I like this Unikko Floral Bedding from Finland’s Marimekko brand. The Unikko floral design, originally created by Maija Isola, is bold and colourful and is back from the 1960's. Add the vibrant colors of Marimekko 100% soft cotton fabrics to your bedroom with a selection of duvets, sheets and pillow cases - they are just perfect for the summer. Designed in 1962, Unikko bedding floral patterns are the most famous and are the ones by which the Marimekko brand is instantly recognized. Read More...

Moixa’s USBCell comes with a smart idea. Recharge your classic AA batteries by plugging them on the USB port, directly.

Those batteries work like a USB storage key. You unveil its cap, and plug it to refill its energy capacity. Read More...

Suicide Bomber Barbie is a work of art produced by Simon Tyszko and displayed in the bookshop of the ICA on The Mall in 2002. The piece is described by the artist as a deliberate attempt to involve art in current affairs. "I was watching Newsnight,' Tyszko told The Observer "And I just got really angry. Artists don't seem to want to comment on current events. Meanwhile, look at what is happening out there. Political discussion seems to be dead in this country. So I wanted to reflect some of that."

"By his appropriation of a consumerist icon, the artist creates an emphatic subversion of this process, the artist seeking to help create the conditions of political change.
A recent interview with a nine year old Palestinian girl had her saying she had wanted to be a doctor, but could now no longer study or sleep at night, and now only wanted to be a martyr. Tyszko says of her that ‘she has effectively bought the notion of suicide bombing as a lifestyle choice – it has become aspirational, an off the shelf peer led option.’

Suicide Bomber Barbie draws attention to certain kinds of moral, emotional, and political equivalence, which uncomfortably exist within the nationalistic and political systems that contain them. That these systems are dysfunctional, goes without saying."

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An industrial design student in The Netherlands has built a prototype scooter that is designed to be run on hydrogen.
Crijn Bouman of Delft University of Technology designed the scooter for use in inner cities.
He calls it the Fhybrid.
"The look and feel of the scooter are aimed at selling the clean technology inside," he said in a statement today.
The scooter has an electric motor powered by a (Li-)ion battery. If the Fhybrid is ever put into production, the idea is to charge the battery with a fuel-cell system, which would derive its energy from a tank of hydrogen. While scientists are working to make such systems more efficient, obtaining hydrogen (by splitting it out of water) is for now too costly to be practical. Scientists disagree whether it will ever be viable.
The prototype scooter uses a simulated fuel-cell to recharge the battery.
"A special course and various permits are required to build a hydrogen-powered engine. It wasn't possible to achieve this during the time period of my graduation project," Bouman explained. "The faculty is now trying to assemble all the necessary means to fully develop the hydrogen-powered scooter."
The scooter also recharges the battery by snagging energy during braking.
Since two-wheeled vehicles rely primarily on front-wheel braking for efficient stops, Bouman's scooter is front-wheel drive—better to capture the braking energy, he explained.
The Fhybrid has a top speed of 40 mph. Bouman says it accelerates faster than regular scooters and could travel approximately 124 miles on a tank of hydrogen

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The Pastilli Chair was designed in 1967 by E. Arnio for Asko, and two years later was awarded the American Industrial Design Award.

The New York Times described both the Ball chair and the Pastilli chair as "the most comfortable forms to hold up the the human body". The Conran's Design Directory describes both chairs as; "they now look like essays in period style, props from Barbarella".

The Pastilli Chair has been reissued by Adelta and is available from several retailers for $895 Read More...

It's bottled water. It's in a flat flask. I predict a trend. I think it's funny that products now have myspace pages. Click the pic to see. Read More...

Cool surface covering material with optics built into the material

"Hundred of light conducting channels are carved into a transparent block of clear of pigmented polymer to create each Scintilla tile. Together these fiber-optic elements give the material the ability to magically shift, shimmer and ripple in response to movement and changes in light intensity on the tiles. The tiles will respond to shadows, moving lights and will also pick up colors and disperse them on its surface. This patent pending space age material is at once dramatic and sublime, and unlike anything else you might have seen.

Scintilla can be used in both horizontal and vertical applications wherever there is movement and light. Scintilla tiles come in two basic types, the standard “front-lit” tiles and the “edge-lit” or trim tiles. The edge-lit tiles are great in an installation where one of the edges will remain exposed. Scintilla is not recommended for areas of high-heat or open flames." Read More...

