Check out this Eco-friendly enclosure. The Solid Wood Hard Drive Enclosure ($100-$145). It will keep your hard drive from getting banged up and it will give it a slick new look. These are handmade by two men in their Seattle shop using 100% reclaimed or discarded materials. These are one-of-a-kind drives typically house an included 500GB drive. It boasts its unique shapes with a hand oiled finish that are polished with a protective finishing wax to keep them looking great long after the drive has ceased to exist.

Keith Loutit is known for his Little Sydney series of short films, that present Sydney and its surroundings in miniature form. He basically scaled down, and sped up the film and it challenges people's perceptions of scale, helping them to distance themselves from place they know well. The videos that Keith has produced are one of wonder and and great imagination. I can only imagine how long it took for him to just put on of these masterpieces together. In an interview by "It's Nice That" it states that his work is heavily stylized, his aim is mostly documentary in nature. Keith stated I saw the combination of tilt shift and time-lapse photography as a means of creating a new style of documentary film-making. Keith is currently working on a new project called Small Worlds in which he documents the world's great cities, landscapes and monuments of the ancient world in miniature. Keith states from the interview that in a time of population explosion, impacts to our environment, and concern over limited resources our world feels smaller than ever and I hope that this work inspires people by presenting mankind as a positive collaborative force, and for people to see wonder in the ordinary.

So I came about this musician Vital from Change The Thought Blog. They posted a motion graphic video up called Airport. Which is Vital's video for his song called Airport. It was directed by TAKCOM. This video is not only interesting and intriguing but the music goes so well with the video. Vital is currently providing people with a free download of his EP which consists of 5 songs on his website. I highly recommend downloading his CD and just an FYI you should be able to download it as well on iTunes for free this month. Here is a little bit of information about Vital. Prior to starting his solo career Vital wanted to be behind the music scene, writing and contributing by recording demos for other musicians in the Bay Area. After being persuaded by the many people he met, he released two EP’s in the genre of Hip Hop and R&B.

“I never found my true self while doing what society expected me to do, I never felt at home doing what’s expected”.

Wanting to experiment more with the music, he felt it was a better reflection of himself. He then went into the studio to record his first solo album in the summer of 2008. Now, almost two years later he is now letting the world hear his music. His CD is one that I will consistently be playing and I think you should do the same.

I posted a while back ago on Playlist-08 a band called: Bombay Bicycle Club and their song "Always Like This". It's a deliciously danceable number, with an almost afro-pop melodious riff that would make Vampire Weekend jealous. Topped with Bombay's typically quivering, Devendra-esque vocals, the track looks to be a summer favorite. Bombay Bicycle Club are an indie rock band from Crouch End, London. This band is composed of Jack Steadman (lead vocals, guitar, xylophone), Jamie MacColl (lead guitar, backing vocals), Ed Nash (bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals) and Suren de Saram (drums, guitar, backing vocals). They released their first full length album back in July 2009 called: "I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose". So I have been getting down on the sounds of Bombay and thought it would only be fair to share the sounds of this talented band. They are currently working on a Acoustic album that will be available on CD and Vinyl, which is due to be released in July 2010. They are also filming a video for each song with the "watch listen tell" people, at locations which means a lot to the band.

Today I decided to finally start my Flickr account to share some of the photography shoots that I have taken over the last couple of months. I personally enjoy taking photos of nature and adding a little bit of a vintage look feel to them. There is something nostalgic when being in nature and that is what I try and capture. In my mind when I'm taking a picture I can already visually see it in a different light and layer context. I don't only just take nature shoots but that seems to be what I enjoy taking the most at this point. I'm still in my infant stage of photography and I look forward to learning more techniques and getting inspiration from others. In the meantime enjoy some of shoots. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think. If you want to add me to your Flickr account click here to add me.

I have been viewing a lot of photographers lately and I came upon Anna Verlet. Who I found her work to be amazing and translucent. Anna goes about her work with an admirable delicacy and there seems to be something so nostalgic and pure in the air of every shot. (abduzeedo.com) She takes a lot of unique and analogue type nature shots. Which I'm a fan of this style. I have been enjoying the vintage style and the still look of each shot. Many of them look like it was a not so sunny day and it was a little bit hazy in the morning mist. I highly recommend taking a look at more of her work because this girl has some great photography skills.

Check out more of her work on flickr or see more from Anna and give her a shout on twitter or facebook.

Last Thursday when I was in Ohio I played at a Sushi Spot called: Kasai. Nice place. I had an amazing time eating good sushi and playing with my DJ friends from back up north. Dom and Diddle both played some good tunes to keep me listening while delighting in my decadent sushi. If you didn't get a chance to listen to the live stream of my set then don't you worry your little self's because I recorded a mix the night before. So have a listen to Thoroughly Raw or download the set here.



