Tuesday, June 30, 2009

THE ARTWORK OF OTHER



The Canadian graf artist known as Other has been a busy man and looking to chronicle his works in book form. Dude is top notch and to make money for this endeavor he's selling prints (pictured below) here. (though, according to My Love For You Is a Stampede of Horses, they sell out QUICK which is not surprising considering) The 12"x 13" prints go for 100$ and are a great investment in an impressive up and comer. If the book includes his pieces on walls, trains and various objects seen on Flickr, it'll be very necessary and if it's new stuff, it'll be like oxygen.
(via My Love For You Is a Stampede of Horses which is quickly becoming my favorite art site)







Monday, June 29, 2009

THE PACIFIC: AN UPCOMING HBO MINI-SERIES



HBO recently released the trailer for their second World War II mini-series entitled The Pacific, due out in March of 2010. It is already touted as the greatest and most expensive TV show to date with ten 60 minute episodes already completed at a rumored cost of 200 million. Executive producer Tom Hanks had this to say about the "spiritual sequel" to Band of Brothers:
"That’s having its score finalized. I think it’s going to be March 2010. We are able to visit the home front on this one and we’re able to show the guys before the War and after. We show some of the most vicious stuff I’ve ever seen on film - because it has to be."

The trailer itself seems to follow the format of Band of Brothers in that it will follow a cast of characters through a single company of men. This time however, we will get a more complete story of each of these men including life on the homefront during the war. Surely, the issue of racism and miscommunication (on both sides), and the major "island hopping" battles will be addressed and hopefully, the firebombings and dropping of the atomic bomb also. For real footage of the Pacific theatre of battles, check the color (yes, color) footage in Ken Burns' The War.

The picture below was taken on set and like Band of Brothers, is painstakingly true to the appearance of soldiers (on both sides) in WWII. History nerds rejoice.

(via The Pacific Fanpage)

Sunday, June 28, 2009

THE BIG DIG HOUSE


There were few highlights in Boston's "Big Dig" highway overhaul that cost almost 22 billion dollars over the last 20 years. However, along with the wasted time and money (and lives) that accompanied the greatest highway project in U.S. history came tons and tons of industrial/construction waste. An architectural endeavor known as the Big Dig House in Lexington, MA has put to use the remains of the dismantled I-93. Designed by Single Speed Design, the house was constructed using over 600,000 pounds of salvaged materials (see pics below). This type of recycling is not only saving resources but quite a bit of money too, SSD puts it best:
Most importantly, the project demonstrates an untapped potential for the public realm: with strategic front-end planning, much needed community programs including schools, libraries, and housing could be constructed whenever infrastructure is deconstructed, saving valuable resources, embodied energy, and taxpayer dollars.
(via Arch Daily)





Wednesday, June 24, 2009

USA: #20 IN WORLD HOUSEHOLD BROADBAND INTERNET USE



Most Americans are under the impression that we are part of the technological leadership of the world or at the very least, that we have access to this technology. Since we don't often see how our competitors live, who can blame us? Every now and again, we get a reminder that we are no longer the tech kings of the world. (we're pretty good though) Well, new research by Strategy Analytics has concluded that based on household broadband usage (or penetration as it's known), the U.S. now ranks 20th in the world. First on the list is South Korea with 95% of its households using broadband internet access followed by three other Asian nations in the top ten which does not include Japan, (number 16) a country typically thought of as very tech-accessible. (full list below)

When Barack Obama spoke a few months ago about getting America "back on track" he mentioned a study that ranked the U.S. 13th in the world in broadband penetration per capita. That research can be misleading however according to Strategy Analysis:
“In far too many cases, people are looking at the wrong things,” says Ben Piper, Director of the Strategy Analytics Multiplay Market Dynamics service. “Residential broadband is overwhelmingly consumed on a household basis—not individually. Reporting broadband penetration on a per-capita basis misses the mark, and can provide grossly misleading results.”

The significance of this report is not necessarily that America lags behind it's competitors in tech access (which is important in and of itself), but that this lack of technological access could effect our ability to compete in education. According to the Programme for International Student Assessment, the United States does NOT rank in the world's top 20 in any of the three educational categories: Mathematics, Science and Reading. However, almost every country in the top five in these categories also placed in the top ten in broadband use. They are South Korea, Taiwan, Finland, Hong Kong, Canada, the Netherlands, and Estonia. South Korea, perhaps not surprisingly, is #1 in broadband access and reading worldwide. Each of these countries use computers as a cornerstone in their educational systems, President Clinton also shared this view, but we have struggled as of late to keep up. Part of the reason why students internationally score higher than US students is that they spend more time in school, but we could challenge these countries by virtually increasing students educational time with more computer access at home and computer-based learning communities outside of the classroom. This is one of the reasons why broadband access is so important and consequently, one of the reasons why Obama has provided 7 billion dollars to increase this access. There are several ways our educational system has to change to compete, but one of the first steps is to provide the access to the tools we need to so.

