Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 121)

In this volume of my favourite YouTube videos, we look at the shells we build for ourselves, the shells people gloop on to our heads and strawberries. (If he'd used peas I'd have had a chance. Thanks a lot John.)

• First, Ze Frank reads "If you are in a shell" and Harry Shum Jr. dances. If you have the time, stop what you're doing and put this one full screen (and I think bigger screen is better). It's very touching and I had one of those discovering my hands moments after I finished watching. And if you are in a shell, then this video is a nice reminder that you can always move.
• Next, somewhat in contradiction to the first video, we watch Frank Ippolito put Norm Chan in a shell, so that later, they can build a shell for him. Or actually, make a life cast of him, which is more cool. This is part of Tested.com's Zoidberg project.
• Finally, we check in with John Green for an update about things. This one is a video from an interesting time and it's nice to reach back and feel all the excitement when The Fault in Our Stars was starting production and Esther was getting published and the Dons were getting sponsored by Nerdfighteria.

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 99)

In this volume of my favourite YouTube videos, we find out what the Ze Frank do, get reflective on sea and fire and then do our very best not to drop our punch cards.

• First, the question comes up from time to time: What is the Ze Frank? Fortunetly there is a video from the Super Carlin Brothers that answers.
• Next, CalebElijah continues through Xenogears, now playing Bonds of Sea and Fire.
• Finally, from Computerphile, Professor Brailsford talks about the exciting days of programming on punch cards.

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 90)

In this volume of my favourite YouTube videos, now that we're started, maybe it's time to start.

• First, take a second to relax, and take dip in the ocean with Mr. Smooth McGroove, covering Aquatic Ambiance from Donkey Kong Country.
• Next, let your drive build, with CalebElijah covering Powel from Seiken Densetsu 3.
• Now, it's time to begin with Ze Frank's Invocation for Beginnings. As I mentioned before, I'm not sure how I didn't start here, but here we are now. Are you all seated comfortably? Then, let's begin. Your pencils are sharp enough.

Blog: Favourite YouTube Vidoes (Volume 75)

This volume of my favourite YouTube videos, is brought to you by boxes. And beards. And also Ze.

• First, with the all the power  his beard and cat can bring, Smooth McGroove blasts us with the theme from the Gerudo Fortress and then soothes us with the music from Dire Dire Docks.
• Now that we are empowered by beard and cat. Ze Frank sits us down for a talk about the creative life and reminds us of the fundamental truth, "If you want to be a writer, write."

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 57)

In this volume of my favourite YouTube videos, Ze Frank tackles us with a trio of videos.

• First, Ze ask questions about questions about sex.
• Next, Ze reminds us of that time...
• Finally, Ze makes some sounds for us to listen to

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 50)

This volume of my favourite YouTube videos is a little rough. Ze Frank helps us with public speaking, but doesn't escape the evil cholesterol. Then we have a memorial video to a musician and YouTuber.

• First, Ze Frank talks about the public speaking and also the wearing of pants, which is crucial to the public speaking.
• Then, he has to face the evil cholesterol and the tomorrow monster that lives in our heads.
• Finally, we have a memorial to Nathan Wills. A very cool musician and YouTuber who's vlogs were always interesting because of his focus on mindfullness and being centred. 

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 49)

This volume of my favourite YouTube videos is a chance to stop and reflect on the things you want to hold onto and the things you want to let go. Also the things you're going to pack for your next con...

• First, Hank Green, talks about Esther Day and how the value we bring to the world isn't measured in what we create nearly so much as it is in who we're with.
• Second, Ze Frank talks about the Finishing Book and the things that we're ready to let go.
• Finally, Karen Kavett, talks about the things you should take to Leakycon...

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 45)

Sometimes my favourite YouTube videos feel timeless, but this particular set feel very tied to the summer of 2012. They still seem interesting so here they are:

• First off Ze Frank pushes himself out to the edges:
• Next Ze handles business. All of these missions and projects are long since wrapped up, but still it's cool to see that point of action on so many cool things. Also Hank Green dreams strange dreams (just like the rest of us).
Finally Philip DeFranco set the world record for Ninja (again) and that was just cool.

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 44)

This volume of my favourite YouTube videos takes a look a two very important constants in the universe, mass, and love.

• First ZeFrank and Hank Green talk about the discovery of the Higgs Boson (and also spiral hotdogs).
• Next John Green talks about how John Green and John Green met and fell in love while playing for the Swindontown Swoodilypoopers. While this might seem confusing, just trust that John Green (one of them) knows how to tell a story. 

