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All posts for the year 2007

Kiva.org

Posted by _tango! on June 21, 2007
Posted in: brand, ideas, information, inspiration, tech, thoughts. 2 comments
kiva kiva.org

“Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can “sponsor a business” and help the world’s working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you’ve sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.”

I’m not one to usually seek into these money gathering foundations but I have a few friends who can’t stop talking about how successful, exciting, professional, and rewarding Kiva is. Having the friends approval, a great NewYorkTimes video review, many other press reviews, and over 70,000 people loaning over 7 million dollars so far, I think I’m sparked to make some needed loans.(as little as $25) The money may not be an investment for more money, but the reward is more than money could buy.

Learn more about Kiva.org, browse through their business listings, check out their blog, and join the club.

Sao Paulo: City Without Ads

Posted by _tango! on June 19, 2007
Posted in: art, brand, design, experience, ideas, information, inspiration, style, tech, thoughts. 16 comments
sao paulo brazil adfree city

What happens when a mayor decides to ban advertisements in a vibrant city of 11 million people with more than 8,000 billboards? Impossible, insane, absurd, or just plain genius? Well this is what happened this past January when mayor Gilberto Kassabs “Clean City” law was introduced in Sao Paulo Brazil banning any form of advertising throughout the city to rid of “visual clutter”. (reminds me of the “advertising is graffiti” stunt, or my dislike for posters in Milan)

I’ve always wondered what an ad-free environment would be like, how a persons behavior would change, or what a city’s culture and personality would become. I’m not sure how long this law will last, but for a huge city, its a definite moment to figure out the overall affects of ads in our spaces for the good or worse. The results have been surprisingly uplifting, peaceful, educational, and positive. As much as I hate and love the art of advertising, I must admit I can’t live without it, but then again, I’ve never lived in such an environment.

Read two articles by BusinessWeek and NPR(with a MP3 interview) then skip on over to photographer Tony de Marcos Flickr set of the changing cityscape, with insightful comments here.

I’ll post the articles with the MP3 interview and some pictures after the jump.

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Michael Moore: Sicko Documentry

Posted by _tango! on June 18, 2007
Posted in: entertainment, experience, information, inspiration, me, thoughts. 2 comments
Sicko documentry michael moore

“SiCKO is a documentary film by Michael Moore, scheduled for release on June 29, 2007. It investigates the American health care system with a focus on the behavior of large health insurance companies and contrasts the U.S. system with those of other countries with universal health care coverage.”
via wikipedia

I’m not one to promote nor be against films by Michael Moore, but I do admire his messages though many individuals may find his messages factually lopsided. Even though this film is scheduled for release later this month, you can view it online though the links keep jumping around and closing. I watched it on Google video here, but now it’s here (watch it today or it’ll jump). Outer-Court seems to keep the listing up to date.(it keeps jumping)(new links below)It’s also up for downloading on various p2p sites. If you can’t track the film online, give a look at the previews.

Quick thoughts: It’s very good, compelling, moving, and provoking along with the witty comments which Moore is known for. Much like the Climate Crisis in Inconvenient Truth, it makes you wonder, mad, angry, and question. I’ve somewhat known about this unfair health care system in the states, but I’ve never thought about it much until watching this film. It makes me want to move out of this country, move to Canada, or just sit here and complain about this issue as much as the Climate Crisis has made me change for the good. Give it a watch online if you can, otherwise, there are plenty of reviews and user reactions online if you dig around.

update: try these:
part 1 http://www.veoh.com/static/flash/player … ;version=4
part 2 http://www.veoh.com/static/flash/player … ;version=4
part 3 http://www.veoh.com/static/flash/player … ;version=4
part 4 http://www.veoh.com/static/flash/player … ;version=4

update: Michael Moore himself has posted a video on YouTube asking for users to post their own stories about health care issues, problems, stories here…Read the responses and watch the video responses.

