Issue 3 - April 22, 2012

"A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is a visible labor and there is an invisible labor." -Victor Hugo

Whirling Dervishes

Late war photographer and co-director of 'Restrepo' Tim Hetherington is remembered in this touching feature about his work

A literal Periodic Table



'The Case Against Kids: Is procreation immoral?' is a fascinating read and draws some interesting conclusions 

Oscar Wilde writes to Walt Whitman and makes you wish you could've been there
 
'Baking with Sylvia Plath' gives insight into the poet's fondness for lemon pudding cakes
 
A portable letter press

'George Orwell: A life in pictures' is a superb BBC documentary which brings the reclusive author into the limelight (Watch in its entirety)

Jim Rossignol muses over the joy of exploring glitches in a game and making time for what most consider a "waste of time"

'Under the Ocean' is a survival game that is in development and looks quite promising. It's pixelated counter part, 'Under the Garden,' is available for free.

'Dishonored' released a trailer earlier this week and the world hasn't been the same

Radiolab tells the story of Alan Turing, the inventor of the "Turing Test" which is a benchmark for how intelligent an AI actually is.
 
Earth may have more than one moon at any given time  

'Celestial Lights' is a beautiful short film about the Northern Lights

I need not explain how wonderful Freddy Mercury is, just listen to this vocal and bass mix of 'Don't Stop Me Now'

Hank Green scientifically explains how the chemical 'THC' works, discusses dark matter and the potential life on Mars as well as mind-controlling parasites (he's been on roll lately)

Behind on the history of the Syrian conflicts? John Green's got your back.

Have no idea what Islam actually is? John Green has your back once again

'Bicycle Animation' gives a new spin on stop-motion

ShouldIRideMyBikeToday.com answers one of life's most important questions

Aesop Rock released a new single, 'Zero Dark Thirty,' from his upcoming album 'Rock Skelethon' which is excepted to drop July 10th

Eternal Recurrence
 
'Amanita Design', the company I confessed my love for last week, made their entire catalog (which includes 'Botanicula', 'Machinarium' and 'Samorost 2') available in the recent Humble Indie Bundle. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Humble Indie it's a organization which offers (for a limited time) multiple independently developed games for a single "pay-what-you-want" price model, with the money being divided amongst the developers and various charity organizations. There's more information on their website and if you donate more than the average you will also receive a digital copy of their wonderful film 'Kooky' in addition to all their games!
If you have any doubts about the wonderfulness which awaits, just read John Walker's stellar review of their latest game 'Botanicula.'

Now for something completely 'Undun'

'Undun' is a concept album by the Roots which tells the story (in reverse) of a young man named Redford Stevens who lives a short, tragic life. Starting from a flat-lining heart monitor and ending with an instrumental symphony, the album explores the mentality and influences which lead to Stevens' premature end. 'Undun' is a masterpiece of not only music but narrative.

I also recommend the interview Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson and Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter gave on NPR's 'Fresh Air' which discusses the motivation behind the album as well as how it was a change of pace for the band. There's also a short film based upon the album which is worth checking out.

There are quite a lot of other bands who experiment with the idea of a concept album, one of which is The Mars Volta with their first album 'De'Loused in the Comatorium.' The album tells the tale (loosely based of a true story) of a man named Cerpin Taxt who falls into a week-long coma after overdosing on a mixture of rat poison and morphine and left to face his own consciousness, repressed memories and hallucinations. Upon waking up, Taxt commits suicide by jumping off an overpass. The band has also adapted the narrative into a short story.

'Leviathan' by Mastodon takes you through a sonic case study of 'Moby Dick' by Herman Melville. The album artwork alone is something to behold.

'Zen Arcade' by Husker Du follows the experiences of a young boy who runs away from an overbearing, abusive household and banal hometown. Throughout his journey he joins the military ('Chartered Trips'), experiments with religion ('Hare Krsna'), drugs ('Somewhere') and falls in love with a girl who later dies from an overdose ('When Pink Turns Blue'). He ultimately decides that he is powerless to change his circumstances ('Newest Industry', 'Whatever') when he wakes up to discover that his journey was all a dream ('Reoccurring Dreams').

Last, but certainly not least, there's 'Frank's Wild Years' by Tom Waits which tells the rag-to-rags story of Frank, a professional accordion player. The album takes you from his meager beginnings to his rise of fame and fortune then through his squandering of said fortune until he ends up where he was before but, this time, with no one by his side.
 
Something of Inspiration

Zefrank says it all in "An Invocation for Beginnings."

Reserved Vernacular

An optimist views the glass as half full, a pessimist as half empty. Neither asks why the glass isn't bigger.


Have suggestions? Articles? Awesome recommendations? Contact me: eccentricenlightment@gmail.com
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