view-master

Father at Fifteen

2010-09-22T11:47:00.005-04:00

Darren Thornton used to teach drama at a center for troubled youth, and - drawing from that experience - provides us with a challenging portrait of his short's title character, Frankie. Frankie is dedicated to the idea of being a good father, doting on his child-sized doll, but there are several scenes that underscore his immaturity. Thornton doesn't avoid indicting a cycle of fatherlessness. Apparent poverty doesn't help matters, but it isn't crammed down your throat as an excuse. "Frankie" simply lets Frankie talk to us about his world: ugly enough to be real, true enough to be beautiful.

The film has received a fair amount of recognition, and press for the European Film Awards grabbed an interview with Thornton last April.

Just Say No-No

2010-09-16T13:55:00.003-04:00

James Blagden created this animated short about Doc Ellis' no-hitter (June 12, 1970) using audio from a Weekend America interview that aired on March 29, 2008. Doc describes himself as being "high as a Georgia pine" during the game, under the influence of LSD. In the wake of Major League Baseball's steroid scandal, it's almost encouraging to hear a story about a guy accomplishing one of baseball's rarest achievements while he was hallucinating.

GIF Talk

2010-09-10T18:36:00.003-04:00

Evan Roth (of G.R.L. and F.A.T.) has created a 10-minute ode to the asinine antics of animated Graphics Interchange Format files. What better way to celebrate than setting this massive mashup to Girl Talk and marvelling at how obsessed we are with babies and cats and science fiction and...

Underneath it All

2010-09-07T16:34:00.003-04:00

"Surface" is a great idea for a short, wondering what the view would be like from below the action. Fortunately, the experiment is well-executed under the guiding eye of Varathit Uthaisri (aka TU+), a Thai designer/director working out of New York. Varathit has also has a storyboard animatic for "Surface" available on his Vimeo account.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

2010-08-25T16:26:00.002-04:00

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, one of many masterpieces by Hayao Miyazaki, is now freely available in it's entirety on Google Video.

Your Lucky Day

2010-08-16T16:52:00.000-04:00

Maps & Atlases w/ The Willie Brown Bears

2010-08-10T16:15:00.001-04:00

Lifeline

2010-08-03T14:37:00.003-04:00

Animator and storyboard artist Andres Salaff won the Bronze Medal last month at the Student Academy Awards for his short film, Lifeline.

If you're interested in seeing more of Andres' animations, he has a handful of other videos available on his Vimeo account.

Primer

2010-07-27T14:14:00.003-04:00

When Shane Carruth unleashed Primer on the world, he arguably gave us the greatest time travel film of all time. Now he's giving it to us for free on Google video.

For those who are interested but confused, check out the basic guide or the complete one to help you understand. There are nine timelines listed on the complete guide, so you're probably not alone.

If you enjoyed Primer and you're wondering what Shane is up to now, you're definitely not alone. Many have cited the comments of Rian Johnson (Brick, The Brothers Bloom): "to all who asked: Shane is alive and well and has a mind-blowing sci-fi script. Let's all pray to the movie-gods that he gets it made soon" (via Twitter). While those are encouraging words from one of new favorite directors, those comments were made almost a year ago.

Within the last month, however, a movie blog called The Playlist acquired a copy of the script for A Topiary. The Playlist bloggers seem to think Shane's new project will live up to the hype, so here's hoping it finds the funding it needs to hit theaters.

The Goon

2010-07-26T12:32:00.002-04:00

Eric Powell's The Goon is apparently getting the silver screen treatment with David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac) producing and the voice talents of Clancy Brown (Highlander, The Shawshank Redemption, Carnivale) and Paul Giamatti (American Splendor, Sideways, Cold Souls).

Apparently this zombie comic adaptation is still looking for a studio. It shouldn't be looking for long, but I'm hoping it won't slide into obscurity like The Amazing Screw-On Head (which also bears the voice of Giamatti). If The Goon can find an audience, perhaps we'll begin to see a wider variety of cult comics hit theaters, too.

Iconic Films

2010-07-20T14:09:00.005-04:00

Can you spot all 35 movie references in this animated puzzle?

Cloak & Cipher

2010-07-14T17:17:00.008-04:00

"New song. Quarry Hymns. Not to be confused with Corey Haim."

Land of Talk has a new album and a new tour. Elizabeth Powell, I love you.

These sweet pilgrims of sound also played Some Are Lakes during their Take Away Show (presented by Black XS Live Sound and La Blogotheque). And if you want to hear Elizabeth explain the story behind Some Are Lakes, there's a great version of the song that was recorded during a Yours Truly session.

Reign of Death

2010-07-11T17:20:00.008-04:00

Matthew Savage has offered up a compelling short, Reign of Death, featuring Noel Clarke of Doctor Who fame. Although Reign of Death features elements of both scifi and noir, I think it shares more in common with steampunk than tech noir in that the technological advancements serve better as anachronistic icing on a 1940s cake rather than indications of a possible future. In this regard, the film reminds me of Penny Arcade's Automata which also debuted last summer (continued in pages two, three, four, five, and six).

