danipretto

Okay so I'm a little late to the party on this one and it looks like the keg is kicked and all the pretty girls have left, but in case you haven't seen it, this is a video of a pair of dudes in a van taking pictures of people and Photoshopping them into an ad at a bus stop while the people are sitting there waiting. Pretty clever, but if I saw a picture of myself getting Photoshopped into an ad while I was sitting there I would have yelled 'Government spy program!' and thrown myself in front of the bus. 'The Case of the Photoshop Killers' the media will call it. They'll be acquitted due to my extensive history of overreacting. Hit the jump for the video.

This is a video of professional rock climber Cedar Wright performing a 600-foot rope drop/swing in Ukraine. It's crazy how extreme people have to go these days to get a rush. I still get all sweaty and excited using a crosswalk that's already flashing orange. Hit the jump for the video, which is from a series called PAUSE which is why the video stops right before the dude presumably dies (he doesn't though -- he's still alive).

(via) Super funny explainer of oddness C.G.P. Grey has taken an insightful and humorous look at the lengthy border between Canada and the United States. It was drawn before the invention of GPS (natch) and so was arbitrarily imbued with 8,800 kilometers of serious weirdness. Bonus: “no-touching zone”.

TAKE ANOTHER BREAK

One village in Spain is taking its dog poop problem into their own hands. Faced with uncollected dog poop littering their streets, the village of Brunete has formed a poop task force, comprised of twenty informers, who rat out owners who don’t clean up after their pups. The patrol then hand-delivers the guilty parties a gift – the “forgotten” poop.

Read the rest of Spanish Village Hand-Delivers Un-Scooped Dog Poop Back to Offending Owners

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Post tags: Brunete Spain, dog poop task force, eco design, green design, Poo Power!, sustainable design

This is a puppy who was born with a mustache. It’s pretty impressive. Plus 7 different kinds of classy. I once knew a guy who was born with facial hair. And a couple of teeth. Plus a beer gut. That was a face even a mother couldn’t love! Including his own mother. He definitely wasn’t classy either. Just goes to show, dogs can get away with stuff that people can’t, like peeing on fire hydrants or begging for treats. It’s so unfair!

This is the 1984 Dodge Colt Turbo that was turned into a bumper car lookalike and put up for auction on eBay. I kind of want it. Only kind of though, I'm not in love with it like I would be a short school bus for sale.

Everything works on this car. The body is custom one piece fiberglass. Paint is really shiny but does have fiberglass cracks, see photos. Have all original factory workshop manuals and also original glove box handbook that comes with car. Motor has slight oil leak due to age, two or three drops only overnight. Has no catalytic converter. One can be installed if required. This one-of-a-kind "bumper car" is a real head turner, can't drive anywhere without people staring. Lots of fun wherever you go!

I'm going to buy it. I'm going to buy it, then drive through traffic running into every car I see with my hands in the air yelling, "I don't have insurance!" Eventually, somebody will pull me out of the car and beat me to a bloody pulp. If I don't die, I will sue. Hit the jump for a couple more shots.

Young & Battaglia designed the King Edison, a light bulb that has a functional mini-chandelier inside. You can buy your very own fancy-ass chandelight bulb over at Mineheart for just $600. Seriously though, are you people trying to blow my mind with cute and tiny? Because KABOOM! it’s totally working. Now if someone would help me scoop up all this brain matter and maybe call an ambulance, that would be really helpful.

Note: You might not want to watch the video if you haven't seen the episode but still plan to. This is a video of people reacting to Sunday's Game of Thrones episode. People who read the books knew the scene was coming (or that it at least should), while people who've only watched the show did not. My cat had zero clue. If I'd had my camera ready to capture his reaction he'd be a meme right now named Holy Shit Cat. Hit the jump for the video.

