OK Go continues its tradition of crafting glorious high-concept music video to accompany and complement their songs—previously—with the latest dazzlingly, chaotic animated Impulse Purchase being no exception. The maximalist collaboration with Blender Studios and the signature digital characters of artist Lucas Zanotto (see previously) with the help of
Will Anderson (BAFTA award winning storyteller who struggles with the revival of his own, imagined best-known creation, Longbird, that once upon a time conferred him with legendary status) combines motion capture and three-dimensional rendering goes one further by making the endeavour open-source and models available to anyone to remix, adapt and share—a statement on the architecture of choice and algorithmically curated options which assertively reframes the dialogue by reseting the parameters. More on the making and a tutorial from It’s Nice That at the link above.
Monday, 15 September 2025
and the adjacent possible (12. 729)
Saturday, 6 September 2025
7x7 (12. 701)
people are flushing toilets ten times, fifteen times, as opposed to once—john jay: other AI-generated quotes of America’s foundational figures at new Smithsonian exhibit—see also
coronation street: a recent celebration of the eleven hundredth anniversary of the enthronement of King รthelstan, the first ruler of united England
_invalid_username: a short, seemingly intuitive quiz—we failed miserably at—on what constitutes an email address—via Web Curios in a galaxy far, far away: the official map of the Star Wars paracosmdj earworm: an end of summer mashup
double, double toil and trouble: Shakespeare added the witches, weird sisters (see also) to Macbeth for the benefit of his patron James I—see previously
founding fathers: the colourful life US constitutional signatory turned harsh critic of the mythos Gouverneur Morris—via Strange Company
synchronoptica
one year ago: a nuclear war preparedness exercise (with synchronopticรฆ)
twelve years ago: Iranian president offers a Rosh Hashanah blessing
thirteen years ago: some castles of Rheinland-Pfalz plus a bleak economic picture
fourteen years ago: revisionism and security theatre persist ahead of the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks
fifteen years ago: bird-watching plus a trip along the Danube
sixteen years ago: mascot mayhem
seventeen years ago: a trip to the Wasserkuppe
catagories: ๐️, ๐ญ, ๐ถ, ๐️, ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ, ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ, ๐♀️, ๐พ, ๐ค, Star Wars
Friday, 5 September 2025
cartooner (12. 700)
Another fun juxtaposition from ibฤซdem, is this single panel comics caption swapper that draws the extensive archives of Gary Larson’s The Far Side, Bill Keane’s Family Circus, George Gately’s Heathcliff and Hank Ketcham’s Dennis the Menace—the franchises in syndication taken up by other artists. The comic strips of themselves aren’t terribly humorous on their own (exceptions for Larson’s work) but in this form do elicit a laugh and a moment more of study and worth cycling through to find the correspondence and sheer wealth in the way flipping the script as it were works.
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
11x11 (12. 472)
higher power: traditionally anodyne, new Chinese spaceflight mission patches (see also) might betray some secrets
triple word score: fun variants, house rules and more Scrabble-related news—see previously
a stra ze neca: no, the multinational pharmaceutical concern name does not mean “a road to death” in Latin
hamburgervons: a flip book of font specimens to build the perfect typeface—the heading a typographer’s tool to test layout and legibility—see also
revenge of the sith: a retrospective for the prequel twenty years on—see also here and herethere i ruined it: interesting mashup of US national anthem to the tune of Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun”
kyphosis bicyclistarum: an 1893 warning from the Lancet for wheelmen on the bad posture and stoop that frequent cycling can cause—see also
sunny days: after Trump defunds PBS and NPR, Netflix is championing Sesame Street
micro-camper: a well-appointed mobile tiny home in the bed of kei truck—via Things Magazine (much more to discover there)
fan theory: Doctor Who’s “Interstellar Song Contest”—Eurovision counter programming—teases the return of a classic arch-villainess
pinball wizard: the 1976 NBC gameshow flop, The Magnificent Marble Machine, with celebrity players
niallia tiangongensis: evolution on display in novel bacteria found aboard China’s space-station—via Damn Interesting
synchronoptica
one year ago: more on the Kessler Effect (with synchronoptica), AI overviews plus two classes of typos
seven years ago: Pentecost, for-profit colleges plus a ride on a steam locomotive
eight years ago: reforming the US electoral college, the Global Seed Vault is flooding, protesting Trump’s bribes plus an AI names bespoke colours
nine years ago: a visit to Tintagel
ten years ago: a time lapse of climate change, assorted links to revisit plus the making of The Shining
Wednesday, 14 May 2025
turning saints into the sea (12. 456)
Always a treat, we enjoyed this latest mashup from DJ Earworm (previously) that blends rather seamlessly The Killers’ “Mr Brightside” x “Forever Young” by Alphaville x (minimally) Justin Bieber’s “Stay” featuring Kid Laroi. Each of the source tracks are approximately twenty years apart. All three songs thematically similar, the West German synth-pop contribution have heavier undertones disguised by a brighter, triumphant veneer when the label insisted changing the third verse to the sparse ballad from the eponymous first album (also featuring “Big in Japan”) from:
Can you imagine how we won the war?
