Regardless of interest in the new movie Maleficent, you can appreciate this Evil is the New Black promo site. The design is top notch, the animations are bonkers and the video transitions are compelling. Oddly, once you click deep enough in the site seems to be promoting jewelry and various fashionable items - not so much the movie itself. Cross promotion at its finest or just simply knowing your audience?

another great album from Sweet Valley. LOVE the cover art.

I love the style and massive amount of work from Brecht Vandenbroucke. Some of it is jokey, some of it is crazy but it's all fascinating. If you prefer, you can see most of the work in a more linear format over on his blog.

via 2087.

I was, rightfully, skeptical of the potential humor behind Hipster Ipsum - a Lorem Ipsum generator that makes "Artisanal filler text for your site or project" but I'll be damned if it's not just the right combination of absurd words. An example:

Shabby chic Wes Anderson put a bird on it before they sold out chambray literally. Asymmetrical American Apparel narwhal wayfarers, seitan organic readymade artisan. Pork belly art party McSweeney's, fanny pack dreamcatcher Intelligentsia authentic jean shorts Bushwick occupy Thundercats chia.

Major tip of the hat to Mr. Lake for the heads up.

Merrick Morton recently worked on restoring a repository of one million crime scene photos that were sitting, lost, in a forgotten archive of the LAPD. The images are, obviously, occasionally gruesome but the nature of them feels like True Noir. I would love to see a whole lot more but I'll take what I can get.

via Miss Black Cat Belle.

https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000077444954-w7kt6z-large.jpg?e76cf77

still getting my feet wet here but i'm liking what I'm hearing

Fun fact, I have known guitarist Bryan Bruchman for over ten years thanks to shared Internet interests (namely, the band Self). I'm overjoyed to be working with his band, Mount Sharp to release their EP, Weird Fears.

Later this summer, yk records will put out the six song extravaganza. It's an excellent mix of pop song, upbeat rock energy and some noisey guitar. The record itself will have the music on the A side and a custom etching on the B side, thanks to artist Kris Johnsen.

We'll be releasing the first track, some videos and more in the coming months. First things first, watch their episode of Break Thru Radio where they talk about the record and perform "Crazy Eyes" right at the end.

I have spoken about Robin Davey before but it bears repeating - he is doing great work. Check these Treehouse illustrations he recently did for b.spirit magazine. Absolutely lovely.

https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000077866055-a6c73i-large.jpg?e76cf77

Happy to announce that Brooklyn's own Mount Sharp will be releasing their EP Weird Fears through my yk records project. The Deli Magazine put their song "Skin" on the "Best Guitar Rock Songs by Emerging NYC Artists playlist... which is oddly specific but it's still impressively complimentary!

Album details and proper streaming previews coming soon but the seeds are planted. Meet this band - you know, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. You will be hearing plenty more about them.

Loving this George and Jonathan album preview for their new record, III. It's like a 8-Bit 3D Pro Tools in Space fused with Tron Light Cycles. No, seriously, that is a surprisingly accurate description of what is happening.

via Chad.

This articles on Layouts in Flipboard is a fascinating mixture of technical implementations and design how-to. Basically, Flipboard was powered by their internal Flipboard Pages engine and they completely overhauled it into a new, smarter, far more dynamic system called Duplo. The approach is pretty brilliant and creates over 2000 layouts based on the materials presented (images, amount of text, etc). This is a designer nerd dream. Enjoy.

This article on Scoutt Routley is a bit unsettling but it's a bit of science that everyone should be aware of. The basic gist? Routley has been in a vegetative state for 12 years, unresponsive in every way - he's able to breath on his own but has no basic reflexes, makes no noise and doesn't respond with his eyes. Nueroscientist Adrian Owen worked up a system where, if possible, Routley could answer yes or no to certain questions by thinking of different scenarios that would highlight different portions of his brain. Routley was able to respond and able to let the team know he is aware of his surroundings, just not able to respond. Fortunately, Routley was able to tell doctors that he is not in any pain - a small condolence for being trapped inside yourself for over a decade.

It's hard to know where to go from here with this new information. It's both unsettling and hopeful to know that someone in a vegetative state is actually somewhat aware. It's obvious a terrible fate but maybe this is the first step towards improving the situation for everyone in such a situation.

