The Ricky Gervais Show

I never really go into The Office. Don't get me wrong, I can't get enough of surreal humour, but that show was just a bit too wacky. Even for me. However, I found Ricky Gervais' more recent project, The Ricky Gervais Show, to be right up my street. The programme is basically an animated adaptation of a podcast of conversations between Ricky himself, the comic Stephen Merchant, and their bizarre friend Karl Pilkington. The hilarious discussions cover a range of topics, from politics to the environment to virtual-reality isolation tanks. And the kooky animation is fun to watch whilst you listen.

You don't have to watch for very long before you realise that the show is really just an excuse for the other two to take the piss out of Karl. Karl is one of the most deadpan, opinionated, embarrasingly British people I have ever laid eyes on, and drives myself, along with Ricky and Stephen, to hysterical squarks of laughter. Many have claimed that wrote his character, but the truth is he's just like that; and that's another reason why I find him so hilarious - he doesn't even try!

Anyway, it's a must watch, and you can see all three series here. Go go go.

If you'd like to see more of Karl, go watch An Idiot Abroad here. The show is basically just Ricky and Stephen forcing him to travel around the world and do lots of crazy things, during which he expresses his opinion. A lot. Comedy gold.

"It's like a game of Jenga that got out of hand." - Karl Pilkington on the subject of the Pyramids in Egypt

And you can see much more of this round headed buffoon on Pilkipedia, "the only encyclopaedia and community based around Karl Pilkington".

Electric guitar solo... with your mouth?!

Michael Winslow covers the roaring electric guitar of Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love with just his mouth. Absolutely insane skills.



Find out more about this madman on his website: http://michaelwinslow.net/

Oxfam

This summer I campaigned with the wonderful Oxfam at the World of Music, Arts and Dance festival, and it was possibly one of the most rewarding, eye-opening experiences of my life. Sitting down with real people and having real conversations about the food system was an extremely honest and fruitful way of getting people to think about it and share their ideas, especially at WOMAD where there was such a diverse range of interesting people. Below is a video blog I made about my personal experience and some of the most poignant things I learnt, but I seriously recommend you check out the photos on Facebook of people with their ideas and contributions. Truly inspiring.




OxfamGB's Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/oxfamGB

Photos from the campaign at WOMAD: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150944847446396.405332.7214031395&type=3

More about Grow: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-us/our-campaigns/grow
The eBook made from summer 2012's campaigning: http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/43bfeae9#/43bfeae9/1

Campaign for Oxfam
At festivals: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get-involved/festivals/campaigners
In your local area: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get-involved

The Art of Imperfection

An inspiring TED talk by Phil Hansen.

Taxidermy Art

I came across this bizarre yet moving taxidermy art in the Guggenheim on a trip to New York a few years ago and just accidentally stumbled across again it on the internet. The artist's name is Cai Guo-Qiang.

Here is a piece of his I saw called Head On. Ninety-nine wolves running headlong into a glass wall.

And this is another piece of his I saw in the Gug' called Tiger and Arrows:

Many would argue this to be grotesque beyond meaning, but I feel moved by it. To me it seems to be making a cold, satirical statement about how Man tries to exercise control over everything, mocking even death. Or perhaps it's about extinction. Or a combination of the two. But of course it's up to you how you interpret it. Anyway, it's far less shallow stuff than that bloody Damien Hirst's shark in a tank.

Kimbra - there are no words...

There are no words in the English language for how in love with Kimbra I am right now.

Baby I'm Yours, The Music Scene

A couple of my latest music video finds...


Breakbot - Baby I'm Yours (feat. Irfane) - HD from Ed Banger Records on Vimeo.


"The Music Scene" from Anthony Francisco Schepperd on Vimeo.

Beautiful Sport/Nature Shots

Sport photography usually bores me but when you combine it with breathtaking shots of nature... Well, it's a different story.

Relax and focus

Like most middle class neurotics, I struggle on a daily basis with racing thoughts. I decided to explore the things that relax and focus me, and compiled a short list:

• Taking a shower
• Driving
• Cycling
• Circus skills like poi or juggling
• Snorkelling

However, there are times when the above don't work or aren't available options. This is what the internet is for. I found that watching first-person or HD mountain biking or cycling videos whilst playing music really works!

