I've been meaning to post about this forever and just now properly remembered. The gentleman at Grain and Gram apparently launched a sub-section to their large features called Five Questions with a Craftsman in which they ask, you guessed it, five questions to a respectable craftsman. Not sure how I missed that when it was originally posted but hopefully I'll do much better about seeing the new questionnaires as they are posted moving forward.

Earlier in the week there was a press conference held by seven former US Air Force personnel in which they recounted their experiences with UFOs. The basic idea being: UFOs are real and the government is covering it up. Nothing particularly new there in the conspiracy theory department but it's interesting to see such testimony coming from reliable sources; not just crackpots out in the middle of nowhere. Supposedly these visits took place near nuclear arms facilities and, in one case, the missiles were deactivated due to the actions of the flying object. I can't not love quotes like this:

“The best way I can describe it, it looked like an eye – with bright red, with a dark center. It appeared to be winking. It was shedding something like molten metal, was dripping off it.

It silently moved through the trees, avoiding any contact, it bobbed up and down, and at one point it actually approached us. We tried to get closer. It receded out into the field, beyond the forest, and silently exploded into five white objects – gone. So we went out into the field looking for any evidence, because something had been apparently falling off it – and we find nothing."
- Retired Col. Charles Halt

I don't buy it hook, line and sinker but I do find it fascinating to read / watch the video.

via Mac.

I guess all my traveling around as of late has left me a bit out of the loop when it comes to musical artists that I love releasing things. Case in point: White Denim just released a new album entitled Last Day of Summer that is available as an entirely free download. While it's not considered an "official" album by the band - it is twelve great songs that you get for nothing. Here's the rundown:

this record is something we made as a little summer retreat from our ongoing work on the third full length. many of these tunes have been bouncing around since the formation of the band back in 06. we were super pumped to utilize a few fresh and casual musical approaches on this record. we hope that you find something that satisfies you within this body of work. if you enjoy the music and feel compelled to support the group, please notice the support button beneath the download link and the image. we are going to be heading out on the roads this october and would greatly appreciate anything that you would feel comfortable contributing.

So, there you have it, free music, another record well underway and a pleasant request to support the band if you like it. Win Win all around.

Jamie hit me up with this interesting presentation on Rethinking the Mobile Web from Yiibu. The basic idea is that there are a ton of mobile devices out there - iPhone and Android not exactly dominating the pile - and they are being neglected a proper mobile experience because their browsers don't get recognized as legitimately mobile. So, Yiibu suggests building all sites with the mobile style as the base - the foundation - and extrapolating your full iPhone / Android / desktop styles with media query includes. It's basically entirely backwards from the way everyone is doing it now but that doesn't mean it isn't an idea worth considering. Starting with your lowest common denominator means you're reaching a larger audience, no?

Part of me wants to say that this feels a whole lot like designing for IE6 and will, ultimately, hold back the progress of the mobile web. However, I can't really say that when the notion is to keep building layers of your site from the most basic upwards. Can't argue with that.

It's tough to show why this little javascript game is as fun as it is but, trust me, it rules. So, please, take a moment to drag that bookmark to your toolbar and use it on any number of sites.

I had the distinct pleasure of watching the first episode of An Idiot Abroad last night and have to say, it is absolutely everything I hoped it would be. Karl Pilkington is, as Gervais says, capable of saying the "most awful things, so naively and sweetly" and it absolutely shows in the series. Granted, I think he's in on the joke.. Pilkington is a master of keeping things dry even when you know he wants to crack a little smile underneath it all but he is truly in shock to be in such different surroundings. Oddly enough, I do agree with him on a number of points. I'm not sure what that says about me but I look forward to seeing more.

Long story short, find a way to watch these episodes. It may end up on the Travel Channel one day but, until then, acquire it by any means.

It is absolutely baffling to me that the Everything series can get better each time. Part 11 is a great testament to that. Five vignettes, all quality. I certainly prefer some over others but it is consistently refreshing to see such a wide variety of styles and pro execution each time. And, yes, I will continue to post them every time.. so I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Just had an enjoyable browse through the photostream of Janelle Dry. The washed out palette of most of the images is a nice companion to the hazy subject matter. Her official site has a decent amount of overlap with the photostream but the larger image format makes for a more enjoyable viewing experience.

