Movie Reviews:
Son of Rambow: [4 of 5]
At times, the novel recalls those unsettling films of Jean-Luc Godard or Michelangelo Antonioni where something dire seems always about to happen, even as attractive young people, full of anomie and confusion, meander aimlessly through an ominous urban landscape.Overall, for someone who has read most of Murakami's work, I wasn't particularly thrilled. I have already read mirror images of the content in his other work. However, I've always enjoyed reading his books again and usually find more meaning from a second read. For the time being, I'll have to give After Dark and average rating.
Murakami's literary spiderwebs remind us that, though we may not be aware of it, something profoundly disturbing sits behind the mask of reality, that we are being stalked from its other side and that we are connected to our past the same way the ground under our feet is connected to the depths of the earth, through wells and tunnels.
I was rereading a lot of my reviews and realized that I'm one wordy kid. While I am moved to write about a book or a movie, I want to find a succinct way of getting my way across. I've settled on writing a Haiku (俳句).
According to Wikipedia, Haiku is:
a form of Japanese poetry, consisting of 17 Japanese on (a phonetic unit identical to the mora), in three metrical phrases of 5, 7, and 5 on respectively, and typically containing a kigo, or seasonal reference. In Japanese, haiku are traditionally printed in a single vertical line, while haiku in English usually appear in three lines, to equate to the Japanese haiku's three metrical phrases.I was telling K, yesterday, about this great new idea. However, after a quick search, the law of the Internets prevailed. The one that says that any idea that you may have is already in the Internets. You can find how unoriginal my idea is here, here, and here.
There's been a lot of buzz about the film. However, this is no typically bollywood film. Slumdog is a heart-warming crossover directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, and the underrated Sunshine).
Typical bollywood films have the following characteristics and themes:
On my return trip from visiting Egypt and Jordan, I spent many miles to upgrade myself to business class.
United Airlines has been slowly rolling out "the next generation" of business class seats. Shown below, they're like miniaturized first-class cockpits.
These seats have all sorts of bells and whistles:
This Shadow is a Bit of Ideology, gathers a group of artists working against the darkness cast by a long, drawn-out war, a rancorous spirit in politics, a social landscape obscured by rampant information retrieval, and a crumbling economy. The artists in the exhibition do not turn their backs on current socio-political issues, but neither do they embrace propaganda. Rather, they harness anxieties—political, economic, personal—as productive generators for form. Introspection, reflective criticism, oblique commentary and cohabitation of past with present are just a few of the tactics by which these artists navigate progressively through the twilight.
We've entered a linked information world. The emphasis for information distribution isn't focused on creation but the aggregation and filtering of information. The splicing, rebroadcasting, linking, editing, aggregation becomes one lengthy game of information telephone. We'll often take it for face value and begin quoting it for our own use. For example, given the current testimonials for the auto industry, the 1 in 10 US jobs tied to the industry has been given a lot of press. However, with some casual searching you'll find this on Economix, a NY Times blog.
Frank Furedi, professor of sociology at the University of Kent, writes in Times Higher Education about the assumptions, and sketchy data the term: "research shows"
As someone devoted to academic research, I feel increasingly embarrassed when I encounter the words "research shows" in a newspaper article...Last month a study by John Alford of Rice University proved that right-wing Americans are likely to be far more nervous than left-wing counterparts. Liberal readers will be delighted to learn that they are typically relaxed.Image Source: Wessex Archaeology
We know this is cutting-edge research because he interviewed as many as 46 people.
The Pitch: Based on the music of John Williams, Star Wars - A Cappella Tribute to John Williams was originally released in May 1999 to celebrate the release of Episode 1. On October 31st, a video version of the song was produced with the help of the Moosebutter comedy group. This video was featured on YouTube last week.
Source: slashfilm
Thusfar:
This ran in USA Today the Thursday right after the election speech. Much props for the ad guys...
Source:Adsoftheworld
Here's a wordle of Obama's victory speech:
Thus far:
Nike has launched a new initiative called Considered Design. When trying to develop a more sustainable product, Nike realized that instead of creating a new shoe, they came up with the idea of using old shoes to make new ones. Vanessa Farquharson writes:
It's a perfect example of "upcycling" -- a green trend in which an expired product is upgraded into a new, more superior product -- and it's just one aspect of Nike's new approach to sustainability, which the company calls Considered Design.Read the article from National Post here.
