Awesome Etc

Roger Ebert thinks this short film from Jamie Stuart, documenting the Blizzard of 2010 in New York, deserves to win the Academy Award for best live-action short subject. What do you think?

Back in 1985, Weird Al Yankovic left a series of messages on his drummer’s answering machine. He recently dug up the tape. We can’t believe he never recorded “I Want a New Dog.”

A sweet and short skit by CorridorDigital. The premise is achingly shallow and the acting’s pretty bad, but the video makes up for it with awesome special effects and chiptunes.

Quite old, but still a gem. Stains the dog was being trained to recognize and follow when he’s told “away”, but he ended up having a revelation of epic proportions. Watch the original video here.

A highlight reel of the segments that professional stuntman Steven Ho did with Conan O’Brien on the prematurely canceled Tonight Show, compiled by Steven himself. More here.

Despite the fact that HBO’s Boardwalk Empire takes place during the 1920s, it’s a very high-tech production. This brief reel shows off some of Brainstorm Digital’s incredible VFX work.

This collection of professional golfers – Thongchai Jaidee, David Horsey, Johan Edfors, and Simon Kahn – is impressive, but can any of them knock a clay pigeon out of the sky with a golf ball?

The NY Times put together this musical montage as a tribute to the many talented recording artists we lost in 2010. You may not recognize every name or face, but most of the music will jog your memory.

3D films have been around since the ’50s, but thanks (or no thanks) to Avatar’s launch in 2009, countless movies have jumped onto the annoying bandwagon. Mouth-watering 3D? Come on.

Nick Confalone‘s father had a simple Christmas ritual – videotaping his two children coming down the stairs. This year, Nick gathered what footage he could into one video as a gift to his dad.

The films of Pixar have always set risen above other CGI movies. by Leandro Copperfield’s 7-minute supercut reminds us why they continue to be the best in the genre they invented.

We’ve seen cats take on alligators, but it turns out cats hate dragons just as much – especially this one in World of Warcraft. Apparently, it’s a popular pastime. Try it with your cat and report back.

Lushly directed and well executed, Ben Craig’s Modern Times was made with more love than money and will transport you to another dimension, in less than four minutes. (Thanks Landon!)

Conspiracy theorists, here’s one for you. Is it possible that Kurt Cobain never died, went through a body transplant and is now living in Novosibirsk, Russia? Looks like Courtney dyed her hair too.

If you ever wonder what it feels like to fly, this video makes it easier; Mount Superior in Utah is the spectacular setting for an inspired run down the mountain on skis – with parachutes attached.

It wasn’t all misery in 2010. Turns out lots of great things happened (on YouTube), and N0bodyyy decided to follow up his Fail Compilation with some of the more successful feats from the past year.

Everything is illuminated in this beautifully constructed music video directed by Roger Haus and Matteo Crinelli for Cocoon. Illustrated using Adobe Flash and animated in After Effects.

We thought surfing for cat videos was a skill. Turns out that in order to list something on your resume, it needs to be a bit more impressive. So here goes… Ninio Coniglio – Pizza Dough Acrobat.

If anyone out there is looking for a little inspiration for the new year, Taylor Mali’s dynamic poem for a teacher’s inservice audience should do the trick – whether you’re in education or not. (Thanks Doug!)

Stunt rider Chris Pfeiffer takes his BMW G450X out on the Innsbruck Olympic bobsled run and plays a game of chicken with an approaching sled. Don’t try this at home, even if you have a bobsled run.

Vík Prjónsdóttir’s handsome wool beardcap was inspired by Icelandic farmers who had to walk long distances in heavy snowstorms; choose from gentleman or farmer styles. (Thanks Tomas!)

Those among us of a certain generation may think that the idea of people using phones with extra long cords in the house is just an old wives tale, but it’s the truth, and this video is a testimonial.

This mashup of that fun Coca-Cola snowglobe commercial with Hans Zimmer’s Mind Heist theme from Inception proves you can attach it to any clip to make it just that much ominous.