Category: Featured

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Featured Useful/Useless Info Video Clips

How the English Language was Developed

If you’ve seen Stephen Fry on the TV, you’ll know that the English language is indeed quite interesting. From the odd pronunciation of Featherstonehaugh (it’s Fanshaw) to ambiguous metaphors to the fan-bloody-tastic use of tmesis, the English language has a rich history.

This humourous educational short film created by The Open University looks at how the English was developed, including the Anglo-Saxon invasion that started it all, the words left by the pillaging Vikings, ye olde contributions of William Shakespeare, the invention of the dictionary, and the influence the that Internet has had.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSYwPTUKvdw

[via +Demitri Baroutsos]

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Arty Awesomeness Featured

Beautiful Swear Words

In a project similar to Phraseology, graphic designer Theo Olesen mixes typography and profanity to wonderful effect. He takes common swear words and illustrates them by hand before scanning them into Photoshop for further processing.

In his hands, cursing certainly look betters than it sounds. Have a look at some of his beautiful swear words after the jump [NSFW].

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Featured Game Reviews

We Review: Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

If you ask a PlayStation 3 owner what their favourite action adventure game is, chances are high that they’ll yell “Uncharted!” even before you’ve finished the question. Naughty Dog, creators of the Uncharted series have managed to marry the shooting, platforming, and puzzle-solving elements with cinematic action sequences and great storytelling to craft games that leave a lasting impression.

It’s this love both from Naughty Dog and fans of the game that have seen the past two titles, Drake’s Fortune in 2007 and Among Thieves in 2009 pick up many accolades, including game of the year. The game’s protagonist is everyman and treasure hunter Nathan Drake who happens to cause all manner of mayhem wherever he goes. Be it the lush jungles Amazon basin, or the chilling height of the Himalayas the cocky Drake always seems to get the girls and finds the treasure that he seeks. His latest outing, however, is a departure from the norm. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is more of a serious affair, with Drake making more personal discoveries as opposed to material ones. Find out more after the jump.

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Arty Awesomeness Entertainment Featured Movies

ROSA: A Beautiful Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Short

Created by Spanish comic book artist Jesús Orellana, ROSA is a beautifully animated sci-fi short film that is set against a post-apocalyptic backdrop. A female cyborg named Rosa has been awakened from statis and she starts exploring the bleak and empty world. She is not alone, however, as she is almost immediately set upon by a pair of assassins. Watch her fight for survival in ROSA below.

Wasn’t that amazing? It’s also extraordinary to note that Orellana taught himself how to use the required computers programs and made ROSA all by himself, with next to no budget. The whole process took a year to complete. It has been shown at various film festivals and there is talk that ROSA could be made into a live-action feature film. See more about the short film on its website.

[via Wired]

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Arty Awesomeness Featured Science & Technology Video Clips

Earth From Space, a Time-Lapse Compilation

Using NASA’s Image Science & Analysis Laboratory as a resource, Vimeo user Michael König compiled footage using photographs taken by the crew on board the International Space Station as the space craft orbited the earth. The video covers the period of August to October, and the shows the flyover over the main continents and a number of aurorae captured over the United States, the south of Australia, and the Indian Ocean.

If you missed all the separate videos (this, that, and the other), here’s a chance to catch König’s compilation that has been refurbished, smoothed, denoised, and deflickered for your viewing pleasure.

[via @paukee]

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Arty Awesomeness Entertainment Featured Video Clips

Entering The Stronghold

Entering The Stronghold is also known by its other, more factual name, 7 billion particles per frame.

Created by German visuall effects artist Matthias Müller, it is reported that each frame this audio visual animation actually contains seven billion particles. Be amazed! I know I am, but then again it is late in the night, I’m a litle drunk, and easily impressed. The trippy visuals are complemented by a stirring soundtrack by film music composer, Denny Schneidemesser.

[via Wimp]

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Animal Kingdom Arty Awesomeness Featured Video Clips

Starlings Take Flight in Amazing Murmuration

A flock of birds. A murder of crows. A parliament of owls. The English language certainly provides descriptive terms for collections of birds. Perhaps one of the most interesting collective nouns is a murmuration. This term describes a gathering of starlings, and Vimeo user Sophie Windsor Clive was lucky enough to experience such a murmuration on the River Shannon in Ireland.

Clive recorded the amazing phenomenon where thousands of starlings are in flight, with one bird trying to copy the movement of the other. What results is a collections of wonderfully swirly, hypnotic patterns. It’s a breathtaking sight, you must see it.

What looks like a mating dance is actually a form of survival says The Telegraph. Starlings are prey for other larger birds and to avoid being the next meal, the starlings seek safety in the flock. They fight to stay away from the edge, because it’s easier predatory birds to snatch them up from there.

[via @Deems]

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Featured Game Reviews

We Review: Battlefield 3

After months of hype and fanciful trailers taking stabs at Call of Duty I’m not sure I’m man enough to take the fall if this review goes horribly wrong, and the fans of either franchise aren’t quite in agreement with my opinion on the matter. So let’s see if Battlefield 3 amounts to endless hate mail, or fabulous love letters. If I’m lucky, I might just dodge a bullet. The full review after the break.

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Arty Awesomeness Featured Photoworthy

High Speed Splash Photography by Heinz Maier

We’ve seen some fantastic examples of high speed photography, from beautiful water sculptures to coffee frozen in time, to explosive impacts.

In the spotlight today is German resident, Heinz Maier. The photographer who only started taking photos at the end of 2010 has developed a fondness for macro photography. Using food colouring, guargum and a selection of high speed photo equipment, Maier experiments with water droplets to produce some incredibly beautiful, colourful, and sometimes symmetrical splashes. Have a look at some of them after the jump.

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Arty Awesomeness Cautionary Tales Featured Gaming News Movies

The Birds Of Anger: A Video Game Horror Film

As part of the their Epictober Film Festival, G4tv has created a set of three video game-related horror films. The Birds of Anger, directed by Gregg Bishop, takes the immensely popular mobile game Angry Birds and transforms it into a rather disturbing tale. Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 horror masterpiece The Birds, Bishop’s 8-mintue short film tells the story of the the Bacon family who are paid a visit by their neigbour, Anne. The unwelcome guest has brought them a basket of eggs and has unwittingly ruffled some feathers. See The Birds of Anger below.

The other two Epictober films include twisted takes on Mario Kart and Duck Hunt. See those horror flicks after the jump.

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