Monday, June 22, 2009

THERE IS A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT: LAURA ADEL JOHNSON


Laura Adel Johnson has found a better use for those pathetic christmas lights you keep on your house nine months out of the year. (and waste a gazillion kilowatt hours of electricity) The Australian artist creates evocative wall drawings using the cords as lines as well as the puddles for her character's tears. They must be listening to The Smiths. (via Inside Out)


Saturday, June 20, 2009

SUNDAY THE 21ST IS GO SKATEBOARDING DAY

Today, the 20th, is international go surfing day, but more importantly, tomorrow is GO SKATEBOARDING DAY. It's supposed to rain here in the Northeast, so I've included some inspirational footage to get you in the mood. Marc Johnson doesn't care about rain, watch him destroy in third part of his Fully Flared video part (watch Epicly Later'd dissect the making). Graphic by Ed Templeton.


Update 6/21: NYC has postponed GSD until the 27th. Northeastern people can celebrate with the Yorkers next week. Also, rain sucks. (though I understand its benefits) For the record, I got to skate for a few minutes in the neighborhood and the wet actually felt good. Not as good as the session yesterday in the sun of course, which was the perfect atmosphere to beat a long time friend/rival at S.K.A.T.E (to be fair, he owns me so in no way does this win make up for the dozen times he's beaten me since my last one)

Friday, June 19, 2009

MISANTHROPY MADE EASY: JIM TIERNEY




Jim Tierney has a created a handsome, essential guide to master misanthropy (click picture for larger version). Check his site for more quirky, vintage style drawings.

With the utmost respect to Mr. Tierney, I have a few suggestions on taking one's hatred of mankind (and womankind) to a party:

1. On the topic of gadgets, voicemail will give you 30 seconds of escape time tops, but texts, tweets and emails provide endless opportunities to avoid conversation and prove that you are A. too busy for this party and B. better than everyone there.

2. When fidgeting, try drumming. Using your right hand for the constant high hat tick and your left to man the snare, tap your right foot as the bass beat. Now follow every 4/4 indie rock/ironic club song playing at the party as if you were the actual drummer (stare blankly as to not let on how much you are actually concentrating). For advanced players, play double bass drum and do the fills too. If you are indeed a fidgeter, you might as well let everyone imagine you're a musician instead of just a nervous shut-in. (note: play confidently, the music will be far too loud for anyone to hear you)

3. When wandering, hit the bathroom at least a few times (not literally unless you're an experienced misanthrope), if your party is in the late hours, there should be a line (this suggests you're totally doing something other than just lurking) and more than likely something interesting/disgusting will happen.

4. Folding and tearing paper is essential. Bring plenty of bottled drinks so that you can peel off the label. Bonus points for foil transfers onto the wooden arm of the chair you're sitting in. (thank high school kids for pioneering this worthless activity)

5. Experienced misanthropes (if not already incarcerated or moved to Alaska) know that beer is not to sipped but guzzled in attempt to finally break free from your pent-up rage at humanity by screaming at the top of your lungs about the hypocrisy you see in every person at the party. In this case the liquor serves three purposes: A. It will stop you from shaking as you clearly depend on it to get you through life now (see label peeling). B. It's possible the booze may make you belligerent enough to call out everyone in the room. BUT let's be honest, you will NEVER be able to do this so C. the alcohol will dull the pain of your inevitable heart attack and ensure your death which is what you wanted anyway.

Note: These comments are not approved by Mr. Tierney and are not meant in any way to disrespect him or his work or Joaquin Phoenix.
(via My Love For You Is a Stampede of Horses)

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

COMING SOON: CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION AGENCY



Ask and ye shall receive. A few weeks ago I weighed in on President Obama's proposed credit card reform bill and what it meant for consumer protection in America. Like many Americans, I suggested going further and creating a government agency that protects consumers:

"Hopefully, this is the tip of the iceberg in securing consumer rights in a capitalist system that obviously thrives on wasteful spending and then abuses most of those who spend. Consumers must practice restraint and responsibility in spending, but I see increasing difficulty in young people's ability to do so considering the status and prestige assigned to the products/services they are almost required to buy in our society. I still feel that there should be a department of consumer affairs in the president's cabinet to represent the people/consumers instead of the current agencies that seem to only represent the interests of the American business. "

Well, it seems the President is listening (not to me, mind you). CNN has reported that tomorrow (6/17) he will make the official proposal to create the Consumer Financial Protection Agency, a presidential appointed commission that will have broad powers to ban abusive "anti-consumer" practices in financial sector (Credit, loans, banking). Whether you agree or disagree (and if you're in banking or CC's you most definitely disagree) this is an inspiring example of a President who has the sense to listen to the will of the people and act accordingly. AGAIN, IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME.

