Hope springs eternal
As I was walking home today, I happened to glance into the window of an open retail space and saw floor plans for a dunkin donuts. What else could someone ask for than a dunkin' donuts across the street from the office.
Beantown-style coffee with double sugar and double cream galore!
LEGO my beijing olympics
With the olympics behind us, I'm not sure what to do with myself. What is there to do between the hours of midnight and 2am?
The Hong Kong Lego User Group built structures to help us remember the amazing structures built for the lego. Check it out here.
The intersection of art and commercialism
A lot of fashion retailers are partnering with designers and artists to promote their brand. Nike has partnered with experimental theater director, Robert Wilson (whose art has appeared in the Guggenheim, Metropolitan Opera of New York, and the Centre Pompidou) to create video portraits for Nike store retail displays.
While not for all companies, I feel that this is a refreshing injection of perspective into a brand. While in Japan, K learned that Chanel's mobile art container. Chanel partnered with famed architect Zaha Hadid to create and curate an multi-media experience. The traveling exhibit launched in HK, made a pit stop in Harajuku, and will end in Paris. Luckily for us, the rush line was pretty short and we were able to get into the exhibit.
Upon entering the container, you're directed to sit down and wait while the all-black-outfitted workers set you up with a personalized mp3 audio guide. A melange of music, voice-overs, and sound effects direct you through the container, telling you to stand-up, look-up, and walk to the next exhibit. Controlling your movements allowed each of us to experience a personal connection with the narrator and art. The 20 different pieces reflected their impressions of chanel, handbags, and leather. I was surprised how edgy some of the content was.
The container lands in New York between October 20 and Nov 9. To read more about visiting it while in NY, check out the NY Times article here.
Soy Sauce – "Culinary Art from Japan"
Swedish ad agency, Scholz & Friends Sweden launches a soy sauce ad that sources traditional Japanese art.
Copy: "Culinary Art from Japan"
Zoom Zoom Zoom… (Chicago’s Air & Water Show)
I went to check out the 50th Annual Chicago's Air & Water show on the lakefront yesterday. A friend of mine lives across the street from lakeshore. Let me tell you, watching it from the 22nd floor is a lot better than having to deal with the insane crowd.
There were some amazing acrobatics:
cluster
Chicago loop
The B-2 "stealth" bomber flew by. It wasn't that hard to spot.
stealth
Originally uploaded by VinceHuang
And some old skool flybys:
drop
Check out more pics here. It's not too late, if you have time, I recommend a flyby.
Research shows that size does matter… for intelligence
There's an old chinese nursery rhyme that I learned when I was a kid. It's about having a big head:
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Loosely translated, it says:
Big head, big head
When it rains, I'm not worried
While other people have umbrellas
I have my big head
Beyond serving as an umbrella, researchers have found that smarter brains tend to be larger. With only 2% of the population scoring above a 130 on their IQ tests, this is not making it a happy Friday for me.
My small head is not happy. Not only is it tougher for me to have an IQ over 130, but I get really wet when it rains.
Read High-Aptitude Minds: The Neurological Roots of Genius in the Scientific American.
Starting to collecting jargons for a jar
Many of all work in the professional field. We often create an ecosystem of jargons terms. I don't know why I leverage these terms, but one day I'll figure it out and draw a strawman for you all.
According to Lucy Kellaway, business jargon cloaks the brutal modern workplace in such brainlessly upbeat language.
Read more about it here.
Top pics from japan
I've finally sorted, filtered, and uploaded pics from my trip to Japan. There is much more to come, but I've been running around looking for a new apartment in Chicago. I'll follow-up with posts to provide a narrative to the pics. But in the meanwhile, enjoy!