Back in the day, our grandparents didn’t give us much more than a handful of toffees and a few shiny nickels. But these lucky grandsons received something much more spectacular from theirs—an unbelievable treehouse complete with decks, a pitched roof, a tube slide, a suspension bridge, and much more! Steve and Jeri Wakefield hired architect James Curvan to design a multi-level treehouse for their little ones using found objects and antiques. What resulted was an enchanting treehouse that brings together formal architecture and child-like imagination.

READ MORE >

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Post tags: antiques, Dallas, found objects, grandchildren, james curvan, jeri wakefield, repurposed, steve wakefield, texas, treehouse

This is a video from China of some guy who shouldn't be riding a scooter. He drives that thing like he's trying to play street pinball and he's the ball. Thankfully, the dude wasn't seriously injured, so we can all sit back and laugh about it without feeling bad. Unless you are that guy, in which case you should feel as bad as humanly possible. Hit the jump for the worthwhile video.

NOTE: Larger version HERE in case you want to print it out and frame it and put it on your desk and pretend like you know these people. This is the best wedding party photo of all time, taken by photographer Quinn Miller. Granted the t-rex had to be Photoshopped in, but it's still better than anything any of my married friends came up with AND I DON'T CARE IF THEY KNOW IT. You know why? Because I keep it real. I'm a straight shooter, and if a friend can't handle that, well, they should stay out of the gunfight. Being an old west cowboy isn't for everyone, you know? Now if you'll excuse me. *gets kicked by a horse, shoots myself in the leg* DAMMIT, DID ANYBODY SEE THAT? I'll kill anybody who saw that. Thanks to T.J. O., who pointed out I would be running towards the dinosaur like I didn't already know that.

I posted about Monkey Lights back in 2009, and now the company's back with a NEW AND IMPROVED version with cooler animations. I want to be able to spell out words with them, and I want the front wheel to say, 'IF YOU CAN READ THIS' and the back one, 'DIE SCUMBAG!'. The new Monkey Light Pro system is currently a Kickstarter project, and the bad news is it costs $500 for the four light bars required for one wheel animation. So that's a cool $1,000 to get both wheels animated. That's a lot of money. Unless -- UNLESS -- you're using it to advertise your business. Then it's a tax write off. New plan -- front wheel: 'HANDJOBS', back wheel: '$5'. Hit the jump for a couple more gifs and a worthwhile video with even more animations.

This is a video from Smarter Every Day showing how you can get leafcutter ants to carry little signs for you by peeing on them. The urine, which contains salt, make the little bits of paper desirable for the ants to drag back to their colony and use to grow their fungal food. It reminded me of how you can get my roommate to drink urine by mixing it into the orange juice container. Hit the jump for the video.

Every gamer in the group of friends who gets dragged into a sports bar always ends up on the topic of, “Wouldn’t it be cool if this were a thing, but for video games?” Well if that friend lives near Vancouver, Canada he can finally drag his sports friends to EXP, a video game themed restaurant and bar. They’ve got big screen TVs that show gameplay footage, and menu items like the Triforce Burger, and the Chocobo Chicken Burger. Woah, wait a minute? Is THAT what happens to all the reject Chocobos you breed after you get the golden Chocobo? OMG, what have I done?

This is an exact replica of the Iron Throne made from fun noodles. For a second I thought dude was sitting in the actual Iron Throne, but it's not, it's just a very convincing replica. Also, do you think dude stuffed his shorts or his package is actually that big? Because that's a hell of a fun noodle if it's real. Now get a tan bro, you're practically see-through. Thanks again to ChaosLex, who loves chaos so much he once yelled "Pool noodles are whale penises!" to a pool full of children playing with the things. You should have seen them all scrambling for the ladder like someone just shat in the shallow end.

This is a fairly poor quality video of a 3-kilometer bridge in China being demolished with explosives in 20-seconds. Impressive, but I could have done it in half that. Just don't ask me how. "How?" I SAID DON'T ASK. "No but seriously." I blew Zeus. Hit the jump for the video. Or don't, I'm not your babysitter (except I kind of am if you think about it).

