08.08.08 was the date the whole world was looking at China. It was their chance to impress the global community. And they didn´t fail to live up to the expectations. The Beijing Olympics opening ceremony was a success. But in the days following the opening ceremony, there has appeared several revealing facts. Facts that show parts of the opening ceremony was fake.
Right at the beginning there was a clip, that showed a helicopter flying Beijing to The Birds Nest. And the helicopter is following the footsteps made out of fireworks. The entire clip was CGI. There were footstep fireworks, but they found it hard to film them. So they went for CGI. When I watched the opening I thought there was something wired about the clip, it looked like it could be a fake.
There was another part of the opening that I reacted too. That was when Lin Miaoke (9) sang. Lin charmed the world with her performance. And became a star over night. But it was later revealed she was miming. It was another girl Yang Peiyi, that was the real singer. So why have another girl mime? The reason they gave is that Lin has a the perfect face, and Yang has the perfect voice. There were going for the overall package. Lin had the face China wanted the world to see, but not the voice. What message does this tell young children across the world? That as long as you look the part, you will get it?
Since the news about of the miming came out, a group on facebook has appeared. Asking China to let Yang sing in the closing ceremony. The group is called: Petition to let Yang Peiyi perform at the 2008 Olympics Closing Ceremony!!. Lets hope she does sing.
China, it was a fantastic show, but it would have been perfect if not for the these two events. The closing ceremony is approaching fast. Lets hope that the entire closing show will be real.
Congratulations to all left-hander´s out there. 13. August is left-handers day. I am myself left handed, but didn´t know off this left-hander´s day until i read it in a newspaper. After a google search i found www.lefthandersday.com. Just recently the website had a vote for Left Hander of the Year 2008.
And the winner is….. NR 5: Rafeal Nadal (spanish professional tennis player), NR 4: David Archuleta (runner up in American Idol 7), NR 3: Paul McCartney (music artist), NR 2: Angelina Jolie (actress), NR 1: Barack Obama (Democratic Party 2008 presidential nominee). Hhhmm maybe left handed people are more talented…
There are several myths left handed people. That they are more creative and artistic. This can be backed up with the fact that both Michelangelo and Jimi Hendrix were both left handed. But how can we prove or disprove these myths. I think this is a task for Discovery channel´s Mythbusters.
Some research has found out that left handed people think faster, and make more money. The research also says we adapt quicker to looking under water. Some other research says we live shorter, and are more at risk of allergies, schizophrenia and have a harder time learning different languages. Wouldn´t it be nice if you could just pick the ones you want.
Writing when left handed is no problem, but it is easier to smear out ink and such. This must be easier for people writing in Arabic, as they read and write from right to left.
Why is the word right (used as: the right answer or the right thing to do ) written in the exact same way as right, in right handed people. Hhhmm… Is this to tell the left handed people that they write wrong? You tell me.
Here is a list of other left handed people:
Albert Einstein, Alexander the Great, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Bruce Willis, Charlie Chaplin, Colin Powell, Fidel Castro, Goerge Bush Sr., Jeanne d´Arc, Jim Carry, John F Kennedy, Julia Roberts, Julius Caesar, Keanu Reeves, Kurt Cobain, Leonardo Da Vinci, Mahatma Gandhi, Matt Groening, Ned Flanders, Oprah Winfrey, Phil Collins, Prince Charles, Prince William, Queen Victoria of the UK, Robert DiNero, Thomas Jefferson, Tom Cruise…… the list goes on and on.
Even though these people have put there mark on the world in there very different ways. Everyday life is made for right handed people. Many day to day objects are not as easy to use when your are left handed. This has resulted in several left hand shops. One in ten people are left handed, so there is a market for it.
I´m left handed, and proud of it.
For you other left handed out there, what do you think is the best/worst thing about being left handed?
At the end of July, a picture appeared on the internet. A picture of a creature that got washed up on a beach in Montauk. The creature is now known as The Montauk Monster.
It all started in mid july, on Ditch Plains beach in New York. When four friends where looking for somewhere to sit on the beach, when they saw people looking at something. They decided to take a look. One of the girls had here camera with her and took several pictures. Not long after it was posted on the internet, and the search to find out with it is began.
Since its appearance it has got bloggers and mainstream media wondering what it is. If it´s real, or just a fake. Here are some of the creatures people think it might be: a raccoon, a turtle without its shell, a dog, a pig, and one lady actually said it was her husband.
But not everyone thinks its real, some say that the picture is fake. They believe the picture has been digitally altered, or that the creature itself if fake.
On Plum Island, not far form Montauk. There is a government run animal disease research facility. This has got some people thinking, that it might be an experiment that escaped.
Viral marketing (Viral_marketing), has also come up as a possibility. Cartoon Network has an upcoming show Cryptids are real. And are about mysterious, scientifically undocumented animals. Like for instance Bigfoot and Loch Ness. This has been denied by Cartoon Network.
