Kinetic Water Sculpture - July 30, 3008

This is William Pye's sculpture "Charybdis." Homer (that author you had to read in college) tells us that because Charybdis had stolen the oxen of Hercules, Zeus struck her with a thunderbolt and changed her into a whirlpool whose vortex swallowed up ships. In Charybdis, the circular movement of water inside a transparent acrylic cylinder forms an air-core vortex in the centre. Steps wrap around the cylinder and allow spectators to view the vortex from above.

Really Digging This - July 30, 2008

I'm working on a stop motion project for work, and I'm really into checking out some of the quality stop motion pieces out there. Earlier I shared Western Spaghetti with you, now here are some others.


Kort & Krachtig : Rogier Wieland from Designflux : Devoted to Motion on Vimeo.


stop mo' studies from [[- charetteprod -]] on Vimeo.

Delicious Paella - July , 28, 2008

I cooked some delicious paella this weekend, and I wanted to share the recipe. This version may not be strictly traditional, but garlic, pork chorizo, shrimp, green-lipped mussels, bay scallops, and saffron bring the flavors of paella together in a satisfying way.

Start to finish: 25 min

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup frozen onions and bell peppers (6 oz)
2 links of pork chorizo (cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices)
2 cups long-grain white rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (10 fl oz)
1/8 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
20 frozen cleaned raw medium shrimp such as Contessa brand
1 lb mussels (any type will work)
1/2 lb bay scallops
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup small pimiento-stuffed green olives

Preparation

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over high heat until just smoking, then sauté garlic and frozen onions and peppers, stirring, until garlic and onions are golden, about 2 minutes. Add chorizo and cook, stirring, until chorizo is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add rice, wine, broth, saffron, and shrimp and cook, covered and undisturbed, over high heat until most of liquid is absorbed and shrimp are cooked through, about 6 minutes. Stir in mussels, peas, scallops, and olives and cook, covered, until mussles open wide, 2 to 4 minutes. (Discard any mussels that remain unopened after 4 minutes.) Remove from heat and let stand, covered, until all liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

Make Me a Sculpture....NOW! - July 24, 2008

Since I've been on a bit of a trend watching kick, I thought I'd share the latest and greatest...introducing...Shapeways.

Shapeways claims to be the first affordable 3D printing company out there. Just upload your design, they print it and they ship it to you - it's easy. Within ten working days you'll hold your own design in your hands.

The only caveat is that it requires some really sophisticated and expensive software to create these designs, which I'm guessing (insert sarcasm here) most people don't have on their computer. I think Paul Glazowski of Mashable had it perfect when he said, " But perhaps its designation as a “consumer co-creation community” is a bit far-fetched. Consumers, for one, have little interest or even reasonable aptitude when it comes to 3D modeling software. It’s simply too complex for the casual user to effectively grapple with. Also, some designer utilities tend to carry with them considerable cost."

Regardless, I think it's incredible that someone wanted to found a company to truly help empower consumers and artists to create the impossible. So Shapeways, congrats! I signed up for my own account, now all I need is some software.

Check out some of things that have already been created:

My Mouth is Burning - July 23, 2008

A new drink is about to hit town and take over our taste buds, forcing them to tingle in delight. It's called Prometheus Springs, and it's a Capsaicin infused elixir. What is Capsaicin you might ask, well, it's a superfood antioxidant that makes peppers so deliciously spicy. Prometheus Springs will derive its capsaicin from scotch bonnet peppers, and to give you an idea of how spicy they'll be here's a comparioson. Most scotch bonnets have a heat rating of 100,000 to 350,000 Scovile Units, jalapenos, however, only have a heat rating of 2,500 to 8,000 on the Scoville scale.

A friend of a friend is in the midst of taking America by storm with Prometheus Springs, which will hopefully happen sooner than later, as I'm really looking forward to trying this.

Of course the drink isn't all about spice, it's got fresh citrus extracts and cold-pressed ginger added in it as well. The website has a fantastic section about the types of drinks I can look forward to drinking with Prometheus Springs. I'm particularly looking forward to this one:
Yummy!

Raider Nation - July 22, 2008

I don't talk about my own clients on this blog, unless I end up doing something really cool for them. Here is our latest project, the Raider Creator. It allows you to put Raiderize yourself, eye patch and all. Just upload a photo, and get to work. Afterwards you get a nice little banner with your face on it, and feel free to submit it to our contest, where you have a chance to actually end up on a billboard. AND...if you really love it, you can get it printed on a few items from Zazzle.

Bullsh#$ - July 21, 2008

I work in marketing and advertising. At times, it can be a dreary world filled with lies, contrived truths, and unbelievable claims. My theory has always been that if you have a good product, people will buy it regardless of what you say about it. It drives me completely insane that a client can not succinctly or clearly tell me why their product is different from the competition. Too often, they rely on perceived advantages to drive preference, but in the age of the wise consumer, I think this is a dangerous territory to trod upon.

Now that I've got my little spiel out of the way, onto the good stuff. I realize that I might be a little late to the game on reporting about this show, but since I've recently discovered it, I feel the need to share with you all.

Penn and Teller have had a series on Showtime called "Bullshit."
This show is the schiznit! Every episode is dedicated to uncovering the rickety falsehoods of scams from groups, campaigns, advertisements, documentaries, individuals, etc. The first show I saw revealed this crazy service a woman was offering in Hawaii about dolphin assisted natural birth. I've been a viewer ever since. I suggest you check it our for yourself.

Re-live the Most Awakward TV Interview of 2008 - July 18, 200

This video still gives me chills. So terrible.