WOW! MARTIAL ARTS AND CATS!

Well, it’s been a rough week all around, dear readers. So, here, courtesy of Reid Carter of AV Club, is a tip about a YouTube show that goes wa-a-a-y beyond your typical cat video. In fact, it combines my two favorite YouTube video addictions—martial arts and cats!

Yes, this is the (in)famous Neko Zamurai  (Samurai Cat), an historical series about a Shogun-era samurai sent to assassinate a rival’s feline, only to find he just can’t do the deed. Weird humor ensues. Enjoy the trailer below. Since I’ll be visiting family out of town next week, I’ll see you in two.

Cheers, Donna

Star Trek Vs. Star Wars

A mysterious cross-fictional rift (and very clever editing) pits Star Trek's Kahn and the Federation Starship Reliant against Star War's Han Solo and his Millenium Falcon in this YouTube gem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYz4Vm9ltHo

Muse Motivator: Tour of Nebulae

Have a few minutes to watch a spectacular show set to the music of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata? This video will definitely stir the imagination, spur the muse, and rack up some credits in the shock and awe department. It's a little over six minutes long and features some of the spectacular imagery of visible nebulae. After a few moments, the title of each also appears. Can you guess which is the Cat's Paw, the Pelican, the Cone, the Butterfly? Click the image shown above left in THE LATEST FEED below when it comes up or click the link at the bottom of this post to go directly to the YouTube feature.

WARNING: If you watch until the end there is an inspiring quote, followed by a personal comment that some may find controversial or offensive. (I rather wish the last statement had not been added because I feel it takes away from the impact of the quote instead of adding to it, but that's personal preference and others may have no issues with the point being made.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x41n9thAU8

New Feature: The Best of Firefly

I've added a new feature at the right side for a collection of the best Firefly videos I've found on YouTube to date (look for the list under the Firefly icon). There are five so far, each with a separate theme or topic.

Firefly Series Theme "You Can't Take The Sky From Me," the main title, is about space being the last free frontier. It has become a trendy catch-phrase you can now find on t-shirts, mugs, bumper stickers and hats (along with "My Firefly can whip your Federation Starship!" and "How many Firefly products do I have to buy to get a sequel?")

Firefly Final Tribute set to "I Believe" does a wonderful job of choreographing scenes to the music with uncanny perfection. It captures the essence of the characters and the sentiments of a fiercely loyal, and still growing, fan base. There are also some heart-pounding flight scenes and a few of my favorite moments from the series. I think this is better than any of the movie trailers I've seen. Highly recommended.

Firefly "Hero" is a look at Captain Mal Reynolds many personality facets. Some excellent clip-to-lyric synching on this one. Browncoats never die, they just keep flyin'.

Firefly - "100 Years". The lyrics of this song assigns one of the ages to each character. Though not as moving as Final Tribute and not as edgy as Wake Me Up, this one is very nicely done.

Firefly "Bring Me To Life" explores the character of River Tam, a 17-year-old girl whose backstory revealed she had been identified as a latent psychic and fallen victim to brain experiments conducted by the Alliance. River's plight as an unpredictable and deadly dormant weapon unfolds with the excellent editing and the edgy rhythms of this popular song.

Best of...Firefly Videos!

THE LATEST FEED now has a selection of YouTube Firefly clips. (Woohoo!) I highly recommend taking a look at the opening sequence. It has a very catchy theme song with a distinct western flavor, because, as the narrator explains before each episode, life on the outer fringers has resorted to more rustic technologies.

Anyway, here's the link to the O/S and there's a selection of others that will rotate up in the list of YouTube fare below. Enjoy! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTPopOSwDD0
"You Can't Take the Sky From Me"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbX4Bsebg5Y
Clips from Firefly (primarily Captain Mal Reynolds) with the music of "Hero"
(It starts a little slow, but give it a minute. Some good Firefly dogfight scenes and lots of swashbuckling action.)