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March 30, 2007
Friday Videos - March 30th
»

Willow, Don't Cry

007 Crocs

Tremoctopus

Beat Recipe

I really wanted to post some of these videos from The Human Giant but didn't find an option to embed.. so you'll just have to watch them the old fashioned way, by going to their site.

12:04 PM » [ Comments (2) ]

Stipper Polaroids
»

I believe I got this link from Mason (maybe by way of Jeremy) but it's an interesting collection of Polaroids of strippers - all tame and work safe images - telling a story without saying anything at all. From the author:

[...] A collection of over 400 Polaroid photos of strippers trying out for dancing jobs at a So. Cal club. They were taken from the late 1960's thru the early 1970's. I bought the entire collection for $10.

11:50 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Tired Pup
» Either this guy is really tired, really angry or inside of a wind tunnel.

11:40 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Are You Bored?
»

In all honesty I have no idea what is going on here but I love the results.

11:39 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Jen Stark
»

The sculpture work of Jen Stark is made more admirable when you realize that the majority of it is put together from construction paper or some sort of card stock simply stacked, cut, and arranged in a way to create an explosion of colors. The idea is simple, the execution is intricate and the outcome is somewhat mesmerizing.

Don't miss out on the Sketchbook either.. loads of goods in there as well.

11:10 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Brand New - Dairy Queen
»

Somehow I've never managed to run into the Under Consideration blog about branding - Brand New. Thanks to Blankenship that has changed and I'm going to keep my eye on it. Logo design is probably the hardest division of graphic design to execute effectively and reading about incidents like the latest Dairy Queen redesign just proves that point even more. The brand managers feel they are pushing the identity of the company and relying some message about cool treats mixed with hot eats but really they are just taking their recognizable mark and making it look horrible.

10:47 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Nerd Out
» Thanks to Arlo, Marc Liyanage Software and Cocoa MySQL I have finally gotten around to setting up PHP and MySQL on my work machine so I don't have to constant upload / clear cache / refresh any changes I make to dynamic sites in development. Why did it take me this long to do this? The process is incredibly simple and I recommend any developer that is currently dragging their feet just hit up this page and go nuts with the available packages and installs.

10:30 AM » [ Comments (3) ]

March 29, 2007
Justin.TV
» Justin.TV - supposedly a 24/7 live video feed straight from a headmounted camera to you, the Internet. So far I've not been able to actually connect to a working video server so I can't vouch for it's validity but it seems legit. Overall I think this is a terrible (and mundane) idea but I suppose you must respect the technology involved (if it were working).

My question is, hypothetically could this guy get sued by the MPAA if he goes to see a movie and transmits the film live to the Internet? There are so many scenarios that I can think of that you wouldn't want shared on the internet, much less live but I guess that's the whole idea behind the experiment. And probably to make large amounts of venture capital somehow.

12:30 PM » [ Comments (3) ]

ID Stickers
» These Wire Identification Labels are such a perfect idea I can't believe their existence has never come to my attention before. Brilliantly simple.

12:18 PM » [ Comments (0) ]

Goldfish in Deep Fryer - Not Cooking, Living
» Check out this Deep-fryer Goldfish tank, which apparently does no harm to the fish inside as long as they don't swim too close to the oily surface.

10:53 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

AppleTV Hacks
»

The biggest drawback of the new Apple TV device is that it's basically just an extension of iTunes. The simplicity and the implementation of the device is nice and all but I really have no interest in purchasing movies or TV shows from the iTunes Store in order to get it on my TV - particularly when there are so many free BitTorrent alternatives (which, aside from their freeness, also become available faster and often are highly quality). Fortunately there are lots of Apple TV Hacks already being executed or in the works. For example, Joost can now run on an Apple TV. It appears that VLC has also been installed on one and this bodes quite well for watching all sorts of BitTorrent shows via the device.

Strangely, some people are reporting that their Apple TV Hacks are being re-hacked by Apple overnight back to their standard settings. This is, of course, ridiculous and is likely the suggested cron job running on the machine to keep its settings pure but the notion that Apple is connecting in to wipe things fresh is pretty amusing.

Once all these things get worked out and someone has a solid, easy-to-use, hack install kit ready to go.. that's when I'll be in line to get my Apple TV.

10:49 AM » [ Comments (7) ]

March 28, 2007
Spiderman 3 Trailer (Final)
»

Looks like Comcast got some exclusive rights to show the final Spider Man 3 Trailer before its release in May. Oddly only HD versions are available for viewing but it's worth the download time if you're nerdy enough to want to see a bit more of Venom and a lot less of Sandman. The fly through on the site is sort of fun as well.

11:07 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Hifana - Wamano
»

Wamono

I stumbled across this video while putzing around the Partly Human Lab and I must say.. what a find! Please take the time to watch this entire video as the animation is quite incredible and continues to twist and turn for the duration.

10:54 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Get Him Eat Him EP's available
» Catbirdseat reminds us that Get Him Eat Him have made their first of three free EP's available on their Arms Down site. So go snag The Rude Reach EP - complete with a Magnetic Fields cover.

10:47 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Xiu Xiu - The Polaroid Project
» I'll be honest, I know next to nothing about Xiu Xiu but I do know that their manager / friend David Horvitz has started another installment in his Polaroid Project. The concept is simple, bring a pack of unused Polaroid 600 film to a Xiu Xiu show, hand it to David Horvitz along with a self-addressed stamped envelope, go home, wait for your polaroids to return from the road.

