The Underground – Issue #11
Everything you need to know about in this weekly series: Smartphone tech, a Bryan Cranston short film, chemical reactions, a must-watch show, the vaccine debate debunked, a documentary of a monster.
At Social Underground we go beyond the mainstream stuff and see what’s underneath the surface. What should we get into, listen to, read, eat or watch? If there is something in our culture that needs attention, dammit, we will bring it to your attention. With The Underground, we mean to do exactly that: Show you the underground things that you need to know about: Books, music, television, movies, comedians, art, and whatever else we can find to get you into something you never knew about.
Don’t you remember the time you heard that first song from your favorite band? You made the decision to jump head first into that first album and then delve deeper into them. Now, you don’t remember a time where you haven’t listened to that band. If you play guitar, you don’t remember the time where you didn’t know how to play. We want to bring you new stuff that you didn’t know you need in your life to the point where you can’t remember not knowing about it. That’s The Underground.
1. The YOPO® Universal 3 in 1 Camera Lens Kit for Smart Phones is tech you need. Ever wish you had more than Instagram filters as an add-on to your smartphone’s camera? Well, YOPO introduces its camera lens kit that you can hook on to your phone to give you camera of your smartphone even more potential.
Let’s take a look at the specs:
- Three Great Lenses in One Kit:Three awesome lenses to help you get the most out of your mobile photography.Macro lens can take clear photos of small objects; 0.67 Wide-angle lens can shoot larger range of scenery; 180 degrees of the scene can be captured by Fisheye lens, which can let you enjoy the unreal world.
- Wide Angle and Macro Lenses in a 2 in 1 Set:These two small lenses are screwed together.(If you are difficult to separate the macro lens and wide angle lens, you can firstly attach both lenses to clip, and then screw the wide angle lens in the opposite direction.)To use the wide angle, simply attach both lenses to the case provided. To use the macro lens, simply unscrew the wide angle lens.
- Wide Range of Uses:Universal lens clip can apply to iPhone 6 Plus, 6 , 5, 5S, 5C, 4S, 4;HTC; Samsung Galaxy S5, S4, S3; smart phone and many more. It also can be used on IPAD, TABLET PC,and LAPTOPS..( If the Phone camera is bigger than this lens,this lens can not work.eg.Nexus 5)
- High-quality Optical Glass and Aluminum Construction:It can strengthen the durability of the lenses and make the screen better.
- Easy to Store:The velvet bag we provided can keep lenses clean and safe.
You can head over to Amazon to get one of these for your phone. Make all your friends jealous with your enhanced skills at taking a selfie in a gym mirror with a fisheye lens.
2. Writer’s Block is the best short film out there that you had no idea about. It also stars Bryan Cranston. If you’re a human being and have been in school, you know a little something about writer’s block. If you’re a writer, you know it all too well. Just thinking about how to put it into words gives me writer’s block. This short film captures that hopeless feeling mixed with anger all too well. The panic, pacing, smoking, wandering feeling of being stuck in your own mind is awful.
I wrote a book and am working on a second. During my first, there would be long periods where I knew where the story was going, but I couldn’t lay it out to where I was satisfied. Although my method isn’t quite like the character in the movie, I usually just go to a coffee shop or bar with free wi-fi and use the new location to inspire something in my head.
Watch Cranston give you the hard truth of what it is to be a writer in the fantastic short film:
3. Learn yourself how a chemical reaction works. People do and create things with zero idea how they work. They bake and use yeast to make something rise but have no clue how it works. Sure, they probably overheard a teacher telling them how it works, but unless you’re a chef, you probably removed that information with memories of cats on the internet. That’s okay. TED ED is here to show you how chemical reactions work so that you have something to talk about with friends.
The great thing about this lesson — as I alluded to in my piece about digital degrees — is that the people behind it really want to educate the viewer. They mix the best techniques on how to get someone interested in science.
I first became interested as a young kid when my parents were baking. I’d walk into the kitchen when a cake was in the oven. “Tip toe and be quiet in there, Jeffrey. I don’t want the cake to drop.” I had no idea what that meant, but I did it anyway.