In news that would make anybody's blood boil who's spent two hours waiting to ride Pirates of the Caribbean with a bladder full of juice boxes, apparently rich Manhattan moms have gotten into the habit of hiring disabled tour guides to accompany their kids to Disney so they can skip to the head of the all lines and grow up to be giant pieces of entitled shit just like them. Prepare to rage!

"My daughter waited one minute to get on 'It's a Small World' -- the other kids had to wait 2 1/2 hours," crowed one mom, who hired a disabled guide through Dream Tours Florida. The "black-market Disney guides" run $130 an hour, or $1,040 for an eight-hour day. "You can't go to Disney without a tour concierge,'' she sniffed. "This is how the 1 percent does Disney." The woman said she hired a Dream Tours guide to escort her, her husband and their 1-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter through the park in a motorized scooter with a "handicapped" sign on it. The group was sent straight to an auxiliary entrance at the front of each attraction.

I can honestly say I've never wanted to believe Manhattan housewives get their kicks from trolling more than I do now. 'This is how the 1 percent does Disney' -- with a disabled stranger toting you to the front of every line? Now kids: don't talk to the handicapper, they only work for us, they're not a friend. I mean I understand the money, but I'm surprised the disabled folks are cool playing along with the scam too. I'm going to start posing as a disabled Disney guide, then, as soon as we get to the first line, stand up out of my wheelchair and yell, "It's a miracle!" before diving into a loud, lengthy shaming of the parents in front of everybody in line. Now that's a vacation your kids will never forget. Thanks to E V I L A R E S, who's so evil he's the one that came up with this scam in the first place.

Image via Shutterstock

The glaciers atop Mt. Everest are melting at an unprecedented rate and anthropogenic global warming is likely to blame. The news comes on the heels of reports that CO2 levels have reached their highest in human history, surpassing the 400 parts per million mark, and climate change is shifting the location of the North and South Poles. Researchers from the University of Milan say that ice coverage on top of Earth’s highest mountain has shrunk by 13 percent in the last five decades.

Read the rest of Mt. Everest Glaciers are Rapidly Melting, and Humans are Probably to Blame

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Post tags: anthropogenically-induced climate change, Climate Change, Environment, global warming, melting glaciers, News, University of Milan, world's highest mountain

It’s Friday, which means many of us are just counting the minutes until happy hour. After enjoying a bottle of wine, it’s always a bit sad to dump the bottle in the recycling bin. Although there are plenty of upcycling options for wine bottles, many require a fairly large dose of creativity. Protea (PROH-tee-uh) is a new brand of wine that aims to unleash your inner upcycling genius while complementing your favorite dinner. Each Protea bottle is specifically made to be reused – for floral displays, to hold olive oil, or as a beverage container. The possibilities are practically endless!

Read the rest of Protea Debuts a Fetching New Wine Bottle that’s Designed to Be Upcycled

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Post tags: alcohol, Creative Reuse, Fashion, fashion designer, happy hour, Mark Eisen, Protea, recycling, South Africa, upcycling, wine, Wine Bottles

A brand new car that gets 84 MPG and costs less than $7,000 sounds too good to be true, but Elio Motors just unveiled a new three-wheeled vehicle that hits all those marks. The affordable two-seater Elio gets amazing mileage, and it’s small enough for a congested urban environment.

Read the rest of Elio Motors Unveils Three-Wheeled 84 MPG Car That Costs Only $6,800

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Post tags: Elio, Elio car, Elio green car, Elio Motors, green car, green transportation, personal transportation, three-wheeled car

An incredible new printer at the University of Melbourne has allowed researchers to print solar cells up to the size of an A3 sheet of paper. Developed in collaboration between the Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium (VICOSC), CSIRO, and the University of Melbourne, the solar cell printer makes renewable energy even easier to source.

