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August 15, 2017
Watching This Bird Realize It Loves Drumming Will Brighten Your Day
Humans aren’t the only musically inclined creatures on the planet. Birds in particular have evolved delightful songs, replete with harmonious melodies that fill summer air with sweet, sweet music… except for the crow that was “cawing” me out of bed from outside my window at 5:30 this morning. Aside from perhaps a woodpecker if you’re really liberal with your definition of “music,” though, birds haven’t done a ton with percussion… until now.
Above, meet Mr. Inko. One day last May this particular cockatiel was in Japan, watching its owner bang away on a miniature drum. He’s immediately possessed by the rhythm. In the hilariously adorable video, you can almost see the sonically triggered neurons fire in this bird’s brain. His human taps out a simple rhythm on a tiny drum, and the instant the bird hears the consistent beat, he perks up and bobs his head right along.
Clearly intrigued at this point, Mr. Inko looks towards the action, maintaining the rhythm, and approaches the drum. After presumably thinking to himself, “Hey, I would like a big ol’ piece of this action,” the bird steps up to the drum, and lacking arms or even drumsticks, Mr. Inko bangs his head against the drum in as perfect and as cute a rhythm as you could ask for out of a cockatiel. He’s a head-bangin’ bird.
The video is an absolute joy to watch and we can’t think of a better way to brighten up your day, so check it out above and fill the comments with other videos of musical animals that you’ve come across.
Featured image: いいちこインコの飼い主/YouTube
Are Porgs the Key to STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI?!
For almost four decades, the Star Wars universe has introduced diminutive alien races of varying cuteness. We’re pretty neutral about Jawas, and we don’t want to hug an Ugnaught, but we love us some Loth-Cats! For years, we thought that the Ewoks were the pinnacle of Star Wars creations most likely to be confused with a stuffed animal, but then came the Porgs, the latest creature to make their debut in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Today’s Nerdist News is taking a closer look at the Porgs to determine their role in the next chapter of the saga.
There are potentially minor spoilers ahead for The Last Jedi! Proceed with caution, Padawans!
Join host and guardian of the Hoojibs, Jessica Chobot, as she examines everything we know about the Porgs. As you can see from the cover of the Chewie and the Porgs children’s book, everyone’s favorite Wookie has a special connection to these birds. And it’s not because they’re tasty and delicious! Although we suspect that they would be much easier to eat than Ewoks.
It’s no coincidence that the first live-action image of a Porg was set in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, with Chewie nearby. Keep in mind, this film is starting immediately after the events of The Force Awakens, so it’s only been a short time since Chewbacca saw his best bud, Han Solo, take a lightsaber to the chest. Perhaps Chewie’s friendship with the Porgs will help fill that Han-sized hole in his heart. But don’t get too close to them. We still think that the Porgs are going to have some very sharp teeth for anyone who threatens them!
What are your thoughts on the Porgs? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!
Images: Lucasfilm
Make INVADER ZIM Tacos or You Will Explode
Sing the Doom song! It’s been 15 years since the end of Invader Zim and this year, fans learned they’re going to be graced with the return of the cult classic animated show in the form of a movie. Only the The Almighty Tallest knows when the movie will make it’s debut, so until it all comes together we’ll have to make due and eat our feelings with Krazy Tacos.
Gir loves Earth food and who could blame him? Tacos are the greatest gift on this world has to offer (it’s science). It’s time to leave planet Foodcourtia behind and make your very own meal that resembles everyone’s favorite Standard Issue Information Retrieval unit. Spinach tortillas are the perfect stand-in for Gir’s Earth disguise and are stuffed full of Chicky Licky chicken and all the fixins.
Make these Irken specialties every time you hear Gir’s voice in your head come lunchtime, “But I neeeeeed tacos! I need them or I will explode!”
Invader Zim Tacos
You’ll need:
Rotisserie chicken
Salsa
Lettuce
Cheese
Ingredients:
Spinach tortillas
Sour cream
1 red bell pepper
Sliced olives
Blue corn tortilla chips
Fold a tortilla in half, slice off the ends.
Place the open tortilla on a plate and fill with chicken, salsa, lettuce and cheese. Fold the tortilla over to close.
Fill a piping bag with sour cream, pipe two large eyes on both sides of the tortilla. Use the olives for the pupils and the face details.
Cut a small square of red bell pepper to create Gir’s tongue.
To finish, place pieces of tortilla chips for his ears, then serve.
