Friday, December 17, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Marc Gomez del Moral (video)
http://www.marcgomezdelmoral.com/#651613/EL-GUINCHO-Bombay
Friday, September 17, 2010
From the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
If you have the time, read this. It's quite enlightening to hear a strangers point of view about you're existence.
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/existence
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
World Health Rankings....
The results are in... we're still kind of the best at this living thing.
http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/world-health-rankings
Simple is better.
Oddly, I've seen these pics in my mind before seeing her work... I'm not bragging, just saying.
http://www.behance.net/Holtermand/Frame
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
If you create, look inside...
http://thecreatorsproject.com
When Arts meets Commerce... be prepared, be confident.
You'll have to look somewhere else on how to tie a proper tie.
http://www.focus.com/fyi/human-resources/managers-cheat-sheet-101-common-sense-rules-leaders/
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
For the Fixie Rider in all of us
This place is full of odd tidbits on fixed gear culture from around the world. A good find for the novice rider or the seasoned roller. http://trackosaurusrex.com/pblog/
Monday, August 30, 2010
How to forecast weather without gadgets
http://www.marisys.com/how-to-forecast-weather_2010-05-26/
You produced that? Yeah right.
Producing music has never been easier. This little ditty of a site by Scion is actually above par and the dubstep page is blessed. The interface is simple and the results sound great. You just might be on your way to being a heavyweight music producer, enjoy!
http://www.looplabs.com
Friday, August 27, 2010
Shangri La Hotel - it's in our nature (video)
It's great to see companies stepping outside of the box to attract business. Makes me feel like I'm on the right track when I examine taking creative risks.
http://tim-ho.com/2010/06/shangri-la-new-ad-campaign-its-in-our-nature/
Sunglass Hut, we're done.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
To Live and Ride in L.A. (fixed gear flick*)
As a fixed gear rider in Los Angeles myself, just giving props to an awesome documentary. Well done my friends. http://www.trafikpictures.com/tlr/
Imagination overload over here with this guy...
The Rules of a Gentleman
Bringing the Outdoors in.
Didn't know I'd get so attached to this site. As a music selector and gadget hunter, I thought I'd seen it all. Then comes along something so simple... nature rules! http://naturesoundsfor.me
Self Publish a Book?
Remember that idea you had, the one about the story that evolved eventually into an awesome movie script? Start here.
http://www.lulu.com/publish/books/?cid=us_home_nav_bk
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Become a hacker. Everybody's doing it.
Below is an introduction to hacking. It's great information. That's all it is, information. Use it wisely.
http://www.port7alliance.com/txt/hackbg.html
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Gettin in it all day
http://musicnerdery.com
20 Things I've Learned form Traveling Around The World for Three Years
On March 13, 2007, I handed over the keys to my house, put my possessions in storage and headed out to travel around the world with nothing but a backpack, my laptop and a camera.
Three and a half years and 70 countries later, I've gotten the equivalent of a Ph.D in general knowledge about the people and places of Planet Earth.
Here are some of the things I've learned:
1) People are generally good. Many people are afraid of the world beyond their door, yet the vast majority of humans are not thieves, murderers or rapists. They are people just like you and me who are trying to get by, to help their families and go about living their lives. There is no race, religion or nationality that is exempt from this rule. How they go about living their lives might be different, but their general goals are the same.
2) The media lies. If you only learned about other countries from the news, you'd think the world was a horrible place. The media will always sensationalize and simplify a story. I was in East Timor when the assassination attempts on President José Ramos-Horta, and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão in 2008. The stories in the news the next day were filed from Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur, not Dili. It was all secondhand news. I was in Bangkok during the political protests this year, but you'd never have any idea they were taking places if you were not in the immediate area where the protests were taking place. The media makes us scared of the rest of the world, and we shouldn't be.
3) The world is boring. If there isn't a natural disaster or an armed conflict, most places will never even be mentioned in the news. When is the last time you've heard Laos or Oman mentioned in a news story? What makes for good news are exceptional events, not ordinary events. Most of the world, just like your neighborhood, is pretty boring. It can be amazingly interesting, but to the locals, they just go about living their lives.
4) People don't hate Americans. I haven't encountered a single case of anti-Americanism in the last three-and-a-half years. Not one. (And no, I don't tell people I am Canadian.) If anything, people are fascinated by Americans and want to know more about the US. This isn't to say they love our government or our policies, but they do not have an issue with Americans as people. Even in places you'd think would be very anti-American, such as the Middle East, I was welcomed by friendly people.
