yewknee.com

Ice Lab

Loving the site design and experience over at the freshly launched Ice Lab. You can tell a lot of time and care went into design every single page - something that often gets neglected beyond a front page experience. I love all the textures and illustrations used throughout.. certainly it is a level of design and execution worth aspiring to.

Via Drew.

Juergen Bergbauer

Tokyo Blues pointed me in the direction of the works of Juergen Bergbauer and, initially, I was going to point you in the directon of the Jardin a la francaise series of works - landscapes isolated into floating zones. However, upon browsing through the different sets I have to say that you really should check out City of Sails - a set similar in execution, isolating imagery into barren landscapes, but focusing on old world architecture and ships. The white void where these structures reside is perfectly surreal.

Building the Statue of Liberty

Check out this great collection of photos from Albert Fernique documenting the Building of the Statue of Liberty. Seeing the elements separated is fascinating enough but getting insight into the construction process (see: Skeleton and Plaster Skin image) is pretty much blowing my mind. Love it.

Via Kate.

The Unplugged Challenge

Surfstation / Dolan gave me the heads up on this NY Times feature - The Unplugged Challenge. The concept is exactly what you'd expect; can you disconnect yourself from technology for a number of days? Results are self documented and shared in this feature. The synopsis from every single video I've watched from this is pretty much the same - life is a bit better without the technology. Less stress, more time for family and friends, more time for personal growth and a fewer distractions from any personal endeavors you may have. Obviously a balance of non-technology and Internet living needs to be struck but it's great to see a feature where a people from a wide range of backgrounds all discover the same thing - technology can overwhelm.

Red Eye: New York to Berlin

This visual diary documenting Christoph Niemann's red eye trip from New York to Berlin is surprisingly entertaining. It's amazing what some drawing skill, some amusing observations and loads of time will yield.

Via Daniel.

CD Ryan

I'm really enjoying the illustrated works of Christopher David Ryan. Lots of clever and amusing pieces throughout done with just the right amount of texture and cleanliness. There are plenty of pieces not to be missed but I'll let you discover them on your own.

Via Arlo.

Running Wilde Trailer

I knew Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz had a new show on the horizon but there wasn't much information about it beyond a few castings. Turns out that the Fall show, Running Wilde, now has a trailer and a good dose of insight into what it's about. Oddly enough, the trailer feels more like a movie than it does a comedy series. At times it looks to be a bit schmaltzy but I have total faith that any vehicle with Will Arnett and Peter Serafoniwicz will be a pleasing view.

Turtles Could Hold The Secret To Human Immortality

Take a moment to read through this article about the lifespan of the giant tortoise and how their incredibly long lives could be the key to understanding our own mortality. Apparently if a tortoise was able to heal their shells they might be pretty close to living forever (exaggeration, yes). While it may not be as impressive on a science level as the immortal jellyfish, it's still fascinating and a subject likely worth delving into more.

Cuba Gallery

Ran across this image on Tumblr yesterday and was absolutely engaged by it. Thanks to Kate I was informed that the photo is property of Cuba Gallery and there is an insane slew of images to enjoy. It's actually quite daunting to see someone be able to capture nature, texture, people and much more. Love it.

Tuesday. Misc.

• Why Apple's iTV Will Change Everything - a strong case for how a revamped Apple TV could be a game changer for how we consume media. I think the biggest hurdle is how you have iOS apps without touch interface...
• 7" iPad on the way? - I don't really buy this rumor (at all) but it's curious to think about.

Monday Videos - August 23rd, 2010

I'm not sure why but I feel compelled to throw up a quick playlist. of enjoyable videos to start your week off. Maybe I'll regret it come Friday when I'm low on videos for the Friday Videos playlist but I'm going to throw caution to the wind regardless.

• Jens the Fox - 9-week old Arctic Fox playing with his toys. Is this even legal to own an Arctic Fox?
• Hot Drinks! - so good. Perfectly enjoyable. Via Paul.
• Dennis Parker - Like an Eagle - maybe a little disco-y for some but the lyrics are undeniable. Always hungry, always wanting.

Have a great week.

Congrats

I am stoked to see that Star Wars Uncut is now Emmy Winning. The Pugh Brothers (all three actually) and their whole entire team are quite deserving of the recognition.. I'm proud to call them friends.

Leandro Castelao

It's been a minute since I checked on the portfolio of Leandro Castelao and apparently there are a ton of new works to check out. I'm still perfectly enamored with the style and indebted to Tiny Showcase for the initial exposure. Go check out the updated works - I'm particularly enjoying the Animais and Kia work.

Hey Stuff!

