These Pictogram Movie Posters are impressive for their simplicity but also quite amusing for their context. There's something oddly hysterical about seeing 'The Road' depicted as two stick figures pushing an innocent shopping cart that sort of deflates the weight of the storyline. Tron on bicycles? That's ridiculous! I'm not sure if these were intended to be amusing in the way that I am taking them but, regardless, I'm chuckling.

One of my favorite artisan profile blogs, Grain & Gram, has started a new portion of their site called The Exchange (formerly known as 5 Questions). Basically, it's a long form interview with a talented individual posted in its entirety. Their first entry in this revamped portion of their site is with Roy Slaper; jean maker. Even if you're not into denim manipulation I am confident there are lessons and insights within the conversation that you can benefit from. Dive in.

The claims made on Re 35 seem way too futuristic to be true. Supposedly they have developed a way to insert a special digital cartridge into any 35-mm film camera and have it save the analog images to the device. The "Flexisensor" tech is obviously plausible but it's just beyond the comprehension of actually existing anytime soon. Or maybe I'm just being pessimistic. My fingers are crossed that it's real, it works and it comes out sometime soon.

via Travis.

Update - as I should have suspected, many are reporting this as a leftover April Fools prank. Why people don't put up some notice to let us poor, unsuspecting, users know they tricked us is beyond me! Regardless, I have a good feeling this tech could exist.. so why not make it happen? Send all your frustrated hate mail to these guys for fooling us all.

Next to Heaven is an ongoing series in which archival videos are re-dubbed with bizarre voice-over. My introduction to it, which seems as good as anywhere to start, was the Private episode - in which the narrator explains his strange existence within the 'Wonder World' series. Make no mistake, these videos are weird (and sometimes vulgar) but the surreal quality is exactly what I like the most about them.

via Here's Some Awesome.

Take a few minutes to peruse the works of Ellen Capriota. Aside from such projects as Cat Cat Avatar there's also a number of great advertisements or album covers to check out. It's not an overwhelming amount.. just the right quantity.

Many years ago a band came to Nashville called Eureka Gold. They released a self-titled album full of phenomenal pop tunes but soon splintered off into other new-er projects; leaving the Eureka Gold name presumed dead. However, if this RootMusic player is to believed there is another album entitled Land of Imaginary Suffering that exists and will make its way into the world sometime. I would link up some mp3's to download but given that the band only has them in streaming format - I'll leave the forthcoming distribution to them. Long story short, go listen to these four new songs and enjoy... especially knowing more is on the way.

If it weren't specifically pointed out to not be an April Fools joke I would absolutely assume that this Michael Jackson statue was a hoax. Apparently the 7-foot tribute stands outside the Craven Cottage soccer stadium, though it is unclear what it has to do with soccer. It's bizarre and amusing - though apparently quite true.

No April Fools style pranks in this one.. just a straightforward, typical, compilation of bizarre videos.

• Skittles Touch: Cat - you've likely seen this already this week but it's rather clever and worthy of sharing. So, if you've seen it, see it again. If not, enjoy.
• Hercules vs Bear - Lou Ferrigno as Hercules launches a bear into space. Need I say more? via Sean.
• Help! I've glued a tiny hat to my head - clip from a BBC show that tells the story of a Halloween costume that won't stop. Pretty silly but amusing. via Paul.
• Julian Assange Nightclub Dancing - do I believe this is actually Julian Assange? It's questionable. Do I choose to embrace the notion for the sake of humor? You better believe it. via Davis.
• Game Deaths - compilation of video game deaths from vintage systems. Not as engaging as I'd like it to be but a nice trip down memory lane.
• Controlled Bark Volume - the fourth bark is gold. Feel good dog video to start your weekend.

BONUS

• Woodkid - Iron - incredibly epic video that I couldn't even begin to explain but I am smitten with the dramatics of it. They went for it and they nailed it.
• FAIL compilation March 2011 - I realize my adoration for these is basically the dregs of Internet humor but I can't stop myself.

Have a great weekend!

So, it's April Fools' Day and that means general wackiness abound on the Internet. Since there's no way I'm going to encounter it all on accident, maybe you can guys can help out and leave a comment of the best Not To Be Missed pranks being executed? Here's a few.

