Video through time

Awesome video alert time! Here’s 32-year-old film-maker Jeremiah McDonald talking to his 12-year-old self via video.

“Look at you!” cries McDonald jr, burping.

“Charming,” the elder says. “No wonder I’m single.”

Enjoy!

Where the hell is Matt?

There’s nothing like a video of people doing crazy dancing across the globe to remind you that we’re actually all just human beings.

According to his website, Matt is a 35-year-old “deadbeat from Connecticut” who’s friend started taking video while Matt danced. Badly. In Hanoi. The video viralled, Matt got a sponsor, and all of a sudden, he’s making videos of his dancing all across the world.

The original now has almost 3 million views

And then he repeated the experience in 2006.

Now, 2012, and there’s a brand new Where The Hell Is Matt? for us to enjoy.

Bored? Here.

Just in case you’re bored, have nothing better to do, or are looking to fill in 10 minutes of your day… Here’s an addictive game that’s a twist on the spacies you use to play as a kid. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

I think it’s awesome when people re-tell classic stories. I don’t even mind a modern twist or two.

How about when one combines two of my favourite things: Amusing YouTube clips and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice? Yes please! So you know I’m going to love The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, which is basically a modern take, with a gorgeous Lizze and her two sisters (the older, Jane, a doting sweetheart, the younger, Lydia, a loveable “whore”.)

Episode 1: My Name is Lizzie Bennet

Episode 2: My Sisters: Problematic to Practically Perfect

Episode 3: My Parents: Opposingly Supportive

Episode 4: Bing Lee and his 500 Teenage Prostitutes

Episode 5: After the Wedding: The Real Bing Lee

Episode 6: Snobby Mr. Douchey

Episode 7: The Most Awkward Dance Ever

Episode 8: Charlotte’s Back!

Episode 9: Single and Happyish

You can subscribe here. Get amongst!

Glee’s Zach Woodlee on beautiful imperfection

zach-woodlee

Earlier in the year I had a chance to interview Glee choreographer Zach Woodlee. We ended up having a really interesting discussion about “imperfect perfection” – something Zach is really passionate about.

“It’s OK that your legs don’t go up to your ears and you can’t stay on your good leg when you’re turning. I just love watching people dance.”

He says that working on Glee and The Glee Project is a totally different beast to working with professionally trained dancers – he’s previously worked toured with Madonna, and on movies including 27 Dresses and Hairspray – because Glee helps him remember all the reasons he wanted to dance in the first place.

“It’s really opened me up to a whole other part of dancing. When you spend your life in a dance studio, in front of a mirror, working on perfection and improvement, that becomes what you do. My appreciation for trained dancers is, of course, outstanding, I think it’s a wonderful, wonderful art to get into. But then being put in this position, I think it’s really taught me about, or re-taught me about, why people dance. The joy in it.”

It seemed obvious that the beauty of imperfection was his new driving force. We talked for a while about how Glee was freeing teenagers from restricting ideas about who they should be. I was really touched by his attitude – I felt like he wasn’t just talking about teenagers, but a principle that could be applied to anyone: Accept and love yourself, and know you’re perfect, just as you are.

“I feel like you can watch your favourite character [on Glee] and be it that they’re disabled, or overweight, or maybe not the prettiest or anything, but they still have permission to perform and they have permission to be themselves, and they work within a group. As a younger adult, it would make me definitely think ‘ok, this is ok, and I know that there’s a group of people out there that can accept me for this and love me’.”

He went on to talk about how Cory Monteith, who plays lead Finn Hudson, may not be the best dancer, but that’s not a weakness.

“We know that Cory is not our best dancer, but there’s a difference because you don’t feel embarrassed for him, you actually endear to the character.”

And surely that’s something we can all afford to learn – your weaknesses are endearing, not embarrassing.

Zach seems like a great guy and I have a lot of respect for the team behind Glee. They don’t always get it right, but you know what? That’s probably kind of perfect.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore

Madeon live mashup

Just… watch.

Madeon is this 17-year-old French DJ who has mashed up a bunch of his favourite tracks. This clip’s had over 200,000 views in a couple of days, and I think it’s set to rise higher than that before the journey peaks.

OddOneOut

Cate's Plates

Niki and her craftOddOneOut (a.k.a. Niki) is into upcycling vintage plates – amongst other crafty endeavours – and as soon as I stopped by her stall at a local craft fair, I knew I was in trouble. Her designs are gorgeous.

After taking some time out from her job as a textile designer to have a baby, Niki decided to revisit some of her old ideas and passions, and get creative.

“I realized that I absolutely have to be doing something creative or I’m just not that happy,” she wrote on her Felt profile.

“I began to go through some notebooks from my student days and rework some of my ideas.”

And boy, did Niki have some great ideas.

In amongst the beautifully graffitied teapots and somewhat kitsch photoframes, were plates.

Floral plates with deer, floral plates with skulls, floral plates with a picture of a fist sporting “cake” tattooed across the knuckles – this was my idea of art. I got three that day, with plans to add to my collection as new designs – and finances – allow.

You can check out OddOneOut’s Felt store, or catch her around crafty corners of Auckland.

And if you’re looking for a gift for your friend Cate, look no further.