Oded Ezer is an Israeli typographer, type designer and lecturer. A graduate at the V.C.D dep. of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem, Ezer founded (2000) his own independent studio in Givatayim, Israel, specializing in the typographic aspects of branding and publication designs.

click the pic to check out his site. Read More...

You put them on, you look like a kangaroo, and in fact, you’re becoming one. You can run up to 20 mph (32 kph), jump 6 feet high (1.90 meters), make strides over nine feet wide. Wow.


click the pic for more info and a movie

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Replace all of your standard alkaline disposable batteries with the new Hybrio by Ultralast. The Hybrio lasts up to four times longer than standard alkaline batteries on each charge and can be recharged up to 500 times, meaning you can be using your battery-powered devices instead of buying batteries! And the Hybrio backs it up with a three-year battery life guarantee. Try getting that from your regular battery!

The Hybrio features a three-year battery life limited warranty. It will last for three-plus years when recharged regularly as directed. The Hybrio comes charged and ready to use off-the-shelf, and can last up to four times longer on each charge than standard disposable batteries when used in high-drain devices like digital cameras, which means far fewer battery changes. One Hybrio rechargeable is equivalent to up to 500 standard disposable batteries. The payback period on purchasing a charger and batteries occurs after using them just twice … and the savings continue year after year.

Hybrio will be available starting in late October with a prife of less than $30 for a charger and batteries. Read More...

Nice short article that has a good summary of current trends (2006) in web design. It's a good quick overview if you are feeling clueless.

from the article:

Web 2.0 design style (seen in the 2 pics above) can be recognized by

- Fixed width
- Central (rounded) shape with shadows
- Lots of gradients and volumes
- Large fonts
- Headers, highlighted with bright colors
- Substantial amount of gray text
- Wide range of text size
- Rounded shapes and buttons
- Shadows, glass-effects, more gradients

click either pic for more info. Read More...

You may have to look twice to see that this is in fact a stainless steel bathtub. It is the UFO from Agape. Benedini Associati designed this stunning metal creation. The tub comes in either polished stainless steel as shown or white enamel with a black enamel exterior. The outer curb is actually one Exmar backrest for maximum comfort. The tub holds 880 litres of water. It is 200 cm wide x 20 cm high. The tub is fitted with a center drain for perfect 360 degree use. You can find out more about the UFO at Agape. click the pic



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Blue Coconut has the ability to copy any songs over the network from other people's shared iTunes Library on to your computer, instead of being forced to stream them. What’s really nice, is you can select which songs you want in iTunes, and then from the scripts menu choose “Copy Selected Shared Tracks”. Or, you can download all songs in a particular playlist, or the entire Library if you feel so inclined. The only catch to this program is that, if the songs you’re downloading were purchased from the iTunes Music Store, you’ll have to have the proper authentication to be able to listen to them. Read More...

The three dimensional designation of the stunningly beautiful Olympus 3D Wooden Camera, a prototype camera that Olympus is testing out, does not come from the fact that the object itself is three-dimensional. Instead, the name refers to the process used to mold and compress the single piece of Japanese cypress into the smoothly curving shape pictured, which applies pressure from all directions at once. The wood is some of the most desirable in Japan and is used to build Shinto temples. It is renowned for its beauty, quality and durability, which would make it last longer than a plastic-cased camera.
[via Gizmodo] Read More...

Take a look at Trix, the last big cycling concept. A tricycle, Trix isn’t a cool three-wheel designed to bring the Indian rickshaw into ultra urban places. Instead, it’s engineered to provide a more maneuverable steering system, combined to a very versatile load carrying system.

Trix was designed by Yves Plattard, from The Product Group. He proposed the concept at the 10th International Bicycle Design Competition in Taipei, Taiwan. And guess what? It won.

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“Reelight” – a new way of thinking. A new generation of safety lights for your bicycle.

Based on the electromagnetic induction principle, “bikelights” from Reelight are designed to deliver their own energy source. As there is no friction involved in the electric generator, the electrical energy is generated by the cyclist effortlessly. Read More...

