Hilter going to Burning Man

This video is unglaublich (unbelievable). It's terrifying, and yet simultaneously hysterical.



I saw a LOT of photography yesterday and have a lot to say about it. That should come tomorrow or so.

Videozz

Today's a video day, people! I've scoured the bowels of the internetz, and found some great videos for you to enjoy.

--BigDog--

There is something unsettling about BigDog. It's not how much he weighs, it's not how much he can carry, and it's not even the fact that he's a machine. What made me feel sick to my stomach watching him move is how realistically he handles treacherous terrain, getting kicked in the side, and slipping on ice. Maybe it's the noise he makes, too, but the absurdly life-like mannerisms of this incredible machine are staggering. And of course, BigDog NEVER goes down.



--Clapton Shredzz!!--

This video from artist Santeri Ojala is hilarious. Using real footage of Eric Clapton playing a guitar solo with his band on-stage, Ojala overdubbed crappy guitar lines that are strikingly accurate in their attacks, if not in tone, so the illusion is almost completely seamless. And the result is something pretty entertaining. I laughed out loud a couple of times. Can you believe people like Clapton wouldn't want this stuff on the internet? Come on guys, you're talented and famous. Let people have a little fun with you.



--TAKE--

As Dave Burnes pointed out to me, the New York Times knows how to handle the arts, fashion, media, and other right-brained miscellanea. Recently they launched T Magazine, seemingly for that very reason. Now, T Magazine online has begun "TAKE," a series of short short films (12, to be exact) starring "Hollywood’s bright young things" that, as a whole, lay out a single narrative. "Shot by the emerging New York writer and director Brody Baker during the recent Sundance festival, these 12 improvised vignettes were conceived to be viewed sequentially. Each episode, starring a different actor, will build on the previous one." The first one stars Josh Hartnett in arguably his best minute on-screen ever. What excites me most of all (yes, even more than the Band of Horses track in the teaser/trailer) about this is that what appears to be smart, invested, quality drama has been created SPECIFICALLY for the internet. And that's no small news bit. The future is the internet, people.

TAKE - Episode 1


--Hulu--

"The future is the internet," someone wise once said. Whomever it was, they were smart. Welcome to TV on the Internet. No, it's not some Brooklyn indie-band. It's Hulu, where you can watch a bunch of your favorite shows AND movies, streaming, for free, with limited advertising interruption. What distinguish this site from Peekvid, a predecessor, are great design value and big-name advertisers, including 20th Century Fox. That's right, their shows are on there for free and they're bout it bout it. While Hulu has some holes (for instance, not much in the "Scrubs" department), there is a wide and phenomenal breadth of media available, and I don't see this thing going under anytime soon with all of the corporate backing it already has. We may very well be witnessing the beginning of free media.

HULU


--Goldfrapp--

I just got the new album from Goldfrapp, entitled "Seventh Tree," and I can't stop listening to it. Nonstop for days, this album has been playing on repeat in my computer. Apparently more mellow than their earlier stuff, Seventh Tree is a haven of honey-sweet vocals, lush soundscapes, and a heartbreaking lightness. The video for A&E, a personal favorite, is bizarre and slightly disturbing, but does not manage to detract from the heavenly vocal arrangement. And if you've got three minutes that you never want back, you can also check out the Rex The Dog






--Pitchfork.tv--

Pitchfork has been advertising the unveiling of Pitchfork.tv lately, which goes live on April 7. Promising to be a phenomenal source of indie music video splendor, there is little information available about the format, but the site sports a lovely wash. I guess we'll just have to wait a few more weeks.

Pitchfork.tv



That oughtta keep you busy.

Roundup

I owe apologies to 'copter readers for the lull in posts. Things in New York have been a bit hectic and I've been missing out on things like sleep and food, so it only follows that the blog has suffered. So, below are a few things I've been discovering over the past few days that I've been meaning to share with you.

--Don't Tase Me, Bro!--
I talk about civil liberties now and again on the IMOcopter, but now there's a great blog all about civil liberties violations across the country. Named for a previously-blogged video of a Tasing at University of Florida, Don't Tase Me Bro! is a compendium of the falicies that are slowly turning this country into an Orwellian shenanigan.

--FUNCLUB--
I had a lovely, random encounter with an old acquaintance from high school, and she directed me to the fantastic children's show that she and her friends have created and are pitching to PBS and other children's television programming sources. The show is called Fun Club. The music is fantastic, the show is entertaining and nostalgic, and the clothes are all-too-familiar if you live in Brooklyn, NY. Tons of fun to watch. Best of luck to the Fun Club.

--Kitsune Noir--
If you love desktop backgrounds, then have I got a treat for you. Kitsune Noir is a great site that offers up music, photography, and art in a cozy and tasteful forum. In particular, there is a section of desktop backgrounds, entitled The Desktop Wallpaper Project. Some of these patterns are astounding. So, drink it up, people, and make your drab desktop exciting to look at again, making all of your friends who come over say, "Whoa, cool desktop dude!" Which is important.

--Yelp!--
Got something to say, some opinion about a restaurant? A dentist's office? A club, or bar? Or basically anything, in any city? Well then check out YELP, a site where you and everyone else gets to review just about any place in any city, so that you can see exactly how real people feel about the place you are taking your next date, or getting your next cup of coffee, or next root canal, or... you get the picture.

Prince Rupert's Drop

Physics is something that has always amazed and intrigued me. So when I see videos on the internet displaying physical properties, especially ones I didn't know about, I'm like a giddy kid at a candy shop where they make candy in front of your face. This video displays a peculiar property of glass: if you drop it in water and let it solidify, the bulbous droplet part is virtually indestructible. But if you snap off the frail little end, the thing explodes! SO cOOL!

Usual Suspects

A classic film moment... this is a personal favorite of mine. Two things of note: One, the laughter is real. Benicio was fooling around with this character, who was supposed to be a bit part, and making everyone laugh during the take. The character ended up getting more screen time because he was so great with it. Two, you can't see it in this YouTube clip, but in the original cut you can see a boom mic coming in from the top.

Enjoy. NSFW if you've got speakers on.

The Eternal Children

Just watched a documentary on YouTube about the sort of freak folk movement... specifically, it interviews and follows Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons), CoCoRosie, Devendra Banhart, and Vashti Bunyan (considered the Matriarch of the "freak folk" movement). I have to say it seemed to clarify a lot of everyone - both the people and their music. It gave an emotional floor to Devendra and Antony that I had previously not known. Music from both of them, in particular, has found no place to sit in me, but I find myself now very much in tune with Antony and eager to hear more of his music.

As for the documentary itself, it's subtle and largely passive. I didn't feel as though anyone was digging around trying to find something except during a couple of the interviews. For the most part, it just felt like I was watching things unfold from a single vantage point. At times I wanted to stop watching, others I wanted to press forward. It is neither good nor bad. It just seems to "be." Let me know what you think. Below, all six parts of "The Eternal Children" by David Kleijwegt:

hmm...

Well, if you like sex, robots, and Soviet Montage (no, that is not a band), it's possible you'll like this.

Thou Shalt Always Kill

In My Opinion, both this song and video are awesome. I respect a lot of things he's rapping about, as well as the editing.

Oh my God, the cuteness.

I'm sorry if you find this trite and meaningless in comparison to what you think I should be talking about, but IMO this is the most adorable thing ever.

Perhaps the reincarnation of a famous composer, pianist?