The David Horvitz site is a mish mash of photography, random musings, and other such digital art projects but there are some gems to be found throughout. Recently he was involved with the Forever Is Not Long Enough art show along with Debbie Carlos.

10:43 AM » [ Comments (3) ]

Tiny Showcase - 24 Hours
»

Quick, get over to Tiny Showcase and snatch up the latest piece from Jacob Magraw - available in unlimited quantities until sometime this evening. The lack of exclusivity on this one is all in part of the 2-year anniversary of Tiny Showcase - giving something back to those that constantly miss out on the new releases. I've still got my fingers crossed for Jumbo Showcase to come around some day.

10:31 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

CS3 Revealed
»

Adobe announced their new packages of Creative Suite today. Unfortunately they are all only available for pre-order but you can still get a glimpse at loads of new features that they'll be offering. I've got my eye on the Design Premium package as it has everything I need.

10:26 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

March 27, 2007
Chad Dump - of Links
» A random barrage of links from Chad:

TV Carnage vs. Romance

Duckling Feeds Koi

FEAR on SNL - sort of unwatchable but the story behind it is amusing.

Gaaaaahhhhhhnnngh

Cute Overload: Otter Romance

04:19 PM » [ Comments (1) ]

Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip
»

Thou Shalt Always Kill

It's probably a bit odd for me to be recommending that everyone listen to Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip given that it is unreleased British hip-hop and that's not exactly my typical genre but good music is often undeniable so I can't help but let you know about it. Do I know anything about either of the two guys except the fact that Scroobius Pip has a helluva beard? Nope, sure don't. If you've got the lowdown, let me know but in the meantime watch the video and download these two songs:

» Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip - Thou Shalt Always Kill

» Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip - A Letter from God to Man

12:03 PM » [ Comments (8) ]

Two for Tuesday
»

Willam Spencer

TMNT Hardcore - NSFW

It is safe to say that the William Spencer clip from Hollarado is intense and impressive. Josh Spear wraps it up nicely - my feelings exactly.

The TMNT Hardcore clip is worth a chuckle for a little bit but, obviously, NSFW in terms of the music language.

11:45 AM » [ Comments (4) ]

David Lynch on Product Placement
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David Lynch - NSFW

I haven't seen the latest from David Lynch, nor do I plan to, but his answer to this question regarding product placement in films is absolutely perfect (and NSFW if you've got speakers). It's great to hear from a director that is so absolute and steadfast in his belief in film as an art form, not just another means of channeling consumerism.

11:30 AM » [ Comments (5) ]

ATHF Colon Movie
»

Even if you don't consider yourself a fan of Aqua Teen Hunger Force (or Adult Swim in general) you've got to have some level of appreciation for the incredible artwork interpretation for the official Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters. The realistic portrayal of Meatwad holding a chainsaw is the stuff of late-80's horror films. Be sure to watch both trailers on the site for a taste of what's to come from the movie.

11:22 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

March 26, 2007
La Blogotheque - Arcade Fire & More
»

If you've not heard of the The Take-Away Shows from La Blogotheque then you are about to be in for a real treat. The basic concept is this: Ask a band to play in a raw environment - be it the street, a freight elevator or in the middle of a giant mass of people - record this performance in one take, post video to blog. Not surprisingly, the results are often quite incredible. I suggest starting with these videos and then setting some time aside to view all of the archives...

» Arcade Fire - Neon Bible / Wake Up

» Grizzly Bear - Shift / The Knife

» Tapes N' Tapes - Cowbell / Insistor

» The Spinto Band - Brown Boxes / Oh, Mandy

04:52 PM » [ Comments (2) ]

Let's Go! - UK
»

While this probably means very little to anyone but myself, Jamie and the band it is pretty cool to see that the artwork that Jamie and I put together for the How I Became the Bomb mini-album Let's Go is now available in the UK at Rough Trade. They even managed to write about the packaging first thing when describing the disc. Feels like a nice proverbial pat on the back.

03:06 PM » [ Comments (6) ]

Bob Saget - Pointillism
» The single most important work of art created in the past 25 years. The medium, the technique, the execution - all perfect.

11:06 AM » [ Comments (3) ]

The Host
»

I was fortunate enough to watch The Host this weekend down at the Belcourt. I was a little worried that a "monster movie" wouldn't be all that up my alley but I must say that it managed to deliver 110%. The special effects on the creature itself (and integration within the real world environment) were pretty much flawless and the character development was never heavy handed while still managing to create sympathetic and engaging characters. If you've heard nothing of this film do yourself a favor and watch the trailer - that should be all the convincing you need.

11:04 AM » [ Comments (4) ]

Eric Volz
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Eric Volz

If you haven't caught the news about Eric Volz on the news recently you should give yourself a minute to check it all out and familiarize yourself with the situation. It's a strange case in which an American in Nicaragua has been convicted and imprisoned for supposedly murdering his girlfriend but claims that he was, at least, 2 hours away from the crime scene when the events took place. He also claims to have 10 witnesses ready to testify to this fact. If he is actually innocent then the situation is incredibly scary and desperate.

10:57 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

March 23, 2007
Friday Videos - March 23rd
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Russian Skittles

Air Guitar Champ

Tunak

Linerider SMB

Enjoy your weekend folks!

01:44 PM » [ Comments (4) ]

Matthew Feyld Art - Bird Knives
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The Flickr stream from Matthew Feyld contains a large number of illustrations of bizarre creatures and people. Never again will you be able to say that you've never seen two bird creature people riding on a long legged rabbit, all wearing matching boots.