If you're interested in making your own short film, there are two great behind-the-scenes videos on Vimeo: Jonathan Dunn's Making of Reign of Death and Linus Hofmann's Reign Of Death VFX Breakdowns.

Things I Like, Things I Don't Like

2010-07-08T13:18:00.006-04:00

Before Jean-Pierre Jeunet gave us Amélie, he had already perfected the style of his character introductions many years before in Foutaises (known as "Things I Like, Things I Don't Like" in the UK and "Small Talk" elsewhere in Europe). While Jeunet's developing talent is the main attraction, it's also clear to see why Dominique Pinon continues to appear in all of the director's films.

Go see Jeunet's latest, Micmacs, if you can find it... And yes, Pinon's in there somewhere.

Coma

2010-07-04T12:47:00.005-04:00

Coma, by Thomas Brush (aka wittyhobos), is today's featured game on Newgrounds.com. The art reminds me a little of new indie classics like Braid and Machinarium, but what really shines is the shareware engine written by Sophie Houlden (aka GirlFlash).

If you liked playing Coma, take Nevermore 3 (by Adam Westerman) for a spin; it uses the same engine. And if you're interested in making your own flash game, check out Sophie's latest engine, Edward.

Out w/ the Old

2010-06-28T01:00:00.007-04:00

When the news industry had no enemy but itself, the hubris of Citizen Kane seemed the perfect metaphor. But then that whole internet thing happened, Hollywood became obsessed with rebooting everything shortly thereafter, and suddenly a vigilante-tycoon-with-a-fetish-for-print-media doesn't sound so crazy. Throw some action movie kebab on the fire, suggest it will debut in 3D, and well... "now you're playing with power." If the Coen brothers can inject their existential goo into True Grit, I don't see why the universe would have a problem with it.

BP Spills Coffee

2010-06-16T18:31:00.004-04:00

As a show of faith in the ability of BP (or anyone for that matter) to clean up the oil spill, Upright Citizens Brigade presents you with some acerbic salve for the soul. After a long day of cleaning globs of petroleum off of whatever livelihood you've lost, what better way to unwind than laughing until you cry into your beer. Please, just be careful not to spill.

Love in the Time of Zombies

2010-06-09T17:38:00.005-04:00

This Spencer Susser short features Mia Wasikowska (aka. Tim Burton's Alice) as the teenage crush of a young man recently orphaned during the zombie apocalypse. The tone lies somewhere between Shaun of the Dead and Gummo. But whether you're facing undead hordes or mere societal decay, who doesn't want a girl that can dispatch swift shovel-swinging justice?

In addition to shorts, Susser also does ads and he unveiled the feature-length Hesher (featuring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Natalie Portman) at Sundance earlier this year.

Motivation

2010-06-01T14:49:00.004-04:00

According to Dan Pink, money just complicates things. All we really want in life is autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

RSA "Animates" play like a perfect storm of Common Craft (In Plain English) and TED talks. I'm hooked.

Still Lost

2010-05-26T15:57:00.007-04:00

I have mixed feelings about the ending of Lost. On one hand, I'm glad the show isn't going to limp along aimlessly. On the other hand, I've hated the Jacob storyline for a while now. For a show that spent so much time trying to raise the world's consciousness of electromagnetism (and time travel, and alternate universes), this heart-of-the-island fairy light bullshit doesn't fly with me. But then why would I give credence to a silly-ass smoke monster? I digress.

Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse clearly didn't heed the advice of Brian Cox's character in Adaptation: "I'll tell you a secret. The last act makes a film. Wow them in the end, and you got a hit. You can have flaws, problems, but wow them in the end, and you've got a hit. Find an ending, but don't cheat, and don't you dare bring in a deus ex machina. Your characters must change, and the change must come from them. Do that, and you'll be fine."

The characters changed and I found that interesting enough. I thought the addition of long-dead characters into the alternate universe was a nice touch, if blatantly sentimental. I just don't feel like the writers found a real ending. Maybe that's what happens when people demand answers to questions you created simply for an air of mystery. Maybe that means I'd like a hyper-convoluted version of Gilligan's Island. Meh.

So what's my point? If the endings of Battlestar Galactica and Lost are any indication: you'll be interested in the fates of characters on any show you spend time watching, but the likelihood that the end of your show will suck the big one increases exponentially if some big damn mystery is at the center of it all. Kind of like a run-on sentence.

Unless you're Joss Whedon. Because Joss Whedon doesn't suck.

P.S. I think Fringe is pretty awesome right now, but the head writers (Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci) are hit-or-miss. Transformers AND Star Trek? I'm torn. Don't even get me started on Akiva Goldsman. That guy thinks he's cool, but he's not.

Take This Job And Shove It

2010-05-21T16:14:00.003-04:00

David Allen Coe, Johnny Paycheck, The Dead Kennedys, and Canibus endorse the instincts of your inner child.

The Tarantino Code

2010-05-17T16:35:00.005-04:00

The secrets of Quentin Tarantino come under scrutiny in a diner scene that could be ripped straight from one of his own movies. Except, y'know, in Portuguese. This short film, starring Selton Melo and Seu Jorge (of Life Aquatic fame), analyzes QT with a fanatic's eye for details. Check out Hungry Man TV for a variety of short films and web series.

