Three and a half minutes to lose yourself in:
After You’ve Gone - Fiona Apple
originally by Marion Harris, 1918
(via copycats; posted by sometimesagreatnotion)
The Power of the Pentatonic Scale: At the 2009 World Science Festival, Bobby McFerrin demonstrated the deeply internalized and anticipatory nature of music. Science can be charming. (from Coilhouse, via inky)
Mull of Kintyre: Paul McCartney on the Halifax Commons last weekend, with the 78th Highlanders from the Halifax Citadel. Related trivia: I played tenor drums in a pipe band as a teenager. That’s all the cool drumstick-twirling that you see in this video. (from TheRealWineGuy on YouTube, who notes, “A tad jumpy thanks to all the foot tapping on the bleachers.”)
What really keeps a train on its tracks? Richard Feynman explains, and it’s a great “aha!” moment. What I love about this clip is that it gets me wondering why I’ve never wondered about this before. And what else I should be wondering about. If that’s whetted your appetite, here’s some more Feynman goodness. (via kottke.org)
Wow. A gorgeous a capella rendition of Toto’s Africa, by Perpetuum Jazzile, including an amazing rainstorm intro. Just a feel-good moment for this rainy Sunday. (via copycats)
Nerd humour:
Humor-monger John Hodgman, the most dynamic public speaker of our generation, attempts to validate the claim that Obama is the first nerd president of the modern era by conducting an intensive nerd “purity test” at the 2009 Radio and TV Correspondents’ Dinner.(from thedailywhat, via 12minds)
Here’s an excellent Furoshiki video demonstration (via lifehacker) that makes me want to grab some cloth and start folding. Furoshiki is a traditional Japanese wrapping cloth that can be folded into all sorts of carriers, and with plastic shopping bags gradually disappearing from stores, it’s a very practical alternative. It would also make a unique wrapping for gifts. For more ideas, the Japanese Ministry of Environment offers an excellent chart of the steps to create 14 styles of Furoshiki.
Low-tech can be effective: Beijing clamps down on media at Tiananmen Square. With umbrellas. (via davereed)
Just had to reblog this clever, entertaining acapella tribute to John Williams and Star Wars.(via peace-love-chocolate)
