Democratic Ecology
Engadget and Inhabitat have reported that Philippe Starck has designed a mini-wind turbine under the banner of "Democratic Ecology", with the "intent to enable every man, woman and child on Earth to generate their own power in designer style."- The transparent mini-turbine will be available to all in September 2008
- The windmill can generate 20-60% of the energy needed to power a home
- at a price point of around 400 Euros ($633)
- not clear if more equipment will be needed to convert/store the energy properly
I also love his new outlook. After recently stating about his career to-date:
“Everything I designed was unnecessary… and I am ashamed of this fact”
Away
We're at the beach with the wife's family. Will be back next week.In the meantime, enjoy your fourth and some of baseball's best moustaches
The Rock-afire Explosion
I seriously can't get enough of this. I remember the Rock-afire Explosion from Showbiz Pizza as a kid. Apparantly there are a bunch of these still around and it has a serious fanclub. But some guy is having the robots sing whatever song you want them to! This usher song and the mgmt song are certainly highlights. Bizarre mixed with nostalgia mixed with catchy tunes = pure gold.
Songza
There are a ton of great internet jukeboxes these days. It's hard to keep up with which are legal and which are not, but today I ran across songza, which might be one of the best of the bunch. The interface is amazing. Super simple, but works well, and allows me to listen to one while I search for another, create playlists, embed on my page, etc. Color me impressed.Nerdery
Some design/technology/nerd links i've found interesting lately:- Pattern Cooler - create and modify tile-able patterns. works really well for a free online app
- "On the Fly" web design resources - a pretty good list of web designer tools. I particularly like CSS Text Wrap
- Accessibility Color Wheel - shows what color combinations are considered accessible, with examples of how people with different visual disabilities can see them
- 960 grid system - a comprehensive web design grid system (via aaron)
- Summize - neat, up to the minute twitter search
- Wipe your ass with Windows Vista Ultimate
The dark horse candidate this election season...
You can make your own here. Thanks, indecision 2008.
I love twitter
I love it. I didnt get it for the longest time, but like most social media, it's value is in the people on it. Sometimes you just hear about what people are up to, sometimes you get poignant thoughts, and other times it spirals into full-blown conversation.
The limited space (140 characters) forces you to be concise, and ensures you're never overwhelmed.
I follow friends, of course, but there are some others that are worth checking out - particularly rawkhawk, which does excellent record reviews in (140 characters!), CNN, which is judiciously updated, and, of course, THE ACTUAL cobra commander.
The real reason for this post is tweetwheel. It's a cool visualization of how those you follow on twitter are connected. You can check out my tweetwheel, or see your own.
the Trons - self playing robot band
"The Trons are a completely self playing robotic junk band! They are made mostly from old computer and mechanical parts and play real songs using real instruments"
more at the trons myspace.
"Requiem For A Day Off"
There are tons of these floating around, but Michael over at Yewknee clued me into this excellent Ferris Beuller one. If you're not familiar, the idea is to create a movie trailer out of an existing movie in a totally different genre. I've also included the first one I ever saw a few years ago, "Shining". Basically proves that you can edit almost anything into almost anything else. Enjoy your weekend!
Girl Talk is blowing my mind...
Seriously. Every 30 seconds my head explodes.Recipe for an instant party - put this album on, press play.
Girl Talk (aka Gregg Gillis) just released another album of super-amazing, ass-shaking, crowd-pleasing DJ tracks. Basically he mixes every song you have ever loved into something magical. He switches it up a ton, it's always unexpected, and pretty much every time it will make you smile. As I write this he mixed busta rhymes, metallica, jay-z, tom petty, garbage, Brittney Spears, Prince, and the Beatles. And that was in a single track. The main vocal track is usually pretty hardcore rap, so if you're sensitive to language, beware.
Feed the Animals is available from illegalart.net...and you can set your own price. At different price points you get different perks. Hurry before they decide to pull it.