5) Americans aren't as ignorant as you might think. There is a stereotype that Americans don't know much about the rest of the world. There is some truth to that, but isn't as bad as you might believe. The reason this stereotype exists is because most other countries on Earth pay very close attention to American news and politics. Most people view our ignorance in terms of reciprocity: i.e. I know about your country, why don't you know about mine? The truth is, if you quizzed people about third-party countries other than the US, they are equally as ignorant. When I confronted one German man about this, I asked him who the Prime Minister of Japan was. He had no clue. The problem with America is that we suffer from the same problem as the rest of the world: an obsession with American news. The quality of news I read in other parts of the world is on a par with what you will hear on NPR.
6) Americans don't travel. This stereotype is true. Americans don't travel overseas as much as Brits, Dutch, Germans, Canadians or Scandinavians. There are some good reasons for this (big country, short vacation time) and bad ones (fear and ignorance). We don't have a gap year culture like they have in the UK and we don't tend to take vacations longer than a week. I can't think of a single place I visited where I met Americans in numbers anywhere close to our relative population.
7) The rest of the world isn't full of germs. Many people travel with their own supply of water and an industrial vat of hand sanitizer. I can say in full honestly that I have never used hand sanitizer or gone out of my way to avoid contact with germs during my travels. It is true that in many places you can get nasty illnesses from drinking untreated water, but I don't think this means you have be a traveling Howard Hughes. Unless you have a particularly weak immune system or other illness, I wouldn't worry too much about local bugs.
8) You don't need a lot stuff. Condensing my life down from a 3,000 sq/ft house to a backpack was a lesson in knowing what really matters. I found I could get by just fine without 97% of the things I had sitting around my home. Now, if I purchase something, I think long and hard about it because anything I buy I will have to physically carry around. Because I have fewer possessions, I am more likely to buy things of higher quality and durability.
9) Traveling doesn't have to be expensive. Yes, if you insist on staying in five-star hotels and luxury resorts, travel can be very expensive. However, it is possible to visit many parts of the world and only spend $10-30 per day. In addition to traveling cheap, you can also earn money on the road teaching English or working on an organic farm. I've met many people who have been able to travel on a little more than $1,000/month. I met one man from the Ukraine who spent a month in Egypt on $300.
10) Culture matters. Many of our ideas for rescuing other countries all depend on them having similar incentives, values and attitudes as people in the west. This is not always true. I am reminded of when I walked past a Burger King in Hong Kong that was full of flowers. It looked like someone was having a funeral at the restaurant. It turned out to be people sending flowers in celebration of their grand opening. Opening a business was a reason to celebrate. In Samoa, I had a discussion with a taxi driver about why there were so few businesses of any type on the island of Savai'i. He told me that 90% of what he made had to go to his village. He had no problem helping his village, but they took so much there was little incentive to work. Today the majority of the GDP of Samoa consists of remittances sent back from the US or New Zealand. It is hard to make aid policies work when the culture isn't in harmony with the aid donors expectations.
11) Culture changes. Many people go overseas expecting to have an "authentic" experience, which really means they want to confirm some stereotype they have in their mind of happy people living in huts and villages. They are often disappointed to find urban people with technology. Visiting a different place doesn't mean visiting a different time. It is the 21st Century, and most people live in it. They are as likely to wear traditional clothes as Americans are to wear stove top hats like Abraham Lincoln. Cultures have always changed as new ideas, religions, technologies sprang up and different cultures mingled and traded with each other. Today is no different.
12) Everyone is proud of where they are from. When you meet someone local in another country, most people will be quick to tell you something about their city/province/country that they are proud of. Pride and patriotism seem to be universal values. I remember trying to cross the street once in Palau, one of the smallest countries in the world, and a high school kid came up to me and said, "This is how we cross the street in PALAU!" Even crossing the street became an act to tell me about his pride in his country. People involved in making foreign policy should be very aware of this.
13) America and Canada share a common culture. This may irk Canadians, but we really do share a common North American culture. If you meet someone overseas, it is almost impossible to tell if they are American or Canadian unless they have a particularly strong accent, or they pronounce the letter "z." It is easier to tell where in England someone is from than it is to tell if someone is from Denver or Toronto. We would probably be better off referring to a "North American" culture than an "American" culture. What differences do exist (Quebec being the exception) are more like differences between states and regions of a similar country.