Little fascist lady she loves you so
Following her leader, she’s getting in tune
The music’s played by the madmen
To lighten it up a bit with:
Can you imagine when this race is won
Turn our golden faces into the sun
Praising our leaders we’re getting in tune…
The band’s name is from the Jean-Luc Godard’s 1965 new-wave tech noir Alphaville: une รฉtrange aventure de Lemmy Caution about a secret agent posing as a journalist to infiltrate and try to liberate a dystopian community run by a tyrannical artificial intelligence.
synchronoptica
one year ago: the terminology of literary criticism (with synchronoptica)
seven years ago: a screenplay by Ulrike Meinhof plus the first duty-free shop
eight years ago: food insecurity, a visit to Bad Bocklet plus more ransonware attacks
ten years ago: the consequences of the TTIP trade deal plus film pioneer Louis Le Prince
eleven years ago: the right to be forgotten plus more spheres of trade
Sunday, 11 May 2025
10x10 (12. 449)
shooting the messager: the AP reporter fired and blacklisted for scooping the story of Nazi Germany’s surrender eight years ago—via Strange Company
๐: Shanghai metro lets riders design their own bus routes
vision cantos: Denis Cooper on filmmaker Jud Yalkut—via { feuilleton }
the poyais scam: confidence tricker Gregor MacGregor’s con to lure investors in a fictional central American territory
that’s why the apostrophe is single and not plural: the story of Anna Jarvis—the creator that later sued for the abolition of Mother’s Day
flugsteighalle: a digital exhibition of Berlin’s monumental Tempelhof airport—previously—via das Kraftfuttermischwerk
the madison avenue beat: a selection of vintage advertising jingles presented as a dance remix
corner of the city: street photographer Tong Ho Chung Howard’s most famous image captures the traditional tong lau (ๅๆจ) architecture of Hong Kong, gradually being replaced by urban renewal programmes
root causes: competing narratives for WWII Victory Day celebrations
Monday, 28 April 2025
10x10 (12. 420)
america’s war: a special report from the Verge for the fiftieth anniversary of the Fall of Saigon
leaflet: an Art Nouveau study of botanical forms and their application in decor—see previously
mangajin: an appreciation of the month English-language publication for students of Japanese language and culture—full archives from the entire run from 1988 to 1997 here
do: inspirational words from artist Sol LeWitt to fellow creative pioneer Eva Hesse
chisanbop: the Korean technique of fingermath
i have to push the pram a lot: Monty Python and the Holy Grail at fifty
animal spirits: what felines, bovines, porcines, etc on the label say about wine quality
you wouldn’t right-click a car: US anti-piracy campaign filled with hypocrisy, including a stolen font—see also
bus error collective: a WSIWYG primer on oscilloscope music—via Waxy
worst one-hundred days: assessments of Trump first months in office for his second term—more here and here
synchronptica
one year ago: Pennsylvania 6-5000 (with synchronoptica) plus naming world wars
seven years ago: a corollary to the Bechdel test plus a visit to Stockheim
eight years ago: archaeology with trace DNA, Islamic gateways plus responding to nuclear extortion
nine years ago: crowd control robots, language acquisition plus a hand-held DNA sequencer
ten years ago: visiting FDR’s Georgia retreat, ribald limericks, assorted links to revisit plus pontoon bridges to alleviate traffic congestion
Tuesday, 8 April 2025
a-story, b-story (12. 375)
During a recent episode of The Simpsons (S: 36, E: 783), Homer pressures Bart to pursue a career as a celebrity disc-jockey, but the ensuing noise and chaos of the abortive effort lead to an irreconcilable rift with their neighbours the Flanders, Bart incorporating a sample of Ned’s complaint into the mix. The gang from The Hood Internet were behind the DJ’ing and also the end credits mashing up memorable Simpsons musical numbers including Do the Bartman, Dr Zaius, Mr Plow and the Monorail Song.
