YouTuber Gabriel Valenciano shows off his budding Final Cut editing skills on this short clip that features one of the most surreal swims you’ll ever see. The classic backing track by Yello only serves to complete the effect. More here.

A teenage girl and her father scavenge for a precious substance on an alien planet. When her father’s worst fears come true, their fate falls on her hands. A wonderfully shot short film by Zeek Earl and Chris Caldwell.

Photographer Ernest Goh talks about the subject of his latest book: ornamental chickens. To document these unusual models, Ernest went around Malaysia, where chicken beauty pageants are held nearly every week across the country.

The music video for Cell Song, a track from Let’s Go Extinct, the latest album by indie rock band Fanfarlo. Ewan Jones Morris used images from old science journals, encyclopedias and magazines to make the trippy animation.

Handcrafted using reclaimed timber and modern analog audio hardware. These 75W Bluetooth speakers are available in raw finish or worn out with aged parts and retro colors. They also have a 3.5mm aux in and a USB charging port.

It doesn’t get more outdoors than this. World View is accepting reservations for a balloon trip that will reach about 100,000ft. high over our planet. Don’t worry, you won’t have to Baumgartner it back down.

While we thought that Jurassic Park worked best with cats, it turns out that the movie would have been just as entertaining without its big-budget visual effects, as is evidenced by this clip by Michael T. Mann. Rawr. Yo.

(NSFW) Two crooks drop by Phyllis’ house, hoping to take back the money that her husband Walter stole from them. Things escalate quickly in this theatrical crime short film by Chris Levitus and David Martin.

The Silk Road Ensemble is a musical supergroup featuring world class musicians and composers, led by none other than cello virtuoso Yo-Yo Ma. NPR Music filmed them performing Briel, from their album A Playlist Without Borders.

This flat-packed wooden toy will keep you occupied for hours as each turn of the crank unleashes an endless cascade of ball bearings. Its maker also offers another configuration, and expects them to go on sale soon.

Sorry, this video doesn’t involve robots getting it on. Instead, TeamDARE’s robotic band plays a cover of The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ classic Californication. The pan flute lead is just as intoxicating as Anthony Kiedis’ vocals.

These official DC Comics cufflinks put a tiny version of the classic 1960s Batmobile on each of your wrists. Perfect for those times when you’re throwing parties dressed up as your billionaire alter ego. Packaged in a handsome Bat-box.

Photographer Vincent Brady made these time-lapse clips of fireflies at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri as well as in Grand Ledge, Michigan. One of the more unusual uses of the technique we’ve seen. You can buy stills on Vincent’s site.

To arrive at the design of its B-Rocket watches, B & R first designed a custom aviation-influenced Harley-Davidson motorcycle which served as inspiration for the watch faces. Seems like a roundabout route, but both look great.

Anderson is an expert at drawing red lines. His bosses ask him to meet with a client who wants red lines. Or at least they think they do. Lauris Beinerts’ short film illustrates a frequent dilemma that engineers and designers can relate to.

Christopher Bill covers Pharrell’s hit single Happy using only his trombone and his own body as a percussion kit, layering and looping both through Ableton Live. You can download the cover on Christopher’s SoundCloud page.

Digital compositor Roger Serrabassa put together this eye-popping compilation of over 200 of the most stunning visual effects sequences in films since the 1980s. While not every film is a classic, the effects are impressive.

(NSFW: Language, Gore) Director Gareth Evans shares one of the action scenes that they had to cut from The Raid 2: Berandal. It took them six days and a lot of money to shoot this bloody scene that ended on the cutting room floor.

Microsoft finally released full featured versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint made for the iPad. The free download lets you read Office docs; subscribe to Office365 to get the full apps plus the desktop versions of Office. More here.

Jelani Eddington stands in for half an orchestra with this cover of the Star Wars Main Title. Jelani performed using the Sanfilippo Foundation’s Wurlitzer theater pipe organ, which might as well be the Death Star’s control panel.

The Sony DPT-S1 Digital Paper is a thin and light 13.3″ e-ink reader that lets you view and annotate A4 (8.5″x11″) documents in full size. It only supports PDF files for now though. Also it costs over $1,000. Japanese demo here.

A great tool for newbie skateboarders. SkaterTrainers are rubber covers for skateboard wheels. Put them on your board and it won’t roll or slide off. It’ll help you focus on learning tricks without falling off or wrecking your house.

DreamWorks animator Daniel Hashimoto adds visual effects to candid clips of his 3-year-old kid James, giving life to his and his son’s imagination onscreen. James’ kids will think their dad is a god.