12:15 PM » [ Comments (0) ]

Eagle Vs Shark
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After watching the trailer for Eagle vs. Shark I realized that I had just witnessed the New Zealand version of Napoleon Dynamite crossed with a tiny dash of Garden State. Unfortunately both of those movies seem to induce a bit of cringing these days but I mean to make the comparison in the most positive way possible. I suspect Eagle vs. Shark will have loads of memorable quotes, great characters, and just the right amount of "heart" to keep it from being total fluff.

12:03 PM » [ Comments (5) ]

Rinzen - time to revisit
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It has been far too long since I've visited the portfolio of Rinzen. The amount of works available for viewing now is absolutely overwhelming and every single one is impressive and inspiring to some degree. While I'm still sorting through it all I will say that I found the Neighbourhood Book, The Pop Manifesto and all of the Mooks pieces rather intriguing. It's a whole lot to shift through but worth it.

11:48 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

The Return of Futurama - more news
»

iF Magazine has a rather informative interview with Simpsons / Futurama creator Matt Groening about the future of Futurama and some insight into the new Simpsons movie.

The basic jist on Futurama is that the show will return as four full-length straight-to-DVD movies that will also be reworked / chopped up into 16 new episodes to air on Comedy Central. This is not entirely new news but it is good to hear it straight from Groening. It's also pleasant to hear that they will be released sometime late this year and that most of the talent from the series has returned for this revival.

11:34 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Codec Packs
» For those OS X users out there reading this you may want to check out this Codec Pack add-on for Quicktime that will enable you to watch a number of different video formats (DivX, xVid, etc) without having to use an external program like VLC.

11:29 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

300 Trailer - PG
»

Despite not having seen the actual film yet I can wholeheartedly endorse this trailer for 300 - done in PG style. There are actually several other parodies out there worth hunting down.

11:23 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Bjork - Volta Cover
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Let me preface the following by saying that I think Bjork is wildly talented and, hands down, an incredible songwriter, musician, and visionary. Her discography is completely solid through and through. That being said - the cover art for her forthcoming album Volta cracks me up. Taking a look at her previous albums artwork and you'll see that they've all been extremely well designed and, occasionally, containing a bit of fun (she's wearing a swan on the Vespertine cover.. c'mon).

I think it's mostly the type treatment that bothers me. It seems amatuer and way too big. That fact that she's apparently on fire and possibly about to shoot out a fireball ala Street Fighter 2 doesn't bother me near as much. What are your thoughts on this matter?

Update: Looks like I jumped the gun a little and the pictured image is not actually the cover. This is good news for the future history of Bjork graphic design but doesn't change the fact that it's still a rather poor image.

10:57 AM » [ Comments (24) ]

March 22, 2007
LaserDecks
»

At first glance the pictured skatedecks may not look like more than your typical art show faire but keep in mind that the designs are actually etched into place with a custom laser engraving technique - giving them a nice bit of depth. Check out this flickr stream and try to tell me that an image like this doesn't just blow your mind? What an incredible way to take a great idea (skate deck as canvas) and improve upon it exponentially.

03:39 PM » [ Comments (2) ]

Mute Math - Typical Video
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Mute Math - Typical

Even if you are no fan of Mute Math you have to be impressed by the fact that the band somehow managed to learn to play the entire song backwards and not look completely terrible while doing it.

02:29 PM » [ Comments (13) ]

AIGA CMS
» Under the Hood at AIGA.org - great article / screenshots of the CMS powering the new AIGA site. Arlo, Travis and I have been discussing the future of the KNI CMS system and seeing examples of this is really inspiring and inciteful. Thanks Naz. Link via Chad via Blankenship.

02:10 PM » [ Comments (0) ]

Immaturity.TV
»

I haven't the slightest idea what is going on with Immaturity.TV but I am going to assume it's a vaguely crass animated show coming to MTV sometime in the relative future. It's all basically "potty humor" level jokes so if you're not into boogers, urinals, or belches then you probably shouldn't waste your time. However, if you are - the character designs are well done and worth checking out.

11:31 AM » [ Comments (2) ]

An Unreasonable Man
»

Has anyone caught the Ralph Nader documentary An Unreasonable Man? Tonight is the last night that it is showing in town and I am giving serious consideration to catching it. However, if it's a total snooze I will, obviously, pass up on it.

Nader has always seemed to be the sort of guy who's intelligence was actually a detriment to his career. Every time I have heard him speak it hits me that most people, myself included, aren't used to his informed and eloquent line of thinking. Most politicials and public figures dumb things down to a series of easily consumable sound bites.

11:12 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

March 21, 2007
I Hate Huckabees
»

Part 1 - NSFW

Part 2 - NSFW

Those of you in a standard work environment may want to skip these but everyone else should absolutely check out Lily Tomlin vs. David O. Russell. They really have a serious go at it.

01:56 PM » [ Comments (6) ]

This American Life - TV
»

This American Life

The Joe Trailer

Big Screen Little Screen has a nice bit of insight into the forthcoming Showtime version of the radio show This American Life. If you're not a fan of the NPR show you should probably check out the archives but if radio isn't your thing then, at the very least, check out the shows TV site and watch the episode previews and trailers. I know I'll be BitTorrenting it!

12:44 PM » [ Comments (0) ]

Darjeeling Limited
»

I can't say that I'm surprised but this article reports that Bill Murray will certainly be a part of the cast of the next Wes Anderson film, The Darjeeling Limited.

