Now that VHX has a proper arcade cabinet we have to step up our gaming experiences. Charlie recently hooked us up to the Winnitron - a network for Indie Gaming in arcade cabinets (yes, this niche need does exist). Assuming the software can actually get up and running I'm excited to play a lot of these games with a proper controller, especially Burgle, Super Crate Versus and countless others. What else should we get?

After browsing this 50 Weirdest Documentaries list, I decided to see as many of them that I hadn't caught already. First up, Cinemania, a film that looks at the lives of five intense cinephiles. Basically, massive movie aficionados that spend their entire day, every day, watching films at the theater. They provide, as you might imagine, a rather compelling bit of profile. Many of them live like hoarders, obsess over film festival schedules and have some intense opinions on film versus video.

A good majority of the film focuses on Jack Angstreich, a cinephile with an impressive eloquent take on many subjects. There's actually some great followup with him but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Watch the film. It's up on Vimeo, for free, and absolutely worth the time investment. Enjoy!

For the most part this Claire Dubosc video project, Error404: File Not Found is a maniac collage of Internet clips showing human life through the lens of video keyword searches - Sunrise, Waking, Breakfast, etc. Around the 3 minute mark things start to really break down but it's an interesting view throughout.. as it's just an onslaught of imagery. With our A.D.D. viewing styles these days it's nice to have something that panders right to it. It's like the Golden Record of YouTube clips.

via Don Xavier.

It's that time of year again - Best Of Lists, Retrospectives and Holiday Gift Guides. Thankfully, there are folks like Austin Kleon that put together a quality list for your seasonal shopping needs. It's not overwhelming, it's a handful of quality.

Just in time for the holidays is the latest, gorgeous looking, issue of Sing Statistics You Are The Friction. There's a great looking trailer too - for a book! I love this series because it's visually and mentally engaging! Honestly, I'd buy it just for that cover but there's plenty of goodness inside as well.

I recently watched Evocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie, a documentary biopgraphy on the quick rise and fall of talk show host Morton Downey, Jr. The short of it - before there was Jerry Springer, there was Morton Downey Jr. The long version gets more involved with infuriating concepts like the pursuit of ratings through sensationalism and the inevitable dragging of intellectual debate into the gutter. It's actually an incredibly maddening tale that really just leaves you feeling sad that we let this happen to ourselves through the power of TV - and that we still feel the residual effects today. Downey Jr wasn't the first in the lineage of these guilty parties but he certainly left a mark.

The movie is on Netflix you're ready to get furious. Definitely watch the trailer.

now you can send that album to your friend that you swore they would love

this is a level of vinyl nerdery that will likely be contentious but I think it's a compelling device

Right before bed last night I pulled up this transcription from Frank Chimero's Build 2013 talk, What Screens Want, thinking that I'd just skim it and read it more in depth in the morning. However, the further along I got, the more engaged I became. If you're a designer, it's an absolute Must Read; Chimero is obviously an eloquent mind in the world of design and this piece campaigns for smarter, interactive designs.

If you're a user of the web, which I can only assume you are if you're reading this, it's a phenomenal piece because it's a huge reminder that the Web is Ours. It's not a corporate run entity, it really does belong the Users. This particular quote starts off the real rallying cry for everyone - a kind reminder that we don't have to let things slip away from an Internet that we'd all wish for:

We used to have a map of a frontier that could be anything. The web isn't young anymore, though. It's settled. It's been prospected and picked through. Increasingly, it feels like we decided to pave the wilderness, turn it into a suburb, and build a mall. And I hate this map of the web, because it only describes a fraction of what it is and what's possible. We've taken an opportunity for connection and distorted it to commodify attention. That's one of the sleaziest things you can do.

It is, obviously, somewhat of a lengthy read but I think it's necessary for everyone to sit with it for a bit. Maybe even read it twice. I'm going to take myself a bit of a break over the next week and think about how these lessons can apply to my own undertakings.. I'm inspired and excited to do, and make, better things. Hopefully it will do the same for you.

Loving this Pixel Fireplace from Hex-Ray Studios. The demo shows that it's more interactive than your standard screensaver as you must actively add "logs" and can change colors at will. It's the perfect amount of kitsch. This is an absolute purchase for the big screen at work and a cozy corner at home.

via Austin.

