Scent of a Robot, the music video by Pete Miser - more fun geekery

While New York Hip Hop artist Pete Miser is not technically nerdcore just because of this one video and therefore this post technically has nothing to do with the last nerdcore post, I still really enjoyed this geeky music video romp with its "I'm a robot" corus. Besides what could be more nerdcore than a robot that doesn't know it's a robot.

scent_of_a_robot.mov (15.5mb Quicktime)

If you enjoyed that you also might enjoy this music video: toothbrush.mov (10.6mb Quicktime)

More videos and MP3s available at: petermiser.com - show & tell

From: petemiser.com

Alright, alright, it?s officially ON! The video for Scent Of A Robot is finished and now, magically, people are e-mailing me from places that we haven?t even sent it yet. (How did it get on TV in England? Oh, I mean, on ?the telly? in England?) If you haven?t seen it, go to the Show&Tell/Video of this site, click and go make some toast while it downloads! Again, I have to give props to UV Phactory for hooking it up. Brilliant

To kick off the promotion of this video, I am throwing a video premiere party at Sugar in Tribeca. Coincidence number one: Sugar is the first place I did a solo show in New York. Coincidence number two: The party is on my birthday, February 2.

If you go to the premiere send me a pic or something.

Via: Scent of a Robot by Pete Miser

Update: I just noticed Gizmodo also posted about this music video.

I'm not quite sure what the overall message is of Pete Miser's new 'Scent of a Robot' video - I can't quite relate to someone who would think being an autonomous servant of the hegemony would be in any way negative. I can easily relate to robots that go home to drink a beer and watch DVDs, however, a promise on which this video quickly delivers.

From: Gizmodo : Robots Archives

Nerdcore - MC Hawking's Greatest Hits

From nerdcore hiphop artist McFrontalot comes the "undisputed king of theoretical gangsta astrophysics", Stephen (MC) Hawking. The following flash animation is sort of an ad for MCFrontalot's McH4wking album, and only the geekiest among you will find it truely hilarious, but I did so I'm posting it.

Watch it

Download it: hawkingcommercial.swf (1.6mb Flash Media)

If you like what you here you can check out mchawking.com, or download a couple tracks at: Stephen (MC) Hawking - "I said holes, not hoes. That's physics, not shizznits!"

Via: stereogum: MC Hawking's Greatest Hits

Update: First, there is an excellent article about nerdcore on wikipedia.org.

Second, nerdcore has press: The Guardian - Beware geeks bearing riffs

Third, as someone pointed out my the relationship between MC Frontalot and MC Hawking is not completely understood. All I know is the following.

a) The MC Hawking wikipedia article states "...MC Hawking's entire body of work and his imaginary rapper personality were created almost entirely by American web developer Ken Leavitt-Lawrence..."

b) There are numerous references on the MC Hawking bulletin boards about Mc Frontalot contributing lyrics to the MC Hawking album.

c) Mc Frontalot actually raps on the MC Hawking album, if only for one song.

This information is wholey inconclusive way or the other. Perhaps one of them will clarify, but otherwise I encourage everyone that if they can't find any real facts that perhaps we should just remind ourselves to enjoy it for what it is. A fun parody.

Numanuma maiyahi madness

By now you've probably seen or heard the "Numanuma" song. A dancy disco mix. It has been remixed so many times with so many videos of people dancing to it I have lost count. If you find more versions feel free to add them to the comments. In fact I encourage you to make your own. Joing the cross-cultural celebration.

An early flash remix and some english: maiyahi.swf

The most frighteningly widespread version, the one with the overweight guy on his computer cam: numanuma.swf

Original music video:

Another Japanese remix: maiyahi.swf

There is song called Dragostea Din Tei on the Disco-Zone CD by O-Zone. O-Zone was a little known Euro-dance act from Romania... until someone in Japan syched some flash to it. Then someone else. Here is the original music video. Then someone made a video. Suddenly, this CD is a hit and many of my friends are ordering it from Amazon. I bet they don't know what hit them.

This reminds me of the badger badger/potter potter meme and the Yatta meme. There is some peculiar element of certain songs that gets people's creative juices going. I think they have to be 1) silly, 2) in a foreign language, 3) have that "can't get it out of my head" element. It's the tip of the long tail wagging. Maybe artists should make synching rights available to encourage more of this creative behavior in a mainstream way... or maybe not. ;-P

From: Joi Ito's Web: O-Zone madness

The funny-looking name Numanuma is actually a repetition of two Romanian words, 'nu ma' (or, to be correct, 'nu m?') that are part of the lyrics of O-Zone's smash hit 'Dragostea din tei' ('Love in the lime-tree'). More precisely, they're part of 'nu m? iei', which translates into 'you don't take me [away with you]'. I know, I know, but I'm a namer and I'm obsessed with it :-)

From: Stefan's Branding Blog: The O-Zone Craze - Shedding Some Light

Brooklyn Memories

Today is my first reblog of another video from another video blogger. I couldn't have possibly found a cooler video. This video is a good bye tribute by video blogger karmagrrrl to the place she grew up and lived most of her life; Brooklyn, New York.

