Mikkele.bringard

Perhaps it was only a matter of time before the grumpiest celebrity on the Internet finally met the grumpiest character in the movies. As part of a new theme park promotion, Disney invited some online stars to their parks for a series of videos, and obviously, Grumpy Cat stole the show. He tried to have fun, but it was awful …

In this longform feature “Onward Christian Soldiers,” Slate goes “Inside the shadowy network of front companies Christian missionaries use to spread the gospel in North Korea.” The piece examines how evangelicals use tour companies, fake-ish businesses and investments to get inside the reclusive nation of North Korea in an effort to tell people about Christ. The story also looks at the case of Kenneth Bae, the American “undercover missionary” that is currently in North Korean prison after being convicted of trying to “perpetrate hostile acts to bring down the government.”

Like Bae, missionaries to North Korea face incredible risks while infiltrating the communist country—where citizens can be put to death for just possessing a Bible—especially because one source reveals that as many as “70 percent of the supposedly underground North Korean Christians are actually government informants.” The article interviews several missionaries that have spent years attempting to reach the people of North Korea, who tell how mentioning God, evangelizing or distributing Bibles can lead to immediate expulsion from the country, or even worse, a long-term prison sentence …

When the Make-a-Wish foundation asked 5-year-old leukemia patient Miles what he wanted, the little guy had a unique request: He wanted to become “Batkid.” For the first time ever, the foundation will get the public’s help to make Miles dream come true. On Nov. 15, a special news story will air, informing the public (and Miles), that Batkid is needed by the police chief to solve some crimes and bring “the bad guys to justice." With the help of hundreds—possibly even thousands—of volunteers, a series of comic book-like “crimes” and showdowns with villains will be staged around the city, with Batkid there to help. The day will culminate with a special ceremony, in which the mayor will award the young hero with the key to the city. Though Miles knows he’ll be getting a special costume on the day, he has no idea what’s in store. Jen Wilson of the Make-a-Wish foundation told ABC News, “Since he wants to be a superhero, we felt like having a large crowd there waiting with signs and cheering him on would make him feel like a hero, not just because he battle villains and helped fight crime, but he's a true hero.” Go get ‘em little guy …

How much Britney Spears news is too much Britney Spears news? After all, it's 2013, and Britney isn't exactly the cultural touchstone she once was. And yet, just this week, we've reported on her upcoming musical on the life of Christ, and on being the world's most successful pirate deterrent. And now comes this gem from The Blaze: Britney's favorite book is "anything by Max Lucado." Lucado, as you probably know, is the prolific author of many, many Christian books like Traveling Light and Fearless. Britney, as you also know, is the world's most successful teen pop star of all time. Not exactly a likely match, those two, but if nothing else, Britney is proving she can still surprise ...

You don’t have to be a fan of LEGOs to enjoy this trailer for the The LEGO Movie, which hits theaters on Feb. 7. The laugh-out-loud clip features the voices of Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman, Will Arnett and others that are featured in the all-star animated cast …

A Virginia woman allowed her 7-year-old son to dress up in a KKK costume, because it's 2013 and we are still dealing with this awful nonsense. The mom has issued a defense of her decision and, to be honest, it's not airtight. Jessica Black said that he was "inspired" to dress up in the costume after seeing it on Fried Green Tomatoes(?) and that the costume was a "tradition"(?). She even said her brother dressed up as a KKK member when he was 13. And then there's this doozy: "It's suppose to be white with white. Black with black ..." she told local reporters. "That's what the KKK stands for." Hopefully, you're seeing the holes in her logic here without them being spelled out for you ...

Here's the most metal thing you'll read all day. At 12,000 feet above Wisconsin, two planes full of skydivers veered off course and accidentally crashed into each other. Conveniently and awesomely, everyone on the plane was unusually well-prepared for plummeting to the earth below, and all nine plane passengers parachuted to safety. One pilot ejected and joined his buddies on their descent. The other pilot just crash-landed his plane. All in all, it was a total Michael Bay movie. Come to think, it's the sort of scenario that Michael Bay would probably dream up and then think, "Nah, too unrealistic." The FAA still isn't quite sure what went wrong with the planes, but maybe that's because they're asking the wrong question. Everything here went perfectly awesome ...

Update: An earlier version of this erroneously said this happened in Washington.

An 80-year-old Russian shepherd was just wandering around, minding his own business, when he ran afoul an angry bear. One thing led to another and the two got into a scuffle, as all too often happens in these inter-species exchanges. Obviously, most of us would have probably turned tail and ran for our lives (or played dead—whatever it is you're supposed to do) but most of us aren't Yusuf Alchagirov, who has lived too long and seen too much to let a little thing like a bear scare him. He attempted to attack the bear with his knife, which the bear swatted away, and then resorted to headbutting the bear which didn't work either but, well, you have to give him credit. The bear responded by throwing Alchagirov off a cliff, which the octogenarian survived with only a few bruises, some broken ribs and bite wounds. His family celebrated his happy return with three traditional pies, which are very well deserved ...