What sort of taco filling would you stuff into your Gir? Let us know in the comments!
Images: Jenn Fujikawa
The Catch-22 of the New, Safe GAME OF THRONES
For six seasons we’ve watched people break their fast, travel long roads and narrow seas, and get brutally murdered on Game of Thrones. The show captured the attention spans of millions by delivering a fantasy saga marked by the surprising deaths of its main characters. Those deaths meant that no character was ever safe, but now in its 7th (and penultimate) season, the show has had to leave that dangerous nature behind in exchange for a satisfying, standard conclusion.
At least, that seems to be the catch-22 facing showrunners D. B. Weiss and David Benioff. The violent world in George R.R. Martin’s books successfully set up savior figures and major favorites for the Seven Kingdoms only to lop off their heads, slit their throats, and stab them to death at weddings, but that cycle isn’t tenable if you want someone important that the audience cares about to still be around when the last page gets turned. In order to end, the show had to sacrifice one of its most interesting elements.
And it has. What was the last shocking death of an important figure on the show?
It’s arguable that it was Cersei’s destruction of the Sept of Baelor and Tommen’s consequent suicide at the end of season six, but Margery and company always felt like they were playing house in the Red Keep. Minor, temporary foes for Cersei. Same goes for the High Sparrow. The scope of the murder was astonishing, but the more shocking turn of events would have been Cersei’s death at the hands of the religious order.
Another option is Hodor’s death in season six, but while almost incomparably sad (R.I.P. Shireen), Hodor was never more than a tertiary character and sled-puller.
Instead, I’d argue that Jon Snow’s short-lived death at the end of season five marked the end of the show’s initial mode of operation. The move made it official: a core character could come back from the grave. Sorry, Ned. Sorry, Robb. The rules didn’t change in time for you. You’ve gotta have a Red Woman handy.
That protective watch over Jon Snow makes it feel as though he’s now completely safe from the chopping block—something his counterpart Daenerys has been for several seasons. Ditto Cersei and Jaime and Tyrion. Game of Thrones now seems wholly uninterested in dropping our jaws by dropping main characters. If Jon Snow dies (again), it will almost assuredly be in some classically noble way. Where the show made a name for itself spitting on the traditional fantasy trope of the Chosen Ones—by setting them up only to knock them down—it’s now reverting back to those exact genre roots, complete with prophecies to fulfill.
As if to prove that safety status, the show refused to kill Jaime in “Spoils of War” even as others got roasted, then pulled him and his solid metal hand (and armor!) from the depths of a river at the opening of “Eastwatch.” The show wouldn’t even kill Bronn, who awkwardly dove, not once, but twice out of the way of Drogon’s hundred-man-at-a-time burning breath.
When Bronn is safe, who’s truly in danger?
The shift from non-traditional to safely traditional is understandable because, after season five, there simply wasn’t enough time to replace more core characters with new ones and hope we’d care enough about them in the same way we cared when Snow graduated from the minor leagues to the head of the Night’s Watch. Unfortunately, we’ve lost so many interesting characters (close to 100 named) that we’re left with a grab bag that is sometimes far less compelling than Catelyn Stark or Oberyn Martell.
With only two episodes left this season, and eight total before the end of the series itself, the deaths are now custodial. The Tarlys refuse to bend the knee. Lady Olenna drinks her well-earned poison. Ramsay Bolton feeds his dogs.
What’s equally admirable and frustrating is that the shift makes thematic sense. The show—once brutish, nasty, and long—is changing alongside the socio-political revolution Jon and Daenerys want for the people. They want Westeros to be a place of peace that could play host to a Ned Starkian kind of justice and trust. If the show began in earnest with his death, it’s possible for the show to end with a new world where he never would have been killed. Cynicism defeated in a 7-season arc. It had to grow up sometime.
Shedding its renegade murder of beloved main characters and tropes in its final seasons, Game of Thrones has shifted its sights to see if mankind can unite against a supernatural power. Ostensibly, it also wants to test whether peace can last long after that. Or maybe we’ll simply get a Happily Ever After from a show that used to scream, “Life isn’t fair!” while the band played The Rains of Castamere.
This season has still proven fantastically entertaining (Battle dragons! Cersei unleashed! Reunion tours! Teleportation!), but the series has, as an act of necessity, lost something special. Hopefully it still has some surprises up its sleeve.
What do you think?
Images: HBO
Will You Accept This Rose? #64: Winner Winner Scissor Dinner – Live from Outside Lands!
