We recommend turning off the sound and playing both videos at the same time. We came upon them when we were reading blogs the other morning, and were blown away by this kismet-ish reminder of simultaneity.
Read Morebuilding -> growing -> alive (in memory of eleanor mailloux)
Our dear friend and heroine Eleanor Mailloux passed away peacefully this morning. Just a year ago we posted a film of her in full regalia (above) for the wild Fasnacht Festival in her tiny Appalachian settlement of Helvetia where folks dress up in homemade masks to scare away Old Man Winter (this year’s took place…
Read Moreeddie izzard on passion in career choices
The divine Eddie Izzard on why people pursue alt-vocations like comedian, taxidermist, beekeeper: “…you got to go for that, you can’t just fall into it…you’ve got to want to be…” via Hip Girls Guide to Homemaking
Read Morethe swingin’ night before xmas
Cara de Silva sent us this fab video as a gift after watching our Ode to Joy post. It’s the great Django Reinhardt performing “Christmas Swing” (December 1937, Paris) set to footage from “The Night Before Christmas,” a television special from the 1950’s, sponsored by the Bell Telephone Company, PA., featuring the Mabel Beaton Marionettes.…
Read Moreplaying things by ear…
We recently got the news that a dear friend is seriously ill, and with it this message: sometimes you need to put your plans and schedules aside to show up elsewhere, and rise to challenges that may break your heart. So rather than worrying about posts and internet connections, we are going to just be…
Read More‘life edited’ challenge: ‘less but better’
Life Edited is a movement to reduce our environmental impact by simplifying our lives at home. In this short video, Treehugger founder Graham Hill sums up its challenge to rethink how you live, to reduce your footprint, to live better and save money and resources. He asks “What if I lived in a couple of…
Read Morestefan sagemeister on ‘serious failure’ and training the mind
Last March, we wrote about legendary graphic designer Stefan Sagemeister, who shutters his design studio every seven years to take a sabbatical, and explore new ideas. He recently spoke at Levi’s traveling print and design workshop; this video is a recap. The audio is not great but some terrific chunks come through. Here are some we love:…
Read Morethe oil spill: what you CAN do
Our feeling of powerlessness over the continuing oil spill in the Gulf Coast has made us feel just terrible… Until today, when the ever-wonderful Manhattan User’s Guide has published a long list of actions you can take in response to the Gulf Coast Oil Spill “large and small, short- and longterm”, from participating in a Hands-Across-The-Sand…
Read More(happy) memorial day
After we took a look at Wikipedia‘s entry about Memorial Day, we realized that, for us and many folks, the day has come to mean “the beginning of summer” rather than a remembrance of people who had died fighting in wars. We imagined losing someone we love that way and got a different view of…
Read Moremetal washer and attic insulation dress
For the yearly fashion show given by Ethical Culture Fieldston School in the Bronx, Isabel Cohen wired together hundreds of metal washers to make the halter top for her floor-length attic insulation skirt (inspired by jellyfish tentacles). It was her answer to the show’s challenging theme: “Create an outfit made of anything but fabric”. The show…
Read Morecool material: rubber paint (+ oscar diaz’ strap bag)
[Photo removed by request of Oscar Diaz. You can check photos out on Design Boom and on Diaz’ website.] The very resourceful designer Oscar Diaz, who once made gorgeous utensils out of plastic bottles, devised a huge shopping tote called “Glueline” made out of a web of ordinary strapping material secured with rubber…
Read Morea food movie gift for day-after-tg lazy-dogs
‘the improvised life’ was going to be dark today, while we move a tiny bit slower AND work on a post for next Tuesday’s special Manhattan User’s Guide 2009 New York Blogger’s Holiday Guide. But while reading Kottke yesterday morning, I came across this swell little video essay by Matt Zoller Seitz from Moving Image Source.…
Read Moredesign and x-ray vision
Sorry, this post was taken down at the request of the designer we featured.
Read Moreall TED talks on a spreadsheet
TED is a yearly conference (its motto is “ideas worth spreading”) as well as a website where you can watch videos of riveting talks by truly remarkable people. Some TED talks are so compelling that they continue to be blogged and referenced around the internet years after they first appeared, like Jill Bolte Taylor’s “My…
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