12:06 PM » [ Comments (1) ]

Book Arts
»

Books (many culled from dumpsters and thrift store bins) are lovingly vandalized back to life so they can assert themselves against the culture which turned them into debris.

There are only four or five projects at the moment but all of them are impressive in their own way. The "American Heritage" piece looks fairly unassuming at first until you realize that the noose is made from tiny bits of the dictionary of the same name. Link via Flux-Rad.

11:46 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Tiny Shocase - Steven Harrington
»

Tiny Showcase print from Steven Harrington. Of course it sold out in moments but if you're still aching for a Harrington print (and you should be) you should check this out.

11:39 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

NetRenderer
» The IE NetRenderer is a handy tool for making sure your site looks alright in multiple versions of Internet Explorer (including 7). Especially handy for those without access to a PC or those unwilling to upgrade to IE 7 in order to keep a copy of IE 6 lying around.

11:36 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

March 20, 2007
Get Him, Eat Him - Arms Down
»

Looks like Get Him, Eat Him have a new album, Arms Down, coming out on June 5th. The new album features Zach from Beirut and Charles from The Wrens playing at various times on the album and it was produced by Jason Caddell from (ex) The Dismemberment Plan - not bad!

The best part about the new album coming out is that as a bit of ongoing promotion to let people know about the disc the band will be releasing mp3's of each of their exclusive tour EP's (The Rude Reach, Do As I Tell You, ...Challenges You to a Game of Basketball) online at ArmsDown.com. It's unfortunate that you won't get the rad packaging as well but it's still a great deal.

» Get Him Eat Him - 2x2

01:43 PM » [ Comments (1) ]

Sound in Print - Art Show
»

The MTSU Todd Gallery is hosting a screenprinted poster art show entitled Sound in Print - described as:

Over 50 participants are expected to show approximately 250 limited edition posters that showcase a variety of art and design styles incorporating silkscreen and letterpress techniques.

I'm hoping it's like a mini Flatstock with local artists but who knows...

01:30 PM » [ Comments (0) ]

sleeping at work
»

Who wants to take bets on this becoming the new 'passed out a party' prank? Either way, it's a fun little ad campaign.

01:23 PM » [ Comments (1) ]

Threadless has less obnoxious options?
»

First off, it should be stated that I think Threadless is a great company. High quality prints on great shirts and an overall fantastic execution of a simple idea. That being said, I find myself enjoying fewer and fewer of the shirts that they are offering. They seem to all be trying to be so clever or kitschy that I just can't get into it. But it seems that some people have the right idea and are offering more vague, artistic or just fun.

12:31 PM » [ Comments (5) ]

Humor in Video Form x2
»

Steadycam Fight

Horse Skid

The unedited fight sequence has a nice long bit of explanation that goes along with it - read it here. The Horse Skid is just amazing and needs to be seen.

12:00 PM » [ Comments (1) ]

Google Themes
»

Your Google Start Page now has themes available, several of which apparently will respond to your local weather conditions. Overall the themes are a nice little addition to the page - even if you don't end up using them it's nice that they are being offered.

11:42 AM » [ Comments (4) ]

Apollo Application
»

I've been doing some reading this morning on the new cross-platform runtime layer called Apollo that is being developed by Adobe Labs. Basically it allows you to take a web application (Flash or AJAX style HTML) and compile it for desktop usage - completely outside of a browser environment. Doesn't sound entirely different from what mProjector does now but I am sure it's ~~far more robust~~ different*.

The first release of the runtime is available for download now but I'm 99% confident that I'm far too ignorant to even begin dabbling in such a thing. After watching some introductory videos and finding out more about Flex, Flash Player 9 and Actionscript 3 my head is swimming. There is a whole lot of new technology on its way from Adobe and it's going to be a task to keep up.

* Addendum: I think it should be noted that it's probably short sighted of me to assume that the Apollo app will be more robust than mProjector based purely on the fact that Adobe is developing it for their own software. Just because it's made in-house doesn't mean it's better. I've used mProjector for a handful of projects and it's always been incredibly easy to use.. I'd hate to fault it for that.

11:32 AM » [ Comments (4) ]

March 19, 2007
Back to Business - Monday videos
»

Live TV + Cat

ATV Ignorance

There is something extremely "America's Funniest Home Videos" about the above two videos but the lack of obnoxious narration makes them 100% enjoyable.

12:40 PM » [ Comments (2) ]

Jeopardy History
»

"For the first time in 23 years, All three contestants finish final jeopardy with the same score. "

Sure, the three way tie is impressive but did anyone realize that Jeopardy had been on the air for 23 years?

12:34 PM » [ Comments (0) ]

SXSW Recap
»

Recapping my experience at SXSW is a daunting task. Three incredibly full days of bands, free parties, massive amounts of socializing, late nights, walking around the city and standing watching bands. Lots of standing.

While there is never enough time to catch all the bands that one would want to see ( I missed out on both The Hylozoists and Octopus Project) the inordinate amount of day shows and every band playing multiple times provides a good chance squeezing everything in to a schedule. Fortunately for me the blogger curated Hot Freaks day showcase had a crapton of bands that I wanted to see and a fantastic venue to see them in.

I could do the obligatory list of bands that I saw but really I'm just pleased to have added Apes & Androids, Midlake, Menomena and Apostle of Hustle to my proverbial musical bedpost. I saw plenty more music but those were super high on my list and I'm happy to have accomplished the task of seeing them after listening to their albums (or demos in AA's case) for so long.