-Arden climbs Alex like a Rhesus monkey after doing her Kenny impression FOR KENNY!
– Erin does her Christina impression for Hytner to try to appease him!
– Wells desperately tried to feed a baby gopher a carrot. Gopher only wanted grass.
– Paget uses her TV investigator skills to break it down with the Bachelors!
– Kenny and Alex have a strip off!
– Hytner tries to shake it too!!!!!
– Dean whips all of San Fransisco into a FRENZY with his dirty toe and….his DEAN-NESS!!!
Like Will You Accept This Rose? on Facebook and follow @ArdenMyrin, and @ErinFoleyComic on Twitter! Email the show at rosepodcast@gmail.com!
Music by Mark Rivers
Stephen King’s IT VR Experience Invites Everyone to Float with Pennywise
Next month, Stephen King’s It is coming to theaters with a big screen adaptation of the famous horror novel. The story infamously began with the horrific fate young Georgie Denbrough as he encountered the demonic clown known as Pennywise. Poor Georgie just couldn’t protect himself as he was dragged into the sewers below Derry, Maine. (We went there with Mr. King…it was weird.) But what if we could follow IT to its home beneath the city? Thanks to VR, now we can.
Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema have released It: Float VR, a new online “cinematic experience” created by SunnyBoy Entertainment that lets fans virtually walk the streets of Derry. More chillingly, fans will also head down to the sewers where plenty of red balloons are floating…and that’s not the only thing waiting for them!
To start, the VR experience actually places the viewer in Georgie’s POV as his beloved paper boat disappears down a storm drain. That’s where “Pennywise the Dancing Clown” introduces himself in the creepiest way. Then, the video makes its way into Pennywise’s inner lair, and somehow, he gets behind you.
Perhaps the cruelest part of the experience is when Pennywise unveils visions of Georgie and offers up a brief hope that he could still be alive. But in the end, there’s only one fate for anyone who dares to confront Pennywise. And his words turn out to be true: “we all float down here.” Just don’t ask what happens when the final balloons pop!
It will open in theaters on Friday, September 8. For more from the It crowd, check out 4 things to know before you watch, the revelation that Tilda Swinton was almost Pennywise, and take a tour of Maine with Mr. King himself.
What did you think about It: Float? Share your screams of terror in the comment section below!
Image: Warner Bros. Pictures
Lindsey Stirling Covers Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”
Before Lindsey Stirling‘s career took off into the stratosphere, she often shared her unique violin covers. And while Stirling is now more focused on creating her own original music and touring, she still occasionally releases a new cover. For her latest video, Stirling took on one of Green Day‘s signature songs: “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.”
Stirling recorded the song earlier this year as part of the GRAMMY ReImagined campaign that featured musical artists offering their own takes on previous Grammy winning songs. “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” won the Grammy record of the year in 2006, and it is still one of Green Day’s most famous songs. For her acoustic performance at the Americana Lounge in Hollywood, Stirling was accompanied by a keyboard player.
Although there are no lyrics in this video, the violin is more expressive than words. And if you know the song, it’s hard not to sing along. That’s one of the reasons that we love Stirling’s covers so much. Her passion for the music reminds why we loved the songs in the first place.
It’s actually been a pretty busy week for Stirling. Earlier this week, she want on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to perform her original song, “Love’s Just a Feeling” alongside Rooty.
She also shared her rendition of “The Arena.”
For music videos by Stirling, check out her YouTube Channel.
What do you think about Stirling’s latest music videos? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!
Image: Lindsey Stirling/Grammy Awards
So Noob-Noob and Mr. Poopybutthole Are Related, Right?
The MVP of “Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender” was the heroic, put-upon intern Noob-Noob who bears a noteworthy resemblance to another lovable Rick and Morty figure. One who has, sadly, been missing in action this season. You read the headline, so you obviously know who we’re talking about.
Noob-Noob and Mr. Poopybutthole are almost definitely the same species.
Time for some game theory. I’ve added Mr. Poopybutthole to this image of Noob-Noob to really get the comparison cooking.
Similarities:
Oblong head
Round eyes
Nub teeth
Humanoid body and features
High-pitched Justin Roiland-y voice
Great sense of humor
Rick-centric catchphrase
Shops at same shoe store
No bad memories of either
They both get it
Easily-dismissed Differences That Don’t Fit My Theory:
Noob-Noob doesn’t have a nose
His eyes are askew
No hat
It’s perfectly plausible that Mr. Poopybutthole and Noob-Noob are from different cultures on the same planet. Or that Noob-Noob has a kind of facial deformity that makes him look like Sloth from The Goonies. Or that they’re related and look mildly different because cousins don’t look exactly the same.
