Rube Goldberg + Java/Flash = Pure Website Entertainment

Who doesn’t love a good Rube Goldberg machine- you know, those complex devices that perform simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. Think “Breakfast Machine” from Pee-Wee Herman’s Big Adventure:

Anyway, I stumbled upon a website that’s essentially a Rube Goldberg machine made from all the items on the homepage. It’s the website [...]

Fruits on Crack

Oasis candy has an interesting advertising campaign for its fruit candies. It’s a French campaign, so I don’t really understand the details, but the brightly-colored interactive site and wacky video is entertaining enough in and of itself. The site will probably only be live for a set amount of time, so check it out while [...]

Docomo-what?

During my lunch break, stumbled upon this art exhibit called “How to Cook Docomodake.”
[. . . . silence . . . . ]
Yes, that was my reaction too. Docomo-what? As usual, curiosity got the better of me; I had to go inside the bright yellow exhibition space and find out what it’s all about.
Location:

Docomodake is [...]

Discovering the Insight in Repetition

“Again: Serial Practices in Contemporary Art” is currently on display at The Wadworth Antheneum Museum and was reviewed in the Regional NY Times yesterday. But more importantly, the exhibit is curated by my good friend from Cal undergrad days, Ash Anderson. The showcase is comprised of 113 photos by 15 artists, all tied together by [...]

Eastern. . . . Obsession?

I saw the movie Eastern Promises over the weekend, starring Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts. Few mainstream movies pique my interest, but I happily shelled out $11 to see this one because the plot involves the Russian mafia and criminal tattoos.
My interest in criminal tattoos has been growing steadily, especially after reading “Russian Criminal Tattoo [...]

The Usual Suspects

Nintendo threw a party at its flagship in Rockefeller Center, co-sponsored by a slew of other companies promoting new products. All the usual suspects of a “NY event” were present: velvet ropes, guest lists, an exceedingly attractive crowd, free products, tv/film press, promise of celebrities, djs, etc. The environment was definitely interactive with lots of [...]

Deconstructing Creativity

The concept of ‘creativity’ has been on my mind lately, especially since I now work in an industry where agencies compete with one another on the basis of ingenuity and strategy; it really boils down to a battle of the creative minds.
I went in search of info/knowledge on ‘creativity’ because I was curious to [...]

Fickle, Fickle

I am a firm believer that our present culture breeds fickleness (this thought is spurred by the observation that my friends are becoming more and more flakey. . . ) Technology probably plays a big role in this phenomenon because it gives people an option to cancel last minute, or find out about something better [...]

Can We Use A Better Term Please?

Slowly but surely, advertising is focusing less on pushing brands and more on creating communication with the consumer. But the fact that ‘consumer’ is still used as the predominant term in describing “people brands want to communicate with” really bothers me. It’s such a de-personalizing word! These ‘consumers’ are consisted of human beings just like [...]

Who Wants Some Isolation?

I mentioned in a previous post that current society discourages physical community and prizes isolation. Historically, being ‘isolated’ was a form of punishment: criminals and wrong-doers were banished to the most remote regions possible and turned into ‘outcasts’. Now, isolation has ceased to be a form of deprivation. With increasing congestion (people, traffic, buildings, etc), [...]