The other thing that should be noted about Austin is the amazing hospitality by so many of the residents there. Cassandra and Katherine put myself and a large group of friends up in their house for free lodging and I can't thank them enough. Paige and Kevin provided copious amounts of entertainment throughout the entire weekend - a fact made more impressive given that I'd never actually met them before. Ryan Sims was also friendly enough to give me a quick hello over at the Fader party.

SXSW trumps CMJ any day. So if you're in the market for 3 - 4 days of musical entertainment and a good time, head to Austin next year. Just don't trash the city like a tourist.

12:31 PM » [ Comments (12) ]

March 15, 2007
SXSW Departure
»

I'm off to the great city of Austin, TX to attend the SXSW Music Conference for the next few days. Don't expect too many updates around here until next week. In the meantime I put together a miniature mix of music of bands that I hope to catch while I'm down there. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to browse the extensive Show Listings quite as thoroughly as I would have liked so the mix is pretty light and nowhere near as representative of what all I plan to see. Regardless, it's my offering to you to make up for my time away. Have a great weekend.

» 65daysofstatic - We Drove Through Ghosts To Get Here

» Apes and Androids - Hot Kathy (Demo)

» Apostle of Hustle - National Anthem of Nowhere

» Division Day - Acres

» Kiss Kiss - Machines

» Menomena - Polo

» Ra Ra Riot - Each Year

» The Hylozoists - If Only Your Heart Was a Major Sixth

» The Octopus Project / BMSR - Tony Face

Download SXSW Mini Mix

11:14 AM » [ Comments (4) ]

Two Bizarre Videos
»

Crazy Japanese Show

Human Slinky

Do yourself a favor and let the first video load all the way and then scrub to the last 30 seconds or so. You'll get the concept pretty quick (pogo jump up on to a rising platform) but the consequences are ridiculous.

The Human Slinky is a weird sort of cruise ship style bit of entertainment but it's too odd not to watch.

Links via Chad.

11:08 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

March 14, 2007
Brand-A-Brew
»

So, back in January, Luke brewed up some of his own beer, sent out samples to various participants and only requested in return that they attempt to design a label / name / identity for the beer. A tall order (no pun intended) to some degree but there are some good results. Check out the Brand-A-Brew site and then email Luke your choice for favorite entry.

03:27 PM » [ Comments (0) ]

Tracy Morgan
»

Tracy Morgan - Live TV

If you watch 30 Rock at all you will know that this doesn't seem too out of character for Tracy Morgan / Tracy Jordan. The strange part is that he's supposedly out of character. Regardless, it's as entertaining as it is ridiculous.

Link via Big Screen, Little Screen.

10:39 AM » [ Comments (3) ]

Mac OS X Hints and Apps
» 11 Ways to Optimize Your Mac's Performance - a handy article for anyone running OS X in any variety.

Raging MenuMeters - a little app that Arlo turned me on to that, among other things, will monitor your incoming and outgoing packet traffic. It's unobtrusive, customizable, and fairly handy information to have.

10:28 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

PS3 : Home
»

The latest round of gaming devices to be released haven't done a whole lot for me. The PS3 and XBox offer far too many first person shooter style games for my personal taste and while the Wii is fun, it just doesn't have the staying power to rationalize any cost.

That being said, the Playstation service called PS3: Home looks pretty nuts. Large scale virtual 3D environments with real time interaction and loads of customization to both your character and your own private space. And, on top of all that, you can play amusing looking multi-player games like Little Big Planet with any of the various people you meet.

I still have no interest in owning a PS3 but I have to give respect to the technology involved. Basically they are taking everything that was said would happen with computers in the early 90's and actually making it happen through a video game console.

10:24 AM » [ Comments (2) ]

Humorous Videos You Should See
»

Superhawk

Gervais Standup - NSFWL

First off, Superhawk is incredible. I don't even want to describe why it is so good, you just need to watch it.

Secondly, the Gervais standup is just one of many but it's too difficult to pick a favorite so I suggest spending some time watching them all.

10:17 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

New 7 Wonders
»

What's going on here? On 7/7/2007 there will be an unveiling of The New 7 Wonders of the World and you can place your vote now for what you think is worthy? Shouldn't a "Wonder of the World" be timeless? Why would this be updated? Why is the Syndey Opera House nominated? That's not a World Wonder, that's called architecture. Granted, The Pyramids technically are 'just architecture' as well but it's actually bewildering to think of them being built - aka inspires Wonder.

If the Great Pyramids and the Statues of Easter Island don't make the cut it will be a sad day in World Wonderment.

10:05 AM » [ Comments (4) ]

True or False?
»

True or false: You knew the image to the left was actually a urinal?

Oddly enough, I've seen a lot of these images before but there are quite a few new oddities in there that I couldn't have ever possibly imagined existed before now. I think it's probably best to note that some of the images are NSFW - unless 'viewing bizarre urinal galleries' somehow falls under 'maximizing productivity.'

09:50 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Apak - Cute Art
»

The collaborative works of Apak lean pretty heavily on the side of all things cute but the Gocco printing process makes their aged look somewhat classic and even more endearing. You can view more of their works at their Official Site and I suggest you do - otherwise you'll miss out on goodness like this guy.

09:44 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Onion Headlines are the best
» Apple Unveils New Product-Unveiling Product

Apple Hard At Work Making iPhone Obsolete

Unreleased Jimmy Page Guitar Riff To Be Retrieved From Secret Vault To Save Rock And Roll

Dane Cook Parlays New Burger King Menu Item Into Hour-Long HBO Special

Saying how much you love The Onion is the best way to state the obvious. This picture of Al Gore with a flame thrower melting the ice caps to increase profits on his movie is particularly amusing.

