Hasta La Gadget!

Over the past few months we have seen YouTube work very hard to keep its top content creators from moving to its rivals. It launched YouTube Spaces in a handful of countries around the globe to provide content creators with studio space and equipment so that they could create better videos. YouTube also launched the Creator Hub for this purpose. Now it’s teaming up with some of its top creators to bring more original series to the world’s biggest online video website.

YouTube has also announced a collaboration with AwesomenessTV. Together the two are going to release several feature length films over the next two years which will star YouTube’s top creators and will be developed and produced by AwesomenessTV’s Brian Robbins.

These feature films will first be available on YouTube before they are released elsewhere, YouTube believes that this will set a “new distribution paradigm for years to come.” The first film is destined for release this fall.

The creators that YouTube is directly partnering with include some of the biggest names on the website, such a Smosh, Prank vs. Prank, Joey Graceffa and Fine Brothers’.

This is an effort on YouTube’s part to keep some of its biggest creators happy and ensure that they get the most out of YouTube.

YouTube Teams Up With Its Top Creators For More Original Content , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Working with multiple people on a document can be tricky since it can often be hard to keep track of what everybody is doing. This involves a lot of back and forth conversations which are usually spread across different platforms like email, chat windows and instant messenger conversations. Those who use Dropbox a lot for collaboration will appreciate the fact that Dropbox will now allow them to add comments on files stored with the cloud storage service.

Dropbox says that the addition of comments is going to simplify how people collaborate with others on documents. They will be able to have conversations around Dropbox files, both on the files that they own and the ones that have been shared with them. This feature will keep those conversations organized in one place and makes it much easier for users to gather feedback.

Anyone can be brought into the conversation in Dropbox by simply typing “@” followed by their name or email address. They’ll instantly receive an email notification even if they’re not using Dropbox, the email will contain a link to go to that particular file.

Turning off comments on a file that a user owns is very simple, they just need to go to the Options menu and click on “Turn off comments.”

This feature has been available to Dropbox for Business early access users for the past month, starting today it will be available to all Dropbox users.

Dropbox Now Lets You Add Comments On Files , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

As you may or may not know, a movie “Easter egg” is a joke or reference cleverly hidden in a scene. Pixar’s references to its other movies are probably the most recognizable examples of an Easter egg (a plush Nemo toy in “Monsters, Inc.”, a Pizza Planet truck appearing in almost every movie), but many other films have at least a few.

Directors have been sneaking (often elaborate) Easter eggs into their movies for years and one of our favorite pastimes has been uncovering the often-missed ones. Here are few of the crazier instances we’ve written about in the past, those that had some serious ramifications for their movies’ plots.

1. R2-D2 has made secret appearances in many movies, including “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” along with C-3PO.

There were aliens in the Indiana universe even before Shia LaBeouf showed up!

The “Star Wars” robots make two appearances in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” First, the pair noticeably shows up as a sort of hieroglyph on a pillar, right as Indiana Jones finds the ark. Then, shortly after this moment, there’s an even bigger depiction of the two on a wall behind Jones and Sallah as they lift the ark. This one also features Princess Leia, who is kneeling next to R2-D2 as she presumably uploads data with C-3PO.

R2-D2 has made appearances in other movies, as well. J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” had the little robot show up amid floating debris in space. Abrams put R2-D2 into ““Star Trek Into Darkness,” as well. The robot also made its way into “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and another Steven Spielberg movie, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.“

Image: “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

2. The “Toy Story” movies are full of homages to “The Shining.”

Perhaps someone more evil than Sid lurks among the toys.

As mentioned, Pixar movies are famous for their Easter eggs, but they are usually self-referential. The “Toy Story” series, however, has many nods to Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.” In the first “Toy Story,” for instance, the pattern of the carpet in Sid’s house is the same as in the Overlook Hotel. The director of “Toy Story 3,” Lee Unkrich, is a huge fan of “The Shining” and even runs his own fan site. Unkrich explained his obsession to Vulture:

I saw it when I was 12, in 1980, for no particular reason other than that it was a new film in theaters. My mom took me to see it. She’d taken me to see a few bad horror films that had affected me really deeply in terms of having chronic nightmares. But still, that didn’t stop her from taking me to see this one. And it turned out to be the best move she ever made — because it began this 32-year love affair with the film. It was the film that inspired me to become a filmmaker myself.