The trailer for the new Coen Brothers movie True Grit looks as great as one would expect. Is it blasphemy to remake a Henry Hathaway movie and recast Jeff Bridges in the role once sustained by John Wayne? To some, probably so but given that the Coen Brothers are actually adapting the 1968 novel of the same name, it's probably more acceptable. And, honestly, Bridges looks like a total badass with an eyepatch and guns blazing. The trailer does the job it is meant to do - gets you excited, curious and intrigued to see the full film.

Ever since I saw Heat Vision and Jack many years back I knew that whoever created it had something worth keeping track of. Turns out that person was Dan Harmon, who has since gone on to create NBC's Community sitcom. I wasn't sold on said show at first but as the season progressed it's really come into its own. Long story short, The AV Club has a great interview up with Mr. Harmon about his process of writing Community, how the first season developed both in terms of plots and character growth and what to expect with season two. His treatment of television is an honorable one as he cites many shows as his direct influence - Cheers and Taxi specifically. Take some time to read through it, it's well worth it.

The full site for the TRON Soundtrack launched yesterday and it's a doozy for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the news that the soundtrack will be released on November 22nd, almost a full month before the release of the film. Secondly, the site contains a number of Easter Eggs. Check the source code on the page and you'll see this ASCII Flynn hidden among the markup. There are also a number of keyboard triggers once you're on the main page that I've stumbled across - "Flynn", "Light", "Daft" - all open new windows to related sites. Not exactly spoilers but certainly very neat hidden functionality.

Big kudos to Version Industries for putting it together.. I've got a feeling there's more on the way.

Time again for another installment of the We Own This Town podcast. There's always been a hefty amount of music coming out of the Nashville area worth hearing (as evidenced by this being the 38th installment) but every time I compile one of these podcasts I feel like the quality just keeps getting better. There's a wide range of styles available and much here worth investigating more of - all of it in fact. Go check it out or just snag it below.

• 1. And the Relatives – "Hammer Down"
  Green Machinery
• 2. Hotpipes – "Anna Come Down"
  The Bear & The Astronaut
• 3. Heartbeater – "Dark Horse Riding"
  Slow Waves
• 4. James Wallace and The Naked Light – "Colored Lights"
  More Strange News From Another Star
• 5. Meth Dad – "Monster Bodies"
  All Bleached Out
• 6. Keegan DeWitt – "Say La La (Jensen Sportag World Hat Remix)"
  Say La La Remix EP
• 7. Makeup and Vanity Set – "The Binary Man"
  The Final Fire
• 8. Casa Castile – "Haunted Ectasy"
  Vake
• 9. Kelly Kneiser – "This Life of Ours"
  Kelly Kneiser
• 10. A Country Gentleman – "Wolves Coming Down"
  Pardoned

Here's one for the bookmarks - This Ain't No Disco showcases the work spaces of a load of notable and respected design agencies. Sometimes the similarities between spaces can be remarkable but there's always a unique bit of personality in each one. Some of the spots, like Inventionland, are hard to comprehend even existing.. others, like El Cuartel, are clean, simple and look quite pleasant to work in. Absolutely a good site to keep an eye on; both for design inspiration and pleasant photography.

via Landry.

The speed of the Internet probably makes this pretty old news by now but Colbert testifying at Congress is endlessly fascinating. He is, as usual, pretty on point with this sly commentary but I do have to question why he's even being asked to speak. It's a great comedy bit but it's not exactly a proper usage of taxpayer dollars to have a comedian come in as an expert testimony. The full Colbert Report episode concerning the shindig is available to watch but the testimony itself is entertaining enough in and of itself.

Heads up Zach.

GoogleMobile recently released this video explaining how their new Location Specific Search function works. You request something you're looking for, i.e. "Pizza", and the app determines your location and returns the results close by. While the technology is interesting it is far more fascinating that Google chose to release a ten minute long video of a man using this app over and over and over in search of "Pizza." It's one of those videos that ebbs and flows between completely stupid and annoying to hilarious and ridiculous - despite never really changing throughout the duration. Google goes viral, who knew?

• Pair of aluminum clocks reveal Einstein's relativity at a personal scale - the short of it, living at a higher elevation will cause your body to age faster but the speed is so tiny, you'd never notice. via Shark Socks.
• Tweening Tips - maybe this has been around for awhile but it's new to me.. insight from the creators of TweenLite on optimizing usage.
• WINE Bottler - apparently this somehow allows you to run Windows apps on OS X. I am sure this is nowhere near news to anyone but it was fresh to me and I was intrigued but didn't actually pull the trigger to check it out.

