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Friday Videos - July 3rd, 2009

Short and sweet this week folks as I have things to do before enjoying this Independence Day weekend. Enjoy the playlist..

• Mind Maze - part of a Nike marketing campaign called Get Your Basketball On the features Charlie Murphy being pretty much entirely ridiculous. Be sure to watch the rest when you have a moment.
• Dog Bites Man - skip to 1:25 for the goods.
• A vs B - fast food marketing has really started to scrap the bottom of the barrel lately don't ya think?
• Transformers 2: Exclusive Clip - so good, so accurate.
• Turbo Heather - the absurdity of this is perfectly appealing.
• Betty Boop MD - while you may be familiar with the character, you may not have ever actually watched a Betty Boop cartoon. Do yourself a favor and witness the craziness contained within. The end joke is terrifying.

Enjoy your weekend!

The Box

So the trailer for Richard Kelly's (Donnie Darko, Southland Tales) next movie The Box is online and I gotta say it looks like one helluva Made for TV movie. Sadly, it's an actual theatrical release. I'm guessing this won't be my last post on the works of Richard Kelly but my interest level has now officially dropped to zero in terms of caring what he's up to.

Via Davis.

Daniel Shea

Been exploring the photographic works of Daniel Shea this morning and really enjoying what I'm finding. The "Removing Mountains" series is particularly interesting (make sure you dive in far enough to see the Manufacturing Plant image), as is the "Landscape Histories." Overall you'd be hard pressed not to find something appealing in one of the sets, so dive in.

Schutmaat Speaks

It is no secret that I'm a big fan of Bryan Schutmaat. However, I've never heard his own insight regarding his work until I read through this interview. It's always interesting to hear what people cite as their influences - particularly in this case as it extends well beyond what you might expect. Certainly worth a read but if you don't fancy yourself a "reader" at least check the interview to see a nice sampling of his work.

Via Jeremy.

Micmacs A Tire-Larigot

A new teaser trailer for Jean-Pierre Jeunet's next film Micmacs A Tire-Larigot has made its way online and it looks to be in the same style of his pre-Amélie work - much darker but still oddly whimsical. Looking forward to it...

Via Os.

10000 Dollar Party

This whole 10000 Dollar Party thing seems extremely weird for a number of reasons but namely that it's supposedly being put on by JanSport. Secondly, it seems like if you're going to sink 10k into a marketing / promotional event that you might be better of not spending it on documenting a night of debauchery? Maybe it's not even real but it's curious to say the least.

Leandro Castelao

Tiny Showcase has exposed me to a good number of artists through the years. Such is the case with Leandro Castelao - an Argentinian illustrator, fontmaker and overall art creator. I love the aesthetic of his work - playful but with a nice dose of scientific flow chart to it - and am quite shocked that the TS print isn't completely sold out already.

CPB Group

The website for the CP&B ad agency isn't bad but it isn't exactly compelling either (probably intentionally so given that they're working with the likes of corporate mega entities like Microsoft, Burger King, Volkswagen, etc). However, they've just launched a Beta Version of their site that shows a great deal of innovation - showing off how their work is making its way through the world.

Fancy Fast Food

The above plate of food is comprised entirely of a Taco Bell Burrito Supreme and some ingenuity when it comes to presentation. Many such other meals can be found at Fancy Fast Food - a new blog focusing on taking everyday fast food meals and sprucing up their presentation. The tagline sort of says it all "Yeah, it's still bad for you &emdash; but see how good it can look!" Quite frankly, it can look very good.

Via M. Perpetua.

Where Was My Mind?

Flux-Rad has released a four part mix entitled Where Was My Mind?. It's a personal project meant to document the music that formed her musical palette during her formative years in the 90's. This particular mix focuses on the harder stuff - loud, gritty, rawk music.

As I said, it's a lot a music. A lot to consume but I'm betting there are some tracks in there that fit right into your taste that you managed to miss as a youth.

Rip T Fusion

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't a Torso-Enhancing Undershirt just one small step away from a manzier?