PYT Burger and Bar in Philadelphia has unveiled their latest creation, a cheeseburger made from Twinkies, funnel cake batter, pork belly, beef and bacon. Behold, the end of humanity is nigh ...

After a recent half marathon and 5K race raised $650,000 for The Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (CHaD), the staff wanted to think of a creative way to thank the participants. With the help of their young patients, they’ve created this lip-sync video to the Katy Perry single “Roar”, showing that even though they’re battling illnesses, nothing can prevent these kids from trying to inspire others. Even if you’re not a fan of pop music, the courage of these young patients and their gratitude for others’ generosity will make you appreciate their bravery and spirit in the face of such difficult circumstances …

Virgin America has a new way to get you to pay attention to those safety announcements and, as a matter of fact, it's fantastic ...

There's not many ways to make funerals sadder than they already are, but there's a new trend that sure is trying. Well, maybe "trend" isn't quite the right word—this doesn't seem to be too terribly widespread yet—but there's enough to make a Tumblr out of it, and that's too many. It's called Selfies at Funerals, it's exactly what it sounds like, and it shows that narcissism is no respecter of solemn occasions. Hopefully, the abject horror with which this Tumblr is being met will curb this thing before it becomes a full-blown thing ...

Young Devin Kohlman, an eighth-grader in the town of Port Clinton, Ohio, has been battling “aggressive” brain cancer and had one wish: He wanted to leave the hospital in time to be home for Christmas. So when he returned home this week, Devin got a surprise—Christmas had come early to the town of Port Clinton. People throughout the city decorated their homes, and in the town’s large park (which Devin can see from his bedroom window), citizens erected a massive Christmas tree, decorated the gazebo and gathered for a Christmas celebration. Joined by the mayor and even a Santa Claus, hundreds of people closed the streets to come together and sing carols, hand out snacks and give Devin the Christmas celebration he’d wished for …

Retail store Spirit Halloween has released their list of the bestselling Halloween costumes of the last 30 years. The list actually makes for a pretty cool look at the evolution of pop-culture trends. Just think, there was a time (1985) when Hulk Hogan was the most popular costume in the country …

As it turns out Jim O’Heir, the actor who plays the loveable Jerry Gergich on Parks and Rec, runs a charming, organic candy corn farm. Enjoy this video tour of the natural candy corn haven courtesy of Nerdist. (If you are offended by the over-animated, mildly gross, consumption of candy corn products, you may want to refrain) …

Quick. If you were to guess the title of a How I Met Your Mother spin-off, what would you call it? If you guessed How I Met Your Father, which you almost certainly did, than you've only proved that you can automatically come up with the same sort of concept a group of unfathomably wealthy "experts" came up with, and maybe someone owes you a raise. Yes, HIMYM is coming to a close, but we're not going to say good-bye to all our pals just yet, because a spin-off is in the works, and it's going to follow one of the show's female character's quest for a husband. Well, of course it is. Thinking of a fresh, new sort of television show that would be quirky and different to its time and place just sounds like too much work. Maybe next we'll get How I Had Your Brother or something ...

Yesterday, a horrid odor shut down a Brooklyn prep school yesterday, hospitalizing eight students. EMS was called in to investigate the scene of the noxious smell at Medgar Evers College Preparatory School in Crown Heights, and soon determined that the culprit was an abundance of that least pleasant of substances: Axe Body Spray. Yes, you've heard of it. Long known to be the unhappy source of unapologetically misogynistic ads and and even less tolerable smells: something reminiscent of a gallon of warm milk that has been curdling all afternoon in a hollowed-out lemon rind. This is not the first time that it has straight up sent someone to the hospital (Newsfeed notes that an overuse of it has been known to set of fire alarms) ...

The Jonas Brothers have canceled their tour, deleted their Twitter account, announced that “It's over for now” and have officially ended the adolescent stage of life for millions of young people now faced with the crushing prospect of an adulthood without the music of the Jo-Bros …

If you're setting sail for troubled waters and you fear attacks by rogue bands of miscreant scallywags, then you'd best make sure you've set sail with the right weapons. No, not cutlasses or muskets. No, not ancient spells to charm and subdue the dreaded Kraken. Be realistic. You've got to start blasting Britney Spears, and you've got to blast it loud. From the Daily Mirror:

The US star’s hits are being blasted at the approaching Somali raiders – because they can’t stand her music. Chart-toppers "Baby One More Time" and "Oops! I Did It Again" are the most effective in the war against the Kalashnikov carrying bandits…Second Officer Rachel from Aberfoyle in Scotland said: “Her songs have been chosen by the security team accompanying our tankers because they thought the pirates would hate them most. “These guys can’t stand Western culture or music, making Britney’s hits perfect….They’re so effective the ship’s security rarely needs to resort to firing guns – as soon as the pirates get a blast of Britney they move on as quickly as they can.”

A cruel tactic, but the sea is a law unto itself. However, Steven Jones—of the Security Association for the Maritime Industry—made it clear that, even in war, there are limits. “I’d imagine using Justin Bieber would be against the Geneva Convention,” he told reporters. Yo ho ho ...