James Cameron Accomplishes Record Setting Dive [Updates]

While we might all believe that writing, directing, and producing two of the world’s highest-grossing films of all time—Titanic and Avatar—is just about one of the most fascinating things any human can do, James Cameron once again proves us all wrong. The filmmaker and deep-sea savant is stunning us with a seven mile dive deep into the depths of the Mariana Trench—an area roughly 200 miles southwest of the Pacific island of Guam that is 120 times larger than the Grand Canyon. And if that’s not enough it’s more than a mile deeper than the height of Mount Everest.

Having only been done by two other men, Cameron took to the challenge with little apprehension beforehand, knowing all too well of the dangers. “The submarine would implode in an instant if it leaked,” he told The Associated Press. He also explained that after his 5.1-mile practice run he found that the pressure “is in the back of your mind.” But as he hit water he went forward with no fear or nerves, nearly Terminator-like.

He preceded the dive with a comment to his wife, Suzy Amis: “Bye Baby… See you in the sunshine.” And afterwards commanding the drop by shouting, “Release, Release, Release.”

“I watched the sub drop into the deep blue. The light got fainter and fainter as the sub descended. Then the last light that I saw was a gorgeous deep royal purple…our favorite color!” says Suzy.

But the watchers aren’t the only ones jumping on the social media ball. Even at the commence of his own drop Cameron took to Twitter, tweeting: “I only tweet when I have something worth saying. Today is the culmination of a 7-year project. It’s finally dive day.” At the moment Cameron sits in a submarine that he helped design, one that has the capacity for just about fifty-six hours. And if this jack-of-all-trades has shown us anything in the past, there’s nothing he can’t do.

In fact, he just hit the bottom as of this post.

His wife tells us, “Jim made it!!! He is at FULL OCEAN DEPTH!!! All systems OK!!!”

Follow Cameron’s tweets as well as ones about him at:

@Jimcameron

@deepchallence

@suzymusing

Check out his challenge at: http://deepseachallenge.com/

UPDATE – Cameron is doing operations on the bottom. He will be getting core samples for science and imaging everything along the way. He plans to be down for about four hours before beginning his ascent.

Six Podcasts To Get Addicted To

Whether you’re aware of it or not, the podcast is here to stay. From comedy, to self-help, to NPR, the medium of podcasting has taken our iPods and computers by storm. Since they’re free to make and download, it should make sense that there are far too many gems to list and name. I’m not going to say that you shouldn’t experiment with some of the weirder / wackier ones, but the six below are downright addicting. Not only are you guaranteed to subscribe to these, you’ll probably wind up listening to all the backdated podcasts, just to get your fix. [lead image via gibranchequer / Flickr]

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33 Reasons You Should Love Ireland [PHOTOS]

Americans love being Irish, even if we’re really not. Each St. Patrick’s Day, thousands seem to trade the red, white, and blue in exchange for the Irish flag. And why not? The Irish have done a wonderful job of not only cultivating a fascinating way of life, they’re also responsible for some pretty awesome sh*t besides Guinness. Ginger leprechauns dressed in green suits? I don’t think that the US could have come up with that one, all we’ve done is to invent the Sasquatch. Below you’ll find 34 of the excuses reasons to drink a green beer or two this Saint Paddy’s.

Thank you Ireland, the next drink’s on us, boyo.

10 Reasons Why Most TV Shows Have Gotten Better

You may or may not have noticed but television is in its prime. I’m not speaking about the ridiculous reality TV shows we find on whatever channel we had no idea existed. I mean actual television shows. Ones with writers, producers, actors and a sense of wondrous imagination. Today most of the great shows are getting high praise, with the exception of a few outstanding comedies that have unfortunately yet to hit mainstream. But for the most part television is flourishing. From interesting characters to deceptive backgrounds and all around ingenious story lines, TV has improved greatly over the years. After the jump, see 10 examples to verify our point that television is right now at its prime.

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The Pros And Cons of Watching Porn

It’s the question that’s been around for years—Do you watch porn? Well, if you’re a guy I bet that you do or you at least have before. If you’re a girl it’s a little harder to judge. But no matter who you are, the truth is that the porn/sex industry has kept many glued to their TV screens, magazines, computers, and now iPads for quite some time. Contrary to one’s feelings towards it, this business is a legitimate industry. There are conventions—which always sell out—award shows, and even some amount of fame that can come with the job. Perhaps it’s the role-playing, the roaring orgasms, the model-like ‘actors’, or even the very ending that keeps us coming back for more, but no matter what it is we can be certain that as long as porn exists people will watch it. And as long as it exists and we do watch it our significant others will ask us why we do so, only to have us all desperately stumbling for an answer like Neanderthals of the past. But there are both good and bad things that can come from porn, more than just what our partners tell us.

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12 Pros & Cons of Living On Campus

Anyone who’s lived on campus can agree there are positives and negatives. It’s a new experience, one that everybody reacts differently to. Some of us enter freshman year as the good guy, the straight A student whose Friday nights usually ended up being filled with studying and watching Boy Meets World reruns. But then something happens and that good guy turns into the guy running down the hallways at 2AM naked and drunk, usually with a sea of freshman cheering behind him. Well, while that might sound like an immense Pro it seems that there could be a couple of Cons (like the RA who writes you up for streaking). So, if you have a choice, here are the determining factors…

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13 Things Hank Moody Has Taught Us

Californication is a show about many things. Some of which are apparent: the sex, the alcohol, the sunshine, the sex, and the fun. However the core of the show is something that has to be seen over time; it’s something that makes the audience realize that we can learn a great deal from Hank Moody. Whether we see it at first or not, Hank’s life leaves many lessons for us fornicators. You can see Hank’s thirteen teachings below, but also make sure to check out his favorite “subjects” here.

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