Some examples of Considered Design's objectives: - A closed-loop system, in which Nike designers and manufacturers use old material and scraps from the cutting room floor to make new shoes, in order to reduce excess waste at the outset and create less demand for virgin resources. - Mechanically locking soles, meaning no glue or solvents are required in the production process; plus, insertable booties, removable logos and other design features that make the shoes easy to dismantle for recycling. - Apparel made entirely from recycled polyester and organic cotton, with water-based adhesive techniques in place of toxic cement or VOCs. - Open-sourced technology, allowing other companies to share research and development and promote sustainability throughout the marketplace.
MTV launches MTV Music. Hmmm. Looks very similar to Hulu (NBC and Fox). I'm surprised it took 'em this long to get something out.
Best Ad has a post showing the evolution of a couple corporate logos. I found it interesting how much or little companies have evolved their logos over time.
For example, after a significant change between 1955 and 1957, the logo design has continually been tweaked.
Bryant, thanks for sharing!
Since Blaise Aguera y Arcas first presented a demo of Photosynth at a TED conference back in 2007, I've been salivating at the opportunity to play with the technology.
I came across this nifty old site that gives photos an older sheen. Wanokoto is a great Japanese (but with an english version)that adds a couple hundred years to your photo.
What started off like this:
I can't seem, for the life of me, to find a place to download Google Chrome. After much hoopla in their promotional strategy (read here). It was supposed to launch today and I can't seem to find it. WTF?
Was this on purpose? or servers overloaded? or just bad project management?
Update: Yeah, yeah, yeah....So google launched this afternoon. I didn't get a chance to look it up again until after I got home from work.
As I was walking home today, I happened to glance into the window of an open retail space and saw floor plans for a dunkin donuts. What else could someone ask for than a dunkin' donuts across the street from the office.
Beantown-style coffee with double sugar and double cream galore!
With the olympics behind us, I'm not sure what to do with myself. What is there to do between the hours of midnight and 2am?
The Hong Kong Lego User Group built structures to help us remember the amazing structures built for the lego. Check it out here.
A lot of fashion retailers are partnering with designers and artists to promote their brand. Nike has partnered with experimental theater director, Robert Wilson (whose art has appeared in the Guggenheim, Metropolitan Opera of New York, and the Centre Pompidou) to create video portraits for Nike store retail displays.
While not for all companies, I feel that this is a refreshing injection of perspective into a brand. While in Japan, K learned that Chanel's mobile art container. Chanel partnered with famed architect Zaha Hadid to create and curate an multi-media experience. The traveling exhibit launched in HK, made a pit stop in Harajuku, and will end in Paris. Luckily for us, the rush line was pretty short and we were able to get into the exhibit.
Upon entering the container, you're directed to sit down and wait while the all-black-outfitted workers set you up with a personalized mp3 audio guide. A melange of music, voice-overs, and sound effects direct you through the container, telling you to stand-up, look-up, and walk to the next exhibit. Controlling your movements allowed each of us to experience a personal connection with the narrator and art. The 20 different pieces reflected their impressions of chanel, handbags, and leather. I was surprised how edgy some of the content was.
The container lands in New York between October 20 and Nov 9. To read more about visiting it while in NY, check out the NY Times article here.
Swedish ad agency, Scholz & Friends Sweden launches a soy sauce ad that sources traditional Japanese art.
Copy: "Culinary Art from Japan"
I went to check out the 50th Annual Chicago's Air & Water show on the lakefront yesterday. A friend of mine lives across the street from lakeshore. Let me tell you, watching it from the 22nd floor is a lot better than having to deal with the insane crowd.
There were some amazing acrobatics:
There's an old chinese nursery rhyme that I learned when I was a kid. It's about having a big head:
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Big head, big headBeyond serving as an umbrella, researchers have found that smarter brains tend to be larger. With only 2% of the population scoring above a 130 on their IQ tests, this is not making it a happy Friday for me.
When it rains, I'm not worried
While other people have umbrellas
I have my big head
