Ham and Heroin

Poster Text

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:44:19 -0700

Poster Text:

Site of the day.

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Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:34:43 -0700

Seeing as I start school today, this seems quite fitting.

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:13:48 -0700

Seeing as I start school today, this seems quite fitting.

Dad gets the kids while mom gets the ice creams in Bird Box...

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 09:48:22 -0700

Dad gets the kids while mom gets the ice creams in Bird Box Studio’s delightful Sketch Ice Creams.

Of all the bad dreams I have been having every now and then, last night’s takes the cake. I...

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 08:00:00 -0700

Of all the bad dreams I have been having every now and then, last night’s takes the cake. I won’t even elaborate on it because I’m trying my best to forget it as quickly possible. I woke up shaking and feeling sick and then immediately burst into tears. In some way I think I should feel relieved as I doubt I will ever dream anything else as bad as that but instead, I’m terrified to go back to sleep, fearing the same dream could return.

"Truth has nothing to do with the number of people it convinces."

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:49:20 -0700

“Truth has nothing to do with the number of people it convinces.”

- Paul Claudel

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Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:43:44 -0700

In the Congo, African children too small to carry a gun are sent...

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 20:21:53 -0700

In the Congo, African children too small to carry a gun are sent to the frontlines of war armed only with a whistle. Unthinkable, right? But sadly true. Wearing the Falling Whistle helps you share the tragic story of these forgotten children & gives them a voice. 100% of the proceeds goes to rehabilitating kids traumatized by the ongoing wars in Africa. Buy one here. [via.]

Song of the day: “Never Stop” by Chilly Gonzales

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 19:13:26 -0700

Song of the day: “Never Stop” by Chilly Gonzales

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Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:52:21 -0700

Your Brain On Computers

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:02:00 -0700

GLEN CANYON NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, Utah — Todd Braver emerges from a tent nestled against the canyon wall. He has a slight tan, except for a slim pale band around his wrist.

For the first time in three days in the wilderness, Mr. Braver is not wearing his watch. “I forgot,” he says.

It is a small thing, the kind of change many vacationers notice in themselves as they unwind and lose track of time. But for Mr. Braver and his companions, these moments lead to a question: What is happening to our brains?

Mr. Braver, a psychology professor at Washington University in St. Louis, was one of five neuroscientists on an unusual journey. They spent a week in late May in this remote area of southern Utah, rafting the San Juan River, camping on the soft banks and hiking the tributary canyons.

It was a primitive trip with a sophisticated goal: to understand how heavy use of digital devices and other technology changes how we think and behave, and how a retreat into nature might reverse those effects.

Cellphones do not work here, e-mail is inaccessible and laptops have been left behind. It is a trip into the heart of silence — increasingly rare now that people can get online even in far-flung vacation spots.

As they head down the tight curves the San Juan has carved from ancient sandstone, the travelers will, not surprisingly, unwind, sleep better and lose the nagging feeling to check for a phone in the pocket. But the significance of such changes is a matter of debate for them.

Some of the scientists say a vacation like this hardly warrants much scrutiny. But the trip’s organizer, David Strayer, a psychology professor at the University of Utah, says that studying what happens when we step away from our devices and rest our brains — in particular, how attention, memory and learning are affected — is important science.

“Attention is the holy grail,” Mr. Strayer says.

“Everything that you’re conscious of, everything you let in, everything you remember and you forget, depends on it.”

Echoing other researchers, Mr. Strayer says that understanding how attention works could help in the treatment of a host of maladies, like attention deficit disorder, schizophrenia and depression. And he says that on a day-to-day basis, too much digital stimulation can “take people who would be functioning O.K. and put them in a range where they’re not psychologically healthy.”

Continue reading here.

Where's your favorite place to buy clothes?

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:56:00 -0700

Oh man, probably Varga. The have a store in Santa Monica and one in West LA. If it wasn’t so expensive, I’d also say Speed on Melrose. Forever 21 and H&M make for good runners up though.

Ask me anything

The Japanese company Felissimo has created something akin to a...

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 21:09:00 -0700

The Japanese company Felissimo has created something akin to a ‘Colored Pencils of the Month Club’ but hold on, it’s way cooler than that. Each month for 20 months, 25 colors arrive by mail from Japan - packaged in like tones and hues. Each pencil is its own story. A unique hue with an inventive name to inspire the far corners of your creativity. Together, the colors suggest infinite possibilities.

“It’s about enjoying an unhurried creative process. As you build your collection, the pencils become your story and your experience.”

While the colored pencils from Felissimo are in fact art tools, they aren’t intended so much for creating art, but more for being art. Along with the pencils, Felissimo sends clear holders that can be combined to create an artistic design. You can choose one of the desktop holders, the freestanding “color wave” or my favorite (as shown above) the large modular wall display which, from afar, looks like a riot of color—only close up can one recognize the component parts. [via.]

Purchase your subscription here.

Want! Want! Want!

Why hello, house of my dreams.

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:09:13 -0700

Why hello, house of my dreams.

"Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live..."

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:08:20 -0700

“Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours.”

- Dale Carnegie

Using a variety of categories, metrics and methodology, Newsweek...

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:54:00 -0700

Using a variety of categories, metrics and methodology, Newsweek has come out with an interactive map that lists the “World’s Top 100 Countries”. Nations are ranked by economy, politics, health and overall quality of life. For more detail on how these nations were evaluated click here. Otherwise, skip to the map here to play around with it. It’s quite interesting to see where everybody falls on a visual level.

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Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:35:42 -0700

Humboldt Penguins chasing a butterfly around their enclosure at...

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:48:54 -0700

Humboldt Penguins chasing a butterfly around their enclosure at the Philadelphia Zoo.

Cute.

Illustrator Carlton Hibbert has a collection of artistic...

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 11:23:00 -0700

Illustrator Carlton Hibbert has a collection of artistic patterns that you can download, print, and color. Quite a few artists and illustrators have contributed to the collection, and all patterns are licensed under Creative Commons, which means you can use them freely. [via.]

There goes my afternoon…

Song of the day: “Freedom Hangs Like Heaven” by Iron...

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 11:20:52 -0700

Song of the day: “Freedom Hangs Like Heaven” by Iron And Wine