January 19, 2006

Good for Google.

The Bush administration on Wednesday asked a federal judge to order Google to turn over a broad range of material from its closely guarded databases.

[...]In court papers filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Justice Department lawyers revealed that Google has refused to comply with a subpoena issued last year for the records, which include a request for 1 million random Web addresses and records of all Google searches from any one-week period.

The Mountain View-based search and advertising giant opposes releasing the information on a variety of grounds, saying it would violate the privacy rights of its users and reveal company trade secrets, according to court documents.


MercuryNews.com :: Feds after Google data

(via marketingvox.com)

January 18, 2006

Jujus.

Love these little cards. Especially longevity noodle.

Joy by Mel Lim
You have to love the cluelessness of this.

Look at the AT&T campaign photo in the photostream, then the AT&T search results. Nice.

Flickr :: A&T blogging result on Flickr

(via adrants)
William Shatner is a self-promo god.

I know, I know. This is the 3rd post about him in a week, but I have to give props where props are due. This post even includes a bonus link of Bill performing "Rocket Man" during the 1978 Science Fiction Film Awards. Priceless.

Gawker :: William Shatner Returns to Awards Hosting; Elton John Is Standing By
More strange justice...

Woman is depressed. Woman hands over 20,000 GBP to a friend to hire a hitman. Friend does not hire hitman; says he'll kill her himself. Friend doesn't kill her. Woman calls police. Friend gets 15 months in jail.

(The long version is even better.)

Kent Online :: Woman pleaded: I want hitman to kill me

(Thanks for the tip, Bradley!)
BREAKING NEWS: Talking penis cable show host won't get day in court

Original story here.

(Excellent water cooler tip from Bryan. Thanks, Byron!)

January 17, 2006

Life before high tech forensics.

There is a miniature community of horrors on the third floor of the Maryland Medical Examiner's Office.

A display of 18 exquisitely crafted models of actual crime scenes presents grisly vignettes of violent death.

The models were made in the 1940s by Frances Glessner Lee, a wealthy, eccentric Chicago woman who had been raised on Sherlock Holmes tales and had a lifelong fascination with sleuthing. Lee is reputedly the inspiration for the character of Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote.


Bruce Goldfarb: Small-Scale Tragedies
More (& better) photos here.
The Russians have an eye on Shatner.

NewsFromRussia :: William Shatner sells kidney stone, raises $25,000 for charity
On the other end of the spectrum (from my previous entry).

Inhabitat :: Rocio Romero's LV Home

At 1150 square feet, the LV Home has two bedrooms, two baths, and an open living plan. And the cost? The basic package, which contains wall panels, structure, and cladding, will run you about $32,900. Once finished out, this clean, modern box totals around $87 per sq-ft.

Wonderful.
If you have a few million to spare

...you can stay at this luxury private island. Only $25,000/night.

Funny. If I was spending that kind of money, I wouldn't be caught dead staying in a place that's furnished like a bad Sheraton. Ew.

Musha Cay, The Most Luxurious Private Island Resort in the world

(p.s. Originally, I compared it to a Marriott, but my pal, Lisa, informs me that Marriott hotels have upgraded their design and bedding. I stand corrected. Good for them.)
Eat.

I can't express how nice it is to see design like this once in awhile. Simple. Straightforward. It's for a lunch joint in London. Next time I'm there, I'll eat their food just for giving my eyes a respite from crazy over-designed, slow-loading web sites.

Eat.
Inhabitat :: Killing winter blues with mirrors

If we think we've got it bad, the people in Rattenberg, Austria are certainly feeling worse. From November through February, their sunlight vanishes entirely behind a mountain. With a S.A.D. epidemic spreading through the town, designers from Bartenbach Lichtlabor were called in to save the day by administering sunlight to the town through a brilliantly engineered system of mirrors.
IDEO Identity Card Concept

This is my fave so far:

Card Pyre: Ritual

The physical world is fast being digitized. As physical objects are scanned and enter the virtual what is to become of their material remains? Should they be left to rot or should we honor the central role that material existence once played in our lives?

This pocket business card cremation pyre scans an offered card as it incinerates it.


