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DESIGNER BABIES: Genetic Engineering is making science fiction into reality

August 11, 2016 | Kevin

Kurzgesagt is one of the more thought-provoking Youtube channels out there now, so it’s no surprise that their latest science video is an eye-opening journey into genetic modifications and how it will literally change all life on Earth in the future. This is not a science fiction cartoon, it’s an animated easy-to-follow video displaying the shockingly real world of modifying genetics in lifeforms like animals, plants, and even humans. The video shows how ‘GM’ science is helping to reduce life-threatening diseases but the most controversial part comes from the creation of modified babies. That’s right, you pick and choose ‘mods’ to babies before they are born if this tech delivers on it’s potential. This revolutionary movement in GM science is called CRISPR.

The best line in this is analogy about genetic engineering being like computers in the 1970’s, scientists knew their would be better computers in the future. We can make genetic modified humans with less diseases and maybe even reduce aging itself, if this technology can be applied to human embryos.

Man, I just want to be able to eat an entire pizza to myself and not feel bad about it, can we do a genetic mod for that?

@kevkellam

Green Day get ready for a new album with ‘Bang Bang’

August 11, 2016 | Kevin

Rock & Roll Hall of Famers and certified great dudes Green Day started the ball rolling for their newest album this week with the release of a new fast-moving track called ‘Bang Bang’ maybe you’ve heard it on 101WKQX in the last day or so. The energetic track was written in response to violence that unfortunately fills the headlines in America, and Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong elaborated on it in an interview with Rolling Stone.”It’s about the culture of mass shooting that happens in America mixed with narcissistic social media. There’s this sort of rage happening, but it’s also now being filmed and we all have ourselves under surveillance. To me, that is so twisted. To get into the brain of someone like that was freaky. It freaked me out. After I wrote it, all I wanted to do was get that out of my brain because it just freaked me out.” said Armstrong.

This Can’t Be Good For Your Car!

August 11, 2016 | Russell

If you’re from Chicago, you probably know how bad traffic can get around the city, and even the suburbs for that matter. We all know when you are stuck in traffic your road rage starts to build, which is not a good thing. One thing that can come from that road rage is when we see an opening in traffic, we push the pedal to the floor. Trust me, nothing feels better then speeding away from traffic, but imagine you are speeding away and then all of sudden a speed bump appears out of no where and wrecks your tires or suspension. Well that is exactly what is happening in Sweden!

Sweden has designed a new speed bump that appears when a speed radar senses the person coming up to it is above the speed limit. These speed bumps don’t move up, it moves down making your car seem like it hit a pothole, and we all know how much damage a potholes can do. Now if I was in Sweden and this happened to me a couple of times, I would without a doubt watch my speed no matter where I am. You can check out the video below of the new state of the art speed bump in action.

Would you like to see these make their way to Chicago and the surrounding suburbs?

WGN’s Pat Tomasulo hilariously goes off on that big summer sports event

August 11, 2016 | Kevin

NBC is reeling everyone in with their coverage of that huge international sporting event going down currently in Brazil, but their policy on limiting footage to other media outlets drove WGN’s Pat Tomasulo through the week on WGN Morning News. In a viral hit video, Tomasulo went off on covering the event (which even I worry about naming directly here) ranting about how he has so little to work, so he sang R. Kelly’s “Bump ‘n Grind” and talked about unrelated sports highlights over footage him wrestling in high school. It’s just hilarious and shows off Pat’s unmatched comedic presence in local TV.

The ranting video has gained real attention with blogs and media outlets across the world covering it including the New York Post, BBC, and more. – @kevkellam

It’s Actually Alive!

August 11, 2016 | Russell

If you’re a gamer the chances of you hearing about the game No Man’s Sky are pretty good. If you haven’t, prepare to have your mind blown. No Man’s Sky is space based multiplayer game where you’re an explorer in a universe bigger then anything any human has ever seen. Within the Universe you are playing in, there are 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 planets waiting for you to step foot on and explore. On each planet you will find either new life forms or nothing at all, and it is your mission to build on that planet until you give up and go onto the next one. The cool thing about this game is that the Universe you are in is always changing and can be different from one day to the next. Keep in mind though that this is a multiplayer Universe, so you’re suppose to be playing with other players, but the chances of you actually finding them within the Universe are slim to none.

The amazing thing about this game though is that the game is actually expanding and creating more planets within its Universe on its own. The game is literally a living thing, which to be honest is kind of scary if you ask us, but shows how far technology has come within the last decade. Keep in mind, No Man’s Sky was created by only 13 people, which is amazing for a game so huge. I know for me, playing this game would make me so frustrated based on the amount of time it could take to find other players, which means I would probably just give up!

Would you take the time to play this game and explore the universe as it expands and creates on its own? Let us know what you think!

Swedish Fish Oreo’s

August 11, 2016 | Lou

While everyone else is gearing up for pumpkin spice season, Oreo is apparently going in another direction. Swedish Fish Oreo’s are now a thing. I’m going to go throw up, but can get more on this from Thrillist.com.

@TheLouLombardo

Watch: 230 Movies Singing “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)”

August 11, 2016 | Lou

Not sure how long it took The Unusual Suspect on YouTube to put this together, but it was totally worth it!

@TheLouLombardo

Fish With ‘Human-Like Teeth’ Found Swimming in Two Michigan Lakes

August 10, 2016 | Marconi🍕

(nbcchicago.com)

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced Tuesday several reports of fishermen catching an invasive species of fish with “squarish” human-like teeth that reportedly has a false reputation for eating human testicles.

