June 2008
54 posts
“Literature is what, I think, intelligent people have instead of dope.”
– On NPR’s Weekend Edition this past Saturday, Patrick Hemingway, son of author Ernest Hemingway, discussed his father’s work, its impact and the significance and sadness of reaching 80 years of age.
The Friendly Floatees
Back in early 1992, a container ship leaving Hong Kong accidentally spilled its contents in the Pacific Ocean: almost 29,000 plastic bath toys including many classic yellow rubber-duckies. [France]
Ten months after the incident the first Floatees began to wash up along the Alaskan coast. The first discovery consisted of ten toys found by a beachcomber near Sitka, Alaska on 16 November 1992, about...
3 tags
You don’t know if a building is any good until you walk inside it. — Philip Johnson
By posting this great Philip Johnson quote, Josh Blankenship reminded me of something I should have posted on over a month ago.
Architect Thom Mayne was on KERA’s Think with Krys Boyd on May 15. Mayne, the architect behind the Museum of Nature and Science expansion at Victory Park, talked about...
3 tags
Need something? Anything? A new study shows that just appending your request with “because ____” increases the likelihood you’ll get your way.
According to Marginal Revolution, behavioral scientist Ellen Langer released a study which shows adding “because” to requests — even if what follows the “because” is irrelevant or meaningless — makes...
Photographer Richard Harrington shot some amazing photographs of an abandoned NASA trailer while on location in Bishop, California. [ChrisGlass]
I especially like this shot showing NASA’s iconic Helvetica type peeling off the trailer.
3 tags
In the way that some news is not really news, the...
3 tags
While on the topic of sleeping, The Boston Globe posted an excellent infographic last week explaining the emotional and mental benefits of napping. [43Folders]
The infographic, designed by Javier Zarracina, also offers up some tips for “the perfect siesta.”
3 tags
According to Dwell, James Dyson is bringing his vacuum technology to the automotive world and developing “a new generation of solar-powered, electric cars.”
Dyson believes that his lightweight, high-power motor will be able to increase an electric cars’ speed and mileage-per-charge. “Most of the time a car isn’t being used,” Dyson told the Independent. “So a photo voltaic [solar]...
3 tags
Last week A Photo Editor posted an interview with Scott Dadich, Wired’s Creative Director. [Fimoculous]
In the interview, Dadich addresses the roles of creative directors and photo editors, Wired’s respect for their photographer’s work and his approach to magazine redesigns at Wired and before that, Texas Monthly.
Working at a magazine that reports on the front lines of...
IdeasOnIdeas’ Erik Karjaluoto posted another set of personal reflections. Here’s the first batch.
16. Cool is a paradox As a child, I thought that the Fonz was cool. Now, Beck is cool and Fonzie seems kind of silly. Trends spin around all the time. Be who you are. Should one eventually land on you, it will feel natural. Be someone else, and you may end up like Vanilla Ice.
Since its release yesterday morning, Girl Talk’s Feed the Animals has been mentioned all around the ‘net. The wiki entry is expanding at an insane rate, but according to GT’s Gregg Gillis, it isn’t nearly complete.
STEREOGUM: You must be somewhat impressed how quickly the fans did the Feed The Animals Wiki. Had you seen that?
GG: Yeah, it went up immediately! I started...
+buena vistas
Preparing for her upcoming move to the great city of Austin, TX, Katie Spence lists out the things she will and will not miss about leaving her current home of San Francisco.
3 tags
"Wizard of sound"
Tony Schwartz, the advertising genius behind many of the 20th century’s greatest political ads, died Sunday at his NYC home.
Tuesday’s Washington Post included an article about Schwartz, the infamous 1964 “Daisy” ad and his understanding and fascination with sound.
“We can hear four times as fast as we can talk,” he said. “So the question is, what do...
3 tags
This past weekend’s Radiolab, a rerun from 2005, included a fascinating article on the research done by Stanford’s Debra Gordon on the colonial organization and mental ability of ants.
Think Or Thwim posted about Gordon and similar studies that show the syngery of insect groups.
