I could probably make a fun video playlist every day of the week. They'd be a little shorter but still amusing. If you're interested in such a thing - follow me on VHX, I post stuff all the time. Otherwise, just enjoy this weeks playlist.
2016 - I feel like I've seen / shared this before but the absolute absurdity of this trailer for 2016 can't be seen enough. More info here.
Lovely Owl - I realize Owls are incredibly overplayed as an Internet thing at this point in time but I don't really care - they are fascinating looking birds. This little compilation is a great look at a handful of them.
Mike Tyson Quotes: The Song - a song comprised entirely of Mike Tyson quotes probably shouldn't be this entertaining but it is. I'm not really a big fan of the man himself but this is so insane you have to appreciate it.
I can feel it down in my plums... - outtakes from the improved rantings of Will Ferrel during Eastbound and Down. Even if you've seen this before, watch it again.
Raiding the Lost Ark: Part 1 - a 17 minute preview of an absolutely insightful "filmumentary" regarding the creation of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Maybe you don't have time to watch it right now but, please, queue it up to watch it this weekend.
Given that Thanksgiving is just around the corner it seems appropriate to have a gander at this gallery of Macy's Thanksgiving Parade Balloons dating as far back as 1927. I love the style of the old characters like Harold the Fireman or Artie the Gnome. There are also two anecdotes within the gallery saying that some balloons would accumulate water during stormier parades and, eventually, dump out 50 or so galloons of water onto unsuspecting onlookers. Bonus!
This collection of Google Street View images from Aaron Hobson is similar, conceptually, to Jon Rafman's 9-Eyes in that it compiles compelling images caught by the Google vehicles but the images themselves are far more impactful. I don't know if he's done some post processing on these or just stumbled upon some seriously gorgeous captures but I'm not sure it matters - the images are intriguing and well worth browsing.
The rest of his work is just as cinematic and I recommend giving it a spin as well.
There's a fun project going on over at the Harvey James blog in which he takes it upon himself to illustrate what he believes the host of a podcast looks like based entirely on their voice and, then, an accompanying illustration of what they actually look like. The Marc Maron entry is hilarious because of the disparity between perception and reality but it's still pretty accurate. The Scott Aukerman feels oddly accurate from either side. Looking forward to more of these fer sure.
The official 1.0 release of jQuery Mobile hit the Internet yesterday. The thinking behind the project is great - create a lightweight framework for creating mobile apps that works / looks the same across all the major mobile browsers. Maybe it's just me but the demos, when viewed on my phone, are fairly awkward. It works great in my browser but there's a lot of jumping around and odd timing going on otherwise. Is it like this on all mobile devices? Is it too ambitious of a project to try and be all things to all browsers? Have you ever developed anything with it? I love the thinking behind this project but I'm not ready to dive into it for primetime production.
I put together a new mix for your auditory enjoyment. Uncommon Threads is a mishmash of various songs that I've been listening to somewhat lately (bookended by two great Jason Lytle penned tunes.. my favorite). It actually flows together as a whole rather well. You can download it here or, since many prefer it this way, stream it instead.
Thanks to Jeremy for the compilation title.. he's a total muse!
There is a lot of work to see in the portfolio of Gilbert Garcin. This little mini bio should engage you to click on through:
Gilbert Garcin spent most of his life managing a lamp factory in France. At 65, he retired and took up a trick photography workshop. For the past ten years he has been creating comical, surrealistic photographs which warmly highlight sometimes cold, existential questions. Garcin inhabits this strange world and ponders it together with the viewer; with Garcin you have a dedicated, but perplexed, guide. via.
Sometimes the images are perfectly simple and occasionally they are ridiculous.. either way, they're always engaging on some level.
I have sung the praises of The Goldroombefore and stand by my affinity now with the release of their official video for the track "All Thumbs" off their debut The Surrounding Hours. Directed by Ernie Gray it's a smoke filled, laser eating, under-two-minutes dose of rock. Just right.
File this under: Things I Probably Shouldn't Post About But Can't Help Myself. Yesterday I was informed of the existence of the Caganer, a small figurine with roots in Catalonia typically included in a nativity scene that depicts an innocent act of defecation. Seriously, it's a cute little statue taking a poo in the middle of a holy scene. It's absurd, ridiculous and hilarious. And, turns out, there are a ton of them depicting famous people. You want Michael Jackson or Queen Elizabeth as a Caganer in your nativity scene doing their thing? You Got It.