Read the rest of Australia’s Largest Solar Cell Printer Can Spit Out a Photovoltaic Panel Every Two Seconds

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Post tags: CSIRO, eco design, green design, largest solar cell printer, solar cell printer, sustainable design, university of melbourne, Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium

The coming of Brewery & The Beast (June 16th) is giving local foodies and beer lovers serious pleasure palpitations, and for good reason. Aside from helping to benefit the BC Hospitality Foundation (an awesome group that supports people in the restaurant industry during times of need), Brewery & The Beast is all about allowing our top toques the opportunity to express their love of high quality, hormone and antibiotic-free, ethically raised meats sourced from farms around Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, the Fraser Valley, and Northern Alberta. That means sausages, smoked meats, cured meats, barbecued meats, whole lamb and pig roasts, and much more. It’s a meatery, a meat-in, a meatfest, a meatasborg, a meat heaven — the kind of one day feast that discerning carnivores would fast for, complete with live music from The Electric Timber Co.. The official word…

The original concept was simple: a large-scale meat-themed event held in the backyard at The Phillips Brewery, featuring well-known chefs skewering, grilling, and carving their creations for enthusiastic guests. “Overall it was a huge success and it inspired us to bring a fun, unique, and educational event to other markets,” says Scott Gurney, Event Coordinator and Creator of Brewery & The Beast. “We are excited to introduce Vancouver to the concept and showcase local and regional farms through the talent of Vancouver’s top chefs.”

If the Victoria event sounded fantastic (and it did), consider Vancouver’s line-up: Wildebeest, Hawksworth, Forage, Vij’s, Maenam, Campagnolo, Bestie, The Butcher & Bullock, CinCin, Peckinpah, Big Lou’s, The Bottleneck, The Cove, Lolita’s, Two Rivers Specialty Meats, Houseguest, Black + Blue, Edible Canada, Nuba, Oru, The Refinery, The Dirty Apron, West, Pourhouse, Glowbal, Cibo, Meat & Bread, Memphis Blues, Ebo, Tap & Barrel, Elements (Whistler), Bull Chophouse (Sunshine Coast), and Smoken Bones Cookshack (Victoria). That’s a lot of kickass right there! Attendees will be refreshed with the good stuff from the Phillips Brewing Company, Vancouver Urban Winery, and Mamette Lake’s own Left Field Cider. They can also expect plenty of homemade sodas and traditional iced teas.

The beery, 19+ event goes down outdoors at the Concord Pacific Lot (88 Pacific Boulevard – see map above) from 1pm to 4pm on Sunday, June 16th. That’s Father’s Day, folks! Tickets are $79, limited, and available in advance only (score yours here right now). We can’t stress this enough: there won’t be any tickets for sale at the door. You must purchase your tickets in advance.

We can’t tell you what everyone will be roasting or BBQing or sausaging or otherwise making, but this video and the photos below it – shot at the first Brewery & The Beast event in Victoria last summer – will give you a good idea of what to expect…

We’ll be seeing you there, just so long as you don’t forget to buy your tickets ASAP.

VISIT THE BREWERY & THE BEAST WEBSITE

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This post is a Special Event Ad. Scout only publishes these when we feel like the subject matter is right in our readership’s wheelhouse. Past Special Event Ad clients have included IDSWest, Dine Out Vancouver, Whistler’s Cornucopia, and Vancouver International Wine Festival. If you are interested in arranging a Special Event Ad to promote your festival or function, send an email outlining your interest to accounts@scoutmagazine.ca.

You know it’s officially summer time when the Vancouver night markets open up again for the season. This Friday, the Richmond Night Market and the re-vamped Chinatown Night Market are set to open for the long weekend.

This year, the Richmond Night Market is charging admission. So, that must mean it’s better than ever before — right? Well, hopefully we’ll find out this weekend how the Richmond Night Market can justify charging us a twoonie where we were never charged a twoonie before.

