Uniqlo: Wake Up
This Uniqlo Alarm Clock app / screensaver grabs my attention for one reason - the sounds are dynamically created based on the current weather conditions and arrangements by Cornelius; a name I don't hear near often enough these days. The download is free so, at the very least, it's worth playing around with just to give it a try. The global map tour within the app is pretty sweet.
NSAG: Hollie Chastain: Summer Book Club
Daniel never ceases to amaze me with his curation of the Smallest Art Gallery. The latest installment is Summer Book Club from Chattanooga artist Hollie Chastain. Her series of mixed media pieces done on old books is the perfect appeal of ambiguous illustration and naturally appealing weathered surfaces. I'm definitely a fan.
Between Two Ferns: A Fairytale of New York
I haven't even watched it in it's entirety yet but I'm going to go ahead and vouch for the high amusement factor of the half-hour special Between Two Ferns: A Fairytale of New York with Zach Galifianakis. Tina Fey, Jon Stewart and Sir Richard Branson are among the guests - what further convincing do you need to watch?
The Exquisite Corpse Project
The Exquisite Corpse Project really is a different kind of film:A documentary about five comedians who are challenged to each write 15 minutes of a movie, after having read only the previous five pages of the script.You get a good glimpse at the weirdness of the actual movie and the frustration of the writers when watching the trailer. I can only imagine that the film that was created in the undertaking is very bizarre but having it all wrapped in the story of the creation of the actual piece is kind of brilliant. Definitely one to keep an eye out for - watch this spot or this page for proper updates.
Sortbox: Organize Your Dropbox
I won't claim to know exactly what I'd use Sortbox for but I like the idea of a bit of automation to syncing certain types of files with Dropbox. I often want to place certain content in a particular deeply nested folder and it certainly would be handy to have a tool to get them to their destination without much hassle.via Chad.
iPad Keyboard Selection Prototype
Maybe it's the snazzy music, maybe it's my own personal frustration with the topic in question but this Text Selection Prototype for iOS seems incredibly clever and appropriate for the device. Taking advantage of more gestures to get the results you want can incur a learning curve that can have negative effects but I think this looks sensible. Read more on it here or, if your phone is jailbroken, try a similar version.
Peter Saville - Commercialism + Design
Take a few minutes to watch this Peter Saville interview on his thoughts on the intersection of design and commercialism. It's a curious thing to hear the thoughts of the overlap between the two from a man who's best known for his directly commercialized work with Factory Records. He was not compromised in his vision and was actually able to connect with an audience. Disregard the weird atmospheric shots plugged in throughout the talk, just glue your ears to his words.via Concept Album & Caspar.
The Art of Brooke Weston
Brooke Weston manages to fuse together two of my favorite things into one new creation - well done taxidermy and miniature worlds. Her official site doesn't give much insight into how the pieces look overall but you can cruise around several blogs to see more.HT Whetzell.
Bartek Elsner - The Paper Stuff
Bartek Elsner has a number of interesting artistic undertakings but his collection of Paper Works is, to me, the most compelling. I love how everything seems quite simplified but without a lack of detail. Be sure to see the Internet EX30, The Fireplace and the In Case of Emergency Kit.via Josh.
Friday Videos - May 4th, 2012
This morning when I woke up it felt like Saturday. Hopefully this means good things for when Saturday actually arrives. It does not, however, bode well for my being at all productive today. Here's your playlist and the breakdown below!- Window Surprise - the surprise itself is absolutely ridiculous but the narration puts it in the realm of perfection.
- Manly Eyedrops - these eyedrops are menthol. Why does this exist?!!?
- Kracie - Happy Kitchen - would you like to spend 40 minutes crafting a miniature meal that probably tastes like pla-doh? Here's the walkthrough. It's long but it's fascinating.
- Where Things Come From - a 1:30 ad for a fictional TV program. The motion graphics / animation are super awesome.
- Speakeasy with Paul F Thompkins - new original content series from Made Man featuring Paul F Thompkins drinking with his funny friends. How this ended up on some bizarro Maxim-esque site I will never know but I'll still happily watch the episodes.
- Iron Man Cosplay - let your inner nerd fill with awe watching this kids ridiculously articulated Iron Man outfit. Viral video for The Avengers or legit super fan?
- Chicken Beatboxing - you assume this will end in abject failure but it's actually a glowing success.
- Giorgio Moroder - Baby Blue (Maru Cat) - two things have never come together so perfectly.
All Too Human Tonight
Tonight will be the official release celebration of All Too Human, the new album from Uncle Skeleton. The record may be created almost entirely by Ross Wariner himself (it was) but the live show is a 14-person extravaganza. If you're anywhere close to the Nashville area, please come down to the Mercy Lounge and have a great time with us. If you're not, go have a listen to the record. I am fully convinced that there is something for everyone somewhere on the album, just give it a good listen through.