Spread the word.. you just found yourself the worlds best stocking stuffer.
Remember when I told you that it's probably a good idea to watch the new PBS series America in Primetime? I'm going to go ahead and remind you to set your DVR or your downloads or just point your browser right here and, please, watch the series. It's superb.
You may recall a particularly questionable bill coming through Congress regarding Internet regulation of copyrighted materials and granting censorship to entertainment industry powerhouses. If you don't remember - watch this, right now.
Plenty of other companies aren't into this idea either - AOL, Twitter, Google, Facebook and even Zynga banned together to run this full-page ad speaking out against the Bill. It's great that they state their case as agreeing with the underlying premise of the bill (pirating copyrighted material is bad) but are not OK with the proposed execution.
I'm a big fan of Apollo Up! and still, somewhat, lament their demise. They really were an incredibly good band with a catalog that still appeals to my ears. So, when I saw that frontman Jay Leo was posting new demos from his latest undertaking I was pretty excited. They certainly live up to my hopes; even as demos! Go listen to Like a Glacier and Maybe Next Time or just use that little widget embedded above.
PubNub - incredibly slick push notification system for just about any language you prefer. The intro video is fairly embarrassing but once you dive into the tutorials I think you'll see how incredibly handy it could be to have around.
iPhone Widgets - ever wanted to have an icon on your iPhone springboard that quickly launched a specific area of your phone settings (i.e. jump to Airplane Mode) without having to Jailbreak it? Well, this guy has the solution. I'd totally do it if he offered one for Wi-Fi sync. via Daniel.
Gobbler Bonus Storage - do you remember that Pro Audio Cloud Storage solution Gobbler? Well, they're giving their beta testers 25GB of storage free for the first year just for being beta testers. So, if you've not signed up, now's the time. You can also win $1,000 for telling a bunch of your friends.
Thanks to Cary I am just now familiarizing myself with the works of Saul Leiter. While it is new to me I imagine anyone with a vague notion of the history of photography is quite familiar with his work. He's part of The New York School of photographers that rose in popularity during the 1940s and 1950s along with Diane Arbus and Robert Frank. He's most well known for his fashion photography but, apparently, did quite a bit of street photography as well but just kept it in his back pocket. This collection of his personal documentation - both color and b/w - is gorgeous. Queue up the slideshow and enjoy.
A plentiful tip of the hat to Mark Weaver for the heads up on the Mid Century Modern: Sticker, Label & Stamp Club. Yes, that title is a mouthful but when you encounter such greatness as this, this or this you'll be willing to forgive it any awkwardness. It's a phenomenal collection of styles and inspiration. Keep it handy, you'll need it.
20x200 has a limited edition, framed, print of Food Sign from Bryan Schutmaat. It's a lovely photo (as most of his work is) and I love the idea of having a gigantic 24" x 30" print adorning a wall somewhere in my home. It's probably not right now but that affordable 8" x 10" version is looking mighty tempting.
You may have already run across this Brief Rant On The Future Of Interaction Design from Bret Victor but if you have not, please read through it now. Basically he makes the case that our fingers should not be the future of interaction design - too limiting and too imprecise. He also points out that our current input devices (tablets & phones specifically) are just Pictures Under Glass - the lack of tactile response is terrible. All points that are hard to argue with.
I think the end of the rant falls apart a little bit when it implies that more involved gestures should be embraced - i.e. using arms, legs instead of just a single point of input. I see where he's going but I've used a WiiMote and a Kinect and I pray those are not the future of input.
Great read through.. thanks to Paige for stirring my thoughts on it.
I can't believe I'm encroaching on the fiftieth edition of the We Own This Town podcast. I guess that's a testament to the plethora of great music from the Nashville area. This edition of the podcast is, as the past few iterations have been, a heavily mixed bag of genres and styles covering a fair amount of music reviewed on the blog as well as new treats you may not have heard.
So, if you want some 8-bit, some rock, some pop, some folk or something else entirely.. it's all in there. Please stream it at the very least!