14) Most people have a deep desire to travel around the world. Not shocking, but every day I meet people who are fascinated by what I do and how I live. The desire to travel is there, but fears and excuses usually prevent people from doing it. I understand that few people can drop what they are doing and travel around the world for three years, but traveling overseas for even a few months is within the realm of possible for many people at some point in their lives. Even on an island in the middle of the Pacific, people who would probably never leave their home island talked to me of one day wishing they could see New York or London for themselves. I think the desire to explore and see new things is fundamental to the human experience.
15) You can find the internet almost everywhere. I have been surprised at where I've found internet access. I've seen remote villages in the Solomon Islands with a packet radio link to another island for their internet access. I've been at an internet cafe in the Marshall Islands that accessed the web via a geosynchronous satellite. I've seen lodges in the rainforest of Borneo hooked up to the web. I once counted 27 open wifi signals in Taipei on a rooftop. We truly live in a wired world.
16) In developing countries, government is usually the problem. I have been shocked at the level of corruption that exists in most developing countries. Even if it is technically a democracy, most nations are run by and for the benefit of the elites that control the institutions of power. Political killings, bribery, extortion and kickbacks are the norm in many places. There is little difference between the Mafia and the governments in some countries I've visited. The corruption in the Philippines was especially surprising. It isn't just the people at the top who are corrupt. I've seen cops shake people down on the street for money, cigarettes or booze.
17) English is becoming universal. I estimated that there were at least 35 native languages I would have had to have learned if I wanted to speak with locals in their own tongue. That does not include all the languages found in Papua New Guinea or Vanuatu or regional dialects. It is not possible for humans to learn that many languages. English has become the de facto second language for the world. We are almost to a point where there are only two languages you need to know: whatever your parents speak... and English. English has become so popular it has achieved an escape velocity outside of the control of the US and UK. Countries like Nigeria and India use it as a unifying language in their polyglot nations. Other countries in the Pacific do all their schooling in English because the market just isn't there to translate textbooks into Samoan or Tongan.
18) Modernization is not Westernization. Just because people use electricity and have running water doesn't mean they are abandoning their culture to embrace western values. Technology and culture are totally different. Japan and South Korea are thoroughly modern countries, but are also thoroughly Asian. Modernization will certainly change a culture (see #11 above), but that doesn't mean they are trying to mimic the West.
19) We view other nations by a different set of criteria than we view ourselves. On the left, people who struggle the hardest for social change, decry changes in other countries that they view as a result of globalization. On the right, people who want to bring democracy to other countries would be up in arms at the suggestion that another country try to institute change in the US. In both cases, other nations are viewed by a different set of rules than we view ourselves. I don't think most people around the world want the help or pity of the West. At best, they would like us to do no harm.
20) Everyone should travel. At some point in your life, whether it is after college or when you retire, everyone should take some extended trip outside of their own country. The only way to really have a sense of how the world works is to see it yourself.
The Science of Rock & Roll!
Some people have tons of time and music on their hands. Good to know I'm not the only one.
http://roadsidejesus.com/periodic/ptableHola.html
Monday, August 23, 2010
The Cookies Story
This actually did happen to a real person, and the real person was me.
I had gone to catch a train. This was April 1976, in Cambridge, U.K. I was a bit early for the train. I'd gotten the time of the train wrong.
I went to get myself a newspaper to do the crossword, and a cup of coffee and a packet of cookies. I went and sat at a table.
I want you to picture the scene. It's very important that you get this very clear in your mind.
Here's the table, newspaper, cup of coffee, packet of cookies. There's a guy sitting opposite me, perfectly ordinary-looking guy wearing a business suit, carrying a briefcase.
It didn't look like he was going to do anything weird. What he did was this: he suddenly leaned across, picked up the packet of cookies, tore it open, took one out, and ate it.
Now this, I have to say, is the sort of thing the British are very bad at dealing with. There's nothing in our background, upbringing, or education that teaches you how to deal with someone who in broad daylight has just stolen your cookies.
You know what would happen if this had been South Central Los Angeles. There would have very quickly been gunfire, helicopters coming in, CNN, you know. . . But in the end, I did what any red-blooded Englishman would do: I ignored it. And I stared at the newspaper, took a sip of coffee, tried to do a clue in the newspaper, couldn't do anything, and thought, what am I going to do?
