pop-culture

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Anatomy of CGI: A Scene from "Tangled"

Ever wonder how computer-animated films are made? It's a laborious process, involving an "animatic" (a form of pseudo-animated storyboarding), "layout" (rough positioning of 3D models), reference modeling (in which an actor moves around as the characters will, as a reference for animators), and various additional passes through the material to arrive at a realistic-looking animated scene. In this brief video, animator Jamaal Bradley shows us the making of one snippet of Disney's "Tangled." This is how... READ ON

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The Late Movies: "TableTop," Wil Wheaton's Boardgame Show

So Wil Wheaton has a YouTube show about boardgames, and it's awesome. It's called TableTop, and it's a long-form (about a half hour per episode) look at various good boardgames, including a basic explanation of how to play each -- plus an actual play session so you can actually get it. Whether you're a boardgame nerd or a "normal" person looking for a fun diversion for your next party, this is for you. I've collected five starter episodes for your enjoyment. The TableTop YouTube channel has tons of... READ ON

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"I'm So Happy," the Muppets' Gloomy Ode to Happiness

In this two-minute clip from The Muppet Show, two Whatnots sing a semi-tuneless ode to happiness. In a dusty room filled with cobwebs. Covered, themselves, with cobwebs. It's a pretty grim situation. They're pretty happy guys. So does this song make you happy or sad? It makes me ridiculously happy. My favorite line? "Sometimes he lies in the rain," sung by the pianist. (Via... READ ON

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"Engage" - Star Trek TNG's Ending Scene Montage

Star Trek: The Next Generation had a habit of ending on a positive note, particularly in the first season before those pesky Borg showed up in Season 2. No matter what troubles the crew had seen during their adventure, the episodes generally ended with Picard specifying a new course and then saying "Engage" as music swelled. I recommend this practice the next time you take a road trip: strap everybody in, set a course for Isis III, then say "Engage!" In this video montage, we see the last ten seconds... READ ON

List

11 Quirky Code Names for Apple Products

Apple uses secret internal code names for many of its products before they're released. Over the years, they've come up with some really weird ones -- including one that led to multiple lawsuits. 1. "Carl Sagan"/"Butt-Head Astronomer" - Power Macintosh... READ ON

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Beach Boys' "Wouldn't It Be Nice" Has 2 Accordionists, 2 Drummers, 3 Bassists + 13 More Musicians

The Beach Boys recorded "Wouldn't It Be Nice" as the opening track on their landmark album "Pet Sounds." It's my favorite Beach Boys song, but I never knew how insanely complex Brian Wilson's arrangement was: the recording includes two accordionists, two drummers, three bassists, three guitarists, four horn players, two pianists, and at least four singers. The main riff of the song is formed by the twin accordions (working together with a lovely walking bassline), though I would've been hard-pressed to... READ ON

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The Late Movies: Ray Bradbury, Interviewed

Today we learned that we had lost Ray Bradbury. Tonight, let's listen to the author speak about his life and career. If you watch nothing else in this list, scroll down and pick one of the short clips from 1968 -- they're all terrific. On Books, Literacy, and Fahrenheit 451 Bradbury interviewed in a short film for the National Endowment for the Arts. This is all about the library. Sample quote: "We should learn from history about the destruction of books. When I was 15 years old, Hitler... READ ON

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Remembering Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury died yesterday at the age of 91. Best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury was a prolific writer and a tireless advocate for libraries. My favorite work of his is the short story The Veldt, which both scared and inspired me as a kid -- that story was one of the first that made me want to become a writer. You can listen to Stephen Colbert perform the story live in a stunning recording. To remember Bradbury, I'm setting aside an hour to re-watch his speech from 2001, presented at... READ ON

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Neil deGrasse Tyson: "We Went to the Moon and We Discovered Earth"

In the second installment of the "We Stopped Dreaming" series, Neil deGrasse Tyson puts forth a simple argument: that NASA's missions to the moon and beyond caused humans to focus attention on the Earth. He runs through the list of accomplishments in environmental policy that occurred while the Apollo missions were underway, and it is a compelling argument. Representative quote: "We found time to start thinking about Earth. That is space operating on our culture, and you cannot even put a price on... READ ON

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A Brief History of Console Video Games

In the first 30 seconds, this video takes us from Pong through a series of 1970s and early 1980s arcade games, then into NES versions of The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. In the remaining two and a half minutes, we're treated to a wild ride of bleeping, blooping, and spastic visuals, as the video's creators mash up popular console and arcade games from the past forty years. While this isn't a complete history of video games (or even console games), it's insanely nostalgic for gamers of a... READ ON