catagories: ๐️, ๐ถ, ๐บ, The Simpsons
Saturday, 15 March 2025
10x10 (12. 306)
i don’t belong here: reactions of first time listeners to Radiohead’s “Creep”
auragraphs: a look at the psychic paintings of Flora Marian Spore, received visions from departed relatives—see previously
overton window: why some find humour in embracing fascism—see also, see previously
all in the wrist: a memorable mnemonic device for learning the carpal bones from Michelangelo’s Snowmen—see also
i’m just gonna dance all night: a joyful behind the scenes peek at SNL writers’ room from a decade ago—via MetaFilter
orbital group: astronomers find Saturn has one-hundred twenty eight additional natural satellites
the pen is mightier than the sword: the end of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest (previously) after forty-two years—via Miss Cellania
persona non grata: US state department expels the South Africa ambassador, buying into Musk’s false narrative of confiscating land from white plantation owners
the medium is the message: Alan Turing and other Cambridge academics obsession with ghosts and spiritualism
hootie & the blowfish: an oddly effective mashup with The Smiths
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links worth the revisit (with synchronoptica), the first AI lab, Geoguessr savants plus serendipitous directories
seven years ago: The Inland Printer, Trump’s fabricated trade imbalances with China and Canada, the Anthropocene era’s golden spike plus more links to enjoy
eight years ago: embodiment and Singularity, LEGO tape plus Australian war time propaganda
nine years ago: more Liartown, USA, English as the official language plus Sir Thomas Moore
ten years ago: the Comic Code plus further crusading misadventures
Wednesday, 12 March 2025
9x9 (12. 297)
ei-ei-o: a comparison onomatopoetic words for animal sounds across different languages—via Waxy
acrostic: textile company’s branding has the aesthetics of concrete poetry
destiny narrative: an omnibus post on the horrors and avoidability of war
analog society: a British group performs live mash-up of notionally similar songs
tectonic independence: why Greenland is an island and Australia a continent—see also
360: Manhattan’s only revolving restaurant to reopen
telephone game: Russia demands details from US before agreeing to any ceasefire agreement in Ukraine
cross-walk: mimes direct traffic in Bogotรก
an old error has more friends than a new truth: proverbs and idioms from around the world
synchronoptica
one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronoptica) plus more FOIA follies
seven years ago: raising awareness for prosthetic limbs, Japan’s residential towers plus more links to enjoy
eight years ago: provisions requiring employees submit to DNA screenings
nine years ago: what if the Singularity already happened, the doorway effect plus colourful ancient statuary
ten years ago: Disney reboots, even more links plus more made-up jobs
Thursday, 6 March 2025
7x7 (12. 280)
yarn-bomb: a collection of museums and monuments around the world for knitting and craft enthusiasts
defying democracy: Randy Rainbow breaks into the ballad from Wicked during an interview
the living? the miraculous task of it: Joseph Fasano’s short poetic response to a student who used AI to write a papereight million dollars to promote lgbtqi+ in the african nation of lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of: all you need to know about the southern African enclave (the only one outside of Italy) landlocked by South Africa
fission chips: a survey of Mid-Century Modernism
spinsrรฟche: a mashup of “Jet City Woman” and prog metal
mullet talley: cross-referencing hair-styles with football club fans in Australia—from the Annals of Improbable Research (previously)—via Pasa Bon!
synchronoptica
one year ago: the mental radio interceptions of Grant Wallace (with synchronoptica) plus more on endonyms and exonyms
seven years ago: Teen Look magazine plus a demonic backlog of unfinished business
eight years ago: presidential pets, animator Tom Oreb, separating migrant families plus NASA’s style guide
ten years ago: assorted links to enjoy
eleven years ago: neglected bestiaries
Friday, 28 February 2025
foley artist (12. 265)
Via Web Curios, we are directed to a creative individual from the Sunday Sites social and coding club who spent an afternoon recording various audio samples, footfalls, creaking hinges, thumps, ticking and general din and dropped them in, mostly unheard, into a programme with an embedded player for each to produce a wall of sounds, landscaped according to the visitor’s choices. With some tweaking, replaying on a loop that gets richer and fuller the more one adds, one can create a unique sculpture from these isolated fragments in concert.
