Did a giraffe hold the boom mic?

The first film directed and shot by a chimpanzee aired on BBC Two Wednesday, Jan 27.

Part of a project to research how chimps perceive the world and themselves, the film was shot using a chimp-friendly camera with a feedback screen on the top. Researchers have already used mirrors and live video feeds to determine the chimps do seem to have a sense of self, but so far, the chimps appear to be more interested in the live screen than their directorial debut.

The final cut consists of shaky shots of swinging chimps, some sniffing, and some lens licking. Canadians can watch the footage here: http://tinyurl.com/ydo2uo3.

Sweet History

Chocolate Figures:

1) A new theme park opened in Beijing last week.
“World Chocolate Wonderland,” was built on the Olympic Green next to Bird’s Nest stadium and hopes to attract chocolate lovers from all around, reported Move Channel.

The chocolate park spans 20,000 square metres, and features three halls full of exhibits, which are temperature-controlled to keep the elaborate replicas from melting.

Exhibits include the cocoa terracotta warriors, both life-size and a miniature army, a car, and a 10-metre-long model of the Great Wall.

Organizers are hoping the park will boost the chocolate market in China, where the candy is not as popular as it is in Western countries.

They intend to attract one million visitors to the park before it closes in April, when the weather will begin to get too warm. It will then reopen next January, with all-new displays.

2) A reproduction of an infamous statue of Lenin has been erected where the real thing once stood, reported UK’s Daily Express.
The statue, which stands where one quite similar once stood in Bucharest, Romania, is made entirely out of candy and chocolate.

It was created with the intention of being auctioned off to raise money for a museum of Communist statues, which have been restored since they were toppled after the rise of democracy.

In related news, Germany is set to open a new museum dedicated to the torn down statues from Nazi and Communist regimes.

The museum’s featured exhibit? The monstrous 20 metre high, 3.5 ton granite bust of Lenin, which was pulled down in Berlin and buried when Communism fell in 1991.

Other sculptures featured will be idealized Aryan figures, courtesy of Adolf Hitler, and other monuments from Germany’s past. 

eAryan

In other disturbing news, April Gaede, the notorious Neo-Nazi mother of two, is continuing her entrepreneurial ways, reported Southern Poverty Law Centre.

Gaede, who made headlines five years ago when her twin daughters, under her supervision, premiered as a Neo-Nazi pop music duo, has created another monster.

Her latest shocker is a “white power matchmaker,” a service similar to popular web services such as eHarmony, but with a horrifying twist.

“I am willing to act as a go-between, researcher, matchmaker, older sister and guide for any WNs [white nationalists] who are looking for a WN spouse,” the Montana resident wrote earlier this month.

While Gaede has yet to launch an official website to host such activities, she has reportedly received a handful of requests for use of her services.

Gaede’s previous exploits include riding her horse naked through town for a radio promotion, and collecting the ashes of convicted murderer David Lane, which are on display in her Montana home.