Relativity

This getin' old thing makes me think if time is actually relative... maybe the americans are right and "time is money" That is why some of this clocks and watches are über-expensive which subsequently is the reason why I only use my Tag Heuer on Christmas.

Thanks for the patience while I prepared this gallery, but I believe the wait was worth every minute. Here's a collection of some innovative, some weird, and some extraordinary clocks. I found most of them at "ektopia.co.uk" if you want to visit their site. The point is, that there are still design possibilities and room for creativity, even for something that has been designed and re-designed time after time, ater time... Click to visit the original web sites, and have a good time!

Salone Satellite

Today I'll just post a link to designboom's photo gallery of one of the parallel exhibitions (salone satellite) during the Milan fair, a couple of weeks ago. Enjoy.

Tomato soup

It felt like being vandalised by Banksy: The guy who puts his own paintings inside famous museums. Today we opened a New Zealand Campell's tomato soup... yes, like the one on Warhol's prints!

It was literaly as if the contents was replaced with a discount brand can of tomato soup! It didn't had the same flavour as the american (or mexican cans). It was Kiwi tomato flavour! Like Clemente Jaques' ketshup. Next time, we'll stick with the good ol' mushrooms soup, no surprises there!

ciao

Schnell Lieferung

Yet another suggestion for my birthday gift. Well, just in case you could find something like the delivery on this movie by Till Nowak :

It would make a nice present... Maybe there's a chinese pirate copy of a box like this at the "tianguis". Made me wonder about the eternal return discussion and nihilism once again*. Maybe when dinosaurs like me get older, we think about those issues.

The movie site has a set of images like storyboards, but they are actually presentation posters. (This was a final thesis project) So the posters are for the exam review, and explain details on how the movie was made using 3D studio Max. Look at the futuristic deutsche Post vehicle. Nice!

*Kundera discussed this too on "the unbearable lightness of beeing". And speaking of Kundera and Kitsch. Today we went to see the movie "Deep Blue". It's a nice movie... relaxing, not so many explanations, just nice images and music. Anyway, I just realised that Kitsch exists in nature too! Just look (in this gallery) how kitschig the deep sea creatures are! you know, the ones from deep sea abyss. Don't tell me that this "Pleurobrachia pileus" doesn't look like one of those toys full of led lights.

If all life comes from those creatures, well... there you have an explanation on why Kitsch is on our DNA!

ciao

Engrish

Hoopersan's suggestive web-site be dispray here. Pictures will now be posted on post massages. Bugger will not accept image tags on post. For people viewers some engrish be enjoyed with ex-samples:

After examinations. Engrish will be more difficult then spoken language of Aura! But printing is OK. Engrish are family with German people, will drink "coolpis" before toire down "their" hygienic parts.

I'm going to sreep now! I'm tiled.

Signs, symbols... languages

Today as every friday, we got some fast food for dinner. This week it was Kebaps. You know that I am not a green person, so I always order mine with no lettuce. When we opened the bag at home, my kebap had someting like this on the wrapper: Just lattel latec. That must be turkish for "just little lettuce". It reminded me of the japanglish words like pasukon, ereveta, etc.

Jürgen Specht has a nice collection of japanese signs, but there are also other interesting galleries, like vending machines or this Keitai models showing the latest japanese cell phone designs:

Keitai charging machine - Keitai Campaign Girls

Now, speaking of Keitai and the latest models. Pokia has the new trend on "hands free". Altough, it doesn't really help to get your hands really free.

I'll post later a gallery of clocks. There are some amazing designs, but I have to put together that collection.

Have a nice weekend.

ciao

More is less

I am just "re-posting" the link to the short film "more" ...more clearly:


PS: I haven't updated my album pictures. Those are just samples from the Jazz festival last year. I was experimenting loading the pics into layers... but it takes a while to load... so now, I am going to prepare groups of pictures (New Zealand, family, Monterrey, Germany, etc...) and put those together into a layer, not every pic separately. But right now, I am busy organising other stuff.