Are they all crafty clues or are some just coincidences? You be the judge. Either way, it's more fun than trying to spot Alfred Hitchcock cameos.

"Federer is the tennis player version of Tarantino..."

Wait... what?

Liquid Mountaineering

2010-05-12T12:21:00.003-04:00

The simple rule of the internet is don't believe your eyes, or - at the very least - take a second look. If you work for a media company, that goes double. But, just like Oprah got trolled about 9000 penises ("Oprah 9000" YouTube search), occasionally something plausible is taken as proof of something outlandish. Who doesn't want to believe some mild-mannered euro-dudes discovered they could run on water with special shoes and hard work?

That's exactly the moment when you have to stop and think about the amazing catch that ball girl made or people cooking things with their cellphones.

And remember... nobody fucks with the Jesus.

TED Thyself

2010-05-07T15:09:00.002-04:00

I love TED Talks; everybody should. Experts giving lectures in their fields, streamed online for free... what's not to love? I've posted some TED stuff before, so when I saw Dr. Sebastian Wernicke eviscerate the polarities of TED Talk popularity, it was begging to be shared.

"... If you came here to talk about how French coffee will spread happiness in our brains, that's a go!"

Dr. Wernicke illustrates his points so well that you can't help but giggle at all the silly humans, or be inspired to apply his methods. For instance, TED user Claudio Furet commented on the video with a guide to getting "really high votes" on your TED comments.

Get your own tedPAD and start being an expert today.

May The Fourth Be With You

2010-05-04T14:00:00.004-04:00

Merry Unofficial Star Wars Day!

A long time ago, before Star Wars according to a three year old, before Star Wars retold by someone who hasn't seen it, there was Evan Mather. I first saw Quentin Tarantino's Star Wars and Godzilla Versus Disco Lando during my freshman year of college... ten years ago now. While they might seem unremarkable in the YouTube storm of action-figure opuses, nobody makes better use of Meco.

The Raven

2010-04-30T15:42:00.003-04:00

Ricardo de Montreuil has made a splash with his $5,000 scifi short, The Raven. The film has already drawn comparisons to Alive in Joburg which later became District 9. Who knows... perhaps we'll be seeing a 2-hour version of this in the years to come.

Gingercide

2010-04-28T12:30:00.003-04:00

The gingerism on display in M.I.A.'s new video for "Born Free" feels like South Park meets Children of Men on steroids. And while satire and exploitation serve their purposes, I have to consider them little more than stepping stones to a sad truth: our capacity for arbitrary hate will never die.

Please, for the good of humanity, don't be an idiot.

Go F*ck Yourselves Now

2010-04-24T00:03:00.004-04:00

You've probably heard about Muhammad being represented in a South Park episode. You've probably heard about it being censored by Comedy Central because some assholes (ie. Revolution Islam) said that Matt Stone and Trey Parker would "probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh for airing this show". You may have even heard that www.revolutionislam.com now bears several images "offensive" to Islam, including one of the famous Jyllands-Posten cartoons (seen below) drawn by Kurt Westergaard. But now you've seen what must be considered the best response to the whole mess: Jon Stewart's Go F*ck Yourselves Choir.

In summary, I'll leave you with the immortal words of Camus:

"Nothing is more despicable than respect based on fear."

Death of a Meme

2010-04-22T13:41:00.006-04:00

I first saw Downfall (Der Untergang) a number of years ago... probably 2006 or 2007. Without the internet, the bunker scene is bereft of humor; it is simply an interpretation of Hitler taking bad news badly, albeit a powerful one thanks to the ranting skills of Bruno Ganz. But on YouTube, Hitler found the time to bitch about everybody's problems. And he was often funny, unless you actually speak German. Despite trying to blitzkrieg the world in the name of lebensraum, and that whole Holocaust thing, Hitler finally found a way to become the everyman he'd always wanted to be. I'll bet there are even some Jews out there who will miss him, or at least his internet incarnation. Time may well heal all wounds, but don't be surprised if your suture scars are making a funny face at you.

Head over to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) if you're interested in reading more about copyright law and fair use.

Spawn of Grindhouse

2010-04-19T16:44:00.008-04:00

Remember Machete? You know... one of the fake trailers from Grindhouse? Well it's due out later this year (September 3). I'm guessing Robert Rodriguez has been un castor ocupado between this and producing Predators.

As if that wasn't awesome enough, Hobo With a Shotgun - AKA faux trailer that won the SXSW 2007 Grindhouse Competition - is currently being filmed as a full-blown feature. Playing the title character? Rutger MFing Hauer. Get pumped.

Will Eli Roth bring us Thanksgiving? Will we ever get to see Nic Cage play Fu Manchu in Werewolf Women of the SS? One can hope.

Stephen Fry, Nanoscience Guy

2010-04-15T17:06:00.004-04:00

Stephen Fry narrates this video about nanoscience from the University of Cambridge. Cambridge has a decent science playlist on their YouTube channel and an AV page on the university website called Cambridge Ideas.

