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Lonely Planet and PSP teamed up last year to create this PSP Passport to... series of digital guides, and they were only released in Europe/Australia, and cover 6 European cities: Amsterdam, Prague, Rome, London, Paris, and Barcelona. Yes, i know i'm a year late on this one, but i only just stumbled upon them, and two things struck me: 1. Gorgeous covers (although strangely Katamari reminiscent... perhaps the crammed city highlights and the color/style of the illustrations) and 2. conceptually this is an interesting combination of gaming/digital entertainment handheld and lonely planet guide (both of which you are probably carrying while running around traveling), and far more navigable than an ipod guide... although this does make me wonder when the mini iPhone friendly pages will be popping up for travel guides, and for mapping, thanks to google maps on my phone, that part is now taken care of wherever i end up. Anyhow, check out the rest of the covers below, a youtube of the "game" in action, and some screenshots. Conclusion from what i read around the internets is that cool idea that fell short in execution. Also, although 39$ at Lonely Planet... these are all 7 pounds at Amazon UK.
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Video Bulb - it's described like a lipstick tube that you plug into your RCA jack on your tv... and along runs this black and white pixel movie of BITMAN! Apparently great for parties, and a fun screensaver for your plasma? Relatively simple, just a really cute idea, and although CoolHunting had it back in '05 ~ i just rediscovered it and love the packaging (see below) and also found a youtube of what you'd get on it (also below!).
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Every have one of those days where the world (read: internet) is trying to send you a message? A message like "go workout"? Or maybe its just some of the great design i found over at the Brandon Blog this morning. He has these gorgeous ads from a Brazilian Gym. The copy says: 1) Give your slender body a chance to get rid of you 2) Find your slender body hidden somewhere in your scale 3) Get rid of your weight off your shoulders. And below i also have the Nike+ ad that i can't stop laughing from... "I'm not a runner... i don't enjoy breathing heavy like a pregnant walrus... how can anyone be addicted to this? There's no way around it, running sucks. But you know what sucks more? MAN BOOBS." So true.
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You keep hearing about how all things Adobe are coming to the web... here's an interesting combination to instant gratification video editing by way of YouTube and Adobe Premiere Express: YouTube REMIXER (beta). Nice clean simple drag and drop UI, with the usual silly "add graphics, borders, etc" features.
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.org #3909 just opened my eyes to Take Away Shows by french Blogotheque and i can't stop watching them... and they also create an urge to up and move to Paris... because can YOU imagine walking down the street and having the Shins just playing there in the middle of Montmartre? There is something so magical about their ability to bring bands and their music back to the people and the real world through these walks, impromptu jam sessions, etc. Currently watching Arcade Fire playing in an elevator. Wow.
"You meet a band. You take them outside, in the streets, and ask them to play there, shoot the movie in one unique shot, whatever happens. Those are the Take-Away Shows, the weekly Video podcast from french weblog La Blogothèque."
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Freshly launched today for xbox 360 ~ Guitar Hero II has been my between work distraction of the day ~ its far too fun "strumming" to possum kingdom between posts... just discovered one of the gorgeous ad spots over on Stash Media's Feed. "Pete Candeland, the Passion Pictures powerhouse director behind the Gorillaz videos does it again, this time for the Xbox 360's Guitar Hero II. The agency is McCann Worldgroup out of San Francisco." Its a really beautiful spot, view it here.
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Reyka Vodka ~ from iceland ~ their ads on youtube have had me in stitches all morning (watch them all below). Her voice and outfit are ADORABLE... in a hilariously cute kind of way... and the black and white sketchy animated world she exists in is just brilliant. And her poignant arguments make me giggle too much this morning. So, while i can't say anything about how good the vodka is, the ads certainly make me want to try some... gorgeous bottle as well. Check out their website here, its got some pretty woodblock style graphics.
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I'm sure you've heard about flOw. It's been hard to miss... as that $7.99 download game on the PS3, i thought the trailer (see below) looked impressive, and the concept incredible, but in all honesty, it alone made purchasing the PS3 and HDMI cable totally worth it. It is the most mesmerizingly beautiful game i've ever played. There is something visually inspiring about the simplicity and fluidity of the game play... particularly using the ps3 controller over the flash version. Playing it on a 42" in HD and surround sound is stunning, and you really can lose yourself in the space for hours... it would make the ultimate interactive projection wall in the future studio.
More on the history below... but here's the short version ~ it has come a long way from the USC MFA project it started as...
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Over hyped, then under hyped, then over hyped... following the saga of the PS3 the last year has been a rollercoaster. BUT this grey drizzly weekend, gave in and got one for fun... second to flow (more gushing to come on that later) ~ Folding@Home from stanford is one of the sweetest reasons to love a ps3. This is a project "people from through out the world download and run software to band together to make one of the largest supercomputers in the world" in order to help in the study of of protein folding and protein folding disease. But why is it even better with the PS3? "This advance utilizes the new Cell processor in Sony’s PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) to achieve performance previously only possible on supercomputers. With this new technology (as well as new advances with GPUs), we will likely be able to attain performance on the 25 gigaflop scale per computer. With about 40,000 such machines, we would be able to achieve performance on the petaflop scale."
What has WOW-ed me even more than the project itself are the gorgeous visualizations of the world (which you can spin and zoom, resembling the world at night nasa image meets the wii weather channel) and molecules in various 3d views.
