Koyaanisqatsi

February 28th, 2009 · 3 comments or link to (permalink)

When I was working for the architect, Norman Foster he came into the office after having seen Koyaanisqatsi and raved about it. Every sycophant, like myself, promptly went out and saw it.

In many ways its an architects film, with architect music by Philip Glass, repetitive and jerky like a Rotring penned plan. But there’s something that doesn’t quite fit, like the new age Hopi name and some of the more cliched imagery that looks like its from a stock library. These make it a flawed masterpiece but one which is a must see, nevertheless.

(Hulu, US only)

3 comments » (report dead embeds in comments) tags: hulu society

When the Boat Comes In

February 28th, 2009 · 6 comments or link to (permalink)

Of all of Britain’s accents, Newcastle’s is the most unusual in almost every way, it is said that it is influenced by the cross fertilization of fishermen from the North East coast of England and from Norway, who shared the same waters and occasionally ended up in each others’ ports after storms. This classic fishing song illustrates the point perfectly and is also an obscure but sublime piece of nostalgia for the UK in the mid 70s having been used as the intro for a BBC program of the same name.

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CNBC – House of Cards

February 25th, 2009 · 10 comments or link to (permalink)

The first batch of documentaries featuring analysis of the financial meltdown has started to appear on TV screens. Following Frontline, here is CNBC’s take, by David Faber.

Commentary cannot keep up with events, however, and as the crisis spreads globally and moves into the political unrest phase, these documentaries may eventually seem almost quaint by comparison with what is surely coming.

(Hulu video, available in US only)

10 comments » (report dead embeds in comments) tags: business

Charles and Ray Eames: A Communication Primer

February 19th, 2009 · 4 comments or link to (permalink)

The Eames’ showed that films could be approached as a design exercise and as such were the forerunners to much of today’s information design, which has had a resurgence as a result of the Web. Their best known piece is Powers of Ten, but this is another little beauty.

The film is nicely self-referential since it deals with Shannon’s information theory. However, the astounding thing is that the Eames’ were savvy about Shannon’s groundbreaking work which was published only 5 years before. To put this in context, its as if Frank Lloyd Wright had written a book about Einstein’s Special Relativity in 1910, when it wasn’t fully endorsed by the physics community.

Via Kottke Via Infosthetics

4 comments » (report dead embeds in comments) tags: technology

Frontline: Inside the Meltdown

February 18th, 2009 · 1 comment or link to (permalink)

Frontline is the only documentary series on American television where the information density doesn’t leave you feeling you are watching something in slow motion. They don’t disappoint with this solid but uninspired piece on last October’s crash. It would be unfair to ask for more, however, so soon after the event, and this is a subject that will eventually require something truly epic in scope to capture. Even Bonfire of the Vanities seems tame in comparison with the magnitude of current events.

Nice to see that highbrow thinkers such as John Cassidy and Paul Krugman were core interviewees. Its also refreshing to see an officially endorsed embed, and one that works across countries, unlike the BBC iPlayer or Hulu. I’m putting this in the Smashing List.

1 comment » (report dead embeds in comments) tags: business the smashing list