Episode 5: “Light up the sky like a flame” 

2 years ago during the 2005 Emmy Awards Kirsten Bell aka Veronica Mars or Elle (Heroes) performed the title song from Fame. She’s actually not that bad. There were rumours of her taking over the role of Elle Woods in the musical version of Legally Blonde on Broadway and now I can see that she would have been perfect for that. I’m glad though that she didn’t take up the offer, otherwise we wouldn’t be seeing her in Heroes. Although, how much bad dialogue can those writers cook up for her?

Interesting links for January 4th:

• 55 Must See Movies of 2008 | /Film - Another preview list of the films coming out in 2008, ordered on release date. Mentions two films I hadn’t heard of before: Nick and Norah?s Infinite Playlist, and Synecdoche, New York.
• Phil Wheeler - Online Gallery - Pretty pictures. Mind Hacks: “They’re psychological in both senses of the word, as some contain images associated with psychology, but also often contain hidden images, visual illusions and distortions.”
• 60 Dumbest Celebrity Quotes - How dumb can some people be? “I get to go to lots of overseas places, like Canada.” - Britney Spears, “I think gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman” - Arnold Schwarzenegger,
• Top 87 Bad Predictions about the Future - Great collection of quotes from famous people about wrong predictions. Being a movie fan, I especially love this one: “Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?” H. M. Warner, co-founder of Warner Brothers, 1927.
• School in a cave - Photo shoot of children attending class at the Dongzhong (literally meaning “in cave”) primary school at a Miao village in China. The school is built in a huge, aircraft hangar-sized natural cave, carved out of a mountain over thousands of years by wind,
• Top 60 Japanese buzzwords of 2007 -
• Why 2008 Will Be An Awesome Year For Movies « FirstShowing.net - List of the most interesting movies coming out next year. Besides the obvious ones (The Dark Knight, Indy IV, Star Trek), there are a couple more obscure ones (Blindness, The Box, Repo! The Genetic Opera!, Zack and Miri Make A Porno).
• How to Draw a Face: A Mystery - Story about a guy whose father drew a comic “face” (at least it was a face in his fathers eyes) on his birthday cake every year and who wanted to finally know where the face came from.

Episode 4: “Right or Left Brain?”

Now I know this video isn’t really an optical illusion, but I can’t figure out what to call it then. Something like divergent perception, or so? I’m also not completely buying the whole right side/left side of the brain story (not in this case at least). I’ve seen this video a couple of times and after a while it switches directions. With most of these types of visual tricks, you can figure it out and force your brain to perceive it in another (I love jumping back and forth between the two perceptions of this image). This one though still continues to elude me.