In the early 1990s Deborah Gordon at Stanford University conducted some experiments in which she painted...
3 tags
"The iPod of its day"
Author Phil Patton chimes in on the death of Polaroid’s instant film and how that might impact on the art world. [DesignInfo]
The appeal was not only in the magic of colors materializing on the film’s shiny white face but in the process of taking the pictures. The wonderful way the camera unfolded for action was a key part of the Polaroid experience: the way it snapped upright and...
With the Obama campaign trying to “fight the smears,” Slate’s Christopher Beam lists out some rumors they shouldn’t try to correct. [Hysterical Paroxysm]
Barack Obama has the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE tattooed on his stomach. It’s upside-down, so he can read it while doing sit-ups.
There’s only one artist on Barack Obama’s iPod: FRANCIS SCOTT KEY.
2 tags
Shane Johnson doodles “little pictures” about his office life. [TumblrStaff]
Using napkins, envelopes or post-its as canvases, Johnson lets his pen follow is wandering mind.
By “wiggling” the foreground and background objects, Joshua Heineman has taken some old photos and altered them so that they appear 3D. [mLarson]
if you click the links… this is something radical. if you do not… this is a bunch of old photos.
Kevin Kelly compiled a series of photographs featuring wooden bikes. [Kottke]
Wooden bicycles can be found all over the world. These handmade bikes are often larger-scale scooters that you sit on. Made with whatever wood can be found, they use small wooden home-made wheels covered with discarded rubber rims. Forward movement depends on the rider pushing with their feet.
4 tags
Last Thursday Lorenzo Bustillos Galavis posted “10 Ways To Make An iPhone Killer,” his suggestions for improving cell phone design. [ThingsMagazine]
Also: Clusterflock has a giveaway under way where contributing $20 gives you a 1-in-10 chance to win a new iPhone 3G.
They keep none of the donation money, which has already exceeded the cost of a phone. So someone somewhere will win an...
2 tags
Patrick House, a neuroscientist at Stanford University and a writer for The New Yorker, shared with Slate his approach to creating a winning entry for The New Yorker’s Cartoon Caption Contest.
Laughing out loud is, in this context, an unseemly act sure to draw unwanted attention. To avoid this, your caption should elicit, at best, a mild chuckle. The first filter for your caption should...
Endless Simmer posted a list of the best MLB ballpark food. [UweBlog]
I’m shocked that the Ballpark of Arlington’s amazing garlic fries aren’t on this list, but I guess that’s why there are comment sections.
2 tags
It's Friday.
Over the last few months, I’ve been looking for some new podcasts that are basically just people telling stories. It makes work go by faster and doesn’t require the focus or dedication often demanded by audiobooks. If I missed what’s been said at some point in the 15 minutes, I can easily start over.
There are lots out there that fit this model, but none as perfectly as the...
3 tags
WatchAdem’s covers of dEUS’ “Hotellounge” and Björk’s “Unravel”
For his new record “Takes,” Adem covered some his favorite songs from 1991-2001, the “music that inspired and informed [him] while he was growing up.” It includes covers of songs by Pinback, Yo La Tengo, Aphex Twin and Tortoise. The official album won’t be available...
4 tags
I’m blaming Kottke for making/letting me listen to Cher, Madonna and Jojo this afternoon.
Commenting on Sasha Frere-Jones’s New Yorker article on Auto-Tune, Jason created a muxtape filled to the brim with Auto-Tune hits.
On a side note: Regardless of how many times as I hear Lil’ Wayne’s “Lollipop,” I continue to be totally confused by the metaphor...
4 tags
The Freakonomics blog posted statistics showing a strong reduction of driving miles in the first few months. [Murketing]
The gap between total driving miles of March 2008 compared to last year is “11 billion fewer miles.” This large drop led the Philadelphia Inquirer to question the future of the American car.
I agree with Mark, imagining life without a car in North Texas is pretty...
This evening in Hartford, Conn., pedestrians and fellow drivers presented the Bystander effect in action as they watched and ignored the hit-and-run of a 78-year old man.