From the creators of We ♥ Prints comes a new site called Hey Stuff! The concept of the site is similar - an ongoing blog of curated goods ready for purchase. The difference being that Hey Stuff! covers a wider gamut of artistic endeavors - sometimes a bit pricier but still all worth taking a look at. For example: Jeremy Fish Calendar, Linda Kim Working Proof Print, Awesome Affordable Shirts and some Skull Prints.

I'm going to go ahead and say I recommend adding this one to your bookmarks - particularly for any future shopping needs.

Pictos

I know I just posted about an icon set the other day but upon stumbling upon Pictos I knew I'd have to do it again. The brilliance of this particular set (beyond the fact that they're well done icons) is that they're all contained with a typeface and, therefore, available to use with CSS3 @font-face markup. Granted, said markup isn't 100% available yet but it will be and having this tool at hand would be incredibly convenient.

Last Night I Kind Of Lost My Sh*t

While I don't expect this sort of thing to typically appear on his blog I do appreciate that it's there. Head over to Michael Ian Black's Tumblr and check out this anecdote in which he recalls lambasting an audience member for comparing President Obama to Adolf Hitler. The story itself isn't all that surprising but the reflection upon it is something that I wish more people would keep in mind:

But now I feel bad. I feel bad because, in retrospect, that guy didn’t deserve that. Yes he said something incredibly stupid, but my response was just as stupid. I could have made my point a million different ways without screaming into a microphone in a room filled with drunk people. I wasn’t clever, I wasn’t thoughtful, I said nothing that would move the conversation forward. I just yelled because Nazis push my Jew button (my Jew button is located right below my tail).

It was a purely emotional response, the kind that I get upset at other people for making when talking about the mosque they want to build or gay marriage or gun violence or any issue that people use to piss each other off.

The pure emotional response is more satisfying on a personal level but does little to move the conversation forward and does a lot to widen the gap between being able to make progress.

Kids These Days

Ran across two interesting reads recently regarding the younger generations of today. As I get a little older I find this sort of thing more and more fascinating.. maybe because it's an experience I will never have or maybe because I'm secretly always looking for ways to embrace my inner curmudgeonly old man and this is fuel for the fire:

• What Is It About 20-Somethings? - An interesting debate to start thinking about a new phase of life called "Emerging Adulthood" - mostly reserved for the possibly listless 20-somethings. It happened with "Adolescents" so why not introduce a new term? Times they are a changin'...

  Even if some traditional milestones are never reached, one thing is clear: Getting to what we would generally call adulthood is happening later than ever. But why? That’s the subject of lively debate among policy makers and academics. To some, what we’re seeing is a transient epiphenomenon, the byproduct of cultural and economic forces. To others, the longer road to adulthood signifies something deep, durable and maybe better-suited to our neurological hard-wiring. What we’re seeing, they insist, is the dawning of a new life stage — a stage that all of us need to adjust to.

• Wear a wristwatch? Use-email? Not the Class of 2014 - another bit of insight into the younger generation and some of the divergences that are appearing from our own - i.e. Clint Eastwood being primarily a director, not an actor; kids not really ever wearing watches or preferring not to use email.
• Eric Schmidt Advice: Change Your Name To Escape Your Past - Google CEO suggesting that in the future it will become a right of passage into adulthood to change your name to escape all those embarrassing things you put online before you were legal. Sort of like wiping your permanent Internet record clean. It sounds nuts but I actually wouldn't be surprised to see it happen.

Friday Videos - August 20th, 2010

The playlist this week is a little on the weird side. I'd blame Zach for his onslaught of weirdo links but that's unfair.. I love them all.

• Giant Beach Bubbles - part of my wants to call this out as being some elaborate fake but I think that's just because it looks so surreal.. especially when they pop. Nuts.
• Please Don't Go - this probably appeals to a very small group of readers but I find it fascinating.. bizarre old footage mixed with stutter-y Fleetwood Mac.
• Star Trek Theme - sit tight and wait through the build up.. the payoff is 110% worth it. Then watch the rest of his videos.. love this guy. Via Paul.
• Cheri Monterey - I want this on repeat forever and ever.
• I Could Tell You But Then I'd Have to Kill You - montage of that line being used over and over.. turns out, it's always terrible.
• 80's Special Dancefight - is this honestly the rap that went with this song? Are they really robbing this guy of his socks? How is this real?? via Paige.

BONUS

• Losers: Flush - really not so into the song but the animation style is crazy good. I can't imagine the time it took to put this together.
• Marcel the Shell with Shoes On - Jenny Slate and Dean Fleischer-Camp make a silly video... the audio is hilarious; just enjoy it.
• JamnJim25 - I don't even want to say anything about this. It's inappropriate and not for everyone but I'm just stunned by it.

Have a great weekend!

Subway, Lifeblood.

