A24Films

Find some time to read the disastrous tale of Clinkle - the startup that earned the most seed round funding in the history of seed round funding ($25 million) and proceeded to squander it through secrecy, hubris and the folly of youth. It is pretty much everything you expect a horror story of the Startup world to be - a young CEO making all the mistakes. All of them.

via Adam.

It's not often that you see art made with physical circuit boards but it's even rarer that you see it done in an sort of compelling way. For whatever reason, I'm rather enjoying these Peter McFarlane sculptures that depict fossilized animals embedded in the familiar green circuity boards.

I hope that everyone reading this already well aware of the Monument Valley game but on the off chance that you are not - go get it stat. It's a beautiful undertaking of 3D puzzles done in a Fez-like / MC Escher style. It's not particularly challenging but that's not really the point.

This KiteString app may seem a little like feeding paranoia at first - it allows you to setup an alert if you don't reach a destination by a particular time. Walking home late at night and worried about the neighborhoods you're passing through - ask Kitestring to text you in the approximate walk time and if you don't respond in a timely manner, it will alert your emergency contacts that something may be wrong. Fearmongering? Maybe. A way to feel a bit safer headed home? Probably.

I'm intrigued

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I previously mentioned the Joey Ciccoline / Makeup and Vanity Set collaboration Eidolon. They had a big Kickstarter campaign looking for $25k. Unfortunately, they didn't make it. It's a bummer but it happens.

So, now they're giving it a go with an Indiegogo campaign with a much smaller goal. Based on this teaser video, I can not imagine anyone not wanting to see this project come to fruition.

Don't let that poster image derail you, the Shanks FX Best Of is a remarkable compilation of impressive special effects made with "household products." Some are decidedly cooler than others but it's hard to deny the appeal of the bubble planets, or milk galaxies or even the Star Trek transporter effect. The man behind the lessons has a Youtube channel as well that actually educates how to do these things but, for most of us, just watching them in practice is enough. I love that the stop motion is just a tiny bit low framerate, giving it a nice homemade effect without taking away its impact.

I caught this image on Michael Stipe's blog and dove in further to check out Bryce Thomas's photography portfolio. There is a load of solid work in there but that sandstorm image really stands out among the rest... something seriously magical going on there.

The Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probs launched out into the depths of space back in 1977, completing its mission 3 years later. However, in the following 34 years it has been hurtling through space and sending back transmissions - pictures and sounds of space. The Space Project, from Lefse Records, takes those sounds and hands them over to 14 artists for a helluva compilation. Released this coming Record Store Day the album will be available on all sorts of physical media (which you should buy) but you can preview it online thanks to this NPR stream. It's a fascinating project and I'm hoping to find a copy this weekend.

s'good

new book from Dust & Grooves. Looks great!

Loving this site relaunch from Chris Rushing. Great, simple, responsive design and a ton of phenomenal work. He's definitely a strong inspiration when it comes to type and trying out new things. Plus, his Draft & Draw event is a lot of fun.

If you don't folow the man on Tumblr and Twitter - please correct that now.

If you are not familiar with the situation with patents at this point in time I highly suggest you watch this Rise of the Patent Troll video and listen to this rather engaging This American Life episode that gives a great bit of insight into what's happening.

Knowing all that, you're aware that some Fixing is in order. The Fix Patents website does a great job of explaining the situation and making a plea to contact your Representative to vote accordingly on passing legislation that will steer the ship properly. Amazingly, this weekend I concretely learned that calling a Representative is approximately 100x more powerful than any petition. A handwritten note is even more impactful. Is this backward to the way we think and operate? Yes, but that's government.

Long story short, if you can convince yourself to use their amazing widget to call your rep, it may actually have an impact. The #fixpatents hashtag won't hurt but it will take a much larger show of force.

The Startup Legitimizer definitely falls hard on the snarky side of web tools but as semi-mean spirited as it is, it's also equally well made. I love the "pre-made packages" to showcase your startup's press association and the easy bake widget to place it on your site. Buzzfeed certainly knows their audience.

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Some weeks yield more fruit than others and this weeks playlist feels rather delightful. Enjoy.

• The Worf of Starfleet - maybe this parody has already made the rounds. Maybe I'm entirely behind on this but, man, I am loving this. Incredibly well done and I love a solid Michael Dorn quote.
• Beck "Black Tambourine" - how have I never seen this video? Can someone recreate it with ASCIIcam?
• Chicken Nugger - sometimes I delve into /r/DeepIntoYoutube and emerge with incredibly weird gems like this one.
• Food Reviewer: BK Rodeo Chicken Sandwich - it's been 6 months since the Food Reviewer has posted any of his incredibly earnest takes on food. I want to make sure it is clear that I don't enjoy this as a means to mock this kid.. I enjoy it because he's reviewing terrible food and giving absolutely serious takes on how it sits with him. There's something hysterical about the calmness of it.
• Rise of the Patent Troll - a quality video from Kirby Ferguson on a rather important topic. I will talk more about this later I am sure. Do your homework, watch this.
• Imagine the Band - what happens when you take an instrumental version of "Imagine" and an acapella version of "Band on the Run"? Magic, that's what.
• Let's Get Social - admittedly, I feel real bad for this girl and even worse for whoever wrote this. Be sure to read along with the lyrics.
• Wish I Was Here - Trailer 2 - did you see the official teaser trailer for Zach Braff's new movie? Well, make sure you watch this second version to really get some enjoyment.
• Uncle Skeleton - "VHF" - I've been posting about this all week and my desire to have it be seen by as many eyes as possible. So, of course, I'm including here.
• 50 Cent dubbed with Jehovah's Witnesses want Deaf People to Stop Masturbating - don't care if it's legit. don't care if i've posted it before. this is too entertaining to not just enjoy again.

I'm off to DC for the weekend. Hit me up on the tweets if you know of something I should absolutely not miss while I'm there.

Have a great weekend!

This SX-70 gallery is unbelievable. It's hard to say much more than that when looking at the results of LIFE photographer Co Rentmeester, as the images are painterly, ethereal and just other worldly. The only downside is that there are too few of them to look at.

via Jeremy.

The results are a mixed bag but, on the whole, this Behind the Album Cover is pretty engaging. The idea is, what would you see if you were "behind" a variety of famous album covers. A little silly but almost every result is surprisingly on point in terms of vibe, tones and matched execution. I mean, look at this or this - pretty perfect matches. Just don't look at this.... please.