Nneka, Soul Crush

Let Me Take Your Vital Signs

Summer thus far -

Adventures with best friends.  Soul-filling conversation, 

beaching, kayaking, rollercoastering.  Reading,
& random conversation on public transportation (favorite!).

New acquaintances & inspiring people,

and (so far) owning the latest bombardment of challenges - 

the Anything-worth-having-is-worth-fighting-for kind.

And in the midst of all this, there is a shifting of the universe.

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A few links:

-->  A fairytale no longer: Cloth spun from spider's silk.  Neat, but, *shudder*.

-->  Found in Mom's Basement (+1 for creepy title!).  It's got a plethora of vintage advertisements, enough for cultural anthropological discussion, if you're into that sort of thing.  Regardless, get your fill of humor + design here.  So nerdy.  So cool.

-->  On August 9, 2010, Ed Stafford reached the Atlantic Ocean, completing his journey & becoming the first man to walk the entire length of the Amazon River.  HOLY SWEETNESS.  (Heart of Darkness, much?)

• The journey took 2.5 years.  The challenges, aside from malnutrition and injury, include: illness (dengue, typhoid, malaria, leishmaniasis, rabies from vampire bats), wasp nests + killer bees, snake bites, 20 foot Anacondas, Piranhas, Amazonian crocodiles, jaguars, and aggressive local tribes. 
• Fellow expeditionist Luke Collier began and walked with Ed for 3 months.  Afterward, hundreds of local people walked bits of the trek with Ed; one of them, Gadiel (”Cho”) Sanchez Rivera, completed the journey with him.
• Ed hopes to "draw attention to the complexities of the Amazon rainforest" with his adventure.  Oh yeah, and he supports 5 charities.

Overachievers everywhere are crying their eyes out.  Account of the trek here.

Heartbeat #3: Strawberry Fields Forever

EDIT: Taken off for use in another project


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* Posts entitled “Heartbeat” are works of fiction; resemblance to real people, events, or places are purely unintentional & coincidental.

Rose

Like breathing and exploring, destroying & creating is something that needs to be done regularly for the sake of sanity.

No supplies to be had currently, so just grabbed scissors, tape, and paper.  Ahh, bliss.  What are some verbs that bring joy to your life?

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

Heartbeat #2: Dreams

EDIT: Taken off for use in another project


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* Posts entitled “Heartbeat” are works of fiction; resemblance to real people, events, or places are purely unintentional & coincidental.

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.

Stars and Stripes Forever

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What a super weekend of sand and ocean.

Like it or not, our environment - its people, places, and traditions - influences who we are.   Whether we decide to change for better or for worse is up to us, but in order for change to occur, we must first acknowledge the source.
Every culture & country has good and bad points; rather than slamming the environment that shaped us and saying, I am ashamed to be associated with this culture/place, it would be more conductive if we could say I don't like the way X is in our culture/place; how can we improve?.

As with sports, you gotta root for your home-team, through thick and thin.  It's a beautiful thing to meet a person who is proud of the environment(s) that shaped them, who works to improve it, and is happy to share a piece of it with others.

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