5 things I learned today (and don't want to forget)

The Arabic term for Muslim Iberia Al Andalus, and its derivative Andalusia, are probably not derived from the Berber pronunciation of the word Vandal: "Wandal"where »

Pabst Blue Ribbon is brewed by the Miller Brewing Company where »

Clockwork Orange was set in the far off future of 1995 where »

Almost all people suffer from change blindness where »

Elvis Presley had a father (although obvious, it never occurred to me). Also, Natalie Portman can make a mean salad where »

5 things I learned Jan 11, 2012

1. Comic book for the HTML5 world http://5thin.gs/wtDwxe

2. Chicago's 1934 World's Fair in technicolor http://5thin.gs/z2Qknu

3. Photorealistic paintings of ordinary things  http://5thin.gs/AbIP1P

4. 30-story building in 15 days, go! http://5thin.gs/yo357o

5. A Korean artists diagrammatic self-portraits http://5thin.gs/A992oe

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5 things I learned Jan 10, 2012

1. Disney fairytales turned dark http://5thin.gs/w1hUfa

2. Who doesn't love a good Rube Goldberb Machine http://5thin.gs/wAQIvQ

3. Stop-motion animation starring books http://5thin.gs/w6eHA6

4. Chris Milk's video for "Two Against One" from Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi, featuring Jack White and Norah Jones  http://5thin.gs/wiwmeu

5. Surreal images from the national training of Dutch emergency services http://5thin.gs/yMfo7i

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5 things I learned January 8, 2012

1. Astounding space imagery http://5thin.gs/xiahNb

2. The disposable camera project is so amazing! Yay people! http://5thin.gs/zaatKA

3. The typewriter that makes cocktails http://5thin.gs/Any2BD

4. An Indonesian short http://5thin.gs/wdd78d

5. The smiling beautiful faces of centenarians http://5thin.gs/yPmzl0

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5 things I learned January 7, 2012

1. A world in a drop of water http://5thin.gs/zkJJaF

2. Wooden automaton http://5thin.gs/xSQ9l1

3. Japanese snow monsters http://5thin.gs/ABtXDn

4. Castellers http://5thin.gs/AntV1y

5. Kinectic sculptures, hot wheels style http://5thin.gs/wDwoEt

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5 things I learned Jan 5, 2012

1.  This photog's daily self-portrait project (12 1/2 years so far)
ended up capturing his real (and moving) story http://5thin.gs/AbCbt6

2.  One video of many on hand drawn chalk lettering http://5thin.gs/xupliN

3. Funny and plainly instructive 1960s love manual http://5thin.gs/wuAfly

4.  An around the world in 6000 photos time-lapse video http://5thin.gs/A7xh5o

5. A visual aesthetic with a clear point of view (and leather
stockings!!)  http://5thin.gs/xKvKJI

5 things I learned Jan 4, 2012

1. A dreamlike set of photos: a naked Russian scientist taming beluga

whales in the arctic http://5thin.gs/sialGe

2. TV theme song medley  http://5thin.gs/yuDMv0

3. Extra-ordinary sand sculptures http://5thin.gs/wsWfRd

4. Digitally made surreal solitude http://5thin.gs/zKQv5M

5.  Stunning projections on the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in the UAE

http://5thin.gs/ytgQjz

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5 things I learned Jan 2, 2012

1. 2011 Told Through Twitter  http://5thin.gs/srvsf3 

2. Every “club”, “party”, “drunk”, and “hands up” from Billboard’s 2010 Top 10 http://5thin.gs/sP9s0Q 

3. 100 Years in 10 Minutes http://5thin.gs/rCWnmN 

4. Stunning Moscow time-lapse http://5thin.gs/ujLr4L 

5. Malaysia: We Were Wanderers On A Prehistoric Earth http://5thin.gs/vj5v8v

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5 things I learned December 31, 2011

1. The year in photos from The Big Picture: Part 1 http://5thin.gs/rWY391; Part 2 http://5thin.gs/v8cxFh; Part 3 http://5thin.gs/veASkr

2. The top optical illusions of the year http://5thin.gs/w2dS7X

3. Long exposure photos of fireflies http://5thin.gs/s2Majo

4. Heads made of match heads http://5thin.gs/u5i3sv

5. Crochetdermy http://5thin.gs/rR3Cnx

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5 things I learned December 26, 2011

1. I love the sky and I love architecture. BOOM! http://5thin.gs/ubE6A1

2. DJ Earwom mixes a whole year together... so much fun http://5thin.gs/uZqSa2

3. An incremental animation project http://5thin.gs/slnKuE

4. 2011 in Television http://5thin.gs/vC6X4i

5. Some of the weirdest ads of 2011 http://5thin.gs/rQ3rI3

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5 things I learned December 22, 2011

1. Creative winter photography http://5thin.gs/uxbIlY

2. Los Angeles as a snow globe http://5thin.gs/tSBIRt

3. The year's best FAILS! http://5thin.gs/rPmhVg

4. Highway interchanges are gorgeous (when seen from above) http://5thin.gs/vflrE2

5. Love battles http://5thin.gs/tebWrF

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5 things Showdown: First Round Match-up: Victoria Crosby v. Marc Croswell

After checking out the links, vote for the person you think should go on to the next round, on their way to winning a Kindle.

