Posts tagged 'Peaceful'

Childhood of a Circle

“Archibald lived in harmony with the surrounding world. Sometimes, after lunch, he would stroll along with a herd of mushrooms…”

I have a distinct memory of watching The Red Balloon in kindergarten. My overall recollection of the event is warped and faded but certain moments are forever burned into my mind. Strangely enough, all of them have nothing to do with the film itself: watching the reel-to-reel projector as it was wheeled in, perched heavily atop a sturdy steel cart with squeaking castors, its bottom shelf empty save for a large metal disc of tightly wound 8mm; the flurry of satisfying clicks and snaps each part on the projector made as my teacher deftly manipulated them into place; the lazy way the bulb brightened and the gentle warmth it radiated, the steady hum of the cooling fan and the slotted shadows its vents cast on the ceiling.

I’ve found that the electricity of a memory varies greatly depending on how old you are and grade school, for me at least, was a time when any new experience would surge through my brain like alternating current.

I felt so calm; so fine-with-everything as it played. It was nice; I wanted to stay there forever. The attached film, by French graphic designer/filmmaker/musician Kadavre Exquis, evoked a similar reaction; the richly textured, meandering landscapes and simple innocence of the characters made me want to melt through the screen for an aimless stroll. It’s warm and peaceful and colorful and chill and, well, lots of things really. The story is nice but it’s over too soon; I watched it four times in quick succession in a failed attempt to prolong the experience. That being said, I was happy to discover that there’s an original soundtrack to Childhood of a Circle that is orders of magnitude longer. You can listen to the entire thing gratis on Kadavre’s website or get the bits to go for a very-reasonable ten bucks.

There’s lots of strange, enigmatic intangibles in his work that I’m drawn to and it’s been fun taking time to tumble down the rabbit hole in an attempt to unravel them. Needless to say, I’m excited to see what Monsieur Exquis will make next.

Oh yeah: full-screen and headphones for this one, y’all. Enjoy!

[ Childhood of a Circle ]

Boabab Trees

Boabab Trees

“Adansonia is a genus of eight species of tree, six native to Madagascar, one native to mainland Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and one to Australia. The mainland African species also occurs on Madagascar, but it is not a native of that island…more

Did you know that 85% of all plant and animal life on Madagascar is found nowhere else on the planet? I recently learned that little factoid (among many other fascinating things) while reading William Finnegan‘s ‘Slow and Steady’, an excellent article about the black market that has sprung up surrounding the almost-extinct ploughshare tortoise in the January 2012 issue of The New Yorker. If you can get your hands on a copy I recommend you check it out.

If anyone knows who took this picture please drop us a line so we can update the post with the proper credit attribution.

[ Madagascar ]

The Splendor of Color

If you’re a regular of this site than I’m quite certain this video from hdcolors will be right up your alley. Ten minutes of 1080p, color-drenched kaleidoscopes served alongside peaceful ambient music. Nice.

See more on the hdcolors YouTube page or, if you’d like to watch it for hours uninterrupted on your teevee, you can check out the DVDs/Blu-rays they have for sale.

[ The Splendor of Color HD: A Kaleidoscope Video (Ten Minute Demo) ]

Realm of the Deer

'Realm of the Deer' by Alex Saberi

That’s a scene straight out of a Miyazaki flick.  We have Alex Saberi to thank for this wonderful photograph. Cheers!

[ Realm of the Deer ]

Jellyfish

What’s better than watching peaceful hypnotic high-definition footage of jellyfish you ask? Watching peaceful, hypnotic high-definition footage of jellyfish expertly edited and set to a tune by Tycho.  Thanks for putting this together and sharing it with the world, Anthony...cheers!

[ Jellyfish ]

Maxwell feeds a squirrel

'Maxwell and the squirrel'

[ Maxwell feeds a squirrel. ]

The Light of Life

There’s lots of stuff to say about this video – that it’s beautiful, enigmatic, warm, peaceful and ethereal (among many other hyperbolic adjectives) – but I just can’t get out of my mind what would be going through Mr. Claude Debussy’s mind when he saw what kind of visuals would be accompanying Claire de Lune in two-thousand and ten.

[ The Light of Life ]

The Crossing

The Crossing

An excellent game by the super-talented Ferry Halim. Peaceful. Relaxing. Fun.

[ The Crossing ]

Peaceful

Peaceful fawn.

Taken at the Nara Deer Park in Kyoto, Japan by mcazadi. Click the image to see a larger version.

[ Love and Reflections! ]