I have previously mentioned my enjoyment of the works of A Large Evil Corporation but I'd be remiss if I didn't point out some of their more recent creations - specifically these Vinyl Toy Designs. Lots of great film and TV characters represented so it's hard to pick a favorite. It's certainly good to see the many permutations of Bill Murray, some secondary IT Crowd folk and that each piece is clearly coming from a place of total fandom. The Evil Corp style means there's some awkward stances and offputting eyeballs but it works, real well.

If you have not tuned in to the Rob Delaney / Sharon Horgan BBC comedy, Catastrophe, I would not be surprised as it's not something that's likely to have come across your radar too frequently. Fortunately, Amazon has snatched up the rights to it and now you can watch it instantly through the power of Video On Demand. It's a phenomenal series. it's got all the basic elements of a Rom Com (cute meet, unexpected turn of events) but then throws them all out the window by showing the two deal with the situation realistically, albeit lovingly. I'm not giving anything away but it's a refreshing take on how relationships are portrayed and they're both hilarious. Do watch.

Luh you dad ? https://t.co/ClhyW1L5Rx

How's Federline doing

At breakfast in San Antonio with my folks and my dad just called raisin toast bourgeois.

We're all to blame for PIXELS

The days just fly by, huh? Or maybe I'm having a short work week followed by another short work week and I'm just feeling the crunch time a little more intensely. Who can say. Enjoy these distractions:

• Collective Soul Cat - I don't care how many times I see this, I will love it.
• American Wrestlers - I Can Do No Wrong - solid, enjoyable, song but a superb video. Very simple idea and incredibly pleasing outcome.
• Dan Deacon "When I Was Done Dying" - don't think of this as a music video, think of it as a intense animation that takes you through the afterlife.
• Turbo Kid Official Trailer - I've mentioned this project before but this is the full trailer. I can't believe this will be a feature length film.
• MarI/O - kind of a nerdy one but I was fascinated watching this neural network learn how to play Super Mario World.
• The Pearl of the Costa Grande - sometimes you see a skit on Vimeo and remember that it really can be the home of cinema level visuals and real funnies.
• Why fewer computer graphics make for better movies - Uhhhhhhh, doi.
• Nashville Timelapse - hey, I'm in Nashville today! Here's a timelapse!

Have a great weekend. If you need more distraction how about reading up on Matilda, the cat with a rare eye disease that makes it look like a 100% alien? It will haunt your dreams, you've been warned.

More? I suggest spending the rest of your afternoon refreshing the Snack Database for new, fun, random Snack Facts.

This Google Research blog post is a remarkable look at the work they been doing in training Artificial Neural Networks to recognize images (aka Google Images). That feat in and of itself is rather stunning but this article goes on to explain some of the mishaps and complexities of how a network can see things that aren't there. It's not unlike how we mistake clouds for particular shapes, except with a computer envisioning those things you actually get to see inside what it's seeing. It's basically the equivalent of visualized imagination.

If you're not into reading, just check out this gallery and marvel at the Acid Trip style creations the networks make when asked to describe an image multiple times.

via Chad

The weekend awaits! Hopefully you find some time to unwind and settle down with some longer articles to ponder. Here are some recommendations for such a task:

• How Contraception Transformed the American Family - you may not realize it but the Griswold Supreme Court decision fifty years ago created a remarkable change for a lot of things but it's not one of the Most Remembered decisions.
• 4 Columbia House Insiders explain the shady math behind "8 CDs for a penny" - a surprisingly long and surprisingly compelling read between four deep insiders from the heyday of Columbia House. Sounds like it was equal parts incredibly fun and incredibly shady for the artists.
• Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral captured an aggressive zeitgeist - I don't think I could ever read too much inside info on the making of said album.
• Iowa's Influence - slightly educational piece on why Iowa gets the spotlight that it does when it comes to Presidential Elections.

