I'm sure we have all been stuck in a slump when it comes to creativity, unable to find a way to jump start that creative brain of ours.  Well how about watching a video created by TO-FU. It's based on Paul Zii's list of 29 Ways to Stay Creative.  This list is full of ways to kick start your creativity and I personally have found that many of them work. I would have to say though #5 "quit beating yourself up" is one that I need to work on.  If any of my reader out there has another way to stay creative let me know. I would like to hear what you have to say.

 

Michael McCarthy known in the music world as Orka Veer has captured the attention of The Collective Loop. He currently has three albums in his arsenal of exceptional music; however, I would like to talk more about his first album "Sam's Solution".  This album came about due to Sam, a friend of Orka Veer's who has autism but used his personal talents to help those in need, which inspired Orka Veer to do the same. Orka Veer used his commitment to music and his selflessness and altruistic giving, and with his longing to cultivate these ideologies through his music, Orka Veer released and freely distributed his first full-length album "Sam's Solution". The album was later remastered through his record label Feudal Records and 100% of the profits benefited an autistic charity.

If that doesn't capture your heart then wait till you listen to this album.  It's structured with perfection and flow and it feels as though it's one whole track with many layers. Sam's Solution will have you feeling clear minded as you start to feel your mood change and inspiration starts flowing in. I have been listening to this album for a couple days and each time a new sound arises or a new mood forms. So with that being said, go and download his album "Sam's Solution" for FREE and experience it for yourself or have a listen to the album below.

Genis Carreras is the creator behind this stimulating series of Philographics posters. In this series, Genis is trying to explain the complex philosophical theories through basic shapes and a paragraph of text. The simplicity in these poster gives me a direct understanding of the concept while still proving to be very elegant. Check out more of Genis' site and see what you find.



Source: GrainEdit

Remember those days when you use to be able to throw a snowball at someone without hurting yourself. Well you're in luck, now you can use the Crossbow Snow Launcher ($40) and once again join the snowball fight. It's simple to use, just load a snowball into the front, pull back the lever, and fire that icy projectile at someone face. It goes up to 60 feet and it also includes a snowball press for those that have trouble even making snowballs. (This does occur). If shooting snowballs is not your thing, then use it to fling meatballs.















Source: Gizmodo

With shorter days and longer nights it can affect your mood, so how about relaxing with a new Playlist to get you through the long nights. Playlist-31 is here to give you that feeling of playing in the leaves or stuffing your face full of turkey. I'm not sure which one fur sure, but they both sound like fun. Lastly, here are some recommendations on some new finds like New Villager, The Drums "Money", Phantogram "Don't Move" and more...

If you want to check out any of the other Playlist then click on Archived Playlist in this post or on the right hand side of this blog or in the menu.

Tracklist

1. Black Rain by New Villager
2 Free My Mind by Katie Herzig 
3. Don't Move by Phantogram 
 4. Brush The Heat by Little Dragon 
5. Same Mum (Ghibli's In-House Love Affair Remix) by Braids
6. Only Girl by Ricky Eat Acid 
7. Moments by Giraffage
8. Green Aisles by Real Estate 
9. Up by Spirit Sisters 
10. Eyes Wide Open by Gotye
11. Money by The Drums 
12. Strictly game (Harlem Shakes Cover) by Tokyo Police Club 
13. The Modern Age by Exitmusic 
 14. Surface by Teen Daze 
 15. The Party & The After Party (Kastle Remix) by The Weeknd

The Carpenter is just the beginning for this series of short films regarding the art & science of professionals working with their hands. The way in which this video was shot was excellent with its use of motion tracking to point out different tools and unseen plans of the carpenter. It may be only a 1:41 but I'm impressed with his work. I took shop class and all but I couldn't do that. The most I could do was make a clock lamp.

Looking forward to seeing more video's by Deep Green Sea.




Source: JaredErickson

I have stumbled upon another 3D Pumpkin Carver, Scott Cummins who transforms pumpkins into three-dimensiona masterpieces. He will make anything from animals, humans, and fictional characters as you can see below. On his website he even goes into detail with tutorials on his tools and process of creating these 3D pumpkins. If you get a chance stop on by and see more of his work.

The Cabin, a platform high up on a sharp hillside overlooking the Lule River valley in Sweden. It's part of the Treehotel which is a themed hotel park consisting of tree house designs by some of the leading Scandinavian architects. There are currently 24 rooms planned, with six now available for booking for about $600 a night.

This Cabin is like a capsule, a foreign body in the trees. It offers a view that would make anyone want to stay here. It also has an interior that is just as cozy as the surroundings. Even the trip to your hotel  in the trees is a breathtaking adventure.  Don't forget to check out the other 5 rooms available to book on your next trip to Sweden.

Google has joined with Samsung to produce the Galaxy Nexus (TBA). This new phone will be the first to run the whole redesigned Andriod 4.0 or a.k.a Ice Cream Sandwich. Why they named it that I have no idea but it was bad naming. Yeah, what's your phone running? It's running "Ice Cream Sandwich". Really Google?  I'm going to have to give you an F for your failure in naming the new Andriod 4.0.

