The Kaptain's Table

Celebrating cinema's most kick-ass action heroines

2012-12-25T20:25:00.000+00:00

Neil Patrick Harris dreams of Nathan Fillion playing doctor

2012-12-04T23:45:00.000+00:00

NPH's new web series continues it's surreal journey into the puppet plagued mind of the world's greatest entertainer, this week accompanied by an old friend who has traded his usual brown coat for a rather fetching white one.

A Christmas tune with a Boston Irish flavour

2012-12-04T16:47:00.000+00:00

The Dropkick Murphys have released a video to accompany their latest single "The Season's Upon Us", a holiday song that captures a certain kind of Christmas spirit.

Expect to hear this ringing out of Irish pubs across the world over the next few weeks.

If Richard Curtis made a zombie film...

2012-12-04T10:12:00.001+00:00

While Shaun of the Dead might have been the first ever RomZomCom, this 5 minute short is another entry to the genre.

Michael Clarke Duncan dies aged 54

2012-09-04T00:24:00.001+01:00

Hospitalised since a heart attack on July 13th, Mr. Duncan's publicist released a statement to the press confirming that despite nearly two months of treatment the star had died Monday morning in a Los Angeles hospital.

The former celebrity bodyguard turned Academy Award nominated actor rose to fame for his role in The Green Mile opposite Tom Hanks, as well as films such as Armageddon, The Whole Nine Yards, Daredevil, Sin City and TV show The Finder.

"I identified with John Coffey in the fact that we both had troubled times, we are both big, and by looking at us, you would be fearful of your life if you met us in a dark alley." - Michael Clarke Duncan

Source: LA Times

Koala hitches a ride in a canoe

2012-09-02T14:00:00.000+01:00

Finding himself stuck on a riverbank, this koala took advantage of a passing canoe to get himself to somewhere a bit more hospitable.

Damien Walters wants to introduce you to his little friend

2012-09-02T12:29:00.000+01:00

The ex-gymnast turned stuntman can always be relied on to make fantastic YouTube videos but this one is a little bit different from his usual offerings.

Protection for Godless UCL Students

2012-09-01T11:00:00.000+01:00

The Atheist, Secularist and Humanist society at University College London (aka The Godless of Gower Street) need your help in choosing what message to print on the condoms they'll be handing out at the university's upcoming Welcome Fair!

As Alex Gabriel from The Heresy Club says:

I think this is brilliant. It shows atheist communities are sex-positive; we support you having as much or as little sex as you want, however you want, with whomever wants it too, and we don’t think you need permission from God or the Pope. We support contraception giving women control over their bodies, and advances in science that protect us from STIs. We don’t call consensual sex sinful, we celebrate it in all its forms.

There's currently a poll open in their Facebook group to see which one of the five designs - three of which are pictured above - proves to be the most popular and they want to know what you think. You can click here or on the image above to go place your vote & spread the word via Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Either way you'll be helping to protect godless UCL students from both religious interference and sexually transmitted infections.

Be water my friend - Bruce Lee

2012-08-30T13:28:00.000+01:00

One of Bruce Lee's most famous quotes has been given a remix, making it approx. 8% more badass.

Hey it's Bruce Lee, it was pretty badass already!

It's not a hurricane until it's managed to knock down a weather reporter

2012-08-30T12:47:00.001+01:00

Below is a compilation of some of the finest examples of such but if that only wets your appetite for more, here's a link to the 10 Best Videos of Reporters Being Blown Away By Hurricanes. Enjoy.

Flight of the Conchords need you to help the kids for Red Nose Day NZ 2012

2012-08-29T13:14:00.000+01:00

New Zealand's 4th most popular folk duo Flight of the Conchords, have reunited to release a charity single for Red Nose Day NZ.

Help them reach their goal of "a million and a hundred and ten and twenty one dollars" by donating here:
http://www.curekids.org.nz/make-a-donation

Via: Charlee-Rose on Facebook

After a slow start Australian X Factor's second week brings out the talent

2012-08-29T12:46:00.000+01:00

After an opening week packed with outstanding talent Australian X Factor could be forgiven for being unable to keep up the pace into it's second week. Monday night's show seemed to confirm it with several 'good' performances but nothing that blew us away. However, last night's episode definitely put to rest any fears that we'd seen all that the competition had to offer us.

The first act to elicit that "they've got something" response was boy band Fourtunate.

Having reached bootcamp last year the past 12 months clearly hasn't been wasted, as shown by a YouTube channel packed full of treats like this a capella Marvin Gaye & Jay Sean mashup:

The second act to show they had hod something special to offer was singing a song that has suffered terribly at the hands of auditionees in the past, Minnie Ripperton's "Loving You".