If they are related (they are), it raises at least one big question about the naming customs of their society. “Noob-Noob” seems to be a first name where “Poopybutthole” is clearly a surname, so is Mr. Poopybutthole’s first name also hyphenated? Do you call strangers, acquaintances, and subordinates by their first name and call close friends with the formal Mister or Missus? After all, Rick barely knows Noob-Noob, and the Vindicators see him as beneath them, but Rick and Mr. Poopybutthole are intimate pals.
Could this long lost relative open the door to is seeing Mr. Poopybutthole again this season? Possibly. After all, they used the cane-wielding character to close out season 2 and warn us to look out for more. If we’re lucky, we’ll see Noob-Noob and Mr. P join forces, do some recruiting, and launch an entire Poopybutthole army. Oblong-headed warriors fighting alongside Rick as far as the eye can see.
And where does Stealy fit into all of this? Because he definitely does. Ooh wee, does he ever.
Images and GIFs: Adult Swim
August 14, 2017
GAME OF THRONES: Breaking Down Everything That Happened In ‘Eastwatch’
It seems like every week on Game of Thrones there’s so much to unpack that it might take more than your average host and pair of guests that make up the typical Nerdist News Talks Back episode. No, sometimes you need twice the guests, almost double the run time, and 400% more electric candles. It’s a little something we like to call Nerdist News Talks Back: All Kings Considered Edition, which happens every Monday during the Thrones season at 1 pm PST on Nerdist’s YouTube and Alpha.
This week, host Jessica Chobot led a discussion about season 7, episode 5, “Eastwatch.” To do it, she needed a crack team of warriors, and the Gendry, Jorah, Tormund, and the Hound to her Jon Snow this week were Nerdist’s managing editor Alicia Lutes, Mothership writer Amy Vorpahl, Nerdist producer Jason Nguyen, and yours truly, Nerdist’s associate editor Kyle Anderson.
First up this week was the major reveal (though relayed to the audience in a pretty hilarious way) that Rhaegar Targaryen actually had his marriage to Ellia Martell annulled by the head maester way back when and was promptly remarried to someone else. Now if you’ve been paying attention, that someone else is Rhaegar’s one true love, Lyanna Stark, Ned’s sister who was betrothed to Robert Baratheon. R+L is what led to Robert’s Rebellion and the overthrow of the Mad King in the first place, but it also means that Jon Snow–long suspected by fans of being the lovechild of Rhaegar and Lyanna–is in fact their lawful, legitimate son. Meaning the Bastard isn’t a bastard after all, but a true heir to Rhaegar’s claim for the Iron Throne. WHOA!
For more on this revelation, check out Monday’s episode of Nerdist News, and this hefty breakdown right here.
Dany’s got a lot going on this week too. From burning the Tarly line to ashes in front of a small squadron of Lannister soldiers, to making googly eyes at Jon Snow (who’s all Dragon-petty), to reuniting with Ser Jorah Friendzone, the Breaker of Chains was the main focus of a lot of this episode, because let’s face it, she’s got a very good chance of being just like Cersei, and just like her father, the aforementioned Crazy Monarch. We get all up on the idea that maybe Dany’s gone too far, but also might totally want to smooch her (surprise) nephew.
And let’s talk about Cersei! She was not pleased at her brother/lover Jaime for having a secret meeting with Tyrion about a possible armistice regarding White Walkers. She has no interest in White Walkers, of course, but she knows that she’ll be hella defeated by Dany and her dragons and Dothraki. So Cersei decides to play the smart game and agree to meet. She ALSO reveals to Jaime that she’s pregnant and will claim him as the father, even though gross. Was this all just a ploy to get Jaime back fully on her side, or is she actually with child? (I’m willing to bet the former, but other panelists disagree with me.)
Sound the horns because Gendry’s back! We had been talking about the possible return of Gendry–the bastard son of Robert Baratheon, set adrift following his freeing by Davos back in season three–since, well, season three. And “Eastwatch” gave us his return, showed us his acumen with a war hammer, charmed us with his meeting with Jon Snow, and made him a part of what we’re calling the “Snow-icide Squad.” Gendry may in fact be the character Alicia’s been most excited about, and she didn’t hide her glee at all.
