Crazy intense remix music videos

My brain overflows when it watches this music video. But it's pretty cool editing, even if he's stealing from dozens of movies.

But that's what I'm most excited about. This is transformative use - mixing together different tropes from different films to create something wholly new. Sure, you can recognize the work of different authors in here, but it's not that different from the many literary allusions you find in great works of writing. Jane Eyre is an original work of art, even if it quotes from the Bible constantly.

Although Jane Eyre is not composed entirely of Bible quotes.



And then the same editor made me want to see the Tron sequel.

Dumb Phone

A deliberately simple cell phone. Fascinating. It's very pretty, and I know there are people who are annoyed with how often they replace their phone.

Although this does seem about as likely to catch on as the concept cars you see each year. Lovely to look at and probably fun to use, but not quite what folks actually need.

Bacteria genetically engineered to solve sudoku

Japanese scientists have genetically engineered bacteria that can solve sudoku. They communicate chemically with each other and change colors to display the solution to a sudoku puzzle.

On the one hand, totally useless. On the other - HOLY CRAP. Scientists have such precise control of DNA that they can do totally useless, fairly complicated stuff. Biological computers or data storage seems kind of feasible when they can dink around like this.

Baseball periodic table

Speaking of tables, some guy came up with a periodic table of baseball hall-of-famers.

It's the kind of nerdistry you have to respect.

Beautiful folding table

I wish I knew how to make this.

Harry Potter sings The Elements

And the Tom Lehrer version, not They Might Be Giants'. Apparently Daniel Radcliffe is nerdy enough to memorize all the elements' names.

Mmmm.... chocolate

I just learned that cocoa butter, the "chocolate" in white "chocolate" is used in suppositories because of its melting temperature.

Thanks, internet. I don't think I ever would have found that out without you.

(Shudder.)

Xbox Kinect Lives

I'm a fan of Lore Sjoberg, and not just because of the Nordic j in his name.

I particularly enjoyed his recent essay about an Xbox Kinect controller that becomes self-aware.

XKCD Color Survey

If you're unfamiliar with XKCD, it's one of the best line-art nerdy webcomics out there.

Recently the author of that comic posted a survey of color names, putting up squares of different colors and asking people to name them. He also asked people about their gender, because colorblindness is a sex-related genetic trait.

If you read through the survey results, I think you'll find it interesting and amusing. Read all the way to the end, or at least skip to the end and read all the comments people left along the way. I was laughing for minutes.

Forget You

I loved the real version of this song the first time I heard it. And I enjoyed seeing it on the Colbert Report.

But I knew it was a crazy hit when I heard this version on NPR. I love how the actors play up the censoring of the "Shh" in this. Although in the full version, you'll notice the little boy's mother chides him for cursing, but doesn't here.

Music Video "shreds"

I recently became aware of "shred" videos, where someone redubs a video with a different soundtrack. That is hilarious.

Like Mick Jagger singing about farting. Well, singing isn't quite the word for it.

Or this altered version of the Obama inauguration.