October 2005
About ten years ago a lamp by Pablo Pardo began appearing in hip restaurants in San Francisco and New York. Composed of a tear-drop, cast aluminum body and a sandblasted shade, the Sophie Lamp turned an ordinary table top into a dreamscape for intimate conversations. Coming from a family of designers, the work of Venezuelan-born Pablo Pardo is deceptively simple, often made from no more than a couple of materials, beautifully crafted and devoid of superflous details. Once in use, however, Pablo’s lamps take on a new character that is much more experiential than simply visual. It is the experience rather than the look of an object that Pablo sought in his designs.
Continue reading "Pablo Pardo" »
For pure entertainment on the go! The PET1000 plays DVD movies on a high-resolution 10.2 inch LCD screen. Enjoy multi-media ease with MPEG4 and DivX digital media format. High-quality S-video and component video output available.
Product Features
Large 10.2" high-definition LCD is ideal for enjoying your multiformat movies Dolby Digital-compatible
Thin, lightweight design (less than 3 pounds) for convenient travel
Outputs: component video and S-video
Rechargeable battery with up to 2-1/2 hours playback time
Dual headphone jacks so 2 people can listen in privacy
Includes palm-sized remote, AC/DC adapter, A/V cable, vehicle power adapter and rechargeable battery pack
Buy it online @ Amazon.com
The Creative Zen Vision has got to be one of the coolest new hard drive based multimedia devices on the market .Available in a sleek and spacious 30GB model, moments you cherish are now made for sharing. That's tens of thousands of photos, 120 hours of movies, or even 15,000 songs playing in your head. Tune in to the radio, record your favorite talk show, or make personal voice memos. It has a rechargeable Li-ion battery with 13 hours of battery life
Continue reading "Creative Zen Vision" »
Responding to Los Angeles’ cultural climates, LAXART questions given contexts for the exhibition of contemporary art, architecture, and design.
With a renewed vision for the potential of independent art spaces, LAXART provides a center for interdisciplinary discussion and interaction and for the production and exhibition of new exploratory work
The space responds to an urgency and obligation to provide an accessible exhibition space for contemporary artists, designers and architects.
They are having a launch party with work from 100+ artist on Saturday November 5th from 8PM. More information at www.laxart.org
Yahoo on Wednesday unveiled an online travel service that helps consumers not only book flights and hotels, but plan, organise and share trips via the internet. Yahoo has spent the past 18 months honing its new Trip Planner service. It weaves together many of Yahoo’s existing services such as maps, bulletin boards and local listings and allows consumers to create and print personalised trip itineraries. It also integrates services from Flickr, the online photo sharing company that Yahoo bought earlier this year. “The launch of Trip Planner and our expanded community and content offerings are just the beginning of our plans to build the ultimate online travel resource,” said James Slavet, general manager of Yahoo! Marketplace – Travel and Autos. It aims to do “what a great executive assistant or travel agent would do, but allows you to do it yourself,” he added.
Living Homes: With an immanent launch in Santa Monica, Living Homes is preparing to debut a structure that incorporates the key elements of eco-friendly home construction with an aesthetic that gracefully updates classic Southern California modern style.
With legendary architect Ray Kappe as their first designer, this aesthetic is coming straight from its progenitor. Founder of Sci-Arc and recipient of numerous awards, Kappe's residential work "has been characterized as 'the apotheosis of the California wood house.' Clear systems, harmony with nature, and environmental considerations are hallmarks of his approach."
Via Inhabitat
Go check out Travel & Leisure and read about the up and coming neighborhoods across Asia. Here is what they say about the Top 6 neighborhoods.
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong: A creative hub of café and consumer culture
Samcheong-dong, Seoul: An artists' colony and collectors' haunt
Chinatown, Singapore: A 21st-century take on the old-world trading post
Thonglor, Bangkok: The definition of Thai Modern (known here as 'dern)
Da-An Road, Taipei: Taiwan's designer enclave
Julu Road, Shanghai: A new-world spin on Old Shanghai
SXSW Interactive festival is now open for submission for their spring festival
Submit your Showcase
Submit your Film
Submit your Website
An incubator of new, cutting-edge technologies, the SXSW Interactive Festival is ground zero for the world's most creative web developers, designers, bloggers, wireless innovators and new media entrepreneurs. Stay ahead of the curve by attending this annual gathering of the brightest minds in emerging technology.