Somehow 17 year old Sarah Main managed to do the impossible, not only managing to perform the song without invoking a "nails on a chalkboard" reaction when aiming for the infamous high note, but also reminding us that despite all the botched renditions we've heard over the years, the original is actually a great song.

Women! Have you been struggling to write your shopping lists with those heavy manly biro's?

2012-08-28T15:38:00.001+01:00

Luckily for you those clever men at BiC have made some especially for you.

Here's are some of the customer reviews from Amazon:

I allowed my wife to write the grocery list with one of my pens. Shortly thereafter she went out and bought a bunch of flannel shirts, cut the sleeves off and grew a mullet. While she was writing her feminist manifesto, I secretly switched out the man pen with a BiC For Her. She's now back to baking apple pies, vacuuming in heels, and popping bennies in order to keep her girlish figure... like a proper American gal. Thank you BiC!

Oh. My. God. I've been doing it all wrong. There was me thinking I didn't need to worry about whether my writing implement sufficiently reflected my gender. Thank you so much Bic for showing me the error of my ways. Perhaps Bic will also bring out a new range of pink (or purple) feminine spanners, screwdrivers, electric drills and angle grinders so that I can carry out my job as a bicycle mechanic without further embarrassing myself? Luckily my male colleagues have managed to keep their disapproval of my use of their masculine tools to themselves. I'm so ashamed. And re-educated as to my place in society. Thanks again Bic!

I could never write until now because I'm such a thick little Princess that I refused to. I just drew pictures of my pink little bike, with the lilac streamers. I thought I'd just grow up and let a big manly man come and marry/save me. Now I've found this pen, I've learned to write. It's so pretty, with it's comfortable grip, not like the razor like surface on ordinary mens pens. It will help me list all my household chores and record my calorie consumption in my diary. Who knows? Maybe it will give me the confidence to take the stabilisers off my bike.

Unfortunately not all the feedback has been quite so positive:

I bought this pen (in error, evidently) to write my reports of each day's tree felling activities in my job as a lumberjack. It is no good. It slips from between my calloused, gnarly fingers like a gossamer thread gently descending to earth between two giant redwood trunks.

When I saw these I just had to have them, so I asked my Husband to buy them for me. He refused, as he said that owning a pen might make me Think, and then have Ideas Of My Own. Then I might start to Write, which would take time away from my wifely duties such as Cooking, Cleaning, and Bearing Children. Of course he was Absolutely Right, none of these tasks require a pen, and so I have to give these one star.

I tried these on a whim, and I have to say I wasn't very impressed. The applicator mechanism is far too fiddly, and the plastic tampon inside far too thin (not to mention uncomfortable and non-absorbant) - I'm sure there must be a knack to using them, but I couldn't find it. They also stained my knickers blue for some reason. I really wanted to like these, but it's back to pads for me.

The best "viral" advert for Thermo Scientific freezers you'll see all day

2012-08-28T14:44:00.000+01:00

I'll definitely keep this in mind when I buy my next Thermo Scientific ultra-low temperature freezer.

Via: Sapir on Facebook

Farewell Neil Armstrong (1930 - 2012)

2012-08-26T13:19:00.001+01:00

The first human to set foot upon a heavenly body not our own, died today aged 82.

X Factor: Lucy Spraggan's hidden #BeerFear music video

2012-08-26T13:03:00.001+01:00

After seeing Lucy Spraggan wow the X Factor judges and audience with her original song "Last Night" (aka #BeerFear) at the live auctions...

I hit the net in search of more of the Sheffield singer's Kate Nash/Jamie T style. From her website there were the obligatory links to her Facebook & Twitter, along with one to a Soundcloud account showcasing 11 songs. All standard practice for aspiring musical talent in the digital age, as is the presence of an independently produced album available via iTunes & Amazon. In fact everything on display paints a picture of a talented motivated musician, working hard to earn her big break.

Except for one thing... her YouTube page. While it does exist, with 355 subscribers this morning, there are no videos on it. That's unheard of these days for a gigging singer being as it's one of the best ways to build a fan base outside your local area.

Luckily I noticed that while there no videos on her channel there were some on her website, one of which was this slickly produced visual accompaniment to her X Factor audition track.

Why such a well made video would be hidden away from the thousands of prospective new fans is something of a mystery. Is it Lucy's decision or some restriction imposed by X Factor?

While we wait to find out, here's another video from her website in which she collaborates with J-Mac.