IDEO :: Identity Card Concept Project - Card Pyre : Ritual

(via PSFK)
[whimper]

Why, oh, WHY must this be the busiest time of my entire career????

Japan for Less :: Fly United Round-Trip From $403
greenergrassdesign is fab.

For as long as I can remember, my mom has had a wooden notepad holder mounted to the wall by the phone in the kitchen. I've never seen anything like the one she has - until today. This is a metal version of her 40+ year old version. It made me smile.

blomusmuronotepadholder

They also have one of the loveliest letterpressed valentines I've seen:

setof8letterpressedlovecardstypediloveyou

January 16, 2006

More dual purpose furniture.

I would have LOVED this in college. The concept is great, but the price is ridiculous. I would've had a handyperson figure out how to make one for me.

The Computer Bed :: Euro FlyingBed
You kinda have to admire the chutzpah of this one.

CafePress :: Thousand Dollar T-shirt
Talus :: AboutTime watch
Headline of the day.

Flying prawn killed fur magnate, says widow
Spiral Island

Spiral Island was a floating artificial island in a lagoon near Puerto Aventuras, on the East coast of Mexico south of Cancún. It was built by British expatriate Richie (or "Reishee") Sowa beginning in 1998; he filled nets with empty discarded plastic bottles to support a structure of plywood and bamboo, on which he poured sand and planted numerous plants, including mangroves. The island sported a two-story house, a solar oven, a self-composting toilet, and three beaches. He used some 250,000 bottles for the 66-by-54-foot structure. (Wikipedia)

Playa del Carmen Community News and Info :: Reishee Sowa - a man and his island

(Fab tip from Travis. Thanks, TK!)
Good idea. Nice web site.

The idea behind Take Your Bag for a Walk is more about creating lasting change than it is about the bags themselves. If you really want to cut down on your plastic bag use, you have to ADOPT THE HABIT of having your reusable bags with you all the time. Which is why you get 3 in a set — you can keep one in your car or bike basket, one in your purse, one by your front door so you remember it when you go out.

(Not being a dog fan, I suggest they have a robot line. But that's just me.)

TakeYourBagForAWalk.com :: No More Plastic Bags
Love this intro screen.

Messenger. Experience Design
KUNIKO MAEDA :: Bread Color Chart

A draft for a manual to expand the use of the qualities of food. It can be a tool for the design to design with food.
Followup to a previous post.

YesButNoButYes :: Cy Will Live Forever
Buy Vincent Gallo's seed.

What a disturbing way to start a week.

To be clear, the purchase of Mr. Gallo's sperm does not include the use of the name Gallo. The purchaser must find another surname for the child.

Check out this and other Mr. Gallo merchandise here:
Vincent Gallo Merchandise :: Miscellaneous

(via cityrag)

January 14, 2006

Fun with vintage toys.

How did you think they replaced all those single-episode security guys? This Jellio one-of-a-kind item features vintage 70's Star Trek action figures Kirk, Spock and the gang, as they explain the virtues of joining the Federation to Richie, Ralph and John-Boy. Tribble, anyone?

JELLIO: FUN :: Career Day

January 13, 2006

EarthCam :: 25 Most Interesting Webcams of 2005

(via growabrain)
These made me laugh.

Stella Marrs cards.
Whining
Keep your fork
Bad Habits
Wedding Anniversary chart
A great bet between ad agencies.

[...] If Carolina wins, the Hadrian's Wall homepage will inform visitors that BooneOakley is a much better agency and direct people to the BooneOakley site for a week. If Chicago wins, the BooneOakley homepage will inform visitors that Hadrian's Wall is a much better agency and direct people to Hadrian's Wall homepage. The two agencies have even created dueling winners logos to go along with the bet.

Adrants �:: Agencies Make NFL Playoff Bet, Loser to Promote Other For A Week"
This is hilarious.

Use your spacebar to tap out a song. The program will tell you what it is.

Song Search by Tapping :: Search for music by tapping the rhythm of the song's melody.

