Flight from Reality

 

Eye-Popping

Of course life is bizarre, the more bizarre it gets, the more interesting it is.
The only way to approach it is to make yourself some popcorn and enjoy the show.

- David Gerrold
 

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Source: joe-ks.com

Eye-popping Stunt Grabs Letterman's Attention

Chicago - When Kimberly Goodman auditioned for David Letterman's Stupid Human Tricks, witnesses screamed.  The young woman literally popped one of her eyeballs out of its socket.  She can do both orbs simultaneously but understatement worked just as well.

"As soon as I saw it, I thought: 'That's it, stop the presses,'" said Tricks co-ordinator Susan Hall Sheehan.  "However many people there were in the room, that's how many involuntary screams there were."

Letterman was so impressed he invited Goodman back for a return engagement, Monday night's Late Show with David Letterman Video Special III.  Letterman saved Goodman for the final stunt and introduced her as an act "you will talk about until the day you die."  To Letterman's cue: "Did you hear that Michael Jackson had a baby," she popped her eyes way out.

Television viewers then were able to see two slow-motion replays, one of them from the side.  Goodman, who is from Chicago's South Side, considers her quirky talent a gift.  "At church, I always hear my pastor say everybody has a gift and I used to ask: 'Lord, what's mine?'"  She found out a few years ago when one of her eyes came out of its socket when she hit it while taking off a Halloween mask.  "I was with 2 girlfriends and they just stood there, frozen, with their mouths open," she recalled.  "I pushed it back in, and they never said a word to me - just walked away, still with their mouths open."

Now she's learned how to pop them out voluntarily - "I sort of squint, pull my eyelid back and out it comes," Goodman explained.  She added that she has perfect vision but has never seen a doctor about the eye-popping.

Source: canoe.ca Monday 24 February 1997

Apparently Kimberly is not alone in having this talent...

Source: far eight Russian Live Journal ffix1975.livejournal.com 11 August 2007

Eye-popping Record Bid

A Brazilian man is hoping for a place in the record books for his ability to pop his eyes out of their sockets.  Claudio Pinto, 48 is making a living out of shows where he pops his eyes out, Terra Noticias Populares reports.  He reckons he can pop both eyes 95% out of their sockets.  Mr Pinto has undergone various tests and doctors say they have never seen or heard of a person who can pop the eyes as much as him.  Mr Pinto, from Belo Horizonte, said: "It is a pretty easy way to make money.  I can pop my eyes out 4 centimetres each, it is a gift from God, I feel blessed."  (And he got even better!  See below.)

Source: ananova.com 13 September 2006

Although human eye proptosis or luxation is uncommon, both women and men have attempted the Guinness World Record for "eye-popping".  Eye luxation can be acquired from natural causes at birth.  Proptosis is also seen in association with Graves' Disease, a form of hyperthyroidism.  Although Cláudio Paulo Pinto, the Brazilian record holder for eye-popping, can "pop" his out 7 millimetres (0.28 inches), the current world record holder is Kim Goodman of Chicago who can extend her globes 11 millimetres (0.43 inches) out of her sockets.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_proptosis

This isn't anything I'd be interesting in trying...

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405: Blurring Reality...

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Probably the single most amazing aspect of 405 is that this film was not created by an army of special effects artists.  It was not a project that took years to complete.  And it did not cost a million dollars to create.

The Future of Filmmaking is Here

In fact, 405 was created by just two people, in only three months, with the only expense being their time and personal home computers.

Bruce Branit and Jeremy Hunt, shown here being congratulated by Mayor Richard Riordan for their work on 405, are visual effects artists currently using their skills for various television shows, commercials and feature films.  All of the visual effects seen in 405 were created solely by the two.  It was a process that took over three months of nights, weekends and any spare moments that could be found.  In addition, Bruce and Jeremy also filled the roles of camera men, editors, compositors and sound effects editors.  405 is their first independent project together.

Source: ifilm.com

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