The Fallen of WWII

This is a powerful video that puts a quantitative perspective on the immense loss of life during World War II.

The Fallen of World War II from Neil Halloran on Vimeo.

Wanderers

A friend of mine shared this video with me a while back, and it continues to draw me in. I am certain it speaks to many people ... and it is also just a well-produced video. Enjoy:

Wanderers - a short film by Erik Wernquist from Erik Wernquist on Vimeo.

State's Two-Letter Abbreviations

I am a huge fan of "intelligent comedy", which sometimes requires the comedian to pause while the audience catches up with him/her. My timeless favorite is Abbott & Costello's "Who's On First?" routine.

I recently came across this late-night show performance by Gary Gulman, and I have watched it a gazillion times already. I think it is creative and hilarious. Just FYI ... here is the real story behind the two-letter abbreviations for the states.

More OK GO Videos

Nine years ago, I posted a couple of cool videos from the band, OK GO. At the time, I did not realize how big they would get ... not just for their music, but mostly for their hugely creative videos. I thought I would post some of my favorites here (in chronological order).

This Too Shall Pass - 2010



I Won't Let You Down - 2014



Upside Down & Inside Out - 2016

Star Trek Continues

As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, I thought it would be good to check out Star Trek Continues. This is a fan-created Web series that has been funded by a series of crowdfunding campaigns. The intent was to re-create the look and feel of the original series, while continuing the storylines beyond the final (third) TV season. It really is quite creative, and the team really does a great job. You can check out their episodes here.

Two Entertaining Videos ... and a Photo

It's been a crazy last few weeks, so I'm behind on my posts. More important, it seems like lately several folks have forwarded me some incredibly cool/funny/entertaining videos. Here are a couple of my favorites:





And one incredible photo:

"The Expert"

As the colleague who forwarded me this video lamented, unfortunately I have been in too many of these meetings during my career (and not always as "the expert"!).

Walking the Mast with Alex Thomson

Most folks in the sailing world have heard of Alex Thomson and his prolific racing career. However, his stunts seem to garner much more attention from the general public, especially in today's YouTube age.

His "Keel Walk" from a couple of years ago has garnered over 2M views. However, I believe his latest "Mast Walk" is even better:

B-24 in WWII: 1 Plane Every 55 Minutes

Someone recently reminded me of a historical fact that stands as an example of human ingenuity: during the U.S. ramp-up for World War II, Henry Ford applied his assembly line techniques to help build 1 new B-24 Liberator bomber aircraft every 55 minutes! Working in two 9-hour shifts, Ford produced over 8,000 aircraft in about two years.

The video below highlights the power of this mass-production effort.

5 Guys - 1 Piano

Here's another example of creative genius looking at life (and musical instruments) just a little bit differently than the rest of us:

Conference Calls in Real Life

Since I am not that creative, I tend to admire individuals who are ... especially when they are truly talented. My latest favorites are the sketch comedy duo of Tripp and Tyler. If you haven't already checked out their red-hot YouTube Channel, it is well worth the visit.

Here is one of my favorite Tripp and Tyler sketches, perhaps because I live through this just about every day of my life? Enjoy!

Perfect Circles

Over the years, I have taught my kids the story of the Italian painter, Giotto. He may not be the most famous of the many talented Middle Age painters, but my kids were fascinated by the story of "the perfect circle". At one point the Pope asked Giotto to draw something to prove his skills as an artist, and Giotto proceeded to draw a circle so perfect that everyone thought he had used a compass.

My kids were naturally skeptical of their father's claims about perfect circles, until last week when my daughter found the following video on YouTube:

I was likewise fascinated, and it turns out that there may be even more background to this story.

Regardless, every now and then I catch myself trying to draw a perfect circle. Let's just say that I don't think Giotto has to worry about my outperforming him!

Surf's Up! Drones for Filmmaking

As much as "drones" have been getting so much bad press lately (for military/spy reasons), we have to remember that there is usually a positive side to all technology innovation. Take the video below as an example.

Surfing is an amazing sport. Athletic. Dangerous. And stunningly beautiful. To truly capture the essence of it on film requires multiple angles. From the water surface. From the surfer's perspective. From underwater. And, yes, from the air.

Historically, this last angle has been difficult to capture, in large part because it required expensive (and loud!) helicopters and cameras.

Now, through the miracle of modern technology, a filmmaker can use a remote-controlled "drone" and a relatively inexpensive GoPro camera to capture footage that was previously extremely difficult to acquire.

Enjoy!

Founder Institute presentation

On January 8, 2014,I gave a 30-minute presentation to a group of local Atlanta tech entrepreneurs. This was part of the Founder Institute accelerator program, which is the largest of its kind in the world.

The topic was "Vision and Ideas", so I spoke primarily about aligning a new venture's vision with at least one of the entrepreneur's personal passions. I also worked through a simple tool for conducting a high-level analysis of new business ideas.

The camera work and audio are not perfect, but ... enjoy!

And the slides ...

Frank Medrano

As part of my ongoing fitness training, I recently started focusing more on "bodyweight exercises". This is where you use only the weight of your own body to provide the resistance in strength training. In other words, no free weights.

While the common thinking is that you cannot build up large defined muscles without free weights, Frank Medrano is proof positive that it IS possible. In fact, some of the stuff this guy can do is simply amazing ... and inspirational.

Pentatonix

I've always been fascinated by a capella music, especially modern versions where vocalists make such incredible sounds using only their voices. Most recently, I've been especially blown away by a young LA-based quintet called Pentatonix. This video is by far their most amazing (and popular) work so far:

NBA Christmas Commercial - 2013

This is one of my favorite commercials in a long time. Never mind the online controversy over the fact that it was shot in front of a green screen and therefore "not real". It's still very creative and greatly entertaining. Enjoy!

Van Damme and Volvo

Growing up as a teenager in the '80s, I couldn't help but love Jean-Claude Van Damme. I even tried becoming more flexible, so that I could do they splits as easily as he could. Well, he's now 53 years old, and he's STILL doing his famous splits. Check out this amazing commercial he did for Volvo:

"Dream Bigger, Change History"

On October 31, 2013, I moderated a roundtable discussion at the Pioneers Festival in Vienna, Austria. The "Explorers Panel" including Ariel Fuchs of SeaOrbiter and Bas Lansdorp of Mars One, both of whom are working on incredibly ambitious entrepreneurial ventures. The Festival was a 3-day celebration of technology innovation, with 50+ speakers, 25+ startups, and 2500+ attendees.

There were some technical glitches that prevented the introduction and conclusion from going exactly as planned, but overall the entire session went quite smoothly.

It consisted of 4 sections:

• Part 1: "Dream Bigger, Change History"
• Part 2: Highlights from my professional life
• Part 3: Panel discussion
• Part 4: Conclusion

Here is the video:

Since the final edit of the public video focused more on me and the panelists than on the constantly changing slides, here is the entire slide presentation:

"It's Not About the Nail"

For anyone who is married--or even in any sort of long-term relationship--this video needs no introduction. Just watch, listen, and moan.