I love arachnids! I love hot magma!
April 19, 2008 5:10 AM   Subscribe

 
My first born to anyone who finds a downloadable HD version of this.
posted by oxford blue at 5:13 AM on April 19, 2008


A treat for a lovely Saturday morning.
I'm in your debt, ox!
posted by Dizzy at 5:18 AM on April 19, 2008


Nice... I want more!
posted by HuronBob at 5:19 AM on April 19, 2008


Boom de-adda, boom de-adda, boom de-adda, boom de-adda...
posted by figment of my conation at 5:20 AM on April 19, 2008


It really ought to be longer.
posted by ancientgower at 5:32 AM on April 19, 2008


I hate ads. This, I liked.
posted by Effigy2000 at 5:36 AM on April 19, 2008


This is my favourite Discovery ad.
posted by fullerine at 5:44 AM on April 19, 2008 [15 favorites]


Now this starts your day off nice.
posted by hojoki at 5:44 AM on April 19, 2008


The only downside is I will have this song stuck in my head all day. But the trade off is that I will have an optimistic feeling, knowing that the world is awesome.
posted by piratebowling at 5:58 AM on April 19, 2008


Awesome.
posted by slimepuppy at 6:03 AM on April 19, 2008


Pepsi Blue Marble

(I do like it though, because I am a sucker.
posted by DU at 6:09 AM on April 19, 2008 [1 favorite]


oxfordblue.../not HD
posted by acro at 6:18 AM on April 19, 2008 [1 favorite]


Now take another hit of Grandaddy's The Nature Anthem and go and take a walk.
posted by Free word order! at 6:20 AM on April 19, 2008 [1 favorite]


Never gets old
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 6:27 AM on April 19, 2008


Aww, wow - I was completely expecting the comments in this thread to be full of the usual snark and churlishness, but instead people are talking about much they liked this delightfully cheerful and silly commercial. Fond though I am of Metafilter, I never expected it to renew my faith in humanity ;)

Boom-de-yadda, boom-de-yadda!
posted by zeph at 6:51 AM on April 19, 2008


Also, holy cow, I LOVE that they got Stephen Hawking in there ...
posted by zeph at 6:53 AM on April 19, 2008 [4 favorites]


Yeah. It would have really ruled if he been playing fire games with Adam and Jamie, too.
posted by maudlin at 7:00 AM on April 19, 2008


I never expected it to renew my faith in humanity ;)

I never thought anything I had a hand in would cause this! :)

I think there's just something so cheerful and optimistic and uplifting about it; people so earnestly happy about that which makes them happy (even if it's something weird, like real dirty things! I think we're all responding to well conveyed passion.) Besides, I've got it on very good authority that a five year old will drool on the first person to snark!

(Thanks for the link acro!)
posted by oxford blue at 7:03 AM on April 19, 2008 [2 favorites]


The world would be a nicer place if you'd stop blowing shit up with your rocketgun. Otherwise, boom-de-yadda.
posted by ColdChef at 7:03 AM on April 19, 2008 [9 favorites]


I can't stop smiling!
posted by po at 7:10 AM on April 19, 2008


You had me at Stephen Hawking.
posted by sugarfish at 7:15 AM on April 19, 2008


Nice! I still like Louis Armstrong's expression of this sentiment best, though..
posted by By The Grace of God at 7:20 AM on April 19, 2008


A-rach-i-nids?
posted by pracowity at 7:33 AM on April 19, 2008



My first born to anyone who finds a downloadable HD version of this.
posted by oxford blue at 8:13 AM on April 19


I really wish I could help.
posted by Rumpelstiltskin at 7:58 AM on April 19, 2008 [39 favorites]


I was all set to be like "oh, that's sort of cute" and forget about it.

but it's REALLY cute! I really like it! it made me go a little misty. maybe i need more sleep.
posted by dismas at 8:05 AM on April 19, 2008


The world IS just awesome
posted by dismas at 8:07 AM on April 19, 2008


Anybody know what kind of a grenade launcher that was?
posted by Wood at 8:11 AM on April 19, 2008


The world would be a nicer place if you'd stop blowing shit up with your rocketgun.

