Fun Videos

**Jimaz** · June-16-22, 11:39 AM

DIGGING A SECRET TUNNEL Part 9

**Jimaz** · June-19-22, 09:36 PM

I TROLLED This Chess Hustler Into Thinking I Was A Beginner

I went to Union Square Park and made this chess hustler believe I was a beginner at chess!

‘It is not biology’: Women’s chess hindered by low numbers and sexism

**Jimaz** · June-23-22, 10:53 PM

I posted this long ago but this version is in much higher resolution.

Go full screen for best effect and man that pause button!:

Classical Gas - 3000 Years of Art

CLASSICAL GAS was written in August, 1967; recorded for THE MASON WILLIAMS PHONOGRAPH RECORD album in November, 1967; released as a single in February, 1968, and became a hit six months later in the Summer of 1968. It was also one of the earliest records that used a visual to help promote it on television, which probably qualifies it as one of the earliest music videos.

During the time that CLASSICAL GAS was a hit I was also the head writer for THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS COMEDY HOUR on CBS. I had seen a film titled "GOD IS DOG SPELLED BACKWARDS” at The Encore, an off beat movie house in L.A. The film was a collection of approximately 2500 classical works of art, mostly paintings, that flashed by in three minutes. Each image lasted only two film frames, or twelve images a second! At the end of the film the viewer was pronounced "cultural" since they had just covered "3000 years of art in 3 minutes!"

The film was the work of a UCLA film student named Dan McLaughlin. I contacted Dan and told him that I was interested in the idea of using his film as a visual for CLASSICAL GAS to air on THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS COMEDY HOUR. {His original sound track had been Beethoven's 5th Symphony.} THE COMEDY HOUR offered him the money to finance a new film he wanted to make in exchange for the right to change the original soundtrack from Beethoven's 5th Symphony to CLASSICAL GAS and air it on the show. As a “music video" it was first shown on THE SUMMER BROTHERS SMOTHERS SHOW {Glen Campbell was the host} in the summer of 1968.

The impact of the film on television opened the door to realizations that the viewer's mind could absorb this intense level of visual input. It was a double shot of a hundred proof music and video that polished the history of art off in three minutes! It was also the beginning of the fast images concept now called kinestasis {a rapidly-moving montage technique set to music} that has over the years been exploited so effectively by television commercials, documentaries, etc.

As a result of the response to the CLASSICAL GAS music video, in September of 1968 I wrote up a piece for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, projecting the idea that someday VJ's would be playing hit tapes on TV, {as well as DJ’s hit records on radio}, a prophesy of what was, 13 years later, to become MTV. In the summer of 1968, THE SUMMER BROTHERS SMOTHERS SHOW {produced by The SmoBros / Glen Campbell host} aired the film and by popular demand, aired it again a month later. The 3000 Years of Art video / VJ idea was an early example of the potential of the music video and a chance for me to explore the concept.

**Jimaz** · June-25-22, 04:24 PM

I didn't know that Google put Street View cameras on camels and sheep. Er, I'm referring to the video, not the thumbnail.

All the Ways Google Gets Street View Images

In 15 years, Google Street View has circled the planet 400 times. WIRED walks through all those years of gadgets and gear to understand the tools Google Street View uses to map the world.

**Jimaz** · June-27-22, 08:48 AM

Friends build real castle from scratch with simple tools only

Reality can beat the building frenzy in Minecraft, as seen in Guédelon Castle: in 1997, in a forest two hours south of Paris, a team of master-builders and enthusiasts began building a medieval castle using only the technology and materials of the Middle Ages.

25 years later, the great tower stands at 15 meters {49 feet}, and the chapel with its cross-ribbed vault, are finished and plenty of amenities have been added like water cisterns, bread ovens, stone hand mills, and an onsite water mill.

The project began when two brothers who had just spent 20 years restoring an abandoned chateau they had bought for about $1000 {a few thousand francs} decided to buy a piece of land nearby to build a castle from scratch. They chose a former sandstone quarry because of the abundance of local natural resources onsite: stone, water, wood, sand {for mortar}, clay {for roof tiles}, and ochre {for pigment}.

A team of quarrymen, stonemasons, carpenter-joiners, woodcutters, blacksmiths, tilers, rope makers, and carters began work on Guédelon Castle in July of 1997, eager to work together to revive heritage craft skills and shed light on the world of medieval construction.

Without electricity nor modern tools like mechanical cranes, the team relies on cart horses for all on-site transport of materials and giant wooden treadmill winches - basically, huge human hamster wheels powered by humans-, to do the heavy lifting of stones or beams.

**Jimaz** · July-11-22, 11:56 AM

Taking a Driving Exam in a Self Driving Tesla

**Jimaz** · July-16-22, 08:50 AM

Stick shift 101: Do you know how to drive stick shift?

