The NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day is almost always a worth a peek every day but this creation from Chris Kotsiopoulos is particularly compelling. A series of time lapse images shows the various stages of our sky throughout the day and night.. all at once as it revolves around the fictional Almost Planet Sounio. Nerd out on the documentation of its creation or just enjoy the final result.

via Wreck and Salvage.

"When people still ask me how much of The Dude is still in me, I say, 'The Dude Abides, man.' He's there. Each of our Dudes is there."

I've long since had the notion that Jeff Bridges is one of the most down to Earth enjoyable personas around and after having watched the PBS American Masters episode, Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides I can easily stand behind that assumption. The documentary covers his entire career and gives a nice glimpse into his personality and off-screen take on things. It is refreshing and highly entertaining. The portion of the film that talks about his photography is particularly compelling.

You can actually watch the whole film online or just watch a clip that should convince you right away.

The end to another week is here! For those of you in the snow-y regions of the country.. be safe out there, hunker down with some videos and stay warm.

• Natalie Portman Extended Laugh - there have been plenty of remixes of Portman's nerdy laugh from the Golden Globes but this one knocks it out of the park with the little treat at the end.
• Giorgio Moroder Metropolis - I had no idea that Moroder wrote his own soundtrack.. I need to find this version of the movie.
• Cutie Patootie - I can't tell what's more disturbing.. the overdubbed audio or the fact that this Tiara Toddler actually did her own version at some point.
• Do Not Text and Walk While Shopping - this one has been making the rounds but I still find it quite amusing. Even more amusing? The woman is suing the mall.. maybe she's got a case but, honestly, just suck up your dignity and move on.
• Dog Sledding - in the most literal sense. Anyone with a canine and enough snow should work towards making this happen for themselves.
• The Big Beginning - in the grand tradition of A Glorious Dawn comes yet another electronic song based on the musings of various physicists. It's not really that great but there's something perfectly awkward about it that makes it entertaining.
• No One Sees You Like Your Dog Does - i hope there's a whole series of these as it is amusing to me. via Paige.

BONUS

• LBJ Buys Pants - 1964 recording of Lyndon Johnson ordering some pants with some very specific instructions. I doubt a President could get away with this nowadays but I'm glad it happened at least the once.
• Smart Car: Against Dumb - great animation.. just love the style and the message ain't half bad either.
• Cave of Forgotten Dreams - trailer for the forthcoming 3D Werner Herzog documentary. Oddly, that's not a joke and it actually looks pretty fascinating.

Mars: Adrift on the Hourglass Sea is a repository of images culled from a book of the same name from Kahn + Selesnick; two long time artistic collaborators. The 80-page pictoral tells the ambiguous tale of two women exploring / surviving on the surface of Mars. Stylistically, it reminds me of Storm Thorgerson mixed with a healthy dose of Dan McPharlin and pulp sci-fi. Sometimes it's a bit too weird for my taste but, occasionally, it is absolutely undeniable.

via Kate and Zach.

Ryan and I were talking yesterday about how weird it would be when you died if your ashes were put inside of an urn that was shaped like you and had a button on the back to play some pre-recorded messages. Absurd? Sure. The crazy part is that with very little effort he stumbled upon Virtual Eternity, a site presumably dedicated to preserving your personality in a digital avatar. This press release gives a good idea of what they're offering. They use terms like "digital clone", "Intellitar" (Intelligent Avatar) and plenty of other lofty ideas. I don't even want to try and explain how weird and creepy their offerings are - so just go watch this tour.

Jamie gave me the heads up on a Tumblog entitled Beautiful Type focusing on, yep, beautiful examples of typography. The letterpress sample shown above is easily my favorite but there are plenty of other inspiring pieces that may be up your alley. Go explore.

I'm not one to spend $65 on lightbulbs but if I were I'd undoubtedly go for this KAWS Light Bulb Set designed specifically for The Standard. I mean, it is three bulbs so it's really just roughly $22 per bulb.. that's probably the most affordable KAWS project you'll ever encounter.

via Falfa.

I put together another edition of the We Own This Town podcast which you may download here, below or just stream it if that's your preference. This release features a good bit of music that came out in December and the first part of January from a smattering of Nashville bands; mostly all steeped in the rock tradition I enjoy so much. Granted, there is some deviation from that - a little dance, a little experimental instrumental music, etc - but variety is the spice of life.