(via b3ta.com)
Jonathon "The Impaler" Sharkey for Governor of Minnesota 2006

The two sides of Jonathan:

Light: Minnesota is a great state, with great people. My son, John Jr. was born in Redwood Falls, Minnesota on 7 Mar 92. Though I have not lived in Minnesota as long as the other candidates for Governor, this state holds a lot of sentimental value to me. My wife Julie was born and raised here. Our children will be born and raised here. I love the scenery here, the fresh air, the friendly people.

Dark: During my time as Governor, drug dealers and users will live in fear. I will introduce extremely harsh punishment for those who not only use illegal drugs, I will fight to make dealers serve life in prison, or better yet, Impalement.


Jonathan "The Impaler" web site

Best of all - he's running for president in 2008:
FEC Disclosure Reports - Filer ID P80002884
Telephone ads of the 1950's

(via Information Junk)

January 12, 2006

Continuing on the weird animal news theme...

BBC NEWS :: Taiwan breeds green-glowing pigs
Wow. Just... wow.

R.I.P., little Cy.

Yahoo! News Photo :: One-eyed cat had medical condition

(p.s. A note to my squeamish brother, Patrick: Pat, this is one of those photos that's going to disturb you. I'm just sayin'.)
A second life for London's double decker buses.

This is so cool. I'd like to rent one for a bit.

Double Decker Living
I like this.

Organic Bouquet has quickly become the market leader in organic flowers and is recognized in the trade as having established the natural products industry's newest category--organic floral. Our flowers are available online and in some of your favorite natural food stores, including Whole Foods Markets nationwide.

OrganicBouquet.com
The Ring Thing Opener :: Water Powered Alarm Clock

January 10, 2006

About curiosity. Or lack thereof.

Over dinner a few weeks ago, the novelist Lawrence Naumoff told a troubling story. He asked students in his introduction to creative writing course at UNC-Chapel Hill if they had read Jack Kerouac. Nobody raised a hand. Then he asked if anyone had ever heard of Jack Kerouac. More blank expressions.

Naumoff began describing the legend of the literary wild man. One student offered that he had a teacher who was just as crazy. Naumoff asked the professor's name. The student said he didn't know. Naumoff then asked this oblivious scholar, "Do you know my name?"

After a long pause, the young man replied, "No."


Triangle.com :: Lack of curiosity is curious

(via grow-a-brain)
How long before the lawsuit, do you think?

Unica :: Coke Spoon 02
One for Eric...

And, no, it's not about you, sweetie. It's for you to wear.

One Horse Shy :: T-shirts
Be a giant.

Build a tiny Chicago.

Build Your Own Chicago - Postcard Models
Houseplant Picture Studio presents...PHOTOS OF AN UNKNOWN FAMILY WHO PROBABLY OWNED A LIQUOR STORE - PART 1

(via web zen)
Fun collage postcards.

Scrapatorium's Etsy Shop :: Scrapatorium

She's also got a companion site of vintage photos and a blog.
Peculiar (but practical, I guess) furniture/appliance combo.

Vestal Design :: DoubleSpace Kitchenette

(thanks for the tip, Czeltic Girl. You were absolutely right. I did get a kick out of it.)
Beautiful photos.

polar inertia :: ice fishing shacks

Check out the rest of the magazine's photo collection here.
Just what every home needs.

Wow. There are SO many things wrong with this.
1) An elevator to go up one flight???
2) Comic Sans body copy.
3) The hideous design of this site.
4) They still make dumbwaiters??? Wow.

Daytona Elevator :: Pneumatic Vacuum Elevators
Gutsy ad campaign.

Advertising/Design Goodness :: McCann-Erickson
This is disturbing.

First off, no it's not made of real skin. Second, I'm wondering exactly who would buy clothing and accessories that look like jerky-fied skin? I'm sure someone does...

Core77 :: Skinbag

January 09, 2006

This one's for Czeltic Girl.

Important developments in toast technology.

gizmag :: No Burn Toaster
Yes, it's for real.

A DVD club, personally curated by William Shatner.

William Shatner DVD Club
Get your pandafix here.
I think they should go with, "Homicide. Remember that show? That was here."

Many image makers have passed through [Baltimore]. Faith Popcorn, the famous futurist, arrived in 2001. She branded and repositioned us, left a slogan or two involving the letter "B" — Baltimore is Better — then departed with $275,000.