In the end I thought, nothing for it, I'll just have to go for it, and I tried very hard not to notice the fact that the packet was already mysteriously opened. I took out a cookie for myself. I thought, that settled him. But it hadn't because a moment or two later he did it again. He took another cookie.
Having not mentioned it the first time, it was somehow even harder to raise the subject the second time around. "Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice . . ." I mean, it doesn't really work.
We went through the whole packet like this. When I say the whole packet, I mean there were only about eight cookies, but it felt like a lifetime. He took one, I took one, he took one, I took one. Finally, when we got to the end, he stood up and walked away.
Well, we exchanged meaningful looks, then he walked away, and I breathed a sigh of relief and sat back. A moment or two later the train was coming in, so I tossed back the rest of my coffee, stood up, picked up the newspaper, and underneath the newspaper were my cookies.
The thing I like particularly about this story is the sensation that somewhere in England there has been wandering around for the last quarter-century a perfectly ordinary guy who's had the same exact story, only he doesn't have the punch line.
(Excerpted from "The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time" by Douglas Adams)
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Jamie Livingston - Photo of the Day - 79' to 97'
This is a collection of Polaroids from Jamie Livingston, one photo per day, from March 31, 1979 through October 25, 1997. In 1979 the photos start casually, with pictures of friends, picnics, dinners, and so on. By 1980, we start to figure out that the photographer is a filmmaker as well as a musician. Through the 80's most of the pictures are of himself, friends and fun with family in various settings (mainly New York). Sadly, through the 90's we see that things aren't as fun or cheery as they were in the previous pictures . We soon realize he has brain cancer. Through the rapid decline of his health, he marries and continues to takes photos until his death 19 days later on his birthday. Sad as it may feel and appear, this collection of pictures are fun, insane, hilarious and of course devastating at times. But, we're here to look and experience a part of this man's art. That's why he took a photo, once a day, for 18 years. 6,697 Polaroids.
Click Here for Photos
Fun with technology!
http://lab.andre-michelle.com
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Drifting away.....
10 Tips for Creative Success
If you are in a creative field, then you have most likely at one time or another encountered that dreaded feeling: Creative block. Not only is it uncomfortable, but it can make you question the merit of every idea you’ve ever had. However, we can all take comfort in the fact that it strikes even the most talented of creative professionals. Here are ten tips to help you power through the toughest projects and succeed in every creative challenge.
1. Embrace confusion.
Realize that creative haze is normal. Despite our wish to have a clearly defined path that leads us to the Big Idea, realistically that path can often be obscured by a thick cloud of haze. Be patient: you will eventually reach that moment of clarity. You may even be the person who leads everyone out of the smog.
2. Understand your audience.
Ask for a clearly defined target demographic for every assignment. With a more focused goal, you can better tailor your ideas and concepts so that they speak to your intended audience.
3. Ask questions.
Step outside of your office for a walk and talk to people about your product or design problem. You’ll be surprised at how many people are actually willing to stop and chat. Go to a nearby bookstore and browse the aisles for inspiration. Illustrations from a children’s book or even a cooking recipe may ignite the creative flame.
4. Go back to basics.
If you are at a standstill, just start laying elements out in their most elementary form, even if all you’ve got are the title, graphic and a small blurb. Take a step back and see the design problem for what it is. Then make it better. Add to it and eventually you will arrive at the solution.
5. Seek inspiration.
Check out design annuals and awards books for inspiration. After all, those represent the work that’s deemed to be the best in the field. But don’t spend all your time looking at other people’s work. The great ideas are within you—you need to grab a hold of them and make them real.
6. Know when to call it a night.
When you hit a wall, it may be time to go home, get some sleep and come back refreshed. Good ideas that may have seemed great the night before may be revealed as less-than-inspired in the cold light of a new day. By the same token, it’s amazing how the ideas start to flow when you return to work rejuvenated.
7. Listen and learn.
You may fall in love with a concept. It may seem like the idea of a lifetime—but then it gets rejected. Your first instinct might be to fight for it but, before you do, take a step back. It might be well worth the fight but first solve the problem according to the conditions you’ve been given. You might want to bring up the original concept again later, or you may find yourself moving on to something even better.
