Kim Nguyen's latest film "The Empire of Scents" (Le Nez) lets you delve into the world of scents and aromas. The film that's influenced by the book "Taste Buds and Molecules" by Francois Chartier hits cinemas this spring.
This work reminds me of the excellent documentary "The Nose – Searching for Blamage" (2013) about the very charismatic perfumer Alessandro Gualtieri.
Via @mollybirnbaum and @papillesetm.
Artist and illustrator Hollis Brown Thornton's permanent markers series depict old technology classics like the VHS tape, the floppy disk and vintage computer games.
"Colors That Don't Exist":
"Atari & Jellyfish Wallpaper":
Via iGNANT.
Gametee sells scented candles that draw inspiration from video games such as "The Legend of Zelda". The video games connection isn't that unique for Gametee whose target market is gamers:
Gametee was founded by two sisters with a life-long passion for video games. With the help of 582 inspirational Kickstarter backers who believed in our dream, we, A.J. and Lucy Hateley, were able to fund our first production run of high quality, premium t-shirts for video gamers.
Since then, Gametee has quickly grown to be the preferred choice of gamers who want to look great, feel comfortable, and wear with pride. We deeply love what we do, and we are committed to good business ethics, sustainable production, and fully supporting the gaming community.
Featured image: Hyrulian Forest that's inspired by "The Legend of Zelda".
Via Göteborgs-Posten and Kotaku.
Goosebumps alert! If it wasn't for the snowflakes falling, I wouldn't be sure if this footage was edited or not. Marquese Scott is one incredible dancer, I haven't seen anything like it!
And here is a short documentary (video) about Marquese.
Via @jordisoler.
Every year, Doritos' parent company buys 427,500 tonnes of palm oil with devastating effects for the rainforest and its species:
Back in 2010, after seeing the video below, I mentioned Greenpeace's Kit Kat campaign that highlighted Nestlé's use of palm oil, a campaign that luckily went very well with Nestlé stopped using the oil.
The Greenpeace Kit Kat campaign – Have a Break?:
So, take action, you sure can make a difference!
Kid President urges us to be awesome in this entertaining and important pep talk:
Chris Bryan's 1000-frames-per-second-footage really captures the essence and beauty of surfing. Love the sounds of the ocean in this one!
Via The Inspiration.
This episode of AOL's "you've got…" features Lloyd Kahn who is a downhill skateboarder that took up skateboarding at age 65.
"The Moped Diaries" is somewhat simplified a short movie about the cycle of love; falling in love, staying in love and falling out of love, and still be able to handle thoose ups and downs by creating a life worth living. A truly life-affirming movie!
For more details, head over to Short of the Week for a lenghty review.
A bunch of colourful plastic balls get poured onto an escalator and a loop effect takes place:
Via @jwz.
After a bomb hit the property of Richmond Golf Club in Surrey, England during "Battle of Britain" in 1940, the club implemented some temoporary rules of golf so the game could continue as normal despite the attacks of the Luftwaffe:
A list from BuzzFeed with 21 animated GIFs that can maintain or instill more tranquility in your life. Love this little cottage animation:
Via Onedio.
What we recognize as the bicycle today, looked in the early stages of its development, more like something of a box. Here is a 90-second animation of the evolution of the bicycle (I only wish the animators had put some timestamps in there):
Via TAXI.
Wow! The way Japan has solved the issue with lack of parking space for bicycles is just fantastic. The solution: you simply send your bike underground. And by parking it underground, you also protect it against weather and thieves. A brilliant solution!
Via @strombo.
That is one dark and beautiful formation of ice! Photographer Alex Cornell shoot this rare occurrence of an iceberg that has flipped over when on a visit to Antarctica. I just love it's vast thickness and colours.
During an expedition to Antarctica, photographer Alex Cornell was lucky enough to see an iceberg flip over and was able to capture these spectacular images. Such flips are rare and often dangerous, because of the waves they make. Some iceberg flips can even cause tsunamis.
