icono-wha?

Animated Video - U2

The video for U2’s I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight.

U2 - I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight from David OReilly on Vimeo.

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Sita Sings the Blues

If you haven’t had the pleasure of watching Sita Sings the Blues, then I recommend it highly. It is animated as beautifully as 10,000 lotuses.

More importantly, it is being made available under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license by Nina Paley, who directed, wrote, produced, designed and animated it. She’s even gone into considerable debt to cover the licensing fees so that the movie can be made available, so don’t forget to swing by the film’s Dontate page.

The story itself is a mashup of a modern drama and the Ramayana. Here’s the synopsis:

Sita is a goddess separated from her beloved Lord and husband Rama. Nina is an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by email. Three hilarious shadow puppets narrate both ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this beautifully animated interpretation of the Indian epic Ramayana. Set to the 1920’s jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw, Sita Sings the Blues earns its tagline as “the Greatest Break-Up Story Ever Told.”

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KERN for Fun

I’m really digging KERN, a game for the iPhone. Despite the rather mundane sounding premise, it is wholly addictive if you’re one of those detail oriented designy types (with a few minutes to kill and an iPhone, of course). Elegant in its simplicity and worth all 99 pennies. Thanks to ilovetypeography for pointing it out.

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A Walnut Key (at long last!)

The idea is that you insert the sharp point into the seam of a walnut - just in the back where it actually grows from the tree (the flat part).

I have to note this find here as proof that walnut keys do exist and that they are NOT something I just made up. Years and years ago, I came across a walnut key that a jeweler had made and thought it was a fantastic idea, not to mention beautiful. Since then I’ve been kicking myself for not buying it then and there because THEY ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND. Also, when you ask people if they have ever seen one they look at you like you’re just nuts.

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Sometimes It’s Like This in My Head

I’m almost afraid to admit that I haven’t found a blog so gratuitously entertaining to read, ever. It’s like my inner monologue after being awake for 3 days straight eating nothing but Allsorts. I must be living under a rock. Hipster Runoff? (note: not all posts are work-safe or for the kiddies)

“…it’s important to note that our global gas crunch has ruined things for this lil alt human accessory. As opposed to being driven to her Summer Enrichment Courses in a minivan with a DVD player, or a spacious Toyota Camry, she was forced to be chauffeured by her mom on a skateboard. You can see a bandage on her left leg which we can only assume was caused by an accident on the cobblestone roads of the netherworld in which she lives. I think it is good for free-spirited mothers to express themselves, but I don’t now how I feel about converting urself into a rickshaw to transport your kid. Have yall ever been poor? Remember when Jewel lived in a van?” [read the whole post]

Ok, I REALLY have to get some serious work done before bedtime.

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RISD Alumni Art Sale

This Saturday, 03 May 2008, is the Rhode Island School of Design’s Spring Alumni Art Sale (whew, say that 10 times). Since I live in Alaska I won’t be going, but am delighted to be able to look through some of the work that will be for sale by visiting their Flickr set. The great thing is that each item on Flickr links out the the artists’ web sites.

There are a couple pieces that definitely catch my eye:

Joel Greeb’s Illuminated Ballistic lamp. [more info on his site]
Mike Libby’s clockwork beetle [visit the InsectLab gallery]

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Robot Nixon

“All hail robot Nixon”, and other similarly inspiring quotes are shining example as to why Futurama is infinitely entertaining. (No, I shouldn’t be working - I’m on lunch).

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Lisa Stevens’ Ceramics

I follow Lisa (aka c-urchin) on Flickr for her tiny ceramic creations that take their inspiration from sea creatures, but from time to time she posts a photo of something that is truly stunning. This time it is this amazing vessel from day 141. The texture is gorgeous:

You can see more of her work at Flickr or see what is available on Etsy.

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Imaginary Instrument

Though this video was released quite some time ago I totally missed it until now. The funny thing is that the site I saw it on first didn’t say anything about the instrument being real or fake and I thought it was pretty convincing at first.

As a sidenote, searching for “most amazing” anything on YouTube can be pretty distracting.

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Coasters From Sesame Letterpress

Sesame has a collection of letterpress printed coasters that would make me sacrifice the finish on my table to save these beautiful coasters from the swelling ravages of water. Gorgeous. You can view their creations in their Flickr photoset.

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