Memphis / Chattanooga design firm Harvest has an impressive site. The client list is ripe with recognizable names but it's the Services and Welcome pages that will likely catch your eye. They've employed some serious parallax scrolling effects to go along with their engaging illustrations. This may be the first time that I've experienced a sloping diagonal animation scroll for the duration of a page... it was kind of unnerving at first! That's not a complaint tho as it was certainly memorable. Be sure to dive into the Services page - it's rare that you see so much farm and agriculture iconography associated with web design.

Great stuff via Hollis.

I'm told the backstory behind these forthcoming Alien action figures is legitimate. Apparently, the folks at Super7 have this to say:

In 1979, prototypes for 3 3/4" action figures for the ALIEN film were developed but never manufactured. Through our network of industry and collector contacts, Super7 has unearthed reference material and original 34-year-old prototypes and will now make these "lost toys" a reality.

I'm not even a huge collector of these sorts of things but I find the backstory fascinating and, truth be told, a serious nostalgic feeling when looking at the designs of the characters. If they aren't actually straight out of the Kenner archives they are impeccable tributes. The "Big Chap" alien creature has this insane feeling of both being sinister and kind of goofy - just like all those characters from my youth. I can't properly describe it but I love it. Preorders start in late August.

I assume at this point everyone has tried out Twitter's new #Music service? I think it's great to see some small bands get verified accounts so they'll be included in the results but the criteria for verification seems a little vague. Without verification, artists aren't included so you're missing out on tons of music being mentioned by your friends / followers. Long story short, not an ideal implementation but it's nice to see the Twitter folk trying some new things.

The Build Conference has been so kind as to post all the videos from the 2012 festival with talks from Kirby Ferguson, Ethan Marcotte, Mandy Brown and plenty of other greats. Make the time to ingest these into your brains.

After watching this review of indie game Anodyne it occurred to me - am I an idiot for not having Steam and a wireless controller hooked up to my TV? Obviously the answer is yes because the game looks great. The question is now, what wireless controller can anyone recommend so I can start wasting hours playing this game.

new FOPS album and news that Thee More Shallows is awakening from the dead. Double goodness!

DaftPunkVEVO

A bit ironic coming from a music blog but lots of good points.

It has been a rough week, please enjoy this playlist for some much needed levity. As always, huge thanks to Paul, Mikesell and Chad for all the content that I nab from them.

• Empire Uncut Official Trailer - the Directors Cut of Star Wars Uncut: Empire Strikes Back is on the horizon... this trailer is overflowing with awesomeness.
• Babies cursing are f&*$ing funny - you know what, it's true. It is funny.
• Cat and Vaccuum - there isn't a single frame, or sound, or image involved in this 38 seconds that I don't find delightful beyond description. It is THE best.
• Law & Order's Fakest Websites - there are some real doozies in here. How do I get my FaceUnion account?
• Tales from NAB 2013 - now that's a quality ponytail collection.
• Leviathan: Warships Jazzy Trailer - I don't even care about the game but I love this smooth preview.
• Nissin Ramen - MEN!!!!!! (what is happening here?)
• RoboMontage - you think you know Robocop? Well, lets just see about that.
• Bobby - there's some serious NSFW language at work here but it's worth every moment.

Have a great weekend!

Tomorrow, Saturday, April 20th, is Record Store Day 2013. For music nerds, it's a great general celebration of music, brick-and-mortar stores and a chance to connect with like-minded individuals. It's also an opportunity to get some new exclusive releases. I urge everyone to make an effort to visit their local record store tomorrow - especially if it's a locally owned outfit.

If you're in the Nashville area, you really can't make a bad choice.

• Grimeys is having their usual huge celebration, complete with a performance from Hotpipes.
• Forget Cassettes, Tristen and new favorites Penicillin Baby.
• Brand new store Fond Object will have their grand opening. You can read more about it here but all you really need to know is that Rachel Briggs is involved - that should be more than enough to get you over there.

I realize no one likes a long blog post but Record Store Day is a good way to show your appreciation for hardworking retailers and music in one fell swoop. Don't miss out.

I was saddened to hear that legendary designer Storm Thorgerson had passed away yesterday. He was 69. If you are under the age of 200 you are absolutely familiar with his work - be it with his iconic covers for Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin or more contemporary acts like Mars Volta or The Cranberries. I urge you, familiar or not, to take some time to read up on his life and career, visit some retrospectives and consider the deep impact a good piece of design really can have. His contributions to the world are impossible to measure and new ones will be missed.

For the longest time now, I've been using the slick and simplistic Currently for the landing page on New Tabs. Not much to it but it was a little nicer than a big white canvas. Now, thanks to Chad, I'm going to try out the horribly named New Tab Page extension. There's a lot more going on but I'm enjoying having a search, recent sites, weather and a news roundup all in one frequently visited place. Some might claim it's encroaching on iGoogle territory but I contest that it's cleaner and nicer overall.

It's been a rough week! And now CNN is reporting Earth might not be so special anymore?! Their Onion-esque headlines are sometimes hysterically questionable but at least they get clicks, right? The article is actually about 3 Newly Discovered Planets but it's probably best to make us all feel ashamed our ourselves when reading about them. Nice work journalism!

margery222

The Line

Philip Watts

track off the brand new forthcoming album

rather enjoying this record. via @subinev

I was, unknowingly, familiar with the work of David Cook because of his work with Young Widows but, turns out, he has a healthy portfolio of original works well beyond that. I love the projects (though he is capable of other subjects). Be sure to view the myriad of different projects under the general work category.. i want these guys.

via Ferris.

The exercise of creating original movie posters in a simplified style can get a little tiresome but there's something about the implementation of said tactic from Matt Needle that feels satisfying. I love the simplicity of the illustrations and the color palettes. Simple often is the best solution. There's some original work in there with the same vibe that are even more effective.

via List Generator.