Anyone speak German who can tell us what this is all about?

HT: Neatorama

I don’t usually post beer commercials on my blog (I’m more of a root beer man myself), but this one is pretty amazing. If you have ever enjoyed setting up dominoes and watching them fall, you have got to check out this ad for Guinness Dark Stout. No special effects were used in making the ad. There is even a nice hat tip to the old Mousetrap game at around the -0.47 second mark.

(Video length: 1:30)

Shot in an Argentinian mountainside village, it features a game of dominoes which escalates to include suitcases, tires, oil drums, fridges, wardrobes and cars … The advert took a week to film, with some of the sequences having to be reshot up to 15 times. Setting the dominoes on the table at the start of the advert took a team of three experts two days, but it took just 14 seconds to topple.

Paul Cornell, the marketing manager for Guinness, said: “The ad is fundamentally a celebration of community. It shows an entire village coming together to create an awe-inspiring spectacle of toppling objects.”

HT: Neatorama

Here is a fascinating video called The Inner Life of a Cell. (This is the shorter version with accompanying music. There is also a longer version available with narration.) I first saw this video about a year ago and was glad to find it on the Internet again.

(Video length: 3:10)

The animation was produced by BioVisions at Harvard University. BioVisions is based on a collaborative community of Harvard scientists, teaching faculty, students, and multimedia professionals. It is directed by Dr. Robert A. Lue, who founded BioVisions with support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Harvard University.

The potential of multimedia in the area of biology education has yet to be fulfilled. Indeed, multimedia as a means of imparting biological information is years behind its use in other areas such as entertainment. BioVisions is meant to close this gap by combining the highest quality multimedia development with rigorous scientific models of how biological processes occur.

You can find more information about the project at Studio Daily.

HT: The Presurfer (which has the longer version with narration)

Sorry, Star Wars fans – this one was just too much fun to pass up. And it’s
in widescreen, too!

Darth Vader Feels Blue (Video length: 1:45)

So, is this another example of George Lucas still fine-tuning various scenes from his movies?

Related posts:

• Star Wars Pumpkins
• Yoda Promotes Small Groups
• Tim Keller and Darth Vader
• Jedi Squirrels
• George Lucas Syndrome

HT: Neatorama via Provocative Church

How much has going to school changed? Kansas State University Professor Michael Wesch and the students in his Introduction to Cultural Anthropology class created an interesting video profiling a vision of students today. The following answers were compiled from the answers of 133 students (out of 200) who responded to the survey questions.

• My average class size is 115.
• 18% of my teachers know my name.
• I complete 49% of the readings assigned to me. Only 26% are relevant to my life.
• I buy hundred dollar textbooks that I never open.
• My neighbor paid for class but never comes.
• I will read 8 books this year, 2300 web pages, & 1281 Facebook profiles.
• I will write 42 pages for class this semester and over 500 pages of email.
• I get 7 hours of sleep each night! I spend 1.5 hours watching TV each night. I spend 3.5 hours a day online. I listen to music 2.5 hours a day. I spend 2 hours on my cell phone, spend 3 hours in class, 2 hours eating. I work 2 hours every day, 3 hours studying. That’s a total of 26.5 hours every day.
• I am a multi-tasker. (I have to be.)
• I will be $20,000 in debt after graduation! I’m one of the lucky ones.
• When I graduate I will probably have a job that doesn’t exist today.
• I Facebook through most of my classes.
• I bring my laptop to class, but I’m not working on class stuff.

What do you think? Is this an accurate picture of students today? I have to say, I would not have been able to make any of those statements when I was in school, except maybe for the 7 hours of sleep and 2 hours eating! 🙂

HT: Noel Heikkinen

Talk about a sermon illustration – check out Pastor Lee Cummings’ amazing prop for his message series I Love the Eighties at Resurrection Life Church in Richland, Michigan.

(Video length: 0:44)

All I could think was, “Wow! And here I thought it was pretty cool this past summer when we added a graphic to the slides on my message series.”

So, what do you think of props in church? Helpful? Distracting? Gimmicky? Depends on the church’s culture?

HT: iThinkCafe

Here are two fascinating flash video maps from the Maps of War website. The first map shows how the geography of religion has evolved over the centuries. Pay special attention to Christianity’s explosive growth that began with the rise of modern missions in the 1700-1800’s.

                                            History of Religion

                      (5000 years of religious history in 90 seconds)

The second map traces the major empires of the world showing who has controlled the Middle East over the course of world events.

                              Imperial History of the Middle East

                      (5000 years of imperial history in 90 seconds)

HT: World on the Web

Related post: Map of the World’s Religions

Update: Click here for new post with more information on the movie.
              Click here to read some Christian endorsements of the movie.

Wow, I didn’t even know about this movie. It is coming out in theaters on Friday, October 19, 2007. The trailer looks excellent. You can find more information about the film at Epic Stories of the Bible, as well as take The Ten Commandments Challenge. (HT: Goodword Editing)

This is the first of twelve animated Epic Stories of the Bible planned by Promenade Pictures with “Noah’s Ark – The New Beginning” in pre-production and scheduled for release in 2008. (Click here to view the trailer.)

(more…)

seagull.gif A seagull in Scotland has developed the habit of stealing chips from a neighborhood shop.

Dubbed “Sam” by the locals, the seagull waits until the shopkeeper isn’t looking, and then walks into the store and grabs a snack-size bag of cheese Doritos. Once outside, the bag gets ripped open and shared by other birds.

Sneaky Sam’s shoplifting started in July 2007 when he first swooped into the store in Aberdeen, Scotland, and helped himself to a bag of chips. Since then, he’s become a regular. He always takes the same type of chips.

Customers have begun paying for the seagull’s stolen bags of chips because they think it’s so funny.

Order the all New Kindle Fire here!

Privacy

Politics got you down? Enjoy the lighter side of our President as he tries his hand at some stand up comedy at the Annual Radio & Television Correspondents Association Dinner.

(Video length: 7:16)

President George W. Bush at the Annual Radio & Television Correspondents Association Dinner;
March 28, 2007

HT: Evangelical Outpost

Here is a little Adam Sandler clip for everyone heading back to school.

(Video length: 0:32)

“Back to school! Back to school, to prove to Dad that I’m not a fool! I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don’t get in a fight! Ohhhh, back to school! Back to school! Back to school! Well, here goes nothing!”

HT: Provocations and Pantings

As the pastor says near the end of the video: “I’ve been a pastor for 25 years – and that’s a first.”

(Video length: 1:25)

Does this kid belong to any of you? 🙂

HT: GirlTalk