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Sunday, December 9, 2012

Video: Toddler in Stroller Launches Impromptu Opera Duet With Street Performer

Child joins street singer, steals the show. Even though the tyke doesn't know the words to the operatic melody—they come out as basically "goo goo ga ga"—the kid is in tune and even overshadows the professional.

Video: the RG3 (Robert Griffin III) injury


more here.

ZeroHouse: off the grid, self sufficient, erect in 1 day

How cool is this thing?  No hookup to power grid or water (solar powered and rainwater fed), all the furniture is built in, moves on two flatbed trucks.  via Althouse.

"Atlanta police find homicide victim seeking suspect."

The story's not that interesting - I just like headlines from the "Last Night I Shot An Elephant In My Pajamas" school of headline writing.

The Banned Pokémon Episode That Gave Children Seizures

On December 16, 1997, an episode of the then-unstoppable Pokémon animated series was broadcast in Japan. Barely thirty minutes later, nearly 700 children were on their way to hospital.

There comes a point, around twenty minutes into the show, when Pikachu uses his lightning attack to blow up some missiles. Because these are virtual missiles, and Pikachu is currently residing in Pokémon’s version of cyberspce, a regular explosion just wouldn’t look right.

So the animators used a rapidly-strobing technique that flashed red and blue lights on the screen, to make the explosion look “virtual”.

And then all hell broke loose. Read all about “Pokémon Shock”, a combination of the effects of strobe lighting combined with the sheer popularity of the program. It’s estimated that around 1 in 4000 people are vulnerable to “photosensitive seizures” and other health issues when viewing strobe lighting. That may sound minor, but when you consider over four million kids were watching that particular episode...

The original (now banned) sequence is below - watch at your own risk!