Now let's talk about some of the features on this new phone. It will be sporting a 4.65 inch; 720p high-definition sAMOLED curved Contour Display, LG LTE or HSPA+data, a 1.2GHz dual core processor, NFC technology for instant sharing of content and Google Wallet support. It also has Face Unlock a feature that gives you access to your phone using nothing but your mug, and a 5 megapixel rear camera with a LED flash boasting a single-motion panorama capability and a 1.3 megapixel front-facing cam, and 1080p video recording.

I think I found the phone that will be replacing my Google Nexus One?

I have been finding myself enjoying more and more the aesthetics of a bike and wanted to share some bikespiration. Bikespiration will be a monthly stream of wonderful bikes that I find inspiring and have that sexy bike appeal. If you guys out there want to help me find some sweet bikes you're always welcome to contact me and send me over some bikespiration. In the meantime, enjoy part one of The Collective Loop Bikespiration.

Someone is requesting you to play at their house party but you don't want to carry around all your equipment. Then the Numark DJ2Go ($60) will be your new little buddy.  This small sized DJ controller can be set up easily with one plug of a USB, letting you DJ an entire set using real controls. DJ2Go features two platters, a crossfader, pitch and levels, Deck A, Deck B, Master, and Headphone gain controls, and it's compatible with nearly any MIDI-complaint software.  It also comes with a special edition of Virtual DJ software, designed to mate perfectly with the capabilities of the controller. So no tweaking is needed but don't worry, if you wanted to tweak the controller you can.  This little guy is good for the price and for people who are starting out as a Virtual DJ.

 If anyone has one let me know what you think of it.

When you look at this house it looks very small, but don't let the outside sway your opinion till you see the inside. Mizuishi Architect Atelier has designed a house that was built on a triangle site which the river and the way were crossed and made to the acute angle.  The architect wanted to build the house with various relations to the river.

On the inside the level+1 floor is divided into small areas by structural narrow walls, which connected with the ridge line of the roof. So there are different open feelings that are still relative with the river. The dinning and kitchen area on the west side of the home have high ceiling to give it that larger feeling. The living area has low ceilings and has full-opening windows on both sides as a balcony and a bay window that spreads outward with a feeling of floating. The loft in the home has two skylights, one looking down at the river and the other looking up at the sky. This homes with it's spacious interior is clean, elegant and offers enough space for the whole family.  For the space and the way that it was built I find the house to be very functional and great space utilization.

You can see more pictures at Contemporist. Photos taken by Hiroshi Tanigawa

In the spirit of October and the ever approaching Halloween I wanted to share some of the works of Clifton Harvey, an Ohio based illustrator and digital artist. His Left Behind series is just mysterious and ominous and the details are just astonishing. Clifton takes normal photographs and then adds some anthropomorphic characters and effects and creates a whole new image to narrate a bit of abandoned history.

I’m fond of the delicate illustrations found in children’s picture books and the way artists visually describe narratives. I’m also drawn to the moralizing stories told in old fables and the harsh realities they depict. I used both of these deliberate narrative approaches as a foundation for my series Left Behind, in which drawn characters are integrated into photographic environments using the computer. The creatures depicted in this series exist as lingering manifestations of overindulgence and the festering shame of having one’s dignity stripped from them. Their temperaments range from passive and complacent to wretched and perverse. Once abandoned, they play out a narrative that echoes personal histories in skewed environments that mimic reality.

These digitally modified photographs are very detailed as you can see. They almost look like they have been hand drawn. What I like about these anthropomorphic characters is that it gives the images a more scary and empty feel to them that makes them dark and chilling. I would highly recommend checking out more of Clifton's work. If you're interested in buying some of his work, his store will be opening soon.

Nothing like a good mashup to get your morning going. Chris from Ithaca Audio has created this 24 video, live performance mashup as a follow up to their Don't Hold Back, Just Push Things Forward mashup. This project took about two months to create with countless hours searching through thousands of clips on YouTube. The performance was done on an AKAI APC 40 connect to Ableton Live. I have gone ahead added the track list below.


The Prodigy – Mindfields
Ludovico Einaudi – Nightbook
Haddaway – What is love
The Streets – Turn the page
4th Avenue Jones – Move on
Layo & Bushwaka – Love story
Adele – Rolling in the deep
The Killers – All these things that I’ve done
Death in Vegas – Aisha
Beyonce – Crazy in love
Felix Mendelssohn – A midsummer night’s dream
DJ Shadow – Organ donar
Destiny’s Child – Bug a boo
DJ Shadow – The number song (T La Rock – Breakdown / Don Covay – Bad Luck)
Daft Punk – Around the world
Queen/David Bowie – Under pressure
Aretha Franklin – Deeper love
Peter Carpenter – The theme from Magnum P.I
Klaxons – Gravitys rainbox (Soulwax remix)
Michael Jackson – Scream
The Verve – Bittersweet symphony
Run DMC/Aerosmith – Walk this way
Basement Jaxx – Do your thing
Faithless – Take the long way home