Links published in December 2008 — Most recent at top.
Sad news to the design web community: japanese online design magazine Pingmag “will be taking an extended hiatus, and will not be updated for the foreseeable future.” It saddens me because we’re always better having insightful articles [online] rather than vapid glossy pages [in print]. I have linked to PingMag many time over the years, and there’s still more than enough content to discover in the archives. •
Forgot this in a pile of safari tabs: Best and worst logos of 2008. Rien de trop innovant, mais certainement une référence de bons (et mauvais) coups. Pepsi tombe finalement dans les pires. •
Another good reviewer we can count on: Pitchfork features its yearly “best new music” selection. Like last year, we get the 50 Best New Albums and the 100 best tracks of the year. A step forward to help fulfill the [eternally] unfinished quest to the absolute music library, temporarily appeasing the minds of our music loving selves. •
The NYT lists the english buzzwords of 2008. From “Recessionista” (a person who stays fashionable during an economic downturn without spending a lot of money) to Jack Black’s Kungfu Panda‘s kiai “Skadoosh”. Good typographic/illustrations. •
As we were discussing Nikons around the table on Saturday, here’s the follow up a few questions we had: CCD vs CMOS sensors and their video (in)capabilities with example footage. Plus, I had no idea of the exitence of this new mean machine: the Nikon D3x, a new professional 24.4 MP camera, bigger, better, bla bla bla. Good thing hard drives are cheap cause “the camera produces 50MB 14-bit NEF (Raw) files”. Get yours for eight thousand smacker$. •
Big picture’s best of 2008 round up: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Seeing these is like a species report: what do human do on earth? Lots of shit,good and bad. Human drama, disagreements and disasters are inevitable. But amidst it all, it nevertheless seems that justice, beauty and goodness can transcend. •
NYTimes’s Year in Ideas. A is for Automated Anesthesia, B is for Bubble Wrap That Never Ends, C is for Carbon Penance, etc… not people, not products, not events, not news—just ideas and concepts only. •
An on-going series of his: Levi Van Veluw likes to takes pictures of himself with stuff on his face, may it be materials, paint or miniatures. •
The finalists of this year’s best Antville Music Video Awards, as stated by the very democratic antville web community. Best video goes to Encyclopedia Pictura’s beautifully crafted Bjork – Wonderlust shot in stereoscopic 3d (more technical info about the clip here, and here). The Antville selection has more credibility than the crap nominated at the MMVA. •
By the way, if you like Mizrahi’s sketching style, you should see him draw live in his personal webisodes where he sketches design tips for women (and sometimes men too). Elegant drawing style, just breezes on the page. Plus, he’s quite funny and not full of himself. •
Elsa, Laurence, Audrey, all fashion gurls… Fashion authority WWD asked a handful of designers to sketch out what they thought the president-elect and his wife should wear at the inauguration ball in January. Suggestions for her (and the daughters); I like Mizrahi, Acra and Lacroix sketches the most (though Lacroix’s a tad overboard). On the men’s side, Obama gets day and evening suits mostly with an “updated yet classic sartorial style”. My vote goes to Ellie Tahari for day, the black Nautica suit for evening. •
James, my Australian Sydney-born friend, why didn’t you tell me about these marvels? An overview of the many (40!) coastal pools of Syndey. I love the Pruned prose (emphasis mine): “[…] You sense that so embedded are [the pools] in the cultural geography of the city that they’ve become an indelible part of its psyche, soaked into its citizens’ genetic makeup after so many decades decades dipping into these baptismal fonts.” •
TED conferences are part of my regular webroutine. I try to watch a few per week; topics that don’t strike me as exciting at first often turn out to be, if well spoken, fascinating and thought provoking. Here are three presentations I recently watched that are all worth every minute of your time: 1) NY chef and restaurants/farm owner Dan Barber tells a surprising [and mouth-foaming] parable of ethically made foie gras; 2) Author and Harvard Scholar Samantha Power recalls the life and work of Sergio Veira de Mello, the skilled UN diplomat “who worked with the world’s worst dictators”, fighting for people’s rights till the very end; 3) and for those who, like me, are fascinated by smells: I loved this vulgarization of the science of scent as told by biophysicist and architect of perfumes Luca Turin. •
Next time you’re in TO, make sure to visit the recently revamped Art Gallery of Ontario. The grandiose transformation was realized by toronto-born star architect Frank Ghery and include new galleries spaces, a new facade, a whole new wing… (it’s unclear what hasn’t been remodeled). Additionally, many new private collections were unveiled with the building last month. AGO pool on Flickr. This is Ghery’s first contruction in Canada, hopefully not his last. •
Japanese Good Design Awards. Winner is the Toyota iQ, a “Micro-Premium” car. Love the Muji window house and that gargantuous Mitsubishi transformer-like sheet-fed offset printing press. By the way, also in nomination is the Honda FCX Clarity, the first car for the hydrogen fuel-cell, zero-emission market. It’s not particularly good-looking but it’s heart is in the right place, so to speak. •
Au fédéral, l’opposition signe une entente. L’entente en question. Notez à quel point les signatures révèlent (ou relèvent de?) la personnalité de chacun. (merci Larence) •
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