Drivers of Change cards

Posted by _tango! on June 13, 2007
Posted in: brand, design, experience, fun, ideas, information, inspiration, materials, me, tech, thoughts. 3 comments
drivers of change book cards

“What will our world be like in 2050? This set of cards identifies some of the leading drivers of change that affect our future.

Each card depicts a single driver. A factoid and rhetorical question are on one face, backed up by a brief indication of the breadth and depth of the content on the other face. The set was devised by the Foresight & Innovation team at Arup, a group tasked with exploring emerging trends and how they impact upon business of Arup and its clients. The publication serves not only as a vibrant visual record of research, but also as a tool for discussion groups, personal prompts, for workshop events or as a ‘thought for the week’.”

I’ve had these cards for a few months (thanks TED) and they rock! Very inspirational, educational, great coffee table item, easy to read, and an amazing conversation starter for big topics in technology, our environment, economics, political culture, and social awareness in a globally changing sustainable future.

Drivers of Change website.
Drivers of Change Blog
Buy Cards here.

Replate.org: Recycle your food

Posted by _tango! on June 11, 2007
Posted in: brand, food, green, ideas, information, inspiration, materials, thoughts. 6 comments
replate.org

Are you the type that never finishes a meal on the go ends up trashing it? Are you also the type that sees people in need of food on the streets asking for pocket change or food? We’ll Replate.org’s hope is to fix both these problems by bringing awareness of wasting less and helping more. If you have unwanted leftovers on the go, leave it on top of a nearby trashcan rather than in one so it doesn’t go to waste. I know this might seem odd at first, but I’ve countlessly seen people dig through trashcans seeking good edible food. It’s somewhat disheartening, but treat it like recycling… It’s still usable so help someone out by letting them know. Reduce, reuse, recycle.

I’ve always wondered about grocery stores, fast food joints, restaurants, etc throwing away perfectly good food(I see it alllll the time at grocery stores). I forget where, but I once read/heard that all the food thrown away in the states would be enough food for the 3rd world countries in need. For a brief video on this topic have a look at Current.tv‘s video on Freeganism. Here are a few other organizations surrounding this topic: Freegan.info and FoodNotBombs.net.
(thanks axel)

Tunnel House

Posted by _tango! on June 11, 2007
Posted in: art, ideas, inspiration, materials, style, thoughts, wacky. 151 comments
tunnel inversion house

Isn’t it great how creativity kicks in when times running out. Take for example this incredible and beautiful installation by artists Dan Havel and Dean Ruck a few months before this house was to be demolished…. I’m guessing they saw any opportunity to do something freaking crazy cool to a space that was going to be destroyed and turned this old house into a trippy wooden warp zone! More pics after the jump.(including whats at the end of the tunnel)
via hemmy
A few pics via Kevin Omara
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Creative Workspaces

Posted by _tango! on June 10, 2007
Posted in: art, brand, design, experience, fun, ideas, inspiration, me, style, thoughts. 5 comments

my.studio.space
NowNow.com.au has a great post “desktop-desktop” documenting an ongoing series of desktops both physical and digital of creatives around the world. The collection includes French Designer Jean Sebastian from the playful design team Atypyk, guru graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister, and several others. After scanning through this series I felt inclined to snap a shot of my current studio space pictured above, though it changes constantly.(after the jump: close-up of my toys and desktop screen)

Otherwise, I’ve always questioned the impact of creative workspaces; minimal, cluttered, comfy, colorful, industrial, modern, goofy, cubicles, etc. I have my own preferences, but for a diverse visual list check out “10 seeeeeriously cool workplaces” from the Chief of Happiness. Also take a look at Guy Kawasakis recent trip photos to Threadless.com and their kick-butt space! If you have a nifty workspace ya’ll want to share, take a picture, send it my way, and if I get enough, I’ll post them here.
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Human Tetris Game

Posted by _tango! on June 9, 2007
Posted in: entertainment, inspiration. 1 comment



I think I’ve discovered the next great Olympic sport to rule the world….. Human Tetris fitting. Give the video a look above, laugh like crazy, then check out a few other great Japanese videos I’ve stumbled upon. I know this doesn’t seem to deal with design much, but where there is laughter comes happiness then inspiration for great ideas.