Home wireless networks are exploding in popularity. From my apartment I can see 14 different networks. But what really got be thinking about security was that 6 of the were totally unsecured. Anyone could log on and surf to their hearts content. Criminals will often use theses unsecured networks to hide their tracks. So, is your network secure? Here are some tips to secure your home wireless network.
Continue reading "Tips For Protecting your Home Wireless Network" »
Iridium's satellite network is the only truly global communications network providing voice, paging, 160-character two-way short text messaging (SMS), emergency 911 service (dial sequence 00-911) and internet access services to subscribers anywhere on the surface of the earth. Even the polar caps have Iridium coverage!
The Iridium 9505A is smaller, more power efficient and more water resistant than the ground-breaking original Iridium phone, the Iridium 9500. The internet access is 2400 bps (direct dial circuit switched)
Buy it On-Line at Infosat Communications
This fashion line designed by a four-man California collective is most aptly described as ’70s surfer-goes-to-prep-school. A little bit rumpled, a little bit whimsical, while still maintaining some semblance of traditional “class”, wares include illustrated t-shirts, hoodies, khakis and button downs.
Buy Trovata On-line at Revolve Clothing or Active Endeavors
If you are in New York this weekend don’t miss the AAF Contemporary Art Fair The contemporary art fair is the place for new and established collectors to discover and buy paintings, drawings, sculptures, video, photography and limited edition prints from distinguished galleries, all priced from $100 - $10,000. This year the Fair will host more than 140 galleries with approximately a quarter of the exhibitors from Europe, Canada and South America.
AAF will feature a variety of events during the four day Fair including a video and new media program, a weekend lecture series, a curated MFA candidate exhibition and children’s art workshops.
Thursday through Sunday October 27–30 2005 Pier 92, 52nd & 12 Ave. New York City
Exhibitor List
BEYOND THE POUR: Pairing Art and Wine Label Design
October 21, 2005 to January 29, 2006
San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design
If wine is a delight to the nose and palate, it is our eyes that are rewarded in the art of label design. For a label is like an invitation: a beckoning—offering visual clues to the personality of the wine even before the bottle is corked. For this unique exhibition, Bob Nugent, independent curator and curator for Imagery Winery, has chosen six Bay Area designers and eight artists for whom the art of labelmaking is celebrated.
Continue reading "Beyong the Pour: Pairing Art and Wine Label Design" »
An exquisite product design to excite your sense of aesthetics. From this concept is born the elegantly simple and slim form of the FinePix Z1. Every aspect from the lens to each screw has been specially developed to enhance the beauty of the Z1.
From the front, side, bottom, or any angle, the appearance is not only stunning, but also hints at the incredible power sheathed within its clean geometry. The distinctive U-shaped rear cover wraps around the body with organic symmetry that seems to mold to the curve of your palm. Meet "Z"--the symbol for innovation in digital camera design and
Buy it online from Amazon.com
The T-shirt has long been a fashion staple amongst teenagers worldwide, functioning as the medium of choice for subcultural communication for nearly 40 years. While many corporate brands still treat the common T-shirt as a mere billboard to propel their oversized logos into posterity, the trend has been to adopt a more creative, artistic approach in the temple of the tee. These canvases carry the silk screened and ironed-on legacies of countless anonymous artists. When Yoshi Kawasaki recognized the possibility of harnessing this network of potential “wall space”, his current T-shirt line, 2K by Gingham, was born.
Continue reading "2K by Gingham" »
The ultimate guide to the world's most special places to stay, from the author of the best-selling Hip Hotelsseries—featuring eighty remarkable destinations, many new to this book.
Herbert Ypma, creator of a whole new genre of style and travel books, has selected a galaxy of destination hotels that make travel dreams become reality. Every one is, in every sense, a Highly Individual Place.
This large-format, worldwide guide is divided into six sections—Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, North America, and South America—each with its own introduction and atmospheric historical map. You will be tempted, among a host of other alluring possibilities, by a stay in a classic Italian palazzo with a romantic rose garden, a magnificent mud Casbah set in a lush oasis, a traditional Japanese inn with a Zen ambience, a contemporary Tasmanian lodge overlooking idyllic turquoise waters, a rugged log cabin in the heart of the American Wild West, and an elegant colonial-style ranch set in acres of horse-riding country.
Featuring over 1,000 of Ypma's beautiful color photographs, this spectacular book will inspire and delight travelers everywhere.
