Tomorrowland

Fractal Africa

Wow-inducing presentation from ethno-mathematician Ron Eglash on the fractal structures of African villages. Non-linear scaling, self organization, sand divination and search engines all factor into the show. Highly recommended.

Video Drama for Spaceship Earth

R. Buckminster Fuller's unfolded Dymaxion World Map, 1946.

Continuing the trend of arcane video supernoise, I now present some recent jewels from the digital trove.

First up is possibly the most surreal of the bunch: some light banter between Vanna and Pat about their favorite fonts. I can't believe this actually happened on live TV. Bewitching in its mundanity.

Next comes emerging web star Rap Cat, he of the soft meow and conspicuous product placement. I believe he is an official Checkers spokesmuppet. There's a lolcat joke in there somewhere.

Also, the breathtaking ad for PowerThirst, a fictional energy drink. Whoa boy. The jokes pummel one's squishy brain at hyperspeed. Definitely too hot for TV.

Finally, the multi-talented Star Wars trumpeter. Miss Douglas County dances, prances and charms her way through a Star Wars medley... while playing the trumpet. Looks to be of late-80s vintage. Think rhinestone-studded bodysuit, disco jams, and Charlie Chaplin dance moves during the Cantina Song segment. Too good to be true.

Thanks, Erin!

Unicorns Are Everywhere

The Unicorn Kingdom Club is now accepting applications for membership.

(Orcs and Blood Elves need not apply.)

Zzzzzzzzzzzzt!

University Auditorium at UF, the idyllic setting for the new hit video, Don't Tase Me, Bro.

Spent some time tonight researching alternate perspectives on the police takedown of UF undergrad Andrew Meyer.

The Kyle Mitchell video confirms that the cops repeatedly warned Meyer that he would be Tasered if he failed to cooperate. He failed, so he got Tasered.

This long-form video shows the entire string of events from a different point of view and includes all 3 of Meyer's questions. They probably cut his mic because he said "blow job" over the PA; his angry tone didn't help, either. The Tasering came soon after he screamed at the cops to "...get the fuck off me!"

Meyer's profanity was clearly the cause of the escalations. It was just the excuse that the cops needed to silence and Taser him.

Lessons learned: don't mention blow jobs when heckling visiting dignitaries; don't scream the f-bomb at the fuzz; and for God's sake, if 5+ cops warn you that failing to shut up will cause you to be Tasered, then just shut up.

They DID warn him. Repeatedly.

And now he's a star.

[Thanks, Mike, Jennifer + Sally!]

Ferrets: The Pursuit of Excellence

A snippet from Mark Lewis' new batch of PBS gold, "Ferrets: The Pursuit of Excellence."

Savvy insiders and documentary addicts may know Lewis from "Cane Toads," a bizarre little film about an amphibian invasion of Australia.  I've loved that movie for years, and "Ferrets" appears to follow the mold of its predecessor: a tender portrait of these sensitive creatures and the oddball humans who love them dearly.

Three cheers for ferrets, especially the ones with eccentric owners.

Yes We Have French Horns

Björk uploads "Earth Intruders" to an unsuspecting public on SNL.

Programmed beats, live toy piano, horn lines and zappy synths... the list goes on. Yet the Konono arrangement from the single is sadly missing. Oh well. (I love that she's barefoot for the entire performance, while a neon shoe sign blinks through a window.)

The Volta album art is equally perplexing.

Initiate Hyperlink Sequence Delta

New generative composition from the brilliant Marius Watz.

Elegantly designed Iueke sells extremely rare vinyl of the electronic and avant variety. Favorites include entries with sound samples, including Eskaton ($140!) and Phillipe Doray ($180!). Watch your wallet and dive in.

The beguiling and chronically-maligned Miranda July has a new book, No One Belongs Here More Than You. The website for the book is one of the more entertaining and kooky sites I've encountered, if only 'cause it seems to break all the rules.

Thirty-three/forty-five, an mp3 blog.

Thrift store treasures await at the Mom & Pop Culture Shop.

Must see TV: the entire first episode of Showtime's This American Life. And Lifespan, a 1974 existentialist/bondage thriller starring Klaus Kinski, scored by Terry Riley. Also, this terrifying cocktail of madness and parenthood: Anna Nicole Smith strolling through the manse, dressed as a clown. (Link discovered at the conspiratorially-minded blog The Freeman Perspective.)

More and more often I've turned to YouTube as a music-locating tool. Swirling video graphics from To Rococo Rot, puppet madness from Genesis, and crazy French movie soundtrack work by Francois de Roubaix.

Experimental guitarist/inventor Hans Reichel has a pretty weird, labyrinthine site.

Interesting article on Cory Doctorow from the Chronicle of Higher Education. No college degree, Cory? But man, sooooo many posts.

Keep tabs on the money behind conservative media at Media Transparency.

Token Web 2.0 parasite link: random images from MySpace users.

That's all, folks.

Jan Svankmajer - Meat Love (1989)

Svankmajer wins again! Sixty seconds of meat locker anthropomorphism, rendered in that inimitable Czech Republic style.

Bertrand Burgalat - Gris Metal

From his 2001 album The Sssound of Mmmusic. Sultry, slithery, Gallic grooves with a 007 visual theme. The song's a collaboration with Michel Houellebecq, one of my favorite writers (well, at least Elementary Particles was great).

Amazingly hi-fi for the low-rent digs of YouTube.

Toshio Matsumoto: For the Damaged Right Eye

Toshio Matsumoto makes a beautiful, ecstatic mess in his late-60s short film, For the Damaged Right Eye. It's a scrambled network of inferences and mind games that makes zero linear sense, but that's beside the point. Rapid-fire edits on themes of police brutality, pop kitsch, medical tragedies, youth culture, tribal order, gender and infanticide abound. Great use of color and audio, too. Heavy on the all-important "What?" factor.

Experimental Japanese cinema at its finest: fast, cheap and out of control.

Update: Just fixed the broken links. Now go watch the film—it'll rock your socks off.