The Richmond Night Market is situated right next to the Canada Line (convenient!) and has tons and tons of food vendors. Which is what we’re all looking for right? So, you can have your fill of dragon’s beard, potato tornado, and squid balls. You can also buy tons of cheap and crappy merchandise from all of the booths. We’re just going for the $5 socks with Totoro’s face on them. Please don’t try and win a goldfish

The Chinatown Night Market has undergone a complete makeover for this year. And, if you’ve been to the Chinatown Night Market in the past, that is a very good thing. The CNM was a very small and somewhat disappointing market that paled in comparison to the RNM. But, they did have Potato Tornados, and free entrance.

The “new” Chinatown Night Market is featuring live music, Mahjong, new vendors, more food, outdoor classic movie screenings, and epic ping pong tournaments.

Whether you are planning on going to both markets, or just one, don’t forget to go on an empty stomach, bring your haggling skills, and buy plenty of pikachu socks!

The Richmond Night Market is open from 7pm to 12am on Friday and Saturday, and 6pm – 11pm on Sunday. (website)

The Chinatown Night Market is open every weekend from 6pm – 11pm. (website)

This is a business card advertising Bon Vivant, a Brazilian-based cheese shop. As you can see, it’s doubles as a cheese grater. Clever! Worried about grating your ass cheeks if you slip the card into your back pocket? Well, worry no more! Your precious tushy flaps are gonna be fine as long as you utilize the protective sleeve that comes with the grater. Genius! They really did think of everything, didn’t they? Oh — except cheese samples. I definitely think this thing should come with some cheese samples.

This is a SteadiDrone octocopter specially modified to deliver beers to attendees at the upcoming Oppikoppi music festival in South Africa. You just order a brewski via iPhone app (sorry Android users -- looks like you're DD), then the copter drops a parachuted beer to your location. Sure the operation sounds great in theory, until you realize there's a Geekologie Writer at the concert who's diving for every beer like they're home-run balls at a baseball game. *cracks open beer, immediately backwashes into it* Oh this was yours? My bad, I thought they were free game like those t-shirts they were shooting out of a cannon earlier. Hit the jump for a video of the beer delivery bot in action.

This is the ComfyBreasts Relaxation System. It's a full body pillow with a hollowed out section to rest your breasts in and relieve pressure on them. Because remember ladies: a comfy tit is a happy tit. Also: a boob in the hand is worth over a dozen in the bush. The ComfyBreast pillow is currently a Kickstarter campaign and I read through the info they provided which had little to no scientific data to suggest a pillow with a boob hole is beneficial to a lady's knockers. But the pillow was tested on two different women, who had this to say:

Tester #1: "Thought it was a Dream Pillow - Very Comfy." and Tester #2: Said she could fall asleep easily, and actually almost forgot she had breasts.

"ACTUALLY ALMOST FORGOT SHE HAD BREASTS." Now that's a magical pillow. It's a shame they don't make a guy version because I'd be curious to know what it feels like to fall asleep without a penis. "So...a pillow with a hole to rest your pecker in? That sounds like a cheap love doll." I'm realizing that now. Hit the jump for a couple more shots of this year's must have Christmas gift.

Tange & Nakimushi Peanuts brings us this photoseries called Sushi Cats. The set features shots of kitties laying on a bed of rice, wearing some kooky-ass costumes and accessories. Like a lobster. Or knitting needles. What is going on here?! I’ll tell you what: magic. Jk jk, it’s a whole lot of WTFery. Sometimes I get the two confused! Last week I thought I was at a magic show. Turns out I was watching to homeless dudes fight in an alley way. Boy was I embarrassed! And considerably disappointed because I was expecting to see some cool tricks.

This is the Arzum Firrin, a toaster that looks like a MRI scanner for bread. But it’s not. This device toasts bread horizontally. Because why? I think the real question here is why not? Actually, no — the question is definitely why. What’s wrong with the regular vertical type toster? Other than how easy it is to get my bagel stuck down in there and it starts burning so I have to grab a knife to try and pry it out and I don’t really remember exactly what happens next except that I’m on the floor and in a lot of pain and half of my kitchen’s on fire. Yeah, so other than that small detail… what’s the hell’s wrong with a vertical toaster?