The XPower PowerSource Mobile 100 is a revolutionary new stand alone power solution with both AC and USB outlets for all your mobile needs. The device has a built-in battery and can also be used as a power inverter, when plugged in a vehicle the lithium-ion battery recharges. It is ideal for people who frequently travel by vehicle and/or airplane. If your laptop battery runs low or you need more play time with your portable game console or portable DVD, simply connect your device into the AC outlet and keep going. Two USB charge ports will keep your Blackberry, iPaq, Palm, or iPod charged when you need it most. You no longer have to carry extra cords, chargers and device-specific batteries. You’ll save money and space in your laptop carry bag…

Features
- 4.0 Ah lithium ion battery pack
- Converts 12 Vdc power from a vehicle battery into 120 Vac power
- Three-prong AC outlet to handle all chargers and adapters for mobile electronics
- Two USB charge ports
- Blue LED on/off indicator
- DC cable with vehicle and airplane connector
- Lightweight AC charging adapter
- LED battery status/charge status indicator
- Over-temperature shutdown
- Low battery voltage shutdown (10.5 Vdc with automatic reset)
- Overload shutdown
- Electronic Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI)
- One year warranty

The price of the XPower PowerSource Mobile 100 is about $120.





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I like a good shadow picture. Read More...

Why have I never heard of this until today? It's going to ship bundled with the next Democracy player for Internet TV.

With Perian installed, any OS X application that uses QuickTime can now use these additional media types:

* Divx, XviD, FLV, AVI
* MS-MPEG4 v1, MS-MPEG4 v2, MS-MPEG4 v3, DivX 3.11 alpha, 3ivX, Sorenson H.263, Flash Screen Video, Truemotion VP6
* These formats when they are inside an AVI:
h.264, mpeg4, AAC, AC3 Audio, and VBR MP3.

click the pic to go to the site and download

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For ten years Theo Jansen has been occupied with the making of a new nature. Not pollen or seeds but plastic yellow tubes are used as the basic matierial of this new nature. He makes skeletons which are able to walk with wind power. Eventualy he wants to put these animals out in herds on the beaches, so they will live their own lives.

Seen here is Strandbeast #15

click the link to see more pics and movies of the sculptures moving around the beach. Read More...

You can see it as a ship in a giant bottle. After 50 years of exhibition in a dry dock, the 135-year-old Greenwhich racing tea clipper begins to fall apart. But restoring the structure is a dilemma. Should it be kept out of public sight, since the restoration creates 3 kilos of dust and smoke per day during the resstoration process.

Sir Nicholas Grimshaw and his five partners brought “the” idea: They will be building an inflatable structure that envelopes the boat, and keeps its design by merely replicating the shape of a sailing boat.

The bubble is about 76 meters high. Walls of the shipyard are sustained by Swiss-invented “Tensarity” structural system of rigid pneumatic beams, as reports Hugh Pearman for the Sunday Times (via vestal).

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I love this letterpressed piece. I'm a sucker for icons.

from the site...

"Ronald Kurniawan graduated with honors from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. Inspired by ideograms, syllables, letterforms, beasts and heroic landscapes, he slowly but surely continues to create a visual language where the wilderness and civilization could merge happily together. With the belief that the sublime and nuclear age could coexist, he paints romantic environments and breaks the quiet scene with juxtaposed imagery taking the shape of icons and letterforms. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles where he paints meticulously and happily accompanied by his pug Ruffles, an avid artist himself."

click the pic to visit his stuff. Read More...

Ahh, the power of collective wisdom has finally been utilized as a shopping tool. Sure, sites like Amazon have always had reviews, and sites like Pricegrabber have always compared prices. But nobody has harnessed the power of social media (yay!) and online shopping quite like Wize.com.

click the pic to check it out, or read more... Read More...

Pasted Graphic
K is a Los Angeles Illustrator. There are often sketches, shown in stages, and then... the finished art. Seen here is the pencil drawing of a Sigur Ros piece that will get finished in Photoshop. Read More...

Metal Mosaic tiles are brushed 1- or 2-inch copper or stainless-steel squares. (Or try 1-inch copper penny tiles.) The dots, diamonds, cornices, and field tiles in the companion Pewter line are finished in gunmetal, antiqued bronze, aged brass, or darkened copper Read More...

