Much has been made of the Apple Maps vs Google Maps snafu and it appears that Google is taking full advantage of it by launching this promo site - More Than a Map. It doesn't really tell you anything you don't know already but it's a beautiful piece of work, so go check it out. Send your regards to Upperquad for a job well done.

The portfolio of works from I Love Dust is so overwhelmingly good it's hard to know where to begin. I mean, look at that logo gif! Absurdly. Or how about this Cartoon Network Music Video that will blow your mind even if you've never seen a single CN show? Or this hand drawn Horfe animation? Mind boggling. Their type, illustration and packaging selections are just as good. Even their blog is good! Amazing.

HT Erica.

This tribute to Super Hexagon is made doubly-awesome because it was created with Hexels - a tool I continue to look forward to using.

Oh, and be sure to check out the rest of the absurdly great creations and designs courtesy of Natalie Hanke.

HT Venus Patrol.

Dust and Grooves have posted a great profile on Jeff Ogiba - music obsessive, vinyl collector, and owner of Black Gold in Brooklyn.. one of the finest Record / Coffee / Antique Stores I've ever had the pleasure of visiting. It's always nice to read about someone's obsessive nature, and Ogiba's reasoning for his ever-growing collection, how he got there and he deals with it, is super positive:

I feel a real human connection to music. It's almost a religion to me. I feel that everything we experience and everything that is and ever was is made up of vibrations and the relationships among each other. Records are emotional vibrations on file. All music either has emotion within it or it evokes emotion as a result of the vibrations we receive and perceive. To me that is as ultimate as it can get next to loving or caring about a person or a pet. I love the hunt for records, I love the find, I love making them mine. I love putting on a rare punk single from 1977 and feeling convinced that I was old enough that have been there. I love putting on a psych LP from the late 60′s San Francisco scene and feeling atop a golden field without caring about the true troubles surrounding me in 2012. I love the excitement of an unpredictable be bop jazz ensemble session in an imaginary smoke-filled club. I love to escape. Sadly, the real world continues whether you chose to acknowledge or not. Just ask my landlord and the debt collectors!

Swing by the interview and be sure to listen to the accompanying mix that goes with it.. incredibly good.

I had the pleasure of occasionally working with the team at Measured Voice over the past year and they let me see a few sneak peeks at their toolset for government agencies. They've now opened up into Private Beta and persons of interest within the government (any government - federal, local, etc) can sign up for a slot. The term "social media" gets used as a buzzword an awful lot but enabling a government to communicate with its constituents with ease is something everyone should appreciate. Lets try to get all our local governments on board!

Taxidermy can be a, understandably, unnerving thing for some people. When done poorly it's a shameful disrespectful thing to the animal involved. But, as in the case of the American Museum of Natural History, when you have skilled artists treating the subjects with respect you get incredible results. These imagesare from a year long restoration process that wraps up on Oct 27th, the 154th birthday of Theodore Roosevelt.

HT Lee.

Are you familiar with the artist John Baldessari? You can browse Google Images or scour his official site but you're best off just watching this phenomenally entertaining video - A Brief History of John Baldessari. Need more incentive? It's narrated by Tom Waits and he's the artist that popularized Dots Over Faces. How can you not enjoy?

via Steve.

I tweeted about it previously but GIF CTRL is a phenomenally entertaining one stop shop for animated gif interaction. Much of the content is based around rap videos, celebrities off the cuff or content I don't understand but it does have plenty of ridiculous content and a Gif Maker tool so you can roll your own creations.

I am indebted to Andy for the heads up.. so absurdly good. What have you got to offer for this great tool?

I like the concept of Billguard - a bill tracker coupled with a crowd sourced alert system for suspicious charges and questionable fees. Just watch this trailer to get the gist. And, therein, lies the rub. The introductory trailer is comprised entirely of somewhat crude cartoon stick figures - not exactly the vibe I want to associate with holding on to my credit card information. So, conceptually, I'm into it... but I need some further assurances on how my data is going to be safe guarded!

via Daniel.

This weekend I stumbled across the work of Sean Star Wars at a random booth at an art fair. The woodcut prints are an amusing blend of crude, ridiculous and the occasional Star Wars reference. His site has tons of prints and a shop if you're looking to procure some for your private collection.

