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[evelyn terastvatsatrian]

One of the most fascinating things about early “shared folder” P2P networks and protocols such as FastTrack (Kazaa) and Gnutella (LimeWire) was the amount of unusual content that turned up online.

In the end, however, this ungoverned and unmoderated publication of content became the undoing of these and similar networks, with malware, viruses and badly (even maliciously) labeled files taking over.

With the advent of BitTorrent with its reliance on managed indexes, publication of content became significantly less accessible. That cut down hugely on junk but also much of the desirable oddball content too. However, torrents ate big files for breakfast and heralded something new and exciting – leaks of movie content never intended for public consumption plus exclusive fan-modified versions.

Also noteworthy with BitTorrent is longevity of content availability. With both in mind we took a browse around to see what unusual movie content is still being seeded today.

Fight Club – Workprint – 1998/1999

According to the iMDb, Fight Club is one of the world’s most-loved movies with countless millions having seen it to date. However, lurking away on file-sharing networks is a special version of the movie sporting hundreds of changes from the final version including 13 reported cuts for violence.

Showing that something as important as the intro isn’t always set in stone, this video claims to depict an earlier intro to the movie accompanied by “Everlong” by the Foo Fighters instead of “Stealing Fat” from the Dust Brothers.

Curiosity value: At least 127 documented differences compared with the original.

Halloween – Workprint – 2007

As the world waited for the return of Michael Myers in the 2007 remake of Halloween, scene release group mVs (Maven Supplier) had a surprise in store. On August 27, 2007, three days before its official release, mVs released an unfinished version of the movie online.

Curiosity value: Missing final edits, some scenes added, and general polish. Full extensive details are available here.

Alien “Virtual Workprint” – 1979

From release notes: A fan-edit of the film ALIEN which interpolates all existing deleted scenes and a variety of unseen footage and unused score cues to create a version that runs considerably longer than both the 1979 theatrical release and the 2003 director’s cut.

Curiosity value: Runtime of 139 mins (117 mins original, 116 mins director’s cut)

Apocalypse Now – Workprint – 1979

According to the information posted along with the release, this is the best workprint copy of the movie outside “Mr Coppola’s archives” although as the screenshots show, quality is stuck in the VHS era.

“I was given this on VHS many years ago. It was from a higher up source on the food chain and quite possibly one or two generations down from the source that leaked it to begin with,” a note with the release reads.

“The workprint ended right during the cow slicing. I then tacked on the finished
film ended but before the credits I also added the Kurtz compound destruction.
Now you have a super edition of the film running 30 mins short of 6 hours!!

Curiosity value: Unfinished, yet still 5.5 hours long. (original 153 mins)

The Mask – Workprint – 1994

This Jim Carey classic was nominated for a special effects Oscar in 1995, but people who stumbled across an unfinished version of the movie were seriously but interestingly short-changed in that department. This workprint copy is missing many special effects and in some of the more dramatic morphing scenes everything is replaced by hand drawn story boards.

Curiosity value: A full 20 mins longer than the DVD with unfinished scenes, scenes not present in the final version, additional dialogue and Jim Carrey acting scenes before CGI is added in.

Dune The Reconstructed Workprint Edition – 1984

From release notes: This edit attempts to reconstruct David Lynch’s workprint better than the official Extended Edition. It removes most (if not all) of the offensive elements that led Lynch to remove his name from the Extended Edition.

Erroneous FX shots are eliminated, and as much of the Theatrical Edition as possible is used for the sake of better sound and score. It also restores most of the
deleted scenes that were not present in the Extended Edition but finally showed
up as a supplement on the DVD.

Curiosity value: 41 mins longer than the official 137 min runtime.

The Nightmare Before Christmas Workprint – 1993

From release notes: The film was half-complete at this point. You’ll see a lot of finished scenes, including a few that don’t appear in the final movie, but you’ll also see scenes which are only storyboard drawings.

There is a lot of temporary audio and music. Oogie Boogie’s scenes, for example, aren’t ready yet – they’re storyboards, with temporary audio on his song, which is a longer version probably sung by Danny Elfman. “Making Christmas” is also just storyboards with an extra verse.

The final confrontation between Jack and Oogie (and pretty much the entire ending) is also just storyboards, and a bit vague compared to the final film.

Curiosity value: Seriously unfinished

This Is Spinal Tap (1984) – 4.5 Hour Workprint

From release notes: This workprint of the film contains about 3 hours of footage not included in the commercial release. The picture quality is pretty bad; it’s dark and muddled, but you can see everything pretty okay.

The sound is really great, however. The audio also falls out of sync at certain points because it is an extremely rough cut of the flick and that stuff wasn’t finalized yet.

Curiosity value: Three hours of extra footage.

If you’ve found any obscure video content hiding away online, please feel free to detail your discovery in the comments section below. Please do not link to any copyrighted material or torrents since those posts will be removed.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

The next time you update your PC or try to troubleshoot compatibility problems, you'll may need to know your current BIOS. You could reboot the computer, but it's much easier to use the Windows command line utility.

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Since 2012 artist James Kerr (aka Scorpion Dagger) has been creating hilariously bizarre animated GIFs based on Northern and Early Renaissance paintings. Kerr can also be found on Instagram.