And if you feel like this ruined the innocence of “Toy Story” for you, give this illustrated “Toy Shining” series a try, which features Woody as Jack Torrance.

Image Left: “The Shining.” Image Right: “Toy Story.”

3. An image of Waldo lying among dead bodies flashes in “Apocalypto.”

Who knew Waldo was involved with the fall of the Mayan civilization?

This only happened in the theatrical release (therefore you have to trust this has not been inserted into the multiple bootleg copies of the original as a hoax), but for some reason Mel Gibson felt it necessary to put a brief frame of Waldo among a sea of dead bodies in the middle of a chase scene. (You can watch it here.)

The movie “Apocalypto” is a gory but serious account of the fall of the Mayan civilization. Waldo is a hilarious addition. Gibson also put a seemingly random image into the trailer of “Apocalypto” — a shot of his goofily smiling, and bearded, face with a cigarette dangling out of his mouth.

Image: “Apocalypto.”

4. Pac-Man is on a screen for a moment in the original “Tron.”

“Tron” may have actually just been a live-action version of Pac-Man.

Sark yells at a display screen with Pac-Man’s image while searching for Flynn and Tron. Simultaneous with his rising anger, you can hear the iconic “waka waka” coming from Pac-Man.

The movie also has a scene in which the Solar Sailer travels over Mickey Mouse’s face. (“Tron” is, of course, a Disney movie.)

Image: “Tron.”

5. Prince was originally supposed to be in “Fargo.” In the end, only his symbol showed up in the credits.

The crimes in “Fargo” were way bigger than the movie even portrayed.

One of the most popular pieces of trivia about “Fargo” is that Prince’s symbol shows up sideways in the end credits, a wink at the fact that he supposedly played the “Victim in Field.” In fact, a storyboard artist for the movie, J. Todd Anderson, played that listed role, but people like to entertain the idea that Prince made his way into the movie.

Well, according to Peter Stormare, who spoke to The Huffington Post about his role as the main villain in “Fargo,” Prince almost did show up:

Prince is from there and a friend of theirs — this was during his battles with his record company and that sign was the only thing he was allowed to use. He wanted to do a smaller part — I was told — but it didn’t work out. But just having his symbol there helped his image a little in his long battle getting out from a stupid record contract!

Maybe Prince will still show up in the television series?

Image Left: Getty. Image Right: “Fargo.”

6. There’s a hidden sex scene in the third Harry Potter movie.

Hogwarts was much more like a typical school than everyone thought.

In “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” Fred and George Weasley give Harry Potter the Marauder’s Map. The map shows all of Hogwarts, including everybody’s location on the grounds.

If you wait until the credits of “Prisoner of Azkaban,” you can see the map at work, tracking people’s movements with footsteps around the halls of Hogwarts. Then, in the bottom left corner, the map reveals four footsteps facing each other, with two of those footsteps being spread around the others. “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” was rated PG.

HuffPost tracked down the visual effects artist behind the moment and he said it wasn’t a “sex scene,” but still said it was a moment for the adults. It might have even been Potter and Cho Chang.

7. “Fast & Furious” and “Herbie: Fully Loaded” take place in the same universe.

Maybe all the characters got beat by Herbie and are now embarrassed.

Referring to the picture above of a 1970 Dodge Charger driven by Dominic Toretto in the first movie, an advertisement for “Fast & Furious 6” asked the question, “‘Fast & Furious’ and ‘Herbie: Fully Loaded’ confirmed to take place in the same universe?” And answered, “We’re gonna say yes.”

Herbie is an anthropomorphic Volkswagen Beetle that has a mind of its own and is extremely fast. Certainly the ramifications of this sentient car being in the “Fast & Furious” universe are huge. In “Herbie: Fully Loaded,” there is even a street racer scene in which Herbie has LED blue lights and a lowered suspension. For supposedly being some of the best street racers in the world, it’s pretty suspicious the “Fast & Furious” crew have somehow never talked about the the “Love Bug.”

Image: “Herbie: Fully Loaded”

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Every day, it seems, there’s a new article on ways to treat addiction. The most contentious of late was Gabrielle Glaser’s “The Irrationality of Alcoholics Anonymous,” in The Atlantic.

