Distract Yourself With Quality Over Quantity in 2012…You Can Start Here

We admit, we have high hopes for 2012. The past twelve months was certainly a roller coaster, and we’re going to do our best to shine a light on the many inspiring, informing, and provocative ingredients that will make 2012 worth experiencing. In the meantime, we thought you’d be much better served, today, having had the chance to view these worthwhile vids.

To start things off, this captivating piece from Vimeo features “…Richard Lang and Judith Selby Lang, who have been collecting plastic debris from one beach in Northern California for over ten years. Each piece of plastic Richard and Judith pick up comes back to their house, where it gets cleaned, categorized, and stored before being used for their art. The couple make sculptures, prints, jewelry, and installations with the plastic they find washed up, raising a deeper concern with the problem of plastic pollution in our seas.” Whereas they find a profound connection to the art they produce, and its roots, this short film highlights the stunning reality of plastic in our oceans—which is, simply, a horrifying byproduct of our modern throwaway mentality. There’s no shortage of information on this sobering topic. An easy way to find out more is by typing Great Pacific Garbage Patch in Google or YouTube. You can also check out Project Kaisei if you’re looking to help. Richard and Judith’s endeavor can be further explored at beachplastic.com.

The Holstee Manifesto is a “…call to action to live a life full of intention, creativity, passion, and community.” This Vimeo short is a LifeCycle Film that “came about as a desire to bring the energy and passion behind the Manifesto to life through something we love—biking. As we seek to live mindful lifestyles that leave a positive impact on the people and world around us, biking has become a passion that is much more than a transportation alternative. It is a way of fully experiencing the city we love and all of its details.” Positive messaging has become a way for millions around the world to connect, communicate, and inspire—in large part because of social networking. This piece is a wonderful example of how art can be used in multiple ways to send a universal message.

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And Damien Walters is just one of the freakiest athletes on the planet. His medium is gymnastics—his genre is Parkour—his canvas is pretty much wherever he wants it to be. We’ll just let the video tell the rest. If you feel yourself compelled to learn more, by all means, check out parkour.com—and summon your inner ninja. You might want to stretch first…