It's an amazingly poetic look at the architecture, the people and the urban aesthetic. Also it has music from Frou Frou from the Garden State movie soundtrack. Enjoy, and be sure you thank her by leaving a compliment on her blog.

brooklynmemories.mov (21.8mb)

"The closer moving day gets, the more I start looking around and wondering if I'm really leaving New York. I'm really leaving NY. I'm actually leaving NY.

wow.

So I'm editing a video for a friend and I became seriously distracted (I tried not to take too much editing time on this vlog piece) and nostalgic when I started combing through my NY footage - especially Brooklyn. I grew up in Manhattan, the Bronx, upstate NY, but I "lived" in Brooklyn... so it's not easy saying goodbye.

This video is a compilation of stuff from the summer of '04. It's a reminder of the long walks my babe and I took throughout Brooklyn, gettting our daily dose of coffee, Thai food, sitting by the water...

California better be good. ;) This one's for you babe.

Oh, and the music if from the soundtrack of one of the few movies we saw this past summer "Garden State." See it if you haven't already. The band's name is Frou Frou and the song title is "Let Go."

Visit karmagrrrl: tales of a karmically challenged life...: Brooklyn Memories

I hate you Wishingbird - I love you Ant

Welcome to my blog, for those of you who don't know the really super great people over at Antnottv.org just came out with the ultimate video playback unit for video blogs just like mine, full of rich media. Basically it will play back all the videos on my blog (or any video blog you choose) like they were TV! But Ant is not TV, it's better, way better.

All you have to do is download it (sorry mac only at this point) and run it. As my RSS news feed is amongst the default feeds it will automatically download and cache all the videos in my feed so all you have to do is click PLAY. Video on demand with no commercials anyone can create their own video blog or watch a video blog feed. How simple is that!?

Anyway, one of the great new features is it should play back not just video clips but those awesome Macromedia Flash animations. This should allow me to start sharing the very best in Flash animations online. As a test I wanted to share with you this very special Flash animation from a group in London England. It's called "Wishingbird". Well, more precisely it's called "I Hate You Wishingbird", but don't worry, I'm sure you'll like it. It's swell.

Watch it: wishingbird.swf (495kb)

Download Ant!

Update: While flash seems to play well in Ant, something that is amazing by itself and I am very pleased about, unforetuneatly, the Ant stage size is fixed at 320x240 and nearly all flash works are considerably larger, leaving the flash work severly masked by the frame. I suppose I could embed the flash inside another flash file specifying a new smaller size, but that might entail copying the orginal work which is a real no-no from the copyright and legal perspective. I suppose I may give it a play, but transparency is a key issue for me.

Hopefully in the future items playing in and will scale proportionaly to the Ant window size, and that window size will be adjustable. For now I may have to swear of flash for a while, which is to bad because there's some REALLY good flash work being done out there. Cheers.

Recursive Ant - How much do I love Ant?

In this picture (at right) a clip of Amanda Congdon of rocketboom is being shown by Amanda Congdon on screen in Ant in the latest episode of Rocketboom. Meanwhile I was watching it in my Ant application so I took a snap, and now it's in my web page. Got it? Get it!

Perhaps you too have enjoyed Ant recursion?

Link: Rocketboom

Sin City Extended Trailer

This took me a while to hunt down, but it's well worth it. Most of you who are interested have already seen the standard Sin City trailer (previous post), but I stumbled upon this extended version some weeks ago and have just now gotten around to tracking down a source for it online. The editing is a little rougher, with a focus on comparing scenes in the movie to the original graphic stills. With the little information I can gather from the format and the name of the file it looks like it was put together for a comics convention, although I have no idea which one. If anyone does find out, please post it in the comments. Otherwise sit back and enjoy the show. After a lengthy download that is.

sincity_comiccon.mov (video/quicktime Object) (23.4mb)

For those of who are still wondering what I'm talking about: Sin City was a series of comics by Frank Miller which is being made into a film by the same name. There are excellent overviews on wikipedia of the original Sin City graphic stories, Frank Miller, and Sin City, the movie

The filming and editing technique on Sin City is pretty amazing. The use of color and the adherence to the graphical style of Frank Miller's original work is both aesthetically and technically brilliant. In short I cannot wait for this film to come out and I hope it lives up to the hype. The following quote is from wikipedia.org, grammar errors and all. When it comes to information in the raw, wikipedia never ceases to amaze me. :)

The Sin City movie is infamous of its use of high-definition film, having the actors playing in front of a green screen so the background can be added later during the post-production stage. While the use of a green screen isn't noteworthy, the use of high-Definition digital cameras is. The combination of these two techniques makes Sin City one of the few fully-digital live action motion pictures. This technique also means that the whole movie was initially shot in full colour, and was converted back to high-quality black and white. This technique makes it possible to give colour only to certain subjects in a scene, such as eyes, lips, or clothing.