The Pale Blue Dot

2010-04-12T14:13:00.006-04:00

"For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love." ~ Carl Sagan

When Video Games Attack

2010-04-10T13:52:00.007-04:00

If you've ever played a video game made in the 80s, Patrick Jean is your new hero. Jean directed Pixels for the French visual effects company, One More Production.

Liars "Scissor"

2010-04-08T18:24:00.004-04:00

Liars "Scissor" from A Bruntel on Vimeo.

If you're seeking something surreal and steeped in futility, well... you've come to the right place. Check out the Liars website, Sisterworld, and/or their MySpace page.

Ridley Scott Hearts Unicorns

2010-04-05T17:23:00.008-04:00

Philips has commissioned a series of short films, Parallel Lines, to air on April 8th at their website. The kicker? The films all use the same unifying theme, and since the filmmakers are all from Ridley Scott Associates, that theme has something to do with unicorns.

Anyway, you can read more about the individual shorts and their creators over at /Film.

*UPDATE*

My favorite short, "The Gift":

Real-Life Superheroes

2010-03-29T12:39:00.006-04:00

What if superheroes were real, but they didn't have any super powers? Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Stardust) answers with Kick-Ass, adapted from the work of Mark Millar. Nic Cage and McLovin get in on the action, but the breakout star is easily going to be Chloe Moretz as Hit-Girl.

And in this corner, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World! The Almighty Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) injects comic-style action into the life of Michael Cera who must "defeat" the seven evil exes of a pink-haired Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Death Proof). The Evil League of Exes includes Johnny Storm/Captain America, Superman, and Max Fischer.

Scientific Morality

2010-03-24T14:51:00.005-04:00

Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation, presented a TED talk called "Science can answer moral questions" earlier this month. While Harris' disdain for religion is evident and may consequently offend some people, I think his examination of the common themes in human values reaches an important conclusion:

"Values are a certain kind of fact. They are facts about the well-being of conscious creatures. Why is it that we don't have ethical obligations toward rocks? Why don't we feel compassion for rocks? It's because we don't think rocks can suffer. And if we're more concerned about our fellow primates than we are about insects, as indeed we are, it's because we think they're exposed to a greater range of potential happiness and suffering. Now, the crucial thing to notice here is that this is a factual claim. This is something we could be right or wrong about. If we've misconstrued the relationship between biological complexity and the possibilities of experience, well then we could be wrong about the inner lives of insects."

Predators

2010-03-21T13:03:00.004-04:00

Forget all your frustration and/or disinterest with the AvP movies. Robert Rodriguez is the producer for the new Predators, due out later this year.

If that doesn't persuade you by itself, check out an interview with Rodriguez at SXSW's Horror Panel.

League of STEAM

2010-03-17T13:32:00.005-04:00

This is going to make about as much sense as anything else on St. Patrick's Day. Watch more episodes of League of STEAM on YouTube.

Yours Tru.ly

2010-03-12T13:57:00.005-05:00

Holly Miranda "Lover You Should've Come Over" (Jeff Buckley cover) from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

I have two new favorite things in the whole wide wild world:
1) YoursTru.ly, a magical music blog. Dive into YT's Vimeo Channel.
2) Holly Miranda playing Jeff Buckley's Lover, You Should've Come Over.

Reduce, Reuse, Retract

2010-03-09T03:22:00.006-05:00

Regardless of what happens with recycling, we definitely need to reduce our collective production and consumption of products composed of or packaged in plastic. Look no further than The Great Pacific Garbage Patch for evidence of that.

See the whole program here.

Something Original?

2010-03-06T12:38:00.007-05:00

Dear Mr. Burton,

When was the last time you went for broke on untrodden ground? When was the last time you weren't adapting something (Alice in Wonderland, Sweeney Todd, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) or essentially rehashing old ideas (Corpse Bride)? 2003... Big Fish. Before that? Not counting the underwhelming Stainboy shorts, 1996... Mars Attacks!. And, for as much as I personally enjoy the movie, Martian invaders aren't exactly revolutionary. I adore Ed Wood (1994), but the only truly original part of that movie is that Eddie never met Orson Welles in real life. I'm obviously not going to count either of the Batman movies, so what does that leave us? Edward Scissorhands (1990) and Beetlejuice (1988). All I'm saying is that you've been riding a wave of popularity for being so 'bizarre' when you really haven't been since the 90's.

Maybe a little fresh blood would help. When was the last time you didn't cast Johnny Depp? Big Fish. Or your wife, Helena Bonham Carter? Sleepy Hollow (1999). On top of that, the only films of yours Danny Elfman hasn't scored are Sweeney Todd (which, of course, came with its own music) and Ed Wood. It's not that Johnny or Helena aren't laden with an overabundance of talent, because they clearly are; it's not that I don't enjoy Danny Elfman's music. I guess I just see other directors using other actors and getting along just fine.