A 78-year-old man is tossed like a rag doll by a hit-and-run driver and lies motionless on a busy city street as car after car goes by. Pedestrians gawk but appear to do nothing. One driver stops briefly but then pulls back...
... The Last One To Leave Your House Party
I just noticed that HillaryClintonIsYourNewBicycle has changed to a non-rotating “Hillary Clinton Is The Last One To Leave Your House Party.”
It’s funny, you know, because it’s true.
Asked if he was disappointed Clinton did not concede outright after Obama topped the requisite 2,118-delegate baseline, the presumptive Democratic nominee said his priority was unifying the...
3 tags
Karl Gude recently added a series of editorial infographics to his Flickr. [SocialDesignNotes]
Created while he was Director of Information Graphics “at Newsweek, the Associated Press and The New York Daily News,” the infographics correspond to various articles including the London and Oklahoma City bombings and the Dick Cheney shotgun incident.
WatchAs part of his awesome series of short films, “60 Seconds”, Ironic Sans posted this long photo showing just a minute “in the Life of Commuters.”
3 tags
What I Learned Today posted about the increase of shark attacks along the Pacific coast this year. The post linked to an article in this month’s Smithsonian magazine about the intelligence of sharks.
It’s a fascinating article that focuses on the mysterious nature and social sophistication of Great Whites. The magazine posted a video related to the article.
But what amazed me most...
2 tags
On Sunday psychedelic artist/designer Alton Kelley passed away at his California home. [MetaFilter]
Known for his the design of Grateful Dead’s Skull and Roses release, Kelley’s poster and album cover designs are a great visual representation of the time period known as “San Francisco style.”
Oddly enough, musician Bo Diddley, for whom Kelley had designed his 1966 San...
“But to be fair, buck up! I mean death is part of life, well not part of life....”
– “Truck Spank,” the new episode of You Look Nice Today, is up and probably more offensive than ever.
Look out if you’re Asian, Jewish, Irish, deaf, dead or an infant as well as fans of Axl Rose, elves or oxygen. It’s likely I’m leaving some groups off.
Items I didn't win
Andy Beach of Reference Library posts items he didn’t win on eBay. [ThingsMagazine]
Jaded me, I don’t know if he even actually bid, didn’t bid and thought they were funny, actually won and is sarcastically posting these item or what. So I’ll take it by the title and just assume he didn’t win.
Better luck next time Andy.
3 tags
As part of an article on the popularity of garfield minus garfield, NYT found out the opinion of Jim Davis, creator of the original Garfield cartoons, on the site and the new attention brought to Jon Arbuckle. [WaxyLinks]
Mr. Davis, who has been drawing Garfield for 30 years, said that “Garfield Minus Garfield” has actually prompted him to take a different look at his own work. He compared Mr....
3 tags
Using data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and World Bank, BBC News created some interesting infographics which show the escalating cost of food and its impact throughout the world. [Neel]
There will be billions more mouths to feed by 2050, making an increased demand for food a long-term trend.
Much like the daily life diptychs of Jason Travis, the Russian art project Face Your Pockets aims to show the capital-y You through a scan of your face and the contents of your pockets. [DigitalCrushes]
Things that are living in the pockets of your bag, jeans or jacket: travel and pay checks, old cigarette pack that just looks interesting, sugar lumps and all the stuff that has found home in your...
“BORING
next..”
– Commenter Christopher Michael Neill perfectly captured my sentiment towards Sarah Hepola’s Salon article on those using text messages to set up late night meet-ups. [Fimoculous]
I guess for some people (out-of-touch parents and grandparents) this might be somewhat shocking news, but those...
3 tags
After seeing the Sex & The City movie, Christina Tkacik, the younger sister of Jezebel’s features editor Moe Tkacik, wrote her sister a drunken email with the Marxist interpretation of the movie. [YourNewFavorite]
I would quote a longer excerpt here but if Marx were actually a quotable sort of guy then right-thinking people would actually have listened to him and the Sex and the City...