– Human Tetris 2
– Tetris comedy
– Mad Tetris skillz
– Public Prank
– Ridiculously fast hands!!!
– Ski Resort stunt
– Public Toilet Prank

happy laughing!

Rotating Wall

Posted by _tango! on June 8, 2007
Posted in: art, entertainment, information, wacky. Leave a Comment


rotating wall scuplture

Hmmm..call this rotating wall sculpture a work of art, really bizarre, or just freaking cool! Watch the video above and start to ponder…

“The UK city of Liverpool is playing host to a rather kooky piece of artwork for the next 18 months. Called Turning The Place Over (I do hope that’s not a reference to Scousers being nifty burglars) by Richard Wilson, it consists of a rotating wall that turns 360º. Cut in the wall of an old Yates’s Wine Lodge, the installation sits opposite one of the city’s train stations and is costing almost $900,000 – that’s $50,000 for each month of its existence.”
via Gizmodo

Spin N’ Snap Camera Concept

Posted by _tango! on June 6, 2007
Posted in: brand, design, ideas, information, inspiration, materials, style, tech. 5 comments
snap n spin sony camera concept

Sony just showed off a series of pretty sweet concept ideas on environmentally friendly sustainable electronics in Japan.”One of the more interesting devices of the lot is the Spin N’ Snap digital camera (pictured above), which you charge up simply by placing your fingers in the two holes (which also double as a viewfinder) and spinning it around a few times.”

Check out the pictures via Engadget or the whole article via DigitalCamerWatch.

Personally I love kinetic powering ideas though it’ll take more than one twist to take a picture most likely. We already have the hand-cranking 100$ OLPC laptop, so why not have a minority report like fling-charging camera. I’d buy one.

BestBuy: brand value and experience, booo.

Posted by _tango! on June 5, 2007
Posted in: brand, design, experience, information, me, thoughts. Leave a Comment

best.buy.yack

I recently voyaged to one of my favorite hands-on testing grounds store BestBuy, but what I left with was a diminish in their brand value and trust. The events experienced were not new, but they were unnoticed in the past as in recent years my expectations in brands, customer-centric services, and brand experiences have changed a bit.

So, what happened? I needed an external hard drive since my measly laptop was under 1 gig of space. I went to BestBuy and bought a pretty nifty external Hard Drive that you basically just plug in via USB and your set to use. At the check out counter, the sales rep kept insisting that I have a GeekSquad service added to install it since there was a sticker on the box. I said no thanks, and she kept telling me about how much easier it would be to install etc. I told her that all I needed to do was plug it in. Then she said “oh, well I don’t even know what you are buying.” Right there and then, I lost my brand value and trust in BestBuy. First, they had a dumb sticker on a product that does not need a person to come help install it for $$$.(It’s like having a person come install a toaster at your house). Secondly, the person working and selling me the product did not even understand the product nor understand what I meant when I said hard drive.

For crying out loud, don’t hire people into your company that don’t understand the products you are selling. I’m not just ranting at BestBuy, but there are many other brands that have employees that don’t have a clue to what the company does. Yes, I know it cost more to hire people that breathe your brand, but I’m guessing it cost more money to re-market your brand value to customers that have had a bad experience. Good things are easy to forget and bad experiences are never forgotten. I’ll stop my ranting here, but BestBuy, take for example some kick-butt brands like Jetblue, Wholefoods, Patagonia, or TraderJoes; they get it, their employees do it, and their customers know, experience, and live their brands like a religion. Brands are truthful users experiences today, not just portrayed over-marketed lifestyles anymore. We live the digital age…we ignore ads, research deeply, and leave nothing hidden.