Ten Thousand Cents
"Ten Thousand Cents" is a digital artwork that creates a representation of a $100 bill. Using a custom drawing tool, thousands of individuals working in isolation from one another painted a tiny part of the bill without knowledge of the overall task. Workers were paid one cent each via Amazon's Mechanical Turk distributed labor tool. The total labor cost to create the bill, the artwork being created, and the reproductions available for purchase are all $100. The work is presented as a video piece with all 10,000 parts being drawn simultaneously.
You are able to see each of the 10,000 parts animated, which is really neat, along with some selected closeups here on vimeo. I found it amazing how different cultures respond to the task.
On average, a United States user spent 02:48 per segment, while China spent 23:52 per segment. Is that a reflection of our value of one cent or of our work ethic?
via ten thousand things
Mindset Six50: Electric/Solar/Gas Hybrid Car
Yes, Please
via Cool Hunting
Piclens
Normally this stuff doesnt catch my eye, but Piclens is really neat. When you're on a enabled site (such as flickr, youtube, facebook, google images, etc), it shows all the photos or videos on the page in a 3d space, very quickly. I'm impressed with how super-quick it loads, and navigating is seamless and intuitive. Actually has added value for me a few times - I can quickly fly through a swath of photos and zero in on the ones I want to see. The only problem is it overlays a "play" icon over applicable photos on a website, and sometimes it gets in the way. But overall if you're interested in this sort of thing, it's definitely worth checking out.
Summer waterslide mania!
Upside down waterslide? WHAAAT!?
Super Slip-n-slide?! YES!
Apple totally rules. It's a fact. But what's the deal here?
You've probably heard that Apple launched a new GPS enabled, 3G phone today at the dirt cheap price of 199 (8gb). I'm drooling and will probably torture myself for another year waiting out my (hated) sprint contract...But you may also have heard about their rebranded .mac product called "mobileme". It looks really cool - instant syncing across all devices, online storage, etc, but I won't be shelling out the $99/year for things other apps can do for free (dropbox, for example is a great solution for sharing files).
The real reason for this post is the branding for mobile me. Did this look immediately familiar to anyone else?
Why in the world would Apple brand this so closely to an (albeit older) flagship Microsoft product? Am I the only one that sees this?
My New Favorite Weatherman
This guy Jim Kosek is cracking me up.
Street Art
Some really creative street art by Dan Witz. I love the stuff that makes you look twice. Check out his flickr photostream, and let me know if you see one of these in person in Brooklyn!
via Chris at Useless Knowledge
punched in the face. in slomo.
Action Figure slow motion video from Stig Nordas on Vimeo.
!!!!!
via yewknee and nathan at veryness
Dear Product Manufacturers,
Dear Product Manufacturers,It's me, your customer. I'm writing with a request. Can you please stop making products that are hard to use? Products that I can't figure out without pulling out my product manual? You know the ones...with complicated ways to use them or things that won't work properly unless you add an impossible mix of forgettable things? I'm looking at you, Craftsman. I know you're better than this. Why do I have to put in a mixture of gas & special oil into my weed whacker? Why can't I just put in one easy to find thing in one place (gasoline), and another easy to find thing in another (standard oil) and you mix it for me? What is this, 1952? Or my lawnmower. What kind of oil do I need to add? It's not written anywhere on the product, and your manual (gone) isn't even available online. And you Microsoft. Well, there's just too much to mention...
You can do better. You can make the things I have to do regularly brainless. You can make the things I have to do irregularly not even that hard - or at least easy to track down. I know you can do it.
Thanks,
Your Consumer
The telectroscope
Hardly anyone knows that a secret tunnel runs deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean. In May 2008, more than a century after it was begun, the tunnel has finally been completed. An extraordinary optical device called a Telectroscope has been installed at both ends which miraculously allows people to see right through the Earth from London to New York and vice versa.