Cold Chef, I know the circle of life can be hard to take sometimes, but rocketguns blow up boarded-up houses to help thin the heard, making the normal houses even prettier. Embrace the rocketgun.

Cool ad. They were showing The Blue Planet last night, which is only slightly less awesome than Planet Earth.
posted by Bookhouse at 8:13 AM on April 19, 2008


Yes, "thin the heard." I typed that. I haven't had my tea yet..
posted by Bookhouse at 8:14 AM on April 19, 2008


Actually, a "heard" is what you call a group of boarded up houses, like a "murder of crows."

*goes to get tea, shuts up*
posted by Bookhouse at 8:16 AM on April 19, 2008


Could have done without the a-rach-i-nids.
posted by konolia at 8:33 AM on April 19, 2008


The world can't, though. Spiders are people too!
posted by bonehead at 8:43 AM on April 19, 2008


I love this ad as well....saw it yesterday during It Takes a Thief (gosh, I love the Discovery Channel) and remember thinking that I needed to track it down online.

Rarely do I say that I love an ad.
posted by DMan at 8:49 AM on April 19, 2008


It's not actually a rocket launcher.
It's a zoom lens. 400mm or so.
posted by fnord at 9:20 AM on April 19, 2008 [1 favorite]


Loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove! Favourited! Spread! Transcribed lyrics!

"It never gets old, does it?"
"Nope."
"It kinda makes you wanna..."
"...Break into song...?"
"Yep."

I love the mountains
I love the clear blue skies
I love big bridges
I love when great whites fly
I love the whole world
And all its sights and sounds
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda
I love the oceans
I love real dirty things
I love to go fast
I love Egyptian kings
I love the whole world
And all its craziness
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda
I love tornadoes
I love arachnids
I love hot magma!
I love the giant squids
I love the whole world
It's such a brilliant place
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda


*zeph, your transcription is the best I've seen so far, so I've borrowed it :)
posted by batmonkey at 9:35 AM on April 19, 2008 [12 favorites]


fnord, did you miss the part where the modern weaponry guy blows up the structure in the desert?

It's in the second set of boom-de-yaddas, last couple of 'em.

Definitely not a telephoto.
posted by batmonkey at 9:39 AM on April 19, 2008


If I had to guess, as a guy who likes this sort of stuff, I'd say it's the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 with a 2x extender. The 400 5.6 doesn't have the narrow bit before the extender, and the 400 2.8 seems to have its focus rings closer together, that and it's huge! But, I could be wrong. And you know, I didn't spend the last twenty minutes looking at the paused clip and then comparing it to various lenses on the canon website. No, that'd be crazy. :)
posted by oxford blue at 9:53 AM on April 19, 2008


Aw, man! I messed up part of what the astronauts say! AGH!

It's actually "It never gets old, huh?"

Dang cognitive miserdom.
posted by batmonkey at 10:16 AM on April 19, 2008


I wish I could favorite that lyrics transcription twice, I've been ambling around all morning stuck on the same 3-4 lines, but now - oooh, now I can belt out the full production, huzzah!

If I've not been shot by the more curmudgeonly of my friends by nightfall it'll be quite the miracle =)
posted by zeph at 10:35 AM on April 19, 2008


does anybody know if the guys from Red vs. Blue are the voices of the astronauts?
posted by liza at 10:44 AM on April 19, 2008


Which big bridge is that at the beginning, just before the Hong Kong skyline shot?
posted by tksh at 10:45 AM on April 19, 2008


Man, this is awesome.
posted by mewithoutyou at 10:46 AM on April 19, 2008


tksh - Maybe the Millau Viaduct?
posted by nathan_teske at 11:04 AM on April 19, 2008


nathan_testke: looks like it. The shot in the ad was so damn gorgeous with all the clouds that I thought it was CG. Thanks!
posted by tksh at 11:07 AM on April 19, 2008


I remember singing that song in elementary school. The first two lines were the same, but I forget how it went after that. I can only imagine what third or fourth graders would have added to the lyrics if we had been allowed to change them.
posted by Frank Grimes at 11:29 AM on April 19, 2008


Anybody know what kind of a grenade launcher that was?

