Because I woke up and went to work an hour early yesterday, destroyed a few plates of half-price sushi at Ra, downed a couple glasses of Kirin, and ended up passing out for two hours after I got home, I kinda just feel like posting some eye candy this morning instead of, you know, actually writing anything. Push play and enjoy.
A catchy and melodic track by The Hundred In The Hands. It doesn't hurt that Eleanore Everdell has such a sweetly resonant voice. Pair the track with some refreshingly high-contrast visuals and you've got a slick, engaging video.
Stop-motion macro photography (think Robot Chicken) set to a jazzy, rolling groove. I especially like how all the little details added realism to the scene, from small pieces of litter blowing around in the street to the parallel-parking cars.
Like the retro-ish atmosphere, simple scenes of nature and poignant piano score in this short film, languages are beautiful.
Hopefully these videos give you a little boost to your day! As for me, I think a Red Bull might do the trick. *burp*
Artist Alex Varanese has apparently figured out the formula for combining modern technology with retro advertising design aesthetics. The result is ART/1977: We Are Not Time Travelers, a series of concept posters that are, in my humble opinion, seriously beyond cool. Varanese "re-imagin[ed] four common products from 2010 as if they were designed in 1977: an mp3 player, a laptop, a mobile phone and a handheld video game system. I then created a series of fictitious but stylistically accurate print ads to market them."
Microcade 3000
Pocket Hi-Fi
MobileVoxx
Ridiculously awesome. I even love the 70s color scheme (in the ads, anyway).
Looking at these makes me want to put Tron back on the Netflix queue and look for used Atari 2600 games on eBay. I know I just talked about not buying non-essential things in a recent post, but if these things actually existed, I'd be hard-pressed not to want them in my greedy little hands.
Here's an app I found that instantly turns your webcam image into ASCII art ... Being a complete geek, I had to give it a go. (Best viewed full-size.)
ASCII Ran
Kinda cool.
Happy Tuesday -- here's hoping you waste a few minutes out of your workday turning yourself into your own version of the Matrix screen.
Hrmmm, the second "self-portrait" post in a week ... maybe I'm becoming narcissistic. Either that or I'm running out of things to post about. Never that -- more substantial material tomorrow. Pinky swear. Oh yeah, look -- no more glasses!
I wonder what the story behind these tattoos is. A quote from Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., it's an interesting phrase in and of itself and I'm curious to know what event inspired these sisters to get it inked onto their forearms.
I've been thinking of getting a tattoo for several years now, and ideas have come and gone with none of them really feeling exactly right. These have included symbols and phrases, including some kind of stylized Baybayin script (which I initially thought might be cool but really isn't that original of an idea anymore*). Obviously I have to make sure that what I'm going to get is what I really really really want, so the search continues for a design that is personally significant (and attractive) enough to last me the rest of my life.
Perhaps I just need to dig a little deeper to find the inspiration.
*If I find the right style of Baybayin though, this option might still be a go.
So I was looking for some fresh new wallpaper for the laptop. Every few days I like to rotate them to keep things interesting, cycling from abstract minimalist displays to tranquil natural landscapes, from stylized vector art to heavily photo-manipulated images. I've been in a kind of urban, gritty mood lately so my last couple of wallpapers have been city scenes with lots of concrete, steel, glass, artificial lighting and sharp, well-defined angles. Images of graffiti have always served as interesting wallpapers, so my current one is a photo of a popular Banksy piece:
there is always hope
Banksy is a popular graffiti artist hailing from the UK. Even if you don't know him by name, chances are if you've been around on the Internet you've seen some of his stuff. As with thousands of fans, his style resonates with me.
elephant bomb
I like the "look" of his art; much of it is clean, high-contrast stencil work. His use of shadow and negative space is imaginative and creative, and he often uses elements of the surrounding area to enhance the piece. Banksy is not the most colorful graffiti artist, but the colors that he does use are used to maximum effect.
swept under the carpet
I love TV
More often than not, there is some sort of sociopolitical message attached with his work which are usually usually anti-war, anti-capitalist or anti-establishment. Sometimes they're just funny. But I like the fact that he's actually trying to say something instead of just tagging his name up on a random wall.
anti-climb paint
sale ends today
Exit Through The Giftshop, a documentary about street artists including Banksy, recently premiered at Sundance this year to mostly positive reviews. The trailer looks promising, so I will have to watch this one late night -- with a couple of beers and some Phantogram tracks -- to complement my mood.
