Apparently last nights episode of The Simpsons featured an extended intro curated by Banksy. The typical setup of the intro was fairly average, save a few Banksy rats and some scrawls but once the family hits the couch for the one-off gag that's where things really take a turn. The extended intro shows an abusive labor camp like environment where the show itself is being made, along with merchandise / dvd's / etc.

It's an incredibly heavy handed message about the exploitation of other countries for the creation of crap goods and consumption. Supposedly it was created out of a reaction to the notion that the "show outsources much of its animation to a company in South Korea." Um, that's not new news. Futurama and Simpsons have been very open about their use of South Korean animators for years. And if you're doing a piece on their exploitation, should you do it via animation - thus creating more exploitation? I'm a little baffled.

Regardless, it's an interesting watch and something worth pondering but I'm not convinced it hit the mark it was aiming for.

Please note: the quality of the video is crap b/c the proper version keeps getting nabbed from YouTube due to copyright violation. Take what you can get I suppose.

Take some time to browse through the works of Brad Vetter; a designer working at Hatch Show Print and, obviously, a master of the letterpress. The art pieces are a great combination of illustration and letterpress but the poster design is what gets me.. any time you can make something visually appealing for a subject that is of no interest (i.e. a great looking Alice in Chains poster) is highly impressive to me.

• What We've Learned About Doing UI for mobile web apps with WebKit - 37Signals drops some good insight on what their experiences during design and development for webkit mobile apps. While some of the advice may be obvious it is nice to see it put so succinctly and clearly.
• Google Has a Secret Fleet of Automated Toyota Priuses - apparently Google really does get into a little bit of everything; including experimenting with creating an automated vehicle that drives itself using a combination of "video cameras, radar sensors, and a laser range finder." Oh, and a ton of data from Google Data Centers / Google Maps. I'm torn on the idea of an automated vehicle; sounds safe and nice but also seems to rip away the biggest appeal of having a car - the freedom and control.

The campaign for the 2011 Mediocrity Sedan is, obviously, a marketing tool for Subaru but it's so well done - and so in-depth - that you can't help but enjoy it. The site is a full blown car site - photo galleries, build your own tools, stats, etc.. but the real greatness is in the videos and game. Also be sure to stop by the Mission Statement.. good stuff.

In your attempts to get the week rolling along properly I suggest you choose a few essays from Colin Nissan and dive right in. It's hard to go wrong with any of his musings. I was particularly entertained by this piece, "If I Could Fly." Here's an excerpt:

If I could fly, I would find a hummingbird, then hover right next to him and flap my arms in slow motion. I bet that would look really weird, and possibly make him nauseous.

If I could fly, I would fly over the plains of the Serengeti to see all the animals close-up. I’d bring a gun and fire it a couple of times just to see the looks on their faces when they think, Oh great, birds have guns now.

I also suggest bookmarking this list and revisiting whenever you need a quick pick-me-up. via Zach.

Here's the playlist! You know what to do.

• I Want Dat Meatball - one of those bizarre Internet videos that if you ever tried to explain it to anyone you would look insane. Despite that, it's an enjoyable viewing.
• Smile Practice - with each cut, I like this guy more and more.
• Lighting a Cigarette - Bollywood pretty much does everything better. From the 1986 film Geraftaar.. a movie I'd like to watch in its entirety now.
• Kings of Leon Shreds - there are a myriad of "Shreds" videos out there, reworking the audio from popular band performances to make them sound terrible but this one is different.. somehow more subtle. I mean, there's no way this actually went down this way but if you let yourself, you can believe it. Be sure to watch his other shreds when you have a moment.
• Model Airplane Crash - I think I've watched this ten times.. the reaction is perfect.
• Elevator Rage - watch this video.. enjoy it for what you see and then read this. Decide for yourself if it's funny, tragic or funny tragic.
• Pyromania - Matt Curry sends me lots of weird stuff.. that sends me down paths to find equally weird stuff. "Pyromania" is one of those treats we discovered.
• Two Rabbits, Two Cups - nothing subversive here.. just two adorable rabbits inside cups. Sometimes you gotta cleanse the Friday Video palette with some over the top cuteness.

BONUS

• Mad Smoke - every cigarette smoked during the show.
• Beck - "Swept Away" - Beck's Record Club project takes on Yanni. Amusing to say the very least.
• Reflection NY - simple video concept that I couldn't stop watching.

That's it! Have a great weekend.. you deserve it.

I've posted about the work of Megan Kathleen McIsaac before but she's updated her official site so it's time to take another look. As before, she has a bunch of great work that's difficult to take in all at once but if you pace yourself.. you will be rewarded.

Aaron over at Elastic Heart posted up a new mix, Woke Up Laughing, that I recommend downloading. He's also got a new design for his site that I'm enjoying quite a bit and can't believe I didn't see until this very moment.. Regardless, get the mix - it will be a handy companion to start your weekend.

The Ultimate CSS Gradient Generator.. umm.. generates CSS Gradients for you. It's right there on the face of it! It also does it quite easily and effectively using UI / UX you are familiar with. Bookmark it.