There will always be a Gabrielle Glaser fighting for more evidence-based treatment. There will also always be success stories found in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous. So which way is best? As the epidemic of addiction grows, it’s imperative we do not “debunk” the spirituality of AA just to raise up the scientific community. I know this from the unique intersection of my personal and professional lives — I’m a depth psychologist specialized in treating addiction, and a recovering addict and alcoholic myself. I believe it is time for a shift. When it comes to battling addiction, we need to be open to crossing boundaries into other disciplines. Our approach needs to become more holistic and integrative as we seek to heal ourselves, and the world.

I have been sober since 2002. In my early 20s I was an attorney living in New York City, and the only reason I drank was to get drunk. I didn’t drink because I enjoyed the taste of wine with dinner. I didn’t even drink to take the edge off. Getting drunk for me meant blacking out, and often involved vomit and hangovers. When I started to feel like life wasn’t enough — materially, romantically, metaphorically and spiritually — I broke up with my boyfriend and moved to Los Angeles with my sister and my dog.

With a new career in mind, I started in the mailroom of a major Hollywood talent agency. I moved up to assistant, then later to partner. I felt satisfied for a while as I achieved outward success. However, this definition of “success” changed radically a decade later.

I continued drinking, and started doing drugs. Both still seemed harmless. They made me feel more confident, prettier and funnier. Nothing terrible had happened to me yet, I told myself. But this was one of many lies. As I continued to drink and use drugs, my brain was slowly becoming more and more dysfunctional and I started losing my sense of self. By the end of my run, my disease was in total control. I was a shell of a woman with no evident self-esteem, self-awareness or authenticity.

In treating addiction, we cannot lose sight of the fact that we are treating a human being, not just a chronic illness. Addiction is a complex brain disease. The brain shares space with the mind and therefore, with consciousness. We need to be able to think across the boundaries of science and medicine into the spiritual realm, into soul-making.

The depth psychologist James Hillman wrote poetically when it came to explaining the soul:

[It is] the imaginative possibility in our natures, the experiencing through reflective speculation, dream, image and fantasy — that mode which recognizes all realities as primarily symbolic or metaphorical … that unknown component, which makes meaning possible, turns events into experiences, is communicated in love, has religious concern [deriving from its special relation with death].

My education and experience have taught me that the soul’s evidence may come in different forms. Five years into my sobriety, I retired from the entertainment business and found my calling in healing, addiction recovery and caring for the soul. Knowing there was still something missing I turned inward instead of looking “out there.” My definition of success began to change. The driving need for power, money and status provided only a temporary high. I was now searching for meaning and purpose. Abstinence is just one piece of the pie. It enables us only to begin to heal the brain.

Alcohol and drug addiction affects two main areas of the brain: the old or reptilian brain and the new brain, or prefrontal cortex. The old brain regulates our physiological functions like respiration, heartbeat and temperature; controls our basic emotions and cravings; and remembers what we did to survive or feel relief, prompting us to do it again and again.

The prefrontal cortex processes information coming from the old brain. It allows us to speak, reason, create, remember, make decisions and act accordingly. But addiction overstimulates the old brain and hijacks our dopamine reward pathways. Thus, the old brain becomes more powerful than the new brain. After chronic use, the new brain is sometimes rendered completely dysfunctional.

As an addict, once any substance enters my system, my new brain is down for the count — it’s unable to make a rational decision. Even with all I know, I cannot think my way into stopping my drug use.

What does all this have to do with AA? Everything!

AA gave me a life. It taught me the meaning of grace and serenity. The rooms of AA have given me a safe place to go everywhere in the world, places to truly connect. The community introduced me to soul sisters and brothers I will love for life. I have seen the light turn on in people’s eyes, people who otherwise didn’t stand a chance. Miracles happen in those rooms. It is not the only way, but it sure is powerful. It’s also the most spiritual program we have right now, helping everyone from adolescents to the elderly live with this chronic illness.

We need a new methodology. We need to focus on both neuroscience and phenomenology. This makes each person’s own lived story the basis for understanding the nature of consciousness, while also using evidence-based research to treat and heal.

I believe it’s time to redefine success in sobriety. Sobriety is not merely abstinence, or the absence of a craving. Are we not meant to live soulful lives? I suggest we deepen our notion of successful sobriety and move into soul-making. Not everyone is going be game to take on what is necessary to transform their lives. Some will be satisfied with taking a pill, but others will want to go deeper. Others will want to heal, live in the light and feed their soul.

Need help with substance abuse or mental health issues? In the U.S., call 800-662-HELP (4357) for the SAMHSA National Helpline.

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Common sense suggests students may learn best from dedicated teachers who can relate to them.

