interesting...

It's been too long

I'm disappointed in myself for how long it's been since I last posted. Sure, a lot has been going on, but it's not like these posts are poetic masterpieces...I mean, come on.
So without further ado, here's something really effin cool brought to you by Puma and some smart packaging engineers:


This is Re:Boot, a project undertaken 3 years ago by Puma engineers to rethink something that's remained the same for 30+ years - the shoebox. Read the full story here.

SXSW 2010

After an incredible week in Austin, I'll be getting back to regular posting. First up when I get back, dissecting the interactive portion of SXSW (that's the little orange guy on the right).

Road Trains

It's been an absurdly busy week or so, however I stumbled across this gem of an article and wanted to share. Years ago I saw a Discovery channel program about proposed highway trains in San Francisco. However, back then they were mechanical - cars could join a center lane (conveyor belt thingy) and travel at a high rate of speed from one destination to another, eliminating the need for steering, braking, or anything really. The big knock on them was that they required major infrastructure changes - and as we've seen over and over again with the electric car industry, changing this nation's transportation infrastructure is almost blasphemous.

However, now that more and more cars on the road are essentially computers, utilizing technology like Wi-Fi to have them communicate with one another is a distinct possibility. Check out this interesting article and read all about Road Trains - they're feasible and could change transportation for the better immediately.

Cool stuff.

OK GO

Incredible video for Ok Go's 'This Too Shall Pass.'

The Days Are Getting Shorter

Interesting article about how the Chilean earthquake has actually shortened the Earth's daily cycle by 1.26 microseconds. Crazy. Read the article Check it out here.

APRICOT

"She treated him with the intelligence he deserved..."

Micro Workers

Here's an interesting idea. Got a tiny job? say, driving a little traffic to your blog, improving your search results, etc? Micro Workers is a site that pairs small jobs with people looking to make a few quick bucks doing them. Seems like an amazing idea for the unemployed...

Check it out here.

Corpsify

Big Spaceship has done it again, this time re-imagining the classic surrealist pastime 'exquisite corpse' in the online space.

Corpsify is only in beta phase, and isn't open to the public just yet, however, by following @Corpsify on Twitter, you'll get the access code, and can play/draw to your heart's content.

Cool stuff.

Today on TSAD: Old Country Buffet

Today TSAD's on shuffle and we're gonna jam to a couple of sweet tracks I've been digging recently, if you'll just follow me...

First up we have Broken Bells - also known as Danger Mouse and James Mercer (the Shin's lead) - with a sweet track called 'The High Road.'


See the rest of the post over here.

Space is Dope

Truly sweet pic. If NASA's good for one thing it's stunning imagery. See the full pic and more here.

Dante's Inferno: A Guide To Stunning

So if you're a gamer, odds are you've encountered some sort of messaging for EA's Dante's Inferno over this past year - whether you knew it at the time or not. This brilliant yearlong campaign done by Weiden+Kennedy set out both to advertise, as well as inform the average gamer about a truly twisted piece of literary history. A $200,000 budget broken up into 10 $20,000 months, the campaign apparently got 47 million impressions. Un. Fuckin. Believable.

Read the whole breakdown, month to month here.

Please Rob Me

So fitting. Just got back from a weeklong vacation in not so warm Florida to find this great site Please Rob Me. It's genius. 2010 has (so far) been all about Twitter 2.0...i.e. Foursquare, and its supposed journey into relevance.

Speedbump.

With all these people 'checking in' at concerts or restaurants or airports, not only was Foursquare becoming a running tally of what you were up to, but also of when you werent at home.

Enter PleaseRobMe.com. Tweets about vacations or check-ins at airports are declared 'recently empty homes' and 'opportunities.'

It's impressive to see a social media tool exploited so perfectly.

Puma Hardchorous

A great minisite for Puma done by Droga5. This is the second great example of a brand who understands the web, and isnt about building all-encompassing microsites, but instead featuring small initiatives (or in this case a scheduling anomaly) in smart, fun ways. Nice work.

Check it out here.

New Math

Another cool site exploring the relationships of everyday things, this time in equation form. You can check it out here.

Go Pickle!

Here's a cause worth getting involved with. Right this minute on Facebook, this courageous pickle (shown above) is attempting to gain more fans than the talentless band Nicklback. Join up here, and tell your friends - personally, I'm looking forward to the 'Can this can of peas get more fans than the Black Eyed Peas' group.

BrandBowl

It's amazing how quickly the superbowl has turned from a showcase of the finest advertising has to offer into the same 5 brands paying millions of dollars to yell at us or show us they can be funny too.

Lame.

Anyways, this is the BrandBowl, a live twitter aggregator to determine which superbowl ads are winners, losers, most controversial, blah blah blah. Check it out here.

Like I Said...Follow This Man

Indexed

A running blog of humorous Venn diagrams, charts and graphs all conceived, written and drawn by Jessica Hagy. There are some great ones on there (like the one above), and from the looks of her archive, she's been at this for some time now. I'm always impressed when you can tell someone just thinks about things differently than everyone else. This is a great example of that.

Check out her blog here.

Record Tripping

An incredible flash game designed and developed by the Bell Brothers. Great use of the scroll mouse, and absolutely flawless in terms of play.

Give it a whirl here.

Infographicity

A great interactive infographic dissecting Obama's 2010/2011 budgets. The New York Times consistently creates incredibly interesting graphics like these - it's a real wonder people actually read the hard copy version with great stuff like this available online.

Play around with it here.

What you'll see at Cannes this year...