Most of us appreciate a good and visually pleasing hand-lettered sign when visiting anything food related and/or shops in general. To help the businesses "blossom", this skilled artist in NYC has come up with the creative idea to craft those signs in exchange for a meal (and I also hope this leads to a full-time job eventually):
It’s simple: you have a lovely restaurant, bakery, bar, or coffee shop in New York City. I have a terrifying, yet impressive appetite. You have a little chalkboard or dry erase sign with your daily specials, happy hour deals, etc. I happen to have a knack for drawing pretty letters. Let’s make a deal.
I’ll write out your lunch special on your chalkboard in exchange for one thing: that exact lunch special. Want to promote your amazing lasagna? I’ll do it for a plate of that amazing lasagna. Have the best cocktails in the city? Whip some up for me and I’ll whip up a beautiful sign for you. Whatever you want me to write is exactly what you’ll pay.
Via @alexred.
Liam Morgan longboard down a very steep hill in this one. At 1:12, I think even Liam got a bit nervous. Hold on!
Via The Inspiration.
"More NFL" is the follow-up video of "The NFL: A Bad Lip Reading" (video), a great compilation of wonderful funny voice-overs of players and coaches in the National Football League. I'm not surprised this work became a viral success!
Via The Inspiration.
A short conversation with hedge fund manager Ray Dalio and filmmaker Martin Scorsese about Transcendental Meditation. Maybe we have TM to thank for the completion of the great movie Hugo (2011) that Martin talks about.
Tip: See also my post "Transcendental Meditation and the Alternatives".
Stuntman Adam Kirley, once acting as Daniel Craig's stunt double in Casino Royale, shares his knowledge on how to escape from, e.g., a runaway taxi:
If I were in a runaway taxi, I’d probably try to throw the taxi driver out, but if you absolutely have to make an exit try your hardest to slow down the vehicle. Slamming on the handbrake is a bad move – it will cause the car to slide and increase the risk of you getting run over when you disembark. Distract the driver to slow his speed, and make your move when he least expects it.
Illustrations done by Nick Hardcastle.
Via @jordisoler.
300 movies were included in the creation of this cinematic montage. And for those of you that want the details, here is a list with all the films that were used.
Via @misscellania.
I'll definitely give "Burt's Guinness Chips/Crisps" a taste when walking by one of the English shops in my area, although I swore not that long ago, to never eat chips again due to its ingredients.
The chips are thick cut and hand-cooked, seasoned with roasted barley and hops. Together, these make them taste pretty much like the bittersweet stout from Ireland. They can be found at UK retailers in various sizes or purchased online.
Via TAXI.
This is the rather unconventional workout routine of genius Rick Rosner, and who, as a side note, went to high school for 10 years despite having a measured IQ of 150.
"I just go from gym to gym to gym to gym to gym," Rosner told Business Insider UK in an email.
The exercise routine sounds wacky, but Rosner insists on his unconventional regime as a way to stay motivated. The constant change of scenery means he never gets bored. Plus, he doesn't waste time waiting for equipment.
Colin Furze drives a mobility scooter to 70 mph (almost 113 km/h) in the snow. It looked shaky at times, but he pulled it off nicely.
In his talk TED talk, author and travel writer Pico Iyer, encourages us to sit still and value the empty space by going nowhere. This talk reminds me about the great BBC production "The Big Silence", in which participants from all walks of life, started to incorporate stillness in their everyday lives.
Via @caitlincasella.
Kira Nichols creates some wonderful funny bookmarks that she sells through her Etsy shop. Have you ever bought a bookmark that includes a pair of witch legs before? I just love these!
Can't remember where I found this, sorry.
That is high … very high! A tower climber makes it to the top of this 1500 feet (457.2 meters) analog broadcast antenna near Salem, South Dakota.
You find more details of the climb here.
Via @jordisoler.
Jason Bentley, KCRW's music director and the host of "Morning Becomes Eclectic", lists his top 10 albums of 2014:
Here is a Spotify playlist with all the albums put together by Matt Padberg.
Featured image: Jason's portrait by Brian Lowe via KCRW.
Via @RayLaMontagne.
A "fluffy bluebird" shoot by flickr user Kevin Casey Fleming. Great colours in this one!