Maybe later, I'll upload the picture of my new desk, he, he... ;)

Lomopresent

2 weeks away from my birthday... here's a suggestion for a surprise present:

It's just terrible that I havn't used my 35mm camera in a while... well, except for the trip to Bay of Islands. Why isn't there a digital lomo?

And don't get me started on my wish list of CD's... Well, maybe I just have to settle for a pack of tortillas and some birria.

ciao

Job auction

The (to be) employee who makes the lowest bid (accepts to work for less money) gets the job.

Despair :-(

Now with all this rennovations, I found this (de)motivational posters for my office:

humiliation
cluelessness
ignorance
persistence
consulting

I think, I'm going to put some of them in front of my desk! If you want to buy some of this posters, make a gift to a disaffected college student or get a (de)motivational screensaver go to http://despair.com/index.html

There's also an Academy-Award® nominated short film

...and don't forget not to use :-( anymore.

Can cam

It's not like the goldberg variations on Offenbach's gaite parisenne instead of J.S. Bach. It's a camera made out of a paint can. It's the next generation of lomography... Just imagine using 4x5 instead of the limited 35mm of an old Zenith!

Here's some info from their web site: http://shop.lomography.com/can/

Paint Can Camera

That’s right - as the name implies, this über-simple pinhole camera is actually constructed of an aluminum paint can - one US quart to be exact. However, this particular paint can has been hand-modified to include a light-tight interior, an interior paint strip to guide film placement, and (of course) a precisely drilled micro-pinhole yielding an approx. aperture of f/250. The can’s typical round shape imparts a truly signature barrel-distortion to each landscape-oriented shot.

Magnetic Shutter or a "magnet shutter." It’s simple - peel the magnet off to start your exposure and place it back on the stop. For easy storage during exposures, the magnet will conveniently stick either the back or sides of your paint-can camera. When it’s not on your camera, the magnet may also be used to keep important documents or small photographs attached to your refrigerator.

This piece of minimalist photo equipment has been designed and hand made by Jim Kosinski - one of the premier masters of modern pinhole photography.

Using the simplest possible mechanics of camera design, the Can Cam accepts a large format piece of sheet film and turns it into something beautiful – a 4” x 5” sheet of dreamy soft focus and lateral barrel distortion. Our exclusive set includes the critical nylon changing bag and a fat box of 25 black and white sheets – everything you need to get started.

Aura

Yesterday, while you waited for some CD's to be toasted, you had the chance to read Aura by Carlos Fuentes. Despite the controversy some years ago, you didn't got time to read it earlier.

It's interesting how is written in second person... it reminded you of how you used to joke about how young people use second person instead of pasive sentences. For example your students explaining their proyects: "you move this piece and you open this part" instead of "to open this part, this piece has to be moved".

Carlos Fuentes' novel is just about the right length... it is really hard for you to read on second person for a long time. Anyway, it gives you the feeling of really being there and not just observe and imagine from the distance. It's just the opposite effect as having people telling you stories, so that you can understand Laura's life.

You realised that the controversy about the secretary of labour banning that book is just outrageous. You imagined that if he could, he would actually burn many other books, starting by all Barbara Cartland's soft porn novels. And probably all issues of "el libro vaquero" which are actually more graphic than Aura. Milan Kundera or Gabo wouldn't stand a chance with a censorship like that.

You better start reading "platero y yo" to keep your mind pure and clean... or even better, you just go to Mc Allen.

Umeå

Now that is what I would call a good school of design. Take a look at the student's gallery... and the list of staff and guest lecturers.

I don't stand a chance if I wanted to apply there! well, maybe as student with a little luck.

