OK GO'S LATEST MIND BENDING VIDEO

I have written about Ok Go's crazy music videos before. This group is incredibly creative, both musically and visually. There color palette, costuming and choreography are on point. But, seriously, my mind is BLOWN but this latest video for the single 'Upside Down & Inside Out'. It was shot entirely in zero gravity. No special effects. Enough said.

Learn more about Ok Go here.

RANDOM BUT WONDERFUL

As if you needed another reason to love either A) Sir David Attenborough or B) Adele's gorgeous new single, Hello, this video will have you smiling in no time. Totally random, but sure to make you happy on this otherwise boring Monday.

Hope you had a great weekend!

MISSADVENTURE

Guys, guys! Pitch Perfect 2 comes out this weekend! Are you going to see it? I have a shameless love for the first Pitch Perfect movie, so I will certainly be hitting it up asap.

My excitement for the sequel has me realizing something . . . I kind of have a girl crush on Anna Kendrick! Not the least because of this adorable new ad campaign she worked on for one of my favorite brands, Kate Spade. Called Miss Adventure, it is a sweet, funny, beautifully shot video series highlighting Kendrick as a stylish if hapless cool girl. I mean, don't we all need to embrace a bit of #missadventure in our life?

Check out the first video in the Miss Adventure campaign here and learn more about it here.


p.s. Doesn't the background music in these videos remind you of the interludes in 30 Rock?

p.p.s. Original girl crush, hands down, Lily Tomlin. She's awesome in every way.

A FEW THINGS TO MAKE YOU GIGGLE

I am in full force productivity mode these days as the semester draws to a close, but with that focus comes the occasional binge on YouTube (who's with me?!).  Here are a couple of videos I have stumbled across recently that made me giggle, smile or generally forget my massive to do list for a couple minutes. Hope you enjoy!

above | they are doing a ton of facade work on my building right now and the noise is basically like this, with the added bonus of guys in cherry pickers popping by my window every few minutes . . . just a bit distracting, ha!





above | sometimes I feel like every girl in New York is like this; either way, this is a pretty funny parody of a show I regularly watch to make myself feel like my life is reasonably put together (is that too honest?)






above | james corden is hilarious, jennifer hudson is the shiznit and this video just makes me miss having a car . . .





above |  . . . though if I were to be doing my own car karaoke, it would probably sound more like this . . . .



Hope you have a productive day full of laughter and dance/karaoke breaks!

POSTMODERN JUKEBOX

Recently I stumbled something amazing. I may be the last person onto this trend (given their millions of views already), but have you seen the performances of Postmodern Jukebox? It's a musical group organized by band leader Scott Bradlee that reworks popular songs—by famous folks like Meghan Trainor, Queen, Miley Cyrus, etc.—with a big band style. Now you can hear the Guns N Roses hit 'Sweet Child of Mine' in the style of New Orleans swing or Macklemore's catchy 'Thrift Shop' with a ragtime beat. As someone who has seriously eclectic taste in music, I love hearing many of my favorite songs remade in some of my favorite classic genres. The arrangements are incredibly well done, almost seamless, with fabulously talented vocalists. Once you start up on PMJ's YouTube playlist here you likely won't stop. I have included some of my favorites above to get you started but I can guarantee there is a lot more musical fun to be had.

Learn more about the group on their Facebook page here and about their tour dates on their website here.






p.s. They even cover cartoon theme songs. Awesome!

POP CHART LAB, REVISITED

A couple of years ago I wrote about a poster compendium of historical camera models, designed by Pop Chart Lab, that I was pining after. Recently I stumbled across an article on Design Milk chronicling the epic talents of the design duo behind Pop Chart Lab—Patrick Mulligan and Ben Gibson—and I immediately went back to check out the latest goodies they have in their shop. I immediately fell into a pit of infographic inspiration and, commensurately, now have a lot more Pop Chart items on my to do list. Below are a couple of my favorites.

Which one would you pick? There are so many more to choose from over at their shop here.

GUILTY PLEASURES

Happy New Year! How was your holiday? I spent the majority of it alternating between bouts of rolling around in the snow, bingeing on sugar, reading, doing jigsaw puzzles, cuddling my hubby and napping. Guilty pleasures all around. Isn't that what the holidays are for?!

I am back in action here in New York and excited for 2015! I am planning to share some goals with you (as I did last year here) shortly, but in the meantime wanted to indulge in one last guilty pleasure: Pitch Perfect! I watched the original (more info on it here) with my in-laws recently and they loved it. It's total brain candy but who cares. It's fun! I was so psyched to hear that they were doing a remake. Bring back Fat Amy Fat Patricia!!!

Learn more about the sequel here.

What's your guilty pleasure?

LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS GIFTS

If you woke up this morning and thought 'Eeek! Christmas is only days away and I still need gifts!' then never fear! Several years ago I did a round up of my favorite things on offer at Amazon that will ship for free in two days with a Prime membership (I have one; it's totally worth it!). Well, I thought that was a pretty fun exercise, so I am back again this year with an expanded list. Here are a bunch of things that will be sure to please all of the nearest and dearest folk in your life this holiday season and arrive on time!

GIFTS FOR BABIES

one | kid o color steps, $6.88

two | skip hop moby bath spout cover, $12.99

three | ulubulu silicon shark bib, $8.99

four | vulli sophie the giraffe teething toy, $17.99

five | sandra bouton's greatest hits, volume 1, $12.70

GIFTS FOR KIDDOS

six | the new way things work, $22.14

seven | schylling kids accordion, $18.67

eight | sakura set of 25 cray-pa oil pastels, $5.29

nine | pure fun kids jumper indoor trampoline, $64.62

ten | 884 piece lego set, $50

GIFTS FOR GUYS

eleven | clark's desert boots, $39.99 - $149

twelve | gopro hero 3+ black edition digital camera, $349.99

thirteen | alessi stainless steel watch with leather band, $185

fourteen | the essential bar book, $16.39

GIFTS FOR LADIES

fifteen | kate spade cedar street dot lacey wallet, $178

sixteen | fresh & easy: what to cook and how to cook it, $32.43

seventeen | kindle paperweight e-reader, $99

eighteen | razzle dazzle amaryllis plant, $23.99

I am signing off today and will be away from the blog until 2015 (feels weird to say that!). I hope you have a fabulous holiday and enjoy the remainder of 2014 to the absolute fullest. Happy Holidays! See you next year!

*This post is not sponsored by Amazon (or anyone)! I just happen to be a big fan!

PER YOUR SUGGESTION: OK GO!

I have said it before and I will say it again. OK Go is the shiznit and their videos are insane. Can they choreograph and document my life? Please, pretty please?

Thanks to little bro John for the tip.


p.s. Doesn't this remind you of these photos?

SWING BABY SWING

Growing up across the street from a park, I learned at an early age the wonders of the playground swing set. But how much cooler would those hours of swinging have been if I had had access to this art installation-cum-swing? Created by the Canadian design group Daily Tous Les Jours, this interactive sculptural piece entails a set of swings that burst forth with sound and light when put into action. The result is a streaking band of light across the night sky accompanied by a harmonic range of tones and notes, fostered by different swings going at different rates and different times. Magical, no? The project, called simply The Swings, was put together for an art festival in Green Mountain Falls, CO and was meant to activate public space through visitors' bodies and collaborative actions.

Read more about the piece here and the Green Box Arts Festival here.

THROWBACK!

This weekend I went to a (free!) concert on the green in my hometown of New Haven, CT. I have been going to this concert series for years and have seen some awesome acts—like Ray Charles, Little Richard, the Roots, Dave Brubeck, and more. This weekend is was one of my favorite throwback hip hop groups: Salt-n-Pepa! I have never seen any place so placed with people dancing, smiling, singing and generally having a blast. It was a really cool experience. If you are ever in the New Haven area in the summer, check out one of these concerts!

Anywho, listening to all of Salt-n-Pepa's killer hits from the late 80s and 90s reminded me of this fabulous site: The Nostalgia Machine. Basically you put in a year and it pops out all the hits from that time, including their music videos! Instant throwback! Go check it out; trust me, it will instantly call to mind some major memories.

Hope you had a great weekend too!


(top video from my instagram feed, check out more here)

OK GO DID IT AGAIN

I have written about the band OK GO's amazing music videos before (see here and here), but this one may be my favorite. I love the intricate interplay of color and perspective and, of course, the occasional introduction of stripes and polka dots!

You can watch more of their videos here; which one is your favorite?


(thanks to swissmiss for the tip)

A CAPPELLA + DISNEY = ADORABLE!

A cappella is often nerdy, let's be honest. But there is something adorable and sweet about this video that reminds me that a cappella can also infectious and fun. This performance—a joint endeavor by Peter Hollens, and the BYU groups Vocal Point and Noteworthy—definitely made me smile and I hope it makes you smile too!

Like a cappella? Check out this post or this one. Like music in general? Head over here.

HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY!

In honor of April Fool's Day and all things hilarious, here is a quick round up some fabulously funny things I have stumbled across recently.

Amy Poehler, as always, is amazing in the outtakes of this Old Navy commercial.





The Ballad of a Wi-Fi hero is so dead on, except for me it's my fairly luddite husband calling in the cavalry for help. :) Also, the music and graphics are perfect.





Jimmy Fallon's lip sync battles are epic and hilarious. Also, news flash: Stephen Marchant can booty dance! (Also, this clip with Paul Rudd is not to be missed.)


Another thing I have to mention, while I am on the topic of funny: the new show on Comedy Central called @midnight is gut-bustingly funny. It's pretty much the only reason I don't feel insanely bad about going to bed at 1am on the regular. This clip with the cast of Community—another guilty pleasure of mine—sums up the awesomeness of the new show (wouldn't seem to embed properly, so you will have to go to the link!).

