It's not exactly an uplifting story but this Business Week piece on the divorce of Hoefler&Frere-Jones is certainly an interesting one. The saddest part is that, according to the article, it seems to boil down to a power grab and an unformalized business relationship. The up side, for me, is that even though they won't be collaborating anytime soon, they'll both be creating engaging work from their own spheres.. which will undoubtedly be good for all of us.

Benjamin Poulos

Take some time to watch this phenomenal interview with Pasquale D'Silva - designer and animator behind Keezy (among other things). Hearing him talk about his synesthesia and how that affects his entire life experience. Fascinating!

I feel guilty constantly promoting projects because I know that's not really why you come here (if you come here at all). But I wanted to say THANKS to anyone and everyone that has watched this Uncle Skeleton video. We've had over 1700 plays in the last three days and that is a great feeling. I've got my own internal goals of where I'd love to see this video go but that's a helluva lot of views (for me) in such a short period.

Anyway, thank you all. I probably won't stop talking about it anytime soon but know that your assistance is highly appreciated.

Back in Nov 2013 I posted about Terminator the Second - a filmed theatrical stage performance that consists of the plot of Terminator 2 but with Shakespeare dialog throughout. It's an unexpected merging of worlds but it works surprisingly well. I am happy to announce that the film (and Protomen soundtrack) is now available via a VHX powered site.

Very happy to bring them into our world and will continue to push to have all Nashville film projects powered by VHX.

Yes, I'm going to remind you to watch this new Uncle Skeleton video for 'VHF' again. There's so much goodness in there I'm just going to start dumping animated gifs at you!

Full transparency, I'd like to get the video 1,000 views this week. We had a great writeup in the Nashville Cream yesterday that helped boost up to around 500 views but I want this guy to go far and wide! I always feel a bit dirty doing promotions like this but, unfortunately, it's the only way to really get the word out.

tl;dr - I want success for this video and song. Watch it, Download it and help get the word out. Please!

I'm more drawn to the mural work of Jordan Kasey than anything else in the portfolio but there's something about a few of these paintings incorporating all kinds of coral life that I can't look away from.

via nevver.

Even if you aren't too interested in the state of Independent Film, this interview with Jim Jarmusch should be added to your reading list. His quotes about the state of the industry are compelling but his insights on cinema and art in general are even more appealing. There's no distinct pull quote to share, just the overall tone and mastery of his creations is quite an inspiring thing to read.

via Bradley.

Jonathan Rogers

the whole record is solid

It's been a long time coming but I am overjoyed to finally share the official video for "VHF" - the lead track from Uncle Skeleton's latest album Too Young, Too Old and available on this new digital single.

The video itself is, to me, a perfect mix of sexiness, absurdity, surreal fascination and just a dash of macabre. It's not an easy balance to keep but it pulls it off well. I've watched it a ton of times and hope you'll do the same. I really think the combination of song and video have some serious legs.

The piece was directed by Jonathan Rogers, produced by Jennifer Bonior and DP'ed by Will Fox. Those names may not ring many bells yet but after you watch the results of their labor, you will hopefully keep them in mind.

Today's a big day for Uncle Skeleton. First, it's his birthday. So go wish him a happy one. Secondly, today marks the official release of the digital single for "VHF" - the lead track from his most recent album Too Young, Too Old. The collection features three remixes and two solid b-sides. Oh, and a video too.. more on that here.

DAZED has a great article on the grandfather of cybernetics - Norbert Weiner. If you've not read up on the origins of robotics, computer control, systematic feedback and loads of other brilliant ideas take some time to do so today. Aside from predicting that technology would be making decisions for us, he also heavily inspired the likes of Brian Eno... there's even a little Easter Egg hidden in Seven Deadly Finns to listen out for.

a rather exhaustive take from David Byrne

Until Friday, I was unaware of Amazon Fresh, the grocery delivery service that Amazon is trying out in a handful of markets. The announcement of Amazon Dash, a handheld device that you keep around the house to help you compile your digital grocery list, made me keenly aware of the goings on. This strikes me as such a prime example of The Future happening right now.

When I was younger I would always hear about "every device in your kitchen will be online and aware", "refrigerators will know when it's time to order new kinds of food" and I thought it sounded insane. This seems to me to be exactly that happening right now. Maybe I'm overthinking it but I love seeing the emergence of these devices.. maybe it's just a rough version 1.0 but it's a nice peek into the future (for better or worse).

Jed clued me in to this rather captivating video of Surfers from Above. It's remarkable how their behavior recalls any marine life - grouping together, darting out, their speed within the water, etc. Jed called it "surfer as a species and I can't think of a more eloquent way to put it.

If you are not familiar with VOX, it's understandable - they are a relatively new news startup focused on reporting news in real time and explaining the processes of such reporting. Their Welcome article is a fresh bit of transparency... I particularly enjoyed this bit:

We're launching today because three more weeks or three more months or 30 more months will not produce a perfect website. We'll always be a work in progress.

This is a great mentality to have to hold on to. You are never done, you are always striving to improve. This goes beyond the web and startups and all that - it's just a good life ethos to have. Maybe that's insanely obvious but it's nice to see it put down so simply.

solo record from Doves frontman. Quite curious.

Another week, another playlist to distract you from your daily life. Hopefully you find it effective.

• Gravity Opening Sequence Alt - this is so dumb but hits on all the right notes. Kind of like this - it's ridiculous but its also kind of perfect.
• Shape - a fairly incredibly animation about design but, mostly, just a bit of eye candy.
• Magic for Dogs - turns out, dogs are just as confused and bewildered by magic as the rest of us... with an added dash of panic.
• DOOMED: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's "The Fantastic Four" - did you know famed director Roger Corman made a very faithful Fantastic Four movie back in 1994? It was never released and looks, unsurprisingly, pretty cheesy terrible. I want to see it real bad. This documentary piqued my interest big time.
• Fox News accurately recreates a bear encounter. - see title.

Have a great weekend!