We Will Become Silhouettes - The Latest Postal Service Music Video

The director of the movie Napolean Dynamite, Jared Hess, brings the same kitschy aesthetic to The Postal Service's latest video.

Credits:
Director: Jared Hess
Production company: Moxie Pictures

Watch it: wewillbecomesilhouettes.mov (6.2mb)

Alternate Viewing Link: boardsmag.com

Via: stereogum: We Will Become Silhouettes Video

The Volkswagen Polo "suicide bomber" ad

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

You can never fight a bear to many times, especially if it's got the good salmon

I never get sick of watching this, it's perhaps one of the best viral advertisement ever. In fact I think they invented the viral advert. Not sure what the hell I'm talking about? Just click the link below and prepare to laugh because if orange is the most univerally liked flavor then this video is the univeral standard for humor. Or was it "9 out of 10 geeks prefer John West Red Salmon"? I can't remember. But rest assured I think salmon is doing well on the inkernet.

bear.mpeg (video/mpeg Object, 1.3mb)

Thanks to: Mike Simon . com - home of all things Mike Simon and the people who make John West Red Salmon.

Copyright and Digital Media in a Post-Napster World

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society just came out with their yearly update to their report on digital media, which started in 2003.

LINK: Copyright and Digital Media in a Post-Napster World: 2005 Update

Direct link to the PDF: Copyright and Digital Media in a Post-Napster World: 2005 Update (420k)

I must say it's the most comprehensive outline I've seen online, and I pretty much read it cover to cover with the exception of some of the legal cases. Perhaps I'm a tremendous geek, but I found it absolutely riveting, and I can not thank those involved enough for putting it online. The following excerpt from the overview page best explains what the report is about.

The objective of this White Paper, initially released in August 2003 and updated in January 2005, is to provide a foundation for evaluating key questions facing the different stakeholders in the contentious debate over the future of digital media. It explores issues surrounding the current digital media ecosystem, including:

• The legal and regulatory developments regarding copyright and related intellectual property issues.
  
• Business models upset or enabled by digital media distribution.
  
• Technological developments driving change across the value chain.
  
• Shifts in consumer attitudes and behavior.

There was a particular area of the document that is at the heart of the matter for me. We need thinkers and creators and their works of creativity, vision, scenarios, in writing, and in the arts in order to bridge this gap between the entrenched parties. It would appear that the war between the incumbent media and the insurgent media may have climaxed in 2004 with the RIAA and MPAA lawsuits, but then again we may be in for worse offenses on both sides and even worse entrenchment.

The issues of digital media will not be solved in courtrooms or with new laws. Such things will only exasperate the problem. We need innovation not only in business, business models and technology but in the arts. This is not a simple problem of technology. It poses questions about what shapes our world, and I don't think anyone has even begun to solve the problem yet, not even Steve Jobs with his iPod and the Apple Music Store. The problem won't be solved until the music, ideas and knowledge flow like water. When I can walk into a public place and share music as easily as I could share water from a public fountain, or buy it online in a hi-fidelity multi-track format, or buy it in a grocery store like I might buy a bottle of water, or enjoy it in a private club like I might enjoy a bottle of wine in a restaurant.

What I'm talking about is packaging and distribution. It's how information flows. Music like all IP should be everywhere. Ideas and knowledge should be as ubiquitously shared as the distribution of the water we drink. On some level it will be free to all, because like water it must be free to all for the sake of opportunity and equality, but simultaneously there will be far more ways to experience this IP in quantity as well as diversity. Just as the printing press did not kill monastic centers of learning by putting knowledge in a book and books in the hands of everyone. Just as the printing press did in fact spawn huge growth and widespread development of institutions of learning, so too will the internet spawn a revolution and a renaissance in all things involving the intellect, for that is what it is, a tool for the sharing of minds.

I am convinced that with this diversity of IP will develop an infinitely richer and more diverse industry supporting IP. An industry that in it's combined wealth dwarfs the current music, entertainment and IP industry to a magnitude that is unimaginable. In fact this growth is already happening at the edges of the marketplace and in the long end of the tail.

IP is not dead and it's not dying. The future is IP. As Eric Flint of Baen Free books put it, the demand is ever increasing and unless computers can somehow miraculously grow minds and produce great works of art and fiction then there will always be a need for thinkers and creators. The only issue is how they get paid. However, I think his words are much better than mine. After all he's the professional writer and I am but a blogger.

The only issue, therefore, is simply the means by which authors get paid for their work.