A beautiful step away from what you normally see from safe driving campaigns. Truly powerful and effective. Excellent work.

Props

I've been featured on a pretty sweet site called Modern Copywriter. Flattering to say the least. Check it out here.

Smart, Smart Work

Recently came across this excellent piece of taxi advertising for the show Hoarders. Smart idea, and I cant for the life of me think of any other taxi ad that I've been impressed by (or remember for that matter), so well done. Read about it here.

Because I have a blog...

I feel somewhat obligated to post about the iPad. I'll keep it short. One word short in fact. Pass.

New Four Tet

The last track on a decent album released today. I dig it. Below, however, is my all-time favorite Four Tet track 'Hands.' Enjoy.

"Stop Spreading Viruses & Start Giving Gifts"

A great article from big spaceship's think blog about why 'viral' is an outdated concept, and what ad agencies can do about it.

Read it here.

Another Tea Thing...

Nothing like a cool Beatles accessory to increase the awesomeness of tea time. Check it out here.

Finally, A Comeback For All Those Annoying 13-Year-Olds On Xbox Live

Good at videogames? It's probably that big ol beautiful brain of yours.
Read this.

Sweet Typography

Stumbled across the work of Andrei D Robu today, and was blown away by some of his intricate typography. Check out some below, and his site here.

YouTube Disco

Some big news for music lovers today: YouTube has created a music archive/discovery tool called Disco. Check it out here.

Essentially, this is like relaunching MTV for a new generation, as you wont be looking through songs as much as you will music videos. Big, big stuff.

Unfortunate Spokespeople Part 1

PETA's latest athlete tie-in is an unfortunate one. Gilbert Arenas, the Washington Wizards star was suspended indefinitely after a post-game handgun incident in the team's locker room. Historically, Arenas is not the smartest guy, but now he's facing jail time, and the outside possibility of an NBA ban. Oh, but he doesn't wear fur, so that's a plus.

Valentines Day at White Castle

So apparently White Castle is taking reservations for the special evening of Feb 14th, and providing tale-side service, flowers, and candlelight. Stay tuned to see if Neil Patrick Harris will be there...if so, I'm in.

Oh, and this is no joke. Check out their site/make your reservation here.

Today on TSAD: RJD2/Bonobo

work-friendly music
I've been putting a lot of hours in at the office lately, and these two new releases are currently helping me get through it.

RJD2 - The Colossus

Aside from the dope album art. RJD2 delivers again. The first two tracks get the disc rollin, and it only gets better from there. Also, if you havent given RJD2 a listen until now, his older stuff is equally as awesome. Enjoy the new album.




Bonobo - One Offs Remixes and B Sides

Another new release this week, Bonobo, also known as Simon Green, put out an excellent compilation disc including Bonobo remixes of other artist's songs and other artist's remixes of a few classic Bonobo tracks. The result? An excellent, drum-heavy ambient/electro disc. Bottom line: it's groovy. Enjoy it.


To listen to the two discs, head over here.

The Making of Avatar

Basically what he's using (at around 13:30) is an advanced form of augmented reality. Jesus, this really is the future.

Follow This Man

Websperiment #1 - iPhone Voyeur

So here's the nerdalicious idea:
If you have an iPhone, please do the following:
On your homescreen, press the home button and the power button (on top right) at the same time...in other words, take a screenshot.
Then if you would be so kind, email me (gagnon.nate@gmail.com) your screenshot.

The goal is to put together a gallery of what apps people are using most frequently, or, what apps people are making most accessible to themselves.
Maybe we'll be able to learn a lot about people via their iPhone homescreen...and maybe not.

The photo to the right is mine.
Please note the following:
Contacts is long gone...they're all in the phone button anyway.
Remote is front and center because I have comfy couches.
I have and highly recommend The Weather Channel App...especially instead of that stupid, standard dashboard-esq weather one.
And I have a nice little social media row...although the jury is still out on foursquare.

So take a minute, and send yours my way. I'm going to put together a gallery, as well as any monumental findings (like that this was a total waste of time).
Thanks.

Accountability in Advertising

Clients are always looking for hard evidence that their advertising is working (which is another conversation entirely), just as agencies are constantly trying to convince their clients that they create tangible results.

Now one NY ad agency has done just this - simultaneously putting their money where their mouth is, and allowing you to do the same. Introducing the K.B.S.& P. Client Stock Index - an actual mutual fund you can invest in, comprised of their major clients.

Pretty cool stuff. Read about it here.

Stupid

So....let me get this straight, Diesel jeans wants you to be stupid? I'm not shocked. Not in the least. Most marketers not only want you to be stupid, they bank on it. Stupid customers pay more and ask less. But as a brand, do you really have to tell people this??

At least the song is ok...We Have Band - 'Honey Trap'

StripTea

A t-bag joke is just too easy.
View all 3 collections here. Awesome.

Brain Music

This song ended up on a lot of people's best-of-2009 lists. It's textured. It's frantic. And it's a little bit awesome.

Gold Panda:Quitters Raga

Alex Roman's The Third & The Seventh

This is all (ALL!) computer generated. Incredible. Long...but incredible.

Click : Lego

A great short film by Pereira & O'Dell. I think it hits the essence of Lego on the head. Enjoy.

Smarter Water

Rethink Hangers are a clever idea and a different take on recycling. However, I dont see this making much of an impact priced at $8 each. Still, nice thinking.

Verstehen sie Deutsch? Their site.

Impactist

Some of the best motion design I've come across. This is their latest promo, peeps the rest on their Vimeo page.