So this video's relatively old in Internet time, but for some reason the song's been in my head the past couple of days.
Say what you want about 'Ye but the dude pushes envelopes when it comes to the visuals that complement his music. This video is pretty damn dope.
I'm still not a huge fan of 808s & Heartbreak but I do have to admit, the album grew on me over time. I'll actually throw it on the iPod for some road trip music for this weekend as I make my way to Wichita for the annual KSRT convention.
So exactly one year ago yesterday I was lurking on MetaFilter when I read about Name Your Tale, a creative-writing website co-founded by one of MetaFilter's members. In the tradition of microfiction, the authors on the site write 100-word short stories based on titles that are submitted by anyone via the website. It was an intriguing idea so of course I had to give it a shot. I submitted "Perpetual Mixtape" as the title for a custom short story, then promptly forgot about it.
However upon checking my email after class yesterday, I saw that my story had finally been written!
Perpetual Mixtape
We were in the kitchen when Dad reached the end. It was like watching him drop a fifty-pound sack he had been carrying our entire lives. We had never believed the story (the sounds of ‘78, the genie, the squandered wish, etc.) but when he reached the end of the Perpetual Mixtape, we saw before us a new man. He dropped the knife and looked out the window, beaming, smiling. “I’m going for a walk,” he said, to no one in particular, and when we asked if he wanted company, he shushed us, then grabbed his keys and walked out.
***
Title by: Ran Gamboa
Story by: Nick
I like it. It's amusing and light, and it was fun to see how someone else could creatively interpret the name of this blog. The fact that I'd forgotten about my submission, only to rediscover it again a year later (to the day, even) was an added surprise -- kinda like finding a little money in the pocket of a coat you'd stashed away last winter.
If you have a couple of minutes to spare, I recommend coming up with and submitting a title of your own. It's just great to see creative minds at work, and you just might be pleasantly surprised at the results.
I love worldwide webcam collaborations like this, especially when they involve music. This is the kind of stuff that moves me. I'm glad I live in a world where people are inspired to use technology to create beautiful music and art with like-minded souls on other continents.
Rather heavy school workload today, so I'll keep it short. Weekend's almost here!
I have an ongoing love affair with hats. I, like millions of other kids, used to rock the prerequisite baseball cap back in high school and thought nothing else of it other than a way to 1) rep a sports team and 2) not do my hair. Then came college and the real world, and my hat collection expanded exponentially to include not only beanies/skullies, but fedoras, newsboy caps and duckbills (which are my most recent obsession). Every few weeks I'd go somewhat out of my way to buy lids with new tasteful patterns and colors -- not to mention being on the receiving end of the occasional wonderful gift. Currently I have a decent-sized collection including items from English Laundry, Triple 5 Soul and other quality brands.
However, hats made by Goorin Brothers remain my all-time favorites. I'd usually pick up a new Goorin hat every time I visited an Urban Outfitter, and they have never disappointed me with the fit and style. Their designs are understated and classy. I was extra amped when I found out that they have an actual shop in the U-District in Seattle! I now have an additional stop to make during my visit to Washington in about a week :)
Browsing their site, these are the duckbills that caught my eye:
"Lost Crown" The contrast of the design is striking.
I like the juxtaposition of the pinstripes
with the organic, flowing vine-like shapes.
"Peyton" A dope purple-and-green combo in a
"soft and colorful custom tweed." This looks
sharp, stylish and super-comfortable.
"Bethany" This one really seems smooth and solid,
with an inviting texture and classy color.
Thumbs up to the castle logo on the side too.
