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5 Things I Love for Friday #189

Brian — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 12:38:13 +0000

Heads-up, if you subscribe to the RSS for this site, it’s moving (temporarily? who knows). Direct hits to denyingphoenix.com will automatically forward on, but feeds will now come from here instead.

BMW R60 motorcycle – Such a rugged-yet-refined look. Something evokes a war-era feeling yet embracing the “murdered out” trend in street car culture of today. Very cool
Budweiser, Balsamic Vinegar, and How Expectations Affect Our Views – A short piece from Lifehacker about how having prior expectations entirely colors our perception. As I prepare for a major redesign/relaunch at work, this is very much on my mind
Goonies poster – Nice design. Awesome movie.
The most cinematic wedding videos – Still Motion is doing amazing work with wedding videos. Click on ‘cinema’ at the bottom of their page and watch a few. Beautiful work.
Upside down cafe – Designed to look like a library flipped on it’s site, this cafe in New York can’t help but make you smile at it’s Wonderlandesque silliness.

Chance favors a connected mind

Brian — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:59:40 +0000

The line between connected and distracted is perilously thin…

5 Things I Love for Friday #188

Brian — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:02:43 +0000

Birdy Juice packaging concept – Designer Mats Ottdal has a wonderful idea for fruit juice box design for kids. Liam would flip for one of these, for sure. Cute idea that I’d love to see come to market some day.
Letters of Note – This site is dedicated to gathering letters, faxes, etc–rare gems that offer glimpses into the private lives of some great people. I enjoyed this particular one from James Dean, but be sure to browse the archives. I also love this one from Mark Twain and this one from Ronald Reagan to his wife Nancy.
Back to the Future being released in Blu-Ray – The entire trilogy is. My childhood rejoices.
Amazing green screen CGI from the John Adams series – Part of the curse/benefit of living in modern times is not knowing just how much of what we consume is fabricated. Watch this short demo real that shows how skillfully the colonial world of the John Adam’s miniseries was constructed. And if you haven’t watched the miniseries, put it on your Netflix list.
Time Slice photos – Photographer Adam Magyar uses scanner cameras to create enormous, panoramic photos that defy time and space. (More at Adam’s site in the urban flow series)

Observation Deck

Brian — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:23:46 +0000

“Have you noticed how Liam is always ill-tempered on Tuesday?”
“Huh? No,” said The Wife™ plainly as I got the ‘what the hell are you talking about‘ stare.
“I’m serious. The past few weeks on Tuesdays he’s had a pattern of acting the same exact way when he gets home. Remember? I wonder if it’s a coincidence or if there’s a reason for the pattern. Do they do something in particular at daycare on Tuesdays?”
The conversation ends with a whimper as I am the recipient of another ‘you’re crazy’ hand gesture/shrug. Something I’ve come to accept as a standard over the past 30 years.
I won’t end up being the best dad in the world, as I’m no star athlete, nor successful or wealthy or dripping with talent like so many of my friends. But if there is one thing I hope I can impart to my son, it’s a lifelong commitment to noticing, to silent observation. I want him to study it like an art, so that he can then study people, and things, and feelings that nowadays get plowed over by the insane amount of information flow in this world. I want him to be able to read people and situations just by watching, to empathize and to learn to trust his intuitions. I want him to remember names and the emotional sidecar behind every friend’s hug. I want him to notice when the moon is just shy of being full and when the frame on the wall is a half-degree askew. Not in a life meant to be critical, but in a life aligned with the intent of being more engaged. I want him to surround himself with (the works of) others who are also noticers: the photographers, the novelists, the philosophers and artists, so that he not only feels comforted and validated at the times when observation seems like a spiteful whirlwind destined to take him down, but so he can be reassured that there are others like himself who don’t just let the world flow around them, but rather through them.

