Roslyn

The 2016 Good Design Award results were announced recently with awards going to over 1000 entries in several different categories. But the coveted Grand Award of Japan’s most well-known design award, given to just 1 entry, was announced today. Last year the winner was a personal mobility chair and the year before that it was a robotic arm. This year, the grand prize went to a world map.

But the map of the world has been around for hundreds of years. So what’s so special about this map? To begin, Tokyo-based architect and artist Hajime Narukawa has a problem with our current map and he’s been working for years to try and fix it. In 1569 geographer Gerardus Mercator revealed his world map and, to this day, it’s the generally accepted image we have of this planet. But it has major flaws in that it dramatically distorts the sizes of Antarctica and Greenland.

Narukawa developed a map projection method called AuthaGraph (and founded a company of the same name in 2009) which aims to create maps that represent all land masses and seas as accurately as possible. Narukawa points out that in the past, his map probably wasn’t as relevant. A large bulk of the 20th century was dominated by an emphasis on East and West relations. But with issues like climate change, melting glaciers in Greenland and territorial sea claims, it’s time we establish a new view of the world: one that equally perceives all interests of our planet.

AuthaGraph not only faithfully represents all oceans and continents, but the map can be tessellated just like an MC Escher painting. Much in the same way that we can traverse the planet without ever coming to an end, “the AuthaGraphic world map provides an advanced precise perspective of our planet.”

Go here to find out where you can purchase posters and globes based on the AuthaGraph project. There’s an online shop that carries them too.

The Museum of Modern Art, New York has acquired the original 176 emojis designed in 1999 by Shigetaka Kurita.

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These photos may seem to depict a $160,000 luxury automobile zooming through sand, snow, sea foam and salt flats, but the objects on your screen are smaller than they appear. The lack of a person sitting in the driver’s seat is not an indication that the car is self-driving: it’s because the car itself stands only a few inches tall. This version of it, anyway. Photographer Felix Hernandez bought a $40 scale model of the Audi R8 sports car on the internet and created the sets in his studio, with astonishingly realistic results.

The automaker commissioned Hernandez to create the series as a promotion for the high-end car. As behind-the-scenes photo of his studio setup reveal, most of the work is done with miniatures and special effects rendered mostly in ordinary edible household products. Careful lighting, staging and camera angles make the models appear full-sized, so minimal Photoshopping is needed for the final effect.

“I love photo manipulation and digital art, but what’s really cool is doing as much as you can in-camera,” says Hernandez in a piece he wrote for PetaPixel. “For snow scenes, I use wheat flour. For desert scenes, I use corn flour. For atmosphere, I add smoke. For rain, I spray water. For droplets, I add corn syrup. In some photos, I add images into my background. I also use Photoshop for adding effects that are difficult or impossible to do in-camera – things like adding a sense of motion, color grading, etc.”

Previous photosets have included a series in which the artist took photos of a young boy and a miniature boat and blended them together in Photoshop, as well as Stormtrooper figurines hand-painted to make them appear more rugged and worn. See them all on Behance.

the true consequence of global warming is having to keep wearing shorts in these shaveless months

bigblueboo:

negative space grid

daisyisobelridley:

Spirited Away (2001) dir. Hayao Miyazaki

forever reblog

vintagegeekculture:

I don’t know the context for this, but it isn’t necessary. A more truthful ad has never been printed.

keep lookin’ jesse.

(via ARTnews)

Check out the new Better Book Titles book.

Motoi Yamamoto refers to himself as a “Salt Installation Artist.” Working with a tool that resembles a baster loaded with salt, he “paints” intricate, three-dimensional labyrinths of salt. And he’s been doing so ever since his sister passed away from a brain tumor at the age of 24.

We think of salt primarily as a cooking ingredient but in Japan it’s an element of the Shinto tradition that symbolizes purification. And it plays a fundamental role in rites surrounding death.

For the last several years Yamamoto has traveled the world creating sprawling installations of poured salt that resemble mazes, tree roots, whirlpools or the universe. Figuratively and literally one can easily get lost in the intricate installations that are the result of hours of meticulous pouring.

His latest installation is on view during the Setouchi Triennale 2016 on the island of Takamijima. “Floating Garden” was created on the 2nd floor of an old Japanese home, and is “reminiscent of the tidal currents around the Shiwaku Islands, interspersed with spirals signifying rebirth and eternity.” As in standard Yamamoto tradition, the sculpture will be destroyed, and the salt returned to the sea, on the final day of the festival: November 6, 2016.

Heading to the Setouchi Triennale? Check out our guide to the art islands.

(via Clever Street Photos of Things Coming Together for a Curious Moment)

Totally doing this with my kids this weekend! Melting Skittles with hot water!

That’s a portion of the 2012 US Presidential election map of the southern states broken down by county: blue ones went Barack Obama’s way and counties in red voted for Mitt Romney.

But let’s go back to the Cretaceous Period, which lasted from 145 million years ago to 65 million years ago. Back then, the coastline of what is now North America looked like this:

Along that ancient coastline of a shallow sea, plankton with carbonate skeletons lived and died in massive numbers, accumulating into large chalk formations on the bottom of the sea. When the sea level dropped and the sea drained through the porous chalk, rich bands of soil were left right along the former coastline. When that area was settled and farmed in the 19th century, that rich soil was perfect for growing cotton. And cotton production was particularly profitable, so slaves were heavily used in those areas.

McClain, quoting from Booker T. Washington’s autobiography, Up From Slavery, points out: “The part of the country possessing this thick, dark and naturally rich soil was, of course, the part of the South where the slaves were most profitable, and consequently they were taken there in the largest numbers.” After the Civil War, a lot of former slaves stayed on this land, and while many migrated North, their families are still there.

