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stephen colbert, nft heist, bored ape

Stephen Colbert introduces his "NFT Heist" trailer.

The recent NFT boom has raised a lot of questions about the intersection of art, commerce and private ownership, and most people aren’t convinced of their value. A recent poll published in PCMag found that 60% of people think NFTs are a scam, while just 10% see them as a serious financial investment.

NFT enthusiasts will pay an arm and a leg for the digital files because they have a certificate of digital ownership on the blockchain that cannot be replicated. So, even though someone may be able to copy and paste a jpeg of the rare piece of art, they will never be the official owner.

Last year, the NFT of a CryptoPunk character fetched $11.8 million and a Bored Ape went for $3.4 million at auction.


Stephen Colbert compared NFTs to tangible art in a heist movie trailer spoof in last Friday's episode that makes the case that it’s ridiculous to compare the two.

“For a while now, one of the hottest tech trends has been NFTs. It’s hard to believe that in just one year, we’ve gone from having no idea what they are to having no idea why they are,” Colbert said while introducing the trailer.

In the trailer, a master criminal attempts an NFT heist similar to one you’d see in the “Ocean's” films by hiring a master forger, safe-cracker, demolitions expert, "lady who sneaks under lasers” and a K-Pop star. But given the volatility of these digital assets will they be able to pull off the heist before the bubble bursts?

Pop Culture

William Shatner describes the profound grief he felt when he finally went to space for real

The OG Captain Kirk's real-life space experience holds important lessons for us all.

"William Shatner" by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

William Shatner's trip to space wasn't what he expected.

Statistically speaking, the number of humans who have traveled into space is insignificant. But the experience of leaving our home planet and venturing into the great beyond is incredibly significant for the individuals who have actually done it.

One of those fortunate humans is actor William Shatner, who spent three years pretending to hurtle through space in his iconic role as Captain James T. Kirk on the original "Star Trek" series. As captain of the USS Enterprise, Captain Kirk was dedicated to exploring "strange new worlds," seeking out "new life and new civilizations" and boldly going "where no man has gone before."

Naturally, Shatner has spent a lot of time pondering what it would be like to actually experience leaving Earth, and when he took the opportunity to join Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin trip to space in October 2021 at age 90, he was able to compare how his expectations met up with reality.

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Science

Our childhood fairytales got wolves wrong

Wolves deserve a place on our planet just as much as we do.

wolf pack on rock formation

We are all familiar with the stories of The Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood. In every childhood tale, wolves were depicted as deceitful and threatening - creatures that would devour our livestock and grandparents. As a child, I had chills when wolves howled in films.

All it took to change this perception was taking one step into Wolf Park, a research and education facility in Battle Ground, Indiana. As a visitor, intern, volunteer, and now staff member, I've observed the wolves at Wolf Park mourning packmates who have crossed the rainbow bridge, gently tending to pups, and spending afternoons playing chase on frozen lakes or grassy meadows. Studying wolves at such a close distance is enough to alter anyone's perceptions of this apex predator.

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Mamma mia, so much better!

The latest trailer for Nintendo’s animated “Super Mario Bros.” movie, featuring Chris Pratt as the voice of everyone’s favorite goomba-stomping Italian plumber, dropped on Oct. 6, and let’s just say reviews were … mixed, at best.

People were generally disappointed that Pratt sounded nothing like the iconic character in the trailer, seemingly taking no inspiration from Charles Martinet, the voice actor who originated the role and created Mario’s signature accent—along with almost every character in the video game.

Carlos Morillo, who claims to be a voice actor, wrote on Reddit, “I edited the Super Mario Bros. Movie trailer to see how it would sound without Chris Pratt,” and judging from the comments online, this rendition was much closer to what audiences had hoped for.
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