synchronoptica
one year ago: predictions for 2024 (with synchronoptica)
seven years ago: a robotic crew member aboard the ISS plus Three Thousand Years of Art
eight years ago: a monumental civil engineering plan for Amsterdam plus outtakes from DJ Moby
nine years ago: more probable time travellers plus eradicating all mosquitos
ten years ago: a table-top photo studio, knitted fashions plus a disgraced anchorman
Tuesday, 21 January 2025
the tegos tapes (12. 168)
Via Clive Thompson’s trusty alternative to doomscrolling, we learn that pioneering electronic composer Vangelis (see previously) has not only several film soundtracks to his credit but also, among many side projects, recorded a box-set of rather exclusive twelve hour tapes for doctors to listen to while performing the arduous task of surgeries to keep focused during the monotony—see also. The limited-run 1998 compilation (only twenty were made for partners in the practise) was thought lost to history, until one dedicated fan hunted down, on a tip, a copy of a textbook on micro-neuosurgerical (by the eponymous physician, a close friend of Vangelis, asking him to make these tracks and undergo a magnetic resonance scan of his brain, the latter request politely declined) in a bookstore in Athens with the accompanying music on videotape. Much more at the links above.
Thursday, 9 January 2025
8x8 (12. 159)
a stranger quest: an award-winning documentary about map collector David Rumsey (previously) available in full online
stimulation clicker: a new distraction from Neal Agarwal—see previously—see also
studio city: deadly, life-altering wildfires continue to rage through Los Angeles, reaching Hollywood and threatening landmarks
lemon8: TikTok ushers US users to sister-site in anticipation of ban
show bible: a rare copy of the storyboard for Alejandro Jodorowshky’s unmade adaptation of Dune recently sold at auction—see previously
hangman: a Wordle variant called Phrazle
camp century: revisiting the Greenland military installation and the US Army Corps of Engineers’ failed Project Iceworm to build a nuclear launch site
datastorm: a synthesiser with presets from the 1981 arcade game Defender sound-effects—via Pasa Bon!
not to scale: an illustration of how polar flare and distortions of Mercator projections affect perception—see previously
Friday, 3 January 2025
9x9 (12. 139)
eixample: Barcelona’s nineteenth century urban revival and characteristic octagonal blocks
๐ฆ: adding fourth colour to traffic lights for safer sharing of roads with human drivers and autonomous vehicles
willkommen zu hause: a somewhat older documentary on club culture and techno in former East Germany with a connection to H has made it to Youtube

2-step authenication: secure passwords should require a performance like Liza Minelli tries to turn off a lamp—will a Fosse neck do it?
the monkey chew tobacco on the street car line: the Meters’ Hand Clapping Song
lycurgus cup: the fuzzy and fluorescent vases of Maxwell Mustardo evoke Roman amphorae—see previously
stairwell of the quarter: twelve months of superlative flights and storeys
beaded curtain: a look at the fragmented nature of the border wall on the US southern frontier—via Super Punch
Monday, 16 December 2024
l’ultima cena nell’arte (12. 087)
Fellow internet caretake and accomplished docent, Weird Universe, treats us to a grand tour of a museum in the border town of Douglas, Arizona that showcases collection of its curator of works inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic masterpiece, The Last Supper
(see also). With interpretations ranging from the devotional to the irreverent, skewing to sci-fi and pop cultural with an array of items in place of Jesus and the apostles, it looks like a fun exhibition to visit. We liked this more traditional depiction from a different perspective showing a sleeping dog on the floor. Much more at the links above.
