Six Feet Under Series

Alan Ball, the director of Six Feet Under, once said "Beauty is in the strangest places. A piece of garbage floating in the wind. And that beauty exists in America. It exists everywhere. You have to develop an eye for it and be able to see it."

I wonder if he would enjoy this blog?

Likely one of the best TV shows I've ever seen, Six Feet Under is a beautiful 5 season drama. I just spent the last few days watching it from episode one to end. And now, emotionally drained, and a bit depressed and lonely, I thought I'd post it in this archive of beautiful things.

The series, for those who haven't heard, is about a family and their funeral home business. Unsurprisingly the series deals with death in every possible facet the writers can think up. They pull the characters through a web of depressing situations, most of which are caused by the characters inability to communicate with their family and friends.

A melodramatic daughter, a gay mortician, an aimless son, and a stifled mother make up the main cast. The acting is believable, and the characters are both loved and hated by the audience on any given episode.

I love this show. But now after finishing, I may need to see a shrink.
Truly beautiful.
Two thumbs up.

Here is the final 6 minutes of the last episode, which by my standards is the most complete and appropriate series finale I've seen... but i recommend watching the entire series before this. And I also recommend having some tissue at hand, and a phone by your side to call your loved ones.

Flash Animated Creep

More praise for Radiohead, but this time I'm more focused on the animation itself in this video. Radiohead makes good music. That's pretty obvious. But these flash animators have really done something wonderful with this acoustic version of Creep. Being a flash animator myself, I empathize with the pains of putting something like this together. I also empathize with the character in this video, having spent the last few weeks in an office.

If you've used flash, you'll appreciate the title and credits sequence. Click here to play the official version, or watch below for the video only. Enjoy!

Optical Illusion

A pause from the dark and dramatic, I thought I should put something lighthearted on the blog of beauty. Here is a clip I came across called "optical illusion". It's short. It's cute. It's stop motion!
I think it's beautifully cute and slightly clever. You can't help but smile a little.



And here is a real optical illusion. Not as funny. Just a cool trick on the eyes. Stare at the dot in the center and then wait. I guarantee the second image is black and white. I find all optical illusions quite beautiful, and I'll probably make a large post of illusions sometime in the near future.

The Night Sky

I recently stumbled upon this inverted version of Google Earth. It's called wikisky (although I thought I read that as whiskey.) If you like constellations or astronomy, this is a beautiful site to check out.

I know absolutely nothing about stars and constellations, etc. But they sure are pretty.

I also like this site because I live in an extremely well-lit city. And I can't remember the last time I saw the night sky.

Easter Egg

Found this artist in a National Geographic article while searching for Easter Egg designs. I'm trying to explain to my Japanese students why we celebrate Easter in America, and that it's not exclusively religious. Never-the-less, this is a beautiful Easter egg, created by Franc Grom, who designs and sells eggs such as this one.

According to National Geographic, Easter eggs were first decorated in the 13th century when the church forbade eating eggs during the week before Easter... and something had to be done with eggs laid during that time. So why not paint them?

...And poke holes in them.

Judo in Slow Motion

Generally I find most things in slow motion are beautified by about 450 percent. Judo is no exception. Although this video is a little cheesy, the Judo Player's technique is flawless. And of course, my current "in Japan" living situation has led me to fall in love with this beautiful sport.

Drum Machine Animation

Here are two Drum Machine Animations that I find especially appealing. The first is an amazing 3d animation using a myriad of different percussive instruments. It's made by the group called Animusic who have a few dozen instrumentals available on Google Video and You Tube.

They use a program called Midimotion, which according to Animusic's web site is "is analytical, note-based, and involves a pre-process (as opposed to being reactive, sound-based, and real-time)."



The second animation is of a different genre entirely. This is "Drum Machine" created by Tokyo Plastic, and award winning Flash animation company. It plays off the traditional Taiko culture, and if you've seen Taiko performances before, you'll appreciate this piece much more. To view a better quality version of this animation, go to their web site Tokyo Plastic.