Five Things You Had to See Online This Week
This week in “Thanks, Internet” — Van Gogh’s ear is back,an alternate ending to this week’s Game of Thrones(spoilers), Zach Galifianakis makes the best music videos, John Oliver is a Great American, and fat cats take classic art to new places.
1. Van Gogh’s Ear Is Back
This was certainly the most puzzling thing on the tubes this week. An American artist has evidently teamed up with some scientists to 3D print Van Gogh’s famous ear — the one he removed in unceremonious fashion. Unlike most 3D-printed objects we’ve encountered, this ear was made using human cells, which is to say it’s real-ish. According to the good people at3Dprint.com, the cells were those of one Lieuwe Van Gogh, a distant relative of the master himself.
The ear is on display until July 6 at aGerman museum. Please go and report back on whatever you hear.
2. All Men Must Choose Their Own Adventure
This video and the paragraph that follows contain spoilers for “The Mountain and the Viper,” the most recent episode of Game of Thrones. If you’re not up to date, jump down to Item 3.
There’s a place for disaffected fans of popular TV shows, and it’s called the internet. It’s not just a forum for kvetching and hating. It’s a place where you can re-cut the ending to the most recentGame of Thronesepisode and win the admiration of fellow fans the world over. That’s what YouTube user Ozzy Man quickly realized after he uploadedOberyn vs Mountain (The Denial Version). Here are his seven changes to the climatic scene that closes out the show’s most recent episode, The Mountain and the Viper:
- Hans Zimmer music
- General tightening
- Slow mo
- Confirm kill
- Cropping
- A Braveheart “Freedom!” war cry
- Happy ending
Here’s hoping Ozzy Man tackles the unsatisfying Seinfeld series finale next.
3. Zach Galifianakis As Music Video Doctor
Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew convinced Zach Galifianakis to star in his latest music video. In it, the Between Two Ferns host mocks the song’s title (“You In Your Were”) before making some broad recommendations. Mostly, he thinks there should be more dancing. And he’s right. What he doesn’t mention is that the secret recipe to any great music video is a lead performance by Zach Galifianakis. It worked for Fiona, it worked for Kanye, and it works for Kevin Drew. Hi, Feist!
4. John Oliver, American Hero
Net neutrality is certainly something I care about, but I didn’t know I could do something about it untilJohn Oliver told me to onLast Week Tonight. This sort of mobilization has become Oliver’s calling card. He doesn’t just flex hisacerbic British wit. He reminds us to stop laughing and actually do something if we want to keep the rights we’ve got. This week, when Oliver suggested viewers leave comments on an open net neutrality filing, he temporarily broke the FCC’s website:
Thus far, more than 45,000 people have left comments, compared with about a hundred comments for most of the other filings.
5. Fat Cats Destroy Art
A Russian cat lover has been inserting her fat feline friend into classical works of art for a few years now, but this week she landed a real-life brick and mortar exhibit of her work in England. Vermeer probably wouldn’t mind, right?
Thanks, Matt!