The infinite monkey cage

Posted on 2 May, 2012 by Mayitzin

Science and Comedy have been always connected everywhere because for radical and revolutionary ideas, it is needed a bit of humor and consideration. Both are groundbreaking and quite entertaining if you are in the proper mood.

However only few have had the balls to mix them, play around with them and success with it. One of them is the case of The infinite monkey cage, a comedy series produced by the BBC, where physicist Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince discuss about the relevant topics in Science, such as the origin of life, Probability, Sound, Chemistry, etc.

Before the only science and rational debates mixed with comedy that worth watch were the ones of Bill Maher in his show, where in a round table he discusses different topics of the daily American lifestyle with many personalities. And it was good, politics, religion, science and other disciplines were part of this round table. However, the truly scientific point of view was some times missing due to… well… Bill Maher, although a really good and critical personality, has no scientific background.

This time TIMC offers us Profr. Brian Cox, a guy with an awesome personality and a complete understanding of “the stuff called Science”, and Robin Ince, the acid debater that pulls the attention of the public.

You can check them in the Apple Store if you wanna download their Podcasts, I highly recommend them to those who wanna embrace Knowledge and Reason in a funny way. Otherwise, you can also visit their channel in the BBC podcast website.

Long life TIMC!

Barbacoa de chivo

Posted on 24 April, 2012 by Mayitzin

Silverio Palacios is a motherfucker! But in the coolest way, like “chingón” in Mexican Spanish. Perhaps due to his phenotype, but the guy has made some very memorable roles in the Mexican cinema, such as the Cucaracha Brothers in “El Infierno“, Gabino in “La otra familia“, Leserio in “Sultanes del Sur” or even “Silverio” in his first leading role at “Acorazado“.

Maybe some films were not that good, but Palacios always gave a gladly demonstration of acting. Most of his roles depict a poor, short, toasted and mustached guy… the average Mexican. He is not the tall and blond guy that in many Mexican movies are trying to sell. No, this is the average Mexican with the same attitude and the sharping personality.

But this time I wanna share one of my favorite performances of him. The following short film is named “Barbacoa de chivo” (“Barbecue of goat”) and belongs to the movie Cero y van cuatro, a film with 4 different shorts describing the daily life of the inhabitants in different parts of Mexico City with a very acid humor.

Barbacoa de chivo relates the story of a poor man looking for some money because he needs expensive medicines for his daughter, who unfortunately has Cancer. As his family lives in poverty and he is unemployed, he decides to do something extreme about it… a hit in the church. In Mexico that is still considered a very heavy crime by the people and it is highly punished in the most uneducated communities, leading some times to lynching.

But the story in this short is delivered with a high black humor, as usual in Mexican comedy. What would happen when a honest and righteous man turns against the church in order to save what he loves the most?

¡Que chingue a su madre!

The Fluffy guy

Posted on 12 April, 2012 by Mayitzin

George Lopez, Paul Rodriguez, Cheech Marin, etc. are names that probably the US might know very well. The “Latino” comedy is one of the most demanded nowadays in the United States.

Mexican comedy and Mexican-American comedy, though they share many characteristics, are remarkable different and have their special kind of humor. While in Mexico the comedy is based in impressions, pun and wordplay; in the US the Mexican-American comedians base their humor in the auto-critic, the adaptation of the Hispanic societies and the stereotypes of the Mexicans in general.

Beaners, laziness, wetbacks, drunkenness, cholos and a lively use of the Spanglish are constant topics on the Latino Comedy shows. Even when it all started big in the 70’s for the Hispanic comedy, I personally think that George Lopez is the guy who put Chicano comedy on the billboards and gave a big impulse to it in the last years. Thanks to him, millions consider the Mexican-American comedy one of the funniest.

For Mexicans it’s no problem to make fun of ourselves, we do it all the time. However this Chicano comedy is not often appreciated in Mexico, most of all because it is done in English.

Gabriel Iglesias is “a comedian that happens to be latino” as he describes himself. He is an extremely funny guy if you are already familiar with the Chicano comedy and if not… well, he is still funny. In his case, due to his excess weight, he makes fun not only of his Hispanic heritage but also of his overweight and does it in a really amusing way using all the available sources.

