Ever since I bought a digital camera I wanted to take a picture of myself everyday for a long period. Well, that long period lasted maybe a week before I broke my routine. If your wondering what the results would have been like, check out Ahree Lees documentation of herself everyday for the last 3 years here!!!(or the full video here) It’s pretty amazing seeing time pass by. There’s this other guy that took a picture of himself each morning for a year, and this Google employee with a photolog of every single meal he had at Google for about a year. Be interesting if you could get a ClickDensity map of some sort over those images…perhaps what parts have changed, where zits appeared and vanished, what you ate, etc. Perhaps something like MouseMiles, to track the distance you mouse travels daily.
update: a guy does it for 6 years here!

While in I was stuck in the London airport, I came across a sweet little watch by Diesel. For those of you that know me, I’m a sucker for watches, and yes, this is yet another one I’m craving to get now.(Comes in black as well, though this white one really stands out) One thing I’ve noticed is how detailed online shopping can get. You can really zoom in on this watch, down to the wrinkles next to the stitch lines. Super specs, 3D animations, a bundle of user reviews, commercials, color options, perhaps printable and wearable products… what’s next for the online shopping experience world?

Buy it here in Black!

What are some of the BEST start-up ideas that investors and VC’s are willing to sink their teeth into? Well, if your an entrepreneur seeking an idea, perhaps you should read this article by CNNMoney which gives insight to what certain big named investors are seeking in their next big catch. For the list, go here.The shortlist version:
- The Ultimate iDrive
- New Tricks for Old Drugs
- Search for the Small Screen
- The eBay of Product Placement
- Luxury Living on a Budget

Wow. this picture rocks! More amazing images at Jason Ertels PhotoBlog, TheseFleetingMoments.com.

Whooohoooo!!! That’s the sound of someone blazing down this new slick carbon slide in the Red Bull office in London right before a meeting! Jump-Studios has created a dynamic interactive space pumped full of adrenaline in this 3 floor escapade for employees of Red Bull filled with stimulating features and activities for everyone to experience! Any tie wearing client is bound to transform into a cool craving stunt junkie after a quick plunge here.

I’m not sure when the last time I was pumped to go to an office, but I’d think a fun environment like this filled with a few cases of Red Bull would do the trick! From ping pong table meeting rooms, to floating staircases, a slick slide, to a modern bar and cafe, and a comfy lounge area… I’d wonder if the balcony had a bungee jump bridge for adrenaline breaks.

For more info on the Red Bull HQ and other sweet projects, hit up Jump-Studios website.  More sweet pics after the jump…
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I recently mentioned how my trip to London seemed very “kind” because of their proper English accent which also raised the question of what is an American accent sounds like? Well, Rocketbooms new host Joanne Colan does just this in this past episode in learning the American accent.

If you have not heard of Rocketboom, it’s a quirky daily 3 minute vLog, Video Blog (Video Web Log), of internets culture art, technology, news, web drama, and the many more odd happenings around the world. It’s probably one of the most watched vLogs with a bit of spunk.

Is that George W Bush using Tony Blair as a stepping stool onto a horse?! Well, it may appear so, but this is in fact the magical work of photographer and artists Alison Jackson who creates political and media commentaries through convincing pictures, videos, and installation. Her pieces raise the question of authenticity of the media and what we should and should not believe. The funny part about her work is that rather than initially being only a remark to the media, it became the center of the medias attention, revoking at her for making false image statements, only to counter her artist statement about how the media create several false stories.

Her works has brought a great deal of anger to for many but then again, it does makes many think about believing what they see.  Personally, I love her work, and get a good kick out of a few of them, especially in the TV videos or storefront installations fooling hundreds of passing on-lookers.

I was reminded the other day how technologies not only improved my life, but made me just as dumb without it. I’ve been an avid user of computers and such web applications for probably the last 8+ years and I’ll admit, I’m better with it, but incredibly dumb without it.

