Imagine knowing that your entire philosophy on life — all you ever worked for — was proven right. That’s what just happened to Andrei Linde, a physics professor at Stanford University, upon the discovery of proof of gravitational wave. “Tremors” of the Big Bang are the waves said to be the first definitive evidence of the theory that the universe is expanding. It’s also an integral part of a theory that Linde has been working on for 30 years — meaning his theories were not only right, but also a huge contributor to the future of space study. Chao-Lin Kuo, an assistant physics professor at Stanford who worked with a team on the new discovery, surprised Linde at his home with the news. Watch the heartwarming revelation above. BONUS: 30 Stunning Images of Space Stunning Photos of Space Enhanced Hubble Image of Comet ISON Image: Flickr, NASA HQ PHOTO Taken Under the “Wing” of the Small Magellanic Cloud Image: NASA, ESA, CXC and the University of Potsdam, JPL-Caltech, and STScI Merging Clusters in 30 Doradus Image: NASA, ESA, and E. Sabbi (ESA/STScI) Hubble Snaps a Splendid Planetary Nebula Image: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Hubble’s Festive View of a Grand Star-Forming Region Image: NASA, ESA, F. Paresce (INAF-IASF, Bologna, Italy) Sun Emits a Mid-Level Flare Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video Synthesized View of Earth showing the Arctic, Europe and Asia Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video The Star-Studded Center of the Milky Way Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video Hubble Sees the Remains of a Star Gone Supernova Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video NASA Hubble Sees Sparring Antennae Galaxies Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video Horsehead Nebula Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video Hubble Sees Hidden Treasure in Large Magellanic Cloud Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video Hubble reveals heart of Lagoon Nebula Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video Hubble Captures Cosmic Ice Sculptures Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video Starburst Cluster Shows Celestial Fireworks Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video A Galactic Spectacle Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video Supernova Remnant W49B Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video Hubble Snaps Messier 66 of the Leo Triplet Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video Hubble Catches Jupiter’s Largest Moon Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video Hubble Sees ‘Island Universe’ in the Coma Cluster Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video Dying Star Shrouded by a Blanket of Hailstones Forms the Bug Nebula Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video Crab Nebula Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video Jupiter’s Red Spot Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video Saturn’s Rings in Ultraviolet Light Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video Hubble Sees a Star Set to Explode Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video Cassiopeia A Supernova Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video Cat’s Eye Nebula Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo and Video Carina Nebula Detail Image: Flickr, NASA Goddard Photo […]
GOP vice presidential nominee and Steak Baby frontman Paul Ryan unveiled the band’s new single, “Quench Your Heartbeat,” that features rockin’ lyrics like “I’ll make a sandwich, I’ll help a moose.” Okay, so 98 percent of that last sentence is false, but it could have earned the Wisconsin congressman a few cool points. The lip reading not-so-much-experts on YouTube put words in Ryan’s mouth that paint the veep candidate as a scatterbrained statesman looking to hit it big with his band. Party on, Paul. Bad Lip Reading “Edward and Bella” A Bad Lip Reading of Twilight “YETI” — A Bad Lip Reading of Coldplay A Bad Lip Reading of a scene from “High School” “Beard With Glue” — a Bad Lip Reading “Everybody Poops” – a bad lip reading of the Black Eyed Peas “Asian Baby” – Justin Bieber and Rascal Flatts “That Should Be Me”, cover by a bad lip reader “Gang Fight” — Rebecca Black, as interpreted by a bad lip reader “Hot Jumping Beans” — another bad lip reading of Justin Bieber and Rascal Flatts “Beard With Glue” — a Bad Lip Reading “Russian Unicorn” — a bad lip reading of Michael Bublé “(Rockin’) All Nite Long” — A Bad Lip Reading of Taylor Swift, featuring Wiz Khalifa Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/10/03/paul-ryan-lip-reading/