I wonder what percentage of the Internet is basically just an infomercial for products that would otherwise never see the light of day?

Via Justin.

Raaaaaandy!

The website for Raaaaandy is a marketing tie-in to the forthcoming Judd Apatow Funny People movie and, if you didn't catch on from the domain name, it's a bit on the vulgar side. It's hysterical but I wouldn't recommend browsing it around your grandmother. Watch the stand-up videos in their entirety, it will make your day better. Aziz Ansari's delivery, even as Randy, gets me every time.

Via C. Mikesell.

Don't Even Reply

For all that the Internet has to offer - breaking news, amusing animals, scientific research, artistic portfolios, etc. - there is still absolutely nothing better than the simple concept of one individual messing with another via email. Don't Even Reply is such an archive of works. I think I've read everything on it at this point and can safely say it's in the upper echelon of amusing absurdities. The language isn't work / kid safe but it wouldn't be nearly as good if it was.

Seriously, read them all.

KMS Audio

My pal Kevin recently launched his new portfolio over at KMS Audio. His work consists of sound design, audio engineering (check those Live Mix entries) and original music creations. Making Do Make Say Think sound that good when recorded in a field is a body of work worth bragging about in and of itself.

Photographic Journey

The photographic journal of CKCK is a nice little slice of Americana. I suggest taking a good ten minutes to really browse through the archives and unearth both the absurd and the oddly compelling images that have been captured.

Via Jez.

Conspiracy

Quality reading for the healthy conspiracy theorist:

• NASA finds missing moon landing tapes - I've no idea how reputable Daily Express is as a news source but the article says that the rediscovered tape will provide much crisper imagery than the previous footage we've become accustomed to seeing. Will it squash conspiracy theorist who say we've never been to the Moon? No way.
• Scientology: The Truth Rundown - insanely long article regarding David Miscavige, the current leader of Scientology, and his supposed penchant for physically and verbally berating his staff and constituents. Maybe not so much a conspiracy theory but Scientology and secrecy go hand in hand.

Ode to the Indie

This Ode to the Indie [Cliché'] is a bit on the cheesy side but, sadly, entirely accurate. Though, in indie movies defense, this little diddy really only seems to cover about 10 movies (tops) to establish the cliché's.

via Big Screen, Little Screen.

Comedy Fetish

Last night we launched a new site for HBO called Comedy Fetish. Basically it's a breakdown of a bunch of recent comedy shows from HBO into different comedy "fetishes" - as a vehicle to get you familiar with the shows, the humor and possibly to get you to buy the DVD's.

As with any just launched site there are bound to be some undiscovered bugs and fixes coming down the pipe pretty extensively this week but I think it's fairly solid as is. I also am a huge fan of HBO Comedy shows so it was nice to work with some material that was actually appealing to me.

If you aren't familiar with them yet, please dive into the clips from the following: Eastbound & Down, Summer Heights High and Ricky Gervais: Out of England.

Netflix development

According to this WIRED article it seems that the top two teams competing in the Netflix Prize have broken the 10% improvement mark and are now in the process of 1) waiting to see if anyone can top them and 2) having their results proven as a 10% increase in results. I'm curious to see if they get usurped but I'm more curious to see if there is a noticeable difference in the Netflix site if the algorithm gets implemented.

The Invention of Lying

The trailer for The Invention of Lying is making the rounds. The setup is pretty simple - no one in the world portrayed in the movie tells lies; it's just not an option.. until one day when Ricky Gervais figures it out and starts to get his way. Pretty ridiculous but seems like it could create some quality scenarios. The cast is top notch and I can't imagine not laughing at the Gervais style of delivery.. it's always enjoyable.

Child Trader

Child Trader Child Exchange Network isn’t about not loving your children. Its about finding a family that can love them more.

Spend some time on this site and enjoy all the details that make it such a perfectly executed gag. The kid descriptions are the best but just about every page has some gems worth reading.

Olivejuuuuice

While there isn't a whole lot there yet I'd say that Olivejuuuuice looks to be a promising photo blog of random captures. Even if it was just all old vintage van images I'd be content.