Thought of the week: What happens in Vegas never happened! 😉
Goal of the year: Be a design disruptor!
Funny: Best Wedding Dance Ever!
Read: Time Managment eBook for the Creative!
Tech: Aptera Car(300+mpg) Test Drive via PopularMechanics
Consumer: 5 yrs, 6 ipods, $1495!
Neat: A worthy travel pillow!
Art: Nice drawing!
Cool: Scissor Bracelet via Notcot
Challenge: National Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge
I’m not one to dive into the political world too often but this years round of familiar candidates has really captured my attention in that it is one of the most diverse round ups buzzing in all media formats traditional and modern on and off-line.
One particular politician that has captured my attention since 2004 is Barack Obama. His poetic speeches are powerful, his personality embraces leadership, his background is diverse, and his beliefs and actions are well supported by reason while embracing listeners to inspire, seek change, believe, and take action.
Besides the fact that this is probably the first time I’ve been excited about a presidential election, Obama is pretty geeky cool in the way that he’s all over the net, on MySpace, Facebook, has his own YouTube Channel, a blog, and even a Twitter feed. An extra highlight being a designer are some sweet icons www.008TheMovement.org has created which I received over the holidays!(thanks Bim)
No matter what the results are for Obama I praise him for being an incredible inspiration, a motivator for change, and a disruptor for the better! Obama just won the Iowa Caucuses and follows up with an amazing speech. Rock on Obama!
For those of ya’ll that smiled throughout the hilarious viral video collection “Internet People” comes another sweet video poking fun at the widely successful web2.0 world titled “Here Comes another Bubble“.
These videos are fairly true, and gives any non-web geek a quick run through of this past years web2.0 and viral video world.
I mentioned a bunch of incredible speakers during my safari over to Pop!Tech2007 …and now a few of those lectures are available for watching at Pop!Casts here.
Above is the lecture by Van Jones who is an activist in urban poverty and environmental peril…a must watch!. He’s incredibly talented, smart, funny, and great at speaking that all should learn from!
A few other videos released:
– John Legend: his music and his campaign on global poverty.
– Jessica Flannery: Kiva.org, a must do Micro Funding site.
– Chris Jordan: Photographer on consumerism
– Christian Nold:Bio Mapping/ Information Visualization
– Steven Pinker: The thinking behind conversation and language.
– Louann Brizendine: The emotional behavior of the brain, men and women.
– Daniel Pink: Insights on business and how Artists rule the future!!! (awesome for us creatives 😉 !)
– Caleb Chung: Pleo, Furby, and otehr fun inventions!
I’ll post the videos after the jump!
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This past year I’ve been incredibly fascinated and inspired by Adam Kalkin’s disruptive, poetic, rustic, and rather playful spacial creations redefining what things could and perhaps should be. His projects show exploration, curiosity, and an incredible sense to imagine like a kid again while being stuck in an adults body which I love.
Check out this great video summary of Adams work and personality via Dwell Daily Blog. For a peek at some of his other whimsical creations:
– 12 Container House
– Push Button House, NY Times or TheCoolHunter.
– Bunny Lane House via ApartmentTherapy
– QuickHouse via inhabitat
Adams work reminds me of one of my other favorite sustainable architectural firms: Lot-ek (video, Recycled Airplane Library)
Ben Underwood had his eyes removed at the age of 3 due to cancer. Overtime, he’s taught himself to see objects in space by using “echo location” to navigate the world around him.
Simply amazing and inspirational! It makes me wonder about what us as humans are actually capable of. How acute can our senses be, what is our potential, how can these elements be unlocked? (this phenomenon also reminds me of Phantom Limbs;feeling and controlling limbs that no longer exists! TEDtalk Video lecture by Vilayanur Ramachandran)
Seeing instances likes Ben makes me want to dive back into my fascination with synesthesia; the ability to use one sense though a secondary sense… or as I called it back in college, Cross Sensing.
All 5 videos of Ben after the jump, including the phantom Limb lecture.
(thanks v)
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Thought of the week: Sometimes ya gotsta take 2 steps back to go one step forward!
– Image: “Car Parts“.
– Video: Train runs through Bangkok Market Place.
– Cool adjustable emotional stamp.
– Video: Chimpanzees smarter at memory games than humans?
– Odd: Born with feet backwards!
– Article: Who clicks on Ads!
– Tech: NEC develops first translation phone!
– Product: Self Balancing Tray
– Web: Online Word Processor, BuzzWord!
Being a bit bummed I couldn’t make it over to this years wonderful EG conference gathering (the Entertainment Gathering) which started last night, I’m glad to see that their (matt) live blogging it. It’s very textual and less visual but hey, it gives the scoop on the awesome line up of speakers and hopefully they’ll release some kind of video archive if they jump on the bandwagon of conferences alike. I think Matt’s going to add pictures and videos since he’s live blogging like a mad man with spell checks then fixing it all up in the later hours enhancing his posts with images etc.