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 41)

This volume of my favourite YouTube videos lets us think a little bit about how math, and society works and how to solve the problems that face us.

• I don't think there's much selling that needs to be done to tell you that a ViHart video is awesome, but I'll give it a try anyway! MATH! HISTORY! PYTHAGORAS! PROOF BY MURDER! BEANS! ... Did that work?
• ZeFrank puts together some very good thoughts on how the culture of the Internet works and how much energy is required to act. Also, if I ever figure out how to bottle that post movie viewing energy I'll be well set for life.
• And if you have some problems that need to be solved, John Green is the person to help you solve them.

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 40)

Organizational Note: I'm reducing the number of videos per Favourite YouTube Videos post to three to reduce the strain on browsers (primarily chrome). I have also reduced the number of posts displayed on the main page from 5 to 4, which I hope will also help. Unfortunately, I'm not able to reduce the number of posts shown at a time using categories/tags or searches. 

It's the start of a new year and it's that time when people starting thinking about improvement. Fortunately my next three favourite YouTube videos all help with a little self improvement.

• First off, Hank has some productivity tips:
• Next, Ze Frank talks about what we leave out: 
• Finally Pomplamoose, will help you learn how to communicate through dance:

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 38)

In this volume of my favourite YouTube videos, Happy Typing! And some other stuff, but mostly Happy Typing! I mean college, potions, gay marriage and the best Table Top episode about trains are all important and cool, but HAPPY TYPING!

• First off, Elmify reminisces about college, and points out the potential danger of benches (although in my mind benches have always been party to pretty good moments). 
• Next Rosanna Pansino makes skittle vodka - Diablo 3 potions, which I thought were pretty cool (and possibly cooler than the game itself).
• Then John Green delve's into religion and gay marriage.
• Next Ze Frank suggests ways to chase the happy! (But seriously, happy typing, always happy typing!)
• Finally from great moments in Table Top, Wil Wheaton is joined by Colin Ferguson, Amy Dallen, and Anne Wheaton. The game is a lot of fun, but there's a moment in this game that lives on in table banging infamy. (Not like that you dirty dirty people). - Also the Seattle Calgaries, what a team! All these videos live in my favourites, but this one is honestly one of the best!

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 37)

This volume of my favourite YouTube videos is a bit old school, with a bunch of faces (or hands) we've all come to know and love.

• The first video in this volume is "Doodle Music" from viheart.
• Next, we get to discover what happens if you give Felicia Day a chainsaw. (You knew the answer was awesomeness, right?) Also maybe that it's best to stand well back when she sees baby animals.
• Next, John Green pretends to be Charlie McDonnell while getting things done (like signing a contract for the TFiOS movie).
• Next, Ze Frank (and I hope you didn't think that one wall to wall volume of him was all we were going to get) puts up a new video about a new song.
• And, finally Watsky raps "Energy". 

Blog: Favourite YouTube Videos (Volume 36) - ZeFrank Special

This volume of my favourite YouTube videos is a bit special, first of all it marks the point in time where ZeFrank had just started doing a show. This is special in and of itself, and caused me to have several of his videos in my favourites in a row, but somehow I managed not to favourite "An Invocation for Beginnings" which is possibly my favourite ZeFrank video of all time. So I decided to slip that one in and add in one extra to give us a totally ZeFrank focused volume.

I'm going to let each of these stand alone.

• "An Invocation for Beginnings"
• "Thinks Like Me"
• "Make. Beleive."
• "TMMTO :: Comfort"
• "2601 People Wrote This Song"

Blog: Cool Things I Never Mentioned

So I decided not to keep going with the weekly Cool Things posts. I either had too many or too few things to post and then keeping cool things for a week doesn't make much sense. So from now on cool things will show up on my Twitter feed (and I might post a round up here from time to time).

I have a pretty big list of videos left over that I didn't post and I'm going to post a list of them here (just as links since I don't think any of us need a 40 video long post).

