Robert McNamara died today, at the age of 93. McNamara was US Secretary of Defense through most of the 1960's, overseeing the start of the Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis, among other major Cold War crises. Back in 2003, documentarian Errol Morris made a film called The Fog of War featuring McNamara, and pretty much only McNamara -- literally sitting in a chair, reviewing the history of various wars, combined with archival video and audio. The Fog of War is truly fascinating. I don't use... READ ON

There are two little hummingbirds outside my window right now. They come for the feeder on a nearby porch (and perhaps for the view of me typing). They're gorgeous little creatures, but a little on the nervous side -- just the sight of someone walking nearby will have them zooming off to the next feeder. So I wondered what they would look like, slowed down? YouTube to the rescue. Prepare to Zen out: More slow-mo hummingbirds after the... READ ON

The Ames Window is an optical illusion, in which a strangely-shaped window (with a stick running through it) is rotated slowly. Because we assume it to be a normally-shaped window, our brains perceive the window and the stick interacting in strange ways, seeming to change shape in ways that don't align with normal perspective shifts. The illusion was designed by Adelbert Ames, Jr., an American artist and psychologist. Ames also created the Ames Room, a similar perspective illusion that was later used to... READ ON

David Lynch and his son Austin have just launched a web series called Interview Project. It's a 121-part (!) short-form documentary series, and the first episode went live today -- have a look! The Interview Project interviews were conducted during a 70-day road trip, and feature regular people talking about their lives. Directed by Austin Lynch, the material is both intimate and ordinary -- a powerful combination, if you ask me. Of course, David Lynch's introduction to the project is bizarre and... READ ON