“Design is a big part of the sustainability problems in the world. Design has been focused on creating meaningless (often), disposable (though not responsibly so), trend-laden fashion items—all design. Graphic design is particularly bad, though paper materials, at least, have a huge potential to fix this problem.”
Presentation given at IDSA Connection Congress, San Francisco 2007
Very interesting! Check out the PDF presentation and watch out for his upcoming book “Design is the Problem“.
I just experienced one of the most unbelievable meals at Oleana in Cambridge MA run by chef and owner Ann Sortun who also has a book “Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean“. Rustic, warming, vibrant, calming, and damn tasty down to the minuscule details. Chef Sortun’s creations are inspired from her travels and experiences from France, Spain, Italy, and Turkey for an Arabic-Mediterranean intersection of surprising flavors along with their superb personal staff in a very charming space!
Oleana is located in a quiet residential street side in Inman square with an outdoor porch space many have raved about though my first experience was inside. At first I expected an overly lavish pristine space based on all the reviews and consistency in most high end restaurants in Boston which I personally do not like as much, but Oleana’s was my exact cup of tea. Very casual, a humble friendly staff, and a tiled warming environment in a comfy space as if walking into a village side restaurant bustling full of conversations during a sunset somewhere far away from all the chaos most of us are use to.
The staff initiated the Oleana experience, servicing a few tables while greeting customers with smiles and stories while never seeming to be rushed allowing me to pester them with curious questions about their ingredients and unique flavor combinations (I’ll blame my questions on the cheerful bottle of wine). The menu changes often and the wine list is as diverse as their dishes. Plates were fantastic while the attention to details in sauces, blends, and accents on the sides delighted me the most. I’d usually keep finds like this a secret, but the experience was wonderful and one surely to share with others. I’ll post a pictures of the dishes I tried after the jump. If your in the area, seeking a sensational meal and experience, I say go to Oleana!
More Oleana dish pics at BostonChefs.com
Airtight Interactive bring to us Tilt Viewer, a new way to browse Flickr photos in a 3D space (instructions here). Also check out their other product SimpleViewer which I use for my photos (has not been updated lately).
I’m all for cool interfaces, but sometimes fun interfaces overwhelm the users experience being too complex and taking too much time hence not getting the user adoption needed. The thing I really like about Airtight Interactive is that they put just enough freshness into their products without over doing. Keep it rocking!
I swear, this ideas been sitting in my sketchbook for the last 6 years, but again, someone beats me to the market (my design is still a bit slicker I think). Anyhoots, yeah, check out these Silhouette Wine glasses with a voided space allowing ya to drink wine without the need to tilt your head all the way back. The voided space also lets ya dig your sniffling nose right down to the wine as well as creates a keyed position for the wine head to sit on when poured. I’m not sure if I’d cough up the $54 price tag for each glass, but it’s cool to see this idea in the market.
via Gizmodo
Source: GreatWineGlass.com (with semi cheesy sales video, but cool manufacturing video)
Woa, bang, boom, yikes, aha! That about sums up my experience at Gadgetoff 2007. What a mind torching adventure with a surplus of surprises, ear wrenching explosions, curious minds, and a safari into a wonderful world of gadgets we all love to geek about! Everything from flame throwing bbq’s, rocket bikes, robotics on wheels, and hybrid cars roamed every corner while gaming devices, weird toys, numbing food items, interactive screens, musical instruments, and hot air balloons filled up the rest of this landscape of greatness with people from all ages and disciplines.
Gadgetoff’s spontaneous flow of events kept you on your feet, jumping from boats, to buildings, into a rustic railroad house, and a cool science museum while somehow getting us all to sit calmly in an auditorium for several intellectually stimulating lectures. We were a geek fest storming the town in fashion with electronics in every pocket, Segways leading the crowd, and individuals rifling with excitement on anything cool and usually out of the ordinary.
I’ll post a few pictures on my adventure after the jump with notes, otherwise, hit up Gadgetoff.com, their blog, or a bunch of their YouTube Videos thanks to Michael (co-founder)
“Two weeks ago, TED.com hit a milestone: posting our 150th TEDTalk. To help you keep track of all the TEDTalks you’ve watched and want to watch, here’s a simple, low-tech tool: a list of all the TEDTalks posted to TED.com so far, in the order they were posted.”
Nice, a master list! via TED
Other inspirational conference video sources:
– GEL videos
– POP!TECH PopCasts
– GadgetOff
– All Things DigitalÂ
I’m off to the mind-numbing idea-gathering Pop!Tech Conference focusing on “The Human Impact” this week in beautiful Camden Maine October 17-20. If your not one of the lucky ones to attend, be sure to tune into their interactive LIVE STREAMS . Yes, I said Live and free! Otherwise, if you want some catching up to do, go through their Pop!Casts videos from previous years, go through their blog, or check out my post from lasts years fun trip
As usual, I’ll be back with goodies to post about.
It’s been a busy few weeks on my side… apologizes for the lack in postings, but keep sending me goodies. Besides my trips to NC, NYC, MI, RI, and ME this week, it should be back to normal by months end. Enjoy these links.
– Insane Base Jumping video: Jumping closer is better.
– Are you Left or Right Brained: A quick visual test. I saw both.
– Cool convertible jacket to bag: seems ninja like. I want!
– Aptera Hybrid Car on pre-order: Jetsons like Hybrid car.
– Table Frisbee: The new underground home sport.
– A Giant Pink Bunny Doll
– iPod Cassette Tape hack: Making your ipod retro cool!
– Blobbing: catapult your friends off a blob of air.
– USB 3, finally!
– A “Simpson’s” Scene to Reference guide.
A few weeks back I was invited by GM to fly out to their Proving Grounds in (Milford) Detroit to test drive their new 2008 cars, take a “Drivers Skill Enhancement Course” (stunt school), interview some VP’s in Design and Energy, and have some fun. I’ve grown up driving Japanese cars but took this opportunity to dive into GM’s world with an open designers mind and to scope out all of their brands; Pontiac, Hummer, Saab, Cadillac, Saturn, Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC.
I’d like to thank GM for funding this gathering and would welcome this adventure again though I’d suggest a few changes which I’ll address throughout.
If ya don’t like to read, check out the video I composed from hundreds of pictures taken during the journey above.The entire journey and story after the jump.
It’s that sweet time of year again when RISD takes over Providence with their 3 day RISD by Design Weekend festival hosting a variety of events including the very popular Alumni Sale with Live Music, good food, good times, arts&crafts, the Waterfire, and frantic dizzy freshmen RISD students wondering “What did I get myself into” while rubbing their dusty rusty charcoal mustaches off and stressing over their chess set projects, 200 self-portraits, gouche projects, Chuck Close paintings, and more while prancing through the alumni sale after an all nighter or three seeking the Balls(Basketball), Nads(hockey), or Sacs(Soccer) games!(RISD sports) RISD Rocks!
I’ll be there, rock’n out the sale, digging the fire, partying in the museum, and meeting a ton of friends for our 2002 five year reunion!!! If you’ve been planning to visit RISD, this is the weekend to do so!
RISD by Design 2007 Webpage and PDF Brochure!
Hmmm… “Listography.com: Your Life in Lists!” In a book format as well!
I few months back I wrote down a list of all the web services that I’ve signed up for…this includes emails, Amazon, ebay, IM’s, Joost, Pownce, WordPress, etc… Dang, the list got long, but I guess it says a great deal about me… I’m a net nerd! Start yourself a Listography list and let your friends know more than ever about yourself!
I’ve seen my share of products and services that go out of their way to make an experience more memorable than the products themselves (Dinner in the Sky, Total Darkness Restaurant, Fish Pedicure, Catch Your Own Sushi Restaurant, Unusual hotels), but when I was sent photos of this restaurant (perhaps just a temple) on the peak of a mountain side I freaked!!! I would have never guessed the pathway to get food food to be terrifying. Personally, I’m scared of heights, though I love pushing myself to fight it, but after seeing these pictures, I’d wonder how safe (crazy) this experience would be just for some food up high. I don’t see any safety nets or belts… doesn’t wood rot?
A bunch of crazy pictures documenting the pathway to this crazy restaurant up high.(thanks yoyo)
Update: a video.(also after jump)