I use to remember a good dozen phone numbers, but now that I own a mobile phone, I only know 2-3 numbers. I use to be able to hand-write long letters with a pen, but if I try this now, my hand cramps up after half a page. I use to be able to spell well, but ever since I started using spell check I trust software to fix my errors. As a regular user of Instant Messaging, I shorten many words hence can’t spell correctly. I use to be able to figure out where addresses are locally, but now that I am a super user of Google Earth or Maps, I cant go anywhere without it. Google Search is pretty much half my brain. I realized while in London, without a mobile phone, how incredibly hard it was for me to meet up with a friends or for them to contact me. I have my computer save most of my passwords and when I’m not at my computer, I forget all my passwords (though I’ve learned to fix this). My mad math skillz are not that bad yet, but my lazy butt opens up the computers calculator often. Birthdays, appointments, events, holidays at times do not exist unless it’s in my calender.

I’m sure there are many more examples of how techs improved my life but once I’m unplugged from the net or have no access to my laptop, I feel rather dumb at times. Is tech helping me, aiding me, or replacing my brain?

London had tons to offer during my visit and as a designer a hunt down of the shops was a must. I didn’t take pictures of everything, but I’ll post a few things that caught my attention. Thanks to Superfuture.com I had a quick map to guide me abouts the Soho and Covent Gardens area. Otherwise, a mindless trek abouts town seemed to do the trick for finding hotspots. Above is a sick set of belts prints found in the dpmhi  store (maharishi store) More pics and finds after the jump… (more…)

London rocks!!! I was only there for a few days, but it’s very comparable to NYC besides the fact that much like the rest of the UK, everything closes down early. If you ignore the fact that everything here is twice the price than in the states, it’s an eclectic array of shopping, art, events, food, culture, and people. The vibe is jazzy and people here were very kind, though most of the people were tourists. I keep saying “kind” when I speak about the UK and I’ll admit, it’s their darn proper accents. Even people yelling at each other seemed pleasant. I’ll assume my mid-west american accent sounded harsh.

For my journey, I printed out maps from superfuture.com, which included hotspots for food, art, shops, and more. I also printed out a map from StreetSensation giving me insights to the street shops and markets. Only complaints, beside my Heathrow Experience, would be trains on the Tube broke down too often, phone calls from payphones cost wayyy too much (especially to mobile phones, 1 pound($1.80) bought me about 2 minutes time), London is very expensive to live in, and places close down early.

I’ll admit, I loved it there and am tempted to find a job there now. A few things I’ve learned about the culture over there:
- Everyone goes to pubs after work.
- Food= many drinks, hence people can drink a ton!
- People are very stylish.
- The art scene is vast.
- It rains when the sun is out!
Lots of pics after the jump… (more…)

Malmesbury was the mysterious little town I’d been craving to learn more about for many reasons. As my driver had told me, it is a very quaint town with cows, which I later found out meant, I’d probably run into some cows while walking abouts the incredibly picturesque landscape, which did happen (cows are big up close and a bit scary when they mooo at you then). Usually in my tech-centric world I’d rely on Google Earth to get a glimpse of the city, but since Malmesbury is so small, it only had blury images of the place. The hotel I stayed at was a refreshing glimpse back into the past with antique furniture within a stone and wooden built house with tiny little details throughout that is absent in todays modern world. Their staff was incredibly friendly and the room I stayed in was super cute. They also had a marvelous garden area which I lounged at for a bit of time while sketching. Malmesbury is an astonishingly beautiful town with many amazing houses and expensive cars. More pics after the jump… (more…)

While visiting Bath in the UK, I made a quick visit to Bristol. My visit was short, 3-4 hours, but it gave me a glimpse of the city and culture. Unlike Bath, Bristol felt like a real city, full of people, a bit more diverse than Bath, and rumbling with industrial noises. It was less relaxing than Bath, but also had the vibe that most city people would crave for. I basically hung out in the central part of Bristol, with a brief visit to the shopping district known as Broadmead. The park was really comfortable and it was a sunny day to chill out near the waterfront, though little kids kept falling down on the slippery hard marble waterfall like staircase pictured above. Much like Bath however, things closed early besides the pubs. More pictures after the jump… (more…)