Over the past few centuries, Western cultures have been very good at creating general prosperity for themselves. Historian Niall Ferguson asks: Why the West, and less so the rest? He suggests half a dozen big ideas from Western culture -- call them
the 6 killer apps -- that promote wealth, stability and innovation. And in this new century, he says, these apps are all shareable.
[more inside]
posted by Foci for Analysis
on Oct 4, 2011 -
97 comments
Weekend At Kermie's: The Muppets' Strange Life After Death. Elizabeth Stevens asks:
What if, in 1990, instead of recasting Kermit—something that had been done to Mickey and Bugs Bunny before him—the Muppets had continued on Kermit-less, as "The Simpsons" did after Phil Hartman died. Recall Susan’s words on "Seasame Street" about Mr. Hooper in 1982: “Big Bird, when people die, they don’t come back.” Let’s say Robin showed up saying his uncle Kermit had passed away? Or, if that was too dark for Disney, what if Kermit had left show business to go off to start a family with Piggy? Someone else could lead the gang of weirdoes.
It would’ve made more artistic sense than what happened
.
posted by zarq
on Jul 14, 2011 -
67 comments
Russian Video from Russia does what it says, providing a variety of videos from Russia, presented in English or with English subtitles, and brief descriptions of the videos. You can check out videos as they're posted, or sort through by categories (including
customs,
musical video,
science and technology, and
movie for the weekend). This last category ranges from
Russian Sherlock Holmes movies to
a traditional New Year romantic comedy,
a documentary on Yuri Gagarin to
a classic Russian children's tale of Old Hottabych,
an old genie freed in modern times.
posted by filthy light thief
on Jun 16, 2011 -
8 comments
The Internet can be a powerful tool when it comes to collaborations between artists of all ilks. Laptop band Project Jenny, Project Jan harnessed said power when it set out to create a video for its new song,
“Lucky Me,” producing a lovely, painterly video courtesy of a Turkish
Ebrû artist the band had never met.
Hikmet Barutçugil redefined the aspects of Ebrû with a scientific approach and managed to transfuse marbling into other disciplines, from architecture to popular crafts.
[more inside]
posted by netbros
on Apr 23, 2011 -
1 comment
The long take, an uncut, uninterrupted shot in film, is
seen by some as the counter to CGI, the last great field for cinematic art. The linked page features six clips from 1990 on, plus
the opening shot from Orson Welles' 1958 film,
Touch of Evil. Alfred Hitchcock's film from a decade earlier,
Rope, took the long cut further, with the whole film shot in eight takes of up to 10 minutes each,
a decision shaped by the limit of the physical recording media. With digital media, the long take could be pushed further, as with
Russian Ark, from 2002. The movie was shot in one long take, with the narrative working through the history of Russia,
set within The State Hermitage Museum, and captured in one day on the 4th take. If the long takes are a tad long for you, try the "short" long takes that are
one-shot music videos [videos inside]
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Dec 28, 2010 -
74 comments
Animalarium is full of wonderful images and videos, contemporary and vintage,
The Insects' Christmas is especially charming.
Animals as an endless source of creative inspiration. An exploration of the finest in art, illustration, crafts and design from around the world featuring animals, both real and fantastic [slightly nsfw].
posted by nickyskye
on Dec 26, 2010 -
2 comments