When I first saw the picture I was intrigued to what it could be. So I did some research. The woman that took the picture said its about the size of a small dog. And the teeth look alot like raccoons teeth. So I personally believe that it is a raccoon. This is based on Occam´s razor rule (Occam\’s_Razor). The principle states that the explanation of something you don´t know to, should have as few assumptions as possible. In other terms the most likely outcome is the best one.
Having said I think its a raccoon. Wouldn´t it be cool if it was a experiment or viral marketing.
Well thats my views on the Montauk monster, what do you think it is?
UPDATE:
Not long after I posted my thoughts on the montauk monster, I got a reply from a fellow blogger. Denhoyefotograf (link on the right side of the page) found out what the monster is. It is a viral marketing scheme for an independent film about carnies. The monster is a prop from the film, that they left for people to find. But not everyone believes this. They argue that there there are to many loose ends in the hoax storyline. Enough loose ends that make the possibility that the hoax, may itself be a hoax. So the story continues.
My original idea was to make a top 10 list, but i couldn´t decide on the last three. So i decided to shrink it down to 5. But even then I saw that the top 3 stood out as the best. These are my personal favorites. If you don´t agree tell me your top 3.
NR: 3. ROWAN ATKINSON
Rowan started his career back in 1979 on the TV show Canned laughter. But it wasn´t until he joined the sketch comedy show Not the nine O´Clock news later the same year, that he started to get some attention. Then in 1982 he started his role as Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh in The Black Adder. Blackadder II followed in 1986, and the last season Blackadder the Third came in 1987. In the mean time Rowan also played a role in the unofficial James Bond movie Never say never again.
It wasn´t until he he played Mr. Bean in the Mr.Bean (1990) TV series he became a well known name. Two films have followed the series, Bean: The Ultimate Disater Movie (1997), and Mr. Bean` Holiday (2007).
He has also played in Hot Shots part deux (1993), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), The Lion King (1994), Rat Race (2001), Johnny English (2003) and Love Actually (2003).
Here is the opening from his show Rowan Atkinson Live (1992).
Here he welcomes people to hell:
Here is a clip from Rowan as Mr Bean in a christmas episode:
NR: 2. JOHN CLEESE
John Cleese also started his career on sketch show, At Last the 1948 Show (1967). The series that helped give hive his legendary career and status is Monty Python´s Flying Circus (1969). A series that has a cult status, and is still loved and hated to this day. The series gave way for the Monty Python´s films, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Life of Brian (1979) and The Meaning of Life (1983).
When John was on a promotion trip he stayed in a terrible hotel, and it was here he got the idea for his best known role. As the hotel owner Basil Fawlty in the TV series Fawlty Towers (1975). Here he plays a incompetent hotel owner with a short fuse, and tries to keep the hotel running.
Like Rowan John, has also played a role in the James Bond films. But unlike Rowan he has played in two official James Bond films, The World Is Not Enough (1999), and Die Another Day (2002). Here he plays R, Bond´s new gadget producer.
John has also played in these films: Clockwise (1986), A Fish Called Wanda (1988), An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991), The Jungle Book (1994), Rat Race (2001), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer´s Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Charlie´s Angles: Full Throttle (2003), Shrek 2 (2004) and Shrek the Third (2007).
Here is a clip from the Monty Python series:
Here is a clip from Fawlty Towers:
This is one of the best known episodes.
When I found a video with both John Cleese and Rowan Atkinson, I just had to post it:
NR: 1. EDDIE IZZARD
Eddie Izzard started his career on the TV show Open Fire (1994). He has played in dramas and comedies. But he is best known for his stand-up shows: Live at the Ambassadors (1993), Unrepeatable (1994), Definite Article (1996), Glorious (1997), Dress to Kill (1999), Circle (2002) and Sexie (2003). He won two Emmys for Dress to Kill.
The reason his stand-up shows are so popular is because he is very intelligent. He knows a lot about history and other subjects like religion. Eddie is able to use his knowledge to get laughs out of history, and for example religion.
He is not just a comedian, he is an actor. Eddie plays as many serious roles, as comic roles. He is the new comer out of the top 3, but is my favorite. Because of his stand-up shows.
Eddie has also played in: Mystery Men (1999), All the Queen´s Men (2001), Ocean´s Twelve (2004), My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006), Ocean´s Thirteen (2007), The Riches (2007) and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008).
Here is clip from his stand-up show Dress to Kill, about world war 2:
Here is a clip from his stand-up show Glorious, about computers:
Here is another clip i just had to post. It´s Eddie with the Python´s:
Here is another clip from Dress to Kill, about national anthems:
All videos are from youtube, and I don´t own them or have any copyright. I just provide a link. (I put this in incase of any lawsuits, hehe).
So thats my top 3 comedians. I would just like to say it is a coincidence that they all are english. There is one peace of work from them all that everyone should see. So here they are; from Rowan: Rowan Atkison Live, from John: Fawlty Towers and from Eddie: Dress to Kill. Enjoy!
