Brave New World

The Awesome Kinect Graffiti

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

Kinect Graffiti™ from Jean-Christophe Naour on Vimeo.

Makes me actually want a Kinect now.

"Kinect Graffiti is a digital graffiti tool using "Microsoft Kinect" camera.

Idea behind this project is to use the kinect to track the motion behind graffiti. Visualizing the body and drawing trough different angles in realtime, Understanding surrounding space, pausing the time, etc...

Kinect Graffiti is a tool built in processing & openGL, SimpleOpenNI, openNI and primeSense libraries.

More stills are available at :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/njc002/sets/72157626221800708/

Credits :
http://innoiz.com
http://jcnaour.com

Download for Windows 7 :
http://innoiz.com/apps/

(Music : Harmonic 313 - Galag-a)"

Douglas County Library Digital Promo Vid

2012-01-26T11:54:00.003-05:00

Video: DCL Digital Branch master By: AbundantLifeProd

Really nice promotional piece on the digital resources that DCL offers as well as addressing library relevancy in the 21st century.

[Well, it was a good video. - Bryan 2012-02-27]

Sketchtravel Project Animation

2012-01-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

SketchTravel from Curio on Vimeo.

The Sketchtravel project is a genius idea and for a great cause. I'd love to see this between art & visual resource librarians.

"This animated short was created as a part of Sketchtravel project
which is an international charity art project where one red sketchbook
was passed around between 71 artists around the globe for 4 and half
years.
The original Sketchbook was sold for 70,000 Euros (96,200 US$) and its
entire proceeds will go towards building libraries in the third world
countries in partnership with a child literacy non profit Room to
Read.

For more info, please go to www.sketchtravel.com

Directed/Animated by Dice Tsutsumi
Original Score - Zach Johnston | Dan Govier
Original Story - Dice Tsutsumi | Zach Johnston
Additional Animation - Jeremy McCracken | Ed Robbins
Additional Art - Robert Kondo | Jennifer Chang | Shelly Wan"

Morris Lessmore

2012-01-25T08:00:00.004-05:00

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore Trailer from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.

Yeah, I've been living under a rock for the past year. Finally, found the short film "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore." I love that William Joyce is involved, but I wish the ebook was more than just aniPad app. There's also a nice piece by the LA Times on it published on Monday.

"Inspired, in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, “Morris Lessmore” is a story of people who devote their lives to books and books who return the favor. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a poignant, humorous allegory about the curative powers of story. Using a variety of techniques (miniatures, computer animation, 2D animation) award winning author/ illustrator William Joyce and Co-director Brandon Oldenburg present a hybrid style of animation that harkens back to silent films and M-G-M Technicolor musicals. “Morris Lessmore” is old fashioned and cutting edge at the same time."

Andrew Berman's Writing Studio & Library

2012-01-24T06:41:00.003-05:00

Private Library from David Vegezzi on Vimeo.

Beautiful.

A short film about New York architect Andrew Berman's dream project.

Commissioned to design a writing studio in the woods in Long Island, he took the challenge and created a building which seems to float in a sea of foliage.

The film, while informative conveys the tranquility of the building by simply inviting you to enter and experience the pace of the writer's world inside.

http://www.andrewbermanarchitect.com

Directed & Produced by David Vegezzi

Cinematography by Ben Wolf

Edited by Carsten Becker

Music by Circle of Sound

© 2008 http://www.davidvegezzi.com

My office as winter wonderland [Flickr]

2012-01-13T05:26:41-08:00

Bryan Loar posted a photo:

New Eames Documentary

2011-12-16T18:19:00.002-05:00

Video: EAMES: The Architect and The Painter - Trailer

Looks to be good. I've seen a few other docs that were OK-ish, but I like the editing in their trailer.

Airing on PBS' American Masters on Monday the 19th.

Shushing the Stereotypes

2011-11-11T07:30:00.000-05:00

Video: Shushing the Stereotypes

Rebecca O'Neil (Westerville Public Library) and Rachel Rubin (Bexley Public Library) discuss 21st century librarians & libraries. The presentation was given on Nov. 10, 2011 at Pecha Kucha Columbus (OH).

Millennium park [Flickr]

2011-10-30T13:25:08-07:00

Bryan Loar posted a photo:

Chicago view [Flickr]

2011-10-28T16:45:09-07:00

Bryan Loar posted a photo:

Libraries: Virtual Models and Access

2011-10-13T08:18:00.001-04:00

Here is an opinion article that focuses on moving towards digital and away from repository models. The libraries cited are academic and geared towards science, tech, med (STM). One wonders if the sections at the public library that handle these will transform just like audio/visual/media.

However, if we are moving more towards a digital access model in the academics, who owns the content and will access be granted after terminating a license to content not owned? Although STM materials date quickly, there are constituencies other than their primary audiences (e.g. humanities).

http://www.postbulletin.com/news/stories/display.php?id=1471618

The two libraries cited:

Missouri University of Science and Technology
The library is primarily virtual, in that it provides access to information that is not physically stored on the UMR campus.