If your at EG, send me some updates, otherwise, I’ll be reading up on the live blog and searching for any incredible stories for the next 2 nights!
I’ve been clicking around Christophe Huet’s mesmerizing and inspirational webpages full of photoshop creations and ads, including a great “Making of” section that goes through the many layers and process of each creation which I love! It’s one thing to see the final work of a designer but it’s another story to see the thinking and design process into creating each magical piece.
I’m really diggin the big head creations and will make my own for web apps soon. Check out his webpage, turn up the sound for the soothing piano music and click through his “making of” section!
The design process of his “Big Head” piece above after the jump!
I’ve been craving a new car for some time, waiting on the Nissan Cube to hit the states (2008) while hopping on the hybrid fuel Toyata Prius bandwagon, as everyone should, but the soon to be released Mini Clubman (stretched mini) has really caught my attention, being small, a bit boxy, and oddly cute like the other cars that I’ve pondered over such as the Scion Xb, Honda Element, and the o so small Smart Car. Of the bunch only the regular mini, xb, and Element are out. I think I can wait as the Mini Clubman (spring 2008) seriously rocks, but I’ve heard rumors that the Nissan Cube (late 2008) is suppose to be a hybrid, as it’s also a 4 door which I like… but the Clubman has this odd 3rd door on the passenger side, much like a secret VIP door to the back seat and some cool barn yard like back doors.
So what does it come down to for me and my next ride?…hmm, fuel economy, cool-oddness, space, fun, comfortable, and some sweet unusual extras.(yes, I know I’m kinda into this boxy pixel thing) Anyhoots, I thought I’d just share my thoughts with ya’ll, perhaps getting some input on what to do or any other thoughts on oddball sweet rides… ooo..Regular mini, Mini Clubman, xB, Cube3, Element, Smart, or I could always just settle with the square “Modular Car“!
Some pictures and links after the jump!
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What an exhausting fun filled thanksgiving week/end! I was out in the Vegas area with family and friends pounding out hours of non-stop eating, mahjong, wii-ing, casino visits, shows, shopping, and many goofy hours with my many cousins in arcades (punch the duck game above) and everything else. Good times!
I’ve only returned to find out that a parking ticket I appealed 3 months ago got declined for no reason. I had pictures etc supporting the wrongful ticket, yet they will only let me dispute it in court, meaning take a day off from work, or pay the crummy $50. I really don’t understand why they don’t fix their system. Sure this system makes people pay more tickets, but when a wrongful ticket is given, the only choice is to pay rather than take a day off.
Design Note: Making money can be a sign of a great business, but sneaky tricks will lower the brand trust and the longevity in a business. Users come first in my world… always! Don’t you love those brands that just fix things without asking questions, then hate the ones that do ask!
Now for the links:
– Pancaking a truck video!
– Amazon.com launches “kindle”, their e-book/ink reader.
– Cool Torn graffiti work by Alexandre Farto
– Creative IKEA ads… I wonder if these layouts would be good?
– Swims: Rubber slip-on booties for your nice shoes.
– Popcorn Fork!
– Cool origami folds using bills!
– What hundreds of thin paint layers look like stacked!
– An Interview with Jim Gromen on the rebirth of MadBalls!
– Another Eco Friendly Powerstrip!
– Google Android (G-phone) emerges!
I’ve returned from the mind-numbing inspiring PopTech Conference still a bit jittery from the collective curious minds at this year’s awesome gathering. This year’s theme “The Human Impact” was way more than I expected covering everything from politics, waste, medicine, minds, communities, art, science, music, and everything else in between. The speakers filled the opera house with passion, greatness, huge questions, and ideas that sparked the hundreds attending and thousands watching online.
PopTech also launched a new extension to their conference called the “Pop!Tech Accelerator” facilitating world changing projects starting off with “Masiluleke“which is a groundbreaking software tool for HIV/AIDS patients throughout Africa. The idea of “Accelerator†is to leverage the community of PopTech attendees with their network to create world changing projects.
As usual, I’ll point my fingers to ninja blogger Ethan Zukerman who sat in the dungeon simulcast room next to me zipping his feisty fingers onto his furious laptop for the complete detailed recap, but I’™ll post more on my experience, a bit on the speakers, lots of pictures, and my journey up to beautiful Camden Maine. I’m not sure when all the footage will be archived and available for viewing, but they’ll eventually appear on their PopCasts Streams which I’d suggest catching up to.
My recap after the jump, otherwise, Poptech 2008, a definite must go to!