Commander Hadfield's Space Oddity is Awesome

Like many amazed fans on Earth, I am pretty obsessed with Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield. He has spent the past five months on the International Space Station, tweeting us photos of our hometowns, answering our questions about space and how things work up there, and being an all around nice, interesting, funny, insightful, inspiring, and amazing dude. There probably hasn't been a day in the last few months where I haven't talked about him to someone, or retweeted one of his tweets, or learned something new about space from a video he's posted. If we ever need an ambassador for all of Earth, we would be smart to select Commander Hadfield for the task. He is already the coolest guy in space!

For Commander Hadfield's last full day on the ISS he covered David Bowie's Space Oddity...in space! I can't think of a cooler way to say goodbye to the International Space Station and to all of his fans here on Earth. I have already watched it at least ten times, and will probably have it on repeat for the next few days. IT IS A MUSIC VIDEO THAT WAS FILMED IN SPACE! The lyrics have space references! It is beyond cool!

Commander Hadfield is coming home tonight and they are broadcasting it live on NASAtv starting at 3:30pm. I will be watching. Get home safely Commander Hadfield!!

This video is awesome! Enjoy!!

Awesome of the Week - 01/09/12

Masters At Work Edition:

I'm a few months late in finding the following video, but I am so happy to post it as my first Awesome of the Week for 2012.  The video features Marquese Scott, an exceptional dancer who can move his body in ways I didn't even know were possible.  I'm not that into dance, but there is something about watching someone who is a master of their craft; you can't help but appreciate it and be moved by it.  I had a similar experience during the 2010 Winter Olympics watching Shaun White snowboard.  I don't care too much about snowboarding, but he was so remarkably good at it, I couldn't help but be glued to the tv to watch him board.  Hope these videos inspire you to have an awesome week!

Marquese Scott:



Shaun White:

Awesome of the Week - 06/27/11

With an awesome kick off to Pride Week, the state of New York has legalized same-sex marriage!  I'm sure everyone has seen this photo by now, but the Empire State Building all in rainbow is definitely the awesome of this week!  Congratulations New York!!  Three cheers for love!

The Empire State Building salutes same sex marriage.

Awesome of the Week - 03/28/11

It is Stefani Germanotta's 25th birthday today (also known as Lady Gaga).  I'm posting one of her videos as the Awesome of the Week as my way of wishing her a very happy birthday. Have a good one, Gaga!

Awesome of the Week - 03/07/11

Regular readers already know I'm obsessed with the following video, but I had to make it my Awesome of the Week because I find it so frickin' awesome!

Ten year old Maria Aragon did an amazing cover of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way", which led to Gaga inviting her to preform a duet at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto last Thursday.  This is the best video I have found of the performance (thanks Youtube!) and I get really emotional watching it.  At only 24 years old, and despite some outward appearances, Gaga is a really classy person and she did an amazing thing for this little girl.  Maria will never forget this experience and I'm sure it is inspiring loads of people to follow their dreams and pursue things they are passionate about.  Well done, Lady Gaga.

Awesome of the Week - 02/28/11

This afternoon my Mom called me and asked the following:

"Have you seen the laughing baby on YouTube?"

Followed by:

"Just type laughing baby into YouTube and you'll probably find it."

Little did Mom know, that was the equivilent of saying: "Did you see the funny cat on YouTube?" or "Do you know Joe from Canada?"  My mom is adorable.  With a little more information, I was able to find the particular baby she was talking about.  So the Awesome of the Week is both this super-happy baby and how adorable my Mom is.

Awesome of the Week - 02/21/11

Holy crap, did you see a computer play Jeopardy! last week?  It was freaking AWESOME!  I find it equally fascinating and hilarious.  How amazing is it that we can teach a computer about the complexities of human language?  Jeopardy! clues aren't always strait forward, so I am completely in awe that "Watson" can pick up on the subtle clues and get the right answer.  I'm filled with wonder about the many applications "Watson" will be put to in the future.  Plus this whole experiment was doubly amazing because it was Jeopardy! and Jeopardy! is rad in itself.  I'm not sure how long these clips will last on YouTube, but seriously, watch them before they are gone.  They are the definition of AWESOME.

Episode One: Part One




Episode One: Part Two




Episode Two: Part One




Episode Two: Part Two




Episode Three: Part One




Episode Three: Part Two

Awesome of the Week - 02/14/11

It's the Awesome of the Week: Anti-Valentine's Day Edition!

Oh Valentine's Day.  Such a silly, consumption-driven, made up holiday.  As someone who can't stand buying things just because "you're supposed too!", I think Valentine's Day is pure trash.  If you are partnered, it is hyped as a day when your beloved showers you with gifts and tokens of their love, but in reality, we impulse buy chocolates and stuffed animals at Shoppers Drug Mart on route to Valentine's Day dinner.  And if you don't get those hastily purchased, mass-produced, generic love-themed gifts, you better start questioning how much your partner actually loves you.  Such. Trash.  I choose not to participate.  Also, if you're not partnered, it is just another stupid reminder that you are single.

To celebrate my disdain for Valentine's Day, the Awesome for this week is an anti-love ballad called Bruised, preformed by The Ben's.  At Valentine's Day karaoke a few years back, I actually sang this song (it's been an anti-Valentine's anthem for a while now!)  Happy Love Day everybody!

Awesome of the Week - 02/07/11

Pet Shop Boys montage/mash up of Pet Shop Boys songs, preformed by...Pet Shop Boys.  With support from Lady Gaga.  This pleases me on every level.  From the 2009 BRIT Awards, this is ten minutes of pure awesome.

Awesome of the Week - 01/31/11

It is my friend Bryan's birthday today, so I thought I would showcase his awesome, award winning, short film The Invisible Car.  If you want to see more fun videos, check out VideoYEAH.com.  Enjoy!!

Awesome of the Week

If you are part of the Monday-Friday crowd, Mondays generally suck. Knowing this, I would like to introduce a new feature here at My Adorable Small Town Life, that will showcase something awesome every Monday.  It's my little attempt to make sure there is something good about Monday.

Today's piece of awesome is inspired by my recent intake of all six seasons of The Sopranos.  The show is as good or better than you've heard it is, and their use of music is beyond stellar.  I won't spoil it for you, but there is an amazing episode that uses the following song by Moby.  The song, "When It's Cold I'd Like to Die" was haunting in the episode and it is equally haunting on its own.  It is also awesome. 

I couldn't find an official music video, but the video below from YouTube has some pleasant imagery.  Enjoy!  Also, if you have already seen The Sopranos and want to revisit the episode in question, follow this link to enjoy it on YouTube.