So, I was shopping online for some Maharishi cloths I posted about, and ended up emailing the company to find out where I could get some of their goods. They ended up introducing me to a place called Bodega in Boston, which I had never heard of. I found out this high-end fashion store was somewhat hidden inside a soda machine, inside a thrifty little convenient store, with no signs. So as you are probably thinking, bizarre right. Well, my first drive by, I saw a convenient store, but thought nothing of it, and went back home and just said another day. Well, today I was in the area again, and decided to go into the convenient store. At first it was locked, but a stylish person came out to greet me and said they were closed, and I asked if I could just take a quick peek. “Sure, come on in.” Ok.. I see some fritos, detergent, spam, toilet paper, some candy, and a soda machine…. If you don’t mind hearing the surprise experience, read on. (more…)

I’ve always questioned if technology and electronics would become nostalgic, where electronics, laptops, cell phones, mp3 players would be kept for longer than say two years. In todays society, electronics are thrown away not only because they are behind in technology, but for their looks.(little dings here and there) I was reminded of this question when I saw this post here, about how a scratched up Sony camera actually looked cool, how it had a splendid patina look. In this rare case, a dinged up electronic actually had a good emotional response from someone, much like a beat up leather jacket, worn out ripped jeans, overly wrinkled fashionable shirts, a used baseball glove, a wooden old ladder, a dirty but huggable teddy bear, etc.  As Russell Davies says in his post, “One of the things I hate about the design of most things, especially most electronic things, and definitely most automotive things, is they’re all designed to be new. They’re all at their best when you buy them and they get worse the second you remove them from the packaging.”
So, what’s the solution to this, is there a need for nostalgic electronics, should electronics be made to have more meaning?… I’m not sure, it’s just a thought. I use to think soft materials would add this meaningful value but from what I know, the only integrated soft electronic is this sleek porsche like vertu ascent phone for $5,000. It’s strange how tons of people buy soft cases for their gadgets…. are consumers saying something companies are not realizing?

For the first time ever, the exclusive invite-only TED conference experience, which I’ve posted about several times, is launching TEDtalks which is a free video and audio series of some of the best TED speakers for everyone in the world to see and hear. TED is a journey of some of the most mind-provoking idea gatherings in the world which is limited to 1,000 people each year but is now spreading some their love through this new chapter. I’m extremely happy that TED decided to add this feature as every time I return from the TED conference I ramble for endless enthusiastic months to my friends about it. Attending TED is like no other conference and a heaven of ideas for anyone to experience. Though the speakers talks are only a portion of the magical safari, TEDtalks is a first step in sharing the real magic of captivating, igniting, and making real world changes that keeps this community so compelling. Go check it out, get inspired, and start spreading the idea virus! (Sir Ken Robinson on creativity is a must watch video!)
via TEDblog

Have you ever wondered how to travel the entire world and get a company to pay for it all? Well, meet Matt Harding, a game developer that quit his job to travel the world for a bit of an adventure while filming himself doing a little dance in each location. Upon returning from his world safari, his video hit the infectious internet world and got in the hands of some corporate leaders who decided to pay and sponsor him to do it all over again and in different locations if not everywhere. If you have not seen this viral video see it here (2005), here (2006), or wherethehellismatt.com. Once you see this mesmerizing video you’ll understand why it’s hard not to watch Matt do his goofy dance in sooo many amazzzing locations. Matts dance reminds me of the Six Flags dancer which has been stuck in my head for some time.

This post is just a reminder that doing some of the darnest things on the net will score ya big much like this crazy christmas light house last year that got some crazy cash check for a Miller Lite commerical.

It’s amazing how technology has become an indispensable element in our everyday lives, but it’s also curious how it has introduced us to a series of gestures that are perhaps changing more than our intent. Pictured left is Private Public, a great series of objects that highlight the privacy we sacrifice when using mobile devices in public spaces, making visible a cone of privacy technology has brought to our public attention. Pictured right is a series of sculptures inspired by gestures formed by people using the PSP (Playstation Portable). Keyboards, mice, laptops, remotes, etc are all devices that have made us gesture in new ways. My favorite is probably the the awkward position designers plot their fingers on the keyboard at all times while using photoshop or illustrator. Another example is googles interface design. Anyhow, this is just a brief thought on how the things we design change and echo out past our intentions and expectations.
via WMMNA 

“Shoot me if you can” is a fun urban game inspired by first person shooting video games. A gun is replaced by a phone camera, players wear bright labels with their numbers on them, players track down opponents, snap pictures, and SMS the opposing teams when they are shot. First team with shots of all the other team members wins! Different rules exist for variations in the game.

