Recommendables

Awesome Things

Here at zrdavis.com we work tirelessly to keep you mildly entertained. This page serves to compile a collection of entertaining videos, songs, pictures, links, ideas, etc. that I find to be time well spent. Chances are, if you’re anything like me, and for your sake I hope you’re not, then you’ll find them entertaining too.

That and I spend way too much time on this site complaining about the world around me. Perception IS reality so today we’re going to be drinking from a glass half full.

If there is something in this post that you find to be offensive or a waste of time, please keep your comments to yourself as they serve no purpose other than damaging my ego. If any of the following brings you joy, please comment away, I would never want to inhibit the 1st amendment.

2.26.2010

Updates on this page happening on consecutive days is like the Cubs winning the World Series: the smart money goes against it.

Anyways, if you ever encounter a business who’s skeptical about dolling out a large portion of their marketing budget to online efforts, show them this video.  And then slap them.

JESS3 / The State of The Internet from Jesse Thomas on Vimeo.

2.25.2010

I sort of feel like I’m yelling in an empty room in here, but one day after all human beings are gone and the aliens discover the rubble left from the post-apocalyptic world, they will stumble onto this page.  And they will giggle.

I randomly fell onto this video and laughed out loud more than 3 times which is my automatic “post it to the Recommendables Page” reflex.  For those who have a decent grasp of Twitter shall especially appreciate.

1.21.2010

I’ll stop commenting on the infrequency in which this page is updated and instead just continually update it…infrequently.

This next video should be used if a) you’ve got an hour and a half to kill and b) you’re a fan of the Planet Earth/Blue Planet type shows.  This movie, Home, takes more of a “stop ruining our planet” type of approach.  Enjoy:

(Put it to its highest quality and watch it full screen)

11.23.2009

Updating this page is slowly becoming a bi-annual event.  If a page is updated in the blogosphere but no one is there to read does it create any content?  Think about it.  I didn’t.

Anyways, here’s a video I stumbled across of super freak, defensive end of the Minnesota Vikings, Jared Allen.  All of my natural instincts says I should hate this guy since he plays for a rival of my lowly Bears, but after watching this, I have no choice but to make him my new favorite player.  In approximately one minute, you’ll have no choice but to agree.

6.10.2009

You should already know about my obsession with Ted Talks.   Here’s a video I found last night which I really enjoyed.  It probably requires an appreciation for guitar skills.  I play the guitar – I can reproduce none of the sounds made in this video.

5.18.2009

Don’t ask why I decided to change the date format. I thought this looked a little more 21st century, I guess.

Anyways, I am a sucker for good viral advertising. Really any sort of advertising that you actively seek is an extremely successful ad. People hate commercials so much, they’re willing to purchase devices that bypass them. When you can create an ad that lasts for a little over a minute, is entertaining enough to pay attention through, and the viewer is left with some understanding of what the product/service was, you’ve done well. Whether it be educational, entertaining, or you’re simply blown away by the creativity, there are many different reasons why a viral ad gains momentum.

This particular ad is great because it’s very simple, entertaining, you know what the product is, and you learn why this one is better. They don’t bore you down with any of the details about why Chrome is better, because quite frankly the nitty gritty differences simply don’t matter to the average Internetter.

Enough babbling:

4/14/2009

There are few things in life better discovering a new album which is enjoyable from start to finish.

If you like Modest Mouse, this is good. If you like bluegrass, this is good. If you happen to like them both this is great.

What is this that I speak of? This:

Pickin’ on Modest Mouse: A Bluegrass Tribute

3/4/2009

Perhaps the best prank ever…

1/28/2009

This video is a goldmine for some retail company, perhaps a Toys R Us or Target. If Miller can turn the synchronized xmas lights video into a commercial, then certainly Target can add some shiek editing and turn this into warm gooey brand equity.

1/20/2009

I can’t not have this….

1/17/2009

The fact that this is being updated exactly one month from the previous addition is purely coincidence. Ideally I’d like to add something new to this page every week or two. Either way I’ve got a couple new videos that I think you might get a kick out of – I did.

For those who are unfamiliar with Daft Punk, but are fans of Kanye West, this may sound familiar.

If you don’t have an ounce of immaturity in you then this next video is probably worth skipping. With that said, I watched it three times in a row before I felt entirely satisfied.

Thanks to Mike T for these videos.

12/17/2008

Mysplice

Recently one of my favorite music blogs, sterogum, released their annual year end mix album. It’s excellent. I especially recommend “Lockdown Shelter

” a mix between Kanye’s “Love Lockdown”, and the Stones’ “Gimmie Shelter”. Lucky for you, the album is avaible for free download in the link provided. It’s completely legal under the conditions that the music is used for the sole purpose of eleciting challenging dance moves.Flight of the Conchords

I have a super soft spot in my heart for a band considered to be “Formerly New Zealand’s fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo,” known as Flight of the Conchords. FOC are a comedy-music duo who combine offbeat humor and a wide array of musical genres that they can perform at a surprisingly high quality, which is often overshadowed by the comedy. I first noticed the band when they did a special on HBO a couple years back – I’ve been hooked ever since. When they came out with a series a little over a year go, I would anticipate each new episode to the point where I would actively have to try and not talk about it throughout the week – often unsuccessfully. The second season of the series will begin airing next month on HBO, but today, the first episode was released on funnyordie.com. If you don’t have anything real important to do for the next 27 minutes, I suggest you watch the video below.

Viral Marketing

As a marketing major, I can understand how this video might be more appealing to me than the average internetter wasting some time. On the other hand, I think this ad should be equally appealing to anyone who values creativity. Watch this video from Honda and we’ll talk afterwards…

Pretty cool, huh? Now if you were bored by that ad, chances are you were under the impression that it was the creation of computer graphics. You’re wrong. It’s ok, the higher ups at Honda were under the same assumption the first time they saw the ad. How many takes does it require to get that very sophisticated example of the domino effect exactly right? If you guessed 605, you’re wrong. It was 606, but good guess. Four straight days of filming and 6 million dollars later you’ve got a zrdavis.com worthy viral ad. Not until people start clicking ads on a more regular basis will there be any sort of trophy awarded.

That’s it for now. Check back as I’ll be updating these as often as I’ve got nothing else worthy to write on.

[ad]

10/24/2008

Watch this great viral Obama ad.