The Underground — Issue #53
Everything you need to know about in this weekly series: Adam Driver of Star Wars: The Force Awakens performs for the troops, the eventual rising of sea levels, 2015 summed up in one painting, haunting abandoned structures that will freak you out, and a TED Talk about one of the most elusive creatures in the ocean.
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. Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) visits the troops for Arts in the Armed Forces.
You may now know of Adam Driver starring as the villain Kylo Ren in the new Star Wars films, but he was also a marine. His and other actors project called Arts in the Armed Forces helps to give the troops a different type of inspiration and entertainment.
Driver, like most military, felt it difficult coming back to normal life and trying to adjust. He went to Guillard school of music and drama and began putting his thoughts and feeling into the arts. Now, he goes around with actors trying to give that same revelation on how to deal with being in the military and getting out through theaters.
Oh, and don’t think he doesn’t get ask if Star Wars: The Force Awakens is better than the prequels. He answers, but I’ll let you watch below to see you give his answer. You can also support Arts in the Armed Forces here.
2. How humanity can prevent the next Atlantis.
Sure, the mythical continent or island of Atlantis is not real, but major human settlements can and will be flooded over because of rising ocean and sea waters. Venice has been underwater for as long as we can remember, and the projections for the next 100-200 years see the rising of the oceans to hit 3 meters. Nothing we have built now can protect us from that.
Remember Katrina? That category 5 hurricane that hit New Orleans and flooded the entire city? Well, it was only a category 1 hurricane when it made landfall, but the surges devastated the half-assed built levees that protected the city. Over in the Netherlands, they’ve build gigantic barriers to protect them from such surges, but they still won’t protect against something like 3 meters of rising sea levels.
This video goes over what we can do as a civilization to protect ourselves and our homes from the rising waters. The more you don’t believe this type of thing will happen, the more likely you’ll be watching your car float away.
3. Check out this amazing image that sums up 2015 perfectly. Yep, 2015 is coming to a close and we’re all asking ourselves where all the time went. Y2K feels like it was a year or two ago, but it was over 15 years ago sine we thought the world would end. So much insane stuff happened this year that when you look back as far as June or July, you forget that gay marriage happened this year. Yeah! We already let it blend in after a few months to show how not big of a deal it was. So many other things happened, but a lot of it involved some horrible things that happened here and abroad that makes us all hope that 2016 will slap the world into think we’re all in this together.
Have a look at this image to see all of the things from this year. It’s like a Where’s Waldo of “Oh yeah!” (Notice the Mr. Robot poster in the bottom left!)
4. 8 abandoned places that will probably creep you out. I have this weird fascination with thing that creep me out. I don’t want to go near them, but I will look at pictures of them with slight hesitation. Big boats, sunken ships, picturing myself underwater and a huge ship passes over the top of me. Okay, so that pretty much sums up that I’m terrified of boats on every level, but another thing that scares the hell out of me are huge abandoned places. We’re talking gigantic places like Wonderland in China or entire cities in China that are ghost towns.
Hell, I live in Detroit and there are whole blocks of the city that are abandoned. They’re being revitalized because Detroit has recently begun kicking ass and looking great again, but when I worked down there rehabbing houses, you could have sworn you were in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
The video below shows some of the most impressively creepy abandoned places on the planet. I already watched it, so I’m going to just leave it here and go to a place where there are people and lights.
5. TED Talks explains how we found the Giant Squid. Speaking of things that terrify me: pretty much everything in the ocean. Just imagine you’re in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and below you is 3 miles of darkness full of creatures that may not have even been discovered yet. One of those creatures is the Giant Squid. The only real time we could get a look at one of these things is when he find a dead carcass of it on the beach. It was only recently that we finally got some cameras on it to make sure I couldn’t sleep ever again. But in all seriousness, it’s a wonder to behold.
Humankind has been looking for the giant squid (Architeuthis) since we first started taking pictures underwater. But the elusive deep-sea predator could never be caught on film. Oceanographer and inventor Edith Widder shares the key insight — and the teamwork — that helped to capture the squid on camera for the first time.
Watch the fascinating TED Talk below to see the video captured of the Giant Squid. Also notice the look of wonder on the faces of the audience. That’s what makes discovery and hard work worth it.
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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