Linked List: December 15, 2014

Monday, 15 December 2014

Apple: ‘The Song’ ★: Nice sequel to last year’s holiday TV spot from Apple. Note how small a role Apple kit plays in the whole piece. It’s about people, family, and love — not gadgets.
Mat Honan on The Racket, and How It Almost Upended Journalism ★: Almost heartbreaking that we never got to see The Racket come to be. Sounds like it would have been great.
Sound Designer Ben Burtt Deconstructs the Millennium Falcon’s Hyperdrive Malfunction ★: I remember as a kid seeing a behind-the-scenes TV special that explained where a slew of the sound effects from Star Wars came from. Love this stuff.
‘Stephen Colbert Is Dead. Long Live Stephen Colbert.’ ★: Nice piece by Will Leitch on the end of The Colbert Report, and along with it, Colbert’s blowhard politico persona. Part of what makes his upcoming role as the new host of The Late Show — as himself rather than the character — so intriguing is that we don’t really know what we’re going to get yet.