They say an elephant never forgets, and this video proves that’s especially true when it comes to the pachyderm’s friends. Kham Laa is a young elephant who was rescued and reunited with her family at a Thai elephant sanctuary. Since then, she’s become quite fond of one of the reservation’s employees, Darrick, who treated her so kindly when she first came. Clearly, she wants to return the favor as much as she can. Watch what happens when Darrick comes by for a visit! It seems even Kham Laa’s mother is appreciative of her daughter’s new buddy, and why wouldn’t she be? Look at all the fun they’re having! Kham Laa and her family are currently part of the Save Elephant Foundation in Thailand. To learn more about the project, visit their website here. Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/kham-laa/
Spike Lee is hopping on the Kickstarter bandwagon to finance his next film. Following the likes of Scrubs star Zach Braff and the creators of Veronica Mars, the acclaimed director is developing an untitled project that will look at humans addicted to blood. Lee calls it “funny, sexy and bloody (and it’s not ‘Blacula’).” “It’s a very different climate now, and the only way to ensure, as an independent filmmaker, that your vision gets on screen, is when you bring the money to the table,” he says in the video, above. On his Kickstarter page, Lee addresses the “faithful” with a long, persuasive letter that describes his love for filmmaking, as well as the troubles that come along with it. “The catch is Filmmaking is an Artform that costs M-O-N-E-Y,” he writes, throwing standard writing conventions out the window. “That is why I’m appealing to the Kindness in your Hearts, to the Faithful who have given me the much needed Love and Support over my 3 decades of Spike Lee Joints.” Present-day Hollywood does not support independent filmmakers, Lee says, adding that the studio-system model discourages creative liberty: I’m not hating, just stating the facts. Super Heroes, Comic Books, 3D Special EFX, Blowing up the Planet Nine Times and Fly through the Air while Transforming is not my Thang. To me it’s not just that these Films are being made but it seems like these are the only films getting made. To The Studios it seems like every Film must be a Home run on a Global scale, a Tent Pole Enterprise, able to spin off Sequel after Sequel after Sequel after Sequel after Sequel after Sequel. I have a different vision of what Cinema can be, a different vision of what some under-served Audiences might want to see. Lee vows — “on my Mother’s Grave and Right Hand to the Almighty” — that every donated dollar will go towards funding the film and not into his pocket. He’s also promising some pretty enticing rewards as incentives to support the project, including autographed items and thank-you tweets. At the time of writing, Lee’s campaign just surpassed the $100,000 mark; he has 28 days left to raise his entire goal of $1.25 million or receive nothing. The filmmaker, renowned for such iconic flicks as Malcolm X and Do the Right Thing, is also getting ready to debut his latest project, Oldboy, a remake of the 2003 Korean thriller of the same name. Will you support Lee? Tell us in the comments, below. Image: Al Bello/Getty Images Read more: http://mashable.com/2013/07/23/spike-lee-kickstarter/
Don’t look for any help on net neutrality here.Image: Khue Bui/Associated Press Alternate headline: powerless bill doomed to fail. Two Democratic members of Congress — Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Rep. Doris Matsui of California — will propose legislation that will push the Federal Communications Commission to do whatever it can to ensure net neutrality, according to The Washington Post. The proposal comes amid the growing realization that the laws Congress has enacted may be too narrow to provide for net neutrality, forcing the FCC to plod forward in hopes that it can write regulation that keeps the Internet a level playing field while staying within the legal bounds it has already twice exceeded. The bill gives no new power to the FCC, instead adding only political support. It will likely die in the Republican-led House of Representatives. Net neutrality and the FCC are both already highly politicized. The two Republican FCC commissioners voted against opening comment on the commission’s recently proposed net neutrality rules, and GOP politicians have warned they will try to thwart new regulation seen as overly intrusive. Keep in mind, the FCC enforces rules written by Congress. Congress theoretically could pass a bill giving new, legitimate power to the FCC to enforce net neutrality. Instead, Democrats are writing a bill that would essentially cheerlead the commission, and it will likely never see a vote. As President Barack Obama recently noted, the current slate of legislators is on track to be the least productive Congress in modern history with 23 public laws adopted in its second session. The idea that politicians, whose job it is to propose new laws to be enforced by regulators like the FCC, would pen such a toothless bill, coupled with the reality that it almost certainly won’t pass, highlights just how broken the system is. Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/06/17/democrats-net-neutrality-congress/
The unlucky guy who captured this bizarre footage will definitely never forget what he saw. While visiting what appeared to be a beautiful, serene cemetery, the cameraman in question decided to head out through a passageway that led to a beautiful view of the sea. When he panned to the left, however, he saw what looked like a trash heap full of coffins. The worst part? There were human bones scattered on the ground. I’m not familiar with the ways in which you should dispose of bodies, but I feel like throwing corpse-filled coffins into a giant pile probably isn’t the most respectful course of action. Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/graveyard-garbage/
