Enure01

MacGyver | Image: Paramount

Lionsgate has announced their plans to make a film from the popular TV series MacGyver, which ran from 1985-1992 and starred Richard Dean Anderson and Dana Elcar. Sources said that the announcement wasn't heavy on detail, which was similar to their October 2015 announcement of a MacGyver TV series. The television show is intended to be a prequel of the 1980s series, in that it focuses on MacGyver as a mechanically crafty twentysomething.

Read more on both the MacGyver movie and television projects here.

A leopard wandered into the Vibgyor International School in Bangalore, India, Sunday and mauled six people as it wandered around in a panic. It took ten hours to subdue the big cat. Some of the cat attacks were captured on security cameras.

(YouTube link) 

Conservation scientist Sanjay Gubbi and forest department employee Benny Maurius were injured when they tried to corner the animal and tranquillise him, reports say.

"It was a long struggle to capture the leopard. Although it was injected with tranquillisers it could be captured only around 20.15 local time when the medication took full effect," senior police official S Boralingaiah told reporters.

After the drug took effect, the leopard was transported back into the nearby forest. Six people were treated at a nearby hospital for minor injuries. -via reddit

Ice skaters on Båven, a lake south of Stockholm, Sweden, spotted wild boars on an island in the middle of the frozen lake. They were trapped there, unable to gain traction on the ice and probably running out of food on the little island. So the skaters gently pushed the boars across with poles, like they were sweeping curling stones across the ice.

(Video Link)

-via Huffington Post

It's Pat | Image: Touchstone Pictures

The movie business is never short of secrets, or stories that certain people might be somewhat embarrassed to comment on or acknowledge. Prior to the year 2000, theAlan Smithee pseudonymwas employed by film directors who didn't want their names associated with disappointing final products. Screenwriters like Joel and Ethan Coen, Charlie Kaufman and Woody Allen have used pseudonyms, not necesarily out of embarrassment, but for other reasons. 

The list linked below connects famous writers to some film scripts they've written, some of which are hard to fathom. For instance, take It's Pat. A largely unremarkable Saturday Night Live skit-based movie, it follows androgynous protagonist Pat. Too roly-poly to discern the outlines of her critical bodily features and with a partner whose gender is also maddeningly questionable, this bizarre comedy keeps the audience guessing. And guessing. But who would have guessed that the writer was none other than Quentin Tarantino? What's that? It's... not Reservoir Dogs.  

Read a list of 23 film writers— talents such as Noah Baumbach, Louis C.K., J.J. Abrams and more — in this article. 

Graphic designers know how important letter-spacing (tracking) is to a design that features lots of typography, like those created for store signs or billboards, and yet some designers still manage to fall short.

They haven't learned to leave enough space between letters so the words they're writing can be clearly understood, a rookie mistake that may cause a budding graphic designer to lose clients.

But you don't have to be in the graphic design biz to find this tip helpful- make sure you leave enough space between letters or you may end up making an anal of yourself!

See 15 Images That Show Why Letter Spacing Is Important here

(Photo: Brig. Gen. McAuliffe and Lt. Col. Kinnard via the US Department of War)

During the Battle of the Bulge in late 1944, German forces surrounded and cut off the US Army's 101st Airborne Division under the command of Brigadier General Anthony C. McAuliffe. The Americans were vastly outnumbered and outgunned. The Germans appeared to be in a position to annihilate them.

General Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz sent a message under a flag of truce, urging McAuliffe to surrender. McAuliffe's legendary reply was simple: "Nuts!"

And with that, the great orator and general Anthony McAuliffe became a symbol of American grit. Now you can read the full story of this incident as related by Kenneth J. McAuliffe, Jr., General McAuliffe's nephew.

He explains that General McAuliffe was initially confused by the message. He thought that the Germans wanted to surrender to him, not the other way around:

The Division Operations Officer, Lt. Col. Harry Kinnard recalled that McAulliffe initially asked, "They want to surrender?" Moore told him, "No sir, they want us to surrender." McAulliffe arose and erupted in anger, which shocked those looking on. He took the paper, looked at it, said "Us surrender, aw nuts!" and dropped it on the floor. Maj. Jones was dismissed. McAulliffe then left the Headquarters to go congratulate a unit on the Western perimeter that had successfully taken out a German road block earlier that morning.

Once that was cleared up, Gen. McAuliffe composed his full response:

December 22, 1944

To the German Commander,

N U T S !

