The Underground — Issue #49
Everything you need to know about in this weekly series: The greatest ships in fictional history, a new television show starring comedian Aziz Ansari, a cheaper VR alternative you can buy, how stress can affect your body, and new music recordings from a talent we lost too soon.
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 that’s our job: 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. That’s The Underground.
1. Check out the greatest ships in fictional history. Face it, most fiction has a ship in it. Whether it is a futuristic ship in a Bond film, or the ship Ahab used to hunt his whale, ships are the backbone of a great fictional tale. The good people over at Barrington Freight created an infographic of the greatest ships in fictional history. I honestly didn’t know that Ahab’s ship was called “Pequod,” but that’s probably because I haven’t read Moby Dick since I was around 10.
Check out the infographic below to learn all you need to know about all the ships you’ve read so much about.
2. Master of None is the show that allows Aziz Ansari to shine.
Ansari is known for his amazing stand-up comedy and for his work on Parks and Rec, but he has never really had top billing in a movie or TV show. That time has changed. Master of None, which was created and written by Ansari, is a brilliant comedy that also has a social commentary that hits close to home for pretty much anyone that watches it.
It shows how we may forget what our parents went through to get us to where we are, the pains of dating the “hot girl” and realizing she isn’t anything like you thought she was, and what it’s like to be the guy with no kids visiting the newly married buddy with a kid. He seems happy, but there is always more to it.
Premise: Aziz Ansari stars as Dev, a 30-year-old actor in New York trying to find his way through life. Throughout the first season Dev finds personal growth through his own experiences as well as through his friends.
Master of None just premiered its first season of 10 episodes on Netflix. I suggest you take some time out of a weekend to watch the show. If you’re a Detroit Lions fan, you have over 3 hours of time to watch this instead of watching the Lions get obliterated like a keg of beer at a college party.
3. The IncrediSonic VUE Series VR Glasses are the cheap virtual reality glasses you need.
Your smartphone can be loaded with 3D virtual reality games, but if you want to play them, you usually have to buy one of those crappy cardboard VR glasses that you have to hold the entire time. Now, with the IncrediSonic VUE Series VR Glasses, you can use your smartphone to play games and look like you are using an expensive device like the Oculus without dropping over a grand.
Check out the details on this bad boy:
- VIRTUAL REALITY IN SECONDS – Turn your smart phone into the ultimate 3D machine for 3D games and split screen movies; works with over 300+ iOS/Android VR apps on Apple App Store and Google Play Store. A truly fun and immersive experience for any age.
- MULTI USE VR CONTROLLER – Bluetooth remote has many applications: control VR video games, use as a selfie shutter controller, compatible with Windows and Macs with Bluetooth, remote control for cell phone, fast forward, rewind, pause and play movies.
- TRUE 3D COMFORTABILITY/ACCESSABILITY -3 adjustable straps for ideal weight distribution, the foam seal is extra soft and thick, and foam nose pads are INCLUDED. Open ports on both sides for headphones to enhance the experience
- NO OPTICAL LENS ADJUSTMENT NEEDED – Specially designed lenses require no adjustment whatsoever, compartment also big enough for most prescription glasses if needed. Simply place phone in the holding slot, and align NFC sticker included for Android phones.
- HIGH QUALITY MATERIALS – All materials used are made from high quality plastic and foam, backed with lifetime USA customer support and a one year warranty; you can rest assured you are completely covered with an American soil company.
You can buy the IncrediSonic VUE Series VR Glasses on Amazon now. It would make the perfect gift for that friend that lives VR, but can’t quite afford the Oculus Rift.
4. TED-Ed: How stress can affect your body. If you have ever gotten your syllabus at the beginning of a semester of college, scrolled to the end of the semester and see a gigantic 50-page paper that is due, you know a lot about stress. You also know what that stress is like when you keep putting it off and spend and entire weekend writing and researching that paper before it’s due Monday morning. Heck, even making breakfast can be stress inducing.
Stress is also having kids, a job, friends, obligations, bills, finding time to relax, and any other thing that happens in your life. But how does stress actually affect your body besides making you worry? There are physical affects that hit people that become overwhelmed. This TED-Ed video explains how stress could affect you.
5. New music from the late Jeff Buckley will be released for fans.
To be perfectly honest, I think Jeff Buckley was and still is the best male vocalist of all time. Not only could he hit multiple octaves, his voice would send chills down your spine. And you see his style in the above photo — clothing, hair, basic disposition — I basically ripped off that style for years. The hair? The hair was awesome, but then Twilight hit and everyone compared me to a sparkly vampire.
Jeff Buckley drowned on May 29, 1997 in the Wolf River after being pulled under by the wake of a tugboat in Memphis, Tenn. He only released one record while he was alive and was in Memphis to finish his next. His unfinished record Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk was released posthumously, but showed that he was just as brilliant as he was on his debut album Grace.
On March 16th, 2016, a previously unreleased batch of recordings titled You and I will finally see the light of day. It will include covers and original recordings by Buckley before he died way before his time — he would’ve been 49 on November 17th of this year.
Check out the track listing for You and I:
- Just Like A Woman (Bob Dylan cover)
- Everyday People (Sly & The Family Stone cover)
- Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Cryin’ (First recorded by Louis Jordan)
- Grace (original)
- Calling You (Jevetta Steele cover)
- Dream Of You And I (original)
- The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (The Smiths cover)
- Poor Boy Long Way From Home (traditional blues song, Bukka White cover)
- Night Flight (Led Zeppelin cover)
- I Know It’s Over (The Smiths cover)
If you don’t know about Jeff Buckley, here is a little bit of how talented he was with his cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah:
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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.
Contact: jeff@socialunderground.com