Following the year of Popcorn, the city launched the Baltimore Believe campaign. Cost? More than $2 million. It was meant to make us — we who live here, happily or otherwise — feel better about ourselves. The word "Believe" was affixed to cars, trucks, billboards, anywhere it fit. Vandals altered it to "Behave."


ABC News :: Baltimore Gets New Name; Will You Visit?

p.s. That last sentence reminds me of my buddy Doreen's alteration of "Wisconsin - You're Among Friends" to "Wisconsin - You're Among Fiends" around the time of the Dahmer trial.
Fetish, anyone?

Bizarre.

Lekker :: Blond Curtains
A better cappuccino at Starbucks?

Interesting. I don't go to Starbucks much anymore, but, when I do, I'll try this.

Slate :: Starbucks Economics - Solving the mystery of the elusive "short" cappuccino
If I were a better person, I'd buy one of these and use it.

But, alas, I'm already stress-y. I don't think I can handle timing my showers. But maybe someone might.

Ripple Products :: Basic Shower Timer
Daaaang. Harsh.

adrants.com :: ezdivorce.ca]
Shortlist of the New 7 Wonders of the World.

Nice idea, but I have the feeling this guy will be indicted for money mismanagement somewhere down the road. 50% of the proceeds will be donated to preservation projects. The other 50%? You decide.

(Personally, I think it's sketchy/weird that they don't have an online voting form.)

N7W :: Vote
Apparently, this is where ALL the snow is going this year.

Tsunan, Japan has gotten 13 feet recently.

The New York Times :: Record Snows in Japan
Oooooh. This is baaaaad.

Wal-Mart shut down its movie recommendation software after its website suggested movies about famous African-Americans such as Martin Luther King, Tina Turner and Jack Johnson to those looking at boxed DVDs of Planet of the Apes, reports Red Herring.

MarketingVOX :: Walmart.com Shuts Down Recommendation Feature

January 07, 2006

Cardboard furniture.

This Christine Keeler cardboard chair is fab.

I like the Periodic Table and Tube map cube/ottomans as well.
Tattoos with lame/stupid/bad lettering.

(via chris glass)
Vote for Timmy!

My sweet & lovely friend, Tim, is a finalist in a movie poster contest for Sony Picture's new release, "Silent Hill."

Please check out his lovely design and vote for him. Please? (I'm sure he'll buy you a drink if he wins - won't you, Timmy?)

Silent Hill Poster Contest: Voting and Judging
Cute.
Wrapables :: Carton Slips
Hugh Thompson Jnr, a former US military helicopter pilot who helped stop one of the most infamous massacres of the Vietnam War has died, aged 62.

BBC NEWS :: My Lai massacre hero dies at 62
Too taxing for the 45+ crowd?

Everything about this story is ludicrous.

A ban on older fans seeing the Rolling Stones perform at the Super Bowl has been lifted, organisers say.

People over 45 were initially not invited to take to the field and dance during the concert, as the task was considered too physically demanding.


BBC :: Age ban on Stones fans is lifted

January 06, 2006

I like this guy's portfolio site.

It's nice to see a simply designed portfolio. Fun design, lovely content, simple navigation, nothing unnecessary.

Ben Pieratt
Fabulous midwestern design.

the Chicago Design Archive
Fun Japanese Design

Scroll down to check it out. All text in Japanese, but the pictures are fairly self-explanatory.

Japanese Design Net :: Takeo Paper Show 2004
These are hilarious.

Pop culture origami! (The Bruce Campbell "Army of Darkness" one is gonna go over big at work, I tell you.)

Homespun Magixx :: Downloads
Possibly the stupidest woman alive?

FRANCE - It's a long, long road
Mother-of-three Vivienne Vanderwait-Hudson took a wrong turning while on a ferry trip to Calais to buy booze. Becoming hopelessly confused and sporadically weeping she travelled by motorway across France to the Pyrenees, down the length of Spain's east coast and ended up in Gibraltar five days later after finally telling someone she was British and asking the best way home. Her partner then flew over to comfort her and drive her home. "I just kept on going, hoping there would be a gap on the road for me to turn around,' she explained.


