Cyborg Manifesto anyone?

Here is what must apparently be an ad for HP.
It's quire surreal, and more than a tad disturbing, but also very slick and creative. It reminds me quite a bit of the Cyborg Manifesto.

Book covers: 2007

I recently started reading this blog "Book Design Review" by Joseph Sullivan. This doesn't entirely relate to the class, but I'm obsessed with print design and thought this recent post listing solid covers from 2007 was worth a read.

Oh man, this video is beautiful

Cool typographic video

Animal Photomanipulations

These are really cool photomanipulations of animals, that we are totally capable of doing, possibly even as videos

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Michel Gondry "da cribbage"

Cremation Ashes at Disneyland

"There's an epidemic of covert (human) ash-scattering at Disneyland, a practice that has spread from the Haunted Mansion to the Pirates of the Caribbean. The scatterers generally get away clean, and the human remains are subsequently cleaned away by special janitors who are charged with keeping the Park in compliance with health rules about containing particulate matter......."

Read on into the wierdness of this. Kinda artsy though. People...you have to love what we do.

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/11/13/cremation-ashes-at-d.html

The Knife--You Take My Breath Away

I've always loved this song and video. I've been meaning to show a high quality version in class but haven't ever gotten around to it, so thought I'd post it here.
I like all of the "goods" spinning out towards me. It's a sort of ordered chaos that works. I only wish the quality of the online video version were better.

The coolest iPod ever

I don't own an iPod, but if I did, it would be this baby. Broken apart and encased in resin, the machine still plays music. Not overly mobile, but it would take a prominent spot on my coffee table. [Full article, Gizmodo]

puncher

Laser Graff

I don't really know how this works. But if its as simple as a projector and a laser, we should really try it.

White Space

A very eerie and otherworldly video, it uses minimal elements and only 2 colors to create a dramatic and engaging space.

The element of surprise

Leo Espinosa Article

This is hot.

For 4-7 grand you can get an impeccable 6-pack etched into your skin. It should be fun/morbidly confusing when I'm older to compliment my man-boobs with a rippled stomach. Read the WSJ article below for details on the procedure.

Full article here

Daft Punk's Electroma

This video is amazing. It deals with identity, self-creation, and self-destruction. It's made by Daft Punk apparently, but it has a visual style reminiscent of Stanley Kubric - long shots and impeccable use of color and composition, and has a very serious, emotional quality that is impressive for a film driven by "faceless" robots. Its a little over an hour, but if you have the time, I strongly suggst you watch the whole thing.

Performa 07

A very cool NYtimes slideshow (with side commentary) from Performa 07 in NYC. Christian Jankowski--the guy who did the Karaoke piece--is one of the participants here--having arranged a series of coordinated hula hoopers on the neighboring rooftops of the area where he lives. Be sure to check these cool pics and comments.

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2007/11/08/arts/1109-PERF_index.html

Youtube goes to 1GB!

Youtube now allows 1GB uploads, up from their previous 100MB standard. Still a 10-min maximum, but it should allow for much higher quality videos.

JENKEM ?!?!?!?!

Alright people...somebody please tell me if this is a hoax or what. I'm halfway believing this is real, but do feel free to set me straight. If it's fake, it's still pretty hilarious and creatively described. Enjoy some Jenkem....which is also referred to--apparently--in slang as: Winnie, Might, Butthash, Runners, and Waste.

Voyeuristic apartments

Full article here.

As we talked about in class and as the article mentions, this concept's parallel with facebook is strong. Read the full article to see how the designers also implement voyeurism within the space, making the bedroom clearly visible from the bathroom, as well as an opaque shower.

Photo series: creatures

Photo series here.

In line with today's photo series assignment, I thought these images by Andrew Zuckerman were really cool. Its obviously a little more high-production than we will be doing, with the professional white photoshoot background. But the general theme of taking an idea: natural animals displayed as otherworldly creatures, and then executing it with various forms, is similar. I'm excited to see what we can do with this project.

Recycled robots

Full article here.

Ann Smith takes found electronic scraps and sculpts them into robots. She goes an extra step by animating them in stop-animation movies. The found element is cool, taking scraps and making it into a new whole. Very frankenstein. I wish that instead of animating them with stop-motion, that when she reconfigured them they were actually mechanically constructed to move. That level of engineering may have been a little beyond the artist, but thats where I see this being the most powerful: collecting "dead" pieces and making them into a new "alive" whole through the seemingly inorganic medium of electronics.

Interactive Arcade Fire

My roommate just pointed me to this amazing music video my the Arcade Fire, in which you can interact with the video itself. This isanother great example of the possibilities of viewer interaction.

http://beonlineb.com/click_around.html