Today I was reminded of what was arguably the best toy of my early childhood. Colorful. Plentiful. Delightfully unpredictable. Small enough to be dangerous, but seemingly harmless enough not to arouse suspicion should it be set about to mischief. If at this point you're thinking G.I. Joe or Transformers (or their dispicable offshoots, the GoBots)... wrong and wrong.
I'm speaking, of course, about that whimsical sphere of joy I like to call the bouncy ball.
What rekindled my interest in ye olde toye of yonder years, you wonder? I found myself wondering why I haven't seen a kid playing with a bouncy ball in so long. Apparently, they're all in California (the bouncy balls, not the kids.) Danish director Nicolai Fuglsig loosed about a quarter of a million of those lil' round cuties in the streets of San Francisco to film a commercial for a new line of LCD screens from Sony. Admitedly, I have mixed feelings about to what extent art should blend into commercialism, and this is by no means a push for whatever product is being peddled. But I have to tell you, the fact that this indie-esque commercial is working for The Man did nothing at all to diminish the visual feast of watching 250,000 rubber balls make their way though the byways of San Fran to the eerie tune of José González's Heartbeats. It was spooky.
And by spooky, I mean I wish I was a kid running around those streets while it rained bouncy balls from the heavens.
See for yourself.
[photo credit: sony]
I'm speaking, of course, about that whimsical sphere of joy I like to call the bouncy ball.
What rekindled my interest in ye olde toye of yonder years, you wonder? I found myself wondering why I haven't seen a kid playing with a bouncy ball in so long. Apparently, they're all in California (the bouncy balls, not the kids.) Danish director Nicolai Fuglsig loosed about a quarter of a million of those lil' round cuties in the streets of San Francisco to film a commercial for a new line of LCD screens from Sony. Admitedly, I have mixed feelings about to what extent art should blend into commercialism, and this is by no means a push for whatever product is being peddled. But I have to tell you, the fact that this indie-esque commercial is working for The Man did nothing at all to diminish the visual feast of watching 250,000 rubber balls make their way though the byways of San Fran to the eerie tune of José González's Heartbeats. It was spooky.And by spooky, I mean I wish I was a kid running around those streets while it rained bouncy balls from the heavens.
See for yourself.
[photo credit: sony]
7 comments:
Holy crap, dude. That was awesome.
. . . and the GoBots were sleeker with a better storyline. Don't hate.
That was awesome!
JVD...that was money. I mean the video. I wish you would of told me you liked it best...however, my favorite toy ever was this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqcDJGlfAGE
It really allowed me to be creative, and have fun at the same time...much like those new fangled ant farms;
no really my favorite toy were legos...not because i could build something, but because I could destroy it.
I can promise you that what is not left over is in my daughter's dresser drawers. She has hundreds, from birthday party goodie bags (which is still a concept I don't get, they get gifts for going to a party?) to the quarter machines at the stores, she has every last one in VA.
your daughter doesn't have them all. mine does. in her nightstand drawers.
That is far TOO COOL!
Thanks!
We have plenty in there as well. We should get them together to count them all. It might be a good way to pass a few days!
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