Lord of the Rings as A-Team

This is hilarious - an edited clip from LOTR with the theme of A-Team. Well done!



The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Theatrical Editions) [Blu-ray]

Golden Girl Estelle Getty Dies at 84

Estelle Getty, best known for her portrayal of Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls, died Tuesday (July 22nd). Getty died just 3 days before her 85th birthday. Getty passed away in her home, surrounded by family.

Her first screen appearance was in 1978, in Team-Mates. She later played small parts in Tootsie and Mask. But it was her 1982 role on Broadway as Harvey Fierstein's interfering mother in the play Torch Song Trilogy, that catapulted her into the limelight and landed her the role of Sophia on The Golden Girls in 1985.

On The Golden Girls - which from 1985 until 1992 she played Sophia Petrillo, the mother of Bea Arthur's character Dorothy. She won an Emmy in 1988 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and won a Golden Globe for the same role in 1986. Getty also won a Razzie Award for her work in 1992's Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot.

Her last role, according to IMDB, was an episode of the short-lived TV series Ladies Man, in 2000.

From the message appearing on her website: "Estelle's legacy will live on and on through the comedy and laughter she gave to us all, which will forever keep us laughing out loud.

For us here, who have known and cared for her for so many years, we've lost our dear little friend who always kept us entertained by filling our days with joyful laughter. Estelle's fans across the globe have lost the feisty little lady known as Sophia Petrillo, whose quick wit, cutting remarks, and outrageous punch lines will forever be quoted and remembered..."

Related Links:

• Estelle Getty on imdb
• Estelle Getty in Wikipedia
  
• The official site of Estelle Getty
• The Golden Girls Site
• Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot - movie page on imdb
  

Is the Internet becoming an Opium of the Masses?

Mashable published their own end-of-the-year summary, called "Trends that shaped the web". They put a lot of emphasis on social networks and the way politicians learned to use social media.

It's true that we are seeing a lot more political action and debate online, but I am wondering if that's a good thing. For one, politics is very one-sided in places like Digg. Only some of the opinions are represented, while other sides of the debate are shoved aggressively aside.

We are also seeing a lot of protests, causes and political "action" in Facebook. If you have a cause you want to promote, you simply create one in a few seconds, invite all your friends and maybe attract some interest. It's very easy to protest and demonstrate using Facebook. Which is exactly the problem - it's too easy and convenient. It makes a person thinks he is actually DOING something good, but in practice, all he did was click on a link and forget about it.

Facebook protests and causes, online petitions and social media politics don't make us more involved. They actually anesthetize us - they make us think we are contributing something to the world by raising awareness, but in truth, all those online "activities" make us less active. People are not going to demonstrations, because they "demonstrate" online. You don't write to your elected representative, because you clicked on it in Facebook! We sign an online petition and forget about it, because we think it's enough.

Some theories in the field of media studies, say that TV is the opium of the masses (as a reference to Karl Marx's saying, "Religion is the opiate of the people"). TV and mass media were used effectively for many years, to make the public either scared as hell or sleepy and indifferent. Anything to prevent the people from taking real action. Seems like the internet, an active medium as it may be, is starting to do the same thing.

There are a lot of good things happening online, but we shouldn't forget - many times, online action isn't enough. Facebook protests are not effective - they are way too easy for that. There's a real world out there, and in order to change it for the better - we need to go beyond keyboard action. Clicking on links is not enough.

Cool Photos of Vintage TV Sets

Nostalgia at its best: take a look at this amazingly cool set of vintage TV photos. You can even see TVs from 1929.

Good thing the TV set was developed into something prettier and sexier over the years, though. I wouldn't want to watch Lord of the Rings on something like this:

Ultimate Survival

A new season of Ultimate Survival has just started on the Discovery Channel. Watch Bear Grylls crunching bugs, eating worms and tearing into zebra flesh in this disgusting video.