Mike showed me Newsmap - it's a visual display overlay on Google's news feed. You can customize the display to focus on topics and countries of interest. Most interestingly is the varying size of the topic display - the larger the display box size, the more the news item is being featured.
A neat way to see not just what's going on, but the news media's weight of focus.
I
I was trolling Flickr via compfight and came across this photostream by Lanuiop.
All I can gather from the 400 or so pics from the site is that this stunner's probably a freshman in college, from the Northwest (somewhere like Portland or Seattle) & his "muse" just happens to be his little sister.
...there's something very captivating and revealing about them.
They make me nostalgic for high school when I'd spend hours in the art or dance studios just messing around and being creative. The images illustrate perfectly - without the intention, it seems - that aspirational age when you want to be just a little bit older than your braces allow.
At the same time, his subjects seem perfectly self aware and comfortable in their own skin.
Not to get too VH1 Save the Music on it...but think every kid out there should have a camera or a camcorder...giving young people the tools to fully express their ideas, culture and perspective should be a people's priority.
Whew! P and I tore it up last night at All Day Buffet's first extravaganza at The Gallery Bar.
Great turnout, great cause...we helped raise $1,000 bucks for the kids...and made some new friends.
Great work, team.
All Day Buffet is on FaceBook
Mack did the flyer design I think is hot,
and Julian took some great shots that are on Flickr.
Holler at this!
<<Note to self: never leave home without some bronzer and eyeliner!!>>
Not too many people often characterize lawyers as creative types, but that can be attributed to the misconception that creativity is based in artistic ability.
Lawrence Lessig is creatively championing ideas through the law. I've read about him, but have just recently slowed down to recognize how great this legal scholar's impact is on the creative community and the way we exchange concepts.
Lessig is a constitutional law scholar, currently teaching at Stanford, heads up the school's Center for Internet and Society and chairs the Creative Commons.
His book "Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity" is next on my reading list.
And now for my Susan Powter "Stop the Insanity!" moment: In September, Creative Commons hosted a NYC party featuring (gasp!) ... Girl Talk! And now, they're raising money for Good Magazine which, I promise, was going to be featured in my next post...
Talk about connected...I think I might get a headache from too much excitement.
Girl Talk's newest album, Night Ripper, is a stew of samples that speaks directly to 80s children who grew up listening to Nirvana AND Biggie.
The man with the plan is 25 year old Gregg Gillis. He makes music that transcends 'mash-up', combining Top 40 rap, rock, r&b, and everything in between to make something TRULY original that anyone who loves good beats and melodies can enjoy.
Most interestingly, Gillis disclosed his day job in an interview with Pitchfork last August: biomedical engineer.
I'm in this experimental division where nobody knows what the hell is going on and we're just trying out new ideas. I find out what's not working about certain products and what can be better.
This guy is an innovator at both jobs: experimenting with ideas, making products and sounds work in new interesting ways.
Proof: Listen to how he mixes Biggie's "Juicy" with Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" or Pilot's "It's Magic" with Kanye's "Gold Digger" -- pure goodness!