• Team Wheaton's 2012 Wiggle Waggle Walk
• God's Number and Rubik's Cube - Numberphile
• Archdukes, Cynicism, and World War I: Crash Course World History #36
• What To Do With Your Life
• Talking About Tape
• Hot Metal! (Megaman 2 Medley) - Ferdk16 and Laura Shigihara
• Tengami GameMaker Video - IndieCade 2012 Nominee
• XCOM: Enemy Unknown | Tactical Role-Playing Game Review
• Soundz
• Inside Adam Savage's Cave: Geeking Out about Bits and Bytes
• 6 Episodes of SciShow
• Hey It's Pomplamoose - Theme Song
• IDTIMWYTIM: Stochasticity - THAT'S Random
• HOME FOR A REST - Ukulele Cover by Fruity Ukuladies
• "BEN" (Official Trailer)
• Leslie - From Nataly Dawn's Upcoming Album "How I Knew Her"
• Problems with Zero - Numberphile
• Notes on Friendship
• How To Make a Mechanical Pumpkin
• Infographic Trick or Treat Bags - Halloween Craft Series #5
• Tested vs. The Slow Motion Camera
• For those of you who enjoy discovering cool new music...
• Mean Kitty Fight Training
• More Magnets - Sixty Symbols
• REMEMBER, REMEMBER [NOV.05.12 DAY 740]
• Hack To Power, Brian
• Still Untitled: The Adam Savage Project - Video Games - 11/20/2012
• John Green: The Paper Town Academy
• Penn and Teller - Fool Us S01E01

Blog: Favorite YouTube Videos (Volume 16)

Welcome to the 16th volume of my favorite videos on YouTube. This volume is a mix of music, cuteness and deep thoughts and is a lot of things that have showed up here before.

• The first video is by British YouTuber, Alex Day for his friend, collaborator and roommate Charlie McDonnell. This was a birthday gift in which Alex got several YouTubers (especially ones with ukuleles) to sing a song to Charlie on his birthday. (Also yes, these guys are freaking young!)
• Speaking of Charlie, we also have his video for Ben Folds and Nick Hornby's song Saskia Hamilton. I feel like this video is an example of the age old adage (at least as old as when I first thought of it) that when in doubt you should shout the name of a poet.
• The third video in this volume is a pair of bunnies in cups. I don't think I need to say more.
• Next we have a song from Hank Green about the likelihood of alien life, because most scientific concepts are best handled in song.
• Finally we have a TED talk from the brilliant brain-disturber Ze Frank. In this talk he discusses the show he ran in 2006 (which influenced pretty much anyone I've ever seen vlog, at least indirectly) and engage in deep participation.

Blog : Cool Things on September 21, 2012

So I found some more cool things this week (and I even got some of my own work done). I'm please to share the cool things I found below.

Lectures

While I'm not able to find video from the talk (although it may materialize), this week I attended the seventh Richard and Louise Guy Lecture which this year was on the Mathematics of Doodling.

A view of the 7th Richard and Louise Guy Lecture.

The Department of Mathematics at University of Calgary has hosted this talk for several years now (arranged by Louise as a 90th birthday gift for Richard) and it is always informative and interesting without being bogged down. In pervious years the topic has ranged including areas such as knot theory and the mathematics of music and they have always left me more excited to explore than I was going in.

Sadly Louise passed away several years ago, but Richard continues to attend the lectures (and others, including some classes each year) and it is always encouraging to see his life long love of learning. (If one may be so hokey as to say it that way).

I hope the lectures serve as a model and that we can see more and more interesting talks that continue to inspire us to be better question askers and answer finders.

Blogs

One cool thing I found this week is Day[9]'s blog. Day[9] or Sean Plott (as the non-gaming world knows him), is a former pro Starcraft player and now pro Starcraft II shout caster (and host of the Day[9] Daily). Whether or not you're interested in e-sports and better ways to play Starcraft II, it's still worth taking the time to take a look at the blog. Day[9]'s interests go well beyond the realm of video games and he is a very astute and interesting speaker and writer. (Also you can watch him making a perfume with Felica Day on her Flog this week.)

Video

You might have seen this already given the names involved, but this week, for reasons only known to the deepest oldest minds of the universe the Nerdist manage to revive two things people haven't seen in a long time. Ben Folds Five and the Fraggles. Got something you don't want to do? "Do it anyway!" (Then watch the video.)

Former Five Awesome Girls Monday Kristina Horner and her housemates/co-star launched a new gaming channel called TeamHypercube. They're doing a mix of table-top gaming and video games and the first video game they've tackled Dokapon Kingdom is ... interesting to say the least.

Over the last few months the sports racers (are the viewers even still called that, duck fans maybe now) of a show have been working with Ze and Mr.Norman to put together a song and a video ... and this is it:

Wrap-up

Wanna know how Chris Hardwick managed to make muppetty goodness for us this year? Well now you will: