Passion, Innovation, Sandbox

I like people who love what they do.

People who have no qualms about thinking outside the box, 

kicking it up a notch, 

and generally creating beautiful mayhem.*

Because life is one big sandbox. 

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   Jamie Oliver

Look at those expert hands go.  Impeccable craftsmanship.  The shoemaker himself is a work of art, housing generations of knowledge gained from trial and error.  And he's determined to keep his art and skill alive HERE.

Stepping it up.  We need more minds that work like this.  Efficient, classic design.

Latte art.  Contagious enthusiasm.

You don't need to be some big-wig to shower the world with passion and innovation.  

(This is a lifetime learning curve and easier said than done - I'm working on it too)  :

Put your best foot forward in everyday tasks - even toward something as simple as pouring a cup of coffee for somebody.  It may be exactly what the universe needed at the moment.

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* TED is a great place to get inspired!

Fruits of Labor

*  A U.S. school teacher (anonymously) documents eating school lunch everyday for an entire year, in order to incite awareness and change.  (came across her site last year when she was in the middle of her project, but it seems like she's finished and is now writing about this issue at large).
-  Lovely that she acknowledges lunch ladies/men too, and the significant (but often unnoticed) role they play in the kids' lives.

*  Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution - awesome show!  The mindset and reaction of administrators, teachers, parents, and students that he encounters, is a wake up call for our generation.  Jamie's cause and fight is really inspiring, and even if it is a bit dramatized to make for 'good' television, his commentary is pretty on point.

*  Why Hungry Kids Sometimes Still Go Hungry in American Schools
*  Bettering school food is not an issue that has a simple solution.  The problems are deeply rooted, and spread over a large radius of issues ranging from policy, education on proper nutrition, and lack of continuity & support for the few people that are trying to improve our food culture.
* Article HERE & HERE.  In Japanese public elementary schools, lunch is also a time for learning, AS IT SHOULD BE.  The teacher STAYS WITH THE CLASS and EATS THE SAME LUNCH, "TALKING to the children about nutrition, good eating habits and the food in that day's meal."
- This goes beyond mere physical nutrition.  This is food for the SOUL.
* Unfortunately, this practice may slowly be disappearing due to cost cutting, and adaptation of other school-lunch systems.
*  What's for School Lunch?  School lunches from around the world

*  The Child-Driven Education, Sugata Mitra
*  The Milkman Cometh.  Innovation, entrepreneurship, a twist of new with the old.  Super.
* Raising Healthy Eaters is Counter-Culture
*  Access to Healthy Foods: part II.  Food poverty and shopping deserts: what are the implications for health promotion policy and practice?  Research, research, research.
*  "Strawberry color" in cereal bars achieved by: Red No. 40 for American kids, versus Beetroot red for UK kids.  Not to point fingers, but just goes to show that multiple interest groups, and (most importantly) ordinary people are affected by the food/nutrition/health industry, and that each group has their own viewpoint and goals to bring to the table.  Each group has legitimate points, so how do we figure out a system that works?

*  And don't get me started on the trendy 'Green movement'.  Yes - innovation, and more knowledge & options for the lifestyle are now available because 'Green' has gone mainstream.  However, just because a product has an 'organic' sticker slapped on it, does not necessarily mean it is organic, healthy, or the better choice.  And just because something is not labeled organic, doesn't mean it should be put on the blacklist, or that it's going to kill you.  It's all about doing the proper research.

These are exciting times, with much room for change.
Would like to address related issues in future endeavors.

To Market, To Market

Am super excited to write notes + reminders on these.  The characters' expressions are smile-inducing!

Found this paperpad in a dusty little shop selling miscellanies.  I think that these seemingly forgotten shops are the most interesting. 

Such liquor and convenient stores exist in every geographical region of the U.S. - off a lonely stretch of highway, enveloped in a sea of suburban houses, or tucked away in a city alley; ghosts until a random but desperate craving hits for a snack, late-night/morning (hey who's to say?) alcohol, or lotto ticket. 

They are full of random items that one might have a use for (cowboy hat), items that are unimaginable as roadtrip necessity (flowerpot or fish food, anyone?), and items that would be normal to buy anywhere else but in such a place (tennis racket). 

Oh, and don't forget the items labeled 'souvenir'/'gift'; sometimes apparel emblazoned "Hawaii" in a midwest store, and a 'Tennessee' magnet in a California store.  It's a mystery if anyone actually ever buys some of the products, and more importantly, whose idea it was in the first place to sell such items.  And depending on the locale, some of these stores carry ethnic snacks too, which is always a bonus.

