Banksy on Art and Advertising

Via the wonderful Kevin Lo.

A Bad Night For Hillary Haters

A mesmerizing speech from an amazing, historic woman.

Hmmmmmm

The Intersection of Imagination and Desire

The amazing Virginia Postrel has launched a fabulous new website called DeepGlamour, which explores the magic of glamour in its many manifestations, from movies, fashion, and advertising to real estate, politics, and sports.

The intersection of imagination and desire, DeepGlamour is a spinoff of Virginia's research for a book on glamour that she is writing for The Free Press. It is her way to try out ideas, interview interesting people, and get feedback from readers. It also gives her a chance to apply my ideas about glamour to time-sensitive subjects.

In case you don't know, Virginia Postrel is the author of two must-read books: The Substance of Style and The Future and Its Enemies. She is also a contributing editor and columnist for The Atlantic Monthly. She has been an economics columnist for The New York Times, a columnist for Forbes and its companion technology magazine Forbes ASAP, and, from 1989 to 2000, the editor of Reason magazine. She is truly amazing.

Beauty and The Bathroom

Brilliant illustrator Christoph Niemann and his wife Lisa just finished renovating their new home in Berlin, and they took the opportunity to realize one of Christoph's old artistic dreams: designing the bathrooms with pixel drawings made of classical 4x4 colored tiles. The journey, and the result, is awesome. You might remember how much their sons love the subway, and this is included in one of the bathrooms as well!

Tonight, in Columbus, Ohio

I will be speaking at the Columbus Society of Communicating Arts tonight on Design and Branding! If you are in the area, I hope you will join me.

Social Hour: 6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
Presentation: 7:30 p.m.–9 p.m.
Location: Canzani Center, Columbus College of Art & Design

Members: $5.00 (Professional + Faculty)
Non-Members: $15.00
Student Members: FREE
Student Non-Members: $5.00

About The Columbus Society of Communicating Arts
In 1970, the Columbus Society of Communicating Arts (CSCA), was founded in order to establish a nonprofit organization of professionals devoted to elevating the standard of communications within Central Ohio and to promote a better understanding of the context and function of the visual arts in commerce, industry, education and the community. CSCA has become one of the most respected regional professional organizations in the country today. By embracing a variety of disciplines within the communicating arts: graphic designers, writers, illustrators, photographers and others; CSCA has become a significant organization representing those key roles responsible for audience resonance and value in the communication messages they receive and experience.

CSCA has been supporting the growth of Central Ohio graphic designers, digital designers, photographers, writers, illustrators and other communication art professionals. One facet of its activities and programming has been the availability of monthly lectures by internationally recognized leaders in design and marketing communications. Some, from Central Ohio itself, demonstrate equally impressive contributions and of CSCA's internal focus. The annual programming attempts to offer a broad knowledge base, inspiration and social relevancy to all design, marketing and verbal/visual communication disciplines, as well as the general public.

Reviews of Reviews

The masterful Andrew Kuo developed a chart-based music review for The New York Times. New York Magazine then responded with a chart-based review of his review. Just fabulous. (Click each image to see larger)

Review in the Times


Review of review in the Times in NY Magazine


Via Design Observer, by way of the brilliant Kevin Smith.

Sid and David

David Byrne, shot by Hillman Curtis


Sid, painting by Jeff Scher

Two great new short films are out by two brilliant filmmakers: Jeff Scher and Hillman Curtis.

Hillman recently shot a short film with David Bryne and Brian Eno for their new record Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. The film is part of the cool deluxe CD package designed by Stefan Sagmeister!

Jeff's film is part of his amazing monthly New York Times column. This short, Dog Days, is described by Jeff as follows:

I love dogs and painting them is always interesting. One minute they seem so human, listening to you or interacting on an emotional level, and the next minute they’re drinking out of the toilet or rolling around on a dead squirrel. And they are always game — when it isn’t too hot out.

Dog Days, indeed.

One-One Hundredth of a Second

Michael Phelps' amazing victory in the 100-meter butterfly, frame by frame.

Designer Chit-Chat

via The Man in Blue by way of the lovely SwissMiss

Under No Circumstance

Via Eric Baker.

Eric Baker's Visual Landscape

I was recently added to the mailing list of Eric Baker's daily email. This uber designer's daily email is a veritable treasure trove of images that he has encountered in the last day or so. The emails are HUGE, they clog up my mail box and they are the most imaginative, fascinating, gorgeous emails I have ever gotten. Last week I posted one of the images, and now I am posting two more. Does this man have range or what?!? I have a feeling this is going to become a regular feature of this site.

