Lightning Played in Super Slo-Mo

Incredible footage of a lightning strike slowed down. One strike of lightning (1 second) turns into 3 minutes of footage. See what few people ever see! Lightning physicist Vladislav Mazur and meteorologist Tom Warner watch a video of a lightning strike that has been slowed down so 1 second of footage is played back as 6 minutes of film.

Lightning happens in under a sec, but when shot at over 11,000 frames per sec, we can see all of the creeping details as it flashes through in over 3 minutes. Stunning.​

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Gorgeous Road Cycling Film Collection

http://www.rapha.cc/assynt "Well, the only way I see this happening is in an extended ride north. When I say that I mean a long, terrible, trying trip…" Wally Maclean, The Idea of North by Glenn Gould, 1967 Director Mark Jenkinson www.markjenkinson.tv Story Ultan Coyle & Max Leonard Cinematography Jose Gomez & Mark Jenkinson Editor Jose Gomez Producer Vicki Banwell Music & Sound Design Mark Adair, MassiveMusic London Story Read by Brendan McDonnell

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Rapha, a maker of cycling gear, has this ever-growing set of films about their Continentals, long, creative rides. This one, set in Scotland is a love poem both to riding and to the land.​

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All of them are quite good. Some of my favorites below are ​Vietnam, Cymru (Wales) and Australia.

http://www.rapha.cc/sapa-vietnam- Produced, Directed and Edited by Jon Moore. http://www.thedeck.tv Filmed by Jon Moore and Andrew Loiterton (ajlphoto.com), who also deserves thanks for the lenses and extra 5Ds! Sound design is by Aaron D'Arcy (riponstudios.com).

http://www.rapha.cc/the-bryan-chapman-memorial The UK Continental’s first journey of 2013 took our riders to Wales to investigate the route of the Bryan Chapman Memorial, a 600km audax and uniquely British type of endurance ride. The event is named after the late Bryan Chapman, an intrepid long-distance cyclist who often rode across Wales and back just to visit his mechanic. Credits Director: Mark Jenkinson - www.tinyurl.com/mark-jenkinson Shot & Edited by: Jose Gomez & Mark Jenkinson Music: Mark Adair Sound Design: Dan Weinberg Colourist: Mick Vincent Production Manager: Blandine Viollet Thanks too: Rogue Films, Tom Farley, The Mill, Chris Batten, Massive Music London, Paul Reynolds

http://www.rapha.cc/the-snowys The latest film from the Rapha Continental Australia was shot in the Snowy Mountains range, home to Mount Kosciuszko, the highest peak in Australia. Set to a haunting score and produced by The Sweetshop, The Snowys contrasts the traditional transport of the Aussie stockman, the horse, with the modern bicycle. Directed by Joel Harmsworth Edited by Michael Lutman (http://www.thebutchery.com.au) Music by Rob Law (http://www.robthelaw.com.au/) Produced by The Sweet Shop (http://www.thesweetshop.tv)

Bike Backpacks - Thoughts and Help

Help me?

​I am needing to get a new backpack for my 20+ miles urban bike commute. I carry a macbook pro with me most days and would really love one with reflective elements.​

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The Welded Postbag from Chrome has quite a bit of style: industrial feeling hardware, water resistant material. ​

The Ortlieb Velocity Cycling Backpack​ has bright reflective details. Love the top handle too. 

The Timbuk2 Phoenix Cycling Backpack has a lot of storage details, side access panel. Might be particularly good for airport travel too. ​

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I would love your thoughts, if you've ever seen, used or bought any of these. I trust you and your wisdom. Help me out.​

