Spaceman by James Isbell
With NASA’s last ever planned Space Shuttle mission now departed, one might wonder how those fanciful flights to the moon might occur. James Isbell, a talented digital artist/animator, seems to have one possible solution which can be seen in his latest creation, “Spaceman.” Spaceman from James Isbell on Vimeo. This is story about an ordinary designer that meets an extra ordinary friend. Together they step outside and discover the star filled sky above their heads. What happens next? ..why not watch and find out Tools: After Effects, Blender 3d, Canon 350D (I need an upgrade) ...
Peacock Spider – Nature’s Showman
Captured in glorious high-definition for possibly the first time, the Australian Peacock Spider is one of nature’s true showmen, attracting his mates with elaborate dancing displays, sound emissions and a brightly coloured display of his peacock-like abdomen tail. It’s remarkable and wonderful and even if spiders creep you out, it’s still fascinating to watch. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GgAbyYDFeg&w=600]
Al Gore – Averting Climate Crisis
Al Gore is sometimes best remembered for his “almost but not quite” attempt to win the US Presidential office in 2000 against George W Bush, mired as it was in controversy surrounding the manner in which the Florida State elections were run and their votes counted. Following that he proceeded to make the Oscar winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” that shines a spotlight on the subject of Global Warming. Prior to the public release of the documentary in May 2006, Al was invited to the February 2006 TED conference where he gave a preview version of the slideshow that forms the core of the documentary. Receiving an overwhelmingly positive response, he was subsequently invited to return to the TED stage days later to respond to audience...
Molly Lewis – An Open Letter to Stephen Fry
In February 2011 the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University awarded Stephen Fry the 2011 Lifetime Achievement award. As part of the presentation ceremony Molly Lewis, a popular musician who rose to prominence through internet performances of original and cover songs, posed a question to Stephen which took the form of a serenade accompanied by her own Ukulele. It’s a uniquely sweet and salty performance – no pun intended. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGYEMXoVHUs&w=600]
Randy Pausch – The Last Lecture
Carnegie Mellon University runs an occasional series of talks sharing the loose title “The Last Lecture.” The concept is simple for each invited speaker; imagine this talk will be the last one you ever give – so make it the best you can make it. Randy Pausch, a CMU computer science professor, discovered one day at the age of 47 that he had pancreatic cancer and was subsequently given just months to live. Always an optimist, he grasped his final months of life to leave behind a legacy of “messages in bottles” that he hoped would wash ashore in the years to come to be discovered by his three children, helping them to connect with the father they would barely otherwise know. Thus, he was invited to give his own ‘Last...
Jill Bolt Taylor – Stroke of Insight
Jill Bolt Taylor is a neuro-anatomist who suffered a major stroke in 1996 and spent the subsequent 8 years recovering from the event. At the February 2008 TED conference she gave a talk titled “Stroke of Insight” in which she described the experience, from the moment she recognised what was happening to her through to the first steps on her road to recovery. Always fascinating, frequently touching, this is one of those rare unmissable talks, complete with a demonstration of a real human brain. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyyjU8fzEYU&w=600] Find more about Dr Jill Bolt Taylor here.