How has it taken this long for something as brilliantly simple as Shuffler.FM to come along? You choose a genre and the site transports you to an mp3 blog with a song from that style.. when that is finished, it forwards you to another mp3 blog for another track, etc. etc. It not only exposes you to new music but to new sites that obviously have something in common with you; and thus, a reason to read it often.

via Meat & Potatoes.

Being that it is currently October, Halloween is right around the corner. This means you should be listening to the quality releases from Shaboi at least once a day. I suggest, if you don't have it already, going to snag Curse Walk as soon as you can. You might as well snag his Caterpillar 7" while you're at it but most definitely get Curse Walk. I realize I'm coming from a very biased place in my praise for this release but, objectively, it really is the perfect companion to your Halloween rotation. I will never tire of Rapsylvania `88 and there's something undeniably refreshing when Gozer's Boombox comes through the ole headphones. However, tracks like I Once Knew a Ghoul are such a rare combo of humorous, sweet and just a little bit sad. Long story short, I ♥ Shaboi and you should too.

Heads up - Public School member and illustrator extraordinaire Will Bryant relaunched his official site. Aside from being chalk full of fun stuff to look at there's a nice little cursor replacement trick in place that fits the playful nature of his work to a perfect T. Don't miss it.

As often as I harp on the overbearing intensity that Whiskerino became I am often reminded of all the good that came of it. Case in point; getting to know Birmingham photographer Cary Norton. Aside from being a quality person to know in general, he's also quite talented behind the lens. He recently relaunched his official site and I can't recommend going to have a look - particularly at the series of "Weird World" images. Cary is a gifted guy in the Portrait department but I'm particularly drawn to his off the cuff shots - great results. He also relaunched a blog to go along with it but I'll clue you in to a little secret - follow his Tumblr, he always posts good stuff there too.

There has (probably) never been a time when Steve Albini gave an interview and some curious nuggets of truth didn't come from it. This GQ Interview is no different - Albini remains as open and honest as he's ever been. A lot of people find this to be offputting and abrasive but there's a refreshing angle to his clarity that you have to respect. He has some seemingly harsh words for Sonic Youth and their involvement in the major label world of music that many music fans seem quite bothered by but I just read it as one mans opinion, not a hard-line fact.

Despite all that, he does mention a band that he worked with lately, Grandfather, that impressed him with their speed and efficiency of working outside the label system to record and release an album. During Albini's heyday it was not possible to be quite so nimble.

My favorite quote in the whole interview comes in regards to the late John Peel:

His work ethic was absolutely incredible. He made it a point of pride to listen to every record that anyone sent him. He would listen literally to dozens of records a day. He said something once that I thought was really profound: He said that no one would bother making a record and sending it to him if he thought it was shitty. Obviously, to the people making those records, they are important. If he doesn't get it as a listener, if he didn't like it in some way, that's his fault, not the fault of the people who did something important to them. That's a pretty amazing, humble insight for someone like him to have.

Good advice to remember.

Dr. Stanley B. Burns has a massively impressive collection of rare and historical photos. He's shared a small portion of those with Newsweek and they've given them context and posted them to this gallery. Unfortunately there are no direct deep links to each entry but the entire series is fascinating for a number of reasons. The images of Death and Grief are not something you see too often these days. There's some troubling images in there regarding our sorted past (lynchings, KKK, medical experiements, etc) but it's always good to know where you come from so as to never repeat your mistakes. I think this might be the first time I've ever seen a legit image of someone who has been tarred and feathered; it's actually way more intense than I imagined.

If you have ever encountered the problem of keeping up with when a movie, album, game, book or DVD is set to be released I suggest you bookmark When It Drops; an incredibly simple but well designed site to help remind you of just those things. Granted, it can't cover everything that it set to come out but it's a quality overview.

Via Zach.

While not exactly scientifically accurate, this collection of vintage color wheels is a great glimpse into contemporary thinking - how we worked our way through theories of light and color and the documentation process. Have a look through Part 1 and Part 2 for a number of visually engaging approaches to color theory.. there's sure to be something in there you like.

Via Chad.

I've been a fan of Jensen Sportag for some time now. While it's not the typical style of music you'd expect me to be recommending there's just an undeniable appeal to it. They recently released a video for their track "Jareaux" and it fits right in with what I expect from them. I love the aesthetic of the video and don't care that the best way to describe the music is "smooth" or "sexy" - because that's what it is.. and it is good.

I'm really liking the UI/UX concept behind the new Sparrow mail application. It's a clean, minimal setup that reminds me of Tweetie in more ways than one. And that's not a bad thing, as I think Tweetie is hands-down the best solution for the Twitter content it provides. Could Sparrow be an effective new way of thinking and handling mail? Quite possibly so. The few downsides I see are the lack of filing mail into archived categories or finding mail that has been archived somewhere. It seems to work well for an Inbox / Outbox style of thinking but not so much for a Filing Cabinet style history. However, that may change and the clean look is appealing enough to keep an eye on it to see how they grow and improve.

Yesterday, one of my favorite music blogs - yvynyl - announced that he would be partnering up with I Guess I'm Floating to create a music releasing mechanism entitled Small Plates Records. The first release from the outing is a limited edition 7" from the band Guards. You can pre-order the Oct 19th release here and download the A-side (regardless of purchase) right here.

Count me in.. I'm looking forward to see what these guys continue to bring to the table.