There is no shortage of postulating about the movie industry these days - especially in the context of Movies vs TV. This Paul Cantor piece - Hollywood has a Major Problem: Why television is killing the movie business is a particularly interesting one. It's well written, thoughtful and brings up some interesting ideas.

However, there are parts of it that I completely disagree with - particularly the notion that media finds success through social media conversation. TV is not winning out because you can tweet about it while you watch it, TV is winning out because they are hiring writers that understand character and plot developments over long periods of time. Movies are not in a place to take bets on new ideas; franchises are the #1 bet. I don't fault them for that from a monetary perspective but it's obvious that it's not a formula that helps this argument.

There is a kernel in there that I think is particularly worth taking note of:

There may be a day, soon enough, when the majority of films are released on-demand and in theaters simultaneously. And the messaging around their releases will be about making sure we watch on-demand, rather than buy tickets.

Granted, the success of a same day release does require some promotion and word of mouth endorsement but it's not about the real time conversation that takes place while watching it. It's about availability. I don't think anyone can disagree with that.

If you're a Star Trek: TNG fan, you will enjoy the doldrums of Chief O'Brien at Work. Poor guy doesn't even get a seat but he's the main point person for transporting to and from the ship!

If you're not a Star Trek fan, this will likely not be the least bit amusing. Sorry bout that!

I've been following the phenomena of the Toynbee Tiles for some time. There's a solid NPR article on it and a really fascinating documentary called Resurrect Dead that explores their creation and the person potentially behind them.

I was overjoyed to run into a few of them in person this weekend. Are they from the original creator? Doubtful. Are they still every bit as bizarre and elusive? Oh yea. Someone is continuing the tradition and it's as weird as ever. Keep your eyes to the ground, they're out there.

Technically I have today off work, but I'm still sitting on the ole computer just browsing around and looking at dumb videos. You know, these. Enjoy!

• Nissin Commercial - I love this because there isn't a moment of it that I understand. I don't even want to understand it. I just enjoy it for what it is.
• Worst Wheel of Fortune Contestant Ever - I mean, poor dude, right? But definitely better than this poor guy.
• Obvious Child Trailer - It's a shame that Jenny Slate was let go from SNL after her one season but this movie looks pretty entertaining. Looking forward to it.
• Bear on Stairs - this is not computer generated animation! It's actually a series of 3D printed models done in traditional stop motion style. Love it.
• Pharrell - Happy (No Music Version) - I wish they'd pushed this further into These People Look Crazy territory but it's still solid.
• Hulk Kid gets mad from Mama Jokes - I love this video. I made plenty of crude computer art growing up but the tools are so much more robust now you can make some pretty epic things - like these kids having an awesome afternoon. This is 100% not mocking.. it's just pure entertainment.

Unfortunately these two videos are not setup for embedding but I highly recommend them:

• The Futility of Existence - just soak this in. Don't jump ahead.. just enjoy the struggle.
• Japanese Racing Rendition - I've likely seen this before but it still strikes me as from another world. Make it a full minute, that's when the real insanity starts.

Have a great weekend!

I've been enjoying the work of mystery photographer Vivian Maier for some time. From the initial blog findings, to the This American Life piece on her, to the documentary on her - I've been following. The tale of a highly private nanny hitting the streets of Chicago and creating some stunning street photography from the 1960's is worth taking note of.

Now I've finally seen the film and I'm no less a fan than I ever was. I highly recommend everyone see it - if not just for the work it showcases. I'd also love to have a dialogue with anyone about the director's mentality that her work needing to be exposed to a greater audience. Is this a product of our social media times or just the facts when it comes to photography this entrancing? Miss Maier knew she was talented but she is not depicted as the type that wanted to be a household name - at least not in life. I'd even argue that her reclusive nature makes her work more interesting but, surely, that wasn't her intent.

I'm quite curious about the possibility of DragDis being the tool to finally organize my inspiration and compelling quotes and various long reads and links to spend time with into one spot. You know, what I thought I was going to be able to do with Tumblr, Pinterest, Pocket and Delicious. They certainly don't tout themselves as a replacement for all those things but this introductory video certainly makes a compelling case for it.