I posted about this over on We Own This Town but it bears repeating here. Basically, while searching for material for the next WOTT podcast I ran into the "Indianer" demo from Nashville band Birdcloud. After a few unsuccessful attempts at ripping it from their Myspace page I ran across a Cream link informing me that the song was on YouTube - a source much easily ripped!
Long story short, I keep listening to this song. I can see how someone might be offended by it but, despite that, I find it amusing, engaging and incredibly repeatable. So, do yourself a favor and get both versions below - the demo version I originally encountered and the legit studio version.
The Walls Notebook is a compilation of 80 photos depicting "clean" walls in NYC that encourages you to release your inner street artist. Draw, paste, destroy the walls with your own creations. You won't get quite the same audience but there's a whole lot less danger. It is, honestly, a superb idea.
Rather enjoying the offerings of Portland photograher Amanda Flagg.. all from the Slice of Life style of documentation. There's more to see than what you can get to on the front page so be sure to rummage through the archives as well.
Remember this Kickstarter that sought to digitize old wood type fonts? Well, they received funding and their first set of typographic offerings are available for procurement at the Wood Type Revival. I'm partial to Gothic Open Shaded but there are several available worth perusing.
Take a few moments out of your day to get familiar with this mini-documentary Jerry's Map from Gregory Whitmore. The profile on artist Jerry Gretzinger tells the story of his immersive artistic undertaking of map creation - a project that reminds me of Henry Darger minus the incredibly sad unknown personal life. Jerry's process of creation started with a simple doodle but has evolved into a complex multi-layered immersive thing that really is captivating. I would love to see the state of the entire map as it stands now, as it must be enormous.
Rosemary Laing has a plethora of photographs worth looking through but the Leak series really caught my eye. Each photo shows a partially-completed building thrusting out of some rural environment in Australia, occasionally inverted or flipped. Two together really has an double-y incredible impact.
The Artist is a 2011 silent film by Michel Hazanavicius that fully embraces all the constraints of the long-gone era that it pays tribute to, all the way down to the 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Hopefully it doesn't have the same sluggish pacing as most films from that era but, even if it does, it will be a refreshing change from the norm. Read more about it here and here.
Over the weekend, Mac was telling me about a brilliant bit of new technology called the Solar Updraft Tower; an energy plant that combines solar, wind and greenhouse effects to generate energy. Basically, it's a giant convection tower with solar heated wind rotating turbines. The energy output is in the same range as a coal plant but with a smaller footprint and, theoretically, less overhead in overall operational cost. It's a new technology so there are bound to be some bumps along the way but I'm quite curious to see how the progress goes in Arizona with their proposed construction.
Back to the Future IV - I'm starting the rumor right now, this is a clip from a new Back to the Future film. Obviously I made that up and this is some sort of viral video for something that I don't really comprehend but it's just easier to believe that another sequel to the series is being made in another country with a legit Christopher Lloyd appearance.
I am grinning from ear to ear as I browse through these Alternate History Prints. I'm particularly fond of the vintagescenes, as they are incredibly well done integrations of new art with old (perfect color palette on the new stuff). And if the art weren't entertaining enough, the captions are pretty spot on as well.
I'll be honest, the above image is part of a large collage that I ran across on Tumblr.. so, of course, there was no accompanying information. Fortunately, a little creative googling leads me to the news of Hideki Sato, a Japanese hairdresser doing known for his ridiculous flat-top creations. I'm not saying it's the same guy as the original image but I'm saying it's a decent lead in unearthing why these hair concoctions exist.
If you are a regular reader of the blog you will know that shots like this underwater capture are right up my alley. Fortunately, the rest of the work from Barnaby Kent is also up my alley but quite diverse. I'm giving a big Yes to allofthese and that's just on the first page! It's gets quite a bit more "artsy" and less photojournalistic as you travel deeper into the archives but you'll still encounter greats like this as you go. Explore!
I realize the Summer Mix Series just ended and the Internet already overwhelms you with music but, assuming you have a moment, please take some time to go listen to my new mix over at Designers.MX. It does require you to sign-in with Twitter but it only takes a moment and I think you'll find the results to be pleasing. If the new mix doesn't do it for you, you can always listen to the first mix I submitted - Concentrate; which is somehow in the Top 10 on the site!
It's likely impossible that you haven't heard by now that Steve Jobs resigned as Apple CEO. His resignation letter explains his reasoning a bit and names Tim Cook as the recommended replacement (which Apple has taken to heart). My gut reaction to the news is that it signifies the beginning of the downfall in quality for Apple Computers - I think others agree - but that may be a bit hysterical of a reaction. Daring Fireball points out that the news really isn't surprising and that Tim Cook has likely been prepping for this move for almost a year.
While I am sure Apple is in good hands (and Jobs is still on the Board), it is amazing to take note of how intricately tied together the notion of a company and an individual are. Steve Jobs and Apple Computers are synonymous - what happens when you drop one of them?
This is likely their best timing to make such a shift in leadership as the new iPhone is on the way, a success that will be attributed to Cook, and the furthering success of Apple. Let's just hope that this change doesn't mean Steve Jobs is suffering from new health ailments! Or that he'll stop answering email.
Please take a few moments to watch this clever video from Tom Scharpling for The Ettes track "Excuse" (off their new album Wicked Will - packaging designed by Rachel Briggs!). The video is introduced by Patton Oswalt, as Sharpling, and continues from there with the funny. Personally, I'm partially to the sequence featuring Jem befriending Kryptor the Eldor but every sequence is quite amusing.
For years, people have been recommending that I read A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn. Despite this, I still have not read it. However, I recently stumbled upon this online version, presented by History is a Weapon. It's the entire book, online, ready for your consumption. If it seems unclear how someone can put an entire book online and not get in trouble from the publisher just know that they can't but they do have explicit permission from Zinn himself to share it with the world.
Long story short, if you (like me) have been looking to finally dive into this one.. this may be the perfect excuse to start in on it.
I remember writing about the MIT Copenhagen Wheel project back in early 2010 but now that it's being featured on Weeds I decided to look it up again. While I love the idea of a slick looking device, adaptable to any bike, that generates power while you cycle and brake for later usage when you need a boost - all while interacting via bluetooth with an app that records your performance and environment, I realize there is a fundamental flaw. It's easily summed up in this sentence from their site (emphasis mine):
You can use your phone to unlock and
lock your bike, change gears and select how much the motor assists you.
Uh, has anyone at MIT ridden a bike? Interacting with an app while riding is a terrible idea. Interacting with an app because it's the only way to utilize this brilliant device strapped to your bike is a downright awful idea.
The Mozilla Foundation has decided to spearhead a new project - WebAPI - with the basic goal being to create a common language across all browsers for developers to interact with. That sounds vague but when you look at their initial list of methods to be made available - Dialer, Address Book, Camera, Maps - you realize that with the plethora of phones out there these days that it would be nice if there were a common way to call these things into existence for the user. Not only would it speed up development but it should create a common experience for the user.
The craziest part is that they are looking to have something going within 3 to 6 months. Given the current update cycle of browsers that might be possible...
Martin Scorsese put together a documentary on George Harrison called Living in the Material World. The trailer itself doesn't mention it but the plan is for it to air on HBO Oct 5 and 6th and then be available on Blu-Ray / DVD on Oct 10th. That's the way to release a film!
Harrison has always been an intriguing individual to me and this film will, undoubtedly, just further my interest in him. His quote at the end of the trailer is one of those little tidbits everyone should keep with them.
"People always say that I'm the Beatle that changed the most but, really, that's what I see life is about. You have to change."