• Google 'Helvetica' - results in Comic Sans. I wonder how Gary Hustwit feels about that.
• Hulu goes 90's - X-Files in the header and Times New Roman everywhere.
• SoundCloud goes MySpace - customization now an option.
• gMail Motion - control your email with gestures.. full body gestures. "Lick a stamp and place it down."
• YouTube 100th Anniversary - Skiddo your kids, Skidoo your wife. Not that great and I'm not sure how this is even a prank.
• Home Depot logo redesign - incredibly plausible, believable rundown of new logo - with the exception of the writeup that calls the employees friendly, knowledgeable, helpful and unflappable. This is the one prank I've encountered so far that I'm not entirely sure is fake - the best kind.
• Huge list of pranks - the TechCrunch repository

Austin Kleon has an excellent transcript of a speech he gave called How To Steal Like An Artist. It goes through a lot of motions that you may be familiar with - inspirational words to get you motivated into creating art, working on projects and just generally feeling excited about whatever it is you're doing. However, just because you think you've heard the advice before, read it again. The re-iteration is powerful and Austin does a great job of actually making it believable; not an easy task.

If you've read the blog before you should know that my interest in Sports and most things Sporting Related is fairly low. The legacy of Michael Jordan is an interesting historical phenomena but not something that stirs my brain very much. However, this interview with Tinker Hatfield, Nike designer, and his process of designing shoes with Michael Jordan is fascinating. The story is good but the design and the kinetic type animation will floor you. Be sure to drag/scroll through it and even pause it to fully appreciate all the little details that make this such a well crafted experience.

There is absolutely no shortage of work to check out from Kevin Trageser. I'm still combing through it all but I think you'll find a good bit of inspiring work in the Editorial and Personal portions of the portfolio.

via Lions and Vultures.

Fugly Android is a repository of terrible configurations on Android phones but I'm questioning if they are even legit. I mean, is that level of customization even possible on Android phones? I realize there's no accounting for taste but who wants anything in their life to look like the worst Winamp skin from 1998?

The site design over at design agency Unfold is impressive. A single screenshot of any one of the sections would grab your attention. Insanely enough, they didn't stop at solid layouts - they went for the gold and created a user experience that is mesmerizing. Jumping between sections involves traveling around a larger, unseen, map of design and it's great. They nailed it. It's even scrollable to find hidden gems that you can't get to with the basic navigation.

via Demetre

Jeremy posted a new mix paying tribute to Minimum Wage. All songs loosely about working hard, getting paid and general hardships. Basically, any mix that starts with Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" and is immediately followed by "Money for Nothing" gets an A grade in my book. I think you'll agree.

Without knowing it, you are probably familiar with the bigger works of Mr. Doob. He has contributed to The Arcade Fire Wilderness Downtown and The Johnny Cash Project - both supremely impressive in their scope and effectiveness at pulling off their intended goals (i.e. both projects are rad). What you might not know about is the amount of experimentation he partakes in and archives on his site. If you aren't blown away by the WebGL Cloud rendering then you are obviously beyond being able to be impressed.

via Mr. Weir.

37Signals recently ran a phenomenal profile on Coudal. The piece mostly speaks to their line of products, their thinking behind them and how they came to conceive of them. For me, the most interesting part is the story of how they got to that point.. a serious disappointment from Coudal and his team with the work they were doing. Instead of continuing to trudge forward doing production work for people who "knew less than them" they forged out on their own. They never expected to reach everyone with their ideas; just enough people to keep them sustained.. and it worked! It's a must read for everyone - designer or not - as there are great, inspiring, lessons in there for all.

Given that they provide maps of the entire planet, roads of most of civilization, street views of major metropolis areas, are scanning in the worlds repository of books and any other number of projects it should be no surprise that Google is now documenting the human body. The Google Labs Body Browser is one of those tools that is probably useless for a grand majority of us but still fascinating to tinker around with. I particularly enjoy the "Search" - very responsive and can help settle any arguments about where the Tibia vs the Fibula are.

Take a few moments to browse the works of Neil Kellerhouse and I guarantee that you'll be compelled to browse the whole thing. You're probably already familiar with a good deal of it - poster work for The Social Network, I'm Not There, The American, The Girlfriend Experience, Finding Nemo - but the pieces that didn't make the final cut are every bit as impressive. There's not a single item in there I'm not inspired by.

via Sam's Myth

The fifteenth installment of Everything is now available for viewing. As usual, it's a perfectly eclectic mixed bag of visual treats. Keep an eye out in the Scott Gairdner piece for Sonny Van Griff - also known as Oz from Honor Student and FoD.

This would be an appropriate time to get the In Tribute to Everything mix if you have not already.