Anyone interested in checking out Clicker.com please drop a comment on this post. I've got five invites I can send out and seems like those reading this should be the first to possibly receive them!

If you don't recall what Clicker is, read this to get my quick review on it.

Update: Sorry.. all gone.

It's hard to believe but the work of Thomas Demand is comprised almost entirely of paper goods but according to this, that's entirely the case.

The artist often finds his subjects in the mass media using them as the starting point to recreate a particular spatial situation as paper sculptures, which are then made into a two-dimensional image with the use of a large format camera and meticulous attention to detail.

A Google image search reveals some ridiculous detailed works done in this style. Pieces like this are hard to believe but that is, obviously, what makes them so appealing.

I am indebted to Jessica for sending over this collection of images from the Russian Underground Press (circa 1905-1906). Aside from wanting a high quality version of that "Woodgoblin" piece I'm always appreciative of a good political art piece heavily relying on images of death (and other similar symbols) to get a point across. More to be seen here.

I will make no claims about fully comprehending the technology behind the emerging Micro-Transport Protocol but the mindset behind it is certainly one to appreciate. What it seems to me is that a bunch of developers in the BitTorrent community have come up with a new way to modify the current transfer protocol into something that is smarter about network clogging; making it more efficient to transfer a large number of bytes. Here's the snippet that spells it out:

μTP is like driving with your eyes *open* – µTP is able to see problems coming and make much more modest adjustments to ensure the problems don't cause a car wreck. It does this by being able to detect congestion on a network based on how long a packet takes to be sent from one peer to the next. If things start to take longer, then µTP adjusts the rate of sending accordingly.

And the benefit that it could possibly bring:

Overall, when we get µTP stable, we’re excited about the potential benefits that this could bring to ISPs by reducing the effective burdens on their networks. Although we stand to gain nothing financially from them for implementing it, we hope to maintain the lead enjoyed by µTorrent and BitTorrent Mainline software as the most popular BitTorrent clients, and hopefully demonstrate how innovation from responsible stakeholders on a neutral internet can lead to winning outcomes all-around.

So, at the heart of it, it's a way to give an edge to some software but deeper down it's a way to alleviate some stress on network bandwidth, potentially waylaying some of the Us vs Them mentality between the BitTorrent community and ISPs.

In celebration of the birth of Harvey Pekar a large group of artists submitted their take on the Pekar portrait - a project they're calling Harvey Heads. There's an intense variety of works to be found there but I find myself drawn (no pun intended) to the simple styles the most; though there are some real doozies in there!

I love Halloween music. Be it spooky sound effects, amusing songs about the season or a random song that reminds me of Halloween; I consider myself a big fan. So, with that in mind, I am extremely pleased to present my fourth release for yk records - Curse Walk by Shaboi.

The album is a quick listen but it spans a wealth of styles in that time. He manages to cover hip-hop, instrumental electronic, country ballads, traditional pop and even a nod to 1920's Radio Drama. Typically I'd think this was a bit too eclectic for it's own good but the thematic umbrella of Halloween holds it all together perfectly.

Long story short, Shaboi has created a great album of Halloween songs that every single person that encounters these words will find something enjoyable on. As always, it's a free download or a purchasable limited edition CD with artwork courtesy of Amir Raissian.

• Download Curse Walk - completely free, no strings attached. Just promise to enjoy it and pass it along.
• Buy Curse Walk - limited edition compact disc, hand printed and decorated uniquely for each purchase.

The above screenshot does about 0% justice to the greatness of the site for Wonderwall Inc. The tower of a site is a very simple idea but the implementation is done extraordinarily well. The transitions are unbelievably smooth and just a great way to showcase the portfolio information. They were even smart enough to maintain deeplinks; a touch I never fail to appreciate on a Flash site.

Via JBondorew.

I've been reading about this compilation of 8-Bit artists all doing Beatles songs called I Wanna Hld Yr Handheld and it looks like the album is now fully compiled and ready for streaming. No download or physical version available yet but at least you can hear everything in its entirety for free!

Doing a Beatles song in 8-Bit style is odd enough as it is but these artists don't do straight interpretations either; so it's a nice base of familiarity with a lot of new on top of it.