“I’m fearful that the familiarity of it all will soon envelop me and that the wonder and awe I have for my son every day will slowly fade”

When we lose perspective, when our humanness gets in the way and we start to see and feel based solely on our own limited square of existence, we stop noticing things. And when we stop noticing, I feel like a part of our self starts to die, because we no longer care enough to notice. Observation, after all, takes work. But the rewards of an observed life are those moments of wonder, of being awestruck, moved beyond words in a state of absolute completeness. Like panning for gold, these shimmering nuggets of absolute truth and honesty are what keep those of us going forward for another few paces. But as a life in excess grows dull and desensitized, one cannot be endlessly bombarded by wonder and awe either. If you say a word repeatedly for too long, does it not lose meaning, and instead become a sequence of mouth and throat exercises? Indeed, the word sounds funny and foreign and entirely unattached to any meaning after awhile because it has become so familiar. And this is what I’m coming to fear as a father, this loss of meaning due to constant amazement.
Since his birth, I’ve tried to be there every cliched step of the way with Liam’s day-to-day growth. I don’t want to be on autopilot, coasting through the years to get past the rougher waters of toddlerhood or adolescence. But as a result, each and every milestone in his development is subtly a big deal to me on a personal level. Watching the evolution of his verbal and motor and cognitive abilities is breathtaking, and probably the most rewarding part of being a parent. I get excited when I hear him correct himself, fine-tuning his subject/verb agreements or remembering to use personal pronouns instead of speaking in third person. And while it may seem trite to those without children, imagine if your cat one day started walking on two legs or decided to don a smoking jacket. You would get the same “holy hell, when did you learn to do that?!” feeling coursing through your body, spinning your mind 180 degrees in comprehension. What frightens me now is that the rapidity of his development is outpacing my own ability to absorb and appreciate each new step. Yesterday alone I heard him upstairs randomly reciting the Pledge of Allegiance (with hand over heart, my wife says), yet before the gravity of that can sink in, I’m distracted by him having learned how to spell his name. I’m fearful that the familiarity of it all will soon envelop me and that the wonder and awe I have for my son every day will slowly fade to a point where it’s just another a tiny pony.
Admittedly, though, I suppose he does a good job of keeping my fatherly incredulity in check, occasionally reminding me that he’s still a fumbling toddler and not letting my mind wander too far to a time when he’s going be smarter than myself or my wife. Driving home last night, I turned around when I heard him muttering under his breath. He was in his seat, brow furrowed in deep concentration with all 10 fingers outstretched before him. He was counting, but working his way higher than we’d heard him go before. “16…17…18…19…”
“That’s great, buddy,” I said as I looked at my amazed wife and wondering when he’d crossed the threshold of 11.
Both of us slightly eager for a confirmation that our kid ~~might have a shot at a college scholarship some day~~ is making progress developmentally, I prodded, “So what come’s after 19?”
“Five,” he said as he beamed proudly.
Thank God he’s still a two year old kid, and thank heavens I still have time to soak it all in. Errors and all.
Those moments of spectacular failure might just end up being what keeps me amazed, connected and observant.

5 Things I Love for Friday #187

Brian — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 12:41:40 +0000

Bubble gin and tonic – I’m usually not down for avant garde culinary stuff as it tends to be pretentious (and navel gazing). But this idea is brilliant, even if I’m not dying to try it. More on spherical encapsulation as used in molecular gastronomy.
Urbane Jacket – What a beautiful jacket. The lines and material used here are fantastic. I could give up eating for two months, right?
Chiddy Bang – Opposite Of Adults [video] – Philadelphia hip hop duo Chiddy Bang (Chidera Anamege and Xaphoon Jones, met at Drexel Univ.) deliver a fun, fresh and amusing video from their new album. I love the bed-jumping scene.
Beer in good spirits – An curious little story about Tom Griffin, the man who logs 50,000 miles a year delivering oak barrels around the country to all the top microbreweries. This is the man single-handedly responsible for helping fuel the cask-aging movement in beer. Thanks, Tom.
Apple’s patent for a “breathing status LED indicator” – What a kick ass example of their attention to detail in design. They patented the slowly ‘breathing’ light for when their computers are in sleep mode. It’s set to the perfect rate of human breathing (12-20 breathes per minute) to achieve a psychologically pleasing effect. This has always been one of my favorite incidental details of their products.

5 Things I Love for Friday #186

Brian — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:48:24 +0000

Another week gone by without a ‘regular’ post.

eInk watch – I’m not sold on the design of the watch, but the technology has me intrigued. The eInk display looks to be a neat application in timepieces.
35 lessons in 35 years – From the experience design director at Adaptive Path. Worth the read for a few little nuggets.
Jonah Hill and Elmo discuss mustaches – Not much more else to say, really.
Two Eye Wool Boat Shoe – I question what is becoming of me when I find boat shoes to be well-designed. But for some reason these wool Sperry’s caught my eye.
How to Be Alone – Fun little video by Andrea Dorfman. Poetry, music, motion graphics. Stuff like this is what makes the internet so great, and why legislation that threatens net neutrality is horrifically dangerous.

