Month: January 2017

While many movies, books, and TV shows take place in alien or fantasy worlds, it doesn’t mean you can’t learn how to speak their fictional languages. Here are 12 that you can start studying right now.

1. NADSAT

In the 1962 novel A Clockwork Orange, author Anthony Burgess created the language Nadsat for his teenage characters who used it as slang throughout the book and later in the 1971 movie adaptation. The fictional language is essentially English with some borrowed Russian and Gypsy words and terms, along with childish phrasing. Nadsat is derived from the Russian word for teen; it also borrows from cockney slang and German.

Example: “I read this with care, my brothers, slurping away at the old chai (tea), cup after tass (cup) after chasha (teacup), crunching my lomticks of black toast dipped in jammiwam (jam) and eggiweg (egg).”

2. ELVISH

Before he even started to write The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings, author and linguist J.R.R. Tolkien developed the Elvish languages Quenya and Sindarin for Middle Earth. Quenya is the language of the High Elves of Eldamar, while Sindarin was spoken by the Grey Elves of Telerin. Tolkien based Elvish on Finnish and Welsh, along with a few elements of Greek and Latin.

Example: “Êl síla erin lû e-govaned vîn.” — “A star shines on the hour of our meeting.”

3. HUTTESE

Star Wars sound designer Ben Burtt created Huttese for Return of the Jedi in 1983. Burtt derived the language from an ancient Incan dialect called Quechua. It’s a fictional language that is mainly spoken by Jabba the Hutt and his species on Tatooine, but many other characters can speak Huttese, such as C-3PO, Anakin Skywalker, and Watto from 1999’s Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Example: “Wee now kong bantha poodoo.” — “Now you’re bantha fodder.”

4. KLINGON

Created from only a few words and phrases, Klingon was first used in Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979, but it became a full-fledged language five years later for Star Trek III: The Search For Spock. Linguist Marc Okrand created and developed the alien language from words originally made up by actor James Doohan (who played Scotty) in the original film. In 1985, Okrand, who also created the Vulcan language, later wrote The Klingon Dictionary, which includes pronunciation, grammar rules, and vocabulary from the Star Trek alien species. Over the years, many plays from William Shakespeare were translated into Klingon, such as Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing.

Example: “bortaS bIr jablu’DI’ reH QaQqu’ nay.” — “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”

5. MINIONESE

Despicable Me co-director Pierre Coffin created Minionese for the animated movie and its sequels. While the language might sound like gibberish or baby talk, Coffin, who also voices the Minions, borrowed Minionese from other languages, such as Spanish, French, Japanese, Tagalog, Korean, and English.

“I have my Indian or Chinese menu handy. I also know a little bit of Spanish, Italian, Indonesian, and Japanese. So I have all these sources of inspiration for their words,” Coffin told the Los Angeles Daily News. “I just pick one that doesn’t express something by the meaning but rather the melody of the words.”

Example: “Le jori e’ tu” — “For better or worse”

6. PARSELTONGUE

J.K. Rowling created Parseltongue for the Harry Potter book series. It’s the fictional language of serpents and those who can speak it are known as Parselmouths, who are descendants of Salazar Slytherin, with Harry Potter as an exception. Rowling even wrote a user guide to Parseltongue on her website, Pottermore.

7. LAPINE

Author Richard Adams created the fictional language called Lapine in his 1972 novel Watership Down and its sequel Tales from Watership Down. It’s primarily spoken to make the rabbit characters sound more “wuffy, fluffy” and comes from the French word lapin, which means rabbit. “I just constructed Lapine as I went—when the rabbits needed a word for something, so did I,” Adams explained during an Reddit AMA.

8. DOTHRAKI

Linguist David J. Peterson developed the Dothraki language for Game of Thrones from George R.R. Martin’s fantasy novel series. He created the language for the nomadic warriors with a combination of Arabic and Spanish sounds, along with Swahili and Estonian. Currently, there are over 3100 Dothraki words. Peterson also wrote Living Language Dothraki: A Conversational Language Course, so Game of Thrones fans could also learn and speak the language.

In 2015, “Khaleesi” Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), the wife of the Dothraki ruler “Khal,” was a very popular name for newborn baby girls.