Some readings to fill your Monday morning that will look like you are being productive but maybe not so much...

• Women on the pill prefer pretty men - I don't buy this at all and the statistics cited throughout are absurd but it's interesting none the less.
• Opening line of Bible mistranslated - this is only one experts theory but apparently there's a theory that God did not create the Heaven and Earth but seperated them. I'm calling this backlash on The Conservative Bible.
• The End of Email - long article extolling the benefits of services like Twitter and Facebook as the forthcoming new communication tools, not email. More thoughts on this later...

Way busy this week. These offerings are somewhat weak but at least one of them will open up a YouTube spiral that is worth your time. Here's the playlist.

• Wonka's Tunnel Reversed - I've always thought this movie was scary for kids and now it's absolutely terrifying for anyone. Thanks Davis.
• Talking Animals - the concept seems a bit America's Funniest Home Videos but because it's British, it's better. And if you don't like those badgers I'm not sure we can be friends. Be sure to see the rest of the clips offered by the BBC.
• Boxer in Deep Sleep - I am at a loss for words on this; very disturbing but totally harmless.
• Chop Cup - this was just too weird to not share. I love the aesthetic but am having a hard time understanding the end goal.

In case you didn't see them earlier in the week, be sure to watch this new Modest Mouse video and Terrible Decisions with Ben Schwartz.. that should take up a good portion of your Friday.

Have a great weekend.

The fine craftsmanship of You Are So Last Year has always been impressive but with their latest relaunch I think it's safe to say they stepped things up a good bit. The overwhelming detail is still intact but the overall vibe seems to have taken on a much more serious / dark tone. The shop has an 18" x 24" laser engraved aged leather piece that looks to be about one of the most mind blowing things I've seen in awhile. I mean, laser engraved leather! C'mon!

To all involved with the relaunch / new collection - congratulations, you're awesome.

A nice dry sensibility and a bit of backlash to the overwhelming number of cat meme's has resulted in Average Cats; a feline based meme in and of itself pointing out the absurdities of giving cats human traits. I am not entirely sure why but I find each and every one of these entries to be worthy of reading and enjoying heartily.

The trailer for Chris Rock's documentary Good Hair looks pretty incredible. I will openly admit to knowing next to nothing of the subject matter but I think that's what makes it all the more intriguing.

I would hope by now that everyone checks out The Big Picture on a regular basis but if you somehow missed the documentation of The Berlin Reunion; the latest performance from Royal de Luxe - do yourself a favor and check it out now. The YouTube results aren't half bad either but the still images have a nice mystique to them.

Bent Image and Nando Costa did the video for the latest Modest Mouse track "Whale Song" (taken from No One's First, And You're Next). It's a pretty epic video and an atypical song to release a video for; particularly given the bands recent success with more pop leaning gems. It's well worth a watch and I suggest you do so now.

So I got an invite to the beta version of Clicker - a forthcoming site dedicated to bringing streaming TV from a variety of sources all conveniently into one place. The great thing about it is that it really seems to be a pretty exhaustive take on what's available out there - loads of shows are indexed and accessible through the site. The downside to the whole experience is that a great majority of the videos / episodes just provide links out to another site to actually watch the media.

Granted, the site is still in development and it is a search engine - so it's doing its job well in that department but the presentation of content is done in such a way that you would not expect to be constantly leaving the site. Just about any video from a media source that's worthwhile offers an embed, so why not just play the movie right there for everything? Hopefully that's an issue that will get tackled before the wide open launch as it really could be a fairly worthwhile service.

I just finished reading this interview with Terry Gilliam and it was a great reminder that I need to go back and watch as much of his work as I can get my hands on. I think his aesthetic is one of the few that stands the test of time because it always has this handcrafted feel to it. Movies like The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Time Bandits or Brazil all have similar visual tone that you just don't see enough of today. Gilliams more recent films certainly play off those aesthetics and I'm hoping that The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus sticks with that mindset.

Regardless, it's a good interview. Go read it. Via Davis.

I was pleased to find a notice in my inbox this morning that Kid Robot has released a new set of Frank Kozik figures entitled Mongers Filter Kings. I foresee them as an impulse buy sometime in the not too distant future.