I love the residential stuff from this firm

Bercy Chen Studio is a design build operation that is “influenced by vernacular precedents from various cultures” and “maintains respect
for contemporary contextual conditions.” Striving to create environmentally sustainable and aesthetically pleasing design, Thomas
Bercy and Calvin Chen founded Bercy Chen Studio in 1998. Since then, they have completed such projects as Factory People,
a fashion boutique in Austin, Texas; Azul, a spa resort and conference center in Malinalco, Mexico; and a 120-unit townhouse project in
south Austin. Bercy Chen Studio recently won a national competition for Urban Reserve, a residential development near Dallas, and
was a finalist for the Self Sustaining House competition hosted by the Advanced Architecture Institute of Catalunya, Spain.
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Finally! something in between the crappy $30 flashlight version and the $200K version at the planetarium. (it's $229)

SEGATOYS - HOMESTAR 21st Century Home Planetarium. Can you imagine that getting 10,000 stars in your room? With the High-Tech Home Planetarium, now, you can experience such magnificent starry night while your are playing YOGA on the mat, having Champagne in your bathtub or lying on bed with your favorite music. An innovative Home Planetarium developed by collaboration with Mr. Ohira, who developed world first planetarium called Mega-Star Cosmos. HomeStar can project 10,000 stars in the ceiling or wall of your room. This is not a toy, but genuine planetarium you can experience a beautiful and romantic universe with your lover and family members. With the DC battery box, you can bring it everywhere, even in your Bathroom or Hotel room. Also, it is a good teaching aid for your children. This is gorgeous!! Read More...

An indigenous group called the Mundurukú, who live in isolated villages in several Brazilian states in the Amazon jungles, have no words in their language for square, rectangle, triangle or any other geometric shape except circles. ..Yet, researchers have discovered, they appear to understand many principles of geometry as well as American children do, and in some cases almost as well as American adults. An article describing the findings appears in the Jan. 20 issue of Science. Read More...

Interesting chart showing the links between LSD and Penicillin from Colors Magazine Read More...

I personally believe there are many different kinds of intelligence, and that the idea of using one IQ number to summarize them all up is completely ridiculous.

For example, there is musical intelligence, linguistic intelligence, mathematical intelligence, social intelligence, athletic intelligence, artistic intelligence, spiritual intelligence, mechanical intelligence, etc…

In any case, one of the U.S.’s premier medical institutions just published an article on a way to boost your spiritual IQ.

Now, this sort of information has been known for greater than 5000 years, but I think it’s interesting that the folks at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine would go out of their way to scientifically vouch for it.

Here are some of the more interesting findings:

* More than 60% of volunteers said they had a “full mystical experience”

* “Many of the volunteers in our study reported, in one way or another, a direct, personal experience of the ‘beyond’”, said Roland Griffiths who led the study at Johns Hopkins University.

* A third of the subjects said the experience was the single most spiritually significant thing of their lifetimes.

* 2 months after taking the mushrooms, subjects reported increases in well-being and satisfaction with life, according to the study.

click on either pic to read more
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I love that there are now organized social groups of people who pick locks. They are starting local chapters in the US!

click the pick to visit their site. Read More...

Elaborate ritual objects and carved masks have been uncovered in the ancient ruins of a city in Guatemala.

Exploration of the 2,000-year-old site has caused archaeologists to question the established chronology of the enigmatic Maya civilisation. The city, Cival, thrived in what is generally considered the “pre-classic” period – but it bore the hallmarks of the more advanced “classic” period.

The excavations were supported by the National Geographic Society.

The ancient city of Cival, in Guatemala’s Peten region, was first mapped by the explorer Ian Graham in 1984. Since 2001, it has been the focus of an exhaustive excavation, led by Francisco Estrada-Belli, of Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, US.

His team’s discoveries have included two monumental carved masks, 120 pieces of polished jade, a ceremonial centre that spanned 800m (2,600ft) and an inscribed stone slab dating to 300 BC. Read More...

Funny (and true) dissection of Corporate Rebrandings. Click the pic to go get the full sized version(s) Read More...

Don’t let the less-than-fancy front page fool you: There’s art in here. NASA’s Landsat has taken some remarkable pictures of our earth and given us views that would be at home on the walls of your local gallery. Browse by continent, or look through the index of all the photos at once. Read More...

Bread box made out of brushed aluminum, wood and plastic. clever and interesting.
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There is some great stuff here. (video training on various subjects)


"Our mission is to build a world-class repository of useful information based on advice from recognized experts in their fields.