catagories: ๐บ๐ธ, ✝️, ๐️, ๐จ, libraries and museums
Saturday, 14 December 2024
9x9 (12. 082)
blame on the whiskey: DJ Earworm’s 2024 wrapped
nhtsa: Trump transition team recommends scrapping crash reporting regulations with Tesla among the biggest offender for car-related fatalities—via the New Shelton wet/dry

flashpoint: charting possible frontlines on the continent if Russia pushes further on the NATO alliance
as above, so below: the ensemble of pyramids of the Giza complex have eight sides, visible only during the equinoxes
theatre of thought: Werner Herzog contemplates the nature of the mind in his latest documentary
big band: Glenn Miller’s 1944 disappearance without a trace is an enduring aviation mystery, second to Amelia Earhart’s
ka$h patel: FBI director’s resignation may hinder Trump loyalist’s succession as head of the bureau
there ain’t no us in the private trust: a folk protest song about the state of American healthcare
Thursday, 28 November 2024
9x9 (12. 036)
to john dillinger and hope he is still alive: William S Burroughs’ Thanksgiving Prayer
sampler-sized: iconic electronic music remixes by year
silent poems: a weird and wondrous, non-WYSIWYG word processor from graphic designer Lavinia Petrache—via Clive Thompson’s Linkfest
blacklisted: Musk publishes names of federal workers he wants to eliminate, a terror-inducing tactic that may force them to resign in lieu of being fired
well, please post the rebuttal—then community notes will take care of the rest: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg explains to Elon Musk how EV charging works
sortes vergilianae: a particular form of bibliomancy drawing random passages from The Aeneid (see also here and here) and other works by Roman poet Virgil
anacyclosis: the rise and fall of civilisation and the undermining of democracy
the nine lives of dr mabuse: avant garde pop band Propaganda celebrate the filmology of the chaotic villain—see previously
pay no attention to that man behind the curtain: a political reading of Wicked
synchronoptica
one year ago: the Battle of Versailles (1973—with synchronoptica) plus assorted links worth the revisit
seven years ago: Tom Baker returns as Dr Who plus Trump celebrates Native American Heritage Month
eight years ago: emoluments and more
eleven years ago: the debut of MST3K (1998) plus Germany’s Goldfinger tax-model
twelve years ago: :D for Dรผsseldorf
Sunday, 24 November 2024
aeolian vamp (12. 026)
Via Misscellania, we are let in on a little secret as how remix artists can accomplish such peerless mashups by paying attention to chord progressions in songs, as with the lede example in this demonstration of In the Air Tonight X My Heart Will Go On, which make lyrics interchangeable and key and tempo easy to flatten out. The Beatles’ Yesterday and Mister Blue Sky from ELO have the same harmonic succession as do Michael Jackson’s Black or White and I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For by U2, and most other pop-songs have a much simpler foundation as their signature structure. A variant on the title rotation I-V-vi-IV (tonic, the major fifth, minor sixth to the major sixth) is a hit parade including Toto’s Africa, Beast of Burden, Despacito, Dragostea Din Tei, Lady Gaga’s Poker Face and Paparazzi, Otherside and Snow (Hey Oh) by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Zombie and We Didn’t Start the Fire as well as a number of gospels and Christian rock ballads. Songs using the so called ‘50s progression (I-vi-IV-V) include any number of doo-wop standards, Stand by Me, Blue Moon, Heart and Soul, Where Have All the Flowers Gone?, Avril Lavigne’s Complicated, Unchained Melody, D’yer Mak’er, Crocodile Rock, Walking in Memphis, Monster Mash and Total Eclipse of the Heart. Sometimes I flatter myself thinking I have an ear for such correspondence but I do sometimes hear and can imagine medleys bleeding into each other.
synchronoptica
one year ago: one-night houses (with synchronoptica), the discovery of Lucy (1974), Diamond Geezer plus It’s Black Friday, Charlie Brown!
seven years ago: more urban bird houses, life at the edge of sight, competing Thanksgivings plus a cabinet of linguistic curiosities
eight years ago: assorted links worth revisiting, the bluetooth rune plus national novel-generation month
nine years ago: on the origins of species plus more on the centenary of Einstein
ten years ago: a treasury of rhetorical devices
Thursday, 24 October 2024
9x9 (11. 928)
star crystal, 1986: the manifesto of the Committee to Abolish Outer Space—via jwz
sorry charlie: a 1961 patent for advertising on fish—perfect for aquariums in waiting rooms

bear and lampshade: an electronic medley of hits from Queen
ghost with the most: the psychological profile of people who cut off communication
carbon capture: a covalent organic framework that binds CO₂ in ambient air—via Damn Interesting’s Curated Links
vแปi vร ng: the legacy of Edgar Allen Poe in Vietnam
extra-toppings: Pizza Hut is offering to print one’s CV on a box and deliver it (along with a pizza) to prospective employers—via Pasa Bon!
the city of orion: Hannsjorg Voth’s monumental structures in the Moroccan desert like the Earth and sky—via Messy Nessy Chic
synchronoptica
one year ago: Bob Sinclair’s Stardust (with synchronoptica) plus a data-poisoning tool to fight against AI scraping
seven years ago: the typography of Vinicius Araujo, cheese in China, innovative underground maps, an underwater restaurant in the works, Japanese delivery boxes plus more presidential merchandise
eight years ago: problem-solving paradigms plus a thriving orchid
nine years ago: grand tours, assorted links to revisit plus a Lenin monument transformed
eleven years ago: German chancellor’s phone tapped