productivity, usability, technology, travel & society
Here is the so-called "Epic Sandwich", including bacon, poutine, eggs, hot dogs (including their own rolls) and a whole lot of maple syrup.
Not sure I could stomach that... Too much even for my larger-than-average appetite!
Read more at the Montréal Gazette.
Here's a bittersweet little "could-have-been love story" I came across on YouTube.
It's amusing to watch, but I think there is a serious point to make here... If this were a real conversation, the pair would have picked up on the body language that much was not being said. Electronic chat loses that, and both parties can leave with a completely false impression of the other person's feelings.
I've never seen a better illustration of why electronic communication is inferior to face to face communication.
In my view there's kind of a hierarchy of communication in terms of how complete or effective it is... Face to face at the top, then video chat, then phone, then instant messaging, then text or email.
Food for thought anyway.
Posted by Alex at 16:19 View Comments
Ever since I heard this, I can't get it out of my head. Incredibly catchy, but more than that, it's incredibly clever, using the never-ending stream of blocks as a metaphor for the Russian worker class and even the Berlin wall. It covers the whole history of the Soviet Union and Russia, from the Russian revolution through Lenin, Stalin, WWII, 80s westernization, the fall of communism and the recent drift back towards communism.
What are you waiting for, watch it?
You can learn more about the artists at http://www.pigfaceboy.co.uk/
In the same vein as Band Aid's Do they Know it's Christmas, a huge number of Canadian singers including Avril Lavigne, Justin Bieber, Nelly Furtado and Olympic star Nikki Yanofsky have come to record a charity single to raise funds for Haiti's relief efforts.
Support Haiti by buying the single, video or T-shirt at Young Artists For Haiti. And be sure to pass it on so others can help too.
Posted by Alex at 13:07 View Comments
Labels: campaign, canada, charity, fundraising, haiti, music, video
The BBC has just done something revolutionary... they've released all the source footage for an as yet unscreened documentary about the way technology is changing our lives, and are inviting the public to compete and edit/mashup the footage into something unique. Above is an inspiring example of what's possible, by Barry Pilling. Here's another by Cassetteboy.
The idea of allowing your work to be edited and improved by others was first encouraged by the Creative Commons. If you don't already, make sure any photos you share on Flickr are released under Creative Commons, so others can do great things with them (without profiting or taking credit).
Another film in this vein that's well worth a look is RIP: A Remix Manifesto, the story of Girl Talk's rise to fame as a musician who plays no instrument but uses samples of others' music. It too is freely editable and mash-up-able. There's also a growing craze for "fake trailers", the most famous being Shining. It's so much easier these days now that people have a publishing house, editing studio and photo lab on their desktops. Exciting times!
Posted by Alex at 01:09 View Comments
Labels: creative, creative-commons, digital-life, editing, mashup, society, technology, video