@yewknee http://t.co/Y6Nsq1FPtk

I can't stop thinking about these Jim Darling paintings depicting the view through an airplane window. The concept, the textures, the color choices - all perfect aligned to create a compelling, unforgettable series of images. I caught them the other week via Austin and I just keep thinking about them.

Buttons and lapel pins are really having a renaissance as of late. One of the finer projects I've seen circling this revival is Inch X Inch - a monthly button club (or badge if you're from across the pond) that nets you three new buttons a month and the good feeling that all the proceeds are going to educational youth art programs. You can learn more about the program in this video but I think you get the gist. Just dive in to their Instagram and take a peek at the goods.

I'm loving the illustration work of Daniel Zender. His portfolio is expansive and has a great deal of dark creatures, perfect textures and odd scenarios. Strangely, I'm really loving the offerings in his shop - the Wavy Skull and Wavy Cat pin just appeal to me.

Ran into some comic work from Travis Millard thanks to the latest issue of Smoke Signal and I'm blown away by his portfolio. The style is humorous and finds just that right balance of simple and textured with details. It's a punk aesthetic but it's also Saturday Morning Cartoons.

He's a Master of Pancakes, contributed work to the likes of Inherent Vice and Dinosaur Jr and has his own Youtube series interviewing other great artists and drawing out stories.

How I have not familiarized myself with his work prior to now is beyond me but better late than never.

I have yet to see Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter but thanks to the Octopus Project supplying the wonderful soudntrack, I've now heard it a number of times. I don't always do this but sometimes it's great to get heavily familiar with a soundtrack before seeing the film, as it lends an odd air of familiarity to the actual viewing. Looks like that's exactly what I'm doing for this one.

Warning! There's a man biking around Brooklyn w a child's seat & an e-cigarette. I repeat: Vaping Biker Dad is on the loose.

Really enjoyed this piece from Sarah Ullman on Diving the Future of Television - a reconciliation of Youtube versus Traditional TV. The breakdown under "The True Answer" subsection is a rather eloquent way of describing the two beasts. I'll include the full two paragraphs here for posterity:

Television is a troubadour with two faces, each adorned with a drama mask: one happy (the half-hour comedy) and one sad (the hour-long drama). We invite Television into our homes to tell tales of Khaleesi, cartoon-yellow families from Springfield, and Festivus. On these nights, we recline, flip channels, and enjoy, soothed by the well-worn rhythms of the story. Now happy, now sad, now happy.

YouTube is an algorithmic search oracle: seek and ye shall find. Visit YouTube, and the cursor blinks in an empty search YouTubebar, waiting to answer your question. The YouTube oracle is a hydra with infinite faces as diverse as the infinite varieties of human emotion: happy and sad, yes, but also vlogs, haul videos, ASMR, unboxings, and no-scope kill montages.

It's a bit humbling to think that my generation was the last to have the limited television options and overly structured storytelling because of required commercial breaks. But the article makes a great point that both entities need each other to evolve and change. That can't be a bad thing (can it?).

via KK

Thanks to this Retronator artist feature on Octavi Navarro, the pixel painter behind Pixels Huh. His work pays the regular homage's to point-and-click adventures and games of the 80's but he also takes it further and depicts Retrofuturism, Sci-Fi Nomadic Tribes and even fascinating architecture. It's also frequently paired with sketchbook insight and creation timelapses so you really get to see the whole process.

Friendly heads up, Chad made a great new VHX Neon Jungle desktop for all to enjoy. That rad background is a piece remixed from Louise Jones. Excellent work all around.

Aside from it's, somewhat, unfortunate name Peep Nashville is an impressive blend of isometric Google Map and Instagram geotag. You scan through the city and find all kinds of interesting, weird and amusing posts that you never would have discovered otherwise. It's actually a bit addictive to browse - particularly when visiting places you know and seeing people you know featured in various pics.

Right now it's restricted to the greater Nashville area but I can't imagine this not being a fascinating implementation for any city. Fingers crossed the developers at Red Pepper see that potential.