horsehair weaving artist!

Absolutely gorgeous and fascinating work by Marianne Kemp:

see more here:
http://www.horsehairweaving.com/horsehairweaving/goldenringlets.html

Urballoon Call for Submissions and Event at Eyebeam

Urballoon is a balloon with a projector and wifi that broadcast the content (photos and text) that people submit online onto public spaces.

Submit stuff now and it will be projected during the Interference exhibition at Eyebeam from now until November 10, 2007.

do it! >

http://www.urballoon.com

The Quiet Show and other animations by Toutine

An imaginative mix of cutouts, and shadow puppets enhabits this dream-like animation by Toutine (my super-talented friend in Amsterdam!)

What makes this so successful is the imaginative use of After-Effects that blends 3D with flat, paper-like cutout shapes.

Also, the music is great...it's by Mujaji, aka Seth & Jed Mowshowitz



And here is another animation that appeared in the Coney Island Film Festival in Brooklyn a few years ago, called Délire Chinois -- notice the creative use of vegetables!!



visit Toutine's website or her YouTube feed

How to WikiHow: Make a Sock Monkey and other useful How-Tos

WikiHow will teach you how to make or do anything you want. It's user-edited like any other wiki. Unless you already know how to do everything, you may want to...check it out >

(if you know how to do something, pretty much anything, you should share it with the world so others can learn too!)

(especially if you have any good recipes...)

Build 3D models out of virtual LEGOs!

LEGO has a tool called Digital Designer that lets you create 3D models that look really amazing. you can move them around in space and take screenshots of them, upload them and save them on the web if you have a LEGO account.

You can even order them and have the real product shipped to you!

check it out >

Shoutbox-- a way to put chat on your site

Someone pointed out this pretty cute little comment box/tool...your message goes up right away. leave me a message!!






check out the details at myshoutbox.com

Burma / Myanmar photos

I went to Burma in 1998, I thought it might be a good time to resurrect some photos of that trip. It was gorgeous, and people were so friendly, but it was sad to see how repressive the regime was. It was like Big Brother where no one was allowed to read magazines or newspapers from outside the country...

Please excuse the quality of the photos, I had a crappy camera -- it was pre-digital and all that.



Also, check out this web campaign and "stand with the Burmese protesters" (thanks jessica for the link). I doubt anyone has easy access to the internet in Burma, which makes you realize it is sometimes a privilege to be able to communicate freely and circulate information as you please. It's not the case all the time, even in our own "free" country.

A World Without Us....New York without New Yorkers wouldn't quite be the same

Fascinating idea for a book -- Alan Weisman follows the ecological evolution of the city if all the people were gone. He describes all the processes that lead to the city becoming a forest again. A good read for fans of the Apocalypse, archaeology, or members of the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement.

There's a great article in the New York Times -- "The World Without New Yorkers (No Cockroaches or Rats, Either)" By Sewell Chan

"Manhattan Island kind of epitomizes urbanity. The thought of all this concrete and steel reverting to forest is unthinkable, and yet it turns out there was a forest there before. My question when I went to New York – and it’s a question I posed to civil engineers, architects, climatologists, botanists and biologists — was: Could the city ever revert to a forest again? And the unanimous conclusion was: Absolutely. Not only would it, but it will."

be sure to check out the multimedia section of the book's website, it has some cool slideshows and more about the book itself.


thanks to Lia for the link

"Hook up" with TiVo

I love personal ads-- back in the day, my roommate and I used to read them in the Village Voice and put the funny ones on our fridge. Anyway, this PR campaign is pretty clever--they're inviting people to get creative and write their own personal ad, kind of like a "desperately seeking TiVo"--and it really works because they're tying in a TV show ("The Bachelor"), personal ads, and TiVo into this kind of playful game. (TiVo's whole look is kind of playful too)

I recently did some user research for another DVR maker and everyone we talked to spoke about their TiVo as if they really loved it...and they seem to be capitalizing on that emotional relationship people have with their TiVos with this here campaign.

The idea is that you write a tongue-in-cheek personal ad and you could win a TiVo. "All day I dream of coming home from work at night to relax and unwind in front of the TV. But I'm tired of spending my nights with a no-good DVR..."

There are 2 rounds of submissions to the competition:

1. write a personal ad
2. if you get picked, send a video personal

it's pretty funny to read what other people have submitted so far.

http://www.hookupwithtivo.com/

The final round is judged by the dude from the Bachelor, Chris Harrison. Not that I know who that is. I don't have a TV!

Metaplace-- build a virtual apartment!!!

"Build a virtual apartment and put it on your website. Work with friends to make a huge MMORPG. Share your puzzle game with friends". Such is Metaplace's overall vision, "to let you build anything, and play everything, from anywhere".

Sounds, um, huge! and...rather...vague. Too bad the alpha signup is closed. I can't wait to see what they have in store.

For now you can learn more on their site, metaplace.com. You can sign up for the newsletter there and stay informed as to when you can get a peek at the game.

I'll be posting a lot about games and MMOGs because I'm working on one right now...I find this kind of social interaction in a virtual space totally fascinating. Please send me links to any good MMOGs you know of!

Metropolis Magazine Call for Entries!

Metropolis just sent out their call for entries for their 2008 Next Generation Design Contest.

This year's theme is WATER. Here's what they say on their site:

"The 2008 Next Generation® Design Competition focuses on WATER. In a world of killer floods and rising tides, potable water is a finite resource.

Water is everywhere—in nature, industry, home, our bodies, products, interiors, buildings, landscapes, systems (just to name a few).

With up to one third of the global population living without reliable access to clean water, we need better design solutions that account for potable water, gray water, black water—its uses, re-uses, controls, management, efficiency, and conservation.

We call on your innovative design solutions at all scales and sizes—products, interiors, buildings, landscapes, communication systems, or anything else you’ve dreamed up—for handling this most precious and most threatened natural resource. The time for new thinking on water is now.

WHAT’S YOUR SOLUTION?"

Check out the contest entry details >