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So here’s a shot.

Long ago popular culture reached such a critical mass that it began feeding on itself. I initially noticed it when sitcoms would refer to other sitcoms currently on the air as if to assert their status in reality by saying “See we’re like you, we watch that show too”. Actually, I’m sure pop culture referencing itself has been going on forever. I just don’t have any good references right now and I’m not willing to do the research. Let’s assume it’s true, or you’re welcome to post evidence to the contrary.

Today with advanced tools available for cheap to anyone and the perfection digital copies this has evolved to involve different media. There are tons of examples of music being remixed, sampled, cut and rebuilt into something that stands on its own as something new. From Hip-Hop to Dangermouse’s Grey Album (Jay-Z’s Black Album plus the Beatles White Album) to Girl Talk who takes pieces of upwards of 100 individual songs to make a single new one.

When I saw this video I saw the continuation of that trend into video. This being the best execution of a video mashup I’ve seen, but there was something more. There was a feeling with it. I’ve watched it a few more times trying to put it into words, trying to find a frame of reference to explain it with. I may have tried too hard to find one and just fabricated my own, but whatever, that’s what I like about music without words. I get to take it wherever I want, not where the lyrics tell me to go.

When you watch this you’ll see literally thousands of separate images mostly from action movies, horror movies, sci-fi movies etc… Explosions, natural disasters, zombies, vampires, etc… in rapid succession, timed impeccably to the glitchy, erratic, yet compelling beat. What you won’t see is a narrative. I thought I saw one at first but no. It’s a dance. If you look at this as what it is – a music video – and you expand your definition of dance to include all movement (car, plane, explosion, human, animal, etc…) – it can then be seen as a choreographed dance set to serve the music and not the other way around.

Full screen and LOUD is preferable…

Lastly you have to give credit to the guy who made it (unemployed at the time and not in the business of making videos). He’s made a name for himself in an industry he wanted to get into by creating something and putting it out there. Which led to a request by the band (The Glitch Mob) for him to make a trailer for the new Tron movie set to one of their tracks. Which was picked up by the producers of the movie.

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PDX Adult Soapbox Derby – 2010 – Portland from brewcaster on Vimeo.

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Apple released their much anticipated tablet on Wednesday and the blogosphere and Twitterverse are still feeling the aftershocks. The response has run the gamut from exuberance to total disappointment.

I will happily place myself in the excited camp but first a bit of background; I would not consider myself a convert to the cult of Apple as I have only ever owned an iPod from the Apple family of products. I’ve happily been a PC/Windows/Linux user since the early 90’s. Apple just didn’t provide enough flexibility for me, or game support, during my formative years. However, since they have entered the consumer electronics field with media players and more niche purpose devices with wide open capabilities I have found myself inching ever closer to their side.

I bought myself the second gen 15Gb iPod when it came out and haven’t bought one since as I don’t like their lock-in model and am much happier with the more open media players. However, I have purchased at least 5 different iPod devices for others as gifts. Why would I buy this device for others when I myself, as a techie, don’t like the product compared to other options? Because they work. Because I knew I wouldn’t spend hours supporting it after the wrapping paper came off.

To all the technophiles out there complaining about the lack of a built in camera, flash support, multitasking, or any of a hundred other wished for technological inclusions. YOU ARE NOT THE TARGET MARKET! Apple is brilliant in its ability to bring the least possible viable device to market. They make sure that what they do deliver is a well designed, well executed experience. They have released a device that will meet the 80% need and they will monitor developers and popular opinion to plan their iterative product development cycle so that we will happily buy the next version and the version after that. The iPad will be hacked in short order and those who want custom software will be able to have it. Like the iPhone, the iPad will sell to those who want a better [experience] than they currently have.

This is where the iPad will succeed. It will start out with the Apple faithful and, as new versions come out with the features that were wanted by the 20% at launch, older versions will make their way to the end tables of parents and grandparents as massively underutilized digital photo frames.

Last year I bought my grandparents a 10” digital photo frame for Christmas. The ugly, clunky user interface did barely more than allow me to navigate the file system. I will be very happy – in a year or two – to hand down my iPad to them so that they can see new photos as I upload them to Flickr instead of having to put them on an SD card and manually insert it into the frame.

The iPad will likely be the device that gets my grandparents to use email. They will still need some help with set-up but afterwards it will be intuitive. No more powering on, booting up, logging in, etc…

I see the iPad as a bridge device. A platform for innovation by the creative developer and a dead-simple media consumption device for end user. I see it as a way to open up digital access and media to an entire population of users that had previously given up on the Internet as too complicated.

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Anti-Theft Lunch Bags

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Check out thier “Dream the Impossible” series here: http://dreams.honda.com

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Color Me Katie: Thursday. – - Fun project of putting “thought bubbles” on various surfaces and taking pictures of people passing under them. Then photoshopping in the thoughts you think they were having.

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They sold out every seat in the house and all of the standing room available. It was absolutely fantastic. Every song on the Beatles White Album was performed, as well as a few others, while performers fliped, spun, threw and flew through the air.

Here are a few shots I took from the sidelines (link):

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http://www.lindsaybks.com/dgjp/dave/philos/index.html

“Most of my life was spent in trying to figure out how to do a $50.00 project for 50 cents, and the remainder of my time was spent in trying to scrounge up the 50 cents.”

I really like his perspective on “apparent obstacles”. Give it a read, maybe you’ll be inspired to pick up that project that you’d talked yourself out of and give it another shot.

Acquiring knowledge is a relatively straight forward process, and so is the development of manual skill. You can know what others know, and you can do what they do. Your level of performance is determined by a combination of opportunity, energy expended and available resource. You can provide your own opportunity, and you can decide how diligently you will apply yourself. So, we must deal with the problem of resources which is no small matter if you are the bird with 50 cents who needs $50.00 worth of stuff! Nevertheless, it can be done, so let’s get with it while we are yet young and eager.

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