Last year, Joss Whedon switched gears from his usual fantasy-fueled projects to tackle a classic. The result was a modern day update of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. Whedon packed the film with actors from his hit TV shows and movies, including Amy Acker, Nathan Fillion and Fran Kanz. But two of the actors featured in film were plucked straight off the Internet by the director. Comedians Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher, together known as BriTANicK (rhymes with Titanic), have been writing, directing and performing on their own YouTube channel since 2008. While they’ve both dipped their toes into film, both separately and together, Whedon’s project was their first time working on a major studio film project. The duo’s roles might have been small — the characters are simply named First and Second Watchman — but they definitely made a huge impression on the direction and cast. Mashable talked with McElhaney and Kocher about their experience diving into Whedon-verse. The man behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly first connected with the BriTANicK when he linked to their “Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer” video on his blog. “He also said he really loved ‘Team Work‘ and ‘Eagles,’” McElhaney said, referring to another video as well as their short film, “Eagles Are Turning People Into Horses,” that was made as McElhaney’s final thesis at New York University. When asked whether their Shakespearean bits, “A Monologue for Three” and its precursor “A Monologue for Thee” were perhaps a factor, they laughed, “I don’t think anyone would cast us in Shakespeare based on that, but you know, maybe.” Probably not, since they can’t even remember the quintessential lines. The filming for Much Ado took place in Whedon’s expansive Calif. home. The cast stayed in hotels, but McElhaney and Kocher admitted that sometimes it would turn into a “slumber party situation.” “We were really accepted into their family.” McElhaney added, “It was really laid back. It didn’t feel like a set. It was like f*cking around with friends.” They noted that for all of their differences in experience, the rest of the cast never acted like “Hollywood types.” The cast even took a shine to one of the duo’s favorite past times, a game they invented called “Running Flip Cup Charades.” As you can probably guess from the title, it’s a slightly complicated drinking game. They even played the aerobic game on the ensemble’s 24-hour back-and-forth tour bus trip from Los Angeles, Calif. to Austin, Texas, where the film was being shown at SXSW. McElhaney described running around the bus for four hours in the middle of the night as “magical.” They were also encouraged to spend that time on the bus promoting the film on social media, particularly Twitter and Vine. Kocher explained that it sometimes led to awkwardness: “Something cool would happen, and then it would be kind of weird while everyone silently tweeted about it.” BriTANicK “SHIT! We should have called it the ‘Harlem Shake-speare’!” – Joss #muchadosxsw @MuchAdoFilm http://t.co/Acgpp6BAb3 […]
NASA‘s Chris Cassidy wanted to give fellow astronaut Luca Parmitano a warm welcome to the International Space Station last week, but a bottle of wine or a nice casserole wouldn’t cut it. Cassidy buzzed his head to match Parmitano’s signature clean-shaven look. (Hey, imitation is the best form of flattery.) However, even the most menial of tasks take on a whole new level in zero gravity. Cassidy couldn’t just pick up a standard razor — hair would be floating around the ISS for weeks. Instead, he used an electric hair trimmer and a vacuum. “I don’t think I’ve looked like this since Plebe Summer!” joked Cassidy, who has a reputation as a notorious prankster. When he arrived on board the ISS in March, he donned an over-the-top fake mustache for Commander Chris Hadfield. The fun didn’t stop with the video above. Once the nerds at Mission Control back on Earth heard about the space haircut, they jumped in on the joke with this “Wanted” poster in search of the missing hair. Images courtesy of NASA Read more: http://mashable.com/2013/06/04/nasa-astronaut-shaves-head/
iPhone apps are cool and all … but when are we going to see some really powerful tricks? Turns out there’s one way, at least, to give your phone heat vision. So that’s a start. Elliott gives his take on it in the newest episode of Mashable Minute. Earlier this week, we told you how you can use baking soda as a shampoo substitute. Check it out: Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/08/15/super-phone-mashable-minute/
