offbeat

tags: Mormonism, religion, cults, mind control, Magic Mormon Underwear, moron, offbeat, humor, funny, comedy, silly, beliefs, insanity, education, streaming video I've lived among mormons for more years than I care to think about, and yes, the magic underwear was one of those mysteries that us kids speculated on when the adults weren't around. As if they were flies upon the walls of my childhood, the Thinking Atheist has made this video that discusses the the Mormon church's most famous "secret."

tags: Paul the Prognosticating Octopus Oracle Sez, soccer, football, World Cup 2010, fun, offbeat, weird, news Paul the Prognosticating Octopus Oracle has disappointed his German fans by choosing Spain over Germany in tomorrow's World Cup Football match. Paul is a two-year-old English-born octopus of unknown species who has lived in the aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany since shortly after he was born. Image: Mark Keppler / DAPD This is a bummer for all those German fans who believe in tooth fairies and Santa Claus, because Paul the Prognosticating Octopus Oracle of Unknown Species (PPOOUS…

tags: Meet Paul, Germany's Prognosticating Octopus, soccer, football, World Cup 2010, fun, offbeat, weird Paul -- an octopus at the Sea Life public aquarium in Oberhausen, western Germany -- has so far correctly predicted the outcome of each of Germany's World Cup matches. On Tuesday, Paul contemplates Wednesday's match between Germany and Ghana. [larger view] The World Cup and all the fanfare that surrounds it is truly amazing to experience. But perhaps strangest thing of all is that several zoos and aquariums in Germany have been asking some of their animals to predict the winners to the…

tags: Atheists Don't Have No Songs, Steve Martin With The Steep Canyon Rangers, atheism, 2010 New Orleans Jazzfest, comedy, satire, humor, funny, offbeat, streaming video This video was filmed at the recent 2010 New Orleans Jazzfest. It features a silly song, "Atheists Don't Have No Songs," performed by Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers. I think atheists need to fix this little problem (not having any songs) don't you?

tags: The Thinking Atheist, Remember The Sabbath, Jewish faith, sabbath mode, oven, humor, funny, offbeat, streaming video When I lived in NYC, a fair number of my students were Jewish. I've always found the Jewish faith to be fascinating, especially the Jews' definition of how to keep the Sabbath. My students taught me a lot about the Sabbath and the philosophy behind "keeping it" and what the rules are regarding the keeping of the Sabbath (and yes, I had a hard time not laughing when they told me all these things -- in all seriousness!)

tags: Elementary Dating, humor, funny, comedy, silly, offbeat, Rowan Atkinson, streaming video This Silly Saturday video features the brilliant actor, Rowan Atkinson, giving men a few important pointers about going out on a first date without looking like a complete moron (well, mostly). I will share a secret: I made things easy for Mr GrrlScientist by kissing him while we were sitting on the stairwell of the youth hostel we were staying at, since he was yackyackyacking until 3am. I thought kissing him would shut him up. It did, but he turned red and almost passed out. But at least I got a…

tags: The Maniacal Drummer from Hell, music, performing arts, Rick K And the Allnighters, Sharp Dressed Man, Knoebels Grove, Pennsylvania, weird, humor, funny, offbeat, streaming video The drummer in this music video is either amazing or ridiculous. Since he's quite good, I am thinking he's probably amazing. I wonder what Günter Grass thinks of him?

tags: I'm a Scientist, Get me out of Here!, internet chatrooms, online program, technology, public outreach, scientists, employment, what do scientists do?, teenagers, streaming video This video describes a new online program targeted to UK teenagers; "I'm a Scientist, Get me out of Here!" This program's goals are to provide teens access to real scientists, to provide them the opportunity to get beyond stereotypes about scientists, to learn how science relates to real life and to provide the scientists with feedback on their communication style -- can they explain their work to teenagers?…

tags: BestiFlokkurinn, Besti Flokkurinn, politics, Reykjavik, Iceland, social observation, Jón Gnarr Kristinsson, ferrets, humor, funny, satire, offbeat, streaming video "We are the best" -- this satirical video is made by Iceland's Best party, endorsing comedian Jón Gnarr Kristinsson for Mayor of Reykjavik in 2010. Among his campaign promises? Iceland's very own polar bear, wow! (Nevermind that the last polar bear was a self-delivered visitor that was shot almost immediately after it stepped onto land) Jón Gnarr Kristinsson speech at the end looks eerily of Hitler, then I discovered that…

tags: The Clearwater Beach Diet, Scientology, cults, diet, weight loss, satire, humor, funny, offbeat, streaming video This satirical video offends two groups of people at the same time: Scientologists and people who are on "the diet fad of the week." Unfortunately, Scientology does not help people: Kirstie Alley is still fat, and Lisa McPherson is still dead.