Let’s cut to the chase here: Standing just five feet five inches, Porter Mayberry is closer in height to Peter Dinklage than to the average NBA star. But that doesn’t stop the 22-year-old from throwing down some pro-quality slam dunks. One-handed, two-handed, forward, backward, off the bounce — Mayberry’s dunks have to be seen to be believed. Luckily the video above, freshly uploaded to YouTube Tuesday afternoon, lets you do just that. And if this doesn’t satisfy your basketball jones, check out our recent post on Lilliputian high school sensation Aquille Carr, whose latest highlight reel has gone viral online with more than 1.5 million views in about a month. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/09/25/whats-gravity-slam-dunks/
Long before the iPod era, cassette tapes were all the rage. The ability to enjoy Hall & Oates while strutting the sidewalk in your new acid-washed jean jacket was nothing short of revolutionary. Now, obviously, that time has passed. M-I-E, an animation and design studio, created a video that pays special tribute to the cassette tape — both its life and eventual demise. The awesomely stylish video, titled “Jammed,” was made entirely using stop-motion and 3D techniques. It follows a View-Master-headed robot as it attempts to clean up an apocalyptic world taken over by tangled, cassette magnetic tape. Watch it for yourself above. Do you, or anyone you know, still kick it old school with cassette tapes? Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/11/27/cassette-video/
Babysitting isn’t for everybody. I often babysit my younger cousins while their parents work third shift, and as much as I love them dearly, I’ll be the first to admit that they can drive me absolutely crazy. And as I’m sure you well know if you have or babysit kids, a moment of silence is a an absolute blessing if you can find one. That said, we put up with their nonsense because they’re just little ones and they’re still learning how to, you know, behave like humans. The same can’t be said for two teens from Massachusetts. A 15-year-old and her friend were tasked with watching an eight-month-old child, who happened to be the 15-year-old’s cousin, while the baby’s mother hopped in the shower. While the mom was away, the teens recorded a Snapchat video of them putting the screaming, terrified baby in a refrigerator and shutting the door. The two now face criminal charges including child endangerment, assault, and battery with a dangerous weapon. The child’s mom was totally oblivious of the incident until police showed up at her door. The teens gave the mom a story about reaching into the fridge for a bottle to stop the baby from crying, but they later changed their story and said they thought it’d be a funny prank. You can see the footage below. The mother does not believe that her niece and her friend meant the child harm. She does not believe that they should have been charged. (Via CBS Boston) Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/refrigerator-baby/
When this adorable pup is challenged to a game of hide-and-seek by his little human friends, he jumps into action. Unfortunately, his success is short-lived after finding them due to their hiding spot deciding to hang around for his victory lap. It’s honestly like watching a cartoon character, but this pup is 100% real and 100% really hilarious. I have a feeling this isn’t the first time they’ve tricked the cutie into this hilarious predicament. And definitely not the last! Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/dog-pool-hide-and-seek/
The worst part about working is always the commute. Sitting in traffic is horrible, and taking public transit is always enough to give you a headache. But to get to their job, these workers only have to travel 1,500 feet…off the ground. Someone has to fix all of those huge TV towers, right? Watch as one brave worker climbs to the top of one of these structures, dragging his 30-pound bag of tools along with him all the way. Full disclosure: I work from home and I’m still feeling pretty ho-hum about the commute from my bed to my desk. As a lazy person who also has a pretty significant fear of heights, this video is a nightmare on so many levels. Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/tower-climbing/
Lionel Messi of Argentina got the Golden Ball for best player of the 2014 World Cup, which ended Sunday in Brazil. Dazzling newcomer James Rodriguez of Colombia won the Golden Boot for most goals. And Manuel Neuer of Germany got the Golden Glove for best goalkeeper (all protestations that it should have been Tim Howard aside). But surely, given how much diving or flopping has become a part of the sport whether we like it or not, there should also be an official “Golden Dive” award handed out after the final whistle? Now there is, kind of, courtesy of a YouTube channel that claims to belong to the Diving Is Cool Society. The group of soccer fans count down their pick of the top 5 dives of Brazil 2014 — starting with the infamous flop by Fred in Brazil’s opening match against Croatia, a dive that won the host country a crucial penalty. Seasoned soccer fans won’t be surprised that the award goes to Dutch star Arjen Robben, for dives too numerous and exquisite to select just one. Robben freely admitted that he dived in the first half of the Netherlands’ game against Mexico (although he didn’t admit the dive that won one more of those crucial penalties in the second half). “One of the moments in the first half was a dive,” he told the Dutch TV station NOS. “Sometimes you get kicked, but that was not the case at that particular moment.” He said he regretted his decision to dive and called it a “silly action.” Arjen Robben, may you treasure this award more than the Netherlands’ third-place medal. World Cup Awards #ThingsTimHowardCouldSave Ned Stark. pic.twitter.com/gk7fV9jmn4 — Arya Stark (@GoT_Arya) July 2, 2014 1. Best Meme: Tim Howard 2. Most delicious player: Giorgio Chiellini Luiz Suarez will agree. 3. Worst/Best hairdo: Rodrigo Palacio Image: Frank Augstein/Associated Press 4. Best goal celebration: Colombia 5. Coach most ready to go clubbing: Joachim Low Image: Thanassis Stavrakis/Associated Press 6. Tightest jerseys: Uruguay Image: Natacha Pisarenko/Associated Press 7. Internet’s most beloved coach: Miguel Herrera After World Cup ending defeat vs Colombia, Japan fans stayed after FT whistle to help clean up the stadium. Respect. pic.twitter.com/pfOXJtnbyJ — Natter Football (@NATTERFOOTBALL) June 25, 2014 8. Cutest fans: Japan for cleaning the stadium after losing Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/07/14/and-the-2014-golden-dive-award-goes-to/