Samsung and Apple have been going head-to-head with claims on the Galaxy SIII and the iPhone 5, respectively. But until now, neither has been able to answer one question: Will it blend? In this stress test by Blendtec, it appears that Samsung has an edge. The Galaxy SIII holds out longer than the iPhone 5 — something to consider if you plan to put either in a Blendtec blender. In the end, though, both end up as a pile of dust. Perhaps the only question about this video is, what took Blendtec so long? Well, it just so happens that Blendtec PR manager Tim Provost and company founder Tom Dickson were in Australia when the iPhone 5 hit. Though you can buy an iPhone 5 Down Under (Woz did), the two waited until they got back to the U.S. to put the iPhone 5 through the company’s rigorous stress test. For the uninitiated, Blendtec has gotten more than 200 million views on YouTube for its various “Will it blend?” video challenges. Blending the iPhone seems to be a favorite, though. The brand’s most-viewed video is a “Will it blend?” with the original iPhone in 2007. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/10/16/iphone-5-will-it-blend/
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.defineSlot(‘/37886402/VN_PG_DTBT_ATF’, [728, 90], ‘VN_PG_DTBT_ATF_58097fb58b763’).addService(googletag.pubads()) googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“NOVA_MB”, “VN_”); googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“NOVA_SC”, “VN_ORGN”); googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“NOVA_TS”, “TS_D”); googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“NOVA_AT”, “VN_ORGN_PG_D_REV_1.0_ASYNC_DEFAULT”); googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“NOVA_CC”, “VN_ORGN_D_UNK_118117_A”); googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“NOVA_PG”, “1”); googletag.enableServices(); googletag.display(‘VN_PG_DTBT_ATF_58097fb58b763’); }); Though they definitely scare me, I don’t have a huge problem with spiders. However, that doesn’t mean that you’ll see me trying to touch or hold them anytime soon. Okay, I’ve actually held a tarantula once, but the experience was so nerve-racking that I would never consider having one of my own. One woman in Brisbane, Australia, though, couldn’t disagree with me more. Not only does Lisa van Kula Donovan love spiders (and basically all other insects), but she keeps five of them as her beloved pets. Donovan is very hands-on when it comes to her spiders. YouTube / Wannabe Entomologist She even lets them crawl all over her face and head. YouTube / Wannabe Entomologist The way she handles them would freak most people out, but she thinks nothing of it and obviously enjoys it very much. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.defineSlot(‘/37886402/VN_PG_DCI1_BTF’, [300, 250], ‘VN_PG_DCI1_BTF_58097fb58a195’).addService(googletag.pubads()) googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“NOVA_MB”, “VN_”); googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“NOVA_SC”, “VN_ORGN”); googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“NOVA_TS”, “TS_D”); googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“NOVA_AT”, “VN_ORGN_PG_D_REV_1.0_ASYNC_DEFAULT”); googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“NOVA_CC”, “VN_ORGN_D_UNK_118117_A”); googletag.pubads().setTargeting(“NOVA_PG”, “1”); googletag.enableServices(); googletag.display(‘VN_PG_DCI1_BTF_58097fb58a195’); }); When she moved to Australia about eight years ago, she fell in love with all the spiders and insects she discovered there. It became such a huge passion that she decided to share her home with some of them. Facebook / Lisa van Kula Donovan Read More: Boy’s KFC Dinner Sent Him To The Hospital…And It Only Gets More Gross From There The largest critter in her collection is a massive female huntsman spider that she affectionately named Cuddles, even though she was bitten by the same kind in the wild. YouTube / Wannabe Entomologist Surprisingly, none of her spiders have ever chomped on her, but she’s well aware that it could happen at any time and isn’t afraid of it. She also has a variety of other creepy-crawlies that she adores as much as if they were her children. Facebook / Lisa van Kula Donovan She even lets her own kids hold some of them — but not any spiders. You have to admit that this one is pretty cute. Read More: Man Enters His Kitchen Only To Find Two Huge Pythons Battling Each Other Although Donovan’s passion may creep people out and disgust them, she doesn’t care. She wouldn’t have her life any other way and is perfectly content with her unusual pets. Facebook / Lisa van Kula Donovan (via The Sun) I applaud her fearlessness when it comes to her pets, but I would never follow in her footsteps. The creepy factor is just way too high for me. Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/spider-woman/