Select the hidden text below for more (kind of a spoiler):
This, of course, is fiction (admittedly it took me a while to confirm), an art piece by Paul St George. But at first the idea certainly made my eyes open wide in wonder.
Official Website
New York Times Article
Link via Kanye West. (We're good friends)
Aesop's glass ceiling
Aesop sells botanical skincare products. Their newest retail store take an interesting spin on recycling:The store's ceiling is crafted entirely out of recycled bottles, precisely arranged in a wave pattern.A goal of theirs is that every store is different:
the Flinders Lane store interior is made entirely of industrial-grade cardboard; from the display shelving, to the massive eastern façade, and even the counter topsVery cool spin on something mundane.
Links via the cool hunter
Nokia Morph Concept (short)
Probably won't be coming out any time soon, but i love taking a glimpse into the potential future.
Park Ave CDs
This is brand new from the local record store next to my old house in Orlando. So great!
Link via Mike Dunn and the Kings of New England (who you should really check out, by the way...)Huckabee Nails It
Pretty glad this guy is not the leader of the free world...
Link Via Irresponsible Journalism
Location, Location, Location
Colossal Castle or Humble Home? Same Price – Your ChoiceMakes me want to get property in a foreign land...then i realize i don't have a half-million lying around...
link via useless knowledge
Processing
Weird Fishes: Arpeggi from flight404 on Vimeo.
And tons more videos here.
Related: learn how to program.
(link via Andrew at OkayYellow)
Where would we be without Mr. Rogers?
I'm serious! In this moment, Fred Rogers gave millions of kids a stable influence in their lives. Amazing.
link via positive energy vibe zone via yewknee
Mount Rushmore is younger than McCain
John McCain is old. Real old. How old? Well, older than Alaska. Older than Bugs Bunny. And yes, older than Mt. Rushmore.
Here is a list of the many things younger than John McCain.
Link via my brother David
The reward
Good buddy Nathan captured this amazing shot and it's doing quite well on Flickr. Congrats, Nathan!
(also - be sure to visit his blog: veryness)
Boy do I love Charles Barkley
Repeal Day isn't until December 5th, but...
it's worth noting anyway that Repeal Day is a holiday celebrating the repeal of the 18th amendment prohibiting the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors" in the United States. Crazy to think in our land that even happened, but I think it's worth celebrating that we've righted our wrongs.The real reason for the post is that when I stumbled upon this today I realized that alcohol was illegal both before and immediately following the stock market crash, and the beginning of the great depression.
Insane. If ever a time you'd want a drink...
History of Political Parties
Ran across this poster visualizing the history of political parties today, including a "family tree" and (appropriately) a snaking timeline.These guys are really fantastic at visualizing information. Some of the others (like Death and Taxes) are also all-stars. Such inspiring work.
Layered Paper Art
Michael from yewknee pointed me to the source,
Jen Stark, an amazing artist with a ton more to see on her site.
Thanks Michael...
Everybody thinks they are right
I don't entirely get Stefan Sagmeister. He is an artist/designer that has alot of very strange things to say - but also a few important things to say. And like anyone brilliant, there are alot of misses and a few very sharp, poignant hits. I particularly liked this hillman-curtis video, especially towards the end. Be sure to see the time lapse of the bananas.link via Nathan at Veryness.
You're being marketed to. Now that that's out of the way...
Regardless of motive, these two sites are thoroughly enjoyable:
http://www.nolaf.org/
The campaign against fun.
via Armstrong Family Circus
http://www.whitegoldiswhitegold.com/
The spinal tap-ish stylings of "White Gold"
via Yewknee
Christian Kitsch Friday: Spiritual H2O
I know I'm not helping things when I post something I got via spam, but this is too unbelievable to pass up. That's right, it's spiritual h2o.
Each one full of 100% water. The Focus water, for example, also full of regular water. BUT it has a verse on it...about focus, of course.
ugh.