Maybe taking a little extra time to develop truly new ideas would give us a whole new set of reasons to hail you as the King of Weird Shit. In the meantime, I'm giving pieces of that crown to Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) , Neil Gaiman (Coraline and MirrorMask), Terry Gilliam (The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus and Tideland), Richard Kelly (Southland Tales and Donnie Darko), Tarsem Singh (The Fall), and Jhonen Vasquez (Invader Zim).

It's not that I don't look forward to seeing your latest projects, Tim. I enjoy being able to recognize that something's got the Burton touch, not unlike gratuitous shots of women's feet in a Tarantino film. What I'm trying to say is that you haven't challenged me as a viewer for quite some time.

Zumbakamera

2010-03-03T14:31:00.004-05:00

Behold! I have experienced the strangest animation on the internet. Jossie Malis ( aka Zumbakamera) has not only given us The Fantastic World of Fantástico Morales, but also Bendito Machine and Memento Mori.

And! If you enjoyed all of that, I encourage to peruse the bizarre world of artist Tim Molloy.

War for Cybertron

2010-03-01T15:17:00.006-05:00

This is for anyone who loved Transformers as a kid and wishes Michael Bay was a speck in Unicron's waste disposal.

Green Screen Magic

2010-02-24T13:22:00.003-05:00

We Are The Machine

2010-02-22T19:53:00.004-05:00

Today was the first day I heard the term "Semantic Web" even though people have been talking about it - as far as I can tell - shortly after the creation and implementation of the Extensible Markup Language (XML) in web development (officially recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium, or W3C, in 1998). Semantic Web, often referred to as Web 3.0, is driven by metadata, simply defined as "data about data." If you're having trouble understanding, I found a simplified explanation on YouTube.

The most interesting thing about Semantic Web, for me, is that language is at the heart of it. Definitions and organizations of words will ultimately determine how efficiently the internet works for everyone based on their respective searches. It's not that words aren't at the heart of search engines already, but there is a logic being built in metadata that will allow more specific returns (reactions) to queries. Each of us will contribute to a global meta-consciousness through our actions on the Semantic Web. In short, we are collectively paving the way for artificial intelligence: programs with the wealth of the world's prepackaged data at their disposal.

Index This

2010-02-19T17:23:00.008-05:00

For a YouTube channel whose most popular - and largely humorless - series of videos is called Make a Hot Girl Laugh, the satire in Google Threatens To Kill Users is surprisingly well-written. Like we needed any more proof that the phrase "XXX,000,000 (insert here) Fans Can't Be Wrong" is complete f***ing bull****.

Google, where's my gTeleport already?

Centurion

2010-02-17T14:09:00.003-05:00

Neil Marshall returns with his version of the Ninth Legion massacre, starring Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds), Dominic West (The Wire), and Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace). The film is set to debut in the UK on April 23, and it'll hopefully hit American theaters by summertime. Also, fans of Marshall's The Descent should be able to find The Descent: Part 2 (which Marshall produced but did not direct) on DVD by the end of April.

Codehunters

2010-02-15T19:44:00.004-05:00

Codehunters looks like the Gorillaz got crossed with Final Fantasy VII characters and shat out into Borderlands.

Cheese-A-Thon

2010-02-12T17:54:00.009-05:00

Some make you cringe, some make you laugh, some get repeated constantly, and others have turned into memes (speaking of which... where's "You're the man now, dog."?). There are a few inclusions that I don't find cheesy enough and a few that just aren't cheesy at all, especially in context. But with those caveats aside, this is a pretty accurate and pretty fun list. I was glad to see that special attention was paid to the Governator, Keanu, Batman & Robin, The Wicker Man, and the Star Wars prequels. Personally, I would have loved to see "Holey rusted metal, Batman!" And there has to be something from a Star Trek movie worth including. Come on, there's eleven of them; throw a rock.

A list of the films is in the info box on YouTube, but maybe you want to see how many you can name first. Oh, and please please please pleeeease check out The Other 100 Best Movie Quotes of All Time.

A Call for Comfort

2010-02-10T16:40:00.005-05:00

I did a search for the USNS Comfort on Vimeo and found another video of the ship deploying from Norfolk, VA last April.

The New York Times also has several other videos covering a range of topics available on Vimeo.

The Life Arachnid

2010-02-08T12:50:00.005-05:00

I think Wes Anderson's penchant for ensemble casting would make him go whole hog for the entire Avengers team. Personally, though, I think he'd have more fun with Runaways.

While I'm dreaming, Quentin Tarantino will reboot X-Men, J.J. Abrams will reclaim Star Wars, Joss Whedon will do Y: The Last Man justice, Guillermo del Toro will bring The Walking Dead to life, Peter Jackson will dazzle us with Fables, Zack Snyder will use his 300 magic on Northlanders, Paul Greengrass will unleash DMZ, Martin Scorsese will find the darkest parts of Scalped, and Christopher Nolan will take the WildStorm universe seriously enough to create a trilogy featuring characters from Team 7, Stormwatch, and The Authority.

Did I miss anybody?

Homeless Creep

2010-02-06T15:16:00.004-05:00

That guy played these songs on this show. And the Flying Spaghetti Monster saw that it was good.