Anagrams

Not only I became an expert on the Beatle's "butcher's cover", I also found a german site to solve anagrams. I tried my name, so, here are some of the best ones:

Jedenfalls, Lionel Varro
Jene Version, Dollarfall
Floras' Jodeln Allverein
Dollarverfalls? jein! noe!
Earl jedenfalls Livorno
Olav Riesenfall, Jodlern
Dollarfall Jones Verein
Dollarfall nervoes? jein!
von jedenfalls Lola Irre
Lars Love Jon Niederfall
jein! Dollarverfall so'ne
Jarls "faellender violon"
je! Dollarfall vorne sein
Rolllaeden vorfiel Jans
je! sonderfall Larin Love
Livlaenders jollen Afro
Jodlers reinfallen Olav
seelenvoll Jardin Flora
verfallend Jasion Orell
Sonja Lore Niederfall LV
ja! irr'n losfallende Love
jedenfalls verlor Ilona
allo..??!! von jedenfalls Irre
Oral LSD Vorfaellen? jein!
Jodlern Riesenfall oval
na ja! Villendoerfer soll...
Alfons Jodler Allverein

Was für eine Schokolade ist das?

What does this have to do with design? I dunno...

I was browsing the designboom web site, and 2 hours later I am stuck on level 7 of this riddle ( http://deathball.net/notpron/ ).

Which brand of candy bar is thaaat??? The only german chocolates I remember are Ritter Sport, Kinder Ueberaschung and Milka. HELP!

Any hints? This is actually more complicated than finding a matching customer! =)

Save Toby

Taking a bunny hostage! That is bioterrorism: Save Toby

Good design

Here is a very good site featuring projects by Tyson Boles.

I find the experimentation with materials, forms, etc. quite interesting and exciting.

2advanced

Well, I'll never be able to do something like this with flash: very cool site

This is very therapeutic: click the very big button that doesn't do anything

ciao

Picture blog

Feng shui? Actually... I'm just testing how to post a picture here.

Good Art/Bad Art

I just love this article on modern and traditional art:

ARC Philosophy: Good Art/Bad Art - Pulling Back the Curtain by Fred Ross

Just have a look at Cleopatra... and what do you say about the suicide girl? By the way, check out on the ARC site the winners of this year's painting competition... amazing! or like most kiwis say: awesome!

Remember that I am no expert using flash, so, I was confused because a tutorial said that videos and sound had to remain on the same folder as the swf file to "stream" the audio and video. Well... I believed that, until I realised that audio and video were already embedded. When I saw the file size I tought: "Yeah, this is just like the frame for the video and only the mp3 audio could be embedded... a 35MB mpeg video and only 3MB is the size of the swf file... it has to be just the audio" What a nice surprise that is all inside the file! It is incredible!

I solved the other problem with my videos. I just had to "demux" my mpeg videos and use both files. Then the "LoadMovieNum" was kind of "see trough" I used a solid colour backround, but nevertheless, (you won't believe it) even with pictures or the video... the buttons on the lower layer could still be activated! So, I decided to convert the whole background into a big button, and problem solved!

Check out the tractor video inside the "tecos" (UAG) presentation on my web site.

ciao and good night

Eppur si muove

One of my favourite songs says:

"they sold you the view from a hill...
They told you that the view from the hill would be further than you'd ever seen before.

but they said that up there you'd find the air would be clearer
promised you more space to move and more room to breath...

You were holding out forever - thought they'd never turn your mind.
Your ideals they were higher than you ever could have climbed.
We thought that they couldn't buy you - the price would be too high
that the riches there on offer they just wouldn't turn your eyes.
But your conscience it was locked up in the prisons of your schemes
your judgement it was blinded by your visions and your dreams
praying and hoping that the view from the hill
is wider than you've ever seen before.

They sold you the view from the hill.
Look it all for a view from the hill
and you find the views no further than you've seen before..."
Fish

Loenzo (the main character of Poniatowska's novel) had a kind of "midlife crisis" after returning from Harvard to Mexico. Everything seemed to be well... not up to standard. Research at the observatory was chaotic, people inefficient, etc. His view from Tonantzintla's hill was wider than before, however his new (wider) periferical vision percieved a different country. I guess everyone who lives in a different country for a while gets the same feeling. Despite this feelings, he became a famous astronomer and director of 2 prestigious institutes, etc.