Like with most spiritual kitsch, I'm sure this benefits someone, somehow, in some way (other than the salesman). Perhaps it helps them remember Christ in some way (I know, a stretch.) But I'm almost certain this is the type of thing Jesus drove out in the temple when he overturned tables.
Twistori
Twistori is an interesting twitter visualizaion. Cool to keep the pulse on the internet in this way.
link via Jstn
Gnarls Bizarre-kley
Gnarls Barkley is giving away their "The Odd Couple" record for free.There's just one catch.
It's totally backwards.
1 40 minute track, backwards.
What? Why?
http://fronttobackbacktofront.com/
Link via Andrew
Moustache May is in full swing
Against all odds, the expressed desires of my wife, and my natural ability to grow a moustache, I am participating in Moustache May 2008. My moniker is cento.In truth, I love it because of the people. Lots of friends from around the country, even my brother. Good people. Nathan once said that a month of moustache is the entry fee for participating in such a remarkable community. If so, I'm in.
If you have any desire, you should sign up ASAP. It will certainly fill up fast...
Many thanks to yewknee for his hard work on the site...
A fresh look at the stuff we use every day
I love it when someone puts a useful spin on the mundane. These scissors make quick work of shredding, confetti, or even slicing herbs. Inspiring - makes me want to rethink everything...Links and images via cool hunting
Mentos Fountains
Appx 1500 students break the world record for Mentos fountains (mentos dropped into 2-liters of diet coke).May be a bit wasteful, but what a sight...
link via the cool hunter
I told Jay I did a song with coldplay...
In case you haven't yet heard, Coldplay is giving away Violet Hill, a track from their upcoming release Viva La Vida. I quite like it. It's got some weight to it. And I'm also really digging the album art.
Be sure to grab it - it's only for a limited time.
Not a Coldplay super-fan by any means - perhaps my low expectations is why I'm so impressed.
"abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz"
clocks
Christiaan Postma has created an art installation of a clock, made up of many individual spinning clock arms that over time converge to spell out the correct hour. So at Twelve, the word twelve appears by the convergence of all the clock arms. Again at one, the word one appears, and so on.Like much art, quite hard to explain, but the flash animation on his site sums it up...and is really amazing.
This week in basketball...
The United States men's basketball team will face host China in its first game at the Beijing Olympics. Tensions will be high, and this probably won't help.Jay-Z gets involved in a Lebron James/Deshawn Stevenson war of words. As an aside, I always want Jay-Z on my side.
update: you can hear the song here.
My Orlando Magic are up 3-1 in the first round, and baring they don't choke tonight, will make it to the second round for the first time since the mid-nineties. GO MAGIC!
update: MAGIC WIN! Next up - Detroit.
Irony
I grew up in the Church. I'm still involved to some extent. So when El Clinto posted a blog about XXX Church's mention in the "Stuff Christians Like" Blog, I took notice.It's basically a Christian version of "Stuff White People Like" (which I posted about before). The headlines are all pretty spot on, and made for a good laugh upon initial glance. I applaud his effort to point out inconsistencies and grotesqueness in Christian culture, and I believe his heart is good. But in general, for a number of reasons (including, I suspect, an attempt to avoid coming across as judgmental) it loses all of it's bite.
I find it ironic. Like most Christian "stuff" he took something funny, relevant and popular, and put an uninspired "Christian" spin on it.
His next post should be "Christians like...taking something good and making a more bland Christian version of it."
Then again, he's taking action in a world of inaction, which should also be applauded. I just wish it wasn't done in a "He's the Real Thing" sort of way.
two cents.
Illustration Amazingness
Science Machine from Chad Pugh on Vimeo.