POTD - Rocket Fantastic [excerpt] by Gabrielle Calvocoressi

Rocket Fantastic [excerpt]

by Gabrielle Calvocoressi

It's ridiculous what fame
can buy you. Not the beast
but the tiny, frightened
man who brings him
in a cage from Alhambra,
who stands in the doorway
as the three girls finish,
get off the bed and walk down 
to the pool, giggling as they pass.
The Bandleader borrowed
a tiger because we saw it 
in a reel the studio sent over,
some movie about a prince
that played against the wall
of the upstairs bedroom. 
Sometimes a girl would jump 
into the pool and the waves  
shimmered up. In the movie
the prince brings the tiger
to the castle and it rules
alongside him, "That's not 
believable," the Bandleader  
said and then, "Don't stop." 
And then, "Ah. Right there."
The prince would place his hand 
on the tiger's head and grab 
his hair in his fist and move 
it around. I liked to watch 
him start to want things, a wetness
forming in his mind. There were 
three girls squealing in the pool
and the waves  came up to us 
as ripples of light that I passed 
my fingers through, "You're blue 
with gold stripes," the Bandleader 
said, looking up at me 
but imagining the tiger beside him 
already, before he even  
reached for the phone.

Calvocoressi picked her 5 contemporary books of poems to read for us.

Oscillation Animation

My thesis animation done at School of Visual Arts, class of 2013, Computer Art MFA. Software used: Houdini (animation), Reason (music), Nuke (comp), After Effects (final render), Processing (pre-viz) A full description of the piece along with some still frames can be found at: dbsierra.com

MFA at the School of Visual Arts student Daniel Sierra made this experiment in animation for his thesis. Oscillate aims  “to visualize waveform patterns that evolve from the fundamental sine wave to more complex patterns, creating a mesmerizing audio-visual experience in which sight and sound work in unison.” 

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This Is Water - David Foster Wallace Commencement Speech at Kenyon College in 2005

In 2005, author David Foster Wallace was asked to give the commencement address to the 2005 graduating class of Kenyon College. However, the resulting speech didn't become widely known until 3 years later, after his tragic death.

In his way, David Foster Wallace cores down to the root of knowledge and knowing by talking about boredom and routine, supermarkets and traffic. His luminous mind, radiating even still. ​​And this is a video made by The Glossary makes it accessible again.

Get the book »

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Bioluminescence Surfing

Man's Best Media is back with another Red Tide video! As seen on ABC's World News Tonight on 9/30/11. Footage was shot in Encinitas, Carlsbad and Oceanside. Surfer: Joel Puckett Music by The Ruse, check em' out here: www.rusemusic.com And Winter Quarters, check em out here: http://www.facebook.com/winterquarters Shot & Edited by Loghan Call & Jonathan Keena. Man's Best Media www.mansbestmedia.com Copyright 2011, all rights reserved. Thanks for checking it out! Cheers!!!

As a grommet it was here,  in Encinitas, Carlsbad and Oceanside, that I cut my surfing teeth. I never got to surf in this glow, but had always heard rumors about it. And here it is. 
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Thanks, Orion Kraus for the find.​

Submit your own »

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West of the Moon - The Collective Dreams of Children

Written, Directed, & Animated by Brent Bonacorso www.brentbonacorso.com Loosely based on several hundred interviews with children about their dreams, 'West of the Moon' is the story of one man's lost love and his strange path to redemption, aided along the way by a gambling robot, a wayward monkey, and a healthy dose of determination. Winner of Best Short film @ Santa Barbara International Film Festival Winner of Best Short film @ Aspen Shortsfest Winner of Best Short film @ Rushes Soho Shorts Festival Winner of Best Short film @ Carmel International Film Festival Winner of Best Short film @ Florida International Film Festival. Staring Jacob Whitkin, Michael Garbe, Amber Noelle, Christopher Tomaselli, and Michael Galvin Produced by Thom Fennessey Cinematography by Tarin Anderson Music by the ever-wonderful Devotchka Official Selection @ St. Louis Film Festival Official Selection @ Palm Springs Film Festival Official Selection @ Milwaukee International Film Festival Official Selection @ Worldwide Short Film Festival Official Selection @ Atlanta International Film Festival Official Selection @ Gold Coast International Film Festival Official Selection @ Maui International Film Festival Official Selection @ LA Shortsfest

I am in love with this short, poetic, dream-filled film.

Written, Directed, & Animated by Brent Bonacorso:

"Loosely based on several hundred interviews with children about their dreams, 'West of the Moon' is the story of one man's lost love and his strange path to redemption, aided along the way by a gambling robot, a wayward monkey, and a healthy dose of determination."

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