Hard science may support that proposition, too. Some researchers believe material in certain brain cells makes it easier for human beings to empathize with one another. For more than 20 years, Italian neuroscientists have studied these so-called “mirror neurons” to see if people with less of this material are more likely to have social communication and processing disorders, while those with an abundance are better able to identify and embrace the emotions they detect in others — from echoing a passing smile to wincing when a person stubs a toe.

To be sure, some researchers believe human empathy has little or nothing to do with “mirror neurons.” Yet this line of brain research may lead us to more deeply understand social engagements in our diverse global community.

In the classroom, these social explorations may tell us a great deal about how students learn and why, and what builds effectiveness in a teacher. As Gloria Ladson-Billings of the University of Wisconsin at Madison poignantly writes:

” I do know the experience of walking into schools (especially elementary and middle schools) where Black students ask me with eagerness, ‘Are you a teacher here?’ And, I recognize the disappointment that falls over those same faces when I shake my head, ‘no.’ Their longing for a teacher that ‘looks like them’ is palpable. The current statistics indicate that class after class of children — Black, Native American, Latino, and Asian — go through entire school careers without ever having a teacher of their same race or ethnicity.

“But, I want to suggest that there is something that may be even more important than Black students having Black teachers and that is White students having Black teachers! It is important for White students to encounter Black people who are knowledgeable and hold some level of authority over them. Black students ALREADY know that Black people have a wide range of capabilities. They see them in their homes, their neighborhoods, and their churches. They are the Sunday school teachers, their Scout Leaders, their coaches, and family members. But what opportunities do White students have to see and experience Black competence?

“In my many years as a university professor I have had many White students who revealed that I was the first African-American teacher they had ever had at any level. My hope is that their experience with me makes them walk into classrooms filled with Black children and say, ‘there could be doctors, lawyers, engineers, professors, inventors, and teachers in here,’ rather than assume that their black skins limited their intellectual possibilities.”

We’ve known for years that students need to be exposed to teachers of color. We know students learn best in diverse educational circumstances. And we also know that the more diverse the student and teacher population, the higher student academic achievement is likely to be.

Yet the challenge we face is that, in a majority of urban schools, the student population is more segregated than it was 60 years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Brown v Board of Education desegregation case (1954.) At the same time, the teaching force has become more “white,” with a margin of as many as four White teachers for every one teacher of color. Black teachers make up less than 7 percent of America’s approximately 3.2 million teaching force.

Clearly, there is a need to train and retain effective teachers of color, as well as White teachers, for urban school systems, though this is not a priority for every urban district. However, when committed partners come together – as my organization, the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education, did from 2005 to 2009, when it joined the University of Alabama at Birmingham to support Birmingham (AL) City Schools – positive change does happen.

Together, we implemented the federally funded Training, Retaining Urban Student Teachers (TRUST) project — and retained an impressive 87 percent of TRUST graduates for Birmingham and other urban school systems.

The late Michael J. Froning, dean of UAB’s School of Education, compared the TRUST process to “nurturing a garden,” one that begins by “preparing the soil” with an enhanced educational environment and targeted strategies, and then “assembles the seeds” by recruiting teacher candidates at the University, as well as paraprofessionals already in the school system.

Courses specifically designed for urban settings were co-taught by University faculty and teacher leaders in the school system. This collaborative, continuous professional development environment enabled the “crop” to “grow.” A commitment to support recruits during their crucial first years of teaching allowed them to “thrive,” yielding a bounty of teachers for the school system (“Recruiting, Preparing, and Retaining Urban Teachers: One Person’s View From Many Angles in Recruiting, Preparing, and Retaining Teachers for Urban Schools, AACTE Publication, 2006.)

Dr. Froning and his colleagues dreamed the TRUST project one day would be replicated across the country. Given the deaths of African-American youth in urban cities across our great nation, I would argue that the need never has been greater.

If we are to show children that Black, White, Asian, Latino and Native American lives do matter, then we must bring people leading those very lives into our classrooms every day. If we want a lush garden of educators to flourish in America on behalf of schoolchildren and youth, then we must recruit, cultivate and retain teachers of color.

Eric J. Cooper is the founder and president of the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education, a nonprofit professional development organization that provides student-focused professional development, advocacy and organizational guidance to accelerate student achievement. He can be reached at e_cooper@nuatc.org. He tweets as @ECooper4556.

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