Fascination with the Dodo Bird, by Adam Savage

August 29, 2008 9:20 PM

Adam Savage's talk at The Last HOPE: Fascination with the Dodo Bird
parts:  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  A  B  C
(YouTubeFilter with a great audience Q&A session)

Thank you opsin

posted by Chuckles (37 comments total)

[This appeals to me]
posted by maudlin at 9:28 PM on August 29, 2008

This is really interesting. I love that people that I like have the same kinds of weird obsessions relating to animals that I do.
posted by quin at 9:30 PM on August 29, 2008

This is a really great talk. Probably the stuff at the end is the most funny. I laughed the hardest I have in quite awhile with one of the videos he showed at the end.

By the way, if you want to see the whole thing as a single video you can watch it at Google video (I'm almost sure it's the same one) (via Arsgeek).
posted by skynxnex at 9:53 PM on August 29, 2008 [4 favorites has favorites]

Harry Anderson claims to have one of the Maltese Falcons made for the film (he claims there were three made). I have seen his version quite a few times. It doesn't look like the one Adam shows in the video.
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:14 PM on August 29, 2008

If you are planning on watching any of it just watch the link marked B and fast forward to 2:22. It's unreleased MB footage of Adam Savage attempting to sober up by being slapped and then footage of him running on a treadmill with 5 scotches in him.
posted by JimmyJames at 11:43 PM on August 29, 2008 [4 favorites has favorites]

If you are planning on watching any of it just watch the link marked B and fast forward to 2:22. It's unreleased MB footage of Adam Savage attempting to sober up by being slapped and then footage of him running on a treadmill with 5 scotches in him.

Holy crap was that awesome. The treadmill footage left tears in my eyes from laughing so hard.
posted by mathowie at 12:14 AM on August 30, 2008

here is the whole thing in one go, so you won't have to click through all kind of youtube pages.

Personally I liked the bit at the 45 minute mark (watch 2 minutes from there) because I know one of the students in the rfid mess personally (and I host rfidguardian.org for her)
posted by DreamerFi at 12:40 AM on August 30, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

curse you, skynxnexpreview!
posted by DreamerFi at 12:41 AM on August 30, 2008

I almost peed watching the treadmill video.... God, that was funny.
posted by pjern at 1:32 AM on August 30, 2008

This is good.

I finished watching this and then the moon special.

Now I want to find more things to be nerdily passionate, because I feel like I don't have enough half finished projects already.
posted by mrzarquon at 1:41 AM on August 30, 2008 [4 favorites has favorites]

Mentions The RPF. Always a fun read.
posted by YoBananaBoy at 2:19 AM on August 30, 2008

Oh. I got linked to an audio version about this, and couldn't find any video, which made me so sad (especially when he talked about sobering up/threadmill part). Thanks!
posted by bjrn at 2:26 AM on August 30, 2008

When he's talks about the visual narrative of models, the "two things then one thing" on Star Wars versus "three things" on Star Trek (part 3, ~2:45), is there any more information on or examples of that on the web?
posted by theclaw at 3:28 AM on August 30, 2008

he talks
posted by theclaw at 3:29 AM on August 30, 2008

Here is a video of he and Jamie in action at the NVIDIA 08 show. They do their version of Leonardo's Mona Lisa.
posted by chuckdarwin at 3:36 AM on August 30, 2008

Getting drunk ... for SCIENCE! Where do I sign up?
posted by fijiwriter at 4:17 AM on August 30, 2008

MetaFilter: Like Peter Falk in a falcon suit. But this is really good stuff, and it's preventing me from getting out and doing my laundry this morning, as I ponder what peculiar obsession of mine I would like to indulge, today. Thank you, Chuckles (and asavage)!
posted by steef at 5:15 AM on August 30, 2008

I was there in person for this talk and it's one of the most inspirational, life-affirming things I've ever seen. Sometimes people from the TV turn out not to be so awesome in person; Adam was every bit as great, and more. His pro-science, pro-learning, pro-doing message really, good on its own, really resonates with a hacker crowd. I can't begin to describe how happy the audience was. Now imagine an entire convention of non-famous but similarly cool people, talking about their own metaphorical Maltese Falcons and dodo skeletons, and you've got a good sense of what HOPE can be when things go well. This is the true spirit of geekdom, and Adam Savage and his talk were the perfect hyperdistillation of it.
posted by grimmelm at 6:00 AM on August 30, 2008 [10 favorites has favorites]

It's appropriate that the segment numbers come out as being numbered in hex.

