Every now and then, we run across someone whose talents are exceptional; and as we marvel at their contribution to mankind, we’re thankful that such a human being was born into the world while we occupy it. Dean Kamen is one of them.
Who is Dean Kamen?
The inventor of the Segway, a two-wheel people transporter, and the revolutionary “Slingshot,” an energy-efficient, vapor compression distilling water purification system that is changing life for billions of people.
A superb and fascinating documentary about Kamen is promo’d in this trailer:
[jwplayer O7IhDJri]
The accompanying text aptly describes him as “A quirky genius with a sharp wit and a provocative worldview, Dean Kamen is our era’s Thomas Edison. He takes on the world’s grand challenges one invention at a time. Best known for his Segway Human Transporter, Kamen has reconceived kidney dialysis, engineered an electric wheelchair that can travel up stairs (the Ibot), reworked the heart stent, built portable insulin pumps, founded FIRST robotics to inspire young students, and on and on.”
Holder of more than 440 patents, Kamen says that from a very early age, “I both wanted to know about the rules which this universe of ours operates and through the world of engineering, I wanted to start applying those rules to create inventions that would give people a better quality of life if those inventions work.”
“Slingshot” is available on Netflix, or you can watch it for a nominal fee at YouTube.
Speaking of inventions …
Speaking of inventions, Lifebuzz has 25 fascinating facts about tech products, the industry, and the people behind it. “These will definitely make you appreciate the process of invention – and also inform you of the behind-the-scenes oddities of the industry.”
Funky dancing
This video mash-up of past movie dance scenes from a different era married with a catchy contemporary song (“Uptown Funk”) will have you tapping your feet and lifting your spirits. Viewed more than 9 million times since it was posted to YouTube on Oct. 6, it features famous Hollywood hoofers Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and many others you’ll recognize seemingly dancing to a funky beat.
DIY Network introduces the creator of this video:
Michael Binder is what you would call a “movie aficionado” through and through. He’s probably watched just about every single movie you’ve ever heard of, twice. In fact, Binder loves movies so much that he’s managed to make a career writing about them and talking about them for his hundreds of followers.
But when he saw the mega viral hit that featured a bunch of dance scenes from popular movies matched up to the incredibly popular song, “Uptown Funk,” he was instantly inspired to do a similar mashup, only he wanted to use dance scenes from movies that only came out of the Golden Age of cinema.
It took him a long while to find the perfect clips which properly conveyed the energy and passion, but after he scanned through hundreds and hundreds of movies from 1953 and earlier, he finally edited together an absolutely stunning video featuring some of our favorite dancers and singers.
Not only did Binder have to be aware of the dance sequence in his head, but he had to time it properly with the music without speeding up or slowing down the original footage.
Kinda Fonda Honda hands!
Let’s see what curiosity can do.
[jwplayer QZBl4tpD]
We’re #12!
Blogger Director Blue has published the standings of the top 300 conservative news and opinion sites for the month of August, based on Alexa traffic rankings.
Some are politically center-right, libertarian, or more middle-of-the-road, but they are included because they publish center-right opinion pieces on a regular basis.
WND.com came in at #12.
The top fifteen are:
- Fox News
- The Telegraph
- The Wall Street Journal
- Conservative Tribune
- Independent Journal Review
- Drudge Report
- Western Journalism
- New York Post
- The Blaze
- Breitbart
- ZeroHedge
- WND
- Young Conservatives
- Newsmax
- The Washington Times
Say “Mama!”
Seasoned actors know that children and dogs are scene-stealers. This funny little video short offers a different take on it!
[jwplayer N0GmDHrk]
It’s all in how you see it
Now this is Art Part 1 – an amazing perspective trick!
Anamorphosis-based art by French artist Bernard Pras is junk, depending on your point of view! Pras’ creations employ anamorposis, a visual illusion where a distorted projection – often made from paint or a collection or objects – must be viewed from a specific vantage point to reconstitute the intended image. Watch:
[jwplayer C0HEBCMV]
Waging war
How will ‘Anonymous’ wage war on the Islamic State? One of its own tells us.
[jwplayer NH2Puh8H]
The first selfie
Is this the world’s first selfie?
To see more historic photos, click here.
