I’ll start with a quick review or two for those of you who still read books (yes, just scroll down past the burbling brook of blather to the links if you need a clickity fix.)
Wild Abandon by Joe Dunthorne is the second novel by an emerging writer that I suggest you watch. He’s got a way with words and characters and situations that rings true and reminds me of growing up (ok not the part about living in a commune outside of London or knowing that the world would end in 2012 because of some sort of grand eclipse or learning survival skills in case I was the only one left alive at the age of eleven). If you like coming of age stories, utopian societies, or way too smart for their own good eleven year olds, you’ll probably enjoy this book. His first book, Submarine, was made into a movie by one of the actors from the IT Crowd. I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m looking forward to tracking it down.
Speaking of 2012 and the claims some people have made that we predicted the end of the world, prepare for debunkification 101.
Empire State by Adam Christopher starts off a bit rocky and is clearly by a new writer but it has something going on that I liked. Its your typical gumshoe detective may have a double that’s a gangster or maybe the whole world has a double or just New York City or maybe those superheroes do or that zeppelin does or maybe they all have many more than just doubles that reflect back and forth through a mirror world of wormholes and seedy clubs. Nuff Said.
Lastly, our very own Human Science Fellow Dave Bishop has compiled a great list of the best design articles from 2011, read’m and weep.
On to the links!
————Top Five————
1. Finally, a show that isn’t about cops or lawyers or hospitals or cops or dancing or lawyers or hospitals or chefs!
2. The Toaster Project completely kills me. A designer set out on a quest to build a complete toaster by trying to replicate every part and material used in a current off the shelf cheap toaster that he found at a local store. Stephen Colbert interviews him about his quest. For more info, check out his site.
3. That Charles & Ray Eames documentary that I mentioned was going to be on PBS soon? It’s now online for you’re viewing pleasure. But, uh. Don’t just watch it. Consider supporting public broadcasting too. It’ll be any even better use of your money than buying that silly app with the ropes and the frog.
4. Really nicely done commercial for Pepsi. and a provocative article about culture and its potential demise due to big data and the rise of algorithms from Pepsi’s Global Head of Social Media, Bonin Bough.
And here is a nice use of algorithmic ideas to create something serendipitous and noir.
5. Nope this Japanese Defense Ball of Joy shouldn’t worry you at all. Particularly the ones they didn’t show that are the size of gnats.
—————-The Rest——————-
Happy Holidays from Hacme Mad Science Supplies!
Infographic du jour…
Why weird is wonderful…
Big Data du jour…
Too many bricks in the wall…
Best Data Viz ever. of, sticker, placement, by, kids.
A field guide to Brand Advocates…
DNA Sequencing For Fun And Profit: A Low-Cost Platform For Garage Biotech
10 Most Awe-Inspiring Projects of 2011 brought to you by my modern met
Entertain your pet frog for minutes at a time
Spike Jonze and 3000 pieces of felt bring you a new short film PG 13…