The History of Hip-Hop

Apparently this is all over the internet today, but last night on Jimmy Fallon the titular host ran through the History of Hip-Hop with JT. It's full of mayonnaise, but pretty gosh-darned good. 

Let's get you in the mood...

...for the Halloween season.

Extremely fun mash up. Angus would approve.

Into the Wind

I've mentioned the quality of ESPN's documentary series "30 for 30" before, and tonight's premier of "Into the Wind" (at 8:00pm, EST) looks to be similarly impressive. Take a look at the story and preview here:

http://30for30.espn.com/film/into-the-wind.html

Looks to be pretty affecting television (I'm totally not going to need to pick up some tissues on the way home, or anything).  Bill Simmons, who produced the series, just tweeted that this is one of his favorites.  So I'm guessing it'll stack up with my own favs, "The Band that Wouldn't Die" and "The Two Escobars".  And again, I'm eagerly awaiting "Four Days in October" on October 5th.

But honestly, most of these things have been pretty great.  Should be worth checking out tonight. 

Stephen Colbert: The Migrant Farmer

Amazing speech given in front of Congress:

Here is his closing statement after the Q&A.

This man is definitely on my "I wish they were my friends" list.

Pushing the internet to even greater heights

I'm an admitted fan of mash-ups. And while in many cases the end result of combining two turds is simply a larger, grosser turd, sometimes rearranging things in unexpected ways can make magic.

Take Tube Dubber, for instance.  A mash-up tool that amazingly takes YouTube to an even stranger place.  It allows you to combine the video track of any YouTube clip with the audio track of another. 

How is this helpful, you might ask?  Well, I mentioned magic earlier.  What happens if I combine a popular movie about magic with the preeminent song about magic?  Even more magic, right?  The answer: some surprisingly badass yet expectedly stupid teen wizards.  So yes – it’s more magical.  

I’ve also discovered that Tube Dubber is capable of cranking the crazy level of YouTube upwards, past 11, and screaming into to the lower stratosphere.  By combining two elements commonly accepted as nuts – Japanese games shows and William Shatner – I created something so insane that it appears almost normal.  It may in fact have gone full circle through our plane of reality, rendering its components sane while leaving us mentally shattered.

The possibilities are endless.  I can combine two things at random – say, two suave dudes like Don Draper and Bruce Campbell – and create something even more suaver than the sum of its parts.  Or I can take an awesome movie trailer – like “9” – and use it to enhance another movie that needs some help being more awesome.   This thing is literally an “awesome enhancer”. 

Again, most times crap + crap = more crap.  But sometimes there is beauty in the juxtaposition of random things.  A whimsy in the gestalt.

Or, we could all just be going batshit insane. 

Ratatat proves that Getty stock footage is just as creepy as you originally thought.

Amazing combination of music and insanity. Great example of the beauty of stock photo house imagery and footage...

Four Days in October

Or, as it may otherwise be referred to, "The Art of the Inspirational Trailer". Either way, this is about all Sox fans have to hold on to until pitchers and catchers report next spring.

http://30for30.espn.com/film/four-days-in-october.html

F*cking, eh.

As a (limited) designer, I find that I need to refer to the rules quite often, but even experts need a good reminder once and a while:

http://www.goodfuckingdesignadvice.com/

Take a look or submit something you've found to be f*cking useful.

Music Bomb

There is nothing wrong with this item - an album of new hip-hop and indie rock mash-ups, available for instant download and sold via a name-your-own-price campaign with proceeds benefiting 826 Valencia and youth writing. Haven't listened to the full album yet, but what's not to love about the concept.

http://waitwhat.bandcamp.com/album/this-is-real-life

not-not-not-nothing on you, babe

A little resurrected spin on a 2010 summer hit to enjoy as the beloved season winds down...

I have no words...

An actual reason to go to Texas

A chef in Texas tells NPR he's figured out how to deep-fry beer.  That's right - crunchy on the outside, delicious, liquid, alcoholic nectar on the inside.

Consider this link your Yellow Brick Road.

Important Language Classes

We start with the basics: Hello, Goodbye, Do you know where the bathroom is? Wow, your dancing is fucking sick you son of a bitch. The staples of a foreign language, really.

Self deprecating, yet catchy!

There are two things you should be aware of:

1. Nick Horby has an amazing voice and he should do greeting cards. Possibly voicemail messages.

2. Stick through to the end, it's not all plugging the new album. Gun noises are abundant.

Grab Your Towel and DON'T PANIC

Kinda of scary, but extremely fascinating view of the asteroids discovered in our solar system since 1980. Click through to YouTube to see the explanation of what you're watching.

Credit to our friend and yours Bumby for finding this.

Marcel the Shell

Silly, fun, creative, and flippin' adorable. Meet Marcel.



Thanks to Gracie for introducing me to this one via Bookface.