Things I Think Are Kinda Cool

Quite possibly the geekiest (and therefore most amazing) interpretation of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dance I’ve ever seen:

-via Geeks Are Sexy

Yeah yeah…boring Youtube skateboarding video of a kid doing another lame trick…blah blah – - WHAT THE $#%@?!?!?.

-via Geekologie

The Chinese Red Army decided to commemorate Michael Jackson’s birthday in a few days by performing their passionate rendition of “Beat It”.

-via Dooby Brain

* Forgetting your past is virtually impossible because of the cringeworthy digital trails we leave on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks. Those embarrassing mistakes you made in college are often the first things that strangers know about you. Uh oh. – NY Times

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* Go behind-the-scenes at the Library of Congress as the pros preserve and digitize ancient texts…it’s an insanely delicate (and unbelievably important) job. – Boing Boing

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* Humans spend the majority of time (even more than having sex) in imaginary worlds through books, films, video games, etc – Why is it that even when we know something is fictional, there’s a biological part of us that truly believes it’s real? – Chronicle

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* Take an in-depth look at Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video, and how the production revealed cracks in the seemingly unstoppable Jackson Machine. – Vanity Fair

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* The age-old mystery has finally been solved – why do some countries drive on the left versus the right? Great info for your next cocktail party (or a dive bar, or wherever you get drunk). – Today I Found Out

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* A Russian dude turned down the $1 Million he won for solving one of the world’s most difficult math problems, the Poincare Conjecture, because he got in a little tiff with the ‘math community’ (bitchy mathematicians). Here’s what the Poincare Conjecture is all about. – Slate

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* Did you hear how Chinese corporations are hiring white dudes to act like the president of the company in the hopes of attracting more investments? So crazy. Check out these interviews with guys that have actually taken part in the bizarre stunts. – VBS & The Atlantic

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* I’ve wanted cities to install moving sidewalks for as long as I can remember…it’s been a slight obsession of mine. (Yes, I need a hobby.) But is it really a good idea? – Slate

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* The potential successor to the Dalai Lama isn’t an old sage sitting silently in a forest cave waiting for his turn. His name is Karmapa Lama. He’s 24 years old, loves video games, listens to rap music, and is WAY cooler than you and me – Global Post

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* Have you noticed the new subculture called ‘Steampunk’ gaining steam lately? (Sorry, bad pun). It’s based on an intense love with Victorian-era machines and the world of Jules Verne (think “Back to the Future 3″). Learn more about this crazy world. – More Intelligent Life

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(Did you see I used a photo from my Awkward Stock Photos post? Apparently they ARE useful!)

Everything’s better once Legos are involved…especially music videos:

-Michael Jackson “Beat It”

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-Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody”

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-Beatles “Eleanor Rigby” (with extra Star Wars bonus points)

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-Beastie Boys “Sabotage” trailer (full video coming soon…)

-More ‘Lego-fied’ music videos at Topless Robot (via @GeekAmI)

Jacksonville based artist James Hance says his paintings scream out, “Childhood! It was amazing! I want it forever please!”.  The mind-bending juxtapositions he creates feel perfect – you just know that if Hendrix was alive today he’d be rocking a high score on “Guitar Hero”.  These are some of my favorites from James’ collection:

“Guitar Hero”

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“The Mona Leia”

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“The Man & The Man of Steel”

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“Doozers Raising The Flag On Iwo Jima”

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“Young Steins In Love”

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“Alice – A Suitable Case For Treatment”

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“Force By Northwest”

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“Music & Me”

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“Bert & Ernie (Picasso Style)

Be sure to check out more of James’ amazing work on Artbreak.  Many of his pieces are still for sale…

I think I just got killed by a Koopa and went to heaven.
(Click the image to maximize retro goodness)

Look at the girly drink Optimus Prime is sipping…what a wuss.
-via Unique Daily

Just another morsel of Japanese TV goodness.  Keep ‘em coming, Japan!

Who’s your favorite?  I’d have to say Japanese-Cindy Lauper is mine – she really commits to the part.  My least favorite is definitely the nightmare-inducing Japanese-Michael Jackson – he’ll eat your brain when you’re sleeping…

-via Buzzfeed

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade, you’ve seen countless celebs getting into trouble with prescription pills, sometimes leading to devastating results.   Artist Jason Mecier has made his own mark on this issue by creating mosaic portraits of some of these tortured celebs…using only multi-colored prescription pills.  The results are surprisingly realistic:

Michael Jackson

Courtney Love

Heath Ledger

Kelly Osbourne

-via Incredible World