Who do you believe? The Internet is filling up with content. But the challenge in the information age is no longer finding information, but figuring out which information to believe.
At Expert Village, we use freelance writers, interviewers, and a video crew to track down experts to answer everything from "How do I fix a leaky faucet?" and "What are some tips on choosing a swimsuit?" to the perplexing "How do I fold an Origami Swan?"

We produce articles and videos based on our talks with those experts. And then we tell you the important part: The credentials of the expert we talked to. This way, YOU can decide if that person is credible and should be believed.

Expert Village: Clear answers to common questions from credentialed experts." Read More...

Shower Shock is an all vegetable based glycerine soap which does *not* contain any harsh ingredients like ethanol, diethanolamine, polyethylene glycol or cocyl isethionate. So it’s a gently invigorating soap ;) Scented with peppermint oil and infused with caffeine anhydrous, each bar of Shower shock contains approximately 12 servings/showers per 4 ounce bar with 200 milligrams of caffeine per serving. No, we’re not kidding and no you don’t eat it. The caffeine is absorbed through the skin…

You can purchace a single bar of Caffeinated Soap for $6.99, click the pic to go to ThinkGeek.com Read More...

Go with the flow. The Spirit Song curved-wing shoulder bench's solid-reforested-teak legs undulate like wind chimes in the breeze. Fastened with stainless steel, the benches come in a variety of lengths and shapes. The height is 32 inches, the width ranges from 50 to 132 inches, and the seat depth ranges from 27 to 36 inches. Read More...

Great Tutorial on creating custom brushes in Photoshop... seen here is a scanned text "brush" which works as a kind of digital rubber stamp. Artsy! Read More...

Su Blackwell is a UK artist who uses an x-acto knife to create diaorama like art from the words and illustrations in a book.

from her artist statement:

I use non-art materials such as books and clothes to create work which evokes a sense of dreamy melancholy or magical enchantment. I'm interested in the realm of fairy-tales and folk-legends and have been working on a series of book-works exploring these themes, externalising the pages of the book and allowing it to be read in another way.

I find the materialization of the flat piece of paper an almost magical process.

As I become more involved in the making, I feel like I am creating small stage sets, inhabited by characters caught up in their own magical, whimsical and sometimes haunting journeys

The book-cut sculptures are displayed in glass cases, like relics found in a Victorian museum. Read More...

A Nice Round-up of steps (from Microsoft) that Windows XP users should take when they get a new computer.

click read more to see the entire text of the article, or click the pic to go to the original. Read More...

Designed by Paul de Haan, the very contemporary Sputnik Chrome table / floor lamp is back from space. Sputnik has 24 chrome finished arms including 12 with spherical chrome balls and 12 with chrome light fittings. It's 59 cm (23") high and is 35 cm (13.7") in diameter without bulbs. Priced at € 325,00 (US $393). Made in Europe - adapter is needed to plug in the US. You can buy it at Decennia Design (click the pic) Read More...

The new Kohler Sok tub is an overflowing bath that will take your romancing experience far away from the ordinary. Imaging two of you submerging up to your shoulders in a slowly but continuously moving warm water... "as thousands of champagne-like bubbles emerge from thirteen ports, gently caressing for a soothing bathing experience". Sok isn't just an overflowing bath - it's also a bubbling bath (effervescent bath). Other exiting features include chromatherapy and the whirlpool system, seating areas to accommodate average-size man and woman, and it's over-sized to let two people enter simultaneously, and it's also very deep allowing bathers to "completely immerse themselves in the water". Create a continuous flow of water over the sides of the bathtub with the use of Laminar ceiling-mount bath filler. Sok is built of fiberglass and is easy to clean. The bathing area is 84" x 31-1/2" while the outside dimensions are 103-3/4" x 41". Shown is K-1166-C1-96 Read More...

creamundo.com... 9800 free truetype typefaces... worth a look. I do like that you can type your own text in and see a preview before you download. Click the pic to visit the site. Read More...

From Cool Tools... this is is gorgeuos!

"This is the best capo on Earth. The unique one-way cam lets you adjust tension in tiny increments with a squeeze. Unlike every other capo I've used, it can apply enough tension to cleanly fret the string without bending it sharp. Works on acoustic and electric instruments equally well. Build and finish quality is absolutely superb. The G7th capo is a brilliant piece of gear for the discerning guitarist."

click the pic to see it on amazon Read More...

