Tokyo Timelapse Video

Via Pink Tentacle.

Write The Future

With the World Cup set to start tomorrow, I thought I'd post Nike's latest epic ad, which you may or may not have already seen if you've been watching any sports — or TV in general — lately.

I got the biggest kick (pun intended) out of Wayne Rooney's alternate futures. The English striker's segment also contains a funny pair of cameos by some members of the U.S. squad, which is hoping to pull off "Miracle on Grass II" on Saturday.

Speaking of Rooney's portion of the ad, our loyal readers who are fans of tennis — of the table and non-table varieties — might enjoy the five seconds starting around 1:40.

As Seth Stevenson points out in Slate, this ad probably had a budget exceeding those of some of director Alejandro González Iñárritu's feature films. The resulting product, in any case, is marketing at its Nike-est.

App Engine Errors Can Strike Anywhere

Plot Holes and Pizza Rolls

I've been meaning to post about RedLetterMedia's "Plinkett Reviews" for a while now. While the site has apparently been doing reviews of Star Trek films for a while now, it gained the most recognition for its review of Star Wars: Episode I, which clocks in at nearly half the length of the film itself. The latest review, of Episode II, takes things even further.

While the reviewer-as-serial-killer "subplot" (hard to explain until you see it for yourself) is hit or miss, the critiques of the storytelling and filmmaking are mostly spot on, and I found myself nodding in agreement with many of the insightful criticisms. As a taste, here is the site's (relatively short) review of Avatar, a film most of our faithful readers have probably seen:

The U.S. Open, Now With More "Open"

TIME has the details:

The United States Tennis Association is debuting a "National Playoff" tournament in the run-up to the main event in late August. These small-time events don't include the luxuries of the real deal played in early September, like actual fans and millions of fresh fuzzy tennis balls. But if you win 15 matches in a row, you can earn the right to get plastered by Roger Federer, at Ashe Stadium, under the lights in prime time.

Related: Novak Djokovic—attired in an orange Adidas t-shirt—gives two-handed backhand tips, and advice on six other common tennis shots, in a TIME video, capped off with one of his trademark impressions:

Classic game characters invade New York

to have more, live with less...

great article that describes the mentality of a typical consumer. 

"Get to the CHOPPER!"

A bunch of Arnold's best lines. NSFW due to language.

2001 Monolith Action Figure

I would so get one.

Via df.

Sampras Serves and Agassi Returns ... Animosity!

The charity doubles match between Pete Sampras & Roger Federer and Andre Agassi & Rafael Nadal in Indian Wells took an awkward turn when Sampras and Agassi switched the tennis balls with insults:



I'm guessing Rafa's wedgie suddenly got more uncomfortable than usual!

Postverbindungen: March 3, 2010

Some random links from recent internet travels:

• I can only hope that the Zoolander sequel lives up to the original, which still makes me laugh just thinking about it. No word yet on whether Owen Wilson will reprise his role as Hansel, but Jonah Hill is reportedly in talks to play the villain. Justin Theroux (who played the break-dance-fighting "Evil DJ" in the first film) will write the screenplay (his other writing credits include Tropic Thunder and the upcoming Iron Man 2).
• From what my friends tell me about the after-work life of the South Korean salaryman, it's no wonder that scientists in that country are at the forefront of hangover reduction research. Stay thirsty, my scientist friends, or you might find yourself trailing the Japanese, when they begin studying the vodka-snorting phenomenon mentioned by the first commenter on the linked article.
• Meant to post this a while back, but here's a crazy video from the security cameras of a bus whose driver fell asleep and wreaked havoc on a Taiwanese freeway.
• John Gruber pretty much sums up what I have to say about the Apple-HTC Patent Thing. In short, I don't believe that software patents are a bad idea in principle, but the current system is broken, and so it is unfortunate but understandable that companies would stockpile patents for defensive purposes. It's when companies use them offensively (pun intended) that a bad taste is left in everyone's mouths. A friend of the site, Joz, was lamenting recently that Steve Jobs — and, by extension, Apple — would be looked upon much more fondly if he rested on his laurels of good design and constant innovation, rather than always picking fights with or making snide remarks about people/companies/technologies. Unfortunately, life is rarely so simple, and we have to take the bad with the good.

