The Underground — Issue #78
Everything you need to know about in this weekly: John Oliver gives his thoughts on the horrific Orlando shootings, how this test will tell you everything you need to know about your personality, an epic 5 minutes of science, an interesting infographic about Netflix binge watching, and Playstation 4’s Battlefield 1 shows us World War 1 in a whole new way.
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. John Oliver delivers and emotional statement on the Orlando shootings. To put things in perspective, the Orlando shootings was not only the biggest mass shooting in American history, it was also the biggest terror attack in America since September 11th. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver preempted its broadcast with a short statement addressing the shooting before going into the main show. It’s hard to see someone you know for comedy and political commentary look like he’s going to breakdown when speaking about such a loss of life, but Oliver powers through.
We’ll all remember where we were when we heard about the shooting. We’ll be hearing stories for weeks about the impact of this event, and during a Presidential election year — especially this one — it could be another game changer for the United States and the international community. Until then, let’s just think about all the victims of this catastrophe and steer clear of the comment sections of the internet for a bit.
2. The “Cube” test will tell you everything about your personality. The last time I took a personality test was when I did the 250 question test for Scientology unironically. I was 14 and thought Tom Cruise was the best actor ever. I thought Scientology was a church based on science, so I thought this was awesome. It turns out that 14-year-old me was a complete idiot, I had thousands of thetans, and they really like to call you at all hours of the day to get you to come in for months.
Anyway, the “cube” test is a pretty nice personality test for you to take. Not only is it a good personality test, it really stretches the imagination a bit when you start imagining the steps they give you in the test. I went all Ridley Scott in my hypothetical reality. Turns out I’m pretty cool, but that storm is really cracking with the thunder and lightning.
3. Check out this video of 5 minutes of epic science. For some odd reason, there is a movement of people that dislike science. They make themselves known on the internet and through other technologies. See where I’m going with this? Yeah, none of those technologies, medical advancements, games, phones, and all of that would be here if it weren’t for science. Every day comes with a new breakthrough that seems to make us wonder about the future, but when you think of it, we’re in the future.
The future moves slowly enough to where we grow accustomed of these fantastic new things all around us. Imagine going back 10 years and showing your younger self all the gadgets you have on you that can do way more than before. A camera, phone, photo album, wallet, money, games, flashlight — all in your smartphone. It’s insane. I graduated college not too long ago, so I know how awesome science is in the classroom, but I can’t imagine having all of this in high school.
Check out this epic collection of science below to make you appreciate the people in lab coats, putting their brains to work for you.
4. Netflix binge information given to you with a handy infographic. Binge-watching or marathoning television shows is no new thing. Anyone bored on a Sunday afternoon has watched at least 5 episodes in a row of Law and Order, but Netflix changed the game. It gave you the chance to watch all of your favorite shows one after another.
It’s really great, but it can also be really annoying. Yeah, you get all of the new episodes all at once, but then once you burn through them all in a weekend, you have to wait another year for new episodes. However, if you go to watch a series that is already done with, you can sit down and watch hours and hours of the show until you reach the end.
Below are some quick facts about what Netflix users are doing with their subscription. I see the end of cable as we know it. I think the cable companies see the same thing I do.
5. Battlefield 1 shows off its gameplay in the latest trailer. When it comes to games based on war, all of it is given to WW2, Vietnam, the Middle-East, and some futuristic stuff that has never happened. WW1 never really gets any recognition in gaming or even in popular culture. The war was pretty damn horrific. Not only was it bad, but it happened at the same time as the Influenza Pandemic of 1918, which killed 3-5% of the world population.
Besides horrific details about the flu and war; this game looks amazing. Trench warfare is in there as well as Arabia, the Western Front, and the Alps. If the game really wanted to be realistic with trench warfare, it should just make that part of the game the hardest. Watching documentaries about how they just hid and then ran at each other while being gunned down so easily made me upset. It was the bridging point between old warfare and modern warfare. Seriously, what the hell can a soldier with an old ass gun do to a brand new tank. Even if the tanks were primitive, they were still a tank that could run you over and ignore your gun.
Check out the trailer for the game below, and then go read about the war. The slippery slopes of treaties and allegiances that cause it to begin is fascinating.
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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