ]
this is such shady bullshit but i totally want to go to this
We drove up to Everett last Sunday because, hey, FREE HUGS! Kelly O
Words by Trent Moorman, photos Kelly O
Last Sunday, the renowned humanitarian and spiritual leader AMMA was at Everett’s Xfinity Arena giving hugs and “darshan.” Her real name is Mata Amritanandamayi, and she is known as the Hugging Saint. She will hug anyone who wants a hug. In the past 40 years, AMMA has physically hugged more than 34 million people. For the six hours Kelly O and I were there waiting to hug her, I’m not exactly sure what happened, but it was powerful. The 61-year-old Indian guru from Parayakadavu is a powerhouse of positive vibrations.
To hug AMMA you needed a numbered token, which was free. The whole thing was free. Tickets were not required. We got there at 6 p.m., and at 10:30 p.m. they hadn’t even started forming the line to hug her. Our hugging section was “H5”. When AMMA starts hugging, she sits there all goddamn night until every person who wants a hug gets one...
Not a single Budweiser was served at this event. Kelly O
Darshan is difficult to define. It’s an event in consciousness—an interaction of being between devotee and God/guru, or between devotee and image or sculpture, which focuses and calls out the consciousness of the devotee.
AMMA will sit giving darshan up to 23 hours without peeing. And she's diabetic. Sometimes she gets insulin. Every once in a while, she has a spritz of liquid or takes a bite of cookie. There are multiple fans blowing air and space heaters. On a long day, where the crowds are bigger, she can hug 20,000 people. The Xfinity Arena was about a third full. The stage for AMMA and her entourage was not small.
Photo of AMMA in the 2015 Program Guide.
The program we attended began at 7 p.m. It started with a satsang, or sermon, by one of AMMA’s head disciples (who looked like Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips). There was talk of karma and existence. He was low and flowing with his voice close to mic and his accent boomed around the acoustics of the space. AMMA was seated up on a riser, surrounded by disciples in orange robes, children, and musicians. Music was provided by a 20-piece band. It was a big sound. Holy, Eastern, desert tones. Ten tabla and percussion players, a harmonium, and around eight vocalists, including AMMA. She has a really good voice—smoky, fluid, and furtive. As she sang, she fanned her hand forward, ushering the sonic energies off the stage onto the crowd. Her eyes seemed closed most of the time. Kelly O said she thought AMMA sounded sort of like Janis Joplin. Then there was meditation. Loud “OOOOHMS” were chanted. I looked up at the scoreboard in the center of the arena and there were images of white flower petals falling. Then the darshan commenced.
(Listen to AMMA)
AMMA’s image on the scoreboard in the middle of the arena didn’t seem out of place. She’s commanding in her presence, even pixelated on a scoreboard.
The pixelated AMMA from where we sat in the bleachers. Kelly O
I was skeptical at first. But by the time I got my hug, I didn’t want it to end. When our hug section got close, we came down from the upper level seating to the floor. On the floor, there were food and items for sale. They do food the entire time. Adult baby food, and curries, and cauliflowers. Kelly O said, "That was a delicious plate of oatmealy mush. It’s kitcheri.” They sell bags, AMMA dolls, pictures, T-shirts, instruments, spices, incense, calendars, and everything AMMA.
Mmmm, kiiiiiiitcheri Kelly O
Blessed AMMA dolls for sale. Kelly O
Kelly O was wearing a Nirvana "smiley-face" shirt, and received at least three compliments. Also, many Jesus-looking men in white robes strode gracefully and calmly about the arena.
Many rocked the white robes. Kelly O
When your section is called, someone in a lime-colored scarf directs you to a chair. There are lots of people directing you, and directing the directors. Then you move chair by chair forward as they become open getting closer to the stage, until you’re seated in a row of chairs to the side of the stage. Then you move chair by chair until you’re on the stage, where you move chair by chair until you’re on deck, in a kneeling position.
We got our hugs around 11:15 p/m. Kelly O
The closer you get to AMMA the faster your heart beats. There’s a crowd of people surrounding AMMA—wise-people, helpers, disciples, guiders, volunteers, people just soaking up her energy.
When it’s your time for AMMA’s hug, you are instructed to put your hands on either side of AMMA’s chair from your kneeling position. So much buildup goes into it. I had a picture of my mother for her to bless. There’s commotion with people getting up from their hug, going in and out. Then it’s your moment. The band is playing loudly through the big system. Tablas and chanting swirl. You’re in the middle of an arena where they play hockey. Then there’s AMMA before you. A handler ushers you forward and you bury your head into the sanctity of her chest. AMMA puts her arms around you and turns your head so one ear faces up. Then she chants softly right into your ear, into your head, into your world, words that translated to “my son, my son, my son.” When I heard her voice everything vanished.