A search of the discovery.com website reveals that it's an M32, a US Marine variant of the Milkor MGL.
posted by RichardP at 11:30 AM on April 19, 2008


I was all ready to snark this when I saw it in google reader but I too have been converted. Excellent.
posted by Skorgu at 11:31 AM on April 19, 2008


The Original Song

It's an old girl scout song, it seems.
posted by empath at 11:38 AM on April 19, 2008 [4 favorites]


Metafilter: People so earnestly happy about that which makes them happy.
posted by Bummus at 11:52 AM on April 19, 2008


Yeppers, I remember singing it in Girl Guides.
posted by Salmonberry at 11:56 AM on April 19, 2008


Isn't it the tune of "Heart and Soul?"
posted by waitingtoderail at 12:06 PM on April 19, 2008


That was awesome.
posted by rtha at 12:45 PM on April 19, 2008


The world would be a nicer place if you'd stop blowing shit up with your rocketgun. Otherwise, boom-de-yadda.

Well, I think the world would be a nicer place if we really loved the whole of it, not just the parts that fit our preconceived notions of "nice".

Then again, I fucking love rocketguns. And this ad.
posted by vorfeed at 12:55 PM on April 19, 2008 [1 favorite]


Thanks oxford blue, you made my day.
posted by maryh at 1:43 PM on April 19, 2008 [1 favorite]


My favourite part was when they fit an extra syllable into arachnids.

:) <- me
posted by Popular Ethics at 2:53 PM on April 19, 2008 [1 favorite]


Fnord, oxfordblue: zoom lens at around 19s,

Rocket launcher at around 38s.
posted by Reverend John at 3:31 PM on April 19, 2008


I don't love this ad. I really, really disliked the grenade launcher blowing up a house. I'm sure it was claimed the house was full of taliban or al-qaeda, but he probably just killed some random people, who now don't get to love the world.

I know it's just a set somewhere, but it really made me uncomfortable that an American channel would put that in while American military force is inflicting so much violence on the world.

I can see why the ad as a whole could be appealing, but beyond that disgust noted above, I find the ad smugly comfortable, even if it's attempting lightheartedness.

It is just an ad, though, so I'm not going to get too upset about it beyond this comment. Maybe I need to see it in HD to appreciate it.
posted by Gnatcho at 3:49 PM on April 19, 2008


*sniffs*

Oh, no. Just something in my eye.

*sniffs*

Very nice. The world is indeed awesome.
posted by brundlefly at 3:55 PM on April 19, 2008


Huh. My take on the grenade launcher bit was that the house was an empty demo - I was thinking that the clip was from one of Discovery's Awesome Weapons! or Blow Shit Up! shows. Not that I'm saying it's all yay to blow up a house with a grenade launcher, but I think it was a "cool tech!" clip, not a "serious war stuff" clip, if I'm making any sense at all.
posted by rtha at 3:58 PM on April 19, 2008


Yeah, that is probably the case. I like seeing pyrotechnics, but that bit just weirds me out for some reason.
posted by Gnatcho at 4:06 PM on April 19, 2008


My first born to anyone who finds a downloadable HD version of this.

It's only 640x432, but that's better than YouTube and it is downloadable. I think a fair compromise would be for you to keep your children, but name or rename the eldest male "Roy".
posted by roystgnr at 4:12 PM on April 19, 2008 [5 favorites]


Arachnids > rocketguns.
posted by Tehanu at 4:21 PM on April 19, 2008


Arachnids > rocketguns.

