Crowdfunding Evolution

Earlier this year, the very excellent Baba Brinkman was awarded a grant from the Wellcome Trust to make a series of music videos for the Rap Guide to Evolution, to "promote the public understanding of science". He's been working on with a crew in London to shoot the videos; the above clip is a preview. But over the course of making the videos, he's upped his ambition. From an email he sent out the other day:

...we want to take them to the next level by weaving in original animation, digital effects, and high-quality nature footage licensed from sources like the BBC. Imagine a four-minute short film, part Eminem-style rap music video, part David Attenborough-style nature documentary, illustrating themes such as the common descent of all human beings from African ancestors and the processes of natural and sexual selection that shaped our bodies and minds and the rest of nature.

To pay for it, Baba and his partners have decided to try "crowdfunding" -- essentially you pay upfront for the DVD, when they get their target they'll produce the videos. If they don't reach the target in sixty days you get your money back. If you like the project and want to support it, you have options: £10 gets you a download of the finished videos, £20 gets you a DVD, and £30 buys you immortality: they will put your photo in one of the videos, representing a branch on the human family tree. HOW COOL A XMAS PRESENT IS THAT? Here's the link to the crowdfunding site. And here is the Rap Guide to Evolution

Baba, Banksy, Burgers: Some links, updates, and misc.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of writing a book in the Internet Age is the way it turns a book into an ongoing conversation with readers. I've been getting all sorts of helpful feedback on the book, suggestions for additional readings, criticisms, and plain old fun links. I try to reply to every message I get within a reasonable period of time, but sometimes I forget, and sometimes I don't have time to give it all the proper attention.

But here's some stuff I've been sent over the past few months that I want to acknowledge, and hopefully remind myself to get to it sooner than later.

1. Baba Brinkman has a new song out, about US health care reform. He's also on tour with the latest incarnation of the Rebel Cell -- review of it here.

2. Banksy gets a makeover, Simpsons-style! (via @nehathanki)

3. In Praise of Fast Food, from the Utne reader. It looks excellent -- it was sent to me by Andrew MacLeod. 

4. Alison Loat sent me a link to a TVO video featuring Joel Kotkin, arguing that our future lies not in large urban centres, but in smaller, more human scale communities like suburbs.

5. Melissa Nylander brought to my attention this great documentary called Yoga Inc., "about how the Westernization/commodification of yoga challenges its authenticity as a sport, spiritual movement, and aspect of Indian culture."

6. @thewyndtunnel alerted me to this NYT Mag piece about video games, Afghanistan, and authenticity -- pretty much everything a growing boy needs!.