5 Things I Love for Friday #185

Brian — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:25:25 +0000

iPad + beer +hacking = awesome – The engineers at Yelp hacked together an iPad and a kegerator for some fun.
Skate Park after dark – Otherworldly photos of a skatepark painted in light.
Serious Eats – Rarely do I feature an entire website on FTILFF, but I’m continually amazed at how good the content coming out of this site is. I monitor a lot of food blogs but Serious Eats consistently has the most number of recipes that I end up flagging to try.
Captured: America in Color from 1939-1943 – These photos of America during the depression era are amazing. Or if you like, how about photos of Europe from 1906?
‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ by Viktor E. Frankl -Said to be among the most influential works of psychiatric literature since Freud, Frankl (a survivor of Nazi camps) puts together a moving narrative that ultimately drives home the ideas of logotherapy. (Unlike Freud, who focuses on sexual impulses as the root of human behavior, logotherapy identifies man’s deepest desire as the search for meaning and purpose). A good read.

5 Things I Love for Friday #184

Brian — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:51:29 +0000

Turf Dancin’ in the rain – Kottke found this gem of a video of a few kids turf dancing in the rain on the corner of a street. I will never understand how people are able to move their bodies in such ways…
2009 World Beard and Mustache Championship photographs – They’re insanely beautiful portraits in their own right. But the beards! I mean if I had a spare $350 this guy would be hanging above my fireplace.
Art deco styling + motorcycle = me drooling – Everything about this bike, from the instrument panel to the seat leather to the low profile is inspiring.
The Creative Personality – I tagged this article from Psychology Today awhile back on Instapaper but finally got around to reading it this week. Well worth it, especially if you have a creative in your life. It might help you understand their oddities in a bit better context.
Smart DIY garage storage – A thoughtful solution. Paint the rails white and I think it’d be even better. Might be a project for my future…

5 Things I Love for Friday #183

Brian — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:56:19 +0000

This ibex is not to be messed with – Convincing debate skills this horned-one has. I think I work with a few folks who argue the same way.
Runnin’ Rhino – Since we’re on the topic of animals, this shirt is cute. And yes, I just called something cute. My language is slowly being dumbed down by my two year old.
Flipboard iPad app – Everyone is talking about this first look at an application that pulls in all your social media content and renders it like a magazine layout. Very intriguing concept, but not sure if most people give a crap about design to bother.
Artwork by Os Gemeos – Part of a public installation piece for the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego’s show “Viva la Revolucion: A Dialogue with the Urban Landscape”. Love the trompe l’oeil.
Sledgehammer and Whore – Nicely written, humorous and peppered with profanity (you’ve been warned). An account of one hollywood screenwriter’s life for a day when his office was broken in to, and how he would pitch it to a network as if it were a sitcom. Long, but chuckle-worthy.

5 Things I Love for Friday #182

Brian — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:46:26 +0000

Clem Snide covers Journey – As part of The Onion’s AV Club’s Undercover, Clem Snide takes a lo-fi stab at “Faithfully” by Journey. Beautifully done. Worth watching (get passed a 15 second commercial and a small intro to the song).
Trailer for It’s Kind of a Funny Story – Think Juno meets Scrubs? Regardless, it’s got Zach Galifianakis, Aasif Mandvi, Lauren Graham and Jim Gaffigan.
Music video for Bruno Mars’ “The Other Side” – The song features B.o.B and Cee-lo Green. Catchy. And you can’t deny this kid’s charisma and charm. It seems to just radiate from him. Sounds like a song that Mark Ronson would have produced.
Kilian Martin – You’ve never seen skateboarding like this before. I promise. Flip the video to 720p setting, it’s worth it. (there’s another showing how he’s clearly the next generation Rodney Mullen, if you’re so inclined).
EPICWIN – A To Do list application isn’t anything remarkable, they’re a dime-a-dozen out there. But from the visual artist behind the Little Big Planet video game series comes a new type of To Do List app, one that is fused with an RPG game. Basically you get rewards and level-up for doing things in your everyday life. It’s hilarious in theory, but also possibly a genius solution for some people’s lack of motivation. Very creative idea.