09:30 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Dynamic Ajax Loader
»

This dynamic AJAX Loader Generator tool is probably the handiest thing I've seen come out of Web 2.0.

09:24 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Videogame Art - Delayed
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The time lapsed video game art of Rosemarie Fiore is oddly alluring - particularly those two shown above and the "Gyruss Bonus Round." Sometimes the most simple idea can be the most effective.

09:21 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

March 12, 2007
March 2007 Mix
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The new mix for March is up - download it here. I know people were clamoring for a Sax Mix Volume 2 of sorts but I really just wanted to put together a mix of enjoyable new music.. nothing too heavy handed in the thematic department. The new mix is a nice combo of feel good summer-y pop songs, straight forward rock, and some more ambient / weird tracks. Let me know what you think.

P.S. If that isn't enough new music to hold you over hit up the Music For Robots SXSW Archive for an immense amount of handpicked good bands to comb through. Intense!

01:05 PM » [ Comments (7) ]

Menomena - Wet and Rusting Video
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Menomena - Wet and Rusting (dir: Lance Bangs)

The first few minutes of the Menomena video for Wet and Rusting didn't do much for me but after repeated viewings I enjoy its lo-fi style and sense of fun. I don't think it tops the Cough Coughing video but how do you top a present giving trash monster? You don't. Link via Flux-Rad.

11:25 AM » [ Comments (2) ]

Death By Beard
» The 30 Strangest Deaths in History is quite an interesting, albeit morbid, read. Link via Chad.

11:10 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

You Work For Them Blog
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You Work For Them have got a blog going. Aside from a number of great posts already I suggest paying close attention to the list of contributors , as there are some serious gems in the author profiles.

10:34 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Weekend Roundup
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The Shins photo by: Rachel Briggs

This weekend was the perfect send up for my impending trip to Austin, TX and all things SXSW. Loads of great live music to start conditioning me for the weekend ahead. Here's a quick rundown:

Viva Voce - while an impressive live two piece they really just verified that I like hearing Viva Voce songs, not sets or albums.

The Shins - 100x better than their previous Nashville show. I could always wish for more off of Oh, Inverted World but they brought a solid show so I can't complain.

Black Moth Super Rainbow - granted, it was only an instore show at Grimeys but it was great - probably better live than recorded. I hope to see them again in Texas with The Octopus Project and actually have $10 with me so I can buy their new album.

The Spinto Band brought their typical high energy, crowd pleasing set but, unfortunately, were booked as the first band to play and the crowd just wasn't ready. It came off as spastic and too intense for the crowd at hand. Too bad.

The Whigs - maybe I need to hear some recordings but the live set was oh so typical mid-90's mediocre rock. At least that's the impression I got with my passive, uninterested, listening.

The Features played a set consisting of 80% new material but still managed to keep my attention. How this band does not have an incomprehensible amount of fans is beyond me. Anyone on the fence with The Features, please go buy The Beginning and promptly fall in love with it.

This week: The Faint followed by a lot of cool beer under the hot Texas sky.

10:21 AM » [ Comments (2) ]

March 09, 2007
Friday Videos - March 9th
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Nobody Bother Me

Patches: The Horse

Garfield IRL

Conan Physics

I really wanted to embed this video but just couldn't bring myself to do it... just too weird. Oh, and that Patches The Horse video is good for about 30 seconds. Once you get the premise, you can move on.

10:14 AM » [ Comments (2) ]

Acceptable.TV
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From what I can tell, the new VH1 program Acceptable TV is the same premise as Channel 101 - people submit videos, viewers watch them and then vote if they should remain for another week or not. It will be interesting to see what sort of videos get submitted that are actually able to air on national television given that a lot of humor on Channel 101 may not go over so well with the masses. Regardless, watch the videos on the site.. quite entertaining.

09:49 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Best Doormat
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I'm going to go go ahead and say that this doormat is pretty much the most brilliant thing I've seen this year. Via Ryan.

09:41 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

VIXY - Online Video Convertor
» Forget TubeSock if you want to save online videos to your computer / iPod - you should be checking out VIXY, the free online video converter. Just pop in a URL to a video (including YouTube) and it will automatically convert it to the format of your choice and present it for download.

09:36 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Scribd
» Scribd is apparently a new web 2.0 style application to allow a user to share their documents online - apparently taking advantage of Flash PDF viewing, a technology that you really don't see a whole lot of.

09:33 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Al Gore - Hypocrite?
» Al Gore's Energy Usage Exceeds U.S. Average - Now that An Inconvienent Truth is an Oscar-winning documentary there is quite a bit of heat coming down on ole Al Gore about his own personal energy usage exceeding the average. The first portion of this article claims to have records from Nashville Electric Service (which they deny) that Al Gore exceeds the average home energy usage.. which is likely true. Living in Belle Meade I am sure he has far from the 'average' house. It's true that he could live a bit more modestly considering the ideals that he's trying to promote but he is using all 'green energy' (a fact buried on page 2) so his carbon footprint is probably smaller than the typical 'average' home. Regardless, it all seems like a bunch of rhetoric to try and bring the man down when he's actually promoting a great cause (argue all you want about global warming but taking care of your planet via emission standards and other such ideas is a good thing).

09:31 AM » [ Comments (3) ]

FFMPEG on Dreamhost
» FFMpeg on Dreamhost - if you ever wanted to make your own version of YouTube on your Dreamhost hosted account it turns out you actually can with the right hosting account (ssh access). Good to know.