Watch this...

 ...whilst listening to this:

Or this...

...whilst listening to this:

What puts you in the moment? Try making your own video combos.

Nature is beguiling sometimes...

Just some cool nature videos and photography. It's funny how insulated man can be. We're so obsessed with the human world, our 9 'til 5 jobs and trips to the supermarket, that we sometimes forget how beautiful and curious the natural world around us is.

Cano Cristales (Crystal River), Colombia

Volcanic ash cloud, Philippines

Not sure this one's real, think it's artwork called 'Oracle Cave'. But still...

Screencap from BBC's Frozen Planet - deadly underwater 'Brinicle' ice finger in the water under the ice, Antarctic

Swimming with manta rays, Pacific Ocean

Documentaries about North Korea

Really eye-opening BBC documentary about refugees trying to escape from their native North Korea, its tyrannical Communist regime, poverty and famine.

Part 1 (the other parts can be found on YouTube):


And here's another documentary I found just giving an insight into life there. So alike Orwell's 1984 it's unreal.

Part 1:


Part 2:

Kawehi: vocal loop maestro

When I hear all those tragically unoriginal songs in the charts, it's raw musicians like this that give me hope in the music industry.


You can find more on her website: http://www.kawehi.com/

Google Street View 360 Panoramic Timelapse

Seriously cool. Almost wish the real world looked like this. We're forever looking in front and not around us. Makes you want to stop and appreciate this beautiful planet a bit more.


Chemin Vert from Giacomo Miceli on Vimeo.

Sam Spreckley: Video & Sound Art

"Small moments caught from nature are re imagined sonically in an almost hypomanic style. Seemingly banal or normally unnoticed moments are selected and brought into the foreground via selection and heightened sonic treatments. This work celebrates both the beauty and detail/movement of nature and also the power that sound can have over the image. By creating my own audio interpretation to accompany these images i feel like a new sense can be created. Perhaps hidden sounds come forward to add detail and suggest movements normally unnoticed or maybe the subjects take on a completely new meaning."


Untitled 4 from sam spreckley on Vimeo.

Karmin

Really raw duo I found on YouTube this morning...

YourTube, MyTube, OurTube

I make video blogs on YouTube and have done for a while now, and I've noticed a real change in the way the website functions and a distinct lack of community and genuine support/appreciation for good and new content creators. The message these two vloggers below are broadcasting is vital if we want to keep the social networking, creative, supportive side of YouTube alive. Please watch...

Karimba / Mbira / Thumb Piano

I just bought myself a 17-note thumb piano for £20 of eBay. After tuning it, I wanted to see what kind of things I could play, and stumbled across this amazing Bob Marley cover on YouTube...

Autistic Artist

Piano Juggling

Having recently learnt to juggle with three balls, I wanted to see what the competition was like out there and what new skills I could pick up. I wasn't, however, expecting this:

Les Twins dance duo

There are no words to describe how dope these dancers are. Just watch:

More underwater photography

There's something really magical about underwater photography, whether it be of marine life or of things that aren't meant to be underwater, like this lady in a rather elegant gown. Click here for more.

Jellyfish

Let's just take some time out to appreciate one of the most enchanting, ornamental-looking, graceful animals on our planet. Heck, some of them are even immortal.

Photography: Winter in Ukraine

Moving wintery photographs taken by Daniel Korzhonov in the Crimea, Ukraine. Really love the composition, crisp detail, heady colours and misty lighting. See more here.

Flyboard: insane sport

Chasing cheese down a hill

We human beings are a very peculiar species.

Needing/Getting - OK Go

Possibly the greatest music video of all time. Over 1000 instruments. Two miles of Los Angeles desert. A mic'd up Chevrolet Sonic with retractable pneumatic arms. OK. Go.

Travelling through Google Streetview

A little cheesy but nonetheless beautiful.

Breathtaking Breakdancing

Insane skills. Great song too (Sail - AWOLNATION)

Sky dive ballet car advert?!

Bizarre yet mesmerising footage of a car falling out of a plane amongst a bunch of sky divers. Captivating music. Slightly unsettling camera angles. I think I love it.

The universe is in us.

My atoms came from those stars.