tantramar

Things & People

My friend Sandy has a nice new project under way. It's about Things & People. I'm in it, as you can see. It's a charming little thing uncovering the relationship with the aethetics that shape us.

Lost Buildings

This is wonderful. A very touching story of architecture and friendship.

I don't know how I missed it before.

From the Lost Buildings series by This American Life.
Illustration by Chris Ware.

Just For Fun

Videos like this just make you feel good about things. Isn't it great that people spend a bit of time being playful. Wonderful.

thanks Angus

The Real Fake Real

There's a blog I read called the documentary blog, which surprise surprise is all about new documentaries that appear. The trouble with documentaries is that they are getting better and better each year but only a handful ever really make it to the public domain. So the documentary blog helps out with that a little.

This new one looks amazing.

Battle for Hearts and Minds Trailer from Danfung Dennis on Vimeo.

It's about the war in Afghanistan (shot in 2009). Previous called the battle for hearts and minds, it's now apparently called Hell and Back.

It looks and feels almost like a feature which is what intrigues me / scares me. Anyone that saw the excellent Generation Kill by David Simon (of The Wire fame) will know how real this stuff starts feeling.

As more and more documentaries are shot like a features, it's going to get harder to tell where reality begins and ends. Will this twist our increasingly skewed perceptions of reality further and further from the truth?

I actually quite like this idea but only because I like subversion. The more we push for hyperreality the darker the other side needs to become to balance. Baudrillard must love it.

Google TV

We've waited and now it's here. Google announced Google TV yesterday at their developer conference. The video explains it pretty well. Apple TV Vs Google TV. This is the new heavyweight battle for the living room and it may go a few rounds.

Jean-Michel Basquiat

  I'm a big art fan, a wannabe collector and an avid viewer. Some art has a physical effect on me that I can't really explain. Work by Basquiat, does this to me frequently. Anyway, there's a new documentary coming out soon with unseen footage and interviews. I'll be watching it for sure.

Still Bill, Thankfully

I went to a rare screening of Still Bill the other day. It's a documentary about Bill Withers, who is of course, damn good. He's not made any records in 25 years, he just stopped and walked away from the record business. The documentary provides a great look into the life of this troubled music legend.



But more than that it also demonstrates what a great character he is. After watching the film you really feel that the world would be a better place if there were more people like Bill Withers in it.

W&K Entertainment

W & K aren't your usual agency, at least that's what they'd have you believe. But then, if you've ever seen either of the founders talk you might believe it and they've put their money where their mouth is again.
 
They established an entertainment channel at the tail end of 2009; Wieden and Kennedy Entertainment, and it's getting quite good. I've enjoyed several short sharp clips about the Portland tape scene, the lo-fi and creative nature of skating and a nice piece on Os Gemeos.
 

They are highlighting the DIY nature of underground American culture and American culture is pretty damn good at that.

Why have they done this?
We are an arts and culture digital content delivery platform, a subsidiary of advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy. Our goal is to renegotiate the relationship between art, media, advertising and the consumer.

They've basically done this because... they can. 10 points

Sunday Funday

I don't DJ so much anymore but every now and then something fun comes along and I say 'yes'. This is one of those. Live drawing, live music, drinking and carnie folk. What, I ask you, could be better?

Brand's Buildings

This is an old picture of Stewart Brand from 1961. Over the last week I've been watching his How Buildings Learn TV series. It's an old BBC series from 1997. I don't know how I discovered it, probably through this guy, or this guy.

It's a really nice series of six shows about the various ways buildings change and grow over time. Growing via natural rhythms of interactions with humans more than erosion or physical extensions.

It has great stories littered throughout the 6 episodes and vastly improved my week. Brand has the best delivery of almost any documentary narrator I've heard, poignant, thoughtful and rhythmic.

The series is based on his book in the same vein if you fancy a read. Brand also created the Whole Earth Catalog, which I wrote about here. Here's the first episode of How Buildings Learn. Enjoy.

Strawberry Swing

Just in case you haven't seen the Shynola video for Coldplay, you probably should, it's pretty nice.

WARNING: you may want to turn the volume down / or off depending on how you feel about Coldplay..

Technicolour Inspiration

This is great. Dan Meth, an animator has compiled a little video of all his influences. Like a little blast from the past. 

Ah nostalgia... such a sweet bedfellow.

Marco Brambilla

This is a still from one the craziest most brilliantest things I've seen in ages. Marco Brambilla produced this video piece for the Standard hotel in New York.

How did you come up with the concept for this art installation?

The idea of doing a "video mural" had interested me for quite some time and the journey from hell to heaven depicted in this way seemed to be a good fit.

Amazing!

Click here to watch it and read more.

Sorry I can't embedd it.

Thanks to Kon for the tip.

Nothing Quite Like Dumbing Down

Thanks Moll.

Quimby The (Moving) Mouse

Happy is the day when I find a new Chris Ware animation. This time Quimby the Mouse gets an outing. I saw this had been done a few weeks back but dammit, Vimeo is blocked in China so I've only just bee able to view it.

It's really nice, as you might expect and the music is by Andrew Bird, so it's a double win.