VIDEO: You hafta be a Geek for this

I normally try to keep my content fairly "down the middle" and come with stuff that's not necessarily tied to one audience.

Unfortunately, I'm a geek.

And like all geeks, I consume web media voraciously. And yep, I'm susceptible to more geekish content out there. So yeah, your blog post today may be a little outside your natural demo, but let's give it a shot. Stretch a little and reach out to your Buddies of the Byte. Enjoy some web content from the wired guys.

Transformers Cosplay

Now, Transformers you know. Cosplay is literally a mash-up of "costume" and "play." Let's be clear: these costumes are cool. But these guys, well, let's hope there's more to them than meets the eye.

NOTE: You're gonna want to turn down your volume for this one, unless you love the 80's rock stylings of the original Transformers theme cranked up to 11.

New Math

Generally, geeks are good at math. I'm okay at it, but I'd be TERRIBLE if I had to do the New Math!

Time-Lapse Video of 40+ Hours in Adobe Illustrator

There's a special kind of geek that does Art. And when these guys do art, it's pixel-wrangling at its finest.

Science Machine from Chad Pugh on Vimeo.

Making Chocolat Moose with the Swedish Chef

Geeks love their retro Saturday TV fodder, and the Muppets are right up there in that category. Besides, how can you NOT love the Swedish Chef??

VIDEO: Holy CARP they can do that with a Wiimote??

I know, I know - two posts in one day. This one was just so cool and amazing that I couldn't wait to get it up.

Ever seen a Wii? Played one? Own one? Well, little did you know that your humble Wiimote can be used to create a whiteboard, virtual WACOM tablet, or even a 3-d room!

VIDEO: We all need a feel-good moment

I originally titled this one "stuff I can't believe I love", and I may still come back to that with music. (I mean, after all, I favorited a track by BRATZ.)  But lately, I've found a lot of things that are genuinely lovable on the Interwebs - stuff that gets a little cloying and sugary-sweet, but lovable nonetheless.

Best Little League Game Ever

This little gem comes to us from Improv Everywhere, a fascinating group that's a collision of "Who's Line Is It Anyway?" and "Candid Camera." For this event, they descended upon a Little League baseball game with the goal of making it as close to a real Major League game as possible - complete with fans, announcers, JumboTron and the Goodyear Blimp.




The Last Lecture

Randy Pausch is a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and he has pancreatic cancer. He reprises his "Last Lecture" here on Oprah. (Man, I can't believe I like something from Oprah!)




How MC Hammer got his grooves

WARNING: Early 90's hair, miniskirts, and club dancing are present in this video. And no, that's not supposed to be the feel-good part of it.

I just chuckle inside whenever I see the "Running Man." Especially done by more than one person.

VIDEO: Fun with kids

Now that I've got a kid, I finally have a real idea of how funny they can be! Here's some other kids being almost as entertaining.

3-year-old Explains Star Wars



via [ Wired's Geekdad Blog ]


Fight Dad vs. Kids

Note : no kids were harmed in the making of this film!

Product Testing with Kids

A little parody from Jimmy Kimmel.

Technorati Tags: kids, funny, video, youtube, jimmy, kimmel

VIDEO: Uncommon Art From Uncommon Means

Your average art is just that - average. It comes from an average medium by average artists using average methods that have probably been broadcast on PBS at one time or another. Art of this quality seems to become a wash. It's as nondescript as Muzak and just as tolerable. Good examples would be any of those "films" with the name Uwe Boll anywhere near them.

And then there's greatness.

Art that isn't just phenomenal because of what it is, but also because of how it was made. Any of us can appreciate a good beat, but done A Cappella? Now you got yourself some interesting art. And it's with that focus on the unconventional that I present you these fine examples.

Bob Staake Illustrates in Adobe 3.0

Bob Staake is a fantastic graphic artist, with an immediately recognizable style. He does a lot of work in "traditional media", but sometimes he busts out his digital studio - an installation of Adobe Photoshop from 1995! For those of you who don't have your jaws on the floor yet, imagine Leonardo da Vinci creating the Mona Lisa with a box of 24 crayons. It's utterly amazing what this guy can do with a tool that seems so limited by today's standards.



Guitar Zeros

Unless you're living under a rock, you've heard of the amazing game called Guitar Hero. (And unless you're me, you might even own it already.) Not many people would call what comes out of that game to be "art" - it's more like a highly interactive karaoke. BUT, what if you truly could rock out with the plastic guitar? What if you could make this medium your own outside the game and enter actual rock stardom??

These guys do just that. Take one (or more) guitar controllers, add laptops and custom software, and you've got yourself some original and house-shakin' ROCK!




Underwater Astonishments from David Gallo

The greatest art of all is, of course, found in nature. Man simply can't recreate the work of God found in both flora and fauna. Underwater is prime real-estate for these kinds of wonders, and only recently have we captured some of these phenomena in video to bring back to the surface.










Technorati Tags: art, video, youtube, cool, geek, ted, bob staake, graphic design, underwater

VIDEO: Lessons in Techno

Class, some of you may casually dismiss techno music as a genre, and perhaps all of electronica all together. However, this may be a stereotypical effect due to your poor exposure to the media. (Translation: You haven't heard some good stuff yet!) So let's review some examples:

Good Techno:

Clip-Daft Punk-harder better faster stronger-live

Bad Techno:

Didn't catch that? Let's try this again.

Good Techno:

Bad Techno:

Everybody got it figured out now? Good!

Technorati Tags: video, techno, electronica, dance, dj tiesto, crazy frog, gummy, bear, daft punk

NEW BLOG: The Swayne Diaries

Like that little guy? Yep, I do too. I'm the lucky guy that gets to call him my son, and as of yesterday, he's 6 months old. All the pictures, videos and milestones we get to experience have become so much that my darling wife has decided to start a blog about it all. She may discuss other topics at some time, but for now it's all about the Squid. Head on over there and find out what he's been up to!