Monday, June 15, 2009

PORTABLE HOUSING: GREEN SHEDS AND CABINS FOR LIVING


This past year (and economic recession) has brought a rash of cheap, portable, compact and stylish housing ideas. While this is nothing new, (see portable globe house below) these high-concept homes were designed with green capabilities and a supreme use of space. For most folks these projects were conceived as an extra summer living space, presumably in some vacation land, but as a teacher, I see them as potential full-time homes. Most impressive is the new "Shed for Living" (pictured above) created by Manchester, England's FKDA. This micro home can reach ZERO carbon status, meaning it uses less energy than it generates including the building process and day to day operation. For those of you who dream of a small, handsome space (attention teachers and Japanese architects) peep the plans and imagine.



Pictured below is the Loft Cube, designed by Werner Aisslinger; the KS1 and KS2 homes from Swedish company Summer Entertainment and a log cabin called the "Flake House" from French designers Olgga. The Flake House is currently on exhibit in Nantes, France (if you're in the area) until August at which point it will be auctioned online to the highest bidder.
(Via Dezeen and DesignBoom)




Sunday, June 14, 2009

ED TEMPLETON ON ESPN: IRONIC RECOGNITION



ESPN has produced a tribute to Ed Templeton, one of the most influential skaters/artists/business owners ever. Of course I have a few thoughts on the subject:
1. Ed always was/is awesome and he deserves the recognition. Also, Toy Machine is a skateboarding institution.
2. ESPN has a skateboarding blog?
3. Apparently, ESPN is so convoluted that they think they have the credibility to be covering artists from a skateboard community that for most of its past, aggressively rebelled against companies like ESPN who only wanted to be involved to make a buck. (For the record, ESPN is a fantastic station, but they have no legitimate connection to skateboarding)
4. Skateboarding is not a sport. A sport is defined as a physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. There are no rules in skateboarding and it shouldn't be judged.
5. I admit, I love Sportscenter.
6. ESPN wishes they were Vice and this interview was an Epicly Later'd episode. (EL is the best)
7. The narration is a ghastly attempt to make Ed/skateboarding sound "extreme".
8. Trying to inject the "competition" in skateboarding, the producers try to hard to paint Ed as a competitor in his time on the "contest circuit" in the early 90's. (he won two contests and at that point, they were TINY, jokes of a competition which is how it should be)
9. Mike Vallely is an embarrassment (Afflicition MMA clothing? Mighty Ducks?), but thank God, Allah, Vishnu, Buddha they mention Gonz and Natas for cred.
10. Sheep shoes/1997/animal-free represent. (SoleTech bring that sh*t back)

ESPN, this interview is simultaneously awesome and horrible at the same time, but thanks for giving Ed his due in proper.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

PREMIERE: FOOD INC.


The highly anticipated documentary Food Inc. premiered this past week in New York City to rave reviews and is set for limited release this Friday the 12th. I'll let the press release handle the details (below) but the potentially revolutionary film includes commentary from my favorite notable expert Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation [life-changing], Refer Madness [must-read] and Super Size Me fame) even though his appearance on the Colbert Report was mostly lackluster. The Official Food Inc. site includes an incredible amount of information on healthy eating, the environmental impact of foods, chemicals and nutritional labeling as well as a blog and recommended reading.

"In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, insecticide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield's Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms' Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here."


The site also includes the Hungry for Change Cafeteria which showcases some of the necessary changes that need to be made to school lunches (a subject I have addressed before while introducing The School Food Trust) Also, please sign the petition to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act.

DEADLINE: POST-IT NOTE STOP-MOTION


Bang-yao Liu and friends have created this fantastic short using stop-motion post-it note animation. While it's been done before, the atari references, human/post-it interactions and royksopp soundtrack makes this one especially enjoyable. Liu explains the concept:
"This is my senior project at Savannah College of Art and Design. Where my idea comes from is that every time when I am busy, I feel that I am not fighting with my works, I am fighting with those post-it notes and deadline. I manipulating the post-it notes to do pixel-like stop motion and there are some interactions between real actor and post-its." The making of video can be seen here.

(via Booooooom, a fantastic art blog)

Sunday, June 7, 2009

NECESSARY OFFICE ARCHITECT: PAUL COUDAMY


As tech jobs take over and American working environments (and dress codes) look to the future, they might just look across the Atlantic for inspiration. French architect Paul Coudamy has designed a stunning, organic office space for Beartech (internet provider) called the "Bear Cave". Coudamy used found wood waste from dumpsters and sidewalks to create a fiberous "growth" from floor to ceiling. Whatever your taste, it's nice to see progressive businesses worldwide concern themselves with a comfortable, creative atmosphere rather than suits and stuffiness.

