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!

SCOTLAND: A LAND OF GREAT AND MYSTERIOUS BEAUTY

I haven't had a chance to process my photos or videos from our trip thus far—hard to believe we are almost halfway done!—but I can say we have some great adventures and, despite some unseasonably cool and cloudy weather, have basked in the great and vast landscape that is Scotland. We spent several days in the Scottish Highlands this week and truly enjoyed its splendor. I think this short film by Josh Brine on Vimeo captures much of the magic here; I hope you like it!

(Thanks to swissmiss for the conveniently timed tip!)

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!

WHO KNEW?

File this in the 'huh, interesting!' category: a video demonstrating the way cranberries grow. I always wondered about this (usually only around Thanksgiving though, ha!).

Lots more cool videos for curious minds at 'The Kid Should See This' here.

IMPROV EVERYWHERE: THE PIRATES OF CENTRAL PARK

I haven't posted an Improv Everywhere stunt in a while, but went I saw this latest mission I thought 'arrrrrr-ight' (this poor pun brought to you by Puns R Us! Puns R Us, we'll make you laugh whether you like it or not!). I love the idea of marauders in an ersatz row boat in the middle of Central Park, though I think the addition of a canon ball fight with other boats, perhaps foam canon balls?, would have put it over the top!

The video is lots of fun anyway. Check out the details of the mission here and lots more funny projects here (details on my favorite past project here, past close second and third here and here).

LICHTGRENZE: 25 YEARS AFTER THE WALL FELL

This project has gotten a ton of press over the past several days but it was simply too beautiful not to share here. Featuring 8000 LED filled balloons, Lichtgrenze (literally: 'border of light') is an art installation-cum-historical awareness piece that stretches 10 miles over the path of the Berlin Wall—even blocking streets and cutting through parks as the wall once did—to commemorate its destruction 25 years ago.

These perfect glowing globes were installed for two days this weekend and were released last night as part of Berlin's anniversary celebration. Each balloon was funded by a specific individual or group and each balloon was released last night by a person holding a unique key; once freed the balloons floated away into the night air, carrying personal messages and symbolizing humanity's struggle to continue to rise above oppression and violence.

There are lots of great articles about this, but I recommend the writing published here and here. See footage of the balloon release and celebration here. More information about the promotional video (warning: it's mostly in German!) here.

EXPAND//FOLD//COLLAPSE//SCULPTURES BY MARTA CHILINDRON

Big news, folks! I have spent the last several months working like crazy with my dear friend Susanna on an exhibition of work by Marta Chilindron and it opens TONIGHT! Her colorful, geometric, manipulable sculptures are seriously amazing and we are so excited to showcase them in the gorgeous Great Hall space at the Institute of Fine Arts.

If you are in New York City tonight the opening starts at 6pm, but the show runs until December 5th. If you can't make it in person, you can always check out the interactive e-catalogue we published (embedded above, also available here), co-written by Susanna and I and designed by yours truly. And check out the super cool preview video our webmaster and social media guru Jason Varone put together for us below. Hope to see you tonight!




Already in love with Marta's work? Me too! Find out more about her (and see more video demonstrations) on her artist's gallery page here.


(All images courtesy of Cecilia de Torres, Ltd. Top to bottom: Artist with Hexagon Spiral, 2013; Convertible Circle, 2009-2014; Ring, 2013) 

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?

UNDER THE WEATHER

I came to a serious realization yesterday: I'm sick. I seem to have been walloped by a nasty cold coming back from Italy and it has hit me hard in the last twenty-four hours or so. Dang!

Anywho, I am putting my latest major Italian recap post on hold until Monday (when my eyes aren't crossed from this sinus headache). In the meantime, here's a fun little news bite—recently a tourist caught a Buckingham Palace guard doing pirouettes on his watch. I know that's a serious taboo—apparently he can face jail time!—but it reminded me of this funny faced guard (or this wallpaper!) and seemed like a much needed hit of silliness for this recooperation-oriented Friday.