The intro to this Sofles video leads you to believe it's going to be a 5 minute romp with some dudes dancing around in white body suits and a lot of splashing paint (a fine idea) but then it takes an unexpected, and rather delightful, turn. It's an impressive body of work to display and I'd love to know if it was shot in a day, a week or a month. Any of those options would be acceptable.

via Jed.

The physical form factor isn't quite as impressive as the initial undertaking but it's nice to see that the GLIF has graduated to a secondary incarnation that's open to more phone form factors. In fact, it's open to every form factor because of it's new adjustable nature. The introductory video gives you the rundown and the release time seems quite convenient for Christmas time.

I'm heading out early today to go back to Nashville for the first time in a few months and I couldn't be more excited for it. Happy to see friends and family (and overeat like a true Thanksgiving glutton). If you wanna hang out, hit me up. In the meantime, enjoy the playlist.

• Eastbound and Down: Fixings - I was skeptical about a fourth season but they managed to make it perfectly absurd in all the best ways. See also: Water Jet Pack Fight
• Conan: Season 3 Supercut - normally I wouldn't think much of this sort of recap but because Cyriak is involved, I'm interested.
• Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball G-Major - I don't subscribe to any of the Miley Cyrus drama but this version is horrific in so many ways it really shouldn't be missed.
• Gay Vibes - Good Time Island - music video for Nashville artist Gay Vibes. There's not much of a story to it but it's a great pairing of compelling visuals throughout.. and the album is an enjoyable listen too.
• Eclectic Method - It's a Movie - taking movie samples and making them into compelling collages reminds me of Pogo but there's plenty of room in that space for others doing equally great things. Case in point, this Eclectic Method creation.

I was tempted to post this Stabilized Zapruder Footage because today is the anniversary of the JFK assassination but watching it actually turns my stomach and I can't really endorse viewing it, except that it is technically interesting to see the footage in a new way.

I also watched this Everything Wrong with Back to the Future and it infuriated my nerd brain so hard that I think I broke something.

There's plenty of stuff to see out there but hopefully I provided a decent distraction from your Friday workday.

Have a great weekend.

Apparently this could be a first - both Alfondo Cuaron's Gravity and the short film spin-off directed by his son Jonas Cuaron, Aningaaq look likely to be nominated for Academy Awards. You can watch the short, which augments a portion of Gravity in a tasteful way. I won't give anything away but it's a pretty piece of work to show a different portion of the feature film's story.

I am loving the portfolio of Dark Igloo (we've seen it before but it's better than ever). It's, well executed, clever, sometimes sexy and often quite clever. I dug through every piece and am astonished at the hugeness of the projects they've worked on and the completeness of each of them.

I think they'd love for you to check out the pitch to Important Studios but I can't imagine missing out on the work with Googa Mooga, Bonnaroo or Miller's Tavern (to name but a few).

seth graves

We recently expanded our office space and hired Homepolish to help us with the additional room for decor and implementation. This blog post shows off the new space really well. Honestly, Chad and Kathleen did a great deal of putting a lot of the details together but, in the end, it turned out great. I'm happy to report that my Nashville Flea Market Tiger Lenticular adorns our front hallway.

gorgeous, arty, video. quality song.

It is, admittedly, a somewhat lengthy talk but this presentation on Designing with Animation from Pasquale D'Silva is a worthwhile time endeavor. D'Silva's experience with animation goes back a long way, particularly for someone so young, but it's rooted in typical animation undertakings - commercials, branding, games, bumpers, etc. Applying those lessons to all design is an effective technique. Many would frown upon too much animation in a design (it can be abused) but sometimes it does improve the experience.

via Mr. Moberg.

The team that made "Art & Copy" is now attempting to finish up a documentary on the famous KCRW show, Morning Becomes Eclectic. They've setup an IndieGoGo campaign and an informative trailer to catch you up to speed on the project.The film covers 30 years of the shows influence on independent music, the DJ's involved along the way and the ridiculous amount of musicians that have performed on the show. Even if you've no interest in backing the film, be sure to watch the trailer, it looks like a great film!