Stanford University Engineering Library
Recently opened and the lion's share of their physical resources are stored off-site.

Small Demons

2011-10-12T13:56:00.002-04:00

Interesting concept where stories are deconstructed to provide more information about people, places, and things (e.g. music, food & beverages, etc.) mentioned in a story. Small Demons trademarked the term to describe this as the "storyverse."

If I were an advertiser, I'd be all over this. Which makes be wonder...how much product placement currently happens in novels?

Now in beta at https://www.smalldemons.com/

Johan Rijpma

2011-09-15T08:00:00.001-04:00

Wachtmelodie from johan rijpma on Vimeo.

Johan's works have a great atmosphere. Their strangeness reminds me of Steven & Timothy Quay. While Guizmodo highlighted Johan's latest piece, I'd like to highlight Wachtmelodie, a stop-motion short that mixes photography, rubber bands, and video.

Barack Obama at Fort Hayes High School

2011-09-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

Video: A montage of videos of Obama's visit to Fort Hayes H.S.

Yesterday I had the privilege to see & listen to President Barack Obama. He was promoting the American Jobs Act, and he showcased Fort Hayes Arts & Academic High School as an example of what the act could do for other schools across the nation. It was the first political event that I have witnessed, and I was surprised by my emotions which ran from excitement to concern. It seemed as if the whole thing was orchestrated--the crowd responding appropriately at each pregnant pause, at each call-to-action. Of course, this is exactly what good speech writing is intended to do. However, it made me question a crowd's ability for rational thought/discourse in the presence of a dynamic leader. Signs were not allowed within the assembly, but that didn't stop a man & women outside the gates from peacefully protesting for African American reparations [seen & heard playing trumpet at the end of the video].

Content, Kings, and Libraries

2011-09-12T09:00:00.000-04:00

Image: Marshall McLuhan: You Know Nothing of My Work!

What happens when content is no longer king? What if we do move to a world where the medium is the message? How will this affect libraries?

I was reading the comment below that was posted on a review for Douglas Coupland's biography on Marshall McLuhan.

McLuhan is a central figure in speaking to what technology does to human beings, as was Jacques Ellul. Both these thinkers are extremely pessimistic so it's ironic that they're celebrated by technophiles. In this contradiction, I think, probably lies the heart of what digital technology is doing to content.
Content was king. Now content is giving way to that new 'something else' that can loosely be described as 'notion' - a creation of sound-bites, images, impressions, misquotes etc that attach to a singular emotion. McLuhan's content is terrifying; McLuhan's notion is however uplifting. We attach to his notion.
I really liked this review of the book.- J.S. Kitololo [Emphasis added]

If devices, such as mobile devices, change how we we think, how we organize, disseminate, and process information, what are the implications for the institutions we've created (i.e. libraries)? And if content truly is no longer king, do libraries need to place more resources into the medium?

Library of the Early Mind Update

2011-08-28T08:00:00.001-04:00

Video: Library of the Early Mind Trailer:

Sad to have missed the screening of Library of the Early Mind: A grown-up look at children's literature when it came to The Ohio State University in May. According to their Facebook page, it will be available for digital download in autumn 2011 and dvd sometime thereafter.

Steven Withrow, the doc's co-producer, was kind enough to leave a comment on my original post in '09.

For more info, visit http://www.libraryoftheearlymind.com/

Obselidia

2011-08-27T08:00:00.001-04:00

Video: Obselidia Movie Trailer:

Looks to be interesting.

"George (Michael Piccirilli) is a librarian assembling a collection of outdated ideas and inventions who believes that love is just one more obsolete concept, and Sophie (Gaynor Howe) is a projectionist who believes just the opposite." - Netflix

Please Donate to Pelotonia 2011

2011-08-26T12:20:00.003-04:00

Great video for a very worthy cause. Please donate here.

100% of every dollar raised by every rider and volunteer directly benefits cancer research at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.

Foul Play

2011-08-26T08:00:00.002-04:00

Video: Foul Play Original Trailer (1978):

Somehow this movie has not made all the top 10 lists. Note: Goldie Hawn's character is a librarian.

NYPL & The Real Winnie-the-Pooh

2011-08-25T08:00:00.001-04:00

Image: NYPL's Winnie-the-Pooh Collection:

I recently learned that the New York Public Library owns the actual stuffed animals that Christopher Robin Milne played with. Time to plan another trip to NYC!

Goodbye Columbus

2011-08-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

Image: Goodbye Columbus Poster via IMDB:

Character Neil Klugman on working at the library.

Mrs. Ben Patimkin: "It must be very interesting...the library business."
Klugman: "I don't know. Yeah, I guess so."

Ouch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M2xLSsy1XM#t=2m21s

Pelotonia 2011 Please Join Me in Fighting Cancer

2011-08-22T12:12:00.003-04:00

As you may or may not know, my grandmother, two grandfathers, and father had cancer. Their lives were cut short, and their void can not be filled. Each step closer we come to eradicating all forms of cancer means we are another step closer to stopping the pain and suffering caused by this disease.