Chad Pugh has created some fantastic illustrations which he's selling prints of in his online store. This is what 40 hours of illustration looks like. Amazing.
link via yewknee
Life-sized mouse trap
Someone has created a 25,000-lb, life-sized mousetrap. I wonder how big the mouse will be?It will be on display at Maker Faire:
Maker Faire is a two-day, family-friendly event that celebrates the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset. It’s for creative, resourceful people of all ages and backgrounds who like to tinker and love to make things.Link via coudal partners
I Want You to Want Me
Jonathan Harris blows my mind. Consistently. The way he envisions, displays, and makes data interactive is remarkable. He makes it human.
I've followed his work for a while, but was just exposed to his recent MoMA commission focused on love, particularly through online dating. It is beautiful. Because people tend to post the most important things about themselves, he says:
it's a very fertile ground for building a mosaic of humanity
Link via Cool Hunting
Graphic Design: The New Basics
I've been enjoying the site for the book Graphic Design, the new basics today. Not only does it look like a book worth picking up, the site content is really great. It has an overview of the major, basic design principles, with definitions, examples and exercises.
Stuff you know, worth rehashing.
I don't touch the stuff...but...
I dont see why if I wanted to I shouldn't be allowed.Congressman Barney Frank today introduced bi-partisan legislation aimed at removing federal restrictions on the individual use of marijuana.
As Dr. Ron Paul once pointed out, the only reason it's illegal and alcohol is not is because politicians like their alcohol.
"To those who say that the government should not be encouraging the smoking of marijuana, my response is that I completely agree. But it is a great mistake to divide all human activity into two categories: those that are criminally prohibited, and those that are encouraged. In a free society, there must be a very considerable zone of activity between those two poles in which people are allowed to make their own choices as long as they are not impinging on the rights, freedom, or property of others."
More on the Raw Story
Some killer music videos
Kraak & Smaak - Squeeze MeLink via Yewknee via Luke
Link via Apex Exposure
GPS-enabled cameras
What an interesting concept. Altek just announced an 8 megapixel camera with integrated GPS, which tags each photo with the exact latitude and longitude of where the picture is taken.Photos will be both date and location tagged, allowing you to truly capture that moment in time.
Imagine in the future going to a google maps style interface and see all photos that exist for a location on a date over the course of, say, an hour. People have been doing this manually for a while, but the idea of making it automated is very interesting.
Link via endgadget
Light Emitting Wallpaper
"The back layer is a silver-based solution that conducts electricity, while the layer above this contains phosphorous pigments that light up. On top of this is a flexible, transparent ITO conductor layer, with regular wallpaper placed on top to act as the final, outwardly visual layer," he explained.More on TechRadar
Link via Andrew Sullivan
Next generation aircraft
With its 64 meters long and 36 meters wide, this aircraft has a top speed of 138 mph with range of more than 3000 miles It boasts some unique properties for a craft of its size including the ability to hover, take-off and land vertically, complete autonomy from airports, etc.
More pictures and info on Kanye West's blog
(Yes. Kanye West's blog.)
The Art of the Title Sequence
Title sequences for movies and tv are such a cool art form, and sometimes can even be the best part of the entire the entire thing. The Art of the Title Sequence features some of the best. It even has some of the Saul Bass classics like Vertigo. One of my personal favorites is Thank you for Smoking.Worth checking out.
related: These are especially amazing when you think about what opening sequences could be if done the typical mediocre way (thanks yewknee)....
Link via Paul Armstrong
Death = Taxes
Happy April 15th, the beautiful spring day where we are reminded how our fine government takes our money, holds it for a year (with no interest, of course), gives it back like it's a gift, then taxes that as "income" next year. Yes, the day where we remember how inefficient and difficult the government can be. Where we are forced through an impossible labyrinth of forms and files to figure out just how much the Government will penalize our productivity.Truly, today is the day where we should take a good, hard look at that bottom line figure of what we paid over the past year and burn it into our brain so we will remember next time we vote.
The image is from Boortz/Linder Fair tax book, which I tend to think is a good idea. It may not be a perfect solution, but it is much better than the system we have now. Learn more about the fair tax at fairtax.org.
And don't forget that bottom-line figure...