09:27 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

March 08, 2007
Where's the yewknee at?
» Sorry for the lack of posts today guys. I'm mired neck deep in two projects that are taking away any and all fun browsing time. Sorry bout that.

On the flip side I am learning alot about ffmpeg video encoder, using the exec command as the Apache user, and much more! It's actually a lot less fun than it sounds like as I am coming from a fairly ignorant starting point.

12:18 PM » [ Comments (3) ]

March 07, 2007
Dobi Photography
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Rob Dobi has a serious knack for the photography of abandoned buildings. I've admired his work for a long time and after having looked at this school, he came upon some art collages from elementary school students depicting 9/11. Why was this even an assignment? Very bizarre and even more creepy to be found in an abandoned building.

12:36 PM » [ Comments (3) ]

KAWS bank
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Another KAWS release come and go in under 24 hours.

12:25 PM » [ Comments (1) ]

Happy Birthday Tiny Showcase
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Happy birthday to Tiny Showcase for their two years of regularly released affordable art pieces from a wide variety of artists. It's good to see that a solid idea can succeed in such a way. Now I'm just waiting for them to launch a sister site called Massive Showcase where they sell giant prints for small prices.

12:14 PM » [ Comments (0) ]

HARRY (art)
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The Sandwich Islands

Local artist Harry is having a sale. Go browse his works, figure out which one you like the most and quickly purchase it. Be sure to browse his new works as well, you don't want to miss out on those gems.

11:59 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

VIRB
» Looks like VIRB is now open to the public (at least in some capacity). As much as I personally feel like the social network craze is dying down I have to admit that I wouldn't be disappointed if everyone just immediately stopped using MySpace and started using VIRB. The functionality really isn't any different but the design is so much cleaner and easier on the eyes. We'll see if it stays that way if they get an enormous user base and advertisers are asking them to insert 400x500 banner ads but for now, it's a nice alternative if you're hooked on social networking. And congrats to Jeremy Cowart for being featured on the main page.

11:36 AM » [ Comments (2) ]

Red Interactive
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Despite some of the content sections being filler Latin text I have to say that the site for the Red Interactive Agency is one of the more engaging sites I've seen in a long time. I recommend everyone visit it and play around with the characters / explore the landscape just for a little bit.. However, I must recommend that everyone do it at roughly the same time as the site is 100x more fun with multiple users browsing at once.

10:15 AM » [ Comments (5) ]

March 06, 2007
Tuesday Vids
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Help The Police!

Clark - Ted

A bit of a warning on that Clark video, if you're not a fan of insects - don't watch it. Links via Chad.

12:30 PM » [ Comments (1) ]

Some Tuesday Music
» Here's some music for your Tuesday:

» Apostle of Hustle - My Sword Hands Anger (Circle Research)

» Chromeo - Fancy Footwork

12:24 PM » [ Comments (0) ]

Little Radio
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Yesterday the full site for Little Radio launched and it is a doozy. Loads and loads of music news, record reviews, videos, and free downloads. Granted, it's only been up for a day (or less) but it is an impressive amount of information without being too overwhelming so far. I particularly enjoy having a place to see videos like the Tokyo Police Club. Oh, and anywhere that covers Autolux news is alright by me.

11:42 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

1-Click Award
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One Click Award - So bad it's awesome.

11:08 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

The Books
» True or False: It would be worth driving 3 hours (6 total) to see The Books perform in Knoxville. Keep in mind there is no closer-to-Nashville alternative date and they aren't booked at SXSW.

11:03 AM » [ Comments (4) ]

Taking Souls
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Artist extraordinaire Jeremy Davis has put up a quick photo series entitled Taking Souls. Hopefully this will become a regularly updated series for him.

11:01 AM » [ Comments (2) ]

Samurai Vader
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Samurai Vader is hilarious. Now that the Star Wars franchise is basically "done" I like that they have to keep churning out new and fantastic crap to keep the cash flowing in.

10:57 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

MEAT
» They're Made Out Of Meat - very quick, very amusing, short story by Terry Bisson. I realize people aren't so much into reading anything anymore but please take the time to enjoy this one.. it is worth it. But if you can't find it within yourself to read for less than 5 minutes straight, you can watch the video version - though it is inferior.

10:50 AM » [ Comments (3) ]

March 05, 2007
Monday Videos
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The Illusionators

Monkey taunts Tiger Cubs

12:07 PM » [ Comments (5) ]

Internet Radio is Dying
» US Copyright Board screws Internet Radio - basically the US Copyright Royalty Board announced new royalty rates for online radio that increases the per song / per user fee in such a way that in order to support themselves online radio will likely have to have more advertising than traditional radio. The fight isn't over yet but I continue to be amazed by decisions being made about technology by people that you know don't understand it.

11:30 AM » [ Comments (6) ]

Wordpress Admin Skin
» WordPress Tiger Administration - if you are a Wordpress user I suggest you give some serious consideration to installing this add-on skin for the WP admin. The look takes things to a whole new level in my opinion.

11:00 AM » [ Comments (7) ]

ABC: Geico Cavemen
» Geico's Cavemen Getting a Comedy Series - I think that headline speaks for itself.

10:56 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Vinyl Toys
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Release The Freaks is an easy to use, no nonsense, store for acquiring a nice variety of vinyl toys from a wide variety of vendors.. including this little guy.

Custom Toy Lab has been in my daily visits for a week or so now and I am continually astonished at the creations that people manage to make. This guy is amazing and just the tip of the iceberg in terms of content for the site.