tags: The Thinking Atheist, Scientology: Circus of the Stars, L Ron Hubbard, Dianetics, Thetans, Xenu, operating thetan, E-Meter, auditing, humor, funny, offbeat, streaming video Shake off those physical chains and become the god you were meant to be! This video by The Thinking Atheist provides a look at the history and philosophy of the popular mind-control cult known as Scientology.

tags: Former NYC Mayor Giuliani, Ferrets, and Freedom, politics, NYC, NYC Life, social observation, pets, ferrets, humor, funny, satire, offbeat, streaming video Here's another set of videos for today's Silly Saturday. These videos take a closer look at the battle between former NYC Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, and the ferrets (and ferret owners) of NYC after he banned them as pets. Shortly before 911, Giuliani was awarded the dubious title of "most hated Mayor in the United States," although I am not sure it was due to his position on ferrets as pets. In 1999, New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani hosted a…

tags: I am Canadian, humor, funny, comedy, silly, offbeat, William Shatner, streaming video I found this video just in time for Silly Saturday! This video features William Shatner talking about himself.

tags: Doctor Who Theme Song Accompanied by Tesla Coils, music video, DIY, Do-It-Yourself, science, physics, music, performing arts, weird, offbeat, Tesla Coils, ArcAttack, Maker Faire 2010, streaming video The musical group, ArcAttack, constructed a set of Tesla Coils that they use to perform "an electrifying" live performance at Maker Faire 2010, held in San Mateo, California. Maker Faire is an event created by Make Magazine to "celebrate arts, crafts, engineering, science projects and the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset." According to the filmographer, the HVDJ pumps music through a PA system…

tags: Stevie the Professional Regurgitator, jobs, hobbies, passtimes, offbeat, strange, funny, people, The Tonight Show, streaming video This man makes a living by swallowing strange objects, like light bulbs, and then vomiting them back up. I think at least a few of these stunts are illusions -- how did he do the sugar trick, for example? -- while other stunts (the fish trick) are really just gross. Okay, how the heck did he do the sugar trick? And the fish trick? [and tell me, what does HSUS say about this fish trick?? or are they too busy writing legislation to outlaw people's pets to…

tags: This Man and His Marbles Are Rarely Parted, marble racing, hobbies, passtimes, offbeat, strange, funny, people, Belgian Television News, streaming video This Belgian Television News video documents a man whom some of you might think is very strange. I don't think he's strange, though. Of course, I am probably telling you too much about myself, but I did this, too! Like this guy, I had a collection of hundreds of marbles that I'd race for hours at a time through intricate obstacle courses that I had constructed. I not only recognized each individual marble, but yes, I named each one, too…

tags: Scientology, SeaOrg, cults, religion, mind control, offbeat, weird, L Ron Hubbard, A Look at Scientology's Secret Base, Twin Peaks, AnonOrange, Angry Gay Pope, streaming video The Twin Peaks base houses a vault full of Scientology's precious scripture. It's also a place to hide if WWIII breaks out. And it's a place where celebrities can come and escape. But judging by all the high fences and UltraBarrier, it's also a prison camp. Protesters AnonOrange and the Angry Gay Pope pay them a visit, seeking missing cultists Shelly Miscavige and Heber Jentz. Instead, they meet cultists Sarah…

tags: Scientology, SeaOrg, cults, religion, mind control, offbeat, weird, L Ron Hubbard, Scarlett Hanna, Australian Broadcasting Company, streaming video Scarlett Hanna, the daughter of the president of the Church of Scientology in Australia, speaks out against the organization in this eye-opening interview with the Australian Broadcasting Company.

tags: The Chatty Duel, The Princess Bride, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Hollywood, film, offbeat, streaming video For this week's Silly Saturday, I am sharing this video of the fight between the Man in Black (Cary Elwes) and Inigo (Mandy Patinkin) from the Princess Bride. It's actually funny to watch these two chat while sword fighting. I thought these lines were quite amusing: "You've done nothing but study swordplay?" "More pursue than study lately.. you see, I can no' find him. It's been 20 years now, I'm starting to lose confidence. I just work for Vizzini to pay the bills. There's not…

tags: Richard Feynman Explains Electricity, science, physics, imagination, hot, offbeat, Electricity, jiggling atoms, physical laws, Richard Feynman, streaming video Physicist Richard Feynman visits the dentist and wonders about the amazing phenomenon of electricity. From the BBC TV series 'Fun to Imagine' (1983).