Boy, if you had told me early this morning that I was going to spend eight minutes of my day watching a short film about plywood I would have been struck dumb with disbelief. Also probably with fear, because what are you doing in my apartment early in the morning? Do I know you? It seems unlikely. Anyway, your mileage etc., but I found this rather enjoyable. I even learned things! I guess some days are like that.
Do you have seven minutes to watch a video about the birth of the animated GIF? I ask because I have no idea what your schedule is like today. If you do, here you go. Related: Is it really pronounced "jiff"? Because if so I have been embarrassing myself for years now.
Do you know what lenticular clouds are? "Lenticular, or lens-shaped, clouds form near mountains, where the rising air condenses to form the clouds, and the wind gives them their shape." There is an absolutely amazing one that appears 11 seconds into this time-lapse video of the southwest by photographer Tony Rowell. You should stick around for the rest, it's all pretty great (except for an appearance by the stupid moon), but at least check out that cloud.
New today, in colonial sound and vision, the video for Destroyer's "Savage Night at the Opera." (Toronto, so much to answer for!)
What are you doing tonight? Maybe you want to check out "Retro Game Master, the Japanese TV series that forces comedian Shinya Arino to play Japan's most popular video games, largely from the 8-bit and 16-bit era, in marathon gaming sessions." It is airing… on the Internet! On Kotaku. It is like television and the web are becoming the same thing! Anyway, Awl pal Eric Spiegelman is involved, so you should totally check it out.
Um, this is pretty cool: "This was filmed between 4th and 11th April 2011. I had the pleasure of visiting El Teide. Spain´s highest mountain @(3715m) is one of the best places in the world to photograph the stars and is also the location of Teide Observatories, considered to be one of the world´s best observatories. The goal was to capture the beautiful Milky Way galaxy along with one of the most amazing mountains I know El Teide." (Learn more here, and see an interview with photographer Terje Sorgjerd here.
Old Jews Telling jokes is back! The first installment is a humorous story about a bull and an enema, if that's your sort of thing. And why wouldn't it be?
If you watch one commercial for a Portland-area sushi restaurant today make it this one.
Last night was Dog News Daily's Golden Collar Awards in Los Angeles, and Awl pal Julie Klausner was there.
Ooh, "State of Play" is being re-aired on BBC America starting tonight. ("The cast is so loaded that a very young, baby-faced James McAvoy doesn't even get mentioned in the opening credits.") Even some of us who unhappily suffer with no BBC America HD are going to record this.
As much as I hate Los Angeles—and, believe me, I go to bed each night praying for the city's imminent destruction even as I beseech the Lord to have mercy on the benighted souls of those pathetic creatures trapped within its confines because of ignorance, delusion or the simple lack of courage or resources that would make any sane person flee in horror, never to return or even speak of one's time there again were one able to make a safe escape—I have to admit, this is pretty cool.
Let us take a quick break to appreciate the majesty of this amazing time-lapse video of the Canary sky. [Via]
I have not been watching the web series "Jack in a Box" but now I'm enjoying. (via) We live in a great time for gay suffering in web series!
If you put on your headphones and expand this clip to fill your screen you can imagine that you are deep in outer space, watching the planets, far away from your home and all the problems that plague your life. It's just you and Saturn and… nothingness. Sweet, sweet nothingness. The calming joy of oblivion. Anyway, it's a pretty cool video. [Via]
"On an unseasonably warm November night in Manhattan on our way to get ice cream, we stumbled upon what appeared to be a vintage shop, brightly lit display window and all. As we began to walk in, a man sitting out front warned us that we were welcome to explore, but nothing inside was for sale. Our interests piqued, we began to browse through the collections the man out front had built throughout his life. This is a story of a man and his home." —You should watch the fairly short film This Is My Home, particularly if you still have a tiny capacity for happiness. Of course I [...]
Ben Zimmer, who writes a language column for the Boston Globe, has edited a series of clips featuring all of Downton Abbey's various verbal anachronisms. (SPOILER ALERT FOR AMERICANS: This video contains some non-plot relevant bits from episodes 7 and 8, both of which will air in the U.S. on PBS this Sunday, February 12th. Of course, it's possible that you are some kind of scofflaw and have already watched all of season two with some illegal Internet trickery. Shame on you, but yes, you can watch this video without fear.)
Zimmer's written breakdown of the featured clips is here. (But he doesn't even take up with the whole [...]
It gets a little Burning Man/ravey there at the end, but this trailer for something called Timescapes is certainly more enjoyable to look at than what is currently going on outdoors, which is what meteorologists refer to as "relentless, soul-crushing gloom." Enjoy. (The video, that is, not the current weather, because, good lord, if you ever want an accurate representation of how the majority of your consciousness actually feels it is right outside your window.)
This takes me back to a simpler time! It is pleasant to see two people—Björk and Michel Gondry!—have fun in a form they know and like so much. Miss you, the 90s. (via)
We're a little late on this one, but the fact that it's gorgeous and the use of Philip Glass' "Opening" for the score makes it a pretty easy call: "Director Philip Andelman traveled to Basel, Switzerland, to document the designer's modern take of the classic hourglass inside the Glaskeller factory. Each hand made hourglass comprises highly durable borosilicate glass and millions of stainless steel nanoballs, and is available in a 10 or 60 minute timer." [Via]
