the future of prosthetics

"The Immaculate" is a concept prosthetic arm by Norwegian design student Hans Huseklepp that I came across while doing style research on robotic arms for UMASS. I'm interested the integration of technology into the human spectrum and prosthetics seem to be the ultimate amalgamation of this. Huseklepp's concept works because it's able to jump the "uncanny valley" (aka: it's not creepy). Simple, elegant, and recognizable form factors that act as an extension of the human arm without trying to replicate it. Nice work.

Paolo Soleri

Arcology: The City in the Image of Man was first published by MIT in 1969 and is Paolo Soleri's vision of how urban planing can help us to evolve as a species and have less impact on our environment. Architecture meets philosophy in beautify sketched diagrams and alien looking structures. "The phenomenon then of the city, a congruent, humanized micro-universe sustained by the neonatural layer (the physical construct of the city), is an untracomplex organism whose centralized brain is the instrument that works for the satisfaction of the thousands of epidermal individual minds bound together by forces of society and culture" (p 12).
I've only started to dip my toes in this books and am completely intrigued. Could a utopian structure like this work or would it become a ghetto like so many others? We know that form can influence function but the line is so finely drawn that a near hit can be a complete miss.

Soleri and his students have been working since 1970 on an arcology, Arcosanti, north of Phoenix, Arizona. Want to go?

A great interview with artist Cassandra C. Jones

BoingBoing Interview with Xeni Jardin from Cassandra C. Jones on Vimeo.

What interests me here is the idea of an a new "mixed media" pulled from the constant barrage of images that we post on the internet. Jones' work is not the images themselves but the conceptual "glue" that binds them. In a way she's interpreting a conversation that we are all taking part in.

If you are in the bay area and would like to see her work first hand Jones has a solo exhibit from Aug 1st - Sept 5th at Baer Ridgway Exhibitions (http://www.baerridgway.com).

things that keep me sane:

(special thanks to Spitzer M81, Fran, and Flicker)

thumbs up for sucking

My new favorite vampire movie: Let the Right One In

There are vampire movies that play by the rules and then there are the ones that twist them.

open source

The idea of open source took hold in the late 90's and I don't see it stopping anytime soon. No longer just for computer geeks coding their intellectual prowess into the web servers of the world, the idea that you'll work for free in exchange for information is ... well... it's working. And not just for non-profs like Wikipedia.

Check out www.openstreetmap.com



It's a free wiki world map and according to their community ambassador, Sarah Manley, the rules of mapping are almost totally unregulated. Anyone with the know how could, for instance, go in and erase the Golden Gate Bridge. The beauty of it is that it would certainly, or theoretically, be replaced almost immediately by everyone else.

Self-regulation? Sounds like anarchy. Will they get big enough to have to have rules? Probably. Should we start mapping? Definitely!

I wonder if there is a way to map the history of your family tree or how food from the Red Cross gets disbursed. What do you think?

R.I.P. MJ

This is the face I'll remember you by.

new favorite book

Published by Laurence King Publishing.
Here are some highlights:
Hil Driessen, Kahori Maki, and Anne Kyyro Quinn

re-design

I'm starting to put together a furniture installation.
Or at least starting to process the idea.

At the root: Alessandro Mendini.
"As a design theorist, Mendini also promoted the idea of "banal design", which attempted to address the intellectual and cultural void that was perceived to exist in the mass-design of industrialized society." (Design of the 20th Century. Fiell)

source and resource

go ahead, get your geek on

www.mfg.com

Zen your office

You may or may not believe in Feng Shui but sometimes it just makes sense. Here are some things I kept in mind when I rearranged my office:

Don't sit in line with the door because you'll be in the path of negative energy. Also, try not to sit facing stairs, storage rooms, or closets. (I'm not totally sure what this means but I thought I'd try it.)

Definitely don't have your back to the door while your working. It said to be symbolically turning your back on business or opportunities that may be approaching. (I believe in unconscious symbols so I went with this one too.)

Try to have a good balance of yin and yang when decorating: light and dark colors, soft and hard surfaces, smooth and ruff textures. (loved this one! So many offices I've worked in would have been more tolerable with this in mind.)


If your interested in the rest you can look up on the super Zen internet like I did. Enjoy!

Nick Cave: sound suits

The Nick Cave exhibit at the Yerba Buena in San Francisco is outstanding. An eclectic mix of craft, culture, dance, and sculpture. I haven't seen something that dazzling in a while and I left completely inspired. I also want a taxidermy sweater bear of my very own! (sorry no pic) Meet Me at the Center of the Earth runs through July 5.

the island: a natural encounter in the city

photo by emily nicolson

Marc Newson

Storage by Marc Newson. Can it really be used for anything-- probably not. But combining reoccurring patterns in nature with everyday objects one of my favorite themes.