Tips & Tricks for Using Your Brain

The brain is a fearsomely complex information-processing environment--one that often eludes our ability to understand it. At any given time, the brain is collecting, filtering, and analyzing information and, in response, performing countless intricate processes, some of which are automatic, some voluntary, some conscious, and some unconscious. And, it's squishy.

Mind Hacks is a collection of probes into the moment-by-moment works of the brain. Using cognitive neuroscience, these experiments, tricks, and tips related to vision, motor skills, attention (we at ThinkGeek have very good attention spa…ooh, a butterfly), cognition, subliminal perception, and more throw light on how the human brain works. Each hack examines specific operations of the brain. By seeing how the brain responds, we pick up clues about the architecture and design of the brain, learning a little bit more about how the brain is put together. Among the 100 hacks in this book, you'll find:

* Release Eye Fixations for Faster Reactions
* See Movement When All is Still
* Feel the Presence and Loss of Attention
* Detect Sounds on the Margins of Certainty
* Mold Your Body Schema
* Test Your Handedness
* See a Person in Moving Lights
* Make Events Understandable as Cause-and-Effect
* Boost Memory by Using Context
* Understand Detail and the Limits of Attention

click the pic to buy the book at Amazon

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This is the specialty Regal bath from Diamond Spas. The Regal bath and all other products available from Diamond Spas are custom made copper or stainless fixtures. This tub is insulated double walled, 36"x72"x25" and can be found in the bargain gallery for $8500. Their products don’t stop with the amazing selection of tubs. They offer kitchen sinks, vessels and spas. Some of the products from Diamond Spas just have to be seen. Their gallery includes square, elliptical, round, rectangular and bamboo clad tubs. You will surely find inspiration for your space. Diamond Spas should be your first stop in finding the bath to take center stage in your bathroom. Read More...

One particular form of delusion that occurs after brain injury seems to cause a rift in the normal pattern of understanding location, most likely owing to a disturbance in the brain's memory structures.

Reduplicative paramnesia is the delusional belief that a place exists in two or more locations simultaneously and has been the inspiration for the project where we will try and get participants to hold contrasting and contradictory memories of a past location in mind, while experiencing movement through a current space.

The project also asks questions about the difference between delusion, psychosis and supposedly 'normal' mental states, and how they relate to our own memories of location and place.

By highlighting the universal influence of memory on our experience of the world, the project hopes to better understand the normal function of memory, and emphasises the common experience of the 'mad' and the 'sane'.

Where is the line between delusion and reality when we only have our memories to rely on?

Simon Pope invites you to recall, from memory, a walk through a gallery space, and explore the spatial, social and professional relations contained within it. you are asked to summon-up these remote spaces - through memory, body, speech and movement – so that they exist at two locations simultaneously, both here and there.

All are welcome to ‘walk and talk’, recalling a description of a familiar gallery space, as if you were walking through it. Simon Pope questions the consequences of this for the gallery as a ‘site’ of artwork? Can the gallery be ‘empty’ space waiting for work to fill it? What does it mean to think of this ‘place’, not as unique and differentiated, but rather deeply related and connected to other ‘places’? What is produced when professional ranks, such as curators, administrators and trustees other than the artist, are invited to be itinerant in the production of an artwork?

Gallery Space Recall was developed as part of Walking Here And There, a research project undertaken in collaboration with the psychologist Vaughan Bell. A book documenting this exhibition and other research outcomes will be produced later in the year.

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An essay that introduces the notion of transhumanist religions: their rationale, their context within the history of religions, and some fundamental constraints on their design and definition.

click the pic to read the article.


Transhumanism definition From Wikipedia:

"Transhumanism (sometimes abbreviated >H or H+) is an international intellectual and cultural movement supporting the use of new sciences and technologies to enhance human cognitive and physical abilities and ameliorate what it regards as undesirable and unnecessary aspects of the human condition, such as disease and aging. Transhumanist thinkers study the possibilities and consequences of developing and using human enhancement techniques and other emerging technologies for these purposes. Possible dangers, as well as benefits, of powerful new technologies that might radically change the conditions of human life are also of concern to the transhumanist movement.

Although the first known use of the term "transhumanism" dates from 1957, the contemporary meaning is a product of the 1980s, when a group of scientists, artists, and futurists based in California began to organize what has since grown into the transhumanist movement. Transhumanist thinkers postulate that human beings will eventually be transformed into beings with such greatly expanded abilities as to merit the label "posthuman".