The American Commander

Col. Bud Harper, one of McAuliffe's regimental commanders, then escorted the German emissaries back to their lines:

The two blindfolded German officers were then driven, again by a roundabout route, back to their entry point at the Kessler farm. At the farm, the group was rejoined by PFC Premetz. The blindfolds were removed and the Germans opened and looked at the reply. They asked, "What does this mean?" They obviously didn't understand the American slang. Harper and Premetz discussed how to explain it. Harper suggested, "Tell them to take a flying s**t!" Premetz thought about it, then straightened up, faced the Germans and said, "Du kannst zum Teufel gehen." He told Harper it meant "You can go to Hell." Then Harper said, "If you continue to attack, we will kill every goddamn German that tries to break into this city." Henke replied, "We will kill many Americans. This is war." Harper then said, "On your way Bud, and good luck to you." After Henke translated, the major acknowledged. They saluted and the Germans started to walk away. Harper angrily called out to them, "If you don't know what I am talking about, simply go back to your commanding officer and tell him to just plain, 'Go to Hell'." After Henke translated, the major got angry and stormed off.

-via Jonah Goldberg

Artist Bryan Lewis Sanders wondered how different drugs may affect his perception, so he started a series where he did self portraits under the influence of (or shortly after doing) different drugs. At first he did the experiment once every day, but after a few weeks, he started suffering from lethargy and mild brain damage. While he's continuing the experiments to this day, now he's limiting himself to occasional drugs administered under the expertise of medical professionals.

While his artworks don't always portray how the drug makes a person feel while they are using them, they do illustrate how the artist feels while on the drug or at least while thinking about the drug. For example, the top image demonstrates Ambien, the middle one PCP and the one below on hash.

Needless to say, even if you do enjoy occasional recreational drug use, this is an experiment you really shouldn't try at home.

Via RYOT

Heroin use has exploded across the American northeast, and, according to Governor Paul LePage of Maine, men with names like “D-Money, Smoothie, Shifty” are to blame.

Read more...

A magical thing happens every time we say goodbye to the old year and hello to the new- everything we cared about from the old year dies.

It's not a physical death, and since we share so much of ourselves online that old year's stuff still lives on forever in virtual space, but according to the interwebs stuff from last year is no longer relevant and therefore "dead".

That includes viral content, top news stories and, of course, or beloved memes. Remember when you gave a crap about Left Shark for a total of two weeks back in February?

(Image Link)

Oh, you didn't care for that funky dancer in the foam suit? Me neither, which means you were probably more of a Pizza Rat fan.

(Image Link)

No love for that hungry little guy either, eh? Well then let me introduce you to Demi Lovato's basement dwelling twin sister Poot, she's far more frightening than Left Shark or Pizza Rat so you'll simply adore her!

(Image Link)

See In Meme-oriam 2015: A Tribute To The Memes We Lost This Year here

Ah, George Costanza--a failure, layabout, and liar. In short, he's the everyman character of Seinfeld. When you want to live life to the fullest, you go the full Costanza. And now you can at a new bar in Melbourne, Australia. It's called George's Bar.

The decor and menu reflect the great hero of the iconic sitcom of the 90s. In the Sydney Morning Herald, co-owner Dave Barrett explains why Costanza serves as the inspiration:

"We came up with the name George's and worked backwards, concept themeing it. George Costanza suits a bar in a lot of ways. The humour around George works," said Barrett who also owns Fitzroy's Laundry Bar.

"So at the moment we've got our toasties menu which has items like The Art Vandalay, The Costanza and The Mom and Pop. We're still finalising the cocktail menu but it will be similar." […]

Visually, the bar will also have a strong Costanza flavour .

"We'll be continually doing things and layering the theme. When you walk in, the two front doors have two George's quotes 'It's not a lie if you believe it' and 'Everyone must like me, I must be liked'

"Theres a whole bunch of autographed photos I've bought that are all in transit, that will all get added to as well."

Barrett also has plans to include Melbourne artists who are inspired by Costanza.

"One guy contacted me last night who lives in Melbourne and who is in the middle of eight different George Costanza paintings. We are talking about doing a show with him."

-via Geek Tyrant

Big cities breed apathy like nowhere else on Earth, and the longer someone lives in a major city alongside millions of people the more cancerous things they're exposed to.

Here's an example of big city apathy in action- a woman walking down the sidewalk with a slice of pizza witnessed a car hit a pedestrian about ten feet away from her...then walked off eating her pizza, seemingly unfazed by what she's just seen.

(YouTube Link)

The woman's strange reaction was captured on video by a security camera, seemingly unmoved by the fact that she was only a few feet away from being hit by the car herself. That must be some mighty tasty pizza!

-Via DNAinfo New York

Mike Tyson was giggling and having the time of his life on a hoverboard, but his joy quickly ended as his ass met the floor.

Read more...

I wasn’t all that much of a Western fan in 1969, but I saw Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid several times because, you know, Paul Newman and Robert Redford. It was a combination that made The Sting a must-see, too, four years later. But when Butch Cassidy came out, Redford was almost an unknown. He wasn’t even the first pick for the role -or the second. Here are some things you probably didn’t know about the movie.  