Example: “Dothras Chek!” — “Ride well! Godspeed!”

9. ALIENESE

To give the world of the 31st century more realism and depth, Futurama co-creator David X. Cohen created an alien language called Alienese, which was mainly used as background graffiti and store signs for in-jokes. It was a simple substitution cipher that fans quickly decoded. This forced the writers of Futurama to create another language called Alienese II, which was math-based and more complex to figure out.

10. MONDOSHAWAN

Although it’s referred to as the Divine Language, Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) speaks the Mondoshawan alien language in 1997’s The Fifth Element. It’s a limited language with only 300 to 400 words in total that director Luc Besson created. Jovovich had to memorize and refine the language before filming began. By the end of production, Besson and Jovovich were speaking Mondoshawan to each other between takes.

11. ATLANTEAN

Disney hired linguist Marc Okrand (the same linguist who created Klingon for Star Trek) to develop a living language for 2001’s Atlantis: The Lost Empire. He made Atlantean as the “mother language” for the animated film’s screenwriters and concept artists. The fictional language was derived from Indo-European words with a mix of Sumerian and North American languages. Okrand created a complex writing and language system with writer’s scripts, an Atlantean alphabet, and reader’s script for the Disney animated film.

12. NA’VI

James Cameron was developing Avatar for 15 years before it was released in December 2009. While Cameron was developing the filmmaking technology to bring the 3D film to fruition, he also brought on University of Southern California linguist Dr. Paul Frommer to help bring the alien culture of the Na’vi to the big screen. The pair worked for months, creating a language that was a mixture of Ethiopian and New Zealand Māori languages to develop a lexicon with more than 1000 words. Since the release of Avatar, Frommer has continuously added new words and expanded the grammatical rules of Na’vi on his website, so fans could learn to speak the alien language.

“The sound system has to be all nailed down first, so that there is consistency in the language,” said Dr. Frommer. “When you create a language, you experience the joy of rolling sounds around in your mouth, hearing unusual sounds, playing with the sounds and structural properties of language—it’s a process that took about six months for the basics,”

Example: “Oel ngati kameie.” — “I see you.”

With cold weather comes a whole new wardrobe of seasonal accessories, and with the right design elements, these extra layers can be both functional—and transformative. This special shawl from ThinkGeek lets anyone sport luxurious owl wings and stay warm at the same time. The extra-long polyester scarf has a night sky pattern with Harry Potter’s beloved pet owl, Hedwig, carrying an acceptance letter from Hogwarts. 

Technically, the lightweight shawl can be worn all year-round—either wrapped around the neck like a traditional scarf or draped over the shoulders to create the winged illusion. For more interesting scarf ideas this winter, you can check out our full list.

Here Are All The Winners Of The 2017 Golden Globes. La La Land did very well.
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Vintage Etiquette Posters That Illustrate How to Avoid Being a Complete Monster at the Movies. Modern audiences could use a refresher course.
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The Great Lakes Have Become A Dumping Ground For Millions Of Pounds Of Plastic. What doesn’t wash up on shore is threatening fish and other animals.
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10 Cats Who Made History. They didn’t seek out fame; greatness was thrust upon them.
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Even in death Carrie Fisher is an advocate for mental health. Her ashes were interred in a giant Prozac pill.
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How to Make Daryl Dixon Great Again. The Walking Dead’s super man needs a reboot.
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Silicon Valley’s self-serving vision for self-driving cars. They expect infrastructure and accommodation from taxpayers.
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12 Bizarre Facts About The History of Birth Control. People have tried everything at one time or another.

The 1990 film Home Alone is a blueprint for turning any house into an obstacle course for intruders. But thanks to the magic of Hollywood, 8-year-old Kevin McCallister’s series of punishing booby traps—designed to thwart burglars Harry and Marv from robbing his home—result in few visible injuries, aside from a humorously placed burn here and a glue-coated feather there.

For fans who have always imagined the Wet Bandits facing a much darker (or should we say redder) fate, Mashable reports that a creative YouTube user, who goes by the name BitMassive, has created two alternate endings for the film that are way gorier than any scenarios director Chris Columbus had up his sleeve. They’re called Home Alone With Blood, and if blockbusters with body counts don’t faze you, you can view them below.

