Busy Day at the Airport
Cy Kuckenbaker compressed five hours of landing planes into 30 seconds of video. I love this. A great example of time merge media. (via colossal, which has been killing it lately)
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kottke.org posts about video
Tuna farming in Japan
Bluefin tuna are being caught faster than they can reproduce, which is terrible news for bluefin tuna and people who like to eat them (but seriously for the tuna). These fish are awesome, and I didn’t know farming tuna was possible, but it is, with a few caveats. Bluefin in captivity don’t procreate unless they’re shot with a hormone-tipped spear gun (really). Also, the fish the bluefin are fed still have to come from somewhere, so calling farm raised fish sustainable is something of a misnomer. More sustainable though. I loved this video from Perennial Plate looking at a Japanese tuna farmer. The farmer seems so happy (but does not consider himself a conservationist).
You also ought to spend some time looking at the Perennial Plate back catalog of videos. Lots of gems in there. (via The Atlantic)
Trailer for Girls season two
I am not ashamed to admit that, to my total surprise, I am looking forward to the second season of Girls more than The Hobbit or the next season of Mad Men. (But perhaps not season three of Game of Thrones. Perhaps.)
Woody Allen answers 12 unusual questions
Filmmaker Robert Weide asks Woody Allen 12 questions that he’s never been asked before.
I am surprised that he would choose sporting events over movies, but as he says, he’s seen ‘em all at this point. Weide directed the excellent documentary on Allen, which is available on DVD or streaming at Amazon. (via viewsource)
How to drink Scotch Whisky
Richard Paterson, Whyte & Mackay’s master whisky blender, shows us the proper way to enjoy Scotch. It gets a little messy.
Here’s another video from the same guy in which he demonstrates what to do when a bartender hands you a Scotch on the rocks. (via the new yorker)
Digitally targetted firearms
A company called TrackingPoint is developing guns equipped with digital scopes that enable automated precision firing. Here’s how it works: you “tag” a target with the digital scope and then only when the gun is aimed directly at the target, it fires. Essentially, it lets you practice pulling the trigger any number of times before the gun actually shoots the target perfectly for you.
I’m alternating between being really impressed by this and really freaked out by the implications. That’s technology, I guess. (via @jomc)
Freaky realistic optical illusions
When the hand reached in to turn the Rubik’s Cube, my brain melted and spilled out of my ear and into a puddle on the floor.
The images used in the video are available for printing out so that you can wig out your friends and kids in person: Rubik’s Cube, tape, and shoe. (via colossal)
Watch The Mind of a Chef online for free
Friendly reminder: ten episodes of Anthony Bourdain and David Chang’s Mind of a Chef are available to view for free on the PBS website. I am through two episodes so far and it’s my favorite cooking/food show since The Naked Chef.1 Here’s the first episode, all about ramen:
[I removed the embed because it was autoplaying for some unlucky people. You can watch the first episode here.]
The first four episodes will be taken down after Friday so act now.
[1] No joke, those first couple seasons of Oliver’s show were really good. It’s not the original Iron Chef or anything, but still. ↩
Hobo Matters
A spoof episode of American Experience on hobos, narrated by John Hodgman.
I posted this a few years ago but ran across it randomly the other day and had to feature it again. See also the Human Planet episode about The Douche.
Princess Bride lines as play by play
Last week, the hosts of NFL Kick Off on ESPN, Trey Wingo, Mark Sclereth, and Tedy Bruschi, jammed as many Princess Bride references as they could into their half hour show. Jack Moore collected them. Genuine guffaw at “There will be no survivors” from around :45.
(thx, Alex)
The Dust Bowl by Ken Burns
The Dust Bowl is a four-hour documentary by Ken Burns airing on PBS starting this weekend.
The Dust Bowl chronicles the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history, in which the frenzied wheat boom of the “Great Plow-Up,” followed by a decade-long drought during the 1930s nearly swept away the breadbasket of the nation. Vivid interviews with twenty-six survivors of those hard times, combined with dramatic photographs and seldom seen movie footage, bring to life stories of incredible human suffering and equally incredible human perseverance. It is also a morality tale about our relationship to the land that sustains us — a lesson we ignore at our peril.
You can watch the first five minutes of the film on the PBS site.
Jehovah’s Witnesses to the deaf: no masturbation in da club
Some genius paired 50 Cent’s In Da Club with a video put out by the Jehovah’s Witnesses to encourage deaf people not to masturbate.
(via stellar)
Richard Feynman’s last interview
Aired as The Quest For Tannu Tuva in the UK and The Last Journey Of A Genius in the US, this hour-long program is the last extended interview that physicist Richard Feynman gave; he died a few days after the recording.
Richard Feynman was not only an iconoclastic and influential theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate but also an explorer at heart. Feynman through video recordings and comments from his friend and drumming partner Ralph Leighton tell the extraordinary story of their enchantment with Tuva, a strange and distant land in the centre of Asia.
While few Westerners knew about Tuva, Feynman discovered its existence from the unique postage stamps issued there in the early 20th century. He was intrigued by the unusual name of its capital, Kyzyl, and resolved to travel to the remote, mountainous land. However, the Soviets, who controlled access, were mistrustful, unconvinced that he was interested only in the scenery. They obstructed his plans throughout 13 years.
I could watch this guy talk all day long. Feynman is a national treasure; we should give Andrew Jackson the boot and put Feynman on the $20.
Israel/Palestine: This Land is Mine
This video by Nina Paley about the repeated takeover of the land formerly known as Palestine is a little funny at first but then you stop laughing. By the end, it seems very much like Dr. Strangelove and you just feel uncomfortable about having chuckled at the beginning.
