Link About It: This Week’s Picks
Vincent Laforet’s NYC at night, Giphy’s logo design, Akira Kurosawa’s 100 favorite films and more in our weekly look at the web
1. Spike Lee for Vimeo On Demand
After first taking to Kickstarter to fund his new film “Da Sweet Blood of Jesus,” Director Spike Lee has decided to release the feature via Vimeo On Demand before it hits theaters. So far, Lee is the new streaming platform’s highest profile client and it’s clearly becoming an attractive option for filmmakers not keen on the customary box-office release. “Da Sweet Blood of Jesus” is available now on Vimeo On Demand to rent for $10 or to buy for $15.
2. Gotham at 7.5K Feet Up
There have been countless aerial images taken of New York City over the years, but nothing quite compares to what photographer Vincent Laforet was able to capture in a recent helicopter ride. Hovering nearly 7,500 feet above the city, the Big Apple glows with energy as avenues are lit up like its very veins. Laforet admits that he was at first a bit afraid since helicopters aren’t meant to reach that height, but it’s clear that the resulting images were well worth the worry.
3. Macintosh-Inspired iMac
Taking cues from the very first Macintosh computer, German tech site Curved/labs came out with a sleek new design concept for the next Apple iMac. Up front, the new design is heavily influenced by the iMac’s ancestor with the screen, memory card slot and logo placement almost identical, while a side profile view reveals a sleek, slim frame resembling a bent sheet of metal.
4. X-Ray Reveals Hamster’s Deep Cheeks
Did you know that a hamster’s cheeks extend all the way to its hips? Neither did we. In an episode of BBC One’s “Pet-Wild at Heart,” a hungry hamster stuffs its cheeks with treats while an X-Ray view of the critter reveals just how far back those pouches go. The adorable video ends with the hamster, now full of food, trying to crawl back home through a tube and (spoiler alert) nearly getting stuck.
5. Martine Bedin’s “Sassy Objects”
The Museum of Decorative Arts and Design in Bordeaux is adding to its already impressive, first-ever Andrea Branzi retrospective with a dedicated Martine Bedin exhibition. In a show titled “L’objet déluré (Sassy Object),” Bedin—a founding member of Memphis—returns to her drawings of the ‘80s and ‘90s to realize them as actual objects. Her series of colorful and kooky post-modern pieces will be on display at the museum through February 15th.
6. Giphy’s Redesign
After exploding from one million to nearly 25 million hits per month in under two years, Giphy has become the international authority on GIFs. To help solidify its status, Brooklyn-based design studio Dark Igloo stepped in to give the site a makeover that was modern yet retro, similar to the nature of its signature file format. Grafik Magazine recently sat down with Dark Igloo to discuss the origins of their partnership, nostalgic logos and holographic business cards.
7. Akira Kurosawa’s 100 Favorite Films
When someone as legendary as director Akira Kurosawa puts out a list of recommended movies, we listen. In a posthumously published book “Yume wa tensai de aru,” the acclaimed filmmaker lists 100 of his favorite films organized chronologically from 1919 to 1997. The catalog includes classics like Carol Reed’s “The Third Man” and Copolla’s “The Godfather, Part 2,” while other selections like Hayao Miyazaki’s “My Neighbor Totoro” are slightly less expected. Open Culture offers the full list for your viewing pleasure.
8. Next-Generation Drones
Ex-MIT and Google X engineers, who now form the start-up Skydio, are developing a way to keep drones from crashing. In a short online video, the team demonstrates a drone’s auto-pilot system that uses real-time 3D mapping of its surroundings to avoid collisions. A “magic wand” app also turns your iPhone into a controller, giving you the ability to direct the drone simply by pointing your phone. Skydio recently raised $3M to further develop its hardware in hopes of pitching the product to drone manufacturers.
Link About It is our filtered look at the web, shared daily in Link and on Twitter, and rounded up every Saturday morning.