Gay Marriage - The Dinner Table Debate: Dan Savage vs. Brian Brown

2012-08-25T18:00:00.000+01:00

With the New York Times' Mark Oppenheimer moderating, Dan Savage (the sex columnist and originator of “It Gets Better”) invited Brian S. Brown (a conservative Catholic who is president of the National Organization for Marriage, an anti-gay-marriage advocacy organization) into his home to debate the issues regarding same sex marriage in the USA.

Oppenheimer wrote about the event in in a NY Times article entitled, 'After Dinner, The Fireworks', which gives some great background as to how the debate came about and what the participants thought about it several days later. Currently there's just the one video on the YouTube channel, but here's hoping they decide to continue the series and address many other contentious issues.

Via: UCL Atheist, Secularist & Humanist Society

"Vote Republican" - A song by satirist Roy Zimmerman

2012-08-25T17:00:00.000+01:00

The song might be several years old but it's still just as apt today as it was then.

‎"Government is the problem, vote for us and we'll prove it".

Via: Alex on Facebook

The Flaming Lips & a very naked Amanda Palmer cover "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"

2012-08-25T02:33:00.000+01:00

The result is a thing of beauty on so many levels, but obviously very NSFW.

The Flaming Lips and Amanda Palmer - The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face from Delo Creative on Vimeo.

What's scarier than playing Slender? Playing it while drunk

2012-08-23T20:00:00.000+01:00

I've featured the popular scarefest of a game that is Slender before.

Click to download your free copy

Here's another video demonstrating the pants wetting terror it can induce, this time on a group of drunken guys.

NSFW Warning: About 90% of the dialogue is cursing, including some homophobic & racial slurs

Why are they cutting out the best bit from The Exes?

2012-08-23T18:00:00.000+01:00

A good theme song can really make a show and the catchy opening tune to 'The Exes' is a great example.

Hoewever, the past few episodes have seen it cut down to a title card just a few seconds long. If anyone knows an executive over at TV Land, could you have a word with them? Thanks.

You know when you're so bored at the airport that you just burst into dance?

2012-08-23T17:00:00.000+01:00

No?

It must just be YouTube favourite takeSomeCrime then.

Bad boys, bankers & Miss Universe contestants - Australian X Factor wraps up week one with a bang

2012-08-23T15:50:00.001+01:00

Unlike it's British originator, down under the show airs on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday nights and so far this week we've been met potential stars in the forms of 14 year old Vendulka Wichta and this year's first auditionee Bella Ferraro.

Last night's episode saw a motley crew of contestants hoping to make their way through to "super bootcamp". Matt Gresham has used a focus on music to turn around his life and - with a little help from Bob Marley - dazzled the judges with his unique style.

Former Miss Universe contestant Kristina & student Jo came together to form Good Question, and were eager to prove`they are far more than merely pretty faces.

Also choosing to choosing to mix things up with a number showcasing both his singing & rapping abilities was bank teller William Singe.

Closing out the shows for this week was factory working single dad Hayden Maurirere, with his performance of the Chris Cornell version of Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean'.

Comunlee Misprenownced Werds

2012-08-23T12:06:00.000+01:00

Source: xkcd

Rhett & Link dedicate today's Mythical Morning's episode to a list of some of the most commonly mispronounced words.

Turns out I've been mispronouncing, and even misspelling "prerogative" as "perogative".

I blame it on the Bobby Brown song, but here's the Britney version because f*ck Bobby Brown.

I've also been sticking an extra "r" in whenever I say "sherbet" and the blame for this one lies squarely with Mike Myers.

There are many more mispronounced words out there, one of which I was surprised not see mentioned in the video above, was "nuclear" which former President George W. Bush often (pronounced oft-en not off-ten) struggled with.

Paralympic athletes 'boost' performance by breaking toes, electrocuting their legs or twisting their scrotum

2012-08-23T11:10:00.000+01:00

These are just some of the lengths that athletes with spinal injuries will go to increase their maximum performance by forcing a rise in blood pressure.

Known as 'boosting', the practice emulates the natural rise in blood pressure experienced during exercise by those without spinal injury. However, in doing so the athletes are putting their health on the line as they enter a state of 'autonomic dysreflexia' which can lead to permanent damage to the blood vessels in the eyes or lungs and potentially to a fatal stroke.

Despite being banned a survey of paralmpians who competed in Beijing revealed it continues.

"Participants were specifically asked the question: "Have you ever intentionally induced autonomic dysreflexia to boost your performance in training or competition?"

Of the 60 participants who responded, 10 (16.7%) responded affirmatively while 50 (83.3%) responded negatively.

All the positive responses were obtained from the male participants, with the majority competing in wheelchair rugby (55.5%), followed by wheelchair marathon (22.2%) and long distance racing (22.2%)"

Via: BBC News