FLCL →
Long story short, this 6 episode anime series blew my mind. People new to anime may find FLCL overwhelming but it is nevertheless one to put at the top of your list.
Web users don’t double click. On the web you have to alert users when a double click is required to interact.
I love the STUDIO E-SPACE website and how they brought everything to life without making the content secondary or resorting to Flash animation. Well, I think they did… my Japanese is a bit rusty… Do click, because the illustrations are wonderful.
Note to self: You watched a pretty interesting documentary by Alan Berliner who explores his insomnia.
A little late, but happy holidays. I wish you all a safe and healthy 2008!
I accidentally came across a news article from 2006 about how Drachten stripped its streets from traffic lights to increase safety. And it works. The concept relies on shifting responsibility back from the government to the driver. Because drivers are no longer lead by the hand, they approach junctions with more care and are more aware of others. Although it does sounds like it’s nothing a little road rage can’t undo, as the level of safety does require certain amount of respect for your peers.
I frequently confuse Google AdWords with Google AdSense. Just now I noticed how Google kindly asks me if I’m looking for Google AdSense when I log in at Google AdWords. Of course they also ask me if I want an AdWords account and are eager to tell me more about it, but it’s nice to see a web service that tries to help me along when I get all confused. It is much friendlier than getting an error thrown saying something like “no such AdWords account exists”. Of course both pages look so much alike it’s bound to happen to many of us, but I do like Google’s solution.
Lime, Wild Strawberry, Cerulean and Dusty Grey are the colors of oddend. Name that Color is a simple tool by Chirag Mehta that translates your hex color codes to the closest named color. I was pleasantly surprised by ‘Wild Strawberry’ which is an awesome name for that color. It’s not that useful, but it somehow feels good to know the name of the colors you’re using.
The Perry Bible Fellowship is the home of tons of incredibly funny cartoons by Nicholas Gurewitch. I love the various styles and dry humor. Warning, lots of wasting time and snickering ahead. Don’t go there if you’ve got work to do.
I just watched Garden State (thanks for the tip Sandrijn!) and although I rather liked it, I must say I prefer the quite similar Lost in Translation. The numbness in Garden State just didn’t catch me as much as the dreamy, intimate feeling I got from Lost in Translation. Plus, I guess I’m a bigger Bill Murray fan than I thought.
I know it’s a bit late, but you’ve got to love Florentijn Hofman’s Rubber Duckie. This giant 20 meter high rubber duckie floats the river Loire in France during the contemporary-art exhibition Loire Estuary 2007. Thanks Wooster
I’ve been wanting to see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for a while, but kind of forgot that I wanted to…how fitting. I’ve just seen it and it really is a great movie with a spectacular atmosphere. I highly recommend watching it.
The Darkness Game →
Far too much unharnessed potential to be an awesome game.
When your house is scheduled to be demolished, what else can you do but build a giant warp tunnel of wood straight through your old home?
The Sword of the New World MMORPG is now in public beta. It’s a bit unconventional but—at first glance—seems to bring hardly anything new to the table. If you’re tempted to check it out, prepare for a multiple GB download and remember it’s still very much in beta. There are a few US servers and one UK/German server.
I enjoyed reading John Maeda’s laws of simplicity. He also touches on some interesting subjects in his weekly blog entries.
I just came across Gaia Online. A social network with many MMORPG influences. The avatar customization and virtual environments are done really well, as is the ‘gold coins for activity’ system.
The Face Research experiments are very intriguing. It’s fun to merge various faces and weird how the result very often turns out to be an attractive face. Go play.
I can’t wait to see more of Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed, let alone play it. If they deliver, this game has everything that makes a true next gen game. Let’s hope they do. It’s set to release this November.
Lomography and Wet Floor Actions →
Put Photoshop to work with a click.