Regardless of whether you are running it on a computer or your ps3, feel free to join our Folding@Home team (NOTCOT, team number 59465 - enter this when registering) ~ pics, youtubes, and more below...
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Whiteboards, i can't imagine life without them. That said, have you noticed the GIANT billboard white boards (complete with giant brown dry erase marker) popping up around town? All a part of UPS' latest Whiteboard campaign on tv and billboards everywhere. I can't believe i can't find one quickly to post here tonight, so feel free to share, i keep meaning to take a pic, but haven't had opportune times while driving by them lately...
Some interesting ads and parodies (youtubes below for your viewing pleasure)... also fun trivia ~ "It turns out that after The Martin Agency looked at 1,000 potential actors, they decided to use their own creative director, Andy Azula." (according to Digital Roam)... also i can't decide if its cute or too much that they are using the postal service song... Fun site as well.
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Chinese New Year AND Valentine's Day right around the corner... stopped by the Munky King 3rd Anniversary and CNY party in Chinatown~ and welcoming in the year of the pig, they even had limited edition trading card sized glicee prints by Luke Chueh, Thomas Han, and Amanda Visell. But what really caught my eye was the PlasticGod Buddha... love the hands. (also found a video of it on youtube below!). Adorably cute store in the middle of one of the chinatown plazas which are really getting far more hipster filled relative to the old school chinese restaurants and stores i remember as a kid. Lots of pics below to give you a feel for the space...
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How far does YOUR wii love go? For one of the guys at Super78... his Wii love and freetime made this awesome cgi ad for fun... here's what he told Gizmodo: "I really love the Wii and I had been reading these stories about Wii controllers flying out of peoples hands. We had some down time at the office so I got together with one of the animators and I sketched out a storyboard of the spot. In the board the controller is this high energy maniac and the nun-chuck just wants to get away. So our most talented animator Michael Smith created this fun spot there is a lot of character...This was done by us, Super 78, using our own resources, no agency was involved, no money changed hands. I am hoping that you could post it so we can see if it catches fire." Watch the "ad" below...
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Brilliant doodle filled campaign for Samaritans (see full posters and tv spot below) ~ created by Alex Holder, Oli Kellett, Daryl Corps and Ben Kay at advertising agency Lunar BBDO. Illustrted by Billie Jean. "The campaign for 2007 is based around the idea that doodles are a way of expressing your inner thoughts, and that if there are things on your mind then Samaritans is there to offer confidential support 24 hours a day." Heart warmingly doodle inspiring...
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CLICK ON THE KEYS! Click on the keys. Says Jimm from WK12... So maybe i shouldn't tell you more and will just let you go exploring this desk that is surprisingly more messy than mine (ok, so i just cleaned as you can see from the mimomas post) "Wieden+Kennedy Seeks 12: Ad Agency for Nike, etc., seeks 12 talented open curious collaborative optimistic candidates for the 4th year of experimental advertising school."
Are you confused? Are you excited? B/c i'm ecstatic and want to go. So go grab your envelope... get creative... and get mailing. Video to get you fired up below.
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Absolut is the gold standard of design in my books ~ everything they do is gorgeously over the top, and their flashiness never pains me as much as the majority. This year they Blinged the hell out of everything imaginable and while being incredibly amusing and laughable, technically its well executed. From the animation and voiceover of the "History of Bling" (a MUST see, i just downloaded it for my iPod)... to the Bling Your Name wallpapers with cash and cityscape backgrounds... to the gilded holiday giftpack. Wow. Bling it on Absolut style. (Lots of images below, because this is one of those campaigns i know i will want to look back on someday when the site is long gone.)
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While i hate to further indulge this media circus that has been Banksy's Barely Legal... i couldn't resist going back today to see what a front page LA Times image (with article on front of the California section) & expected animal rights controversy yesterday turned the show into... The result? A line longer than one would have expected at the opening to Space Mountain... one of the most bizarre mixed crowds pouring into a small downtown LA street/alley. An overheated fire hazard where you are elbow to elbow looking at "art" while being yelled at to keep circulating so others too can see the art. And saddest of all? No more pink elephant... just a slightly pinkish hued one... And the security (hardcore woman with beret and all) was trained to search my purse for a SHARPIE - not weapons..... So kudos to Banksy, for using LA to do what it's best at. It was certainly one hell of a weekend. [New updated images in the Gallery... extensive discussion on BoingBoing... and tons of youtubes of the pink elephant.]
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This YouTube will blow your mind on multiple levels... but here's why it does it for Shade Elaine and me... a) It's Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water. 'Nuff said. b) well, she and i spent a quarter in college modding half life and learning c++ in doing so. Seriously, you can't even imagine the silliness we came up with, the surreal creepy worlds we'd make where you'd be wandering and exploring as scientists and zombies alike were functioning as performance artbots - or you were swimming through random CUBES of water till you fell off the ends of the "world". So here you have a Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water as rendered in Half-Life so gorgeous and detailed you can even browse your way into the bathroom. See the real thing here. [via the incredibly inspiring Hulger blog.]
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Pong: it's just about the most fun you could cram into 8 bits. Whenever I see something pong-related, it brings back memories of hanging out at my friends' place and totally getting into the game with their old school console (I had a one-handed technique!). So when I saw the new Amex ad with Andy Roddick vs. Pong I was smiling from ear to ear. It's such a silly and simple ad (check it out on YouTube). The accompanying online game is cute (www.stoppong.com), but I prefer the good ol' black & white version.
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