Finally, I'm a sucker for a good Rube Goldberg machine, so I'm happy that OK Go and Synn Labs put in the effort to make this one (available in HD):

Update: Forgot about this video, which may be of some interest to the Japanophiles and yo-yo-o-philes among the Hydrans:

Will your life be just one big Role Playing Game in the future? A very amusing DICE (Design Innovate Communicate Entertain) 2010 conference talk that gets better as it goes. Plus a great iPad dig.

Spin to Win

On this Super Bowl Sunday, let's take a moment to recognize those other warriors of the sporting world—competitive pen spinners:



Boing Boing guestblogger Kristie Lu Stout sez:

I had no idea this subculture existed beyond the brio-spinning guy who sat in the back of my high school Trig class. But, yup, they're out there.

Andy the Hedgehog

This story has to be one of the most random stories I've read. From the Ocean's 11 commentary, Mr. Garcia stated he loved the Japanese culture, most importantly blue hedgehogs.

what the fruc?

a lot of this info is what most people already knew, the guy gets a bit over the top at times, but the biochemistry information and statistical analysis is amazing.  it's refreshing to see something with real data vs. this .  the video is rather long, but if you're into nutritional sciences it's worth it.  i think this video speaks to anyone regardless of what side of the fence you're on (macronutrient distribution--good vs. bad calories versus purely a calorie is a calorie).

 

When pranks backfire

This guy hits a shot he wasn't supposed to make. His students offered him tickets to the Final Four if he made it. Problem was, the tickets did not exist, they were going to give him a gift certificate to a Mexican restuarant. He made it. Here's the Yahoo article. Good twist in the story.

In Soviet Russia, Science Explains You!

TIME discusses the "Asian flush":

According to a new study in BMC Evolutionary Biology, the genetic mutation that causes the reaction first appeared about 10,000 years ago in Southern China, at about the same time residents began farming rice along the Yangtze River. The study's authors hypothesize that the alcohol intolerance associated with facial flushing may have evolved as a survival strategy enabling ancient populations to enjoy the positive effects of alcohol derived from fermented rice — it can be used as a disinfectant and preservative — while imbibing in moderation.

The Late Shift II: The Rolling Thunder of Revenge

For those of you looking for a summary of NBC's Late Night fracas, look no further than this animated recap from Taiwan:



(For real clips that you might have missed from all the Late Night shows, see Gawker TV or Vulture.)

[Post title courtesy Mr. Quentin Tarantino]

MacGruber the movie!

Embedding is disabled, but here's the youtube link.

taildrop macho style

contemporary indie hipster styling + where the wild things are + homages to good films like clockwork orange + legit skaters + washed out white hued colouring + funding by fuel TV + my cynicism + quirk + fabricated awkwardness + whatever else is prototypical "now"..... what do you get?

machotaildrop!  despite what my negative comments would suggest, i'll probably end up watching this.

Video Game School

It's not a school where kids learn to play video games, but rather a school where kids learn by playing video games.

Popular Science profiles Quest to Learn:

Ever since Pong, videogames have outperformed teachers in one key way: They command attention for hours. “Games are exceptionally good at engaging kids,” says Quest’s main designer Katie Salen, a game designer and technology professor at the New School university. “They drop kids into complex problems where they fail and fail, but they try again and again.” She knew, though, that when kids face tough problems in school, they sometimes just give up, which is partly why only a third of eighth-graders earn “proficient” math scores on national assessment tests.

For now, the school is 6th grade only, but it hopes to add a class each year until it is a full 6th-12th grade facility. Is this the future of education?

[via Neatorama]