A funny and pointed demonstration of the difference in graphic design between elegant and pug-ugly. The example they use contrasts the lovely, minimalist packaging by Apple with that of just about any other tech company’s product (Microsoft is spoofed in this example, but they’re hardly the only offenders).
Lovely weekend at Paul and Judy and Jamie and Willa’s house in Chelsea, Quebec.
Every winter, you may recall, their property turns into a wonderland of seasonal sports: Paul creates both an outdoor hockey rink (complete with boards, lights, a net and a plywood goalie) and a luge run. And each year the luge run gets more spectacular.
Willa and Jamie in their respective ice caves.
This year’s run is the best yet. A couple of years ago, the first corner not only bled some of your speed, but generally looked for other things to bleed or bruise. Now it’s pure acceleration.
We all had a ball. In the Olympic spirit, Jon launched almost every run with the series of beeps that you hear in downhill skiing events.
Killer g-forces near late in the run. Click for a QuickTime movie!
Here’s the entire crew setting up a complicated trucking shot, for the 14 second movie. Just an excerpt from The Making of the Chelsea Luge 2006 book that’s coming out next month.
It was also Jon’s first time in a hot tub. He’d been fretting about it for weeks, and all I wanted was for him to try it for a few seconds, especially given that it’s out in the snow. All that worry was for naught: he’s hooked.
The next morning Judy awoke us around 8 a.m. with a single sentence. “There’s a wolf in our backyard.” Well, we’ve all decided since that it was a coyote (go to this Wolf vs. Coyote guide and judge for yourself) that was maybe 20 metres from the hot tub Jon and I that had been in 12 hours before. Most of us watched (and snapped photos and video) in awe as it growled at crows and finished off most of a deer carcass, (Jon and Jamie slept through—no doubt intent on growing even taller and putting their parents in the poorhouse).
Click for a QuickTime movie of the coyote
I love going to go to Ottawa in the car. It is a long car ride. I like going to watch a movie. It iscalled a Bug’s Life. I like going luging with my dad. I love going to somebudy’s house to visit. I’m going to say “Hi. it is so nice to see you. ”
Jon
A very funny ad for an Australian beer that spoofs Carmina Burana’s “O Fortuna” wittily (unlike the very badly-done Rickard’s ad).
Note: Even though the page warns that the ad is for over-18s, there’s nothing racy or “adult” about it (unless you’re shocked by the word “freaking”.)
It took me a few tries but I finally saw it. They ask you (Windows users) if you want to install a Vividas video player but if you say ‘no’ there’s a Quicktime option. I said no (not my computer), but it took a few minutes to find the Quicktime option. I have a cold and I’m sticking to it.
Anyhoo, this is what they did with the hundred and twelve thousand orcs they bred in New Zealand for Lord of the Rings, most of whom are out of work right now.
They’ll probably do them an “Under The Rainbow” in a few years.
Joke. That’s a joke. It’ll probably be a series of instructional videos for the designers of fantasy video games. Or they’ll do Spike TV UFC episodes. And win.
PS, it kinda reminds me of those wonderful British Airways ads of several years ago, that used the Flower Aria (interesting contrast here) and people with large sheets and things to form images of the world (IIRC) on a deserted island, or something. I can’t quite remember, but I quite liked them.
That’s right, I remember those ads: Flower duet from Lakme, swirling cloth, very nice!
I guess this Carlton Draught (and I always want to pronounce that spelling “drot”) ad would be an example of a “meta-ad”: an ad about ads. Usually I don’t find these very effective as advertising because they’re so busy being hip and clever I can never remember what the actual product is (though they can still be enjoyable to watch). This one manages to tie the humour in with the actual product, so it works well (for me, anyway).
Have you seen the new M channel (Movie Channel?) commercial for the new season of the Sopranos. It starts out with a man and woman in a car, apparently undercoverly surveilling the suburban house across the street. “It’s Tony.” Then a gunshot and a flash.
I’ll stop there. The last few seconds are fine commercial advertisement humour, tying the humour in with the actual product. So often I’ll like a commercial but while they’ve been clever and funny, they haven’t done that tie-in, so for me, the ad fails, even if it was funny.
And I always thought it was drot too. Don’t let me get started on Areopagitica.
I see a cat go meow. A cat purred. I love going to pur like a cat. I am going to feel the cat’s frer. Do you like to say meow like a cat? I like to say meow when a cat comes to me. A cat likes to play with me. we like to play with my leap pad.
Jonathan
The ball keeps rolling. Jon saw this picture and immediately knew what it was!
The lion goes roar. I saw a lion go ror at the zoo. “I want some meet because I am very hungry. I love dinner.” Dinyn is the lion’s name. He loves me I love dinyn.
Jon
Be careful, Jon. Make sure the lion doesn’t love you like I love chicken pie.
-aiabx
In the “so-odd-it’s-addictive” category: the Marimba Ponies, a group of pint-sized Japanese percussion-playing virtuosos, ages 4 to 12. Check out this video of the Ponies playing the Sabre Dance.
Wow… I am so bookmarking that video! It’ll be great to watch when I feel like procrastinating. Who needs coffee when you can have some Marimba Ponies?!
And there’s more videos here! Though admittedly none have the sheer propulsive, super-caffeinated “oomph” as the Sabre Dance.
Excellent! Wonderful! Awesome!
(…nasty, weedy fun, and nature…)