Loving this A-Z of Unusual Words project from The Project Twins. Not only is it educational because you learn words like Noegenesis, Ktenology or Jettatura but you get to see some amazing graphic design. I'm a total sucker for some paper texture and, moreso, a halftoned shadow. Swoon!

via Are2.

It's just a teaser, for now, but the first clip from the forthcoming documentary Arcade looks great. Here's the film synopsis:

Arcade is the story of Chinatown Fair, the legendary arcade located in the heart of New York’s Chinatown. The documentary explores how the arcade became a shelter to a community as diverse as the city surrounding it and changed lives in doing so.

I can think of few things I would enjoy more than a documentary about a common place for nerds to gather and find their confidence. Really looking forward to how this one plays out! Also available for preorder now if you, like me, know you're going to want to see it.

Saw an ad for these Presidential Monsters over the weekend and they just struck me as hitting the mark just right on kitschy, ridiculous and hilarious. All partisianship aside, you must be smirking at the idea of Baracula, The Monster from Watergate Lagoon or, especially, Wolf Bill. There are plenty more across the various series and they all nail that balance perfectly.

https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000065803269-i52vr6-large.jpg?e76cf77

It's Friday the 13th! If you're in Nashville, go see

Captain Picard's "Let It Snow" - these kind of funny edit videos are always entertaining but this one manages to squeeze in the perfect extra joke to make it worth your time.

Francis and the Lights - Like a Dream - I've always been vaguely on the fence about the sounds of this band but always fully supportive of the man's dance moves. Check that fancy footwork!

Corgi on a Carousel - 1) this dog's name is Meatball. 2) This guy knows how to party on a carousel! Please let this start a trend.

Are Emoticons the Future of Language? - not exactly a quirky / funny video but just about everyone thinks that Emoticons and Internet shorthand are killing language - this video takes the complete opposite approach. It's augmenting it in a positive way. Pretty fascinating.

Warner Bros Switched On. Beep Beep. Bloop Beep. - I realize the soundwork on this isn't for everyone but I love the youtube writeup:

Consider the recursion of Coyote, who never eats, but only considers eating, ad infinitum. This barren, craggy, dry universe is more like a Mandlebrot purgatory with an endless supply of Acme weapon products which can't function predictably, or whose proper function can't be apprehended by Coyote.

via Benji

Need more? Watch this great Conan clip or this great Ms. 45 trailer or this rather intense movie trailer mashup. That should tide you over.

Have a great weekend!

The Goldee Light Controller is, to put it simply, the light switch version of the Nest. They're made by entirely separate companies but the thinking is the same - reinvent some of the most basic interactions we have with our creature comforts. Light switches are out! Hand waving in front of a panel is in! That comes off sounding like I'm naysaying but the introductory video is legitimately compelling. I love the motion detection with soft lighting, security lighting settings and general timed lighting setting for waking up.

I love Kirby Ferguson's series Everything Is A Remix and was a little sad when I realized it was over. But, fortunately for us all, he's released one off Case Study and seems to be open to doing more. This episode is all about the iPhone and where it borrowed its interface from. He does a nice job of making sure not to slight the impact of the device but definitely show's that it's maybe not as groundbreaking as Apple would have you believe. He even dives into some of the iOS 7 "controversy."

I'm really looking forward to his next series, This Is Not A Conspiracy Theory but am pleased he hasn't abandoned EIT entirely. All good things.

francisandthelights

OtherMusicRecording

In early December, TIME Washing Bureau Chief Michael Scherer received a telemarketing call for health insurance from a voice identifying itself as Samantha West. The extraordinary part of the story is that Samantha is a robot - and openly denies it. There are several recordings with Samantha in which she converses with a human being and carries herself pretty well.. except when she won't answer point blank questions like "What vegetable is in tomato soup?" I'm sure this will happen more and more as companies adopt robots to do menial tasks but it's oddly fascinating to listen to their interaction.

via 2020.

I'm loving the work of personal works. Someone get this guy a gig designing poster art all day long!

Take a spin through the works of Derek Fordjour - particularly the printmaking and paintings - great style, color choices and subject matter.

via Jeremy.

https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000065190074-phmr4q-large.jpg?e76cf77

gonna give this a whirl

Obviously, working at VHX, we talk / think a lot about new technologies and ditching old ones. "Cord Cutting" is not a phrase that anyone here is adverse to. So, when I saw this Hole Saga ad campaign from the National Cable and Telecommunications Association I was, frankly, very confused. The site consists of four vignettes that make the case for not cord cutting - as cable helps you stay informed with news, reviews and social interaction.

All that being said, it seems to show a fundamental misunderstanding of the term "cord cutting" - a phrase that I always thought to mean Cutting Out Cable TV - not the Internet entirely. Very few people are making the case to cut all the cords. Is this ad campaign intentionally ignorant or did someone goof up? I honestly can't wrap my brain around what the intention was here.

There's probably no game we play more often at the office than Samurai Gunn. It supports up to four players and the mechanics are incredibly simple to get almost immediately. This Launch Trailer does a great job of showing off the gameplay but you don't really get a feeling for the pace of it until you play it. Highly recommended.. this is the sort of Indie Game that deserves the highest accolades.

(version) posted a great photo roundup of their recent session with Big Black Delta and photographer Jeff Brown. They did some great things with instant film, low-fi scanning and a bit of digital augmentation. Love how they turned out and that cosmic portrait with Caspar at the end is perfection.

https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000065100456-hue6bl-large.jpg?e76cf77

lots shoegazey + pop inspired sounds going on here

both sound interesting.