Band name.
posted by brundlefly at 4:42 PM on April 19, 2008 [4 favorites]


I'm glad someone else mentioned the grenade launcher bit, because that really bothered me, and when I first visited this thread it was so full of unmitigated enthusiasm that I didn't have the heart to inject something negative. I don't particularly like a "I love the world!" sentiment expressed with anyone pointing a weapon of any kind, but it was on second viewing of that bit that I realized that regulars of whatever show this must be from probably know the guy as an engineer-type geek, not a military enthusiast, which is a bit of a different spin.

Nice, all in all, though it did make me wonder how people around the world probably view a weapon -- even for demo purposes -- very differently from one another. But then I'll never understand air shows either, so maybe that's just me.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 4:44 PM on April 19, 2008


Come on, even Rocket Launchers can be used for good.
WARNING: Earworm that may shove "I Love the Whole World" out of your head.
posted by wendell at 4:46 PM on April 19, 2008


I'd like to state, for the record, that I am not adamantly anti-rocketgun. It's just that the image of the man blowing up a somewhat middle-eastern style dwelling (or at least the representation of one) seemed wildly incongruous with the "yay-the-planet-is-great" style of the rest of the ad. Yes, I understand that it is an advertisement for a Discovery Channel program and you gotta put them all in the ad.

You know, it probably wouldn't have stuck in my craw if he'd been blowing up a rusty old car or a pile of bricks or a thousand pepperoni pizzas. But a house...no thank you. It's a terrible reminder about all the bad stuff the world could do without.
posted by ColdChef at 5:40 PM on April 19, 2008


You know, it probably wouldn't have stuck in my craw if he'd been blowing up a rusty old car or a pile of bricks or a thousand pepperoni pizzas.

I'm with you on that, ColdChef. Except maybe about the pizzas....think of the waste!
posted by rtha at 5:46 PM on April 19, 2008


"You know, it probably wouldn't have stuck in my craw if he'd been blowing up a rusty old car or a pile of bricks or a thousand pepperoni pizzas. But a house...no thank you. It's a terrible reminder about all the bad stuff the world could do without."

Aw fer crapsakes guys... It's one of those Discovery Channel shows where they take something Hollywood has done and either debunk it or show that it could indeed be possible. They did a fascinating one that debunked the ad nauseam image of a single gunshot detonating a car gas tank -- essentially a complete impossibility in the real world. This brief sequence was probably from something similar where Ah-nold blowed up an entire building full of bad guys with a single shot from an RPG, or some such sequence.

It's The Discovery Channel. No homeless people were deprived of a potential residence for your entertainment.

And it's a freakin' GREAT ad -- thanks for the hi-rez version, roystgnr
posted by Mike D at 5:54 PM on April 19, 2008


Aw fer crapsakes guys... It's one of those Discovery Channel shows where they take something Hollywood has done and either debunk it or show that it could indeed be possible...This brief sequence was probably from something similar where Ah-nold blowed up an entire building full of bad guys with a single shot from an RPG, or some such sequence.

Uh, no. The discovery channel definitely has shows devoted just to guns, and too their application in terms of blowing stuff up. I was watching one day (or maybe it was a youtube someone linked too) of a guy who was firing this automatic shotgun that shot like 5 rounds per second. It was actually pretty sweet.

But it was definitely not one of those "is this possible" things, but rather a "yay guns!" thing. And I also found it kind of disquieting in a "isn't the world awesome," type of thing. I mean, weapons like that are a big part of and a result of all the problems in the world. It really did seem out of place.
posted by delmoi at 6:06 PM on April 19, 2008


OK, I'm not trying to be snobby in an "I don't have TV" kind of way, but I think I should recognize some of these people and except for Stephen Hawking, I don't. Anybody want to do a walk-through for the ignorant?
posted by not that girl at 6:19 PM on April 19, 2008


It's one of those Discovery Channel shows where they take something Hollywood has done and either debunk it or show that it could indeed be possible.