The counties in which slave populations were highest before the Civil War are still home to large African American populations, which tend to vote for Democratic presidential candidates, even as the whiter counties around them vote for Republicans. The voting pattern of those counties on the map follows the Cretaceous coastline of 100 million years ago — the plankton fell, the cotton grew, the slaves bled into that rich soil, and their descendants later helped a black man reach the White House.

unexplained-events:

This rare footage of a gigantic sunfish was captured on film by photographer Miguel Pereira off the coast of Portugal.

“A few days before, my camera was damaged when the underwater housing flooded. The bad luck was compensated when diving with a GoPro I saw the giant Sunfish almost at surface level and practically static. The Sunfish seemed not to be bothered by our presence at all and followed us for 15 minutes.” -Miguel Pereira

I’m re-posting this comic because I live in America.

Here, the places I love most in the world are gripped by drought. I’m thinking of giving away my winter tracking guides because there’s never enough snow. Climate change is knocking on our door, and the fact that it’s already so evident is a bad sign: it means that we’re headed for a lot more warming.

But we can deal with this, people. We’re brilliant. We’re brave. What we need - besides some kinda magical cooling ray - is a batch of elected officials who are ready to be brave alongside us.

If climate change bums you out, don’t lose heart: it means you’re strong. You’ve personally confronted a huge issue. Why let yourself be governed by scared people who can’t face it, who equivocate and attack scientists and hide their heads in the sand?

My brave dear friends: let’s get our climate vote on.

Impact.

youlookshittygoodnightdenise:

ronnanlynnch:

RPGs, or relentlessly persistent girls by cassandrha

This concept is really interesting

1-star amazon review of cuisinart toaster oven

written using a predictive text interface

source: 1-star reviews of cuisinart toaster oven

itscolossal:

Treacherous Stair Steps by ‘Skurk’

(via Meet the Australian Artist Shrinking Cities into Dioramas | The Creators Project)

c-bassmeow:

samsweetmilk:

The economic realities of Baby boomers versus Millennials 

that comment has had me thinking for days… like im reblogging this shit a week later from my likes cus its the PERFECT analogy 

Photographer Mike Kelley visited airports around the world, took pictures of airplanes leaving, and then pieced the photos together in a series of composite photos. The result was Airportraits.

A bit about the arduous process:

I often get asked exactly just how ‘real’ these images are. And on one hand, they are as real as they get. I’d sit in one place for an entire day, and take a burst of pictures of each plane as it crossed in front of me. I’d then take one of those captures, wherever I thought I’d like that plane to be, and put it on my base image. Every plane in every picture was actually right in front of me at that point in time, and they are all exactly where they were relative to other planes in the frame. If you went to some of these spots, you’d see the exact same thing that I saw.

I want to buy a camera.

Tags: compositing, flights, photography

Ctrl-A, Ctrl-C, Alt-Tab, Ctrl-V, Ctrl-W, annnnd DONE! Done fifteen seconds faster than you, may I add. I can use these fifteen secs for anything I want, like maybe explaining how useful k-board shortcuts are to a norm-time idiot like you.

Alt-Tab, Alt-Tab, oh yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. By the end of today alone, I’ll have saved seven mins, collectively. How much time have you saved, sorry? Too hard to keep a time-gained/time-wasted log because you have to focus on moving your hand to your mouse and moving it back again? And with each movement, wearing away the cartilage in your elbow, which in 0.2 percent of cases could lead to minor pain and a rheumatologist appointment — a 45-minute affair, at least.

Yeah, if you don’t mind, I’ll stick with the k-board and save up enough time to thoroughly dry my hands after I speed-piss at 3:48.

Alt-Tab, Alt-Ctrl-Shift-F9. I programmed that last one myself. You know you can program your own shortcuts, right? Even if they don’t come standard on your machine you can do it? Did you know that? Like Alt-Ctrl-Shift-F9, which I programmed myself? It opens Outlook, finds the last message from my wife, replies with “Yes, Be home very soon. -H,” and sets a timer for three hours.

To a norm-time idiot, three hours might not seem like “very soon,” but when you think about how much time I can save using shortcuts in those three hours … Yeah, it makes sense.

And she’s already responded. I only read what fits in the pop-up notification. If you think your message is too important for seven-words-or-less, then I was going to cut you out of my life anyway. OK. Subject: “RE: What is wrong with you?” “I don’t think we’ve spoken in…” Alt-Ctrl-Shift-F9! Next! Alt-Tab, Alt-Shift-Tab. She’s great. I shouldn’t have waited till the second date to propose. Should’ve known after the first date — no, before.

Oof, I haven’t talked to a person for this long in a while. I can practically feel myself phasing out of hyper-time. I — I need to eat something. Mind plugging that hose into my arm? C’mon! Fine gimme it. Ah! God! My meals have been all-intravenal for the last two years. Can’t waste time on the mouth-to-stomach-to-nutrients thing. My old lady’s slaving away right now, prepping our dinner bags of nutrition goo — tonight it’s Recipe #4: Extra Vitamin B-12. Special occasion, we finally freed up enough time to meet our son.

New comic!

I believe that the 24 hour churn of clickbait ad-driven online media has really warped the way that we can engage in meaningful, productive, and good-faith discourse. When every nuance and opinion becomes meat for a breathless, reductive thinkpiece written to the lowest common denominator before the churn finds another tagline, we lose meaning and direction in the noise.

Oppression and power structures are made up of a million interlocking parts reified in every level and artifact of society. We need to talk about them, big and small. But reporting on discussions as though they are single issues outside of a larger context of critique and activism reduces and disempowers us. I wish all those websites would just leave us alone. Social activism isn’t an ‘outrage machine’. The machine is the sucking, hollow vacuum of ‘content driven media’. Fuck.

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