Top Gear :: Lost Drivers
It freaks me out that people will spend $70 for two plastic ice cube trays.

Gucci :: Ice Cube Trays

(via Charles & Marie)
Worn By is a label dedicated to recreating garments once worn by icons of the past, using original iconic images.

Vintage style t-shirt collections from Worn By :: Original Icon Clothing
The Dictionary of Wisconsin History

I knew about our Socialist congressman, but I'd no idea that Wisconsin was the birthplace of malted milk. Or that Hurley, WI, was once described as a place where "gambling, prostitution, bootlegging, and dope are about the chief occupations of the place."

Staff Favorites in Turning Points

(thanks, swissmiss! Love it.)
Scary, but interesting.

In the last decade a bizarre and violent musical subculture has emerged with a strong root in Norway's ancient Pagan mythology. Norwegian Black Metal, which has since become the country's largest musical export, became infamous in the early 1990's in the midst of a violent uprising of church arson and murder. Devoted followers of this music and lifestyle torched over twenty Christian churches, including the famous 800 year old Fantoft stave church, in an attempt to rid Norway of Christianity and revert back to its Pagan/ Viking roots.

Peter Beste :: Norwegian Black Metal
Dunno why, but I find this hysterically funny.

McSweeney's Internet Tendency :: Methods Other Than Song by Which One Can Be Killed Softly.
For you, Bradley.
Beautiful Decay :: Steve Buscemi t-shirt
R.I.P. Lou Rawls.
Natalie Dee

The significant other of Toothpaste For Dinner's Drew has a new collection of t-shirts. "Ping!" is particularly good.

natalie dee merchandise :: t-shirts, bags, buttons, and more.

January 05, 2006

Who'd have known? My mom is cutting edge.

I just laughed out loud while looking at notcot.com. The first two entries right now are two of my 75-year-old mother's favorite things from England: Neal's Yard products and PG Tips tea. For at least the last 10 years, these are the only things she's ever requested of anyone going to England. Sorry, Mom! I'll never knock your PG Tips again.

(Now, if I could just get her on a computer...)

NOTCOT.: ENJOY
NOTCOT.: PG Tips
I want.

I'm so NOT a gadget girl, but this is right up my alley.

With paper-like legibility and room for hundreds of books in a device about the size of a paperback, the Sony Reader makes the digital reading experience something it's never been before: a pleasure.

Sony Reader

(via linkbunnies.org)
So true.

Great t-shirt design for Threadless.

Threadless T-Shirts :: Damn Scientists, by John Slabyk
Penguins, pandas, manatees and smiley faces...

Interesting article about characteristics that make things "cute" (vs "beautiful") - and why they exist.

Cute cues are those that indicate extreme youth, vulnerability, harmlessness and need, scientists say, and attending to them closely makes good Darwinian sense. As a species whose youngest members are so pathetically helpless they can't lift their heads to suckle without adult supervision, human beings must be wired to respond quickly and gamely to any and all signs of infantile desire.

The human cuteness detector is set at such a low bar, researchers said, that it sweeps in and deems cute practically anything remotely resembling a human baby or a part thereof, and so ends up including the young of virtually every mammalian species, fuzzy-headed birds like Japanese cranes, woolly bear caterpillars, a bobbing balloon, a big round rock stacked on a smaller rock, a colon, a hyphen and a close parenthesis typed in succession.


NYT :: The Cute Factor

January 04, 2006

Peculiar.

OnMilwaukee.com Dining :: House of Frank N. Stein reincarnates funeral parlor as wiener bar
Cool plant pots that don't even need plants.

Lekker :: Bloom! Lighted Flower Pots
A sign warning people not to hit their head on the sign.

Information design at its finest.

lushlush :: Bizarre sign

(via coudal.com)
I don't think I'd want to read my email on this monitor.

Elumens :: VisionStation

(via linkbunnies.org)
Precisely why I don't have a Netflix subscription.