In fact, it's from a show called "Future Weapons" which is, in fact, a "yay-guns" show. I won't belabor the point anymore than saying it was the one off-key part of a lovely bit of earth-love.
posted by ColdChef at 6:39 PM on April 19, 2008


Wow, you guys are picky.
posted by Bookhouse at 7:09 PM on April 19, 2008


Wow, you guys are picky.

It's like they took it as a personal challenge all those comments about how there wasn't the usual snark.
posted by smackfu at 7:37 PM on April 19, 2008 [3 favorites]


Are we going to start objecting to the tribal-y folk that have spears as well? Don't make me turn this car around! Just because science can be destructive doesn't mean it's bad. And besides, the house was almost empty! ;)
posted by oxford blue at 7:38 PM on April 19, 2008 [1 favorite]


The spears aren't the problem with "the tribal-y folks" when it comes to the ad.
posted by Gnatcho at 9:19 PM on April 19, 2008


That's not to begrudge the host or the interest in the show, but yes. It's about how guns are awesome and how even bigger guns will be even more awesome.

I, for one, was surprised and pleased to see that this ad didn't pander to the reflexive violence-bad! brigade. Weapons have been a part of the world ever since people have been, and will most likely continue to be a part of the world as long as people still are; loving the world as it is means loving humans as they are, and that means loving violence and guns and explosions, and yes, even death.

Maybe it's just my pragmatic worldview, but I can't imagine saying, "well, I liked how they showed all the different things that are happening all around Earth... except for the one part where they showed something that's happening all around Earth! How dare they!"
posted by vorfeed at 11:26 PM on April 19, 2008 [4 favorites]


I'm surprised that everyone's bitching about the grenade (not rocket) launcher, and no one noticed that Metafilter's own Adam Savage appeared to set Jamie's arm on fire.
posted by dirigibleman at 12:47 AM on April 20, 2008 [1 favorite]


Also, my favorite Discovery Channel commercial is the Alaska Week one, where they're on a raft and HOLY SHIT THERE'S SOME KIND OF BALEEN WHALES FUCKING SURFACING THREE FEET FROM THE RAFT!!! DID I JUST SEE THAT?!
posted by dirigibleman at 12:58 AM on April 20, 2008


Adam Savage appeared to set Jamie's arm on fire

dirigibleman, not only did my son notice that, but he made me play the moment back for him about 15 times. We followed that up with the "Adam isn't trying to murder Jamie, they're effects professionals, nobody got hurt, they're still friends, NO FIRE FOR YOU" talk, with a big "Look! Mike Rowe!!" chaser.
posted by maryh at 1:02 AM on April 20, 2008


I, for one, was surprised and pleased to see that this ad didn't pander to the reflexive violence-bad! brigade. Weapons have been a part of the world ever since people have been, and will most likely continue to be a part of the world as long as people still are; loving the world as it is means loving humans as they are, and that means loving violence and guns and explosions, and yes, even death.

Well, I disagree. I mean, I enjoyed the bit of FutureWeapons I saw, I don't have a problem with guns per-se. But, just because I thought Schindler's list was a good movie doesn't mean I would include the holocaust in a montage of my favorite things in the world.
posted by delmoi at 1:48 AM on April 20, 2008 [1 favorite]


Hm, mis-represents the Discovery channel somewhat. The ad makes it seem like there are programmes which are not about sharks or war shown by the channel. /almost joking

Leaves the same taste in the mouth as the CNN Improv Everywhere 'Best Game Ever'.
posted by asok at 5:08 AM on April 20, 2008


sharks = Discovery channel
war = History channel.

Sorry I got them mixed up.
posted by asok at 5:11 AM on April 20, 2008


Oh how I love the giant squids.
posted by cosmonik at 6:14 AM on April 20, 2008


Wow, you guys are picky.

Come on, nobody said anything about the killer whale shown while the song says "great whites fly".
posted by sneebler at 6:44 AM on April 20, 2008


Ah yes. That is definitely a rocket launcher.

