An innovative tribute to Nikola Tesla

If there's a person deserving of an innovative tribute, it's Nikola Tesla, an electrical engineer whose inventions more than 100 years ago laid the groundwork for modern communications. It was the rock group Tesla and their excellent debut album "Mechanical Resonance" -- a scientific term right up Tesla's alley -- that first inspired me to learn more about this mysterious inventor. I soon learned Tesla wasn't just anybody but an inventor to rival Da Vinci and Edison. 

Which brings us to Marco Tempest's "Nikola Tesla in Sound and Light," a mashup of projection mapping and a pop-up book that tells the remarkable story of an inventor so far ahead of his time that scientists are still studying his work for clues to new breakthroughs 70 years after his death. 

Tesla's story is remarkable enough -- he pioneered radio and electricity transmission to name just two breakthroughs, all the while battling swindlers and personal demons -- but Tempest's use of now-primitive technology from Tesla's heydey is a fitting medium to celebrate one of modern history's greatest minds.  

Are you listenining Hollywood? If you need some pointers, check out the "making of" documentary below.

Need some spending money? How about selling your soul?

What's the going price for a person's soul? We know what Robert Johnson's alleged price was. But what's the market like today? 

The guys at "Freakonomics" have again waded into provocative territory by asking just how far moral limits extend when it comes to markets. And to its extreme, the market for one's soul. 

Regular readers know I like "Freakonomics" and how Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt often push us into uncomfortable territory. This recent episode titled "Soul Possession" may top the list, documenting one man's odd quest to own another's soul. He buys it -- at least on paper -- for $50, but a simple transaction is filled with all kinds of complex layers on both sides of the deal.

It's a fascinating topic, regardless of your faith.  

Quick review" 'Ripped'

Regular readers will know I'm a big fan of "Sound Opinions," the weekly public radio show devoted to popular music. 

One of the two hosts is Greg Kot, the longtime music critic of the Chicago Tribune. Kot is much more likable than his grumpy co-host Jim DeRogatis because he's open-minded, embraces risk-taking and rewards failure. 

It's that kind of spirit that fuels his 2009 book "Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music," which I picked up in a discount bookstore during a recent trip to South Bend. 

The book is three years old but remains relevant in detailing the dramatic upheaval in the music industry over the last decade. It's a breezy read but loaded with great stories on failed record-company strategies, geeks cooking up earthshaking technologies and industrious artists capitalizing on these new opportunities to control their own destiny. 

"Ripped" is an energizing read, whether you find it in the cutout bin or pay full price.