(70-7/8 x 110-3/16 x 15-11/16 inches and hogged out of solid marble)

new favorite

Had the pleasure of playing with this wonderful widget. This is the Smart Pen by Livescibe. It records your voice and what you are drawing at the same time. It uses a camera and little dots on the paper to register and play back the audio when you point to something you wrote. Then up load all to your computer. Very nice.

graphic goodness

Found this on at http://hellofrancis.blogspot.com and loved the simple graphics and story telling with symbols. Not to mention the discussion as to whether or not it was offensive to exploit a gender bias by implying that women are over thinkers. I had to laugh tho because, well, sometimes it really is that complicated.

oh Hulger

This is the Pappa phone. It was designed by Hulger and is hand-made by Funri. It's specifically designed for VoIP services like Skype, iChat, GoogleTalk, Vonage, etc, so there are no buttons. Oh so cool and yet somehow... I'm tormented.

They got it right with Skype (i love you free and easy technology).
They got it right with the crafty goodness of mixing tech with heirloom quality American walnut. Yes! More!

So then my sweet dear Pappa phone, why don't I love you? You're retro. kinda. With your big bulky style and that phone cord reminding me of when I was 10. You're modern? You don't look very comfy. I bet you smell nice but could I shoulder you to my ear for an hour while I get my brother to help me update my website? mmm... Really, I just want to wedge you under the kitchen table leg so it doesn't wobble while I'm eating.

Well, I guess I love you for who you are Pappa, the first generation of not retro, not future, VoIP phones.

1 down 100,005 to go

Helene and I were invited to join Brenthaven at Macworld SF to help them promote their new lap top bag 'the Switch MB'.



We spent the day creating custom bag flaps and geeking out with other Macworldites. As you can see I ran with the 'Shazam' theme while Helene went for big blossoms.


Good times were had by all.

Check out more of Helene's custom design work at http://www.cultureconsumer.com

And get your own Brenthaven bag at www.brenthaven.com

ZAMAK

I'm totally obsessed with his vision of the future. Here's a taste. Go to his blog and watch his video. I wanted to post it here but couldn't figure out how.

Do Not Covet Your Ideas

"The problem with hording is you end up living off your reserves. Eventually you become stale.

If you give away everything you have, you are left with nothing. This forces you to look, to be aware, to replenish.

Somehow the more you give away the more comes back to you.

Ideas are open knowledge. Don't claim ownership.

They're not your ideas anyway, they're someone else's. They are out there floating by on the ether.

You just have to put yourself in a frame of mind to pick them up."

Paul Arden
from his book
It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be.

thanks pixectera.com

An electrical storm inside the eruption of Chaiten volcano in southern Chile last May. wow

good to be gaudy

Nothing brightens my day like an obnoxiously gaudy chandelier.

"It's not the strongest, nor the most intelligent that, that survive; it's the one most responsive to change."

--Charles Darwin

when the brains meet the bronze

this is an add for ritual coffee house here in the mission sf. i think its genius. artful. bold. totally local. when you know your target so well you don't need words.

why can't smart cars look like this?

“You know you’re on the right track when the solution for one problem has accidently solved several other problems.”

--Michael Corbett
architect and developer of Village Homes in Davis, California

the freeks and the geeks

happy halloween

heart in blue pencil

Tanaka vase

Talking to Richie about molding and casting these candle sticks for him. This was my favorite of the three most recent designs. I also think it would make an interesting vase... but we'd have to do it in ceramic and slip cast it.

Off the scanner 1

mark is talking about concrete roses and BJ meets OG

late night ideas that make you go "hmm?" in the morning

little guy: wort bort
paint by # rug stencil
dust bunny: save your $
mantra stickers/magnets: just do your best
feather in your cap
a lamb clock

the miyabi

Miybai can be ruffly translated as "elegance," "refinement," or "courtliness" (according to wikipedia).

This security camera created by Japanese firm Const Net is at the beginning of where I see technology headed. We want it touchable, organic. We want it to blend.

Sylvia Ji

the good shit #1

heathen at the treasure island music festival. is good. i hear they are opening shop on 16th and capp. check em out: http://www.myspace.com/wearheathen

i like em better with thier clothes off

i love curious people. check out more of matt's work at:

http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.mattkirkland.com/ursum.html

Day 1

Frida Kahlo's eyebrows:
they make me want to be more myself