Buy it from Amazon.com
Cloud Nine Composition contains five varieties: Tempranillo, Syrah, Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot. The founders of Cloud 9 sought out vineyard sources throughout California that best captured the old-world flavors of Rioja, Rhone, Piemonte, and Bordeaux. Each varietal component was then blended together in such a way as to not blend out the individual flavors, but rather to intensify and complement one another. By strictly tasting the wine on its own, it is very hard to identify the varietal components due to the blend. However, it does contain a typicity of Composition itself, which is recreated with each vintage.
Plush and nicely focused, with modest tannic grip to ripe plum, cherry, floral and red currant flavors underscored by generous vanilla and coconut notes. I intially tasted and smlled the caberenet but after collecting my thoughts could pick out no particualr varietal.
I bought mine at KLwines in San francisco but it can also be bought online at Bevmo.com
Wikitravel is a project to create a free, complete, up-to-date and reliable world-wide travel guide. So far they have 6682 destination guides and other articles written and edited by Wikitravellers from around the globe
The project was begun in July of 2003 by the two founders, Evan and Maj. It was inspired by Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org/), the free encyclopedia, and by the needs of travellers for timely information that long book-publishing cycles can't seem to meet.
Wikitravel is built with the spirit of sharing knowledge that makes travel so enjoyable. Whenever travellers meet each other on the road, they swap info about the places they came from and ask questions about places they're going. We want to make it easy to share that knowledge and let others share it; our copyleft license means that the facts you know can spread far and wide.
Go check it out and plunge forward if you feel inspired
The installation by Canadian writer and artist Douglas Coupland (Generation X) reflects on the impact of building toys –– how they affect our perceptions of the world and what we do as adults. Inspired by the 1960s toy kit Super City, Coupland has devised for the CCA an imaginary “future city” densely layered with elements of his own mental universe.
The exhibition continues until 20 November
11 August-20 November
Canadian Centre for Architecture, 1920 rue Baile, Montreal Canada
This revolutionary remote offers a single simple Activity-Based interface to control the home entertainment experience. The Phillips RC9800i does not only control your traditional Audio and Video equipment. It is also equipped to control new Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) devices, which allow the transfer of PC content such as MP3s and photos to your entertainment system.
With its easy setup wizard the RC9800i can be set up in a few simple steps. This helps the remote become intelligent and thus offering simple one-button Activity-Based control of your entertainment experience.
- Sharp color touch screen
- Built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b)
- Recognizes more than 600 brands of electronics devices
- Additional remote codes and features can be added via Internet
- Communicates with Philips Digital Media Manager PC software
- Uses UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) protocol
- Activity-based navigation and control
- Built-in rechargeable battery provides up to 24 hours of use
- Charging cradle included
It is a concept of a mobile phone developed basing on the most modern technologies. The entire face surface of this phone is a colour sensor display 4.2 in. in diagonal (a TFT-matrix of 700 times; 266 pixels) protected with a 2-mm transparent plastic shield.
Buttons appearing on the display are 13 in diameter. They are convenient to press with a finger. Besides the virtual controls, the telephone is equipped with a joystick. The standard position of the phone is vertical, but it can be turned horizontally when watching video. The joystick and the on/off button are of metal. The loudspeaker is located immediately between the sensor surface and the display.
The telephone will support GSM networks (900, 1800, 1900) as well as the 3G networks (the third generation). A wireless data exchange feature (Bluetooth 2) is provided to enable synchronization with a computer. A fuel cell-based battery feeds the telephone with electricity. The battery is charged by a wireless means: the phone should just be laid on a special pad connected to the electricity supply network
Who know when this is going to be available to the public, but damn does it look cool.
Via | Yanko Design |
CYDWOQ shoes are quality hand sculpted shoes with gracefully contoured soles that follow the shape of the foot. Lines creating geometric images on the foot, in contrast to the flowing curve of the sole, elevate the shoes to an art form.
Each CYDWOQ product is handcrafted by highly skilled craftsmen who take genuine pride in their work.
The CYDWOQ shoe line includes CYDWOQ Women's, CYDWOQ Men's, CYDWOQ Vintage Women's and CYDWOQ Vintage Men's.
The concept of creating architectural shoes that combine comfort with unique design was introduced in CYDWOQ's 1996 Spring/Summer line. In September of 1996, the CYDWOQ factory was established in Burbank, California to manufacture the shoes to the exact specifications and quality standards required by CYDWOQ designer, Rafi Balouzian.
You can buy them on-line at their website.
The Yestermorrow Design/Build School is a dynamic learning community exploring and teaching the integrated creative process of designing and building a sustainable future.