VIDEO PLAYLIST: MUSICAL INSPIRATION

In case you feel like procrastinating from work today, here are a few fun videos that I have come across that I have been dying to share. So, without further ado, lets surf the interwebs and hit up the YouTubes!



Have you been watching Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show? My goodness, he is hilarious. I love this segment, but also highly recommend watching Paul Rudd lip sync Tina Turner, and Jimmy play charades with Bradley Cooper, Emma Thomson (she's amazing!), and Tim McGraw (part one and part two).




I am obsessed with Pentatonix (evidence here) and their version of my new favorite song is gorgeous.





Also, how incredible does this documentary look? Several friends have recommended it and I can't wait to watch it myself. Bonus: iTunes rental is only $0.99!

SUPER BOWL AD WRAP 2014

Did you watch the Superbowl last night? I am actually a huge football nerd, so I wouldn't have missed it (I was also rooting for the Seahawks, so the outcome was awesome!). But I have to admit that most of the fun of the 'big game' yesterday—given the lopsided outcome—was the halftime show and commercials. I was skeptical about Bruno Mars performing but he was awesome! I loved the styling of the whole thing, from the costumes to the sweet dance moves. They even managed to merge his peppy swag with the angsty rock of Red Hot Chili Peppers, which I didn't think was possible!

Anyway, in keeping with my yearly tradition, here is a round up of my favorite commercials this year (and here are the past posts from 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2013). Overall, I thought the quality was not bad and was happy with the fact that there were very few objectifications of women or croaking frogs . . .


MY TOP TWO





Animal commercials get me every time!



HONORABLE MENTIONS









It's hard to beat the Muppets and Terry Crews, but the sheer silliness of the Tim Tebow 'no contract' idea might top it.


THE TEAR JERKERS



Soldiers coming home and cancer—tough themes for beer and car commercials, but these were done really well.


BEST VISUAL EFFECTS



This was a pretty simple ad, but I thought the styling and cinematography were stunning.


What were your favorite ads? Did I miss any? Let me know in the comments!

PLAY IT COOL: NINETIES MASTER DANCE MIX

A couple of months ago I introduced a new feature here on the O.I. called 'Play It Cool'. It is a fun way for me to share my wacky, eclectic musical tastes with you and, hopefully, give you something to jam to while you are at work, at the gym, or just in your undies dancing around your apartment. :)

Here is the latest installment: a nineties master dance mix! This is a lengthy list of all the best throwback hits from the best decade of the twentieth century (in my humble opinion). I can promise they will bring back fond memories and get you 'shaking your rump' again.

Hope you like it!


(Cassette tape image from the gorgeous work of Jim Golden)

GRACED WITH LIGHT: INSTALLATION BY ANNE PATTERSON

I am not a religious person but, as an art historian, I can appreciate the palatial beauty of cathedrals. Now add on a beautiful installation to that magnificent church space and you really have my attention.

This breathtaking work was created by New York-based installation artist Anne Patterson. It features twenty miles of silk ribbon strung from the high above the nave in the famous San Francisco chapel, Grace Cathedral. The work, inspired by the music and color combinations that spin through Patterson's brain (she suffers from synesthesia), has prompted community members to associate the ribbons with their hopes and prayers, sending them heavenward in the vaulted space.

The work was supposed to come down last fall, but has been so popular it has ben extended until this February. If you are in the neighborhood, I suggest you check it out!

Read more about the project here.

FEMALE HEROES OF 2013

I realize this is a shamelessly promotional video from Bing (I am a Google girl all the way), but honestly, it was too sweet to pass up. Who runs the world? Girls!

A MOVING MASTERPIECE AT THE MET: JANET CARDIFF

Last week I went up to the Cloisters—the Medieval outpost of the Metropolitan Museum—to see a beautiful new exhibition that's been getting rave reviews. It's called The Forty Part Motet and it's a sound art piece by Canadian artist Janet Cardiff which features forty special speakers each playing one vocal part in a powerfully moving choral piece by Tudor composer Thomas Tallis. The work is usually shown in the blank white boxes of contemporary art museums and modern art galleries, but someone got the brilliant idea to install the piece in the cathedral-like atmosphere of The Cloisters. Listening to the gorgeous music, with each voice distinct and blended at once, while sitting in front of beautiful religious artwork from hundreds of years ago becomes almost reverential. One feels like you are sitting in the middle of the chorus, surrounded by singers, transported back in time and place to a church service in the Middle Ages (though the choral piece is technically from circa 1555-1575).

Trust me when I say that this is an incredible installation, not be missed. It's a bit of a trek up to the museum, but it is well worth the visit to see this show, which closes December 8!

Learn more about the exhibition and hear a clip of Tallis' choral piece here.