There are no words to describe Cache Monet that would do it justice. If you ever encounter something calling itself 'Internet GIF Art' you must compare it to this. They basically locked it down.

This new Wes Anderson short, Castello Cavalcanti, was shot for Prada and, presumably, features something related to their product but it certainly doesn't feel like it's pitching you anything. Jason Schwartzman plays a 1955 racecar driver and that's about all you need to know. It looks like what you'd want from Wes Anderson and hits on all his standard (and enjoyable) calling cards. Long story short, if you're a Wes Anderson fan, enjoy this tiny treat.

If you were sleeping under a rock yesterday you may have missed the unveiling of Coin, a new device that reads all your debit, credit and rewards cards into one spot and lets you quickly toggle between them. The introductory promo video from Sandwich video certainly sells it quite well. I love the low powered bluetooth option that prevents you from ever leaving it behind somewhere (assuming you didn't also leave your wallet). I'm not sold on the aesthetic of the card display - namely that old school calculator typeface. Seems kind of backwards for such a forward thinking device but that's my only minor gripe. Otherwise, I'm entirely in!

As promotion for their responsive, cohesive device experience Mailchimp launched this Goes With You minisite and I'm in love with the design! I'm just scrolling the page over and over to see all the perfectly executed bits of masking combined with the fixed logo. I can't remember seeing this before and I imagine you'll start seeing a lot more of it.

Now that Whiskerino has fallen by the wayside, I get the feeling that there is a desire from the old alumni to have a place to express themselves creatively. But instead of just lamenting that hole in his life, Seth has taken it upon himself to new concept but I like seeing it applied to Whiskerino graduates... good to see the creative juices still flowing in some form.

Interesting project going on with this Rdio New Music Weekly Youtube playlist. There's a bunch of featured new music that is coupled with inspired visual artists creations - each just 15 seconds each. It's definitely a play to appeal to the A.D.D. / attention-span deprived audiences of the Internet. And, frankly, it works!

If you've got 30 seconds, check out this craziness from Polica + BRTHR and Of Montreal + André Saraiva.

hello@kognito.co.nz

Maybe it's redundant for me to post about the VHX Blog but this post quoting Gary Hustwit from his entry in the Tell Me Something: Advice from Documentary Filmmakers book is inspiring for any creative person and not to be missed:

Embrace the idea of releasing your work yourself, without a film distributor or record label or book publisher or other middleman involved. Don't listen to people who try to convince you that you need them in order to get your work out there. You don't.

The Internet is such an incredible gift to creative artists, one that allows us to reach the people who want our work directly. But I'm amazed at how quickly some people want to give that gift back and let someone else control how their art reaches the audience, and how they're compensated for that art.

Build a direct relationship with the people who want to see your work, and run your own small company to produce and distribute it. I know, to some of you that doesn't sound like a good thing. But it is. You might be thinking, I don't want to be a businessperson. I'm an artist; I just want to focus on the creative stuff. Well, if you want to keep creating, you need to know where the funds are coming from. I know it sounds like a lot of work and responsibility dealing with the business issues yourself, but you'll be much more knowledgeable about your industry if you learn how it works through doing it.

Yes, it would be convenient to hand off these responsibilities to someone else. But if your goal as an artist is to be self-sustaining - that is, to be able to work on whatever projects you want to without anyone else's approval, and be able to make a living from that work - then I don't really see any alternative. A catalog of work that you create over your career, and that you retain full rights to, is a long-term asset that will continue to benefit you in ways you can't even imagine right now.

Obviously there's much discussion to be had around this kind of thinking but, at its heart, I'm on all on board.

I'm intrigued by this teaser video for the forthcoming iPhone game PKPKT. Kill Screen has a great writeup and what to expect from the Jeremy Schoenherr designed & dev'ed app. Going to keep an eye out for the December release.

Portland's finest painter, Jeremy Okai Davis, recently gave me the heads up on this Kickstarter project for Nathan Aylor's Armed & Delicious book endeavor. Honestly, I was skeptical! I don't know Nathan Aylor and funding a book seems like an odd item to request funds for. I mean, just write the damn thing! But the proposed cover art (mocked up by Jeremy) and legitimately entertaining promo video won me over. Be sure to give it a view and look for a particularly pleasant cameo.

I haven't fully explored it yet but I'm quite keen on the idea of Zapier, a web services automator - a direct competitor to If This, Then That. Some of the example tasks are great and seem more robust than what IFTTT advertises. And, lets be honest, a little healthy competition can be good, right?

https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000077211903-hv2kex-large.jpg?e76cf77

Today's the day! The fourth album from Uncle Skeleton is now available. Too Young, Too Old has been a long time coming and I'm happy to see it finally make its way out into the world. The vinyl version is in production now and will ship in a few weeks... the test pressings of the clear gold records are beautiful, a perfect compliment to the music within. If that's not your thing, swing on over to Bandcamp and have a listen (or a download). We've got the download set at the ultra low $7 for this first week - it's a steal! If you need a solid introductory entry point, I suggest starting with VHF, Dangerous Pets or Laconic Taconic. That being said, I think the entire album really pushes his sound further along - poppier and sunnier where appropriate, more Bossa Nova inspired in places and perfect zone out ambience when called for.

It's also available on Rdio or Spotify but I, obviously, recommend the vinyl and direct download. Spread the word!

This promotional video for Keezy is awesome in a variety of ways. Let's review:

• It's the latest official release from Elepath - these folks continue to do great things.
• The app itself is legitimately fun to use.
• Reggie Watts as an endorsement for an app focused on sampling is the most perfect combo.
• The Video Sound Design for the piece is courtesy of Upright T-Rex Music, aka Ross Wariner and Cody Uhler. So happy to see them getting gigs like this.

Long story short, get your Keezy.

I've been enjoying the new Quasi record - not only because of the music but because of the phenomenal artwork from Aindriais Dolan. His portfolio has a strong early graffiti vibe to it but I am particularly drawn to the series of portals. It has a psychedelic kaleidoscope feeling to it but the symmetry isn't 1:1 (or 1:4 if you prefer), so there's a great bit of investigation to be done throughout the piece.

VirginAmerica

I'm floored by this Nicolas Menard short, Somewhere, and subsequent interview from Erica. Absolutely gorgeous work and insightful info... well worth your time.

I can't stop thinking about Late Night Work Club and the whole project just gets even more endearing when you read these scattered thoughts on the project from Scott Benson. It's an endearing outpouring and comes with some fun insights into the whole project. I hope everyone involved continues to find future success... I'm hooked for future updates from them all.

I stumbled across the NODE color detecting device this weekend and was intrigued. I like the futuristic idea of being able to instantly save any real world color into your phone for use later (though, honestly, a photo could usually suffice). What takes the NODE to the next level is that there are additional attachments for detecting other values - like an infrared thermometer for temperature or barometric pressure. Granted, I don't personally have much use for those things but I like the tricorder-esque application of the diversity.

via Mike Ambs

The folks at Zurb have been delivering some serious good lately. I've often been intrigued by their Foundation framework but they just released Ink - a responsive email framework and my interest is piqued. I love these templates and, moreso, the exhaustive tests. Good stuff Zurb. Good stuff.