Coudamy's other work includes a cardboard office, similar (in theme anyway) to a cardboard office I wrote about a few months ago created by Joost Van Bleiswijk. Pictures available on his site.



(via Design Boom)

Thursday, June 4, 2009

THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TIANANMEN SQUARE MASSACRE



Today is the 20th anniversary of the massacre at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China in June of 1989. Mourning Hu Yaobang (pro democracy official) and seeking greater political freedom in communist China, 1 million protesters (mostly students) gathered for weeks before the Chinese government used their military to put an end to the international attention the protests were getting. The death toll is unknown but it is estimated in the thousands. NATO estimated the count to be upwards of 7,000 people. The Chinese government (who never speak of the event and have censored views other than their own) estimate 300-600 “thugs” were killed and not students. Regardless of the exact number, remember the thousands who were willing to die for the freedom we enjoy everyday.



The next day (June 5th, 1989), this man courageously put his life at risk to stop a tank and show the world (and the communist government) that the spirit of Chinese revolutionaries will not die. Shortly after this video was taken, he was dragged back into the crowd by government officials. There has been massive speculation about his fate: some believe he was executed immediately, some believe he was executed via firing squad months later and still others say he is alive and in hiding in China to this day.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

WELL DESIGNED INFORMATION: TRANSPARENCY OF THE ISSUES


The folks at Good Magazine and Fogelson-Lubliner have collaborated on a series of what they call "transparencies" that help to present important information in a bold fashion and of course, make it easier to digest. I've posted a number of graphic organizers in the past few months and in this visually dominated world, they are becoming more prominent and more effective.

1. THE IMPACT OF OUR DIETS ON WATER RESOURCES (above, click for larger image)
Last post, I commented on Nadeem Haidary's physical information and its potential role in impacting how we think about calorie intake in the United States. I also mentioned how our high-calorie diets not only affect our bodies, but the environment due to the resources necessary to make our food. This transparency illustrates the impact of our diets/lifestyles on our water resources thanks to the Dept. of Energy, H2O Conserve, IEEE Spectrum, and the Water Footprint Network.

Again, beef seems to be the biggest waste of most resources (grains, space, water, sun, energy) and while I don't fault people for eating meat, we can no longer ignore the harmful inefficiency of producing it.





2. THE SAD STATE OF GAY MARRIAGE IN THE UNITED STATES.
New Hampshire just joined the other few progressive states in the union so you can't blame us.



3. AMERICA'S DRUGS OF CHOICE.
For California, it's Meth; for Florida it's cocaine and New England has the nation's biggest heroin problem. However, this is according to the Justice Department, so if their account of the biggest problem drugs is anything like their success in the war on drugs then I would just concentrate on how handsome the graphic is.



4. THE PACIFIC OCEAN IS THE WORLD'S GARBAGE CAN.
Interesting that when they estimate the size of the plastic-filled garbage mass in the Pacific Ocean, they compare it to Texas. Enough said.

Monday, June 1, 2009

NADEEM HAIDARY'S IN-FORMED PRODUCTS



Statistics and/or information, no matter how shocking or significant, may seldom impact potentially harmful human behavior. Not even if we wish it were so. However, that will never stop us from trying to influence others with regard to the issues we hold dear and it will never stop the occasional message from seeping in and perhaps, changing history and lives. Nadeem Haidary is one of "us" and his influence can be seen IN the products he designs by creating physical information that we use as constant reminders in our daily lives. He calls this product line In-Formed and the concept, while not totally original, is surely another great marketing tool; be it for business or activism. Of course, the downside to marketing (other than not knowing what techniques really work) is that even if the message were in our hands daily, we would eventually become numb to it and would require some other, more "in your face" type of marketing to break through the ever growing clutter. I don't even want to imagine what that would be.

In this particular case, the design is meant to educate people about the massive daily amount of calories Americans consume on average (over 3,500; healthy is approximately 1800-2300), compared to the rest of the world. I recently began to scale back my food portions (and thus calorie intake) because I'm turning into a fat bastard, so I would appreciate a reminder like the one found on the fork Haidary has designed. I must say however, that while the countries/intakes listed on the fork are worthwhile, there are far too many under-developed nations that on average, consume less than 2000 calories a day (too many of them in Africa) that should be included on other models. I and Haidary are also concerned about the resources used to create food (especially meat), which would obviously go down with consumption, but clearly a fact lost on most Americans and certainly not a message supported by U.S. industry (and yes you, McDonald's and BK). So essentially, green= consuming less food and/or foods that require less processing.

Looking at the fork, I'm a bit weary of that U.S. prong, as that thing would no doubt, end up a quarter-inch deep in my gums if this product ever existed. And for me personally, why even make the U.S. and Europe plates? I need the Africa plate seven days a week. (yes, I understand why he includes these plates in the collection, and no, I'm certainly not trying to trivialize this)


(via GOOD)