Of Mexican descent, the US citizen comedian gives an accurate and funny impression of the difficulties that a Mexican-American use to have in the daily experience in the US. He is one of those talents that are always worth to watch, even for the European audience, who want to have another impression of the minorities living in the country of the junk food, as Gabriel properly shows calling himself “Fluffy”, a polite way to avoid “fat”.

The sound effects, the impressions, the funny faces, the high-pitched noisy voices and the sometimes tipsy talks are his hallmarks and he uses them with a mastered talent for comedy. This cake-lover is also known because of his simple personality and his approachable character, where nobody is free of his jokes and nobody is avoided to know him personally.

I just can not stop watching his videos.

Titán

Posted on 10 April, 2012 by Mayitzin

Alejandro Cuétara is one of those talents in Mexico that are still not in big billboards but suddenly can appear in a big and massive production as the leading role, and that wouldn’t be surprising, due to his fluency while performing. He’s an actor with a trajectory mainly in TV, where he has been also a host in nationwide shows like ¿Quién dijo yo?, a mexican version to Whose line is it anyway?

The following is a video that made viral because of the hilarious performance of Cuétara, where he personifies a “chilango” trying to hit on a girl but doing the worst mistakes and saying the most stupid comments, the complete performance of a douche bag.

Just let me tell you that the video is in Spanish and unfortunately there are no subtitles to it, but if you can understand a bit then you’ll also find it funny.

¡Pinches nacos!

Mexico City beaches

Posted on 8 April, 2012 by Mayitzin

It is Easter and Mexico is known for its strong religious involvement these days, but it’s even more well-known for its availability for parties. Unfortunately, not many people are able to get along with the expenses of going party all days.

However, the long weekends in Mexico (also known as “Puentes”) are the perfect excuse to go out, travel and enjoy what the country has to give. The most popular places to visit are always the beaches and they have always the highest incomes in “Puentes”.

Is it true that everyone is going to the coast? Well, actually not. It is true that big cities as Mexico City are commonly left immediately once the break starts, but not everybody has the money to afford a trip with the family, and remember that Mexican families are not small. So, how do Mexicans solve it and go to the beach? The bring the beach to the city!

The actual head of the Gobernment of the Federal District, Marcelo Ebrard, started a program in 2007 denominated “Vamos a la Playa”, where artificial beaches are built in the holidays integrating even sand brought from the closest beaches.

In these artificial beaches many activities are integrated like sports, games, competitions, etc. The entrance is affordable for most of the population and even in some cases is totally free. That’s why these places are mostly visited by the persons in the middle-low and low earning societies.

Following is a funny video of Motel Diablito, a show featured in the Cable TV Channel “Exa TV”, where its presenter gives us a hilarious introduction to the “Artificial Beaches” in Mexico City. It’s not in English, but the solely watching worth it totally.

And the second part:

Epic Meal Time

Posted on 4 April, 2012 by Mayitzin

I recently discovered this channel in youtube and let me tell you, boy, it’s the first time I would say NO to food. Goddamn, ya! Epic Meal Time is a series of short episodes in youtube featuring host Harley Morenstein, where he and his friends create the most bizarre food including as much calories as possible.

I like to eat and I do it when there is food available. Yes, many can say that I’m a pig because I eat a lot but I do it slowly, no rush. Even though, I eat everything… or at least I thought that before until I saw these videos of Epic Meal Time. They are cooking the weirdest and most disgusting meals that I’ve ever seen. So full of meat, so mixed, so heavy, so fat that some times I just feel sick. I wouldn’t gladly eat from their recipes.

EMT started in Canada a couple of years ago but now they are doing their videos in Junk-food-land (no offence intended) where some personalities are joining them in their crazy kicking-ass meal times. They mix some times cake with bacon, chicken, bread, etc. Every junk food that you can imagine and they eat it afterwards, of course. GTFO!

But we all like it because there is nothing sexier than watching hot girls getting nasty and swallowing the hot baked meals of bacon, cake and chicken, right? Well, the next video presents the Fluffy guy Gabriel Iglesias going down to the cake again trying to beat his stomach with some hardcore action. Could he defeat that epic meal?

Bon appétit!