I’m off to Wireds NextFest2006 in NYC to check out the best of what’s next! Here’s a great list of exhibits there!
Nextfest is:
“WIRED’s vision of a new world’s fair, WIRED NextFest is a four-day festival of innovative products and technologies that are transforming our world. Patterned on the great World’s Fairs of the past, this year’s NextFest in New York features more than 130 interactive exhibits from leading scientists and researchers around the world. Experience the future of exploration, entertainment, transportation, health, communication, design, security, and green living.”

If your in NYC check out! I’ll be back with crazy fun pictures next week!

I went to GEL last year, but actually missed Seth Godins lecture then, but due to the fast paced amazing world of the internet, it’s online now for ya’ll to view here! It’s basically Seth doing another swift and incredible presentation…this one basically a demo of the wonderful webpage ThisIsBroken.com which he started with guru GEL Master Mark Hurst. Give the video a shot and enjoy the many wonderful things that are Broken in our clumsy mystified world and get a good laugh!

Most of you have heard about this already, but if not, check out blogmusik.net for an impressive collection(network) of ad-free music! Once you try this ipod like interface you’ll enjoy the sweet music fades between songs and custom playlists. They even have a firefox plugin for quick song finds.
Many have doubts this site will stay legal, so have your go at before it shuts down! Personally, I still use Yahoo’s Launchcast which rocks since it uses Gracenote tech to suggest songs to you much like Amazon does for books.

SellaBand creates an awesome platform enabling fans to invest in their favorite bands and get a piece of the profits in return!!! Yes, the passionate fans become the bands investors, marketing crew (word of mouth), and profits are split between SellaBand, the band, and the fans!!! How cool!!!

So how does it work: fans find artist they like on SellaBand.com. For $10, they can buy a share, or ‘Part’. Once the band sells 5,000 parts, SellaBand arranges a professional recording in top studios. Fans receive a limited edition CD of the recording and splits profits from CD sales, Ads, etc. Basically, the more ‘Parts’ you purchase, the more shares in a band you own from the 5000 available.

This strategy is a step up from Threadless.com’s vote-to-make-real method by allowing anyone to become an investment fan “brand sneezer” in a band they love and believe in! Otherwise, it’s just like the stock market for music fanatics. I’ve been through a few musicians tunes and found some really interesting sounds. Check out the site, listen to some musicians, and invest in the ones ya crave!

SellaBand.com
Here’s another interesting angle to music by the users!

Wow!!!… Watch this video and be astonished, memorized, and creeped out all at the same time. I thought it was CG then realized it was freaking real!! What an awesome experience this must of been watching these master puppeteers work their magic in this festival! I wished I was in London when this event (The Sultans Elephant by Royal de Luxe) happened, but it’s not too late as the show will continue on to Calais (September 28-October 1) and in Le Havre (October 26-29,2006) I’ll admit, my first craving for puppeteers was while watching Being John Malkovich and now this amazing creation! I’m sure everyone felt like a kid again in some mysterious way. I want one! More pics after the jump!
More pics on Flickr here.
The video of the Giant Girl!
The Amazing Elephant!

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If your in the Boston area this weekend and craving some awesome acoustic music, hit up Club Passim In Harvard Square for their 4 day “Cutting Edge of the Campfire Weekend” filled with an eclectic range of live music ranging from folk, country, classical, a bit of rock, and bluegrass. If you like acoustic music, you’ll love it here! It’s also located in Veggie Planet hence serving up an awesome meal while chilling to some good tunes.

Pictured above is Rustic Belle. They served up an incredibly unique and new sound to music by mixing up a rustic set of tin cans, drums, guitars, baby toys, an accordion, a zither, and other various wonders. Their sound and performance was a mix of gypsidic, pirate like, jazz-spunk, with a parisian french chocolate type of twist played by a very chill and happy crew of characters..yea, very different! Here are some highlights from the two Campfire events I’ve been to:

Campfire May 06 highlights, based on live shows:
Laura Distasi, Christina Orbe, Tripping Lily, Milton, Ilyaimy, Laura Cortese, Rachel Mccartney, Jason Myles Goss, Morwenna Lasko& Jay Pun,Tim Gearan, Gretel, Lily Holbrook, Don DiLego, Sydney Wayser, Melody Garoot, Frank Marotta, Jr.

Campfire Sept 06 highlights:(minus some repeats above)
Rose Polenzani, Brian Webb, Justin Rosolino, Rusty Belle, Amy Campbell, Jenny Owen Youngs, Trisha O’Keefe, Matt Duke, Jesse Dee, Miss Tess, Rolla, Tom Bianchi, Mark Radcliffe, Blue Moose & The Unbuttoned Zippers, Ralston, Anne Heaton, Mieka Pauley, Jaded Mandolin, Ellery, Hoots and Hellmouth, Notorious, Abbie MacQuarrie & Amanda Cavanaugh

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!

I’ll be in the UK for the week, but I’ll be back rockin more posts when I return. If your in that area, please let me know. (Bath, Malmesbury, London, perhaps Bristol)

Here are some mini links to make up for the week:
- Cute people jewelry!(Jade Gedeon)
- Platial: explore and map your world while using the new Sony GPS gadget!
- Animated hand drawn lights!
- Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design!
- Atlas Gloves Demo: DIY minority report interface for $8!
- The classic “Powers of Ten” video on youtube.
- For fun: Treadmill Dancing at it’s best!!!

This was my last exhausting day walking around Siggraph2006.

Pictured above is a textile piece by Joanna Berzowska.

“The KraKow weaving is an electronic, color-changing Jacquard weaving that integrates conductive yarns, thermochromatic inks, and custom control electronics. The weaving illustrates a scene from Joannas childhood in Poland. Over time, the ink overprinted on the figures in the weaving changes color from black to transparent. Like our memories of them, the people in the textile disappear over time. As populations are displaced, the traces of their presence in place and time are similarly erased.

More pics and projects after the jump. (more…)

Day 2 at Siggraph2006 was another round of animations, techy art, some weird music, and a return to the emerging arts gallery. The exhibits hall also opened up, but, it was just a mini version of CES.

Pictured above is EON Realities Touchlight system, which was very much like Jef Hans Multi-Touch screen, but different technologies and some applications. The cool portion was the ability to transfer any image onto the screen simply by pressing the image up against the screen for about 8 seconds. Zooming in, rotating, moving, and other actions were pretty intuitive, though glitchy. The resolution was not the greatest, but the system had a magical air like feeling.
More projects and pics after the jump.

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Some more pictures and notes on another brief visit to the Siggraph galleries. More after the jump.

Pictured above, is an art piece with temperature controlled plates that changed temperatures based on what was projected. (Snow=cold, fire=hot) (more…)

Seems like Sony is masterminding yet another colorful commerical after their famous bouncing balls commerical, but this time, their using colored paint balls, and TONS of it:

70,000 litres of paint
358 single bottle bombs
33 sextuple air cluster bombs
22 Triple hung cluster bombs
268 mortars
33 Triple Mortars
22 Double mortars
358 meters of weld
330 meters of steel pipe
57 km of copper wire

Sounds like fun:
Sony Bravia Advert
Flickr pics 

update: an interview with David Patton on the making of the video, on PSFK’s IF here. (thanks jeff)