There are some passages that captured my attention:

When Lorenzo interviewed new students, he complained about the young generations. This is nothing new, Socrates also complained about the young greeks... they were a bunch of rebels with no respect for authority and definetively not philosopher's material. A couple of days ago I found an ICSID brochure, which says that new students have lost some rational thinking that was taken for granted in previous generations. Young students find it hard to think about identifying design problems, they try to compensate logical search for solutions with "brainstrorm" creativity. Yes I noticed something like that, but it's not the student's fault, it's because primary and secondary education are not promoting logical thinking. A colleague said that they are used to follow instructions like recipies, and they expect to do design like a recipie: put on one of the six hats, and you will have a good product! well, I've seen those young designers do very nice things when they are shown the right path, it only requires some training and some modesty to accept that thinking is harder then following instructions... there is always the risk of making mistakes, but you have to take that chance if you want to get to the top of the hill. To put it in other words, I always say that young generations have some kind of G5 or Pentium4 @ 3GHz... while we dinosaurs have a 386 chip. Young minds are really powerful. It is the educator's duty to make those brains run with useful software and not just x-box games and junk. Like Jaime Alvarez used to say: "junk comes in, junk comes out" but if you feed their mind with useful stuff, the outcome will be useful designs!

Then, there's a discussion about scientific discoveries. Lorenzo tells a young student that inventions, theories like Einstein's or Galileo's are not "something they smoked". Brilliant inventions come from many previous discoveries and ideas. Genius is when someone can select the right pieces from all the pieces out there... it is not easy to make a relation between those dots on the sky. It is something like when you start to solve a 5,000 pieces or more puzzle. Finding the first pieces that match is not easy... you have to develop a systematic approach like separating pieces by color according to the regions of the puzzle. That is scientific method! Anyway, when you start finding pieces that match, it is easier to match more pieces, and so on. Science is like that. We try to figure out the whole puzzle and the philosophical questions about us and our universe. Already connected pieces of that puzzle are our beliefs, but there are still many dots that we still can't find their place on the puzzle. Good design is also like that. Bruno Munari says that young designers get caught in the wrong impession that their creativity allows them to design from zero, as if they have to re-invent everything, when actually the best inventions (and designs) are only puzzles of existing experiences. Like the fax machine: some one needed to send documents really fast, so the inventor combined a scanner to convert analog images into digital and then...he/she needed a medium to transmit the information, so using telephone lines was a good idea, and by then modems already existed. So, I agree with Lorenzo that good ideas and inventions don't come out of a magic hat, Not even six hats!!!

Fausta makes a remarkable stage performance of Galileo's discussion with Cremonini. Galileo wants to show Cremonini the moons of Jupiter through his telescope, but Cremonini refuses to watch because it would compromise his beliefs on the Aristotelean order of the universe: "leave me alone I need peace" "-But what about the truth? I am looking for the truth because I am a scientist and believe that those who accept the truth are closer to God than those who build their human dignity upon nonsense mistakes." The moral is like Descartes said : "do not accept anything as absolute truth" Even Artistotle made mistakes... we cannot be like Cremonini and hold on to our scientific beliefs so strong, that it holds us back. Yes, do not think that we are going to find all answers out of a hat, niether are all the answers already said or absolutely truth. That is the hardest thing, like I said before, to figure out wich dots or pieces to connect or disconnect and arrange in some other way. I'll tell you about my "out of the square" theory later.

Anyway, we all get older... and as time goes by, we hold on to our beliefs stronger then ever, we are not going to be always young Galileos, in fact we all are going to be Cremoninis sooner or later... and young generations are going to lead the way into new frontiers, then they will get older and there will be a younger generation, and so on. Our duty is to pass on our experience, show them our successes but also warn them about our failiures so that they learn from that too. If we treat students like babies, overprotecting them from "strict teachers" and always telling them that their projects are fabulous, when they are not, just so that they don't get upset and fill out a bad survey evaluation about their lecturers.... well, for me that is not protecting them, that is insulting their intelligence. Protecting young Galileos from all Cremoninis they could find is not going to help them develop the confidence to say one day: eppur si mouve.


ciao

...april, april

Speaking of universal design, check the left handed whopper!