The transhumanist vision of a profoundly transformed future humanity has attracted many supporters as well as critics from a wide range of perspectives. Transhumanism has been described by a proponent as the "movement that epitomizes the most daring, courageous, imaginative, and idealistic aspirations of humanity,"while according to a prominent critic, it is the world's most dangerous idea" Read More...

Wood Tubs from Driftwood look really inviting and comfy as their quality is outlined by elegant forms and great attention to detail, exotic wood choices and large variety of styles. From a contemporary teak bath to a rustic lawson cypress bath, from an oval bath to a rectangular one, from a corner bath to a free standing, Driftwood wooden tub makes it a perfect choice for a modern bathroom of any size. The color of wood stain can be customized to match your bathroom decor. Price range is $3,330 to $8211 depending on size, shape, wood species and accessories. Shown is a small corner bath in Sapele wood or otherwise known as African Mahogany Hardwood. Driftwood Baths Read More...

The TMU Amma tub from Bain Ultra is for the whirlpool Connoisseur. The TMU Amma comes with all the bells and whistles you need to pamper yourself. Some of those features include 58 jets, led chromatherapy, heated headrests and backrests. Integral armrests and grab bars are also available. The Amma is available as either a drop in deck mount, under mount, or freestanding (shown) unit. You can order your Amma in any of 9 standard finishes that will coordinate with most ceramics vendors. The generous 72" long, 42" wide, and 22" deep size would accommodate up to 2 bathers. You can also order this tub in many other sizes to retrofit your space. BainUltra has all the specifications you need.

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Door handles are often overlooked as decor elements. They can substantially impact overall design, and, in the case of contemporary handles, provide improved ergonomics. Colombo contemporary door handles are as cute as they get. Die-casted from Brass or Chrome alloy, Colombo door handles are very functional as well. These contemporary styled, ergonomically shaped handles come with wood and glass inserts, cool detailing and coordinating knobs, plates and pulls. Choose from many different handle styles, metal finishes and colors. Colombo Design. Read More...

The Times has a concise piece on a recent study published in Science magazine suggesting that performance on an economic bargaining task could be changed by altering the function of the brain with magnets.

Neuroscientist Dr Daria Knoch and her colleagues asked participants to pay the ultimatum game while, at certain points, the function of their right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) was disrupted by magnetic pulses.

The team found that when this brain area was disrupted, participants were more likely to accept lower offers of money in the game.

The Times article is a good description of both the game (which is now a widely-used research task) and the results of the study, as well as some commentary on the growing recognition of neuroeconomics as a research field.

George Loewenstein, Professor of Economics and Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh, and one of the pioneers of neuro-economics, said: "The new science of neuro-economics is lending support to a very ancient view of human behaviour. That is the idea that there is a conflict and interaction between passion, and reason and self-interest.

"The now standard view of people as rational maximisers of self-interest is a very recent view. Neuroscience is telling us that that was a bit of a diversion. The rational side is a process that sometimes overrides the dominant interest on human behaviour, which is the passionate side."



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Designed by a young Argentinean designer Batti, the fiberglass Placentero lounge chair got its name from combination of two words linked to the pregnancy period, "placenta" and "pleasure". The pregnancy "pleasure" part is arguable but what do we know... The chair itself is pleasurably comfortable - "giving [you] the chance to make any
movement and create whichever the position you like". It seems to be stable in any position, even when is upside-down. By Brion Arte Industrial, Argentina
How did they come up with the Placentero chair design ...?

"We had performed an investigation about the experiences the human beings have before birth. This took us to meet some techniques of recreation of this natural situation ... As a result of this deep investigation, this lounge chair design came almost naturally - it is able to hold a person and give the possibility to connect with himself ..." Weighs 70 Pounds (32 Kg). The seat's leather comes in multiple colors. The outside sphere plastic surface is fiberglass and is finished with coat-gel which helps to erase scratches using polish paste. Read More...

Vanity Fair Photo Essay shows some rarely seen pics that capture a unique perspective on the 9/11 story. Read More...

Why pay Apple $99/year when you can get more from Google for free? Oh sure, Google will read your email and advertise to you based on the text in those emails... but it's free! Read More...

A Norwegian coder is posting great scripts with working demos and easy to understand explanations. Nice clean site design too!

click the pic for more. Read More...