That's a different kettle of fish entirely from a "threat" to the livelihood of authors. Some writers out there, imitating Chicken Little, seem to think they are on the verge of suffering the fate of buggy whip makers. But that analogy is ridiculous. Buggy whip makers went out of business because someone else invented something which eliminated the demand for buggy whips — not because Henry Ford figured out a way to steal the payroll of the buggy whip factory.

Is anyone eliminating the demand for fiction? Nope.

Has anyone invented a gadget which can write fiction? Nope.

All that is happening, as the technological conditions under which commercial fiction writing takes place continue to change, is that everyone is wrestling with the impact that might have on the way in which writers get paid. That's it. So why all the panic? Especially, why the hysterical calls for draconian regulation of new technology — which, leaving aside the damage to society itself, is far more likely to hurt writers than to help them?

The future can't be foretold. But, whatever happens, so long as writers are essential to the process of producing fiction — along with editors, publishers, proofreaders (if you think a computer can proofread, you're nuts) and all the other people whose work is needed for it — they will get paid. Because they have, as a class if not as individuals, a monopoly on the product. Far easier to figure out new ways of generating income — as we hope to do with the Baen Free Library — than to tie ourselves and society as a whole into knots. Which are likely to be Gordian Knots, to boot.

What we're talking about is a paradigm shift. It's a shift in the very way in which we view intellectual property and the world. Advances in technology have caused us to face these issues head on. Laws, business practices, and indeed most importantly the public mind needs to evolve, and they are, quite rapidly now, but we have a long way to go.

I found the following scenarios from page 55 of the Berkman white paper quite interesting, but they are very incomplete. We need more debate specifically in this area. We need thinkers, writers and artists of all kinds to express their vision of the future. This issue is one that's larger than business, law and politics. I believe it rightfully falls to the very artists that copyright laws seek to protect to take up this debate and set new precedents, NOT the MPAA, the RIAA and NOT the businesses they represent, NOR the politicians in Washington. The Creative Class needs to rightfully take it's place in helping to lead this country wether it is merely a classic generational gap, a technologically induced intellectual rift, or something new altogether.

• The No-Change Scenario assumes that confusion remains about doctrines like "fair use" and "first sale" as the DMCA and copyright law continue to guide digital media distribution.
  
  
• The Speedbumps Scenario predicts that technological restrictions like encryption will create small barriers to users' access and control of digital content.
  
  
• The Technology Lockdown Scenario projects that restrictive digital rights management (DRM) schemes will unilaterally determine users' experience of the content they purchase.
  
  
• The Alternative Compensation System Scenario imagines that users access digital content through a state-run system that taxes consumers according to use and rewards creators according to the popularity of their work.
  
  
• The Entertainment Co-op Scenario envisions that voluntary associations emerge within the existing copyright structure to allow distribution of digital content between subscribers and creators.

We have analyzed ? and will further discuss ? these scenarios in a series of publications as potential models for distribution of digital content. All research papers and other materials are available at the Berkman Center?s Digital Media Project Website. Selected reports are also available on the Gartner?G2 site on the ?Digital Media Transition? page.

Bush Allegiance

There's been much adieu about Jenna Bush apparently making the sign of Satan at her daddy's inauguration. She is in fact just showing her allegiance to the University of Texas. All the same it's a moment of cultural zen. At one point or another nearly every member of the Bush family has been shown flashing the sign. At right is Lara showing her allegiance to UT for their Rose Bowl win.

Via:
Wonkette - Laura Bush Shows Her Allegiance

Boing Boing: "Jenna hearts Satan" T-shirts

Boing Boing: Jenna Bush, Spawn of Satan

Oskar - a book shaped lamp

From: Funfurde: oskar.

"The Oskar is one of those 'why didn't I think of it?' design ideas. It's a book light that's actually shaped like a book, made in fact to sit unobtrusively among books. It can even be used as a bookend, which is pretty nifty. (You can also use it as just a regular table lamp, but for me that doesn't hold much appeal.)"

It really is brilliant. I could use a couple myself, but here's the catch. It's $465! That's absurd. I guess I'm going to have to either make my own, or wait till someone else knocks it off. Sorry, but as a commentor pointed out on Funfurde, I could go to Ikea and by the bookshelf, the end table a few lamps, and swing by a bookstore on the way home and still have enough left over to buy myself a library. Not that I own or would ever buy anything from Ikea, but it's a good threat. :)

Link: Design Within Reach - Oskar Table Lamp

CBC Nerve

I had a really great post prepared for this, but Safari up and crashed. Anyway, Nerve is a colaborative multi-media journalism site. Lot's of great video content created by it's own viewers. Only in it's second addition. Reminds me of TokyoDV. You should check it out.

Now you've heard from us, we wanna hear from you. What?s your story? If you have something to say to the world and want to make your grand appearance, drop us an email and tell us what you or your friends are up to.

