5th March 2022

Another fascinating, engaging perspective from The Nerdwriter on cinema, in this video essay (7′:34″), arguing that explode-y superhero movies aren’t the only movies worth seeing on the big screen. Asserting that “massive faces emoting on massive screens is just as epic, if not more epic, than explosions and battles”.

In the storytelling space, this is a fantastic tool and resource for those with a creative bent or just anyone interested in this area. From strongerstories.org this particular ‘story canvas’ has been completed using ‘Don’t Look Up’ as an example. HT @storythings.

A sad and sobering infographic from statista.com. Where Ukrainian Refugees Are Fleeing to.

From CNET. We’re getting a better picture of what happens inside a black hole 🕳️ .Algorithms are helping to solve a mind-bending theory called “holographic duality.” Perhaps an alternate holographic universe may lead us into a black hole?

The video game Elden Ring (created in conjunction with George R.R. Martin) is all the rage right now. Should you join the army of avid fans? See trailer here. 

Advertising veteran and marketing expert Susan Fournier reflects on her seminal 1998 study on brand relationship theory and asserts that it’s not just a metaphor. ‘ We learned that the essence of a given brand was not an inherent property of that brand as defined by marketers and reinforced in a 30-second ad. People’s life projects, identity tasks, life themes, current concerns, cohorts, etc. provide the lenses through which brands come to have meaning’. This Is Why You Fall in Love With Brands.

I imagine we are all doing a fair bit of ‘doom scrolling’ at the moment. With this in mind, this Oliver Burkeman piece on looking after yourself in amongst the rolling news cycle, is most welcome. The news ≠ your life. 

An old truth, but always worth remembering and brought to life engagingly in this animation from The School Of Life (3′:40″) Other people have been nasty because….

Love this from The Economist’s data viz team. The Greatest Cape – estimated heights and weights of on-screen Batmen (visualised) 

And finally an online conference recommendation…