Ah man, these just look so freaking freshhhh. I don't usually get excited about clothes, but hey I just love hats. Hopefully the Seattle store has at least one of these in stock; I'll have to treat myself to a small birthday present!
I don't really watch much television, but I've been following Lost for about four years now. Got into it when I lived in SoCal when my brother and I Netflixed the first two seasons and watched it with our significant others. Yes, I got hooked and as a result, I have the usual fan gripes about the sheer amount of unsolved mysteries and unanswered questions. This being the last season, I hope the writers wrap most of the major things up neatly by the end as they've been promising -- although with the way Season 06 is going, I wouldn't get too excited about the possibility of having all of my questions answered.
According to his bio, designer Ty Mattson heads up Mattson Creative, a firm specializing in "brand identity development." Which means he gets to design cool award-winning stuff for clients like Hasbro and Pepsi. Turns out he also likes Lost, and for this season's premiere episode, he designed some viewing party invitations for his friends. A quick sampling:
These are cool as hell. I love that they're so retro and clean.
Obviously to "get" the posters, you'd have to have followed the show, but they definitely stand on their own as really dope art pieces. These actually make me amped to watch the show ...
With that said, Episode 04 is tonight! Tune in. We'll see if we can get some questions answered *crossing fingers*
According to the artist, Serene Teh, this piece was "illustrated with technical pen, frame by frame. I admit it might not be the best, or the quality isn't perfect, just a shot at animating the old flip book whatever-you-call-it way." At any rate, it's a refreshingly gritty change-up from the too-smooth, over-CGI'd animation we're bombarded with daily.
Hey it's the middle of the week and you could probably use a little break. I got just the thing.
In Canabalt, all you do is run and try to escape a city being overrun by giant robots. Actually, the game "runs" for you so all you need to do is push X or C to jump. But they better be carefully timed jumps, or you're meeting your maker. Okay, so it's not really "parkour" -- just a lot of jumping and some really fast running.
Very simple concept, and to my knowledge there's no ending (you just try to run as far as you can) but it's oddly addicting. The atmosphere of the game is, in a word, menacing -- tense music, angry mecha destroying the buildings on the horizon, the occasional rocket fly-by that shakes everything in sight -- and combines perfectly with the sense of urgency to GTFO!
Play it a couple of times and escape. Then it's back to work for you -- until the robots arrive for real.
I have a funky habit of removing labels from stuff. No, not clothing labels -- but bottles, jars and miscellaneous containers. I like the packages in my house to be "clean" and uncluttered with unnecessary text and noise (if I can help it). Most often it's the objects in my bathroom and kitchen that are stripped down to the essence -- including bottles for shampoo, conditioner and body wash, soap/lotion dispenser pumps, and even miscellaneous hair/skin products. One of my friends called it "Zen" which I thought was appropriate and cool, but most people end up confused for a few seconds until I point out which container holds what stuff.
There's a debate going on in the comments section of the BittBox article: Some commenters argue that a few of the packages looked "generic" owing to the simplicity of their designs, but I contend that one needs to look at the subtle typographical details (as well as the design of the package itself) in order to appreciate the difference.
One can split effective design into two halves, good and great. Good package design conveys just enough information to relay the contents of the wrapper; great package design adds humor or cleverness to the mix and elevates the entire idea. They're probably not appropriate for every dining occasion, but you can't tell me the salt & pepper batteries aren't awesome.
Another beautiful semi-professional time-lapse video that captures the vitality and scale of The City That Never Sleeps over the course of a couple of days. The Moby joint gives the visuals even more of a slick cosmopolitan feel. Nice.
Being a avid reader of several modern design and lifestyle websites/blogs, I'd happen across the occasional article on painting your doors, walls or entire room black. While still quite unconventional, the results are always very striking and attractive -- the absence of color, if used correctly and tastefully, accentuate the remaining hues in the room.
I mean c'mon, I never really thought about painting a bathroom black (the closest I've ever gotten is a deep purple). But admit it, it looks damn good.