OR if you?re more of a behind the scenes person and fancy yourself an aspiring Coppola or the next Jackass, put some tape together that will impress, depress, inspire or light a fire, and get it in to us. Impress us with your concept and we'll hook you up with a camera crew that YOU GET TO DIRECT and shoot your own story to appear on future episodes of nerve. If it?s as good as you say it is, we'll even air it. Next comes Sundance, Cannes, Venice...just remember where you got your start."

CBC Nerve

60 Minutes on Google

This has been out for a week or two, and has already been much talked about, but it's definitely worth the watch if you haven't already seen it.

Watch it: 60Minutes.avi (58mb)

Related article: CBS News | Defining Google | January 3, 2005 10:18:08

Via: A Whole Lotta Nothing: Google on 60 Minutes

The Food Pyramid Topples -The War of the Memes has begun

Let this day be marked in history, the mighty rule of the food pyramid is over. The food pyramid, upheld by the federal goverment and deeply embeded in the national education system for over 50 years was officially announced irrelevant today by the Food and Drug Administration with the release of the final draft of their "blueprint for nutrition", the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005.

Thus, the realm of the War of Memes has thus begun. No longer just wars of empires, nations, states, cultures, ideologies, and googlefights. We have now entered the era of, The War of the Meme. It all started when video killed the radio star. Then we declared war on drugs. Finnally we declared war on terror, the very idea of something so terrifying it could only be described as a state of mind. I have no doubt we will see terror toppled, erradicated from our very minds and vocabulary. And now, we have struck down the mighty pyramid of food. I will try to keep you informed of new developments from the front lines as they develop.

Long live the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005!

Chicago Tribune: New U.S. guide topples food pyramid

From: The Food Pyramid Topples | Metafilter

Bruce Sterling speaks about "spimes" at a conference on Dec. 13th 2004

I found it. This video landed on my computer weeks ago and I've been telling people about it non-stop, but I'd been unable to dig up the source until just now. In it Bruce Sterling talkes about his concept of "spimes" and the future of products. Warning, this is a huge file, but it's worth the download.

Watch it: 2004-12-13sterling_de_dsl.mov (173.3 mb!)

Note: I have no background information on this video. I simply found it on this refering page. If you can read german and/or have any other information to contribute, please add it to the comments or email me. Thanks.

A Speach by Doug Rushkoff on Renaissance Prospects from the Pop!Tech2004 conference

I do believe this is perhaps one of my favorite speaches. I've recently been getting into Doug Rushkoff's writings, and checking out his PBS Frontline specials The Persuaders & Merchants of Cool, which I've recently posted about.

Douglas Rushkoff analyzes, writes and speaks about the way people, cultures, and institutions create, share, and influence each other's values. He sees "media" as the landscape where this interaction takes place, and "literacy" as the ability to participate consciously in it.

Listen: Doug Rushkoff - Renaissance Prospects.mp3 (47minutes / 21.7mb)

More info: IT Conversations: Doug Rushkoff - Renaissance Prospects

Thanks to Doug Kaye and the people over at ITConversations. I love you guys, or atleast I really, really appreciate what you're doing.

Experimental Film - Homestar Runner meets They Might Be Giants

This music video has been out for months (since July, 13th 2004), but I just rediscovered it in the Video section of Apple's music store, so I thought I'd share it here. It combines two of my more favorite things, They Might Be Giants and Homestar Runner. Most excellent.

Watch it: TheyMightBeGiants-ExperimentalFilm-Conan.avi (51mb)

Alternate: TheyMightBeGiants-ExperimentalFilm-Conan.mpg (34mb)

Two great sources of information:

Experimental Film on This Might Be A Wiki

And there is a particularly interesting "fun facts" section on the Homestar Runner wiki:

Experimental Film - Homestar Runner Wiki

Quick tip: Did you know if you drag a video into iTunes you can quickly convert it to an mp3?

iPod World - the bizzare world of ipod

This video been all over the web today. Primarily we can thank Gizmodo who posted it to their server as bizarro_ipod.mov, but while they had the scoop they did not have all the info. The video is in fact already online over at mantlepies.com, the group that created it for an end of the year TV show on the BBC called 2004: The Stupid Version.

Armando Iannucci rounds up 2004 with a look at the most memorable moments and images from the past year, re-edited in a totally off-the-wall way.

This sounds like the sort of show I'd love to see, anyone got a bittorent? There are several more videos in the series available on the Mantlpies site.

"Mantlepies were asked to write some sketches for Armando Iannucci's end of year TV show, 2004: The Stupid Version
Here are five that were chosen to go in:

Watch the video: ipod.mov (5.5mb)

More Videos: 2004: the stupid Version

Pictures from the Wednesday Ride

It poured rain most of the day on over about 12 inches of recent snow but the sun came out briefly at about 2pm, so I went for a little ride.