GIFs by James Kerr

via Boing Boing

via

 

via

 

I know, we’re bad…

Photo courtesy of Eva.
Found in China. 

submitted by AGMarasco [link] [84 comments]

submitted by brentose [link] [222 comments]

MCDONALD'S sales fell more than expected...


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Chicken liver mousse always make me think of the sexy, cozy wine bar where I once worked in the West Village. I watched their mousse regularly provoke consummate liver-haters to clean the bowl with their fingers. Chicken liver mousse can do that; it's got everything going for it. It's creamy, fatty, savory, and pureed beyond recognition of anything anatomical. Tom Mylan's version, from The Meat Hook Meat Book, is sure to twist some arms: a little funky, a little boozy, and rich enough to be dessert. Read More

This 1962 GMC Suburban Airporter is a stretched six door model converted by Stageway Coaches. These trucks were built in a variety of lengths, this actually being one of the shorter we’ve seen. Said to need restoration, it looks complete but rusty, and the seller has spare parts, though it’s not said if they’re included for the price. Find it here on Craigslist in Bend, Oregon for $7,500.

GOOGLE CAR CRASHES GOING WRONG WAY...


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The official blurb:

From producer Guillermo del Toro and director Jorge Gutierrez comes an animated comedy with a unique visual style. THE BOOK OF LIFE is the journey of Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans three fantastical worlds where he must face his greatest fears. Rich with a fresh take on pop music favorites, THE BOOK OF LIFE encourages us to celebrate the past while looking forward to the future.

While many Americans are now doing better than they were during the Great Recession, those dark days took such a toll on many consumers’ savings that some people who are currently doing well enough to pay the bills and enjoy a decent living aren’t able to make necessary longterm investments, like buying a new home or saving for retirement.

This is according to newly released survey results [PDF] from the Federal Reserve.

As you can see from the above chart, 34% of those surveyed said they are in the same financial situation as they were five years earlier. Another 30% are at least somewhat better than they were, but then there is the 34% who claim to be worse off now.

These numbers seem to match up with another question asked by Fed surveyors, with 23% of respondents saying they were “living comfortably,” and 37% reporting they were “doing okay,” adding up to 60% of Americans feeling they were in a stable place. But 25% say they are “just getting by” financially, and 13% admit they are “finding it difficult to get by.”

Even with the majority of Americans feeling they are in an okay place with their finances, a large number of them now lack savings or are unable to make necessary investments.

According to the survey, 42% of Americans delayed a major purchase or expense directly due to the recession, and 18% put off what they considered to be a major life decision.

Nearly 60% of all respondents lack a “rainy day” fund that could cover three months of expenses if needed. The percentage of unprepared consumers actually increases with age (up until age 60 and above).

Additionally, only about half of the people surveyed by the Fed can cover a hypothetical emergency expense costing $400 without selling something or borrowing money.

It’s probably not a shock that 41% of people between 18-29 aren’t thinking about planning their retirement finances, but nearly 1-in-5 people between the ages of 45-59 are giving no thought at all to saving for retirement. When you add in the 20% who are only giving it a little thought, that means that 40% of people approaching retirement age are, at best, giving it only cursory consideration.

In terms of the housing market, there is tempered optimism among consumers, with most current homeowners believing that the value of their property will increase in the coming year. However, 45% of homeowners still believe their house is worth less than it was in 2008 when the housing market collapsed, so for these consumers the hoped-for value increase is more about getting back to a previous level.

The longterm implications of the recession on the housing market can be seen in renters’ response to the survey questions.

Most renters would rather own a home, especially in the younger age groups of 18-29 and 30-44, where only 14% of respondents say they prefer renting to owning a home.

However, these same groups say they can’t buy a home. In fact, nearly half of all renters say the biggest roadblock to buying a home is the inability to pay the hefty down-payment. Given that many markets only require 5-10% of a home’s value (plus mortgage insurance), this seems to indicate a serious lack of savings.

Interestingly, the age group that most frequently cited an inability to qualify for a mortgage as an impediment to homeownership are those renters between 45-59, perhaps indicating that this group includes a number of people whose creditworthiness was damaged during the recession.

“In general, it appears that the majority of the population is making progress in recovering from any effects the financial crisis had on their personal finances and household’s financial well-being,” concludes the survey. “However, despite these overall reasons for optimism about the economic conditions of U.S. households, the findings in this survey highlight that economic challenges remain for a significant portion of the population.”

“Just murdering that carrot, tho.” — mbr715

Thanks Mike (from Spain)

 

This is the Ferrari 330 2+2 Speciale; it is not the prettiest Ferrari in the world. It does have a V12 engine with a really long roof, and unlike a 250 GTO breadvan that would auction in the range of eleventy-billion dollars, this one is set to fetch between 400-600k at Pebble Beach.

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Forrest Gump turned 20 this summer, and this video from the auditions is making the rounds. At that point, the character didn't have a southern accent. It seems Hanks already has the part, and it's the other actors who are auditioning. 

If you like a good screen test, here are some famous actors auditioning for roles they didn't get, like Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones and Kurt Russell as Han Solo.

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