If you don't love some of the gems this week you are no fan of Friday Videos. By all means, go forth and enjoy.

• Bill Monroe on NYC Subway - there is not another 9 seconds of video on the Internet more perfect than this. Except maybe this but it's an incredibly close call.
• Diesel Kick Ass Ad - stupid and perfect in so many ways.
• Cats and Croissants - can't you see the resemblance?! I love that something like this exists in a serious manner.
• Salvador Dali loves Lanvin Chocolate - commercials need to be more weird.. like this.
• Andy Warhol Japanese TDK Ad - commercials need to be more weird... like this.
• Vajayjay Magic - probably NSFW but the concept is so ridiculous that you have to see it. Bubbles From Hell!
• Living Photography: Chris with Teacup - the payoff is the wait. I find this to be so weird that I can't look away. There are more but this one is the best of the bunch as it seems somewhat self-unaware.

BONUS

• A Portland Food Cart: Part 2 - great looking video showcasing the Siete Suerte taco truck in Portland, complete with side mosaic by Jeremy Okai Davis.. he even makes a nice cameo in the video. Acting!
• El Guincho - "Bombay" - quite NSFW but it's an incredible montage of clips featuring the cosmos, guns, bows and arrows, bare breasts, sparklers, innuendo and a load of great music.
• Bill Monroe on NYC Subway - yea, that's right. This is so good you need to watch it again.

Have a great weekend. I return to TN on Sunday, first time home in seven weeks.. should be interesting. In the meantime, if you're in NYC - hit me up, we can hang out.

Once again The Big Picture delivers goodness both in format and in content. This series of Animals in the News is right up my alley. A lot of the pics are frivolous and fun, others are real downers but good to know about. However, the best are those having to do with the INDEX 2010 exploration of the Sangihe Talaud Region off of Indonesia, where some 40+ new species were found. I mean, how could you not be enamored with images such as this or this?? It's also worth noting that scientists in Taiwan are working on genetically engineered bio-luminescent fish - what purpose this will serve beyond sprucing up a potentially terrible dining experience is beyond me but I do admit to it being kind of awesome.

I'm not gonna lie, I love Jon Stewart. I think his approach to the news and comedy and the whole of political quagmires is fresh and on point. The Daily Show is fantastic. This is not surprising to anyone. However, there's a special appreciation that comes about for Mr. Stewart when he appears on other shows. You get to see that his persona on The Daily Show is not entirely a put-on and that he is far more eloquent and insightful than he often bares. He also tends not to hold any punches. His latest appearance on O'Reilly's 'No Spin Zone' isn't quite as jaw-dropping as, say, his time on Crossfire but it's still good. He's promoting his new book, Earth, and talks a little chit chat about politics. It's a two part-er so be sure to watch the whole thing.

It just so happens that I've encountered a couple of different technologies attempting to tackle the same topic, how we will read / enjoy books in the future. Obviously the way we consume books now isn't problematic in and of itself but with the proliferation of eReaders, iPhones, iPads, etc. etc. etc. there will be more stress to "improve" on the experience.

IDEO proposes three potential solutions in the above video - all integrating a social aspect of some sort into reading. Some of the interfaces seem a bit more complex than they should but there are some good ideas floating around in there. I think I'm mostly partial to the 'Coupland' proposition and the most opposed to the 'Alice' solution.. as it seems to take the best part of reading away, the solitude and escape aspect.

The people over at Copia are undertaking a similar approach to the social reading experience that you may have encountered with Readernaut, Shelfari or GoodReads but take it a step further and integrate themselves as a book reader. So you can read the book through their service and immediately annotate, bookmark and share portions of the book as you go. Personally, I like this more than transcribing portions of a book that I'm currently reading. Hopefully the launch of the product won't be constricted to just their eReaders but more a wide open web space that plays nice with as many devices as possible. Be sure to check their Demo video to see the site in action.. it's actually quite impressive.

Overall, I'm not convinced that reading needs to be "fixed" but I find these solutions to be intriguing to say the very least. If technology can find a way to get people (myself included) into reading more long form writings, I am all for whatever it takes.