January 12th 2004 - a photoset on Flickr

The quick tour of Paris - An early morning 8 minute long race through the streets of Paris

I have found it. This is perhaps the most amazing video I have ever seen. I watch it twice a day, and three on bad days. You are in for it today. Little did you know when you got up this morning that you, you fans of Grand Theft Auto, you fans of fast cars and high revving engines, you fans of historic architecture and old world cities, You fans of the 70's (or is it early 80's?)... little did you know you would see this, this wonderful video that will forever change your perception of the world and the reality in which we live.

"Life is that which transcends the mundane and the everyday. Through such things as these we rediscover the exquisite, the spectacular and the wonder in daily life."

I ask you, did you really think that the beauty that is Grand Theft Auto was a virgin conception? That daredevils on motorcycles were the first to conceive of racing through city streets? That bicycle messengers, cabbies and motorcycle messengers should have all the fun? I smile at the initial shock and laughter and delight that this will bring to you, and I think you should subscribe to my podcast feed. I revel in the corruption such things bring to young minds and hope that their creativity will teach them safer and more noble hacks than this or even using your wit to social hack poor defenseless creatures.

Watch it: Rendezvous.avi (62mb)

UPDATED URL: rendezvous20_04.mov rendezvous20_04.mov whocares.de (35mb) — The last url is dead, this is just a quick update to another url I've found. The story of this film short has so facinated me I in fact have a whole nother post composed about it's history. This is truely fascinating stuff and I must say, though it is now 11 days after I originally posted this to my blog my interest in this subject has only just begun to peak, as has others interest. Look here for more on this fascinating piece of history in the future.

Fact finders and translators. I cannot read French. I'm a desperate idiot. To know more about this video is my wish. Your task, if you should so choose to accept it, is to translate this video, find out the history and report back to the comments board on this post. I suspect it shan't be to hard if you read French. Please and thank you.

Originally From: millerlife.net » Vroom! (thanks millerlife guy!)

Note: If millerlife.net gets smashed. I will bittorrent this. It's just that most podcast subscribers are not equipped to handle bittorent yet. Update: I will not be bittorrenting this as it is in fact copyright and the property of Spirit Films and I would not knowingly or otherwise encourage breaking their copyright. (Though I cannot stop others.) More info on where you can purchase this film on DVD soon.

UPDATE!: The mystery (at least it was a mystery for me) has been solved thanks to a reader, and the truth definitely does not disappoint. In part because the film itself is a legend and an enigma. Here is a quote from an excellent review from thespinningimage.co.uk.

It is the early morning in the Paris of the nineteen-seventies. A driver heads up the Champs Elysées in his unseen car at dangerous speed, and proceeds to rush through the streets of the city slowing down as little as possible. What's the hurry?

C'était un Rendez-vous was a film that became the stuff of legend for many years. Consisting of the view from the front of a sports car, director Claude Lelouch apparently strapped a camera on the vehicle and left it running as the car speeds along the city highways and back alleys. Lasting just under ten minutes, it feels shorter, such is the incredible momentum of the action, mesmerising the viewer with the images zipping by.

Not only is the film itself legendary, but stories have grown up around it, too. Is it true that Lelouch was arrested on its first showing in a Parisian cinema for dangerous driving? After all, the evidence is there and plain to see. And just who was the mysterious driver - Lelouch himself, or a famed Formula One racing star, understandably wishing to remain anonymous? Some say the man behind the wheel is an Italian taxi driver. And what make is the car, anyway? It must be an expensive sports model, judging by the thunderous noise of the engine.

Read the whole thing at: C'était un Rendez-vous Review (1976)

There is also an interesting article at POUR UN RENDEZ-VOUS. It appears to be an excerpt from the biography of Claude Lelouch the supposed driver, but the truth is it's in French and I do not fully trust the google translation let alone do I know anything about the source other than was posted in the comments. Perhaps someone can offer us a better translation. Until then:

Google translated version of "POUR UN RENDEZ-VOUS"

Snow!

I woke up this morning to find we had an unexpectedly large amount of snow. Thank god it's a Saturday.

Some wine and some late night rumination on nothing in particular

From CURRY.COM: Adam Curry's Weblog

"Observation: I've been in the states for 4 days now and haven't once watched television
I did watch a movie with Dave and Kris. American Splendor, which Dave bought for me as a gift in the music /movie store near our hotel. It is indeed excellent, some parts of this true story even grazed my own life back in the MTV 80's and 90's.

The only bummer was that we still didn't play by all the legal rules. Despite receiving a legally paid for dvd, I was promptly alerted to the fact that I had inserted a 'Region 1' disc into my 'Region 2' drive, and would only be allowed to switch regions 3 more times after this. No explanation of what happens after that. I guess I have to throw my laptop out, or replace my collection of porn dvd's with those of the appropriate region. Oh, I forgot, they don't use that horseshit on porn dvd's. They like their customers.