Paley also wrote, directed, and animated the critically acclaimed Sita Sings the Blues, which is available to watch for free online. (via @haditurk)
White whale mimics human speech
NOC is a white whale that, for a period of four years, could make human speech-like sounds. Take a listen:
“The whale’s vocalizations often sounded as if two people were conversing in the distance,” says Dr. Sam Ridgway, President of the National Marine Mammal Foundation. “These ‘conversations’ were heard several times before the whale was eventually identified as the source. In fact, we discovered it when a diver mistook the whale for a human voice giving him underwater directions.”
As soon as the whale was identified as the source, NMMF scientists recorded his speech-like episodes both in air and underwater, studying the physiology behind his ability to mimic. It’s believed that the animals close association with humans played a role in how often he employed his ‘human’ voice, as well as in its quality.
Perhaps instead of the machines taking over as with Skynet in the Terminator movies, we should be worried about Seanet: talking whales, dolphins, and octopuses working together to fight humanity. (via @DavidGrann)
Sixth man infraction spotted 19 years after Rockets/Sonics game
This is one of the nuttiest sports things I have ever seen. Ethan Sherwood Strauss was rewatching a second round game from the 1993 NBA playoffs. Shawn Kemp’s Seattle SuperSonics vs. Hakeem Olajuwon’s Houston Rockets. Game seven. Overtime. Hakeem has the ball in the closing moments of the game. And suddenly, Strauss spies a sixth player on the court for Houston. The refs missed the extra player and so did most everyone else for the last 19 years. Take a look for yourself…the play in question starts at 16:50:
Number 22 just wanders off the bench and into the game!
Drunk Jeff Goldblum
One of my favorite “memes” of all time is Drunk Jeff Goldblum. The first video, a slowed-down ad for Apple from 1999, is still the best. “In ter net?! I’d say In ter net.”
But this new one about PayPal is pretty great too.
“Buying a chair… while sitting in a chair…” (via ★interesting)
View Source
Rex Sorgatz is writing about a piece of video everyday at View Source, which is also an email newsletter. Or is it a newsletter with a website?
If you’re like me, you suspect that YouTube is packed with interesting stuff, but we lack a system for finding it. A few interesting clips might come to you via so-called social media, but that just reinforces the feeling that there’s probably more out there beyond your friends.
My hope is that VIEWSOURCE will help solve this problem. It’s a simple daily email newsletter with just one video clip. It might be a long-forgotten music documentary, a new webshow with a celebrity, some crazy hip-hop video, or a new supercut. There is no “demographic” in mind, but hopefully it eschews the “viral video” genre.
Final trailer for the Arrested Development documentary
In production for the past twenty-four years, it looks as though the documentary about Arrested Development might be nearing its release. Here’s the final trailer:
Update: You can watch the documentary on Amazon. (via @mcnees)
The Rolling Stones cover the Beatles in 1965
Here are the Rolling Stones touring Ireland in 1965, messing around in what looks like a hotel room, playing a couple of Beatles tunes, I’ve Just Seen a Face and Eight Days a Week.
Jagger at least seems to be taking the piss more than honestly enjoying the music of his fellow British invasion personnel. (via dangerous minds)
Update: From Andy Baio, a reminder that The Stones’ first top 20 single was a cover of The Beatles’ I Wanna Be Your Man.
Cannonball on frozen pool
There isn’t much to say about this one except I majored in German so it was easy for me to translate “Owa, mein Arsch” to “Ow, my ass.”
(via laughing squid)
Human-powered helicopters are hard to build
A team at the University of Maryland are building a human-powered helicopter in an attempt to win the Igor I. Sikorsky Human Powered Helicopter Competition. To win the $250,000 prize, the helicopter must fly for 60 seconds, reach a momentary altitude of 3 meters, and stay within a 10 meter square. This is surprisingly difficult.
The NPR story that the video accompanies is here. (via ★interesting)
N Is a Number: A Portrait of Paul Erdos
N Is a Number is an hour-long documentary about Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdős.
Erdős was famously a prolific mathematician who collaborated widely….he coauthored over 1500 papers with 500 different collaborators. He was also a homeless methamphetamine user.
The World’s Best Audition (for Elliott in E.T.)
I’ve never seen a better audition tape than this improvised scene by Henry Thomas for the part of Elliott in E.T.
The tears were inspired by thoughts of his dead dog. And the final line from Spielberg is gold. (via @Colossal)
Suit cam view of Felix Baumgartner’s jump
Here’s some footage from the camera affixed to Felix Baumgartner’s chest during his record-breaking jump:
It’s frightening how fast he starts spinning. And then he really starts whipping around…watch the Sun’s reflection in his visor.
Lego version of Felix Baumgartner’s record jump
This has got to be some sort of record for quickest Lego parody of an event: watch as a Lego man jumps from a balloon hanging high in the air, just like Felix.
(via ★thoughtbrain)
Watch live: record freefall jump from edge of space
Watch live as Felix Baumgartner jumps from a balloon more than 120,000 feet in the air.
Update: The jump was successful! The YT video above is now private but here are some highlights from the mission:
Partysaurus Rex
Pixar is showing this short in front of Finding Nemo 3D in the theaters. It’s funny, a little disturbing, and perfect for the kids.
The embed is relatively low quality — way to make your awesome short film look like shit, Disney/Pixar! — so you should head over to their site to see it in crisp HD. (via ★pieratt)
Barbican’s Rain Room
Artists in the UK have created a ‘Rain Room’ inside the Barbican that gives the impression from the outside that it is pouring rain. 3D cameras make it so the rain stops when you walk through it. That is, the rain is everywhere you aren’t, and you don’t get wet at all.
(via ★adamkuban)
Update: Neglected to mention the Rain Room is an installation by rAndom International artists Stuart Wood and Hannes Koch.
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