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I was watching this almost unforgivably ridiculous marketing video that introduces the new 2012 Tiguan the other day and realized something.

(beyond that it’s silly)

This short ad-like thing was filmed in Long Beach, CA and, at about the 36 second mark, you can see the Hilton where I stayed when I was there this month. Just look for the largest building on the left as the Tiguans cross the bridge from the Queen Mary and I was one to the left.

Goose – Synrise from Punx Sthlm on Vimeo.

ESKMO “Lands and Bones” (Warp) (Official Video) from ESKMO on Vimeo.

Thanks be to Cliptip for both.

Audience Calibration Procedure from Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery on Vimeo.

You had better believe I’m going to be all over this.  Très cool.

In the current battle for my next leased vehicle, a contender from the sidelines makes its way to center stage:

Volkswagen has updated (or will be updating) its Tiguan SUV for the 2012 model year, bringing along a sleek new grille, tweaked interior and price in SEL trim that undercuts the Audi Q5 2.0T by about $4,000 while also being 400 lbs lighter on its feet.  I’m definitely going to be driving both back to back to settle this internal argument of mine.

It’s trying awfully hard, at least at first, but I really do like this video and I would completely drive to this song.

Areas affected by the hovering area comprised the entire “Other” demographic in the 2010 Census, exceeding every socio-economic grouping for highest suicide rates. This means whoever is unlucky enough to stumble upon this 12” x 12” area will almost certainly commit suicide (though will be privy, some say, to unreasonably clear WiFi reception before dying).

Amber sent me the most amazing link this evening. Entitled “Most Depressing WiFi Hotspots in Baltimore, MD“, it is the most sublime bit of inexplicable writing.  Go read now!

(Thought Catalog)

In this product showcase from Corning – that io9 has dubbed “creepy” – we are presented with a world that benefits largely from the ubiquitous integration of touch-enable data displays integrated into every day glass surfaces. It’s beautiful and I want to live in this version of the future, but I think the first YouTube commenter summed up a nagging feeling in the back of my mind best:

BUY STOCK IN WINDEX NOW!!!

Aside from the impossibly clean houses, cars and public spaces that Corning seems to envision, I am also curious about how we are powering more and more screens at bigger and bigger sizes.  How are we producing all of this glass and where?  And who has access to the technology aside from the conspicuously diverse group of under 40s actors who portrayed “the near future”.

They may always end up as fodder for Paleofuture, but these videos sure do encapsulate the nearly Utopian dreams of our modern society, don’t they?

In that study, they focused on a coda made only by Caribbean sperm whales. It appears to signify group membership. In the latest study, published Feb. 10 in Animal Behavior, they analyzed a coda made by sperm whales around the world. Called 5R, it’s composed of five consecutive clicks, and superficially appears to be identical in each whale. Analyzed closely, however, variations in click timing emerge. Each of the researchers’ whales had its own personal 5R riff.

In other words, each sperm whale may have its own name.  For more, visit Wired, where the notion of dolphins already being proven to have the same is casually dropped in an article.

You’d better believe that if BMW was going to look to the future of travel, Audi was going to not only take a peak at mobility but also the concept of how we will live in a mobile world – and then create a damned juried prize and conference series around it. It’s probably my inner SimCity lover, but the shape of tomorrow’s urban spaces has always fascinated me so I’m all for Audi’s newest project.  I am more than dubious that the car will be the catalyst for our development as a species, though.

(Autoblog via Translogic)

If only all airports had renegade pop stars in them for when the delays hit.  A little shot of sugary goodness to shore up faith in humanity while traveling could do the world a lot of good.  Since we weren’t there, this video from Death + Taxes Amber shared with me will have to do the trick.