Cover Art by: Damion Schweizer

So I was catching up on things in the world from being on vacation and I came upon two Nike's concepts. So I thought I would share them with you. The first was the Nike Sneaker Wire frame Sculpture that was made by Benedict Radcliffe. According to the artist, it took 2 months to finish the shoe. Nike Air Max 1 wire sculpture was constructed entirely out of bent steel rods. According to SneakerFreaker.com Radcliffe was commissioned to create a whopping 3.5 meter long giant Air Max sculpture for the Dizzee Rascal Air Max 90 launch at Nike Sportswear’s 1948 space in London.

The second thing I would like to share is the Nike Music Shoe it features Tokyo DJ duo Hifana playing with different Nike shoes by bending, twisting and bouncing. This video is pretty interesting when you think about it. It has to have some kind of sensor that then sends the signal to a programmed sound. It's quite fascinating how they worked their music in playing with shoes but I will advice that the shoe is sold at retailers but will NOT make music when bent or twisted. These are two interesting things to get you interested in the Nike products.

In being that it's 2010 we have seen that phones are now becoming more like little desktops in our hands. We have also over the years gotten use to having a camera built in to our phones. But now with high tech phones you can do more than just take a picture. In having a phone with the rich software applications that run on devices like the iPhone and Android, you get lots of cool new ways to put your cameraphone to good use.

Cameraphones are becoming a form of digital photographic memory, in which you can take a picture of basically anything that interest you. Now, with the right apps, you can also use your phone to scan barcodes and store them, and even translate and recognize text. You can even map out the location that you took the picture at and share it with multitude of social networks.

Google Goggles is a brand new application for Android phones that lets you search the web with an image. You just point your phone at an artwork, a book, DVD, or CD cover, a landmark, or a logo, and Goggles will return search results for that item. You can even point your phone at someone's business card, and Goggles can automatically add that person's name, address, phone number, email address and web site to your address book. Eventually, Goggles will be able to translate written text as well. So you could point your phone at a sign or menu in another language and get back Google Translate's translation.

What I am liking about the new cellphones like the iPhone and the Andriod is the barcode scanner which can scan a barcode on any product and give you prices from all over the web as well as retail outlets near you. Google Shopper is a similar application on Android: point your cameraphone at either a barcode or a book, CD, or DVD cover, and Shopper will show you prices and review of that product from around the web instantly.

Then their is the square bar code called QR Codes, are becoming a popular way to transmit information like web links and phone numbers directly to a phone without any typing. If your local coffee shop has a barcode in the window, for example, you could scan it on your phone and can instantly find reviews and more information without tapping a key.

Their is also a application that works on the Android that lets you store images of membership cards or big box store club cards that you use over and over again. Instead of crowding your keyring with your grocery, pharmacy, and movie rental place club card, take pictures of each one and store them in an image file on your phone. Then you can just have them scan your phone and Bam! You just saved tons of space on your key chain



Via Source: FastCompany.com

Adobe Creative Suite 5 is a collection of graphic design, video editing, and web development applications made by Adobe Systems. Adobe CS5 upgrade has arrived and though its previous version was released a year and a half ago many of us may have a feeling that they have upgraded only the other day. But the fact is that release cycle is every 18 months and now it is the right time for the new product version to come. The only web/design/development software collection that you would want to own Adobe Creative Suite 5 ($1700-$2600). It's available in five different sets, the new software includes the likes of Photoshop CS5, Illustrator CS5, InDesign CS5, Acrobat 9 Pro, Flash Catalyst CS5, Flash Professional CS5, Flash Builder 4, Dreamweaver CS5, Fireworks CS5, Contribute CS5, Adobe Premiere Pro CS5, After Effects CS5, Encore CS5, Soundbooth CS5, and a few others. Standout new features include Truer Edge technology for better masking, native 64-bit support (Photoshop, Premiere Pro and After Effects only), and the crazy-insane Content-Aware Fill feature.




Via Source: CS5.org, uncrate

I came across some works by Texas-base photographer Bryan Schutmatt. I quite enjoy his two series the "Western Frieze" and "Heartland". Each series captures a strange but familiar feeling like a moment trapped in time and you just got to witness it. It's like your the only one around. Per Jeffrey Teuton the Associate Director of Jen Bekman Gallery, states. His images carry a subtle hint of nostalgia that gives way to a more modern and compelling voice. This combination makes Bryan both an excellent photographer and storyteller—and, reflected in the images here—results in an incredible life and vibrancy which, in others' hands, could be mundane and quiet. What do you think?








Via: 20x200 Blog

Designed by: Damion Schweizer

So let me start off by saying it's going to be a great trip back to my home town of Akron, Ohio. I not only get to see a lot of good people but I get to play at a Sushi spot called Kasai. I was asked by the promoter Jamie Harvey who is also a good friend of mine if I wanted to play. I think she is doing a great job in putting together this unique and great idea of mixing music with good sushi food.

I will be playing with D!ddle who I have talked about before on here as well as Dom who is another great DJ and friend. Together the triple D's will be throwing down sets that will fill your ears with sounds of delight while your stomach is full of decadent sushi. So I know some of you are thinking well this sounds cool but I don't live anywhere near what city did say again. Well don't worry we have you covered on that as well. We will be streaming the live set on Ustream.com. If you want to listen in search Kasai22, the title of the show is Thoroughly Raw.