Technorati Tags: blog, new, baby, fun, videos, milestones, infant

VIDEO: Great Performances

Not all great performers display their expertise through the "usual" art forms. Sure we can all appreciate a home run, a diving catch, a pirouette, a painting, or many other beautiful acts, but what about these? Even though these aren't traditional performers doing traditional things, I think we an all admire their work and finesse. No, seriously. :-)

PenDolosa

- the art of pen spinning

The magic and movement of Kenichi Ebina

Teller of "Penn & Teller" performs his signature illusion: "Shadows"

Technorati Tags: video, youtube, magic, kenichi, ebina, pendolosa, pen spinning, performance, great

VIDEO: Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

I can't say I'm very familiar with the ukulele. In fact, had I not seen it spelled here, I would probably get it wrong. Now, apparently there's more than ONE ukulele player in Great Britain, and apparently they all play together! What's more, they play some stuff you probably wouldn't think belongs on that venerated Hawaiian instrument. Enjoy!

VIDEO: Rodrigo Y Gabriella

I've been in a beating of meetings all day today, but I had to post these guys up here. Take world music, Spanish guitar, and rock-n-roll all mixed together, and you've got Rodrigo Y Gabriella. Give them a listen!

"Orion"


"Diablo Rojo"


"Tamacun"



Technorati Tags: music, video, rodrigo, gabriella, guitar, Spanish, rock

VIDEO: Those Crazy Japanese

In case you haven't noticed, the Japanese do some crazy stuff on TV. Humiliating, can't-stop-watching-the-train-wreck stuff. And yet, it's usually quite funny...

Bathroom Prank


Human Tetris 1


Human Tetris 2


Nicolas Cage Singing about Pachinko


Odd Japanese Black-screen Skit


Technorati Tags: web, fun, funny, japanese, video, youtube, nicolas cage, game show

VIDEO: The Ultimate Best Man Speach

This one's worth another post for today...

ULTIMATE BEST MAN SPEECH

VIDEO: A Cappella is COOL.

Many of you know of my passion for a cappella music, particularly when applied to the music of today. There's tons of college groups doing this kind of thing now, and they put out some incredible stuff. Here's just a few of my favorites.

Frou Frou - Let Go


System of a Down - Aerials


U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For


Fall Out Boy - Sugar, We're Goin' Down


Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody


Technorati Tags: web, fun, pop, music, a cappella, youtube

VIDEO: Dancing with Keepon

I dare you to find a cuter dancing robot. Music courtesy of the great band, Spoon - song is titled "Don't You Evah".

Technorati Tags: video, dancing, robot, Spoon

VIDEO: Lucas with the Lid Off

No real theme here, I just liked this song back in the day, and recently was shown this video of it. Enjoy!



Technorati Tags: web, video, gondry, lucas, music

VIDEO JOURNEY: Animated Text

Who says you need actual people to make a video? These videos will show you that all it takes is the words on the page... with some funky animation.

The Ocean's Eleven Project

Typographics - Vancouver Film School

DJ Format - The Hit Song

- this one has people and text, but it's GENIUS. Sample line:

"...I've got more hits than when you're playing blackjack with a deck of twos..."

Brazil Typography

Hey Ya

- apparently this kid named Obadiah Parker covered Outkast's "Hey Ya", and it's AWESOME^AWESOME

More sweet vids available and compiled by the GREAT Dave Shea at mezzoblue.

Technorati Tags: typography, text, video, youtube, mezzoblue, animation

VIDEO: Baratunde Rafiq Thurston

I don't think my whole blog will become videos, but I keep finding great stuff to show, so I'll keep putting it up!

Baratunde Rafiq Thurston is what happens when you mix 5 parts stand-up comedian, 1 part social activist and 3 parts snarky geek. What Marvin Gaye did for social issues with soul music, Baratunde does with stand-up, and does it well.

Here's a good opener to get ya'll introduced - sorry about the poor video quality.

And here's my favorite Baratunde riff, entitled "I Hate the Smugness of Apple". Special dedication to my buddy at paper graffiti, who drinks the Mac translucent kool-aid daily.

Technorati Tags: comedy, video, stand-up, Baratunde

VIDEO JOURNEY: She did WHAT??

These videos seem to be pretty popular, so let's keep it going with this one.

Question: What happens when you take a real diamond engagement ring, place it inside a very powerful high-end blender, and hit "go?"

Answer:

Technorati Tags: blendtec, abazias, diamond, blender, blend, physics

VIDEO JOURNEY 2: Update 3...???

Found a full version of "A Gentlemen's Duel" - watch it fast, before they bring it down!

VIDEO JOURNEY 2: A Gentlemen's Duel

Changing projects, changing jobs, changing residences - you should be glad I'm posting at all! But seriously, thanks for checking in so faithfully, good reader.

My buddies Jody and Janell of The A Team loved our previous video journey and asked for more, so I wanted to post this little 8 minute jewel from the good good folks at Blur Studios. Enjoy!

Update Part 2!:

Unfortunately, they have pulled down the full version of this video. I have no clue where or when Blur Studios will be officially releasing it, and believe me, I've tried to find out. (Note to Blur marketing - that's the kind of information you should TELL people about!)

In the meantime, here's the trailer for the animated short. I'll see if I can find some other cool video for ya later.

Update:

Had to post this one too. Great lip-dub of "Flagpole Sitta" by Harvey Danger. Would I wanna work at this company? Maybe not, but at least they can sing!

Lip Dub - Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger from amandalynferri and Vimeo