I need to start watching my Netflix movies in a more timely manner. When Netflix reports its quarterly earnings to their investors, my picture is on the cover of the little folder. "Thank you, Laurie Notaro, our Netflix Customer of the Year," I quote, "for renting a copy of Spanglish since April and not returning it even after you saw Spanglish on HBO in October. $17.95 times seven for absolutely nothing looks great on our accounts receivable page. Unless you're a corpse who's been lying on the kitchen floor, decomposing for several seasons and unable to slip the movie into its pre-sealed envelope and mail it back with unprecedented ease, we appreciate your business. You are the best customer EVER, not counting people who have been suddenly incarcerated under the Patriot Act or have slipped into comas."

PowellsBooks.BLOG
Catchy title.

I opened a charming neighborhood coffee shop. Then it destroyed my life. By Michael Idov
A lovely web-only book.

Wistful stanzas are printed on rectangular scraps of white paper like fortune cookies, which are then pasted onto tan sheets populated with blue and white shapes, fine, snaking lines, and curious holes. Each leaf is partially transparent, revealing traces of where you've been and where you're going.

Jen Bervin :: A Non- Breaking Space

(via Boldtype)

p.s. Includes the best quote of the year thus far:
"motherhood changes you, she said, i'd kill anything now"
The robots are coming.

[Korea] The Ministry of Information and Communication said Wednesday it will launch robotic home helpers at the very reasonable price of around W1 million (US$1,000) in a test market from October next year. Information Minister Chin Dae-je said, “I expect the ‘one household, one robot’ era will come in 2020.” The low-priced robot project will create W1.5 trillion (US$1.5 billion) in added value, Chin added.

The ministry’s network robots come in three types ? the relatively smart education robot Jupiter, which reads English fairy tales to children using voice recognition software, the simpler remote-controlled cleaning robot Netoro, and the e-mail-literate telecommunication robot Roboid. Looking remarkably similar to R2D2 in “Star Wars”, they will be made by robotics firms Yujin Robotics, Hanool Robotics and I.O. Tech.


Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) :: Robotic Helpers to Fill Homes from Next Year

Pic here (the little one's cute!):
The Korea Times : Robots at Service for $1,000 Per Pop

January 03, 2006

Oooooooooh.

I have one curse that has pervaded my travel life - my inability to get a hotel room with a decent view. I'm always put above back alleys, ductwork, you name it. I think I may use this to help me shirk my curse.

Hotel on Rivington - Room 1603
Travel advice from Concierge.com

Apparently Argentina's going to be the best travel buy this year. Good to know.

Concierge.com :: GREAT EXPECTATIONS
"Ill-considered PR"

Many thanks to Czeltic Girl for giving me the best laugh of the day with this collection of bad press release quotes. My fave is definitely:

5] "We are advised by a representative of the company that the seventh paragraph, first sentence, should read 'Created by Crispin Porter + Bogusky of Miami, the new Coca-Cola Zero campaign is the first creative work the agency has developed for Coca-Cola North America' rather than, 'Crisping Porter + Bogusly' as originally issued inadvertently.'

(In the design/ad world, botching CPB's name is like writing about the pontiff as "The Poap.")

CMO Magazine :: 10 Best Press Release Quotes

January 02, 2006

Interesting.

A few of my faves:

19. The = sign was invented by 16th Century Welsh mathematician Robert Recorde, who was fed up with writing "is equal to" in his equations. He chose the two lines because "noe 2 thynges can be moare equalle".

35. The name Lego came from two Danish words "leg godt", meaning "play well". It also means "I put together" in Latin.

99.The Japanese word "chokuegambo" describes the wish that there were more designer-brand shops on a given street.


BBC NEWS | Magazine | 100 things we didn't know this time last year
This is so odd.

Giant Robot Store :: Akira Kurosawa Film Maker toy and candy
Baby Bush Toys :: Simple Products for Simple Minds

(via ektopia.co.uk)

Happy birthday, Swiss Miss!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TINA!

Our friend Martina's birthday greetings are beautiful. The girl is WICKED good with the magnetic poetry. Yay!
If you have an iPod, you should check this out.

I haven't been able to listen to all of them since I can only listen to them on iTunes, but what I've heard is great.

Guardian Unlimited :: Ricky Gervais podcast