On a side note I will be throwing down a nice Chill Ambient set to go with the flow and atmosphere of the sushi spot. So hope to see you there or hope you tune in on 04/15/2010.

Here it is the new Hercules DJ Console Mk4. I'm currently rocking the DJ Console RMX by Hercules which I quite enjoy. It has a nice feel to it. Enough about the old version let discuss the newer version. Hercules DJ Console Mk4 ($275) the most portable and compact 2-deck DJ controller with built-in audio for PC and Mac, the Mk4 weighs just 3.3 lbs, and offers dual stereo outputs and inputs, a USB port for making nice with software programs, headphone output, microphone input, two jog wheels, a cross fader, dual volume faders, six EQ knobs, functions for automatic looks and recording mixes, and included VirtualDJ DJC Edition mixing software. This is a great way to do some mixing while saving some space in your place. So go out and pick one up and start mixing your heart away.

This Habitable Polyhedron is yet another strange and interesting outdoor living space. It was designed by Manuel Villa. This project was meant for a family house back yard in the suburbs, aimed at designing a small park or opened area where the young parents and their newborn child would enjoy a independent space from day to day house activities, a space for reading, playing, etc... Seeing how the project was focused on children the project was inspired in the shape’s perception processes that children develop in their first years of life. The basic shapes of things and their differences are key elements in the development of knowledge, and specifically in acquiring reading skills and geometric basic concepts. I thought that was an interesting way to look at the project and to find a way to increase knowledge just based on the shapes they chose for this design.

This is a nice design with a large beautiful window to capture the natural light. It has plenty of shelving and it also has a little drawing desk for you or your kids or for the hobbit living in your backyard.

Lindsey Carr is an artist living and working on the south west coast of Scotland. Where she produces some amazing works with acrylic and oil on wood. She also makes some interesting toys as well. This girl is very talented to say the least. I like her use of deep tone colors in each of her works. She uses birds and different animals to represent her mystical and magical world that her works take you to. You can get lost in the great details that she puts in each of her projects. If any of you are interested she does have prints for sale at society6.com. If you want a more comprehensive look into Lindsey's world of work it can be found on her blog, Little Robot, and her Etsy store as well.

I thought this was so interesting and would love to visit this bank. The Santander's Group City in Madrid is a huge complex city/company; nine buildings sheltering 5,500 employees of one of the largest banks in the world. This place seems so big that you wonder how you are going to find your way around and not get lost. So the company of course thought well how about a Robot to assist in this area. So they hired YDream to come up with a robot that could be like no other in the world. YDream then built the fleet of little red guys called "Interactive Guest Assistants" that use swarm interactions to guide high rolling bankers to their next conference or to the lunch room which ever they prefer. There's also a giant virtual wall full of financial gibberish presented in fancy ways, even an augmented reality map of the complex, all shown in a video below.

Playlist-12 has arrived and is ready for your ears to listen. In this mix I decided to try to mix up some chilled out dark Dubstep. Musically, dubstep is distinguished by its 2-step rhythm, or use of snare sounds similar to 2-step garage and grime, and an emphasis on bass, often producing "dark" sounds. Dubstep tracks are generally produced at a tempo of around 140 beats per minute and in recent years have developed signature half time rhythms, often heavily shuffled or syncopated, and usually, though not exclusively, including only one snare drum hit per bar, often on the third beat.(Wikipedia) This mix was a little challenging to me since I had never tried to mix Dubstep but I think it came out pretty cool. Their are some dark tracks but also some other chilled Ambient Dubstep to even it out. I do want to mention though that the first track does have some weird static in it. I downloaded the track 3 different times from different people and they all have the static. So it could just be the track.

You can stream Playlist-12 here. If you want to check out the other Playlist then click on Archived Playlists on the Right.


Cover Art by: Damion Schweizer

Tracklist

1. A1 Ghost Hardware - Burial
2. South London Boroughs - Burial
3. Contact - Djunya
4. Like an Eagle - Bassobese
5. Fostercare - Burial
6. D2 Unite - Burial
7. Goat Stare - Loefah
8. Monsoon (Loefah Remix) - Skream
9. Root - Loefah
10. Stand Clear - Benny Ill & DJ Hatcha
11. Conga Therapy - DJ Hatcha
12. Distant Lights - Burial
13. Nadeya - D1FUz3

Hope that everyone had a good Easter and that the Easter Bunny didn't scare the crap out of you. I got some Easter design motivation over the weekend so I thought I would share it with you all.



So I thought I would find something interesting to write about on this Monday. I stumbled upon Stukenborg's Letterpress Dice Prints. Each pattern is built by laying dice, one by one, on the bed of the letterpress and rolling ink directly onto the face of the dice for each impression. It looks to be very time consuming and well planned out before each dice is laid out. Here are some of the final prints. It’s amazing how many different patterns can be made with just dice. If your interested he does have prints available for sale. Check out his site.