I love it when creative uses in technology allow people to return to the physical landscape, though, anyone playing this game may seem like a krazy James Bond nut on the street with a bright barcode on their shirt. This game brings awareness to the mind-boggling abundance of cameras throughout our culture everywhere we go. Whichever the case, I’d be curious to give this game a go if I can convince a dozen of my local friends to give it a run. Check out their webpage for more info!

So I walked into Wholefoods today and did my regular routine, picked up my usuals and a few surprise items, but as I walked over to the the cereal section, I saw an empty spot!!!! My new favorite cereal was sold out! I was devastastd over a cereal! Seriously, if you have not tried this cereal (Kashi: Organic Promise, Strawberry Fields) you are missing out. .. it’s crispy, flavorful, and yummy. It’s seriously delicious and I’ve become an addict. Anyhow, I had to resort to the Cinnamon Harvest this week, which is also tasty.

Business 2.0 has a short article on a few great companies that not only listen to what their customers say, but let their customers run their company. “It’s the open-source software concept applied to product marketing”.
Two examples mentioned were Threadless, an awesome ongoing online t-shirt competition that has some great deals and designs, and Etsy, a very unique place to sell all things handmade.
I love the idea of letting customers vote on what gets further developed and perhaps produced. Sure, people are paid to make those decisions and some products take a ton more time to manufacture than t-shirts, but as we all know, the mass market will always surprise us with what customers want. I mean, seriously, we already have TV shows that let viewers decide who the next rock star, singer, dancer, comedian, invention, chef, designer, wife, etc are!
I’m not saying all products need to adopt this method nor am I asking for mass customization… I’m just saying there is such a rich opportunity in this internet infested society that allows us to show and hear from customers before they see what we thought was great. Sure, smart (more…)

Having read Cradle to Cradle, listened to Jack Johnsons Curious George CD (3 r’s, reduce, reuse, recycle), and watched Inconvenient Truth, I’ve noticed a rebirth in more products based on reused or broken materials which is awesome! Recycled materials was a mini trend some years ago, which is actually somewhat bad for the earth, but reusing is another option which I hope stays a trend. Posted are three products that fit the “reuse” part of things. First off, is the beautiful Transglass Carafes+Tumblers, made from perhaps broken or thrown away bottles. Next is a “open tote bag” from Shawn Parks made from “safety fence plastic” that pretty much all construction sites use then discard. (Shawns a RISD alum, wohhooo!) Third is a is a clever use of a broken ceramic cat, sold to be a 3D puzzle.

I recently had a conversation with a friend about the digital gap and how things seemed more authentic in the past. One such topic was e-mail. E-mails are easy to delete, easy to read, and easily copied, but real physical mail has a personal feel, an authentic touch, a ritualistic process, and at times a more meaningful if not more emotional experience. This can be due to simple crinkles in the paper, ones handwriting, a few scribbled out words, the stamps they used, color of paper, a coffee spill, or something that the digital world has not yet captured. An example I brought up was Fuzzmail, a great email tool that records the act of you writing and let’s you send it as an e-mail. You hit record, start typing, deleting, re-spelling, thinking, etc and finish recording. When your friend receives the fuzzmail, the message is played back as you wrote it, including your spelling errors, backspaces, and pauses. Now, I know this isn’t great for the fast paced digital revolution, but it is a bridge between the authentic years and the fast paced digital years. You really have to try it out to understand how it works. Rather than reading the email, the email reads to you. It’s almost like an IM conversation without the interactivity.
Fuzzmail was created by Hayes Raffle and Dan Maynes-Aminzade at the MIT Media Lab.
For an example fuzzmail, click here! Enjoy;)

“iBar is a system for the interactive design of any bar-counter. Integrated video-projectors can project any content on the milky bar-surface. The intelligent tracking system of iBar detects all objects touching the surface. This input is used to let the projected content interact dynamically with the movements on the counter. Objects can be illuminated at their position or virtual objects can be “touched” with the fingers.”

I’m not sure what to think here, but I guess it would be fun while I was a bit loopy or really bored. I go to bars to socialize with people and feel this is more of a distraction than an enhancement. Otherwise, it has a settle way of connecting strangers to one another, but it’s not quite there yet. I love the idea of interactive tables in bars, but it comes down to meaningful and smart applications. Be cool if it somehow connected lines to people that were attracted to each other. Otherwise, it looks super cool! Watch the video on their website or watch a YouTube Video.