4. Archer is the adult cartoon that you should be watching right now. I will still say that The Simpsons from season 2-12 is the best that television has to offer, but Archer is close. It’s one of the best comedies on television that you may not have seen. Sure, you can go by awards from the Golden Globes and the Emmys, but award shows often miss shows that are actually funny and don’t have to bribe officials for said awards. Seriously, The Big Bang Theory? That is the worst show I have ever seen, and I’ve been to Mexico.
Archer is created by the mastermind Adam Reed with whom he created classics like Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo, which he co-created with Matt Thompson. The writing is detailed, specific and hilarious. Often does it have episodes inspired by a film that recreates classic sets that you’ll have to look up to realize you missed it.
The stand out of Archer — besides it being f*cking hilarious and well-made — is the voice cast. H. Jon Benjamin, Aisha Tyler, Jessica Walter, Chris Parnell, Judy Greer, Amber Nash, Lucky Yates, Adam Reed, and George Coe were all born to play these roles. Honestly, as you watch it, you have a favorite character every episode. That’s how good the writing is. It’s the epitome of ensemble comedy that gives everyone a memorable character.
Check out a supercut of all the best Archer one-liners below. Then go watch the show and tell your friends!
5. Get your kids vaccinated. Let’s face it: Morons are causing old diseases to return because of other morons. When I was little, my grade school required my parents to give them a vaccination card that proved I got all my shots. I hated vaccinations because every time my parents said we were going to the pizza arcade, we’d pull up to the doctor and I’d be crying. It sucked, but you know what sucks more? Dying from an old disease from ancient times.
It’s now a political issue that is in the news. But, where did all of this nonsense come from? What imbecile went on record to say that vaccinations are bad?
Andrew Wakefield.
Back in 1998, Wakefield and 12 other scientists published a journal that said that kids had gastrointestinal and developmental (AUTISM) issues AFTER they received the MMR vaccine. The vaccine is an immunization vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella. 3 diseases you didn’t really hear about anymore because vaccines work. The journal — which had all the scientists withdrawing their names from it because they couldn’t duplicate his insane results — started this whole thing. He also manipulated his data.
Why’d this guy manipulate all the data and try to get MMR taken off the market? Well, have you ever watched The Fugitive, where a rogue doctor tried to do something similar? It all comes down to money. Wakefield filled out a new patent for a “safer” version of the vaccine:
Most of the people involved with the journal have retracted their names from this. Now it’s just Wakefield, people stupid enough to believe it, your Aunt at Christmas, and Jenny McCarthy. I mean, what do scientists and doctors have on the co-host of Singled Out?
6. Get into the mind of serial killer Ted Bundy. I have a wide variety of interests. Nothing harmful, but the human mind is an amazing thing to behold. It has the potential to invent things to get us into space, and the potential to cause havoc. The havoc part is what interests me more. I watch docs and read books on genocide and serial killers. You may look at me and think I’m crazy, but that isn’t the case. There are marathons of the most gruesome shit on television every day. When I have my television on for white noise, I sometimes have USA on. They play marathons of Law and Order: SVU every day. I look up as I write and hear some of the most disgusting stuff I have ever heard.
Ted Bundy is one of the most gruesome serial killers in American history. He was a sociopath that was really smart, yet really sick. The judge even said he was a waste of talent during the trial. That’s what interests me about people who cause such awful events. Why? The brain is still mostly unknown no matter how much we research it. Sure, we know the basics, but not really. That’s why so many slip through the cracks. Hell, some of the worst and craziest people I have ever met all have one major thing in common: They majored in Psychology. Even they wanted to know what was going on up there.
This documentary shows a man you could easily become friends with. A man who is handsome and charming. A man who would then do the most sadistic and evil things to a woman before and after he kills them. This is probably why I’m so jumpy in social settings. Anyone could be something unbelievable.
Check out this documentary about Ted Bundy. It’s interesting and terrifying all at once.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ksfa0AddkLM
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Jeff Sorensen is an author, writer and occasional comedian living in Detroit, Michigan. You can look for more of his work on The Huffington Post, UPROXX, BGR and by just looking up his name.