[h/t Mashable]

It’s always a lot more exciting (and pleasant) to watch a storm develop online or on TV than to actually see it in real life. With that in mind, please enjoy this five-minute eye candy video of monsoons and supercell storms we spotted over on Gizmodo.

The videographer, Mike Olbinski, is an avid storm chaser, filmmaker, and photographer based in Arizona. This is one of his rare experiments in black-and-white video, giving it an eerie Wizard of Oz vibe.

If you’re really daring, you can join him on one of his storm-chasing tours in May.

[h/t Gizmodo]

If you’re considering grad school, don’t expect it to be a repeat of college. Working towards your master’s degree, PhD, MBA, JD, or MD is a completely different experience from undergraduate life, both socially and academically (although you might still eat lots of instant noodles and prefer sweatshirts to suits). Here are six distinctions you should be aware of before committing to several more years of higher education.

1. NOT EVERYONE WILL BE THE SAME AGE AS YOU

For the most part, college students tend to be in their late teens or early twenties. But in graduate school, you’ll find a wide array of ages. Some of your classmates will have just earned their bachelor’s degrees, but others might be mid-career. A few of them might even have spouses and kids, or be closer in age to their professors than their cohort. These individuals might be in a different stage of life (no closing a bar at 3 a.m. for them!), but they also bring diverse viewpoints and strengths to class discussions and projects. Given the range of experiences they have, they may also be able to help you gain perspective about the path you’re on, either by offering advice, or by introducing you to members of the professional network they’ve built through the years.

Your grad school colleagues and professors will someday become a vital part of your professional network. The relationships you form are nearly as important as your classes, so make sure to be polite and professional with everyone you encounter. After all, they might someday provide you a reference—or even hire you.

2. YOUR SOCIAL CIRCLES TEND TO BE SMALLER IN GRAD SCHOOL.

You’ll make new friends in grad school, but chances are you won’t be the social butterfly you were in undergrad. For one thing, many graduate students don’t reside in on-campus student housing. They typically commute to school, leaving fewer occasions for social interaction outside of class. Plus, you’ll likely be so involved with your particular academic department that you won’t have as much time or opportunity to participate in campus-wide activities and events.

3. SEASONAL BREAKS DON’T MEAN YOU’LL GET ‘TIME OFF’

In college, spring vacation was code for “beach time” and summer provided a precious three months to unwind. Your academic year will likely be similarly structured in grad school, but keep in mind that you’ll probably be just as busy—if not more so—during seasonal breaks as you are during a typical semester. Instead of attending classes, you’ll be working, completing internships, performing research, attending academic conferences, submitting articles for review, or simply studying for upcoming exams.

4. NOT ALL LEARNING TAKES PLACE IN THE CLASSROOM

Not a fan of long classes or cramped lecture halls? Good news: In grad school, a lot of your learning takes place outside the classroom. Some programs require you to work closely with a professor on their research or teach undergrad classes. In others, you’ll spend more time in the library. Plus, students enrolled in PhD programs typically only take classes for the first few years and focus on a dissertation during the final stretch. There’s a lot more opportunity for independent work, but the flipside of this, of course, is that grad school demands excellent time management skills. If you’re thinking about applying, know that you’ll be responsible for juggling your (intense) workload, without as many external deadlines as you’re used to.

5. GRAD SCHOOL IS MUCH MORE SPECIALIZED THAN UNDERGRAD.

College curriculums tend to provide students with a broad educational experience. You’ll take courses in history, math, English, and the arts—but in grad school, you’ll be focusing on one area of expertise, so your classes will be much more specialized. They’ll also be more advanced—think of all the 300-level courses you took in college, but with even more reading.

6. THERE ARE MORE PROS AND CONS TO GRADUATE SCHOOL THAN COLLEGE.

College might be expensive, but it pays off in a competitive economy: According to one 2013 projection by Washington, D.C.-based researchers, 65 percent of all jobs in America will require postsecondary education by 2020. The economic benefits of grad school aren’t as cut-and-dry.

You’ll have to get a graduate degree if you want to work in fields like law, medicine, social services, and higher education. But in other professions, hiring managers often view work experience among applicants as favorably as they do advanced degrees. And while many grad programs provide students with partial or full funding, other programs are very expensive—and the field they provide entry to might not be enough to pay off any debt you incur as a student.