“Reeling in a pacu would be a surprise, perhaps even a shock to anyone fishing in Michigan,” the DNR said a news release. “Though it looks somewhat like a native shad, the pacu’s squarish, blunt teeth clearly set it apart. It isn’t similar to any native, toothed fish, including trout, muskellunge or northern pike.”

This is absolutely terrifying. I mean these fish don’t even use whitening strips. – m

PIZZA!

August 10, 2016 | <3 Lauren

I haven’t been to Eataly yet, but I have heard amazing things and this weekend may be the time to get there to eat ALL THE PIZZA YOU CAN POSSIBLY PUT IN YOUR BODY

Plus other stuff:

“We will be featuring our handcrafted Neapolitan pizzas straight from our wood-burning ovens; our pizza alla pala, a Roman-style pizza with a crispy yet pillowy crust and a multitude of toppings; our popular focaccia, which features fluffy dough infused with the highest quality extra virgin olive oil; and panzerotti, delicious fried pizza pockets filled with an assortment of ingredients.”

😍

Friday and Saturday starting at different times, you can reserve a $35 ticket HERE

I know where Marconi is going to be this weekend 😀

<3 @laurenoneil

Test Syndication Event – From WLSAM – Number 1

August 10, 2016 | Web Team

Test Syndication Post – From WLSFM – Number 2

August 10, 2016 | Web Team

Test Syndication Post – From WLSAM

August 10, 2016 | Web Team

Watch: Guys Plays the Piano to Old School Games

August 10, 2016 | Lou

This guy is awesome! He takes classic games and plays the music to match the game. It’s way easier to just watch than explain…

Check out Zelda, Sonic and more from Lord Vinheterio.

Mark Hamill’s Amazing Joker Voicemail Greeting

August 10, 2016 | Lou

Mark Hamill, yes Luke Skywalker, but also the best Joker voice of all time! He was cool enough to record a voicemail greeting to legendary DC comic book artist, Jim Lee. I don’t know that I’ve ever wanted anything more than I want a greeting like this.

This corn maze in Spring Grove boldly goes to an awesome place

August 9, 2016 | Kevin

Richardson Farm website

If you get into the far off outskirts of Chicagoland, you will still start driving through long-running farm fields but a farm in Spring Grove has boldly gone to new lengths to make those wide open spaces mean something special with the reveal this week of a massive Star Trek theme corn maze. Since 2010, the Richardson “Adventure” Farm has been regarded as the world’s largest corn maze and this year’s celebration of the legendary scifi series 50th anniversary is something to really marvel at, even you can’t speak fluent Kilngon. The corn is still growing in this farm, but it’s planned around this elaborate image that stretches 11.5 miles of trail in a the 33 acre cornfield. Chicagoist reports that it can take anywhere between 20 minutes to 2 hours to get through this maze which features Captain Kirk, Spock, and the Starship Enterprise.

If you go through this thing, please send us picks on FB and Twitter. Also set your phasers to FUN!….I am sorry about that last one, I had to.

@kevkellam

13 Second TV Shows: NBC launching new content on Snapchat

August 9, 2016 | Kevin

NBC Universal announced yesterday that they will be launching exclusive spin off content on the social media video app Snapchat. The partnership will see first-run episodic Snapchats from ‘The Tonight Show’ and ‘Saturday Night Live’. The popular singing competition TV show ‘The Voice’ will also integrate the app as way for new competitors to join show. NBC already committed a big presence for Olympics on the app earlier this year.

The move seems beneficial for both parties, Snapchat which is quite popular with the youngsters today, is trying to be a new mobile TV platform but does not have “taraditional hit shows” as the Verge put it, and NBC gets to expose their shows in big way to get new viewers.

Still how will this work? Are you going to binge watch an entire season of ‘Jimmy Fallon Goes Get a Latte’ 13-second episodes during a lunch break? This seems to be way things are going as our collective attention-spans get shorter than that of your average Goldfish, for real that is actually happening.

If you want to follow us on the Snaps, search our screen: wkqxchi

@kevkellam

Hulu eliminating free service

August 9, 2016 | Kevin

Hulu one of the giants in on-demand streaming TV and Movies, will soon eliminate the free ad-supported streaming portion of it’s service in favor of it’s monthly subscription service. In 2010, Hulu launched a $7.99 ad-supported monthly subscription model with an expanded library and most recently an ad-free model for $11.99.

“For the past couple years, we’ve been focused on building a subscription service that provides the deepest, most personalized content experience possible to our viewers,” Hulu senior vice president Ben Smith said in a statement to the L.A. Times. “As we have continued to enhance that offering with new originals, exclusive acquisitions, and movies, the free service became very limited and no longer aligned with the Hulu experience or content strategy.”

Still Hulu’s content will retain a free home online through agreement with Yahoo. A new deal has been struck with the troubled tech giant Yahoo for much of the programming to appear on the new Yahoo View streaming site.

Hulu recently announced plans to add live-streaming video in 2017 with popular cable and TV channels. With first-run access to TV shows episodes the day after it airs, Hulu can get to be a more direct competitor with the other big VOD beasts like HBO Now, Amazon, and Netflix.

@kevkellam

NOPE.

August 9, 2016 | <3 Lauren

My breakfast may not stay down after watching this…I implore you not to try this at home. Or work. Or school. Or anywhere. I think I need to lie down.

<3 @laurenoneil

Michael Phelps Ain’t Nothin’ to F@#$ With

August 9, 2016 | Lou

Michael Phelps was showing some serious game face as South African rival, Chad le Clos, did his weird warm-up routine right in front of his face. Kind of all for nothing, though. A dude from Hungary won this one.