Hulu for Music? [MTV Music]

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.

a-ha |MTV Music

Evolution of Logos

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!

Let's get Photo Synth-ical, Synth-ical

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.

Not too long ago, Microsoft made it available for the general public. Unfortunately, I've been completed swamped--the number of posts I make correlate directly with how much free time I have. (Yes, February in Chicago is freezing cold, there is not much else to do but blog!). I've been trying to find the right opportunity to test it out. I didn't want to create a photosynth of my apartment--too messy, or of a cup--too boring.

A couple weeks ago, when Tommy and Ashley came out from NY, I took the opportunity to grab my camera and get a couple shots in.

Tommy and Ashley walk behind the Lyric Opera

I took them on a 4 hour walk around Chicago. Starting from the intersection of Michigan Ave and Wacker, we followed the river until we ended up in Gallery 400, in Greek Town, where K was working. The exhibit, "Chances are, the comets in our future" was about to end. To immortalize it, I put together my first photosynth. Check it out:

Bonus: Try to find the first image in this blog post in the photosynth walkthrough.

Visualizing Music Mash-ups

I've always been a big fan of mash-ups. Ever since hearing DJ Z-trip's Uneasy Listening, and hearing Enferno while I lived in DC, there is something intriguing about taking the familiar and giving it new perspective. Girl Talk has taken it to another level. In Girl Talk's latest album, 300 audio snippets appear in the 50 minutes of CD play. Wired.com has a pretty cool way of visualizing the first 4 minutes and 15 seconds.

Source: Cool Infographics

Old skool photos

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:

Came out like this:


That's all,
V

I like shiny pennies...where is google chrome?

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.

Indy easter eggs

Hope springs eternal

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!

Tiger woods is just that good

Check this out:

LEGO my beijing olympics

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.

The intersection of art and commercialism

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.