"If there’s any homeless person who deserves a moment in the spotlight, a huge royalty check, or even just a warm place to sleep, it’s Mustard, the homeless guy who came onto Opie and Anthony’s Sirius XM radio show to blow the minds of everyone in the building with a unique and extremely soulful rendition of Radiohead’s Creep." ~ BiH

The Amazing Screw-On Head

2010-02-03T14:10:00.002-05:00

How To Report The News

2010-02-01T13:42:00.006-05:00

Just two weeks ago I was singing the praises of Dead Set, the British zombie mini-series. Turns out that Charlie Brooker, the brilliant writer of the show, is also responsible for this scathing skewering of news reporting convention. One might say he's got them 'dead to rights'.

"And this is a lighthouse keeper being beheaded by a laser beam..."

Green Zone

2010-01-27T15:51:00.003-05:00

Paul Greengrass has steadily been making a name for himself with The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum (not to mention United 93). Matt Damon is no small part of that, and (it should go without saying) I'm excited to see this when it comes out in May.

Keep It Covered

2010-01-25T12:49:00.003-05:00

Things people love: sex, cartoons, and not getting diseases. Unless you're the Pope; I hear he loves diseases.

Troops

2010-01-22T13:14:00.004-05:00

This is an old favorite. Kinda makes me wish they'd made TESB and ROTJ episodes of Troops, too.

I wonder how a Star Wars version of The Wire would play out... instead of dealing drugs maybe they could smuggle Bacta or something like that.

Noah and the Whale

2010-01-19T21:24:00.002-05:00

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for Spring.

Big Brother Blood Bath

2010-01-16T17:18:00.006-05:00

It's easy for me to hate most "reality" tv shows, but especially one that trivializes the work of George Orwell. What better way to bring the wankers down than plop them into a chapter of World War Z? It warms my heart.

America, the Hypocrite

2010-01-13T16:34:00.004-05:00

From Wikipedia: "According to the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), there are 1,138 statutory provisions in which marital status is a factor in determining benefits, rights, and privileges."

The U.S. government's definition of marriage is not inherently the same as that of any religious institution, nor should it be. Voting to deprive same-sex couples equal rights under the law simply because you disagree with their lifestyle is against the quintessential idea of America: freedom. Keep your churches separated from my states.

Highest Heights

2010-01-11T12:59:00.010-05:00

One of my favorite films of 2008 was Man on Wire. While this BASE jump is perhaps less complicated to execute than the world's craziest tightrope walk, I'm no less impressed by the dedication, the disregard for authority, and the symbiotic obsession of being first and highest.

Also, check out last April's entry on wingsuits and the Ueli Gegenschatz lecture on TED. You won't be disappointed.

Keep on Shining

2010-01-09T15:20:00.005-05:00

In some ways, Kevin McCullough's Electropolis reminds me of Mark Osborne's More, but it's clearly the more optimistic of the two. I believe the message is the same in both, however... stay true to yourself and what you love. Don't take the road less traveled just 'cause Robert Frost said so; make up your own damn mind.

P.S. Thanks to aithnea for the shout-out on reddit.

Universal Perspective

2010-01-05T13:46:00.003-05:00

Or, as shitmydadsays would say: "Universe is 14 billion years old. Seems silly to celebrate one year. Be like having a fucking parade every time i take a piss."

Land of Talk

2009-12-22T13:10:00.007-05:00

It may not feel okay somedays, but at least there's incredible music to help you get through it. Throw in a a gorgeous video that feels like a collaboration between Luis Buñuel and Miyazaki-san and color me enamored.

xkcd

2009-12-16T13:53:00.005-05:00

Randall Munroe is proof that a simple idea, well loved, can become complicated as all hell.

What does xkcd mean? (44:33)

People act out xkcd strips (7:15): "Cory Doctorow wears a red cape and goggles when he blogs..."; "Richard Stallman... sleeps with a katana..."; "Janeane Garofolo jumping a motorcycle off of the international space station as it crashes over an island with a volcanic eruption and tyrannosaurs..."; "Do you expect me to fly?" (19:15)

Also: Programming while drinking (10:15), "Maybe that's how Cory Doctorow gets to the balloon..." (21:25), lisp book (29:52), "If a raptor were to attack me in this room, how would I escape?" (30:28), River Tam (32:49), "Science. It works, bitches." (33:22), EMP Cannon (38:03), Sudo make me a sandwich (49:01), Braille (49:47), live Google doodle (52:52), and elaborate fight scenes (55:10).

Rent-A-Person

2009-12-15T12:57:00.004-05:00

Kurt Kuenne is most widely known for his documentary, Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, but he's also been producing brilliant short films for many years. Be sure to check out his award-winning Validation. And, while we're on the subject of uber-cute super-sap, throw Patrick Hughes' Signs on the fire, too.

Inspiring Bicyclist

2009-12-10T15:12:00.003-05:00

Whether you're fearing for his life or simply in awe of his talents, Danny MacAskill demands to be watched. Band of Horses playing in the background doesn't hurt either.