Chad pointed me in the direction of this great collection of NYC subway photos from the eighties. The photographers (Bruce Davidson, John F. Conn, Jamel Shabazz and Martha Cooper helped to capture a time when, seemingly, the subway was a much more chaotic place to be. The current subway feels entirely sterilized in comparison - I'll let you be the judge if that's a good or bad thing. Either way, the photo collection is great.. give a healthy browsing.

Native Shoes

Apparently Native Shoes are a stylish twist on the infamous Crocs. I assume it's the same material but just molded into a more fashionable shape. That being said, I don't expect anyone reading this to actually be interested in the shoes themselves but I do recommend browsing around the site a little bit.. it's honestly an incredibly nice design. It just goes to show that your content doesn't matter as much as the materials used to present them when it comes to making an impression.

Via David.

Pizza Burger

Apparently Burger King has opened a Burger Bar in NYC with a myriad of exclusive items; including the Pizza Burger. I expect this sort of Frankenstein concoction from the likes of the Internet but from a major fast food chain? Well.. okay... I totally expect it from them too, I'm just taken a little aback to see it actually exist. And a little grossed out.

Via Jamie.

The King Of All Katamari Damacy Art Shows

I'll admit that I've never actually played Katamari Damacy but I've always enjoyed / appreciated the things it inspires people to make. Case in point, this Katamari Damacy Art Show opening September 2nd in Portland at Floating World Comics. I'm sure this is only a portion of the works but it's entertaining to see all the different styles implemented on an already stylistic game.

That's Why I'm Voting Tea Party

I assume I'm opening a tiny can of worms with this but these I'm Voting Tea Party t-shirts gave me a hearty chuckle so I thought I'd share. Obviously the shirts are taking an extreme political stance and making it more extreme and, thus, hilariously absurd. Sadly, there's a little underlying truth to many of these but that shouldn't prevent you from enjoying.

Via Paul.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

I've always had a theory that the more a movie is advertised, the higher the likelihood that it was going to disappoint. The hype of a film creates expectations that almost always exceed what gets delivered. So, when I realized that I was being inundated with commercials, mini sites, animations, apps, videogames and countless other hype devices I had extremely low expectations. Regardless of all that, there was one sliver of hope - Edgar Wright.. the man responsible for directed Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead and Spaced couldn't steer me wrong could he?

So I saw the movie last night and left pretty stunned. Actually, I left extremely stunned. Regardless of your thoughts on Michael Cera as an actor, you can't deny this movie. It is perfectly crafted for the "videogame generation" - those that grew up while videogames came of age. I realize that those who read this blog are pretty much exactly the same audience so I'm not going to gush over something that seems like it's preaching to the choir but if you're hesitant, please take the chance and go see it. The cast is perfect, the score and music are great and the special effects are used in a charmingly unique way.

Telephone Me: MK12

Remember back when MK12 would put out a new video and the entire web would drop everything to go watch it? Turns out if you haven't been continuing to do that, you've been missing out. Their Telephone Me short film is absolutely astonishing in so many ways. There's not a single aspect of it I don't love.

Related: It would be wise to take a moment to watch their 2010 Summer Reel as well.. loads of great stuff in there.

We Are Trees, Mixylodian

With the Summer Mix Series done for 2010 season it's time to get back to discovering music in the new old fashioned way; recommendations from trusted blog sources. We Are Trees is an outfit from Virginia Beach that recalls Grizzly Bear / Department of Eagles / Daniel Rossen in an incredibly familiar way. It's probably unfair to make such a comparison as it just seems like pigeonholing the lush, somewhat languid, four song EP but after giving it a listen I think you'll agree. Now, with that in mind, I'm a big fan of such sound and have been quite enjoying this... it's a free download (wish it had a donate option) and there's no reason not to give it a spin. Via yvynyl. Paul sent me the heads up on the Mixylodian album Wild in Church and I've been slowly combing through it. The first two tracks didn't do a ton for me but the third was enough to keep me tuned in. It's a indie pop record reminiscent of my college days - late 90's style. There's a nice bit of vocal switchup going on and some Found Audio sampled sprinkled throughout that creates a nice cohesiveness.

Pencil Tip Micro Sculptures By Dalton Ghetti

There's a fine line between kitschy mall art and ridiculously impressive fine art. Name on a grain of rice? Kitschy. Intricate sculptures made with the graphite of a pencil? Absolutely ridiculous. In the best of ways. Even if you somehow aren't into the end results, the craftsmanship alone is an impressive feat.

Pixel sorting by Kim Asendorf

Not to get all "art critique-y" but I really enjoy this project from Kim Asendorf in which she takes the diametrically opposed ideas of nature / mountain photography and blends it with the unnatural technique of pixel manipulation. It comes across as a well curated JPEG error.

Via It's Not What I Thought.