There's a longer article that goes along with this but if you watch the video you get the idea.. wind power is a great idea but impractical when executed with the current turbine style method. The alternative? A Vibro-Pad that does much the same thing but doesn't have the negative downside. And as an added bonus, the animation style is totally awesome.

via Chad.

The cover story to this weeks Nashville Scene is a pretty engaging article on The House That Jack Built - Jack White that is. I find it fascinating for a number of reasons. The fact that Third Man Records is so many things - record label, performance space, record store - it's hard to imagine that they all work so well but, lo and behold, they do. The fact that White has lived in Nashville for four years and made a conscious effort to not infiltrate the existing music scene too quickly. The fact that he really doesn't care about digital distribution or casting a wide net - he's more interested in a specific fish if you will. The naysayer in me would like to say he's only able to do that because he was in a hugely successful rock band but I think he just understands a certain mindset and appeals to it; White Stripes aside.

Anyway, if you're not a Nashville resident or a Jack White fan I still think you should give it a read as there are plenty of gems for everyone.

Various links of interest that maybe don't facilitate their own solo post:

• What Hollywood Execs Privately Say About Netflix - some good, some bad.. interesting to read about the onslaught of licensing that's going on for the Watch Now content.
• The Daily Otter - a new otter to swoon over, daily.
• Bill Murray's Hilarious Speech at the NBR Awards - presented to Sofia Coppola. I'd love to run across a video of this.. let me know if you encounter one.

Enjoying the full site relaunch from Version Industries. The new site is much easier to browse around, find quality samples of their work and learn more about them in general. For the unfamiliar, I suggest starting with their work for Protomen, MAVS and Beyond Apollo.. though those are only the tip of the iceberg. Be sure to browse their blog and look around for some of the hidden gems on the site - random HTML5 canvas background included among them.

The language is NSFW but I recommend watching this Funny or Die Bromance video with Michael Cera, Martin Starr, Tony Danza and Nick Kroll. It's worth the 3 minutes of your time for a few hearty chuckles and some inappropriate subject matter.

Dear Hancock has a number of great items in their shop; stationary, cards of all kinds, crafty clothespin people, etc. But I'm really enjoying the The Desk Collection of stationary.. not so much for use as actual stationary but it's a nice illustration style and evokes a time when desks were way more. Makes me want to buck the trend of a clean, sparse, minimal desk and embrace a clutter-y onslaught.

via Paige.

It's unclear if this photo series of the Abandoned Russian Space Project is the Baikonur Cosmodrome or not but given that the Cosmodrome is, supposedly, still operational I hope it's not. I don't know an exhaustive amount about the Russian space program but if the shuttle pictured in the series is actually the Buran then the photos are from before 2002.. as the craft was demolished in a hangar collapse. Anyway, long story short - check out a bunch of intriguing photos of some unknown Russian Space Shuttle Launch Station and enjoy.

As part of his own Make Something Cool Everyday undertaking, Aled Lewis has been creating a number of highly amusing pieces involving Video Games vs Real Life. For some reason I am beyond entertained when viewing this E. Honda piece.. it's just too perfect. Be sure to browse all of his creations and follow along for the rest of the year.. if he's able to keep this pace of goodness for the entire 365 we'll all be in for some great treats.

It's not entirely clear who is behind Book of Art but you can rest assured that they have a vision and a level of patience that few have had before. The forms are created entirely by folding pages; a process that I can only imagine takes somewhere close to forever. The more script style text is my favorite...

via Jamie.

There aren't enough words for how much I'm enjoying these pieces from Marco Suarez. Distressed images inside of a circular mask: simple and totally approved. Be sure to view them all.

Heads up via Jessica.

I'm loving the idea behind Listening Room - basically a web based chat room where you can also upload and stream music to all participants. I'm sure it's not the first place to do this but it's certainly one of the simplest and most efficient executions of the idea that I've encountered. The creator, Abe Fettig has an informative writeup on his site about the progression of the site.. it seems to make nice incremental improvements over time. I'll be hanging out in here today.. come in and share some music.

Heads up via Mondo Salvo.

Loving this gallery of images from Charles Binger - a British painter best known for his commercial works during the 20's through the 70's. It's kind of odd to see this pulp style without the accompanying text sweeping along with it but it's enjoyable to take it in as such. It's odd that the writeup at the top of this page mentions some of his greatest work but then doesn't actually show it below - i.e. the Niagara poster or Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Regardless, I'm sure there is a wealth of work out there to discover.

via Honor Student.