And yes, if you have the opportunity to see Mr. Savage live, sell your children. He's awesome.
posted by Skorgu at 8:47 AM on August 30, 2008

(!) Jack of all trades, master of none, though often better than a master of one.
posted by acro at 9:57 AM on August 30, 2008

That was awesome, very inspirational speech and really funny Q&A. I would have watched for another hour or two.
posted by youthenrage at 10:21 AM on August 30, 2008

To begin with, the Fascination talk itself was very nicely done. I love that he leaves off with an incomplete project with potential future work, and addresses the whole "I have more money than I used to, but I don't have that much money" aspect.

And then there was the rapport he had with his audience, the humble confidence, and the inside baseball look at the politics stirred up at the meeting of public discourse, science, and business.

I like Mythbusters, but I'm not a huge fan. This talk was truly great.
posted by Chuckles at 11:34 AM on August 30, 2008

Great stuff... only cringed a little at the pizza stone lady. But, hey, good to be enthusiastic about something.
posted by starman at 11:58 AM on August 30, 2008

I was there (front row), and man was the crowd digging that. I'd never seen such a positive room for any speaker (including Obama rallys in ultra liberal NoVA).
posted by phrontist at 1:37 PM on August 30, 2008

Great talk, thanks for posting it!

Jack of all trades, master of none, though often better than a master of one.

As best I can tell, that's a recent expansion, invented by some generalist who found the traditional "Jack of all trades, master of none" insulting.
posted by languagehat at 1:48 PM on August 30, 2008

Thanks, Chuckles, and Bravo, asavage!
posted by Turtles all the way down at 3:22 PM on August 30, 2008

As best I can tell, that's a recent expansion, invented by some generalist who found the traditional "Jack of all trades, master of none" insulting.

Thanks, languagehat, one is always suspicious of something that seems grafted on, as one is with acronymic explanations of popular terms.

Oh, god, you're probably going to spank me now for some aspect of the way I stated this. Spank away!
posted by Turtles all the way down at 3:45 PM on August 30, 2008

I could never spank someone with such a classy username. And if I've tried to promote anything in my checkered career here, it's that however native speakers use their language is fine and they should stop worrying and looking over their shoulder at the hall monitors waving copies of Strunk & White.
posted by languagehat at 5:36 PM on August 30, 2008

Heh, Slashdot has picked up on the RFID portion of the Q and A. Linked here in case you'd like to follow the discussion there, which includes some interesting talk about public broadcasting.

Wait, what am I saying? Not even Adam follows the Slashdot discussion of his work.
posted by sdodd at 7:27 PM on August 30, 2008

Also over here, and Slashdot has the same misquote that Boing Boing has.. ARGH!
posted by Chuckles at 8:48 PM on August 30, 2008

That was like watching the olympics of awesome geekery. Inspiring, and also depressing knowing you will probably never rise to those great heights.

"Jack of all trades, master of none, though ofttimes better than master of one" is my new favorite phrase.
posted by mecran01 at 10:32 PM on August 30, 2008

"It's appropriate that the segment numbers come out as being numbered in hex."

But was it indexed from zero?
posted by mystyk at 4:03 AM on August 31, 2008

Did you ever wonder what Zombie Feynman thinks about Mythbusters?
posted by P.o.B. at 4:11 AM on August 31, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

A friend of mine made a complete set of samurai armor using period tools... to teach himself patience. Adam's presentation helps puts the effort into perspective for me. Not something I could do.

Jack of all trades, master of none, attention span of a fruit fly.
posted by LordSludge at 9:59 AM on August 31, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

> If you are planning on watching any of it just watch the link marked B and fast forward to 2:22. It's unreleased MB footage of Adam Savage attempting to sober up by being slapped and then footage of him running on a treadmill with 5 scotches in him.

I know, it's so predictable, but somebody had to do this, and it might as well be me.
posted by churl at 12:48 PM on August 31, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

At the risk of sounding like that SNL skit with the guy who asks William Shatner what the combination is in Kirk's stateroom, I can't help but wonder if Adam sized up his Sculpey dodo to account for the ~2% shrinkage that plagues me when I bake that clay.

(Or maybe he's got a Sculpey secret).
posted by jamaro at 6:06 PM on August 31, 2008

"You've got Smash Labs —"

"Booo!"

"&mdash yeah, I know, I know."

Classic.
posted by knave at 1:37 PM on September 1, 2008