A Slow Parade

2009-12-08T15:31:00.006-05:00

It's not often I come across a song I really like on a TV show, but if I was hedging my bets, I'd say the next one comes from House, too. "Double A" Bondy is a former member of Verbena, for anyone who remembers them, and he's currently wrapping up a tour in support of his second solo album "When the Devil's Loose."

Check out the use of "A Slow Parade" near the end (37:30) of Episode 9 from Season 6 ("Wilson").

Sherman Alexie

2009-12-02T13:44:00.005-05:00

I did a project about Sherman Alexie for a poetry class in college. My favorite poems of his are "Evolution" and "On the Amtrak from Boston to New York City." I remember joking about him having a mullet.

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to see him on the Colbert Report. It seemed odd to me that, in searching for a video of the interview, I came across this footage of Alexie speaking shortly after 9/11. Maybe because the poetry class that I didn't go to the morning of 9/11 was the same poetry class in which I gave my Alexie presentation. I could gush about how cathartic his words are for me now, but I'll let Alexie speak for himself.

Tub Talk

2009-11-30T21:59:00.004-05:00

I came across this video on the Venture Bros. Blog and immediately crushed on Sara Benincasa so hard that my brain melted into my esophagus.

"Do you know how many nerds just came in their pants?"

Time and Time Again

2009-11-20T16:02:00.003-05:00

Moral of the story: invent an invisibility cloak before you invent a time machine.

Or, you know, just don't kill anyone. We wouldn't want to have to redefine murder-suicide.

Chiwetel Ejiofor Takes Over Current

2009-11-17T12:35:00.005-05:00

9:08, 11:25, 20:20

Geekier Than Thou

2009-11-12T10:53:00.005-05:00

If you've ever worried about your nerdy hobby or been concerned about your OCD kicking in, just rest in the knowledge that Adam Savage is somewhere out there pushing the envelope. He's also probably attempting to recreate the envelope from pictures in his spare time. But that's only because he destroyed the original envelope on Mythbusters... you know... trying to see if he could make it burn underwater or something.

The 11/3 Project

2009-11-06T14:28:00.002-05:00

LaundroMatinee

2009-11-05T14:13:00.007-05:00

My favorite music blog is My Old Kentucky Blog. LaundroMatinee, according to its Vimeo account, is essentially MOKB's vlog counterpart:

"Craig 'Dodge' Lile from MyOldKentuckyBlog.com, with help from the incredibly talented Jeff DuPont (audio) , Doug Fellegy (video), Tim Wilsbach (video), Joe Wallace (Video), Michelle Castillo (Video) and Nate Karamanski (video), has created laundromatinee.com - a site that features the in-studio sessions MOKB records for its SIRIUS XM Blog Radio show (Tuesdays at Noon EST on SIRIUS 26/XM 43)."

P.S. I'm absolutely smitten with this video in particular.

Privatizing Prisons

2009-11-04T16:05:00.004-05:00

Grumpy Old Critics

2009-10-28T16:23:00.005-04:00

Breakfast at Sulimay's isn't just a funny and insightful web series produced by Woodshop Films, it's also the cure for hipster points.

Thanks to big record companies, the audio for some of the YouTube videos has been disabled (so use the link above to watch them on the Woodshop Films website). What's funny to me is that the wedding dance entrance can use a whole song and nobody gives a shit, but some people trying to give their opinions about music using short clips of the songs doesn't constitute fair use. Give us a fucking break.

You're probably as confused as I am about fair use, so check out the Center for Social Media and their Code of Best Practices.

Getting Warmer by the Numbers

2009-10-27T15:29:00.008-04:00

This video is an interesting look at the back and forth of the climate change debate. Today, the Associated Press released an article by their science writer, Seth Borenstein, detailing the results of a new analysis on climate data.

"The AP sent expert statisticians NOAA's year-to-year ground temperature changes over 130 years and the 30 years of satellite-measured temperatures preferred by skeptics and gathered by scientists at the University of Alabama in Huntsville."

"Statisticians who analyzed the data found a distinct decades-long upward trend in the numbers, but could not find a significant drop in the past 10 years in either data set. The ups and downs during the last decade repeat random variability in data as far back as 1880."

Remember the Death Star(s)

2009-10-20T16:33:00.004-04:00

Dream Yourself to Death

2009-10-14T14:57:00.003-04:00

A short by Rian Johnson, of "Brick" and "Brothers Bloom" fame.

How To Get Hot Chicks

2009-10-09T12:57:00.007-04:00

American Imperialism

2009-10-06T15:28:00.003-04:00

Democratic Not-So-Super Majority

2009-10-01T15:19:00.003-04:00

Big Odor in Little 'Gina

2009-09-26T16:51:00.005-04:00

I'd like to dedicate this post to:
1) My ex-girlfriend who said that I "taste like bleach."
2) My middle school nemesis who said my mom "smells like tuna fish."

Skate-tris

2009-09-24T14:48:00.001-04:00

Future Possibilities

2009-09-23T15:18:00.009-04:00

Eight Years Later

2009-09-11T14:11:00.004-04:00

No matter what you believe about 9/11, it still fucking hurts.

Go Team Venture! Again!

