A billion dollar gift for Twitter

posted December 30, 2016 #

I won't lie, I love reading advice to Twitter.

Surreal Snow Globes

posted December 29, 2016 #

Excellent piece from The Big Story on artists Walter Martin and Paloma Munoz. Specifically, their surrealist snow globes. They are enjoyable, sometimes absurd, miniature scenes encased in a sphere. What's not to like?

Dive into more of their work here.

posted December 28, 2016 #

Update: I have not tired of watching this: https://t.co/0TbztNZMsT

Carrie Fisher Hilariously Roasts George Lucas at the AFI

posted December 28, 2016 #

gold

The Protomen Light Up the Night

posted December 28, 2016 #

They've been working on it for years (literally) but the Protomen have finally released their first official music video. Light Up the Night is from the 2009 album Act II: Father of Death but hasn't lost a bit of luster since it's original release. Truth be told, the undertaking is more of a short film than a music video - clocking in at 16 minutes - but I'd expect nothing less from them; they always go big.

As it should be, the video is a gritty, 80's inspired, dystopian future akin to The Warriors (minus the cheese), Mad Max or Blade Runner. Those are lofty touch points but it's clear they've always been heavily inspired by those films, it's just easier to see now.

Major congratulations to the band and directors Matt Sundin and Caspar Newbolt.

The Uplifting Future

posted December 28, 2016 #

VOX recently published this excellent interview with cognitive scientist Steven Pinker. Despite all the bad things that happened in 2016, there is a statistically light behind it all - namely that we are getting less violent and more accepting in general (holistically mind you) - and Pinker has the data to back it up. It's hard to see the big picture when you're mired in the details but this was an excellent reminder that all the vitriol and nastiness we see is just the overtly vocal. Overall, we're moving in the right direction.

Please read through to the end where Pinker gets into the difference between complacent optimism and conditional optimism. It's good to remember to shift ourselves into the later category, as it incites the proper kind of action.

Misc Reads, Dec 2016

posted December 28, 2016 #

As the year winds down, I find myself with more free time to sit around and actually enjoy reading. It's not just for information consumption! So, here's some fascinating reads that deserve some of your brain cycles.

How 'Rogue One' Brought Back Familiar Faces - if you haven't seen the latest Star Wars, skip this, but otherwise, it's a fascinating read about the technology that was used for specific characters and the morality behind it. Particularly poignant this week.
Why Time Management is Ruining Our Lives - Inbox Zero is cited as the first culprit in this movement but there's plenty more guilty parties. I absolutely, 100%, fall for the horrible trick of working harder for no discernible reason. Please read this, even if it's just to mine for quotes like this: "Work expands to fill the time available for its completion" - C Northcote Parkinson.
2016: The Year the Internet Became Real - a thoughtful piece from Leigh Alexander about the scarier side of what's happening online. It's clear that there are dividing factions online - largely the cruel vs the upset - but there's got to be a way to leverage the Internet for peaceful contemplation. How else will we get here?
World War Three, By Mistake - slightly scary piece about the fallibility of nuclear arms. The upside, we're still here.

posted December 27, 2016 #

thx to princess leia for teaching me that even if you're chained to a disgusting monster you can use what once held you back to escape

posted December 27, 2016 #

Everyone is sharing pictures of Fisher when she was young, but let me show you the Leia that was the most important… https://t.co/2J4OdTBP72

posted December 27, 2016 #

"...and that's how we met." https://t.co/vMAeBPM2AI

posted December 27, 2016 #

https://t.co/iOVsBxWUv5

posted December 27, 2016 #

BEST OF 2016 Soundtrack Special, tonight 9-11p CST on https://t.co/Bbo0Hwin0R or 101.5fm in Nashville. https://t.co/xH4JvD04Z2

posted December 27, 2016 #

New & Notable: A psychedelic opus about the allure of darkness and light from @moonduo. @SacredBones https://t.co/ZgqnDLf5pj

posted December 27, 2016 #

will this year never fucking end.

Film School Rejects Top Films of 2016

posted December 27, 2016 #

Curious about a lot of these. Not sure how I missed so many.

posted December 27, 2016 #

Imagine a replacement for Bluetooth in 2017.

posted December 27, 2016 #

I like this tweet. https://t.co/41ZQd8F8He

Director Alfonso Cuaron revisits Children of Men

posted December 27, 2016 #

Unfortunately prescient

posted December 25, 2016 #

My new name in 2017 https://t.co/4WNs6ZTPtK

posted December 25, 2016 #

Merry Christmas friends! and a very warm welcome to the machine learning algorithms https://t.co/GqZjK9qjXA