Yestermorrow offers over 100 hands-on courses per year in design, construction, woodworking, and architectural craft and offers a variety of courses concentrating in sustainable design. Now in its 25th year, Yestermorrow is one of the only design/build schools in the country, teaching both design and construction skills. Our 1-day to 2-week hands-on courses are taught by top architects, builders, and craftspeople from across the country. For people of all ages and experience levels, from novice to professional.
Airtroductions: If you’re the kind of person that likes to put on your headphones the second you board a plane, this site is not for you. But if you’re the kind of person the headphone-wearers are avoiding, then you’ll love Airtroductions. Targeting frequent flyers, Airtroductions gives users the opportunity to connect with others of their choosing for air travel. Whether professional or personal, users create a profile which is posted on the site. After entering an itinerary, users are then notified when others are booked on their same flight. Given the option to send an anonymous email, flyers can try to meet up before the flight and even try to sit next to each other
Zenga is the name given by the Japanese to the collective paintings and calligraphy of Zen monks from 1600 to the present The eastern tradition of monochrome ink painting is known in Japanese as suiboku-ga or sumi-e. While as an art form sumi-e originally evolved out of the calligraphy and painting of ancient China, the unique life present in sumi-e is breathed in through its connection with Zen Buddhism. Zenga is used in many ways. During meditation paintings are created as a tool to enhance one's focus and as a reflection on the meditation. Objects of Zenga are also used as meditation subjects, such as a scroll on a temple wall or a painting supplied by a teacher for this purpose. Most paintings are accompanied by poems, koans, or other commentary which generally takes the form of either the artist's reflection on his work or a teacher's message to be meditated upon by others.
The 26th Annual Exotic Erotic Ball
When: Saturday October 22nd 2005
Time 8:00 pm – 2:00 am
Cost General Admission tickets $59–$90, VIP Tickets $150–$200
Where: The Cow Palance, 2600 Geneva Avenue, San Francisco
San Francisco's Cow Palace hosts the annual Exotic Erotic Ball, an outrageously fabulous event for those with an extrovert streak, or those who just like streaking.
The Ball has been a regular occurrence in San Francisco since 1979 when it all began with Louis Abolafia and Perry Mann. Louie, also known as "The Love King", and "King of Hippies", is famous in his own right as an author, artist, founder of the Love-ins, Nudist Candidate for President, founder of the nation's first runaway hotline and most recently, as the founder and producer of the Exotic Erotic Ball.
The strictly over-21 event features sexobitionist freaks in outlandish, erotic attire that leaves little to the imagination. Leave your inhibitions at home and join in the fun.
A contemporary take on the classic candelabra, this Swedish design in chrome casts a soft accent light anywhere in your home. Electric with a convenient switch on the cord. Eight 12 volt bulbs included. I saw these in my Chiasso catalog but you can also buy them online.
Apple today introduced Aperture
, the first all-in-one post production tool that provides everything photographers need after the shoot. Aperture offers an advanced and incredibly fast RAW workflow that makes working with a camera's RAW images as easy as JPEG. Built from the ground up for pros, Aperture features powerful compare and select tools, nondestructive image processing, color managed printing and custom web and book publishing.
Continue reading "Apple Aperture Introduced" »
San Francisco based muzikwear is announces their first T-Shirt with their patent-pending availability wire management system.
The smart T-shirt has three components integrated: A Grip, a Slack Pocket and the Digital Player Pocket. The grip holds the cable of the head-set behind the head in place. The excess cable can hide in the slack pocket. The mp3 player is stored in the sleeve. The T-Shirt works with small players like the iPod nano, iPod shuffle or the Sony NW-E-500 series.
The shirts will be available in black, navy, and, white. (Sizes: S-XXL) Price for the T-Shirt is $29.99, available next week on the muzikwear site.
Laughing Squid turns 10 this year, so they are throwing a big party to celebrate our decade long experiment in underground art, culture and technology.
The party will be at Varnish Art Gallery & Wine bar 77 Natoma St San Francisco, California
Continue reading "Laughing Squid 10th Anniversary Party" »
From Sweden to your toes. Designer Pia Wallen has created the perfect unisex slipper for men and women. With her Scandinavian design approach she has created something comfortable yet modern – totally wearable and warm. Treat your toes to something nice. These slippers are made of 100% wool with a rubber texture on soles.
Pia Wallén has specialized on developing a variety of felt products with high quality and innovative design. Her most required products are the felt slippers with white stitching, the exclusive jewellery in sterling silver and the Crux blanket which comes in a very limited edition.
After 20 years of designing she is still true to the material she once started with – felt. However, the products today have had many years of refinement.