2009-09-04T13:35:00.010-04:00

Venture Bros. Season 4 is "scheduled to premiere" on October 18. In the meantime, check out Jackson Publick's LiveJournal and Doc Hammer's deviantART.

Moments

2009-08-26T14:05:00.005-04:00

Directed by Will Hoffman, this short film is apparently inspired by neuroscientist David Eagleman's new book Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives.

"I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. First of all, that one second isn't a second at all, it stretches on forever, like an ocean of time... For me, it was lying on my back at Boy Scout camp, watching falling stars... And yellow leaves, from the maple trees, that lined my street... Or my grandmother's hands, and the way her skin seemed like paper... And the first time I saw my cousin Tony's brand new Firebird... And Janie... And Janie... And... Carolyn. I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me... but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life... You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry... you will someday." ~ American Beauty

Health Care Hijinks

2009-08-25T13:42:00.009-04:00

Dear Democrats,

Pass health care reform with a government option or, as they say 'round these parts, "die in a fire."

kthxbye

* * *

Everybody else,

If you can't argue your case without saying "death panel," "nazi," "fascist," or "socialist" just STFU already. People aren't soylent green and nobody wants to kill your grandma.

xoxo

QT Top 20 & Mixtape

2009-08-21T20:41:00.005-04:00

In honor of the Inglourious Basterds, I present you with Quentin Tarantino's Top 20 since 1992 (ie. the year Reservoir Dogs came out). And, as a bonus, "The Tarantino Mixtape" by video remix magician Eclectic Method.

Parts Per Million

2009-08-18T22:02:00.004-04:00

It's no secret, people love cold hard facts. Scientists can huff and puff about global warming all they want, but it's hard for other people to care about something on such a vast scale if they have nothing for comparison. We can't all go to Antarctica or Greenland and see the ice melting for ourselves. Even if we could, many of us probably wouldn't fully understand, while others would chock it up to a natural phase of weather (ie. interglacial).

Unfortunately for all of us, we've already exceeded the recommended 350 Carbon dioxide parts per million (ppm) that all the experts are getting excited about. Right now, we're hovering around 387 ppm. 350.org seems to be running a successful multimedia campaign to raise awareness, centered around a Global Day of Climate Action on October 24th.

I think it's a great idea to get people organized in their communities. I just have a nagging question in the back of my mind... If 350 is the upper limit, shouldn't we be aiming for something below that?

Hell, I'm moving further inland soon. You coastal people can deal with it.

Ctrl

2009-08-11T01:14:00.007-04:00

If only daydreaming at work was as fun as this show...

Ctrl is a web series, so check it out at NBC or Hulu.

Secret Of The Easy Yoke

2009-08-10T18:12:00.005-04:00

Some part of me likes to think that the greatest time in my life was when I was a Christian. Over the years, I've lamented losing the faith I'd previously built my life around. Recently, though, I realized that the solution is not simply to return to church. Church was never the highlight of my spiritual experience. Church was a lot of somebody else's interpretation of a popular book along with some songs I didn't really like. The highlights were sharing my search for meaning with other people and challenging myself to live by a higher standard of consideration for everyone.

Regardless of how I feel about religions and churches, I'm still not quite sure what to make of the whole god thing. But if there's a song that captures the transitional experience, it's most certainly this one. To paraphrase David, "Well, a lot's changed since I heard this song, but it's an interesting document."

What Teachers Make

2009-08-04T13:36:00.003-04:00

North to the Future

2009-07-29T19:48:00.007-04:00

Sarah Palin may very well be a great hockey mom, better-looking than a pitbull with lipstick, and an accidental poet. Those things aside, she will never cease to remind me of Kitty Farmer (played by Beth Grant) in Donnie Darko.

"Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion."

And by "Sparkle Motion" I mean America, the troops, and Denali the Great One.

***UPDATE***

All new mind-Shatnering Palin poetry... from Twitter!

Just Mob It

2009-07-15T03:31:00.006-04:00

In the Age of Irony, the flash mob is a troublesome brainchild. Conceived to poke fun at hipsters and conformity, this mockery mob-ishness has been hijacked by those savvy Swedes as a tribute to the late King of Pop. For all the cheap jokes we've slung in Michael Jackson's direction over the years, it's easy to see that these people are dancing for anything but irony's sake. These performances are like human fireworks. They don't try to drag out the whole song; they get the point across in less than two minutes. And then, as if nothing had ever happened, they disappear into the crowd.

I could think of no better way to commemorate the strange man who gave us such ridiculously catchy music and some flippin' sweet dance moves.

Call of the Wild

2009-07-09T17:48:00.006-04:00

For some, it may be easy to forget that Isabella Rossellini is a famous actress and not a kooky high school biology teacher. But if I were a biology teacher, you better believe I'd be using these videos in my class. Check out both seasons of "Green Porno" at the Sundance Channel website.

You may have asked yourself at some point, why sex? Why not just asexually divide like creatures did at the beginning of our world? Fortunately for us, unique combinations of DNA help many species to fend off parasites. So, as the article's title says, "Like Sex? Thank a Parasite."

Shut Up Sanford

2009-07-03T03:06:00.002-04:00