Via Juana Martínez.
This luge run in Queenstown, New Zealand, looks fun and scary at the same time! It surprised me that you can take one of these runs and just wear a helmet for safety. On the other hand, since New Zealand is a top rugby nation, I guess that's considered more than enough with armour.
Featured image: New Zealand's captain Richie McCaw tackles England's Dave Attwood during a test match in Autumn International at Twickenham on November 8, 2014. Photograph by Adrian Dennis / AFP. Via Daily Mail.
Via @jordisoler.
Staggering (and somewhat sickening) numbers from Oxfam International reveals that wealth inequality is just getting worse:
The combined wealth of the richest 1 percent will overtake that of the other 99 percent of people next year unless the current trend of rising inequality is checked, Oxfam warned today ahead of the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.
[…]
Wealth: Having It All and Wanting More, a research paper published today by Oxfam, shows that the richest 1 percent have seen their share of global wealth increase from 44 percent in 2009 to 48 percent in 2014 and at this rate will be more than 50 percent in 2016. Members of this global elite had an average wealth of $2.7 million per adult in 2014.
Of the remaining 52 percent of global wealth, almost all (46 percent) is owned by the rest of the richest fifth of the world’s population. The other 80 percent share just 5.5 percent and had an average wealth of $3,851 per adult – that’s 1/700th of the average wealth of the 1 percent.
Featured image: "Jharkhand, India. A young boy carries a chunk of coal into the mining camp where he lives". Photograph by Robb Kendrick via National Geographic.
Pro skier and BASE jumper Erik Roner recreates the animated movie Up (2009) by sending himself up in the air with the help of 90 helium balloons that are connected to a lawn chair. Reaching his altitude, he then starts shooting at the balloons with his shotgun until he calmly falls to the ground and opens his parachute for a safe landing.
Via TAXI and Elite Daily.
This is the timelapse of European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst's 12 500 images that he took during his six month Blue Dot mission on the International Space Station. Breathtaking!
For more, watch when Alexander and a fellow astronaut have fun with a floating ball of water.
Reddit asks their readers about what is the laziest thing they've ever done. This wonderful story about a morning tired Operations Officer get told. Just great!
Via @tmcarr.
How does your body size compare to some of the giants of the ocean? A team of scientists and undergraduate students give us the answer in this interesting illustrated chart after having analyzed the body size for 25 marine species, including whales, sharks, squids, and other ocean giants.
Via @SheAHow.
The book "Thirty Days to Aerobic Self-Defense" by Roland Tseng turned into the workout program "Aerobic Self Defense". Roland, skilled in martial arts, is also known as an successfull entrepreneur, art collector and philanthropist:
Roland Tseng—a $38 million pledge, of which $9.5 million was paid in 2003, to California State University at Northridge. Tseng, 48, a Northern California entrepreneur and inventor, pledged to California State University at Northridge Chinese antiquities that Sotheby's, an appraisal company, has valued at $38 million. California State has already received works valued at $9.5 million, including a 3,000-year-old gold and bronze ritual vessel estimated to be worth $5.5 million. Tseng said that he would donate the remaining items over the next four years.
Artist Leigh Reyes does some calligraphy on water. When the ink gets mixed with the water, it's like watching some kind of special effects.
This is how the end result looks like.
Vis @jordisoler.
The average American worker needs to work more than a month to earn what the CEO makes in one hour.
Via @davebias.
Continuing on the Japanese theme: This is probably the same clip I watched a couple of years ago, passengers getting squeezed onto the subway train. If I were one of the passengers, this for sure would shake me up a little, but since they're doing it every day, I guess it eventually becomes a no-brainer.
During this demonstration of the Creative Prodikeys, rock 'n roll is made easy. To cite the instructor: "Rock 'n roll is very simple … just 4 counts".
Via @jordisoler.
Check out the animated life in the "forest" by director and designer Takeshi Tsunehashi.
It's really amusing to watch the famous Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, Japan. The traffic lights turn red at the same time in every direction, which creates these fascinating cycles of pedestrians and cars.
If you'd like, you can watch a live stream from the crossing on YouTube.