It’s National Stick Shift Day! Celebrate With Some Manual-Happy Coverage

**Jimaz** · July-18-22, 12:18 PM

Pulling Impossibly Big Things From My Tiny Beach Bag

**Jimaz** · August-08-22, 04:00 PM

How the US Postal Service reads terrible handwriting

At the Remote Encoding Center in Salt Lake City, keyers process 1.2 billion images of mail every year. It's a more difficult job than I thought.

I recall decades ago {pre-internet} my mother addressed an envelope to "That company in Oregon that sells those delicious pears." It was correctly delivered to Harry and David. Yea, posties!

**Jimaz** · August-16-22, 03:43 PM

Trying to Return a Freezer with a Body In It

**Jimaz** · August-23-22, 08:22 PM

Moving People’s Car to a New Spot While They're Shopping

**Jimaz** · September-03-22, 04:40 PM

This one's nostalgic and shows how cars were sold to car salesmen in 1974 {in the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis}.

Total duration 58 minutes:

Sellers Manual Video For Chevy Wagons, Corvette, and Camaro 1974

This 50-minute promotional color film from 1974 combines a series of five instructional films from the Chevrolet company advising car dealers on how to best sell the vehicles while highlighting their unique and noteworthy features. The four segments highlight various Chevrolet car models from the year 1974 such as Chevrolet Wagons, the Chevrolet Camaro, and the Chevrolet Corvette as well as one segment on Chevrolet’s sports car offerings. All four segments were written and produced by the Bill Sandy Company, Inc known for being a leader in custom product sales training. Chevrolet or Chevy as it is sometimes referred, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors [[GM) and was founded by Louis Chevrolet and William C. Durant in 1911.

**Jimaz** · September-12-22, 10:48 AM

How cool is this? Earth is running out of helium so this ride won't be around forever.

How much helium does it take to lift a person?

Aeroplume

**Jimaz** · September-17-22, 06:50 AM

It's about time someone covered this topic this well.

Worst CAPTCHA Ever

At 5:50 synthetic text is discussed. 99.8% of AI could recognize the text but only 33% of humans could. His conclusion is that this test shows AI is now able to appear more human than humans. Well, no. To appear more human, AI would have to match that 33% success rate. It's still a valid humanity test. It's just not what the test designers expected.

I'd rate this video right up there with Steve Mould's.

**Jimaz** · September-26-22, 12:00 PM

Tom plays hamster at Guédelon.

I thought the treadmill crane was fictional.

The treadwheel crane, or treadmill crane, sounds like something from Astérix or the Flintstones. But at Guédelon in France, not only do they have one: they're using it to help build their brand new castle.

**Jimaz** · September-27-22, 07:36 PM

Hiring a Real Estate Agent to Sell My Outhouse

**Ray1936** · October-01-22, 04:57 PM

Jim, once again, thanks mightily for all the posts. However, I really think maybe you ought to get a second life somewhere, some time. Just sayin.

**Jimaz** · October-01-22, 08:32 PM

Originally Posted by Ray1936

Jim, once again, thanks mightily for all the posts. However, I really think maybe you ought to get a second life somewhere, some time. Just sayin.

Thanks, Ray!

Considering "the girl who can't dance says the band can't play," that's quite a compliment.

Psst: It's easier to play than to dance.

Try it sometime. You can play too!

**Jimaz** · October-31-22, 04:06 PM

Here's a scary but true medical mystery for Halloween.

Why Did This Woman's Blood Produce A Toxic Nerve Gas?

On February 19, 1994, Gloria Ramirez was wheeled into the emergency room at Riverside Hospital in California. Within minutes, the staff began collapsing to the floor and the hospital was evacuated. What turned this woman's blood into a chemical weapon? It's one of the weirdest medical mysteries of all time.

**Zacha341** · November-02-22, 02:24 PM

New to Volkswagen [we've never purchased them before] I've been looking online for all things VW and ran across this oldie but goodie VW commercial... Don't trust every old lady...

I'm still loyal to Toyota first, but I'd seen some 'tiny-tot' VW's flying by on the interstates etc. with a strange confidence I didn't understand. Until I drove one!

See at very end old lady at dealership! LOL!

**Jimaz** · November-19-22, 05:05 PM

World’s MOST Unusual Cars EVER made, Found In One Warehouse

In this episode of "Barn Find Hunter," Tom gets a private tour of the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, TN by the man himself, Jeff Lane. [The] most remarkable part of the Lane museum is not available to the public eye. It's the private stash of one-off makes and models buried in the basement and warehouses surrounding the museum. Stick around to find out what is hidden within.