March 2008

Commute haiku

Some simple poems from the past few commutes on the bus. *** The earth wakes Flesh-tinted bands stretch over A drop of blue in a clear pool *** Standing straight Hands in pockets Oakland frame store sentinels *** Child pacing in cold Trying to shake Anxiety of the day *** Ethnic huddles in the city…more

“I was a producer of materiality and I am ashamed of this fact. Everything I designed was unnecessary…I want to find a new way of expressing myself …design is a dreadful form of expression.” – Philippe Starck, voicing the new designer’s dilemma.

“Nobody knows anything about themselves because they’re all worried about everybody else.” – Jack Johnson – Wasting Time

YouTube – Top Gear: Aston Martin vs. Man On Jet Powered Roller Skates – whoa.

Washington Phillips, gospel music pioneer – apparently no one can figure out what kind of instrument he’s playing. Listen for yourself at Rhapsody. Totally unique…again via Alex, who guesses it was “a music box, plucked like a mandolin.”

Lincoln the innovator – “As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.”

NONOBJECT Design Fiction : Behind the Scenes Camera – fun concept design; a camera that takes two pictures at once, one forward and one backward.

Kidsave – Because Every Child Needs a Family – organization connects US and international orphaned kids to US families for short-term (and possibly permanent) stays.

“Possession is becoming progressively burdensome and wasteful and therefore obsolete.” – Buckminster Fuller