Super Mario Theme Played with RC Car and Bottles
Mario Theme Played with RC Car and Bottles - Watch more free videos
Amazing. Also amazingly nerdy.
Link via Jacob.
Sony Wins
Sony certainly knows how to produce a sense of wonder. This ad is just remarkable. The Sony Bravia ads to date have been spectacular, and this is no exception. Here they feature Sony cameras, and produces a similar sense of wonder while falling in closely to the existing brand.
I beg to differ with Nathan on this one. His point is taken that many over-document instead of just experiencing a moment, but it's certainly something I'd want my camera on-hand to record.
Link via Veryness
Obey Orwell
Shepard Fariey (Obey) has been busy. He's branched out from his generally subversive work to design the popular Obama political posters, and now for Penguin he's designed covers for two Orwell classics. Love it.Link via Boing Boing
Narnia in 5 Seconds
via Veryness
Vinyl Wall Stickers
These Paristic wall stickers seem like a cool way to spice up a room (or window, furniture, etc).Low impact (easy to remove) and works well with large expanses of blank walls.
Color-changing pavement
I've heard about see-through concrete and luminescent gravel, but color changing pavement?It's a thermosensitive varnish put on roads to indicate freezing conditions. Great idea to help keep people safe.
via cool hunting
Dear God
I just ran across Dear God.Dear God is a global project for people around the world to share their innermost hopes - and fears - through prayer
Part post-secret, part religious expression, people are posting short requests to (and rails against) "God".
I find them to be an interesting insight into the human struggle with their creator.
I think many people use the anonymity of the internet to say things they otherwise wouldnt. That can be very good and very bad.
On the whole though, the idea of a collective, shared prayer is an interesting one, and it's executed in a very interesting way. Check it out.
Link via the cool hunter
LOST: This about sums it up
via Falfa
(ps - itching for some new episodes...yet another repeat tonight...)
Flickr now has video
Morning Commute
Originally uploaded by BigGuns
I love flickr, and welcome the ability to have both photos and videos together in my photostream. It'll be nice not to have to tell people about 2 separate sites. I wonder how this will affect Vimeo (which i like alot lately, and also allows you to enter videos into your flickr stream)?
Starz gets it right
New branding for the cable network starz hits the nail on the head. Really great. More on Brand New.Link via Nathan
It wasn't planned. The goal was to hibernate.
Justin Vernon moved to a remote cabin in the woods of Northwestern Wisconsin at the onset of winter. Tailing from the swirling breakup of his long time band, he escaped to the property and surrounded himself with simple work, quiet, and space. He lived there alone for three months, filling his days with wood splitting and other chores around the land. This special time slowly began feeding a bold, uninhibited new musical focus...Listen on Virb. I'd recommend Lump Sum first.
more...
First heard about him from Jon Schaaf, then again from Jim Renaud and now I'm hooked. I can't stop listening to this record...
Isn't it cool what can happen when you arent expecting it?
The Hand Written Word
My good friend Nathan started something quite interesting - thehandwrittenword.From the site:
We're writing out the Bible by hand. 1 chapter a day until we're done. We're using different translations. We're writing in 5.25"x8.25" notebooks. We'll post photos of our pages online. If you want to join, let us know.
Day 1 (Genesis 1) has already been posted.
I think it's brilliant for a number of reasons. For one, you can often retain things better when you write them out. In addition it's a community participatory thing, with low barrier to entry (you must be able to write), and you could theoretically after 3 years end up with a book you can treasure for generations to come.
My handwriting is atrocious and I know enough about myself to realize I won't go the distance. But I may jump in on an easy book down the line.
Air Bear
More Street Art. This time by Joshua Allen Harris.
He...ties (plastic) bags to the ventilation grates above the subway lines so that when the subway rushes through underneath, the animal jumps up and springs to life.More here and here on Wooster Collective
Signs of Spring
Creative work from street artist Mark Jenkins.Link via Wooster Collective
