Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance was an experimental, dialog-free film by Godfrey Reggio (with a score by Phillip Glass) that depicts our relationship with nature and technology through a series of striking film images. Jesse England's Koyaanistocksi is a convincing recreation of its trailer made exclusively from generic stock art. A funny simulacrum, but of what order I can't tell: art rendered empty of meaning thanks to the pervasive replication of its own forms. [via Jeremy Erwin]
Koyaanistocksi: Koyaanisqatsi but with stock art footage
Why Princess Mononoke only made $2.3m in the U.S.
A fascinating BBC article about why Princess Mononoke bombed in America is titled "the masterpiece that flummoxed the US", but it's really about how badly Disney and co. handled Studio Ghibli movies despite explosive interest in anime in the U.S. They knew enough to hire Neil Gaiman to write an English script for Mononoke, for… READ THE REST
Sending clowns to hang around elementary schools proves to be a bad idea for a marketing campaign
The Speech Academy Asia, a public speaking program in Singapore, came up with the brilliant idea of sending clowns to hang around outside elementary schools and promote their offerings. Apparently they hoped the clowns would excite the kids so they'd encourage their parents to sign them up for the speech classes. Not surprisingly, the kids,… READ THE REST
Record one video, deepfake yourself saying every customer's name
Windsor.io is an AI-powered app that lets you record a single video and generate many variations—specifically, the computer deepfakes you saying every name—and thereby pretend to give personalized service to many customers. Here's a 7-second excerpt from the official marketing video showing it in action: Recording a personal video for every single name on your… READ THE REST
Become a MS Office productivity legend and help kids in need for just $30
Getting back into the groove of learning can be challenging, especially if it's been a while since you were in school. Hell, it can be challenging even if you're still in school. And with new versions of essential software coming out every few years, like the Microsoft Office Suite, it gets even more difficult to stay… READ THE REST
Breeze through your reading list at a low price while helping students in need
We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. If you're trying to better yourself, finding out where to start can feel challenging. But having a mentor can be incredibly helpful, especially if you want to advance in your career or… READ THE REST
This multi-faceted charging station does everything short of brewing your morning coffee
We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views. You've got quite the arsenal of gizmos and gadgets these days. So whether it's an extra-large monitor, your phone, or a smart home speaker, you've got a lot of stuff on your desktop.… READ THE REST