The Event | On August 19th, Pelotonia11 launched a community of almost 5,000 riders and further engaged thousands of volunteers who continue to work tirelessly toward one goal - to find a cure for cancer. 100% of every dollar raised by every rider and volunteer directly benefits cancer research at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.

The Success | Pelotonia09 netted $4.5M and Pelotonia10 netted $7.8M in proceeds for The James. Again, every dollar raised benefited cancer research! And, our Simply Community peloton raised approximately $40k in 2010 and we are enthusiastically pursuing far more this year!

The Ask | Respectfully, I ask for your support of our Simply Community peloton (if you have not already extended your generosity to others). Our “ask” is an eleven dollar ($11) donation in honor of Pelotonia11, the third anniversary of this amazing grassroots initiative.

To Pledge | Follow this link:
http://www.mypelotonia.org/riders_profile.jsp?MemberID=108050

It’s tough to acknowledge that cancer knows no strangers but it is absolutely true. Each of us is surrounded by too many family members and friends enduring a battle with this horrific disease. I believe the cure is inevitable but funding will support the speed by which it is discovered. Thank you.

Black White + Gray

2011-08-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

Video: Black White + Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe Trailer

An interesting documentary with, as you might have guessed, an emphasis on Wagstaff--a collector whose story I was not familiar with.

Lynn Whipple

2011-08-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

Image: Lynn Whipple's She Would Look Good in a Paper Bag

While in Orlando, FL, I came across Lynn Whipple's amazing mixed-media art. Her work was on display with other artists at the hotel that we were staying at which was near several arts institutions.

For more info, please visit http://lynnwhipple.com/

The Universe of Keith Haring

2011-08-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

Video: The Universe of Keith Haring trailer

Nice doc I recently watched on Haring.

Orlando Public Library

2011-08-18T08:00:00.001-04:00

Image: Orlando Public Library

In June I had the good fortune to visit one of Urban Libraries Council's 2010 Top Innovators (PDF). Although the building exudes a certain sense of austerity, it was a pleasure to see the library bustling on a Sunday afternoon (although my pictures do not portray that...I usually shy away from taking pictures of people). When I entered the building, a lecture was just concluding, the children's area was hoping, and the entire library appeared to be well attended.

Flickr Slideshow: Orlando Public Library

Art of the Steal

2011-08-17T08:00:00.001-04:00

Image: Art of the Steal Poster

Video: Art of the Steal Trailer

Recently, I watched Art of the Steal for the second time. Still upsetting.

Renovated OSU Thompson Library

2011-08-16T08:00:00.001-04:00

Image: William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library Grand Reading Room

Last September, I had the opportunity to visit Ohio State University's newly renovated William Oxley Thompson M emorial Library as well as their renovated student center. Below are some pics from that trip.

One big takeaway is that the architects skillfully manipulated the stacks. Once seen as a dark, dingy, filthy, and, I guess to some, erotic [insert: ewww] place, the stacks have become a light-filled jewel within the library.

Thompson Library renovation architects: Acock Associates Architects/Gund Partnership

Flickr Slideshow: Ohio State University & the Thompson Library

Links for 2009-07-12 [del.icio.us]

2009-07-13T00:00:00-07:00

SLA: Architecture, Building Engineering, Construction, and Design Caucus

Links for 2009-06-10 [del.icio.us]

2009-06-11T00:00:00-07:00

Material ConneXion
"Material ConneXion is the leading global platform for material solutions and innovations." Material ConneXion has material libraries in New York, Bangkok, Cologne, Daegu and Milan.
Resource Directors Association (RDA)
RDA's intent is to promote and create standards for librarians who work in the architecture and design community.

Links for 2009-03-12 [del.icio.us]

2009-03-13T00:00:00-07:00

TrendStop
Trendstop is "the essential fashion trend decoder for fashion industry."

Links for 2009-03-09 [del.icio.us]

2009-03-10T00:00:00-07:00

United States Patent and Trademark Office
"The US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) now offers World-Wide Web (Web) access to bibliographic and full-text patent databases."
Boonika Studios
Boonika Studios is a collective of for-hire designers that have expertise in design, illustration, film, photography, and web design.

Links for 2009-03-04 [del.icio.us]

2009-03-05T00:00:00-08:00

Hey
Hey is the blog of Hey studio in Barcelona.

Links for 2009-02-27 [del.icio.us]

2009-02-28T00:00:00-08:00

ISO50: The Visual Work of Scott Hansen
ISO50 is graphic designer Scott Hansen's blog.

Links for 2009-02-25 [del.icio.us]

2009-02-26T00:00:00-08:00

Overspray Magazine: Blog
"The spot to find out what's going on in the street art universe, curated by your friends at Overspray, the international street art magazine."
The Hipster Handbook
The Hipster Handbook is a promotional Web site for the book by the same title. Included in the site are links to hipster Web sites.