chuck berry

The New York Times has a great article on Chuck Berry and his influence on music, more specifically rock ‘n’ roll.

Chuck Berry himself would be the first to admit he didn’t invent rock ’n’ roll, but he came to define it in a series of iconic singles made between 1955 and 1959.

Mr. Berry wrote almost all his hits himself, and he drew from the music he loved — from the blues and boogie to country and Calypso. The result was a hybrid sound that, in 1955, was just beginning to be called “rock ’n’ roll.”

Here, an audio guide to just a few of his revolutionary songs: what came before, and what came after. Listen to the sound of rock ’n’ roll being made.

Chuck Berry would play in St. Louis almost monthly up until a couple of years ago when he was in his late 80’s. I made a promise to myself that that I would see him perform live before he passed. I never kept that promise and it’s something I deeply regret.

bill murray groundhog day
In celebration of Groundhog Day (and one of my favorite movies of all time, Groundhog Day), you can now watch every single day that Bill Murray relives in the movie simultaneously.

From the creator of the video

I wanted to see what it would be like if the events of the movie “Groundhog Day” all took place simultaneously. The film shows 37 separate days from Phil’s thousands of Groundhog Days in Punxsutawney. Every frame of the movie is used from days 1-37, with the exception of a few crossfades.

Watch the video below.

Louis CK is one of my favorite comedians. If you’ve ever wondered what makes him such a great performer, look at the video below. In the video, Evan Puschak examines why Louis CK is such a great comedian and how every word, from the set up to the punchline, is used with great purpose.

It’s a good premise and joke, but the way Louis delivers it elevates it to a whole new level.

Cahokia Mounds

Growing up in St. Louis, I learned about Cahokia Mounds in school. It’s fascinating how little we know about the settlement that was once North America’s largest city. If you grew up outside Missouri or Illinois, you probably never heard about it at all.

A thousand years ago, huge pyramids and earthen mounds stood where East St. Louis sprawls today in Southern Illinois. This majestic urban architecture towered over the swampy Mississippi River floodplains, blotting out the region’s tiny villages. Beginning in the late 900s, word about the city spread throughout the southeast. Thousands of people visited for feasts and rituals, lured by the promise of a new kind of civilization. Many decided to stay.

They didn’t stay long though. By 1400, the city was abandoned and no one knows why. A group of archaeologists are attempting to unlock the mysteries of the Mississippian people. Check out the coverage on Ars Technica.

white rabbit project
Netflix released a trailer for their new show White Rabbit Project today. If you were a fan of Mythbusters, you’ll probably want to check it out. It stars the former Mythbusters build team, Kari Byron, Tory Belleci, and Grant Imahara as they go down the “rabbit hole to investigate weird and wonderful events from pop culture, science, and history.”

I was a huge fan of Mythbusters and was sad when they decided to part ways with the build team in the final season. I’m happy to see the gang back together. You can stream all episodes starting December 9th. Check out the trailer below.