Three words: Thank you, Eric.

Come One, Come All

Please join me in helping Adobe honor the best interactive, motion and video, and traditional media work created by the most talented and promising students from around the world tomorrow night. It is totally free, open to the public and should be amazing!

Emcees:
The most glamorous girls in the whole world:
Bonnie Siegler and Emily Oberman from Number Seventeen

Presenters:
Browser-based Design Awards: Vivian Selbo, Slate Magazine Non-Browser-Based Design Awards: Zander Brimijoin, Big Spaceship Installation Awards: Fanny Krivoy, Schematic Designer/Developer Collaboration Awards: Kathleen Forde, Experimental Media & Performing Arts Center Mobile Design Awards: Tamas Banovich, Postmasters Gallery Animation Awards: Todd St. John, HunterGatherer Live Action Awards: Kevin Robinson, Fresh Paint Motion Graphics Awards: Karin Fong, Imaginary Forces Illustration Awards: Nicholas Blechman, The New York Times Book Review Packaging Awards: moi, Sterling Brands Photography Awards: Mike Ruiz, Mike Ruiz Photography Print Communications Awards: Deb Bishop, Martha Stewart Omnimedia

Adobe puts on the *best* parties, so this should be a great one!

You can RSVP here.

You can see the amazing work in the online gallery here.

Days With My Father

Photograph by Phillip Toledano, from his amazing portfolio titled "Days With My Father"

Last month, two days after my little brother got married, my father went into the hospital for triple-bypass surgery. It was the first time my father has ever gotten "sick" in my entire life. I spent a week with him in the hospital in Albany and another week with him afterward helping out at home, and now I am visiting with him every weekend up in the Catskills, where he lives.

My Dad and I had a complicated relationship for many years; it is only in the last decade that we have realized that we are exactly alike and therefore we should be a bit gentler with each other. When I am with him, I often feel that I am still a little kid, and that can be difficult, but as we both get older, I don't mind as much.

The most difficult part of this whole experience was seeing how frustrated my father was not being in control. Not taking care of everything (and everyone), and not being able to do exactly what he wanted, exactly the way he wanted to. (Sound familiar?) It was hard seeing him struggle to stand up, struggle to walk, struggle to breathe. He is getting better every day, but it has been slow and arduous and emotionally challenging for all of us. But I knew he was feeling better when we discovered that he stashed a slew of Kit-Kat bars for secret snacking.

I came across this incredible website today via Design Observer. It is a photography journal by Phillip Toledano recording the last days of his 98-year-old father. It is beautiful, it is heartbreaking, and it is hitting me a little too close to home on this beautiful morning in New York City.

A Real Invisibility Cloak

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Scientists say they are a step closer to developing materials that could render people and objects invisible.

Researchers have demonstrated for the first time they were able to cloak three-dimensional objects using artificially engineered materials that redirect light around the objects.

Previously, they only have been able to cloak very thin two-dimensional objects.

The findings, by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, are to be released later this week in the journals Nature and Science.

The new work moves scientists a step closer to hiding people and objects from visible light, which could have broad applications, including military ones.

People can see objects because they scatter the light that strikes them, reflecting some of it back to the eye.

Cloaking uses materials, known as metamaterials, to deflect radar, light or other waves around an object.

Metamaterials are mixtures of metal and circuit board materials such as ceramic, Teflon or fibre composite.

Take Heed

Via the amazing daily email from Eric Baker.

Richard Dawkins on The Genius of Charles Darwin

As we approach the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's masterpiece, On the Origin of Species, Richard Dawkins presents the ultimate guide to Darwin and his revolutionary theory of evolution by natural selection which Dawkins considers the most important idea ever to occur to a human mind. In this powerful three-part polemical series, Dawkins explains who Charles Darwin was, how he developed his theory, what it is, and why it matters. He reveals how Darwin changed forever the way we see ourselves, the world and our place in it, and hopes to convince us that "evolution is a fact, backed by undeniable evidence". According to recent polls four out of 10 British people still believe in God as the creator of the universe and everything in it. As a scientist, and Britain's best-known atheist, Dawkins believes that such people simply don’t know enough about the evidence for Darwin's entirely natural explanation of life on Earth – evolution.



Via Kottke, of course.

A Picture's Worth: A Thousand Words

From the Boston Globe.