How you have a great weekend. Do some frolicking for me!

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)

TIMES NEW ROMAN: LOVE OR HATE?

I spied this short film on swiss-miss today and knew I had to share it. Times New Roman is a source of great debate in my household: my husband, a lawyer and traditionalist, quite likes the typeface; I myself, a contemporary art historian and mid-century design nerd, rather despise it. No matter which camp you fall into, I am certain you will enjoy this video created by The Times, the very London newspaper for which the infamous typeface was created over eighty years ago, as part of their wonderful Unquiet Film Series.


p.s. Apologies for the profusion of short and sweet (video-oriented) posts of late. I am still (still!) writing my dissertation chapter and dealing with a slew of computer problems, so it has been hard to hard to keep up with my normal blogging habits. But not to worry, I am filing away a ton of great ideas, projects and stories to share so once I get my draft done and my tech fixed I will be back in the swing of things, no problem!

WORLD'S TOUGHEST JOB

I don't want to spoil the secret reveal of this video . . . let's just say that I love the Director of Operations in my life and I bet you do too. Thanks for always being 'on call' and keeping the chaos of our lives in perfect working order. You are the best!


p.s. Don't forget to enter this big giveaway! In the next few weeks I will be adding several exciting things to the Etsy shop, including vintage stamps, personalized stationery and more!

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.

THE EDITOR: A BEAUTIFUL FILM

I love me a beautiful, graphically designed video (like this one!). This lovely little clip illustrates all the amazing, complicated work done by truly gifted editors to make each film seamlessly soar through our imaginations. Made by the brilliant team at insidetheedit.com (a website devoted to teaching the art of editing), it is surely worth a quick two minute viewing.

Learn more about Inside the Edit on their website here.
(And thanks to A Pair of Pears for the tip!)

LET'S GET CREATIVE

Have you guys heard of Creative Mornings? I have written about it a couple times before (see here), but I was feeling in dire need of a jolt of inspiration yesterday and—without fail—the Creative Mornings site delivered big time. I mean, look at that homepage! It's like a perfect venn diagram of my obsession with bright colors and maps. Drool!

Besides being beautifully designed in and of itself, the Creative Mornings website also hosts an incredible archive of all their previous talks, now taking place in 71 (!) cities around the world. Since I will be giving a presentation on the first chapter of my dissertation next month at this fabulous design-focused symposium, I think it only proper to brush up on my public speaking skills by watching some of the masters at work in the Creative Mornings spotlight. In case you want some presentation pointers too, or are just in the mood for some good advice and a few laughs, check out the videos below. You won't regret it!

I loved Debbie Milman's talk when I saw it in person way back in 2011. I loved it even more when I rewatched it this week. Her advice here is both thoughtfully considered and amicably delivered—the whole presentation feels like an uplifting pep talk from a parent or friend.

This talk, by MailChimp founder Ben Chestnut, was the only one of my three picks today that I didn't get to see in person (it took place in Atlanta in December 2011). But it is absolutely hilarious in the way that a brilliant but rather crass friend can be—there is a common recurrence of a middle finger icon in the talk at very funny intervals—and is all the most inspirational for it. I can't recommend it enough. And I now I funny understand the MailChimp radio ads that say they make hats for small dogs and cats!

Last, but definitely not least, is this belly-laugh-, drool-, and awe-inducing talk by Christoph Niemann (who I have extolled on many occasions before, see here). His illustrations and masterful creativity never ceases to amaze me and this short and sweet presentation will show you why. I shared before and I have to share it again—it's that good.


See more of creative goodness at Creative Mornings here.

INTERNET ADS EXPLAINED, BEAUTIFULLY

I am totally in love with this animation, created collaboratively by Will Samuel and Dominic Owen, that teaches kids about the way advertising works on the internet. The graphics are fabulous and the voiceover is quite funny. Brilliant, right? Now can they do an animated video about HTML to show people it's not an STD?!

(thanks to swiss-miss for the tip)

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!