Well, I thought I’d seen it all, but this Japanese commercial for a smartphone, brought to my attention by alert reader Jon, beats all. It’s a huge xylophone, placed in a hilly Japanese forest, that plays Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring as a wooden ball rolls down it.  Fantastic—do not miss this one!

Imagine the labor involved in building that xylophone!  Here’s a short video about the construction:

Both of these videos, curiously enough, were highlighted on Krista Tippett’s “On Being” page. In case you don’t know of her, Tippett is an unctuous broadcaster on U.S. National Public Radio, and is always interviewing scientists and trying to get them to confess their spirituality.  She’s the Elaine Ecklund of radio and a diehard believer in belief; I am unable unable to listen to more than a few minutes of her show.

That said, some of her shows are supposed to be good—when she stays away from religion and spirituality.  Jon, in fact, found the commercial above while looking for a podcast of a recent interview she did with Lawrence Krauss (you can find the video here). Our reader liked the interview and said this about it:

I’m not a big fan of Krista Tippett’s program On Being, but sometimes I listen Sundays at 7:00 before I get up. This morning’s program was a rebroadcast of an outstanding interview entitled “Our Origins and the Weight of Space” she did with Lawrence Krauss last summer as part of one of the programs at the Chautauqua Institution in New York. The interview is mostly a solo act by Krauss and he didn’t allow Tippett to get away with any silliness.

I haven’t watched the interview, but if you have, weigh in.  Comments about the “On Being” show, either agreeing or disagreeing with me, are welcome.