4. STEVE MCQUEEN DROPPED OUT OVER BILLING.

If Newman was the biggest movie star in the world at the time, Steve McQueen was right up there with him. The idea of casting not one but two mega-stars as Butch and Sundance made perfect sense, but there was a problem: whose name would go first in the credits? Fox president Darryl F. Zanuck later said that he proposed an unusual arrangement where half the prints of the film would list Newman first, the other half McQueen, but McQueen (or his representatives) wouldn’t accept anything other than top billing across the board. And that was that.

5. IT WAS “THE SUNDANCE KID AND BUTCH CASSIDY” UNTIL THE CASTING WAS SETTLED.

Once they’d settled on Redford as Newman’s costar, a new (minor) issue arose. Newman thought he was playing Sundance in what had heretofore been known as The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy. It turned out Hill, the director, actually wanted him to play Butch, and Redford to play Sundance. No problem; Newman was fine with the switch. But now they had a situation where the character being played by the less-famous actor came first in the title. The obvious Hollywood solution: reverse the title. “The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy” sounds weird to us now (as does the notion of Redford being significantly less famous than Newman), but there you go.

Read more about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid at mental_floss.

Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, voiceover artist, and nice Jewish boy Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website or at Facebook.

Who doesn't love Christmas? The presents, the Christmas cards, the egg nog, the Christmas trees, Santa Claus, the mistletoe, the Christmas movies and TV shows. And, of course, those wonderful Christmas songs.

Ironically, few people realize that many of the classic Christmas "standards" we all sing and hear on the radio and TV and in the movies were actually written or sung by Jews. The following are a list of 8 popular Christmas songs written or sung by Jews.

1. “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)”

(YouTube link)

The song was co-written by Mel Torme and Robert “Bob" Wells in 1946. Torme is also the singer of the song on the classic record. Both Torme and wells were Jewish. Oddly, this hugely popular Christmas song, which so clearly evokes visions of Christmas time, was written on a hot July day, in the middle of a desert.

2. “Santa Baby"

(YouTube link)

Without a doubt, the sexiest of all popular Christmas songs- as sung by Eartha Kitt, in her 1953 recording. Madonna later also recorded a version in 1987. No, Madonna is not Jewish ...and neither is Eartha Kitt. “Santa Baby" was mainly written by a Jewish lady named Joan Ellen Javits.

3. “Silver Bells"

(YouTube link)

The lyrics to this touching Christmas song were written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans- both Jews. This song was originally written for the Bob Hope movie The Lemon Drop Kid in 1951. Hope introduced it to the world- along with his leading lady, Marilyn Maxwell. It remains the only "classic" Christmas song to be introduced in a Hollywood movie.

4. “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow"

(YouTube link)

Written by the popular song-writing team of Sammy Kahn and Jule Styne, both of whom were Jewish. One of the best versions of the song was sung by Vaughn Monroe. You can hear it at the end of the most macho Christmas movie ever- 1988's Die Hard. [Video contains NSFW language.]

5. “Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"

(YouTube link)

Okay, here's your bar bet of the day... Who is the only person in history to compose three classic Christmas songs? Give up? Well, a very amazing, but little-known, Jewish composer named Johnny Marks (shouldn't he be more famous??) not only wrote the staple “Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree,” but he wasn't content to rest on his laurels.

Amazingly, Marks also wrote “Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.” Okay, let's be fair here- this guy was an incredible composer and deserves more notice and fame!

6. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas"

(YouTube link)

First sung, like “White Christmas,” by Bing Crosby, but a year later- in 1943 (see below). This touching ballad's lyrics were co-written by Buck Ram and Kim Gannon (both Jews).

7. “It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"

(YouTube link)

The music for this popular Christmas tune were written by George Wyle, who was Jewish. Oddly, Wyle was to become even more famous (and richer!) for writing the music to a very popular TV show in the '60's. The show?

Gilligan's Island! (Incidentally, the lyrics to the Gilligan's Island theme were also written by a Jew, Sherwood Schwartz- the show's creator).

8. “White Christmas"

(YouTube link)

Possibly (and probably) the most popular Christmas song of all-time. Bing Crosby introduced “White Christmas" to the public on his NBC radio show The Kraft Music Hall on Christmas Day in 1941. He also sung it in the 1942 movie Holiday Inn. It was reprised by Crosby in the 1954 film White Christmas. Probably because “White Christmas" is the more popular of the two movies, and also because it has the song's name as it's title, many mistakenly think “White Christmas" was first sung in the 1954 film.

“White Christmas" was written by the legendary composer, Irving Berlin, a Jew. As a sad sidebar, Berlin had a very young son who actually died on Christmas Day. According to friends, Berlin always had a sadness on Christmas. Supposedly, he would celebrate Christmas with his surviving children annually, but when they grew up, he never celebrated it again for the rest of his life.