Whoever has the most votes here, on the this post, by 11 p.m. Eastern Time, Wednesday December 28th moves on.

1. "Best Street Art of 2011" http://5thin.gs/sZb8Ea

"Okay. Street Art then. Sort of unfair that we only get one and you get five. :-)"

Prior to moving to Los Angeles, she lived in Louisiana and New York and worked for a variety of magazines from Men’s Health to Premiere.

She’s recently relocated to California and is very excited about discovering and exploring her newly adopted home with her two marvelous and magical children, Calder & Auden. http://vsalisbury.com 

2. The Patient Gardner http://5thin.gs/rHqnSR

"In my neverending quest"

Marc Croswell is a 36-year-old, Kubrick-loving button-pusher from Cincinnati, OH. marccroswell.tumblr.com

5 things I learned December 16, 2011

1. BBC makes my cry sometimes: Wonderful World http://5thin.gs/tWn6Oc

2. LSU cheerleader Go-Pro http://5thin.gs/vodPIn

3. LA FÊTE DES LUMIÈRES 2011 http://5thin.gs/vLMqJS

4. Google Zeitgest 2011 http://5thin.gs/rWPWCm

5. Wildlife photography http://5thin.gs/vodPIn

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5 things I learned December 9, 2011

1. Astounding drinking straw sculptures http://5thin.gs/skp1q7

2. Clever short film called "Too Late" http://5thin.gs/tBt37f

3. A mountain bike v. a snowboard http://5thin.gs/trEaj1

4. Rap lyrics FINALLY explained http://5thin.gs/tE2hGl

5. Mexico's #1 free iPad app is a poem by Octavio Paz... take that Dreamland HD: spooky adventure game http://5thin.gs/rUK3pO

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5 things Showdown: First Round Match-up: Nick Katranis v. Jamiel Livingston

After checking out the links, vote for the person you think should go on to the next round, on their way to winning a Kindle.

Whoever has the most votes here, on the this post, by 11 p.m. Eastern Time, Wednesday December 14thmoves on.

1. Alison on Photography http://5thin.gs/thYHJn

Jack Radcliffe photographed his daughter Alison from her early childhood to her thirties, and created an engrossing one-page film strip of these shots.

Scrolling up and down the timeline of this girl's life (viewed through such an intimate and sympathetic observer) one glimpses a kind of cinema... suggesting a film that is nearly impossible to make.

An artist living in Woodstock, New York. Nick Katranis is currently working on a film project with Philip Lawson entitled “Port of Souls,” and will be releasing records as McJagger (with Patrick Miller), and British Teeth (solo) in 2012.

2. Public bathroom video games http://5thin.gs/sJ8eU1

Jamiel (L.O.S.) Livingston: Activist, Radio DJ, Rapper/Singer Songwriter. Discovered he could sing at age 5 from watching MJ on BET & MTV and started Rapping and Battling in 97. He tries to find a way to burn words into people's thoughts. Speech is his gift so and has exercised this at WSLR for 5 years (http://wslr.org). He also does guest spots on Big Blu House tracks (http://www.reverbnation.com/bigbluhouse). He volunteered for Harvey Milk Fest, Grater Newtown's Youth Build and protests for causes he feels strongly about. 

Readers of 5 things I learned today are pretty damned interesting themselves. But for the sake of sport, let us pit them against one another to see who can find the most interesting, yes?

5 things Showdown

Compete in a round by round showdown to win an Amazon Kindle and an article about you and your projects to run and be promoted on 5thingsilearnedtoday.com and our facebook page, google + page and tumblr 

Round 1: 

1v1

Bring your best, you most interesting. Whichever of you gets the most "likes" will advance to the next round. 

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5 things I learned December 8, 2011

1. People ARE awesome http://5thin.gs/rPel4r

2. Lost photos of Captain Scott's polar voyage http://5thin.gs/uuHV1M

3. Moon landing a Stanley Kubrik production? http://5thin.gs/sEt91h

4. A funny camera trial (disavowed by Canon) http://5thin.gs/tMoDDp

5. Gorgeous animations come to life http://5thin.gs/vpsVup

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