Sophisticated and dramatic, the trend is gaining fast in popularity although you probably won't see too many of these in the pages of Better Homes & Gardens quite yet. This is a far cry from the typical depressing/macabre/creepy/Goth sensibility that usually comes to mind when you think about painting in this color. But it's still a pretty bold choice to go with, and most people still shy away from it.
Well then, what would you say to an entire apartment painted a glossy black? Dwell.com frequently profiles innovative and creative living spaces, and this Chelsea apartment, formerly the "front half of the sixth floor of a YMCA" building and owned by consultant Cindy Gallop, is just about the best example I've seen so far.
I could do without the stuffed armadillo and the Gucci chainsaw, and yeah Gallop defines it as a "bachelorette pad," but yooooooooo this is sick. Everything -- from the eclectic art pieces, bookshelf items, all the way down to the couch cushions -- just pop. It's extremely visually appealing, daring and classy. Plus hip-hop even acknowledged it for a quick second; Biggie's "Nasty Girl" video was filmed here (although obviously it wasn't the focal point of the video, and I'd want to thoroughly bleach the hell out of the tub after Nelly's ass marinated in it for God knows how long). But man -- if I ever find the right spot, I'd absolutely consider doing this. The whole crib is primo eye candy and it isn't even using a traditional color. Just about as unconventional as a paint job gets.
"Give up white, and turn to the dark side. It's a lot more fun." - Cindy Gallop
Okay homie, I'll see your fun straw and raise you this:
Boom.
Brought to the Internet masses by Casual Profanity, the "Fluid Sculpture" is simple in concept: colored water flowing at various speeds through a maze of intricately-woven plastic tubing. But the execution, as you can see, is nothing short of hypnotizing. O_O
But just imagine drinking down a glass of chocolate milk with that thing. It would take you like seven hours.
[This actually came out some months ago, but I recently watched it again and had to give it some shine.]
Kings of Power 4 Billion % is a short film by Australian pixel artist/animator Paul Robertson. Click at your own risk; this contains some scenes that are probably NSFW:
INSANE FKN CRAZY, but who can deny the sheer awesomeness of this damn thing?! This looks like some wild-ass deviant imported Japanese videogame on crack/LSD/steroids/Elmer's Glue that could've come out back in the N64 days and immediately recalled due to the backlash of angry, shocked parents protesting the obscenely violent and sexual imagery throughout. True, you'd probably want to keep the grade schoolers and tweens away from this, but you'd be lying if KOP4B% didn't blow your unsuspecting mind into tiny glistening pieces of grey matter. But in a good way.
And yes, it's absolutely okay to rewind. You know you want to watch it again. Needless to say, I'm a fan.
After you collect yourself, you can watch more of Paul Robertson's pixel animation videos or visit hisLiveJournal blog, full of whimsical, funny and sometimes WTF little animations and sketches ...
So I recommend jumping over there in the safe confines of your own laptop as he apparently has a predilection for bodily excretions, projectile vomiting and bouncy animated cleavage. But in a good way! Immerse yourself and enjoy the insanity. (Don't say I didn't warn you though ...)
Clicking around the Web as usual, and found We Feel Fine, a creative and ambitious site that searches blogs for instances of the phrases "I feel" and "I am feeling." Then,
When it finds such a phrase, it records the full sentence, up to the period, and identifies the "feeling" expressed in that sentence (e.g. sad, happy, depressed, etc.). Because blogs are structured in largely standard ways, the age, gender, and geographical location of the author can often be extracted and saved along with the sentence, as can the local weather conditions at the time the sentence was written. All of this information is saved.
The result is a database of several million human feelings, increasing by 15,000 - 20,000 new feelings per day. Using a series of playful interfaces, the feelings can be searched and sorted across a number of demographic slices.
Cool as hell. The abovementioned interface is soft, colorful and aesthetically pleasant without being too busy, and it's addicting (I ended up playing with the options for awhile, and admired the design for awhile longer). I found it really interesting to visualize "feelings" this way, especially when taken out of the context of an entry in a personal blog and thrown into the mix with thousands of other random people -- and then sorted, categorized and processed into quantifiable results.