10:54 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Ultrasonic Frequencies
» Ultrasonic Ringtones - as you know there are adult-proof ringtones (originally designed to annoy kids, whoops) that emit a frequency that most adult ears can no longer hear. This page lets you test just how much you can actually hear. I cap out around the 16.7kHz tone but Madrid was able to hear up to 19.9kHz. I snagged the link from Myk who was somehow able to hear almost the entire range. What can you hear?

10:40 AM » [ Comments (12) ]

March 02, 2007
Friday Videos - March 2nd
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Skateboard Slalom

Pintate la guata

SW Gangsta Rap

Video Notes:
Skateboard Slalom - that guys hair combined with that wobble is humor perfection.

Pintate La Guate - a little long but some crazy creations in there.

Star Wars Gangsta Rap - yes I realize this is rather old but it's oh so stupid / nerdy entertaining. Link via Jeremy.

11:16 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Rockett Clothing
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Loads of great designs at Rockett Clothing - I mean who can deny the "One-Eyed Panther Danger Diamond Leap"? No one I know. Link via Travis.

10:59 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Design Inspiration
» Playground Blues - great design, informative and entertaining links. The little floating pixel blocks are fun to explore as well.

Johnson Banks Thought For The Wek - lots of inspiring graphic design done in a variety of styles.

10:53 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

PROCESS shirt
» Oh yea, that Cops On Bikes video also features lots of clothing by Epidemik Coalition - specifically their PROCESS tee... an item pointed out to me by both Blankenship and Mason.. so you know it's good.

10:49 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Cops On Bikes
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In all honesty, I can't tell if I think Cops On Bikes is annoying or charmingly infectious. Fortunately, even if you don't find any fun in the song (which will be difficult) the site is rather well designed and features illustrations by Stefan Kjartansson (who, by the way, has put together the worlds most ridiculous bearded concept I've seen in some time.. amazing).

10:44 AM » [ Comments (3) ]

Anagrams
» Anagrams for yewknee.com - EMCEE WONKY

10:28 AM » [ Comments (3) ]

Sundance Action Poetry
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The series of animations for the Sundance Action Poetry series have a great vibe to them... particularly the "Forgetfulness" piece.

10:26 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Basecamp Dashboard
» Basecamp Widget - you can quickly keep up with tasks in Basecamp with this widget in your dashboard. Why there isn't an option for "view all To-Do's assigned to me" is baffling but it's a nice add-on regardless. If you have no idea what Basecamp is, disregard this post.

10:20 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

March 01, 2007
Sleeptalker
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Sleeptalker

It is unfortunate that local band Sleeptalker don't get more press than they do. The band is often overshadowed by previous endeavours from all of its various members and that's a shame because the music they create certainly can stand on its own. They've just released their first EP Simplify Simplify and are only charging $5 for it.. quite low considering the turmoil they went through to get it all recorded.

I'd like to use words like 'haunting', 'lush' or 'intense' to help describe the music but I think that falls short of what to really expect. Download it and be sure to listen to the song in its entirety.. judging it on the first 30 seconds is unacceptable.

» Sleeptalker - Many Bells Down

12:06 PM » [ Comments (1) ]

Jeremy Davis - It's March Mix
» New mix up from Jeremy Davis featuring his typical range of indie, hip-hop, rock, brit pop, and other various enjoyable tunes.

» Jeremy Davis Mix - It's March (left-click)

11:56 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

The Mummy 3
» The Mummy 3 to Shoot in Montreal - I think my quandry about the best trilogy of all time just got answered...

11:42 AM » [ Comments (3) ]

Michael Showalter interviews Michael Ian Black
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Michael Showalter Showalter

Vaguely NSFW language. Use headphones if you must.

11:40 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Joost Trial
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Last night my beta application for Joost ~~was accepted~~ (Paul hooked me up actually) and I was able to download the application and see what this new streaming TV sensation was really all about. On the whole, I think the concept is great. Much like Comcasts On Demand service (which typically blows) it allows the user to watch whatever show they want, when they want.

But overall I've been underwhelmed by the Joost experience mainly due to the fact that, much like real TV, there is simply nothing to watch. The World Strongman Competition is amusing and all but not something I want to actively watch. So that's a gigantic hurdle to overcome - giving users something worthwhile to watch that keeps them in front of the screen.

I treated the experience as if I were considering an alternative to television watching. Could I flip easily through channels? How was the picture quality? How is the menu interaction? And in the end, I'm not sure it can really honestly compete with television. Having any load time is a detriment to the mindless viewe, the picture quality was far less than stellar, and the controls were somewhat confusing and poorly labeled.

Do I think it's destined to bomb? Nope.. I think it could have a rather bright future actually but having the right content is absolutely key (which their recent team up with Viacom should help).

11:13 AM » [ Comments (5) ]

Skylab Return
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It appears that Mason has reskinned his site and started posting various links again. His content runs a nice wide gamut of tech news, artistic endeavours, graphic design, coding insight and various other tid bits. Bookmark it.

10:56 AM » [ Comments (2) ]

MiniAjax.com
» MiniAjax.com - a rather nice repository of Ajax plugins, premade scripts, and various application enhancers for those of you interested in sprucing things up a little Web 2.0 style.

10:50 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Buying Popularity
» MySpace Account with Over 100,000 Friends Sells for $2,125

I Bought Votes on Digg

Two interesting articles about the power of the almighty dollar on two of the most popular social sites on the web.

10:48 AM » [ Comments (0) ]