Don't do drugs

Here's a music video from 15 year old L.A. rapper Earl.
Just watch for yourself. And not on a full stomach.

Moving Countries foward with Moving Images

These spots for amnesty international speak for themselves.

Death to the Death Penalty



Russian Dolls

Adicolor

So Adidas launched Adicolor back in 1983 and the premise of the campaign was to customize your footwear. You would purchase a pair and inside the box there would be goodies for you to decorate your shoes with, cool right? Well Adidas relaunched this concept in 2005 but things got a lot cooler; the trainer shoes used for the campaign included characters like Kermit, Miss Piggy, Betty Boop, and Tron (to name a few). The best part about this is the promotional viral videos made.


Charlie White made Pink (and one of the most pleasurable minute twenty seconds of video that I've ever had the privilege to lay eyes on.




Neil Bloomkamp, the director of Yellow, went on to direct District 9.




The darkest of the series was (surprise surprise) Black, directed by Saiman Chow.



There's also one for green, red, white, and blue. You can watch all of them here.

kids and youtube

my seven year old cousin is visiting me from boston and all we've been doing is wrestling and playing really intense games of chess. so that i could take a break from his insanity i sat him down and we decided to watch some youtube videos.

i think this gummy bear thing is the new thing people should roll too. thank you cousin.



also, i showed him yo gabba gabba and he flipped out. i think it tripped him out too much.



i seriously don't understand how yo gabba gabba got a show on nick jr. but i can say this much, i wish i was dj lance rock. he's raising a generation of ravers.

High Speed Cameras/ Ultra Slo-Mo

What's cooler than watching things collide? Watching them collide in SLOW MOTION! The quick pace of technology has allowed for some very advanced equipment, including sophisticated high-speed cameras. I stumbled across this video a few weeks ago, and although the song is maybe a year old, the slow-mo trend is still very much alive. It may increase in use, but I don't think it will ever really die. The fascination with seeing things at speeds much slower than capable for the human eye will always continue to exist because, let's face it, it's pretty fucking cool.

Here's Blamma! Blamma!'s Collide Sparks video by Christopher Hewitt




And here's the more commerical side, with an adorable Pedigree ad



And let's not forget those who came before in one of my absolute favorite moments in film. EVER. (The gold begins at 2:25)

Alexander Nevsky

Dir. Sergie Eisenstein (Russia 1938)

This movie struck me as particularly nationalist, and then it all made sense after I took a second glance at its release date. Essentially it is the story of how Russia, close to falling to German conquer, calls upon Prince Alexander (the man responsible for a previous victory over Sweden) to save her. There is a grand battle scene where swords clash against swords in this epic set in the 13th century, and ultimately (but not surprisingly) Russia comes out victorious.

I wasn’t particularly captivated by the film, but was impressed with many of the compositions. The shots where the horizon line is placed at the bottom 1/8 of the frame resulted in beautiful dominating skies. The difference in tone in these frame divisions evoked a monochromatic Rothko-esque feel. The production design is especially amazing for a film made in 1938, although you can totally tell some things were made in some indoor set.

Viridiana

Dir. Luis Buñuel (Spain/Mexico 1961)

This is film is ALMOST interchangeable with an image of Luis Buñuel urinating in the church’s holy water; Viridiana is a ferocious critique of the Catholic church, it’s hypocrisy, and piety.

Above all, it is simply an amazing film. Not only is it beautifully shot, the events that unfold are both wildly captivating and terrifying. The photography is amazing and the most memorable scene is a moment in the film where amidst chaos and debauchery, time comes to a halt and a reconstruction of the Last Supper with a group of drunken, careless beggars is revealed.

Before watching this film the only Buñuel piece I had seen was his 16 minute surrealist film Un Chien Andalou, but after watching Viridiana, I am certain this will not be my last date with Mr. Buñuel.



You should totally watch it.