In this exquisite motion graphics piece, Muhammad Ali proves in a couple sentences why he was a role model above and beyond his exceptional boxing skills. Put together by Studio Dialog for GreenLight, if you like this, you will love Dream and Word (two Louis Vuitton videos featuring Mos Def/Yasiin Bey performing Muhammad Ali’s words.)

(via Stash Media)

Back to School with Punkle Henry (Rollins) features Henry Rollins giving some incredible advice on how to navigate life and stay true to yourself. Put together by BigThink, the transcript is below:

Young person, you’ll find in your life that sometimes your great ambitions will be momentarily stymied, thwarted, marginalized by those who were perhaps luckier, come from money, where more doors opened, where college was a given–it was not a student loan; it was something that Dad paid for–to where an ease and confidence in life was almost a birthright, where for you it was a very hard climb.

You cannot let these people make you feel that you have in any way been dwarfed or out-classed. You must really go for your own and realize how short life is. You got what you got, so you have to make the most of it. You really can’t spend a whole lot of time worrying about his. You really have to go for your own. If you have an idea of what you want to do in your future, you must go at it with almost monastic obsession, be it music, the ballet or just a basic degree. You have to go at it single-mindedly and let nothing get in your way. You’re young. That’s why you can survive on no sleep, Top Ramen noodles and dental floss and still look good.

All the people you admire, from Mohamed Ali to any politician, they work and work and work. Your president right now is a man who got where he is through very hard work and scholarships, mainly hard work and application and discipline. If these people can do it, why not you?

We live in very interesting times and, as a young person going into a very turbulent and fragile economy that is going to get better–it’s going to take awhile–, it is easy to lose your moral compass, your decency, your sense of civility and your sense of community. Very easy. You known, things in traffic make you mad. People are getting a little desperate. They might not show their best elements to you. You must never lower yourself to being a person you don’t like.

There is no better time than now to have a moral and civic backbone, to have a moral and civic true north. This is a tremendous opportunity for you, a young person, to be heroic, to be morally upstanding, to be helpful, almost Boy Scout-like, presidential, to be altruistic.

Weakness is what brings ignorance, cheapness, racism, homophobia, desperation, cruelty, brutality, all these things that will keep a society chained to the ground, one foot nailed to the floor. It’s by being strong in the face of all of that, not lowering yourself to it, that’s how you lead. That’s how you liberate others and maintain freedom. You don’t have to beat your chest. You don’t have to wave a flag, but to maintain a high level of decency

And it sounds like I’m a cranky old man, like something you want to rebel against, but really think about what I’m saying. I think I’m right about this. When you look at what real desperation and ignorance looks like, when you have to run from it, like, literally run from it, you don’t want to be that. You want to be that which leads others out of that.

And now more than ever is the time to show these great qualities, to extol these great qualities and to embody these great qualities, which you have. Now it’s time to magnify them, personify them and inspire others with them. And there’s never been a time where they’re needed more than right now.

(hat tip Elizabeth)

Empire State of Pen is a timelapse video of UK artist Patrick Vale drawing lower Manhattan as seen from the Empire State Building. What makes this video cooler than cool is the usage of Charles Mingus’ Moanin’ for the music.

(via Colossal)

Moments is a compilation of the wonderful tidbits that make up our lives. Put together by Radiolab, it’s a nice reminder that given the right context, everything we do can be incredibly special or phenomenally mundane.

If you enjoyed this, you should also watch the similarly structured The Pleasure of.

(hat tip Andrew)

America’s Food Crisis: The Omnivore’s Dilemma is a look back at 2006′s The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, a book that many have lauded as the most important food politics book of the last few decades. Put together by Thnkr, the short features great interviews with Tom Colicchio (celebrity chef), Jennifer Pelka (GM of Gilt Taste), Dan Barber (owner of Blue Hill Farm), Katie Lee (food critic), Crazy Legs Conti (competitive eater) and Michael Pollan (the book’s author).

(via Brain Pickings)

’100′ (from 0 to 100 years in 150 seconds) is a fun short from Amsterdam featuring people ages 0 to 100 all answering a single question, “How old are you?” Put together by Imagine Video, one of the best behind-the-scenes tidbits about the video is that, while almost all the ages were pretty easy to find, it took the filmmakers about 4 months to find a 99 year-old willing to state her age on camera.

(via Kuriositas)

LONDON – Live the Slanguage is a very amusing (and handy) parody of EF’s Live the Language series. Put together by Theo Tagholm (maker of the completely unrelated but visually stunning Drift), it’s pretty funny to see words’ literal meanings while reading their slang interpretations.

(hat tip Harry)

Ouroboros is a showcase of the design work from each of Ravensbourne‘s 2012 fashion design program graduates. The directorial premiere of Karl&Tynan, former Ravensbourne students, it is an ingenious way to highlight 80 bits of unrelated fashion design in a very cohesive way.

(hat tip Bradley)

Word is a commercial for Louis Vuitton’s Muhammad Ali campaign. Directed by Stuart McIntyre, the ad stars the words and swagger of hip hop superstar Mos Def (now performing as Yasiin Bey) and gorgeous work of calligraffiti artist Niels Shoe Meulman. What exactly does the Mighty Mos Def say about the Greatest? The transcript is below.

This is the story of Muhammad Ali,
The prettiest fighter that ever will be.
He talks a great deal and brags in deed-y
Of a muscular punch that’s incredibly speedy.
The fistic world was dull and weary.
With a champ like Liston, things had to be dreary.
Then comes someone with color, someone with dash,
To get the fight fans running with cash.
This brash, young fighter is something to see,
And the heavyweight championship is his destiny.
Ali fights great—he’s got speed and endurance,
But if you sign on to fight him, increase your insurance.
Ali’s got left. Ali’s got right.
And if he hits you once, you’ll sleep for the night.
As you lay on the mat as the ref counts to ten,
You’ll pray you never have to fight him again.
For I am the man this poem is about,
The heavyweight champion, there is no doubt.
This I predicted and I knew the score,
The champ of the world in ’64.
When I say three, they go in the third.
Don’t bet against me, I’m a man of my word.
For I am the man this poem is about.
The heavyweight champ, there is no doubt.
Here I predicted Mr. Liston’s dismemberment.
Hit him so hard he wondered where October and November went.
When I say two, there’s never a third.
Standing against me is completely absurd.
If I tell you a mosquito can pull a plow,
Don’t ask how; Hitch him up.
I am the greatest.
I am the greatest.
I am the greatest.

The Art of Animation and Motion Graphics takes a look at the history of animation and it’s evolution from primitive caveman art to robust story telling, experimental and educational medium. A part of PBS’s Off Book series, the short features interviews with John Canemaker, Jess3′s Jesse Thomas, Motionographer’s Justin Cone, and Julia Pott.

If you enjoyed this, you should watch some of PBS Off Book’s other excellent videos.