It wasn’t long ago that rendering images with this level of detail and lighting accuracy could take hours for a single frame. Silicon Studio’s Mizuchi rendering engine can do it in real time. The question is if we’ll ever see it in a video game.

Cookie Monster team’s up with Last Week Tonight’s John Oliver to bring us the latest news – as long as it has something to do with words. And what is up with the word “abbreviation?” Can’t it be shorter? Be sure to watch the outtakes too.

xkcd creator Randall Munroe ponders ridiculous hypothetical questions and answers them with scientific responses. Ever wanted to know what would happen if everyone on the planet jumped at the same time? This is the book for you.

Our latest look at Civilization: Beyond Earth is about the game’s Purity affinity. Unlike the other affinities – Harmony and Supremacy – Purity wants to keep humans as they are and looks to the past for inspiration.

A Bluetooth device that works with an iOS/Android app to turn your mobile device into a universal remote. AnyMote works with over 800,000 devices and supports macros, time-based activation and voice commands.

If there’s one universal truth, it’s that cats love laser pointers. So what better way to keep your cat occupied than to tape a laser pointer to its head, like this guy did. Between this and self-fetching dogs humans are now obsolete.

ThinkGeek already lets us pretend we’re one of the heroes of The Walking Dead. Now they’re letting us be one of the bad guys. This hoodie zips up over your face to reveal a gross graphic. There’s also a ninja variant available.

It’s not new, but whether or not you’ve seen Her you should know that the depth of Joaquin Phoenix’s talents go well beyond his acting ability. As it turns out, in this here video anyway, it’s all in the forehead. (Thanks Brian!)

Viral video maker Casey Neistat looks back at his relationship with his wife Candace, with the help of his cameras of course. The song is Talk, an original track made by Henry Hall for this video.

Gang Beasts is a multiplayer beat ’em up for Windows and OS X. Characters have the same moves; the challenge and hilarity comes from the game’s feathery rag doll physics and the various hazardous stages. Try the alpha here.

Before the age of mobile devices, if you said you’d meet someone, you had to follow through. Alex Cornell reminds us how easy it’s become to back out or change our minds about hanging out these days.

A bicycle tail light with an integrated 720p 130º camera and a microphone. The camera continuously records 15min. clips, which are stored in a microSD card (8GB card included). It also has a water-repellent coating.

Able Archer makes bags that are designed to be durable and carry as much of your stuff as possible. Its bags have a water-resistant canvas exterior and nylon interior, waterproof zippers and MOLLE-compatible webbing all over.

Electric violinist Bryson Andres turns in an impressive and unique arrangement of Sia’s powerful hit track Chandelier using a combination of live string playing and his digital loop pedal. Check out more of his tracks on YouTube.

While we generally prefer that our exhaust sounds something like this, we’ll make an exception for this tailpipe that’s in the mood for celebrating. Somebody needs to start selling these before next New Year’s Eve.

The Area-51 desktop PC has an unorthodox case, designed to maximize air flow and provide easy access to ports and parts. It will work with the new Intel 8-core CPUs and DDR4 RAM, and can fit up to three full-size double-wide GPUs.

YouTuber M Valenz had a problem with flies in his house, but instead of whipping out a can of Raid or a newspaper, he turned his pet praying mantis into an improvised fly swatter. Yes, we said “pet praying mantis.”

“When I am in my painting, I’m not aware of what I’m doing. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting comes out well.” – Jackson Pollock

Surfer Jamie O’Brien pulls off a daring and impressive move as he swaps surfboards mid-wave as he rides the foam in at The Wedge in Newport Beach, California. We’re assuming he eventually recovered his first board.

A gorgeous electric bike from Jonathan Ward’s ICON. Made from aluminum, the retro-influenced e-bike can hit 20mph in street mode and 36mph in race mode. Hydraulic front and rear brakes help bring it to a stop, and range is 30 miles.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is an open world action RPG set in the LotR universe. You play an undying ranger aided by a wraith. Your enemies will remember their past encounters with you, and can also be coerced to aid you.

Jorge dreams of experiencing the Running of the Bulls in Spain, so imagine how excited he is to find out that there’s a Running of the Sheep in his hometown. And that is the made up backstory behind this childish prank.

A clip from Lava, a Pixar short film about a Hawaiian volcano. Director James Ford Murphy says he’s loved Hawaii ever since he was a kid. The short will be shown in 2015 alongside Pixar’s upcoming feature length film Inside Out.