I love double exposure photographs - there's such a haphazard nature to them because you're really sure if they're going to turn out as expected. So, keep that in mind when viewing People vs Places, the collaborative photo blog of Timothy Burkhart and Stephanie Bassos. The duo trades off on exposing rolls of 35mm film with Stephanie shooting exclusively "People" and Timothy shooting exclusively "Places." Sometimes the overlays are remarkable and they're always intriguing. Happy accidents galore.

Recently, Mozilla launched Persona - a new sign-in system for the web that resembles OpenID but is even simpler (Please don't confuse it with their other initiative of the same name). The initiative will allow you to use only an email address to login - no password necessary. There's more info on how it all works (and how it differs from OpenID) and how you can implement it if you so choose. You can even try it out if you'd like to see it in action.

I'm not sure this will be the thing that replaces our standard login procedures but somethings gotta happen. The standard email / password paradigm is rife with insecurities - maybe this will be better. Or maybe it will be a flash in the pan in comparison to "Login with Facebook"? Either way, I'm glad to see it exists!

Typically, I wouldn't think to recommend a movie like Blood Brother - a documentary tale capturing the trials and tribulations of Rocky Braat as he embarks on some seemingly missionary work in India with HIV infected children. Typically, movies like that are baiting you and have ulterior motives. However, based on this trailer I'm not sure Blood Brother is a typical film. The emotional weight of it all seems more authentic and not hiding in wait to surprise you with a message of religious convictions - it sells itself on the face of it, a somewhat heartbreaking tale of one guy trying to make a difference. I'd love to see the whole thing.

Another week, another playlist. I think it's quite an entertaining one if I do say so myself. Oh, I should also mention that VHX has been posting weekly roundups as well, there's a bit of overlap sometimes but sometimes not - so be sure to keep those in your rotation as well. I digress, here we go...

• Kit-Kat Pops from Pizza Hut - this is not a joke. This is a Kit-Kat wrapped inside a sugary breadstick. I'm speechless. Curious to eat one and also speechless.
• Worst Movie Death Scene Ever - this is taken from a 1973 Turkish movie called "Kareteci Kiz" and I think it's far from the worst death. I'd say it's one of the greatest things I've seen in some time.
• World's Grumpiest Cat - there are many unfortunate aspects to "Tard" the World's Grumpiest Cat. First, the name - though supposedly short for Tartar Sauce it just seems wildly inappropriate when you consider Point #2, this cats condition is brought on by inbreeding and genetic defects. Fortunately, its new owners are giving it a great life despite it being adorably grumpy. Watch all the videos. It really is one helluva cute cat. via LT.
• There are Two Kinds of People - turns out, there are actually more than two kinds of people. Great compilation, regardless.
• Never Buy A Used Condom - god bless Peter Serafinowicz and his Public Service Announcements. via Mikesell.
• Gifs with Sound - I blogged about the site but who wants to browse the web when you can just watch a video? Perfect results.
• Always Sunny Season 8 - Haley Joel Osment as Mac is perfect. Actually, this whole promo is perfect.
• Roye'L - "In My World" - Public Access TV always generates some incredible performances (and outfits). I legitimately love the Dance Solo. via Paul.

Have a great weekend!

This Nelson Mandela Monument from this article to see how the portrait is being created - super clever and intriguing bit of execution.

via Jelinek.

Have you been watching this new web-only Jerry Seinfeld series, Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee? It's actually pretty phenomenal. The likes of Larry David, Ricky Gervais, Alec Baldwin, Bob Einstein and Michael Richards (to name but a few) are featured climbing into a vehicle with Mr. Seinfeld and then just talking about whatever it is that comes to mind. It's vaguely voyeuristic and perfectly entertaining.

I'm hoping that The Comedy - the new film starring Tim Heidecker along with Eric Wareheim, James Murphy and Neil Hamburger - doesn't immediately get lumped in with the Tim & Eric Awesome Show realm of offerings. I am sure there will be some overlap in terms of testing the audience's patience but the movie, on the whole, looks much more grounded. Granted, it still looks weird but I think there's a kernel of actual emotion running through. I'm tentative with my interest level but proceeding cautiously optimistic.

Loving these creations from Paolo Ceric, aka Pattak, particularly the animated gifs. He's combing Cinema 4D, After Effects, Processing and Photoshop to create these little masterpieces. Take a healthy browse through his work, there's plenty of mesmerizing offerings.

Should I save this How Time Travel Works supercut collage for Friday Videos? Maybe so but here it is regardless. Check this article after viewing to see which films were involved. Did you know them all already? If not, maybe it's time to flesh out your list of Movies Involving Time Travel a bit more?