Perusing the isles is like looking through someone's attic (dusty cracker boxes, discontinued -well you thought they were until now- products, romance and detective novels, a misplaced keychain in the candy isle).  Other types of general stores are more specialized, selling half-deflated balloons, stationary, and office/mailing supplies as well; they may provide copy services, and have walls that look like the 'classified' section of a newspaper - covered in advertisements and bulletins.

Watching the exchange between store employees and customers... fascinating living museums, these places are.

Nneka, Soul Crush

Applying "The 10 Principles of Design", to Life

crystal DNA, artist unknown
Dieter Rams is one of the most influential industrial designers of the 20th century.  He is best known for his work during a span of 40 years designing for the Braun company.  The following is how Dieter Rams defined 'good design' in Dwell Magazine (Sept. 2009); humorously, these guidelines could serve well for designing - not only objects, but a more efficient & fulfilling life, as well.  

May his words be of use and inspiration.

Good design must:

1).  be innovative

2).  be useful

3).  be aesthetic

4).  be unobtrusive

5).  be honest

6).  be durable

7).  be thorough to the last detail

8).  help a product be understood

9).  be concerned with the environment

10).  be designed as little as possible

Rings-Anonymous

Rings are fun to make, and to wear.  The more amusing and awkward, the better.  Hands are one of the most visible, communicative, and used parts of the human body - naturally, they've got to be decked out in style.  Nothing demure, I'm talking knuckle-dusters, eyesores, & the humorous.  A hardcore tribute to the hands that sustain us. 

Exhibit 1 (swoon-worthy):

 "Crystal Brass Knuckles (I am going to realign your chakras motherf*****)".  Debra Baxter

Quartz crystals, sterling silver 

Exhibit 2 (always prepared):

Emergency ring.  Artist unknown. 

Viagra pill not included, according to the article; which is great, because then it becomes kind of Alice-in-Wonderland-esque.  If anyone knows who makes these, please do let us know!

Exhibit 3 (the real deal):

Succulent Rings.  Barbara Uderzo.

The minimalist design is really appealing.

Exhibit 4 (raising the bar):

Paris (left); Chalet (right).  Villa de Reve Collection.  Philippe Tournaire.

rose, white and yellow 18k gold icons of Paris sit upon a single shank

"I don't want a diamond, babe.  I want a house.  Or a city."  (btw, the collection includes cufflinks, too!)

Bringing this topic back down to earth - the cost of something is not always indicative of avant-garde-ness or uniqueness.  Rather, it is creativity and a simplistic, focused design that sets a piece of work apart from others.  Now could someone please make a ring out of their baby teeth? Morbid. Awesome. Yes.

Calling All Elitist Liberal Arts Scholars, or: "I'm so Deep"

Don't get me wrong - I love symbolism, metaphors, and allegories.

My favorite books are the ones you have to analyze to the last drop, the ones where each word is so thick with meaning, that reading the book is like wading through hot fudge sauce (delicious *wink*). 

***

Sometimes though, it's good to not over-analyze, and to just...relax.  With that, I'd like to share a few chuckles with you, courtesy of spoken-word artist, Beau Sia:

Triple Tribute

One only hopes that they received as much in this life as they have given.
 

***

Lee Alexander McQueen

 *Vogue Girl Korea, August 2006.  Photographer:  Kim Han Jun*

Daul Kim

***

Michael Jackson

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, but what a brilliant flame in between.

R.I.P.

Universes within Universes

University of South Carolina School of Medicine.  Microbiology & Immunology Online, "Real-time PCR".  Dr. Margaret Hunt

Agarose gel (1% Trevigel)

Guo X et al. Genome Res. 2003;13:1810-1817, 2003 by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
Guo, Xianwu; Flores, Margarita; Mavingui, Patrick; et al. "Natural Genomic Design in Sinorhizobium meliloti: Novel Genomic Architectures" Genome Research, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. 2003;13:1810-1817. Online.

Pulse-field gel electrophoresis. Replicon structure of S. meliloti 1021 and derivative strains.
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Breathtaking images of a genetics lab technique called gel electrophoresis.  The first image reminds me of headlights on the road at night, ice, illuminated high-rise windows, and dancing stars.  And the second image brings to mind india ink brushstrokes, and x-ray skeletons.  Universes within universes.

Scientists use gel electrophoresis to separate DNA molecules by size.  Each band you see represents the accumulation of molecules of the same length.  A common method of viewing these separate bands is to stain the gel with ethidium bromide, so that the bands of DNA will fluoresce when illuminated with UV light.

Imagine these printed on fabric, so that we could 'wear' our DNA.

Beginning

dandeluca

"The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me."

- Ayn Rand

digitalpimp.

icelight

Clockwise from top left: Rodrigo_Cayo_(DREAM), OliBac, Thai_Jasmine