That’s merely the tip of the iceberg this week, so watch the full episode above for our hot takes on everything from how Jaime and Bronn swam so fast with all that armor, to Jorah’s possible Greyscale Wight cure, to Chobot’s new theory that Bran Stark might indeed be every Bran Stark in history, and that he might also be–DUN DUN DUN!–the Night King himself!!! What in the whole wide Westeros could that mean?
And for more Game of Thrones, check out Alicia’s full recap of “Eastwatch,” Mikey Walsh’s take on the Rhaegar reveal, Amy Ratcliffe’s take on why Davos was the episode’s MVP, and a video detailing the history of Robert’s Rebellion, and be sure to watch Nerdist News Talks Back every weekday at 1pm PT on Nerdist’s YouTube and Alpha!
Images: HBO
Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!
DAVE MADE A MAZE Is Like a Homemade LABYRINTH for Adults (Review)
We all enjoy conventional movies sometimes. There’s something sort of comforting about the familiarity of most “tentpole” blockbusters — and there’s a reason we keep returning to the same sitcom ensembles year after year. There’s nothing wrong with safe, semi-predictable, conventional entertainment.
But every once in a while you just want to dive into something offbeat, goofy, or plain old weird — doubly so when it’s an oddball indie that actually has a few legitimate points to make amidst all its giddy madness. And that brings us to Dave Made a Maze, a dry, strange, and unexpectedly engaging indie comedy that, like its main characters, starts off in one familiar place and then wanders off in all sorts of unpredictable directions. Best of all, it’s the sort of untraditional, original, personal indie flicks that seems to reward repeat viewings — and seems likely to pick up lots of fans over the next several years, albeit in almost exclusively word-of-mouth fashion.
As the title plainly indicates, Dave (Nick Thune) has made a maze. Out of cardboard. In his apartment. And now he cannot seem to find his way out. Dave’s maze is, of course, partially constructed by the movie magic that allows it to be exponentially larger on the inside than it is on the outside, which means that you’ll have to use your imagination to truly appreciate what writer/director Bill Watterson has cooked up here. Along with his co-writer Steven Sears, Watterson — not the celebrated Calvin & Hobbes creator; I looked it up — has crafted sort of a DIY eventual cult flick, one that feels like a clever horror satire at one point; a low-fi rendition of a quest movie another; and then a quietly insightful dry comedy about isolation, depression, and co-dependence.
Once you digest the central (yes, bizarre) conceit, the movie becomes a lot of fun. Dave’s girlfriend Annie (Meera Rohit Kumbhani) returns to their apartment only to find him impossibly lost in a seemingly flimsy maze of his own creation. And he absolutely refuses to let her smash the whole thing down. So already we’re dealing with some amusingly accessible symbolism here. Annie decides to enlist the help of loyal pals Gordon, the wise-ass, (Adam Busch), aspiring documentarian Harry (James Urbaniak) — and several distinctly neurotic others — and off they go into the teeny, tiny, booby-trapped, cardboard maze…
…which of course is all sorts of gigantic and confusing once they’re on the inside! Annie and her goofball crew head off to find Dave, and along the way we’re offered some funny jabs at horror flicks, “found footage,” quest movies, overly maudlin indie dramas, and self-obsessed hipsters in general — but Dave Made a Maze is probably at its best when it’s being (relatively) sincere. Tucked away inside this likable indie comedy you’ll find some unexpected depth of character and bemused empathy. Strip away the openly silly trappings of Dave Made a Maze and you’ll have a movie that’s actually “about” some pretty heavy subjects. Each viewer will draw their own interpretations, but most will agree there’s a lot more going on here than just a low-budget, grown-up version of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth. Only instead of millions of dollars worth of puppets and production design we get tons of nifty craftwork (mostly cardboard), some truly impressive “homemade” special effects, and a very tenacious minotaur. Obviously. What’s a maze without a minotaur?
But hey, if that’s the description that inspires you to give an odd little movie a shot, fine. Dave Made a Maze does feel a lot like a low-budget, grown-up version of Labyrinth. It’s odd, amusing, and consistently colorful on the surface — but it also has some pretty deep pools of thought for those who are willing to search them out. And even if the movie doesn’t work for you, hell, at least you can’t say it’s a premise you’ve seen before.
4.5 craft store burritos out of 5
Images: Gravitas Ventures
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