It seemed like I was in the field of her embrace for an hour. Then it was over, I pulled back and looked into her eyes. Her smile and face and gaze are etched from another age. She’s pure good. I realized it then. “Can you cure my mom?” I thought, “Can you make it so she doesn’t feel pain?” I wanted to cry but was embarrassed. She’s hugged all those millions of people. It all seemed too big for now. She handed me rose petals and a Hershey’s kiss, and the guy behind her who was like the umpire nodded. Then I navigated back out through the gathering onstage, walked down the stairs, and put on my shoes. Two Jesuses with matching man-buns and beige robes walked by under the arena’s Budweiser sign and smiled. Slowly I began to hear the world again. Thank you, AMMA. Thank you for my hug.
Kelly says: After my hug, I felt the same, gooey, ecstatic rush I've experienced after acupuncture. Thank you, AMMA. Kelly O
The White House asked the fourth-graders at Lincoln Akerman School in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, to name a red-tailed hawk that had started living at the White House. The kids, true to their name, decided on "Lincoln," presumably in reference to the school's name and also to the Sylvester Stallone character in the 1987 arm-wrestling classic Over the Top. The bird has a Twitter account and everything. Look at Lincoln in all his sepia-tinted glory:
But wait — why is the White House asking a random group of New Hampshire fourth-graders to name a goddamn bird? Well, the fourth-graders of Lincoln Akerman School happen to really love red-tailed hawks. And New Hampshire politicians decided to take that love and smash it into a thousand tragic pieces:
by Casey Chan on Sploid, shared by Meg Neal to Gizmodo
Bruce Shapiro’s Sisyphus is a magic machine that shows a steel ball rolling around in the sand to create wonderfully intricate sand drawings. The balls are all controlled with magnets but they seem to have a mind of their own. It’s like making a Zen Garden, only with the sorcery of magnets instead of old style rakes.
With the passage of a landmark bill in its House of Representatives late Thursday, Louisiana is poised to become the first state in the South to legalize marijuana for medical use. Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican expected to run for president in 2016, said last week he would sign the legislation if it reached his desk.
"Our view on medical marijuana was it had to be supervised and had to be a legitimate medical purpose and this bill meets that criteria," Jindal told reporters on May 28, while state legislators were still debating potential amendments.
If the governor is true to his word, Louisiana will become the 24th state, in addition to Washington, D.C., to make marijuana available to patients for medicinal purposes.
Source: Gerald Herbert/APJust one catch: Legalization advocates, though broadly pleased with the state's decision, have expressed concern about one key provision in the bill. Read More
Are we going to see a third Dark Souls game at E3? Though nothing’s official yet, there are enough rumors floating around to make it seem like a real possibility.
One Oregon man got a lesson in compassion through a set of ironic circumstances after posting what he thought was a photo of soldiers in combat to mock Caitlyn Jenner. [ more › ]
Special guest artist Caia Koopman and PangeaSeed have teamed up to create a very special limited edition fine art print highlighting the beauty and plight of manta rays to celebrate World Oceans Day (June 8). Proceeds from the sale of each print directly contributes to PangeaSeed’s ongoing educational efforts to help save threatened marine species such as manta rays via art and activism.
Manta rays are some of the most fascinating creatures that live in our oceans. With the largest brain of all fish, their intelligence and curiosity make interactions with these animals an amazing experience. The magnificent and gentle manta rays, cousins of the shark, are filter feeders (meaning they only eat plankton and small krill) and are the largest rays in the oceans.
In 2009, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 8 of each year “World Oceans Day”. Similar to “Earth Day”, World Oceans Day is a global day of events and activities such as beach clean ups, educational programs, art contests, and film festivals all helping to celebrate our seas and raise greatly needed awareness of pressing ocean environmental issues such as overfishing, plastics waste, pollution, coastal development, habitat loss, climate change and ocean acidification.
PangeaSeed is an international non-profit organization that collaborates through artistic and creative mediums with members of the contemporary art and environmental communities to raise public awareness and education regarding the conservation and preservation of oceans, sharks and other marine species in peril.
A food truck crashed into a tree with a beehive in West Hollywood, leaving four people trapped inside the truck as angry bees swarmed the scene. [ more › ]
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Another American fighting ISIS wrote that Michael Enright was "the biggest p.o.s that ever walked in Rojava." [ more › ]
One Oregon man got a lesson in compassion through a set of ironic circumstances after posting what he thought was a photo of soldiers in combat to mock Caitlyn Jenner. [ more › ]