Well, It's 3am, I made the mistake of taking a nap today (something which is quite unusual for me) and now I find myself up at 4am, not that I keep regular hours anyway. I realized i hadn't had a drink in quite a while so I thought it'd be a fine time to have a little wine. As such, I thought I'd try something new, and just speak freely about nothing to much in particular in a blog post. A little rumination, a little rambling and a little pontification.

Since Adam Curry doesn't seem to have comments on his blog I'm going to start with an open question for him.

Adam, The launch of MTV was a truly revolutionary time for both media and youth culture. It's definitely something even the most jaded or simply "old" :) people could be proud of. This podcasting thing is of the very same nature. Both were or are huge steps forward in the democratization of media and you've lived or are living both. Kismet. Anyway, I was just wondering...

First, What it is like not only to have participated in one, but to find yourself in what could possibly be the middle of a second revolutionary or atleast evolutionary step? Indeed it remains to be seen what podcasting, still in its infancy may bring, but it very may actually end up being a bigger legacy than MTV.

Second, There is insight that can be gained in a second go around and I was wondering if there's something to be learned from your previous experiences at MTV. I myself have been involved in at least one upstart evolutionary business and upon reflection my only regrets were not moving on things sooner. Now those moves seem so obvious. So the question is, do you have any regrets or if not regrets and thoughts on things you would have done differently?

Finally, perhaps I missed it, indeed I haven't looked, but those early years at MTV were obviously an exciting time, and you in the hot seat. The question is: Have I overlooked a book, an auto biography on that era? Because, as mentioned, I think there could be a lot to learn in the way MTV created an original business in a new and unproven broadcast medium. Here we are again sitting on the tip of broadcast medium that will allow another order of magnitude of in capacity for niche markets or even new markets that will evolve beyond niche markets, said markets of one. MTV was very much a similar story to that of Ted Turner and CNN, but without the stuffy suits. :)

ALSO, about your comments on regional DVD's and the porn industry actually liking (and trusting) it's market. TRUE. VERY TRUE. You hit it all right on the head. Regional DVD's are a look at the absurdity of DRM, they in NO WAY even slow down widespread pirating, in fact they may encourage it as they create discouragement among their market and even inefficient and unnatural scarcity in the geographic markets.

This brings me to another topic....

I laugh at recent comments like those of Bill Gates who would call the copy-left crowd communists. FUCKING ABSURD. The truth is that a communist would not trust equitable distribution to the edges of the market. Only a true communist would think distribution and control could be best legislated and controlled centrally. Who here is the communist Bill Gates, or Linus Torvald?

Those fools that would think it a wise idea and indeed a right to determine what individual people can do in their own homes and amongst friends. These absurd and stupid mother fuckers (yes you heard me right), are leading us down a path to a lawless era where an increasingly huge black market will exist and indeed must exist to meet the needs of and keep the health and vitality of a world information ecosystem. Their concept of pirating is me buying food out of a discount grocery store in the US and shipping it around the world to somone starving. Their concept of pirating neglets our children who cannot afford to buy their way into their own culture (a very dangerous message indeed). It neglects geographic regions, and whole cultures. Bill Gates to pull the plug on hebrew translation in Word and what is the recourse. Open source software and indeed a black markets exist because they MUST exist.

Right now is already and increasingly a black market where people in third world countries steal pieces of software because the cost of the software would be more than their years salary. The old system of artificial copyright maximization is vastly inefficient at determining a fair market value for huge market segments (at finding a fair and equitable distribution) and not only do such copyright maximalists not acknowledge these inefficiencies in the old system, but they cling to them even more desperately and seek to increase their domination by increasing their advantage plitically.

It's very much a dead end road for them. A world where they collect their absurdly overpriced royalties from 1% of the market share while the rest of the world functions outside of their controls, either stealing from or bypassing these incumbents altogether in a need to function, to survive or even just to participate and belong in their culture. It's not that information wants to be free, it's that PEOPLE WANT TO BE FREE. To the extent that I can express this, that we can all express and share this or other similar visions, to the extent that we can manifest these ideas, is to the extent that there is hope for a more humane future. Good night.

The Ventilux a "soft fan"

Meaningless, senseless, gratuitous eye candy. So of course it's a good blog post.

Noiseless fan with soft rotor.
Designer Reinhard Zetsche contacted us to update our item on the KWC Murano faucet, which led us to his latest design, the noiseless Ventilux (also seen on Sensory Impact). Zetsche is busy, he's also part of trans|alpin. As for the Ventilux, it's made by Germany's Next and is available in green, pink, fluorescent orange, silver and anthracite. The stand is made of anodized aluminium.