8. Recognize that they’re not just doodles.
You’ve already got the talent but you have to keep the creativity flowing. The next time you go to a museum or watch a television show, jot down noteworthy pieces or clever scenes. Keep a notebook with you and write down thoughts and ideas that pop up. You never know when the clever bug might bite.
9. Revisit the cutting room floor.
You start designing a few concepts and you end up with a collection of drafts, some good, some bad. Print them out, spread them out on the table and take a closer look at the ideas that you’ve developed. Seeing them laid out this way helps you to compare the pieces and identify the ones that really shine. Let the good ones guide you and you’ll end up with a masterpiece.
10. Take the good and take the bad.
We all enjoy a warm pat on the back but that doesn’t mean we should show our work to everyone in search for approval. Ask a few people whose creative opinions you trust to look at your work. Accept their advice and criticism along with their praise. If they tell you that the idea is not good, they might be right and it might be time to move onto your next idea. Embrace the bad news along with the good.
More design stuff...
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Free documentaries!
Watch, download free, full-length, political documentaries here. You're welcome! http://freedocumentaries.org
Dalai Lama’s 18 rules for living
- Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
- When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
- Follow the three Rs:
- Respect for self
- Respect for others
- Responsibility for all your actions.
- Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
- Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
- Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
- When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
- Spend some time alone every day.
- Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
- Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
- Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
- A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
- In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
- Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
- Be gentle with the earth.
- Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
- Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
- Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
It's gotta be the food!
Zillions of good recipes in here, from vegetarian dishes to grilling, from meats to desserts to drinks. It sucks I'll never be able to create every dish on this site. But I can always lick the screen! http://www.tastespotting.com
A little history of TV presentation and graphic design
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Developing memorable characters
How much about your characters do you really know? Small details might seem superfluous even irrelevant to the story you intend to write, but the smallest detail informs the bigger picture. The more you know about your characters, the better you’ll create believable characters who live and breathe on the page and in their own fictional world.
- What do you know about this character now that s/he doesn’t yet know?
- What is this character’s greatest flaw?
- What do you know about this character that s/he would never admit?
- What is this character’s greatest asset?
- If this character could choose a different identity, who would s/he be?
- What music does this character sing to when no one else is around?
- In what or whom does this character have the greatest faith?
- What is this character’s favorite movie?
- Does this character have a favorite article of clothing? Favorite shoes?
- Does this character have a vice? Name it.
- Name this character’s favorite person (living or dead).
- What is this character’s secret wish?
- What is this character’s proudest achievement?
- Describe this character’s most embarrassing moment.
- What is this character’s deepest regret?
- What is this character’s greatest fear?
- Describe this character’s most devastating moment.
- What is this character’s greatest achievement?
- What is this character’s greatest hope?
- Does this character have an obsession? Name it.
- What is this character’s greatest disappointment?
- What is this character’s worst nightmare?
- Whom does this character most wish to please? Why?
- Describe this character’s mother.
- Describe this character’s father.
- If s/he had to choose, with whom would this character prefer to live?
- Where does this character fall in birth order? What effect does this have?
- Describe this character’s siblings or other close relatives.
- Describe this character’s bedroom. Include three cherished items.
- What is this character’s birth date? How does this character manifest traits of his/her astrological sign?
- If this character had to live in seclusion for six months, what six items would s/he bring?
- Why is this character angry?
- What calms this character?
- Describe a recurring dream or nightmare this character might have.
- List the choices (not circumstances) that led this character to his/her current predicament.
- List the circumstances over which this character has no control.
- What wakes this character in the middle of the night?
- How would a stranger describe this character?
- What does this character resolve to do differently every morning?
- Who depends on this character? Why?
- If this character knew s/he had exactly one month to live, what would s/he do?
- How would a dear friend or relative describe this character?
- What is this character’s most noticeable physical attribute?
- What is this character hiding from him/herself?
- Write one additional thing about your character.
When something is done so right, words are useless.
I stumbled across Nick Brandt's work by accident. On sight, it looks like simple wildlife photography. But look closer, closer. Can you get closer - Do you even want to? Didn't think so. Enjoy.
http://www.younggalleryphoto.com/photography/brandt/brandt.html
Friday, August 6, 2010
Seems crime is easy in some places...
When you think of how different most cultures are, it's easy to perceive some as over confident or more passive than others. It's even easier to imagine some having amazing cuisine and others, well, not so amazing cuisine. But in regards to criminal behavior and ways to fight it, this shit right here is just wrong.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
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