Or a badger. I'm no botanist.
posted by fnord at 8:28 AM on April 20, 2008 [1 favorite]


Just to keep things in context: if you rewatch the video with this discussion in mind, you'll notice that the gunfire scene is followed by a tornado, and that the preceding lyric is "and all its craziness".
posted by roystgnr at 8:35 AM on April 20, 2008


kinda reminded me of watching 60,000 people in a football stadium singing "always look on the bright side of life" *whistles* but like the whole world :P

boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda
boom-de-yadda

cheers!
posted by kliuless at 1:07 PM on April 20, 2008


Oooh, this is my new cheer-me-up-in-the-morning song! Great find, and possible the best single-link You Tube post ever (at least among the short ones).
posted by Harald74 at 2:37 PM on April 20, 2008


what a great way to start the week!

*sings* i love cycling to work in the rain...

no, that's wrong. i hate it.

but the clip was nice.
posted by UbuRoivas at 2:49 PM on April 20, 2008


"47 users marked this as a favorite"

Am I the only one that senses the hand of Rambaldi at work here?

<0>

By the way, little Roy has just learnt his first word, "snark!"
posted by oxford blue at 8:36 PM on April 20, 2008


The grenade launcher was a Milkor for sure - although I can understand how many MeFites failed to identify it, no doubt due to its apparently elongated cylinder and picatinny rails. MeFites are probably just too used to the Mark 1's clean lines, amirite? What? You don't like hardware?

On a completely separate and unrelated note, not to snark, but I don't know why this didn't fill me with more cheer, given the fanbase here...I love the Discovery Channel too, but other than the squid and the grenade launcher, I got little out of it.

Now, to find a way to combine the squid and the grenade launcher. That'd be love, right there.
posted by cosmonik at 9:55 PM on April 20, 2008


Why combine the squid & the grenade launcher? They're jet powered, did you know that? They're jet-powered animals and their heads are covered in PREHENSILE TENTACLES.
posted by UbuRoivas at 10:16 PM on April 20, 2008


Why combine the squid & the grenade launcher?

Man, if you have to ask...I just don't see any common ground here.

no matter how many times that cephalopodic Dinosaur Comic gets posted, I still laugh at the 'they played us for suckers!' frame
posted by cosmonik at 10:43 PM on April 20, 2008


yes, there are some moments in Dinosaur Comics that I think one can never tire of...
posted by UbuRoivas at 11:07 PM on April 20, 2008


Come on, nobody said anything about the killer whale shown while the song says "great whites fly".
posted by sneebler at 9:44 AM on April 20 [+] [!]

I thought this for a long time too, and was going to come in to the thread to say it. But we're wrong. It's a great white. The footage comes from Planet Earth and you can see it in more detail here. an Orca (apparently they don't call them killer whales anymore) is much larger.
posted by The Bellman at 2:51 PM on April 21, 2008


Perhaps they meant 'great' in dictionary.com's fouth meaning "wonderful; first-rate; very good"
posted by oxford blue at 5:34 PM on April 21, 2008


I wish someone could isolate Stephen Hawking's "Boom-de-yadda." That would make an awesome ringtone for when you get text-messages.
posted by ColdChef at 11:17 AM on April 23, 2008 [2 favorites]


OMG ColdChef that's a great idea.

Also, I saw this Orange ad today for the first time and I'm sure it's nothing new but damn I liked it and it seemed to have a similar goofball planetary vibe.
posted by CunningLinguist at 1:54 PM on April 23, 2008


Paging Mr. Savage: am I crazy or is that Mr. Hyneman who's singing "I love the giant squids"?

...I am unnaturally gleeful at the sound of Stephen Hawking intoning "Boom. De. Yadda." And if this thing doesn't win a Clio award, I'm going to kick someone.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:03 AM on May 2, 2008


Someone heard us! Go to the Discovery Channel to download this video, mp3 or--yes--even ringtones.
posted by ColdChef at 9:32 PM on May 5, 2008


thanks!

linky linky :P
posted by kliuless at 9:41 PM on May 5, 2008


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