Alice in Wonderland Test Footage

In animated film-making (and I'm sure it still must be the case with digital animation today), creators would often film actors saying the script and "acting" a scene, and then illustrators would use their mannerisms and movements as inspiration for their drawings. What's amazing here is that what the actors in the test footage actually voiced the characters themselves; the animated characters capture and exaggerate the essence of the real-life actors, who seemed pretty larger-than-life themselves. Old classics in a new light, pretty cool!

Lana Del Rey - VideoGames

This song and vid will put you in a dream of lazy California youth wasted in the sun.

PS: and the dubstep remix, which is not superior by any stretch, but good.

PPS: If you're at all interested in the backstory about this girl (who's actually named Lizzie Grant, is from New York, and tried and failed to break into the pop scene in 2009 - back when she had smaller hair, less gorgeously ducky lips, and no backing from the record industry). This song, released online, has gone totally viral. It was even been named single of the year before it was released. But there are speculations that its release and spread were artfully manipulated by her industry backers..Indeed, I tried to find an interview with the girl on youtibe, and could not find a single clip of the girl talking... Anyway, I don't think it matters, the song is beautiful.

PPPS: Here's Adam Ginzburg's blog post on the song.

Tsunami Survival Pod

The tsunami that hit Japan in March killed 20,000 people, so that nation is now thinking seriously about how to prepare for this type of disaster. A company called Cosmo Power has responded by developing a floating fiberglass pod that people can jump into in a hurry:

Company president Shoji Tanaka says the $3,900 (300,000 yen) capsule can hold four adults, and that it has survived many crash tests. It has a small lookout window and breathing holes on top.

It’s called the Noah, in reference to Noah’s ark. So far, the company has received 500 orders.

Look at how the tsunami overflow turned huge boats into bathtub toys...


And here, a group of people run up the stairway of a building with moments to spare...


It's not clear when, how or by whom this little safety-boat ball could realistically be used, given how fast it all happens in real life. But it's a nice thought.

Japanese Synchronized Gymnastics

that's deep, man!

Boys are 'brilliant'; girls are 'beautiful'

This sucks

The Map of a Woman's Heart

Nineteenth-century ideals of womanhood and beauty expressed as much about women as they did about the society in which they were germinated. At a time of radical sociocultural and economic shifts — rapid urbanization, new modes of transportation and communication, increasing mechanization of industry — the expectations for women’s role in society shifted as well, with an idealized version of what was known as “True Womanhood” underpinning pop culture representations of women in everything from newspaper advice columns to art.

Map of the Open Country of a Woman’s Heart was a map created by D. W. Kellogg circa 1833–1842, in the tradition of these maps of the human condition you might recall, subtitled “Exhibiting its internal communications, and the facilities and dangers to Travellers therein.” Though it mostly depicts Woman as a sentimental, selfish, and superficial being driven by vanity, it places Love at the center of her heart, with Good Sense, Patience, and Prudence at its tip — or bottom, depending on the interpretation.

From the always delightful Maria Popova at BrainPickings