Bill Gates shares his list of best books he read in 2015: “Eradication” by Nancy Leys Stepan, “Thing Explainer” by Randall Munroe, “Sustainable Materials With Both Eyes Open” by Julian Allwood and Jonathan Cullen, “Mindset” by Carol Dweck, “Being Nixon” by Evan Thomas, and “The Road to Character” by David Brooks.
Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic Talks Foo Fighters’ Success and Missing Kurt Cobain
In a new exclusive interview between Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic and SPIN founder Bob Guccione Jr., the bassist tries to speculate on what Nirvana might’ve sounded like today, discusses the enormous success of Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighters, and opens up about how heartbroken he was when his friend and bandmate, Kurt Cobain, committed suicide in April of 1994.
‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ 40th Anniversary Blue Ray Box Set Contains A Working Catapult And Farm Animals
Watch John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam demonstrate how to make the most of the new limited edition ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ 40th anniversary box set, available for pre-order now on Amazon, and in stores this October.
The box set includes all-new artwork by Terry Gilliam, an all-new 30-minute “Monty Python and the Holy Grail at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival,” a Q&A with Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, John Cleese and Eric Idle, hosted by John Oliver and recorded live at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, and features collectible castle packaging with real catapult action and rubber farm animals, plus all-new exclusive introductory letters from Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones.
2015 Gold/Platinum Year End Review In Canada
2015 was a landmark year for Canadian artists dominating the international pop music spotlight. Within Canada, Canadian artists saw an increase in Gold/Platinum certifications over 2014, with many of the 2015 releases expecting further certification milestones in 2016.
70 albums were certified Gold in Canada this year, 30 of which were released by Canadian artists (up from 20 in 2014). 31 albums were certified Platinum, 11 of which were by Canadian artists (up from 9 in 2014).
The full list of albums and tracks certified in 2015 in Canada can be viewed here.
Justin Bieber had the highest certified Canadian album released in 2015 with his album Purpose earning a Double Platinum certification, as well as it’s accompanying singles “Sorry,” “What Do You Mean?” and “Where Are U Now?”
Canadian tracks released in 2015 also certified Double Platinum include The Weeknd‘s tracks “The Hills” and “Earned It,” as well as Shawn Mendes‘ “Life Of The Party.”
Bruce Cockburn‘s classic 1993 holiday album Christmas is the highest certified Canadian album in 2015, joining Taylor Swift‘s 1989 and Josh Groban‘s Noel as the year’s highest certified albums at 6X Platinum.
117 tracks were certified Gold in Canada this year, with 42 being Canadian artists (up from 21 in 2014). 19 Canadian tracks were among the 76 Platinum certifications, up from 10 in 2014.
The highest certification for a song in 2015 was Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk” at 9x Platinum, while OneRepublic‘s “Counting Stars” was the second highest certified track at 8X Platinum. Ellie Goulding “Love Me Like You Do,” X Ambassadors “Renegades” and Wiz Khalifa “See You Again” (ft. Charlie Puth) hold the highest certifications for songs released in 2015 at Triple Platinum.
Via Music Canada
Insider’s view of 1930s radio studio showing production of dramatic sound effects
A boy lies on his bed (wearing a white shirt and a necktie), listening to a radio western. We see the images the radio creates in his mind, then we cut to the studio, where we see that this whole fantasy world is created at a frantic pace by announcers in three-piece suits and sound-effects technicians operating incredibly complicated jury-rigged devices. We get to see such things as one guy doing both voices in a conversation, an adult do a very convincing impersonation of a child’s voice, guys playing cowboys impersonating the sound of conversing while riding by playing “horsie” while reading their lines, and all the weird stuff used to make sound effects. Since this is a Jam Handy picture, the good guys catch the bad guys in the end because the good guys are in a Chevrolet and the bad guys are only on horses.
A real gem of a short. Watch it the second time with your eyes closed.
Twitter Invests In Muzik, The High-End Headphone Startup
Here is something you didn’t expect to hear about coming out of CES this year: Twitter has invested in Muzik, a “connected headphone” company.
This isn’t an Apple-Beats sized-deal — Muzik says it has raised $18 million over a couple of years, and Twitter is one of several investors — but it’s still an interesting one. And whileTwitter has been putting money into other companies via its Twitter Venture arm, this is Twitter’s first investment in hardware.
Muzik makes wireless headphones that give users the ability to control the tunes they’re hearing by swiping on buttons on the outside of the device.
Via ReCode
Psychologists Answer The Question: “What’s The Most Profound Thing a Patient Has Ever Said to You?”
Someone on Reddit asks the psychiatrists and psychologists of Reddit: “What is the most profound or insightful thing you’ve ever heard from a patient with a mental illness?” Here are some of the most profound responses:
The Most Heartbreaking And Accurate Poem Ever About Suicide
Written by Meggie Royer, author of ‘Healing Old Wounds With New Stitches’ and‘The No You Never Listened To’. Author’s website: Writings for Winter.
How to Build a Death Star According to a NASA Engineer
NASA’s Brian Muirhead explains how to build a Death Star and tells us what it would really be like to fly past a flurry of asteroids.
Take A Look Back With This Winnipeg Tourism Video From 1964
Let’s start the year off right, with a look back. In this case, Winnipeg, Manitoba, in this Manitoba Department of Industry and Commerce-produced film hosted by the late Ed McCrea, whose son found it in storage and whose grandson shared it to YouTube.