In short, there are pros and cons to higher-higher education that you won’t necessarily have to consider as a college student. Will a master’s degree or PhD help you stand out among other applicants, score a raise or promotion, or break into a competitive field? And more importantly, will you be able to pay for your tuition and living expenses? Think carefully before investing your time—and money—in a program.

Ready to learn more? Visit Prudential.com for tips and tools on budgeting, overcoming procrastination and more.

Albert Einstein first published his theory of general relativity in 1905; his work on special relativity followed in 1915. By 1923, Premier Productions made this silent film to explain the most salient bits. Although it’s entirely silent (and of course quite dated), it’s a thoroughly lucid way to understand Einstein’s most important work.

My favorite stunt is around 1:45 when the filmmakers strap two pistols to a wheel, set it spinning madly, then fire the pistols simultaneously. What could possibly go wrong? Incidentally, the filmmakers used animation rather than real slow-motion photography to show the relative speeds of light and bullets in this bit. Again, 1923. The other excellent part concerns the relativity test conducted during the eclipse of 1919. Enjoy!

Note: you can download this film from the Internet Archive (part of the Prelinger Archives).

In Pulp Fiction (1994), Samuel L. Jackson was somehow able to translate biting a burger into one of the tensest moments in cinema history. Another testament to his acting chops is how much he made us want to try it for ourselves. Now, as NME reports, “tasty burger” fans can do so by following the recipe in the video below.

For his cooking series Binging with Babish, the YouTube chef whips up the fictional Big Kahuna burger, step-by-step. He starts by recreating a fast food-like patty to match the sandwich in the film, then gives it the Big Kahuna’s signature toppings: jack cheese, caramelized pineapples, and a Hawaiian roll to hold it together. After assembling the burger all you need is a $5 milkshake to wash it down.

[h/t NME]

The phrase “mind-body connection” is so overused it sounds like a cliché, yet there’s a significant body of research that shows mental and physical health are in fact deeply intertwined. Despite that, healthcare systems are still slow to integrate mental and physical healthcare in order to provide better patient care. To address this, Swiss psychologists set out to study instances in which specific mental health disorders are followed or accompanied by physical disorders in adolescents. The goal was to determine a causal relationship between them, and if possible, to predict certain physical illnesses by the presence of a mental disorder.

What they found were small—but definite—associations between certain mental and physical disorders. In their paper, published in PLOS One, the authors write, “The most substantial associations with physical diseases preceding mental disorders included those between heart diseases and anxiety disorders, epilepsy and eating disorders, and heart diseases and any mental disorder.”

“To have proof of causality, you have to experimentally manipulate people being physically or mentally sick, which isn’t ethical,” Gunther Meinlschmidt, co-lead author of the study and a professor of psychology at University of Basel, Switzerland tells mental_floss. Since that wasn’t possible, he and the research team, led by Marion Tegethoff, analyzed data from a large co-morbidity survey of 6483 U.S. teenagers, aged 13 to 18.

Using statistical models, they first looked at whether mental disorders predicted physical disease. Indeed, arthritis and digestive disorders were more common after depression in adolescents, while skin disorders seem to follow anxiety disorders. Next, they reversed the variables, to see if physical disease was a better predictor of mental disorders. But those results were statistically very small, suggesting that the physical disorders either follow the mental disorders, or arise at the same time.

More research with larger sample sizes still needs to be done, including recruiting subjects who have both a physical and mental condition. Meinlschmidt plans to “try to understand if someone was treated, say, for epilepsy—does it effect [their] eating disorder?” This will help the team isolate strict causality, he says. However, “With this work, we go beyond mere associations toward these temporal or chronological associations. One indicator increases the confidence that something causal might be going on.”

This research is a necessary first step that “stresses the importance of integrative health care to have close collaboration with a system for treating people with mental disorders and physical illness,” Meinlschmidt says. Up to now, these “two separate worlds are not really working closely together.” His ultimate goal is “to dig deeper into potential mechanisms for developing new interventions.” He hopes his research will bring more integration to two systems and help doctors create more integrated ways of treating a person’s health.