From: MoCo Loco: Ventilux

Also:

TokyoDV - a collaborative Tokyo media blog of videographers

I have a hard time explaining
TokyoDV.com. It's just an amazing network. I'm not sure they know what a blog is, but it's definitely a blog. I guess you'd call it a collaborative video blog by a group of Tokyo videographers. It reminds me a little bit of Me-TV.org in format, but it's stark, elegantly simple and there is very little description. The videos are left to stand on their own and they do. They are non-linear works of art and mini-documentaries. Little stories unto themselves which are amazingly informational, insightful and appealing. Many don't even contain much voice over or conversation, mostly it seems unnecessary, but those that have speech have english subtitles and are easy to follow. It's not often one gets such a great and direct look into another culture. Here I am half a world away and yet I immediately can connect, identify and understand what is going on culturally. Sure there is a lot that I'm missing, but this is an excellent display of the power of new media to be very human, globally connected. We see real street life, real people, we here there words, there interests, their fashion and body language. These things speak far more succinctly and directly that mere words alone.

I believe we'll see a lot more homespun media networks like this in the near future. I'd love to see more collaborative video blogs like this in America, but I think this new form of media network needs a better economic model before it can be sustaining. Tokyo DV is already having a few bandwidth issues from what I can see. It looks like they depend mostly on donations.

They are an amazing insight into the Tokyo subculture and I'm guessing they're going to get swamped with traffic once the likes of boingboing.net get a hold of their url. I should state that the boingboing crew have an obsession with the Japanese cosplay culture, hental arts and other oddities of the Japanese sexual culture. It's a vibrant and modern culture. It's more traditional and at the same time more modern and commercial. These trends are obvious as you will see.

As much as I have tried above, the best way to summarize this up is just my notes, so enjoy...

Some apparent TokyoDV themes
(the majority of these links are QuickTime videos between 3 and 6mb)

• gadgets & connectivity - obvious in all videos is the obsession over cellular gadgets, tokyo is a very connected society
  
  
• brand culture very commercial, brand oriented culture - This is definitely the most interesting video I've seen. Women willing to pose naked with the brand goods of their obsession for publicized photos merely for the right to keep the brand goods.
  
  
• fashion - vibrant and varied fashion culture, traditional to modern, street fashion
  
  
• the SARS epidemic is obviously still an influential factor as you can still see the occasional mask
  
  
• sex vibrant sexual culture and rituals - hetal arts, fertility rituals,
  
  
• dance: Cosplay dance raves - JapAfriZilian Dancing - an influence of African culture into Japanese culture. I'm just taking an educated guess, but I believe JapAfriZilian is a slang term unique to this very localized dance culture in Japan. In comparison we would call the general influence of African culture in the US, Africanization. One obvious example are Adam Curry's beloved drum cadence sequences played at nearly every football game at every school in the US from high-school to college. These ritual drum beats we love so much have an obvious African influence. I believe wikipedia's entry for Africanization is a little narrow.
  
  
• film: the site seems to have at least one very good documentary film maker contributing: Dragons Come Home Trailer
  
  
• architecture and accomidations: apartments - interior design - office space

The portable cellphone booth

This just cracked me up.It's witty social commentary at its finest.

The Portable Cellphone Booth
Nick Rodrigues, Sculptor
Video by Cowboygirl Productions,2002.

Watch it: cellphone.mov (11.4mb)

An interview with the artist, Nick Rodrigues

Nick isn't Normal. Normal lives with his wife and two kids in a quiet suburb in Florida. On the other hand, cross a behaviourial psychologist and a sculptor and you'll get Nick Rodrigues.

Bump into him on the streets, and chances are if he hasn't honked at you yet, he's probably busy on the phone in his portable phone booth (Video 1, Video 2) . All in the name of art, he says, so we picked him off the streets and brought him in for questioning:

Read the complete interview: sensoryimpact.com » Performance Sculpture

Merry *%-$#! Christmas Apple - a fun video mish mash

Well it's back to the mish-mash of remix culture that I love. This one was sadly t0o late for christmas, but I think you'll enjoy it none the less. It's been called an iPod ad spoof, but I think it's more of a spoof of an idealized old B&W christmas morning film gone very, very wrong. All I know is it's just weird and wacky enough that I love it.

Watch it: ipod_christmas.mp4 (4.9mb)

Created by DL Fitch from the artists collective 512collective.org

Via: The Cult of Mac Blog, thanks cult of mac blog. :)


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A few of my favorite photos from Fall / Winter 2004

Basically I haven't been posting many photos here in the last couple months because I just haven't had a good photobloging and photo gallery solution. In that time I've been experimenting with flickr.com and well, I think it suits my needs. So here is my first flickr gallery, I do hope you enjoy it. Feel free to leave a comment here and there.

mmeiser Fall / Winter 2004 - a photoset on Flickr