I've seen this Saturday Night Live segment called the "Dance Floor Killer" with Jim Parsons a few times when it's aired on television. I just think he's an astounding actor and I'm really looking forward to see him portrait various characters in the future.
Atlas Obscura takes us through some of the world's highest currencies.
[…] If a country undergoes a period of hyperinflation, currencies devalue in a very short amount of time, and the government may continue to print out very large denomination bills to compensate, sometimes in the millions, billions, and trillions.
[…] Zimbabwe had printed bills up to its largest, 100 trillion dollars, in 2009. According to the Wall Street Journal, this bill would not have even bought bus fare in the capital of Harare at the time.
Here is the famous 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note that won't even get you on the bus:
I must admit, it would be sort of fun to carry around one of these in the wallet. Several are sold through Ebay, so they are not that hard to come by.
Via @loretobgude.
To take a short nap is an art in itself. Depending on what you need to do right after you wake up, it determines the lenght of your nap. A really interesting read!
"Naps are actually more complicated than we realize," said David Dinges, a sleep scientist at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine. "You have to be deliberative about when you're going to nap, how long you're going to nap and if you're trying to use the nap relative to work or what you have coming up."
Update: You might have to do a Google search to read the full article.
Featured image: Cropped graphics with illustrations by Remie Geoffroi.
Via @Zhaams.
Photographer POP SNAP "dusted off" some Kodachrome slides that had been stored away for decades and began the cumbersome work of digitizing them. In the photo series "The Pop Snap Chronicles (1976-82)", the images consist mostly of buildings and structures and the majority of the them were shoot in Vancouver and California.
Vancouver – 1977:
Vancouver – January 1978:
Faversham apartments, Vancouver – January 1978:
Featured image: Kodachrome classic cardboard frame for 35 mm slides. Copyright by flickr users borealnz and FraserElliot via kirpi.it.
Via @hillcake.
Here's the story about the groundbreaking work of Bell System (AT&T/Western Electric) and their developement of the Picturephone, a invention we today take for granted when using a service like Skype. I had no idea that this device was used by the public as early as 1964.
Here is the debut of the first commercial Picturephone service in Pittsburgh 1970:
Via Boing Boing.
Upstate Diary met up with one of my favorite graphic designers, Woody Pirtle, to discuss various aspects of his professional life and the design industry:
UD: With all this new technology and software that is available for everybody now — do you think that it's still necessary to get a formal education in design?
WP: I do think that it's still a necessity. With continuing advancements in technology and the importance of ever emerging social media, it is crucial to master the tools and principles of design. That said, the availability of a keyboard doesn’t make one a designer. I think that in today’s world it is increasingly important for a young person pursuing a career in design to learn the history and development of graphic design. And, it is equally important to become familiar with the work of pioneers that have been instrumental in establishing the state of design today.
Woody's well-sorted desk:
Photo credit: Kate Orne
Via @pentagram.
I can get enough of seeing the work of climber Alex Honnold. Here he climbs the route called Heaven at Glacier Point in Yosemite. More details of the climb can be found here.
The music playing is "The Future Is Cold" by Vagabond.
Located in New York City, Streit's matzo factory produces 40% of the nations matzo, a unleavened Jewish bread that reminds me of the flat bread Swedish tunnbröd. Having been located in the same building since 1925, the documentary "Streit's: Matzo and the American Dream" by filmmaker Michael Levine will be a very unique and historic document since Streit's is about to relocate to a plant in Bergen County.
A great complement to this feature documentary film is the "short-documentary" by Martha Stewart visiting the factory:
Featured image: "A photo from the Streit's archives of an early Streit's Matzo billboard on what appears to be West 181st Street in Manhattan. The billboard advertises "Salty Moon Matzos," a poppy and onion matzo, and the first flavored matzo ever created." Via the documentary Facebook page.
Writer Austin Kleon sat a personal record last year by reading 70+ books. This is his advice on how to become an avid reader:
Via @jordisoler.
In "Sounds of Paragliding", sounds are used in a very tranquil way when capturing the flight of paraglider Théo de Blic.
Via @anyavp.