Stream Mystery Twins EP
There is a new local Nashville band called Mystery Twins that is comprised of members of another more established but somewhat defunct band The Clutters. This is only important because frontman Doug Lehmann's voice is so distinctive. The band will be releasing their debut EP, Love Is Strange, next Tuesday. They've posted this great preview video so you can hear the whole thing beforehand.I post this for a number of reasons:
- 1) I'm thankful for bands putting up preview videos of their records beforehand.
- 2) Putting it in video form gives you something ambient to look at and makes it difficult to pirate before it's officially released (let's be honest, stealing songs off Bandcamp is not difficult.. you just shouldn't do it).
- 3) It creates something compelling to share around. Always a good thing for a new band.
Banksy On Advertising Revisited
Remember this post about Banksy apparently lifting some text from Sean Tejaratchi's Craphound? Well, seems like there has been an update and, as we all hoped, it's nothing as nefarious as it originally seemed. Banksy did give credit in the original edition of Cut It Out and even tried to contact Sean directly with a copy - way back in 2002.All and all, a misunderstanding and one I'm happy to hear is cleared up... giving Banksy back his proper artistic cred.
HT Austin.
Handy Tools for Friday Development
- FixieJS - need dummy content? Fixie takes care of that. Include the javascript, add a "fixie" class to the desired target and you're ready to roll. Get it? Roll? Bicycles. Definitely handy.
- Chrome User-Agent Switcher - spoofing the user-agent isn't always the best way to test cross browsers but it is a convenient technique. I probably should have had this installed for awhile but better late than never...
Attention Span Film Festival
The Attention Span Film Festival is coming back for 2012. The Santa Fe, NM based undertaking showcases a number of films, submitted by you, that are no longer than 30 seconds in length. Personally, I feel this is a great way to cut your teeth on a quick video that gets to the point with no extra fluff. Submissions are due by June 1st so get to it!
Perfect Strangers: The Game
I don't know why this Perfect Strangers Game exists but I don't think it matters. It's ridiculous, absurd and astonishingly well done. Oh, and actually pretty fun to play as well. Be sure to check out the "Dream Board" for some additional goofy entertainment.via Andrew.
Graphic-Exchange
The page design of Graphic-Exchange may not be much to write home about but, man oh man, the content is killer. That's not to say that it looks bad in any way but the actual content has so many inspiring pieces of work, ridiculously great workspaces and top notch photos that it's hard to even notice a page design. This is a huge compliment. Content is king and they've got it in droves.via Dolan.
Amazon Studios Original Content
Do you have an idea for a TV series that you're sure could be fleshed out into something grander but don't have the connections to get into the Hollywood system? Might be time to check out Amazon Studios Series - a new undertaking where new, original, content is being developed for Amazon Instant Video. They're actually offering $10k for script development (if selected) and $55k for series production - maybe not the world's greatest budgets but seems like the sort of thing that would be hugely beneficial to get in on the ground floor with. Pretty cool to see Amazon looking to compete in the digital video realm with new legit content.
100 Frames
100 Frames is an ongoing series of "stupid 4 second animated films" from Fraser Davidson, Dan Jones and Matthew Harvey. Here's the deal:Applying the moniker - '100 frames', there are only a few simple rules to what the content on our site can be. Firstly, each creation must be no more than 100 frames of animation. Secondly, it must be funny. Thirdly and most importantly, it must be artistic and beautiful.It's a bit of light-hearted fun done through some compelling animation style. I look forward to more entries but, for now, suggest you start with M is for Modern Art.
2012 Logo Trends
The 2012 Logo Trends Report from Logo Lounge is now available. It's a hefty read but when you're tackling the task of crunching comparisons between 32,000 unique marks it probably should be a hefty read. They break things down into three major categories - Overdone / "Done to Death", Rising Stars, and Firmly Established. It doesn't seem like the report is meant to be a warning sign of things to avoid or an admonishment of any particular design decision.. Rather, it's just an overview of the state of logo design as viewed through the lens of Logo Lounge.
Reverend Cohen
I've zero insight into the story behind Reverend Cohen but, based on the simplest of context clues, I can tell that it seems to be an ongoing stream of vintage imagery paired with tasteful, poignant or humorous quotes. Simple, enjoyable.via Nevver.
Just My Type
Big thanks to Dan Eden for putting together Just My Type, a collection of well-paired font samples. For me, it's hugely beneficial to have a jumping off point for any design job and these examples of beautiful headlines and body type creates exactly that - a place to start. Consider it bookmarked!
Uncle Skeleton - All Too Human
The tracklisting is massive but please don't let that scare you off - the running time for the whole record is still less than a CD can hold. It's four movements of music spanning the sixty-eight minute runtime and I can't imagine you won't find something in there you like.