Buy Pia Wallen slippers online at Modern Seed
Eos Airlines, a new luxury carrier mentioned here previously, has opened the doors to its plush 48-seat Boeing 757s and is flying its first flights today. Operating exclusively, at least for the time being, between New York and London, Eos’ planes feature seats with 21 square feet of space, 78-inch pitch, completely flat fold-out beds with Tempur-pedic pillows, an “oversized” table for dining and work, and a extra seat for conversing with guests. Eos is currently flying one flight each way every day at an introductory rate of $5,000 round-trip.
Via Luxist
French for 'desire', Le Désir captures the grace and opulence of the best St. Emilion-styled wines. A Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend, with some Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine expresses extreme power, finesse and elegance. 2000 was the first vintage of Le Désir.
A blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Malbec, Le Désir represents the grace and opulence of the best St. Emilion-style wines. A deep claret color is followed by a sweet, black fruit nose. Le Désir’s complex character continues with ripe blackberry flavors that are surprisingly soft given the intensity of the fruit. This wine embodies a truly remarkable integration of wood, acidity, alcohol and tannin
Continue reading "Verite 2001 Le Desir" »
Described by Interior Design magazine as “exploding the definition of the chandelier,” Jonas Wannfors Kristall pendant is a shining triumph of material exploration. Designed to resemble the corona that surrounds most bright lights, the splayed star shape is created using bent acrylic rods, which carry light from a single halogen bulb at the top of the chandelier. Crackles in the interior of the rods further refract and maximize the light intensity. Because of the unique materials used, the chandelier sheds a combination of diffused and direct lighting, highlighted by each rod tip appearing as an individual pinpoint of light. Included halogen bulb will burn for 5,000 hours. UL listed.
Jonas Wannfors Design is part of the design cooperative Electric Boogie. Electric Boogie is a collaboration between several designers who do everything from art magazines to web applications to interior and product design.
In the United States the Kristall Chandelier can be bought at Design Within Reach.
The One Club teams up with Stash DVD magazine to present Onescreen — 60 minutes of film, commercials, viral, video, and design from 2005. Keeping with the One Club's commitment to raise the standards of advertising by opening up the medium to extra-commercial work, this program offers new output from the Designers Republic, Lobo, Nakd, MTV, and PostPanic; music videos from Nine Inch Nails, Alias, and SoCal's Valley Arena; illustrations from Derrick Hodgson and Dalek; and a rare chance to see what's pumping out of ad agencies Wieden + Kennedy Tokyo Lab, Modernista!, and TBWA Paris. DJs SMC and DRM keep things lively all night.
Continue reading "Onescreen" »
For the third year running, the Frieze Art Fair — London's contribution to the ever-expanding international art scene — takes place in Regent's Park. With more than 150 exhibitors from around the world, all focused solely on contemporary art, the fair can be a jamboree of the most manic dimensions. The scale of the event means exhibitors need to stand out, so alongside the traditional, you can see rather strange, shocking or gimmicky work. A speedy tour of what's going on globally, backed up with fascinating talks and on-site art projects, Frieze is no quiet stroll in the park.
Continue reading "Frieze Art Fair" »
Construction on the biggest San Francisco hotel in nearly 20 years is about to begin on a South of Market site a block away from Moscone Center.
The 550-room InterContinental hotel at Fifth and Howard streets will be geared toward the city's growing convention business and feature 43,000 square feet of ballrooms, meeting rooms and prefunction space
InterContinental Hotel
Address: 888 Howard St.
Rooms: 550, including 14 suites
Height: 32 stories (320 feet)
Developer: Continental Development Corp.
Architects: Patri+Merker; Hornberger+Worstell Completion date: November 2007
Amenities: Two ballrooms, 21 meeting rooms, fitness club, swimming pool, 90 valet parking spaces
The player comes in a tiny cubic package measuring 24 x 24 x 24 millimeters and weighs 18 grams or just under one square inch and about 0.64 ounces.The player has an FM radio and supports MP3 and WMA files. The MobiBLU DAH-1500 comes with a USB connection cable, headphone necklace, program CD, user guide, and protective case. The storage sizes available for the device are 512MB and 1GB.It is available in six colors and holds eight to 10 hours of music The mobiBLU sells at U.S. retailers for $129.72 for the one-gigabyte version, and less than $10
The mobiBLU makes for a nifty fashion accessory, and some users dangle it as jewelry with the necklace-style earbuds. Its manufacturer claims that it is the "world's smallest" digital audio player, but it packs a surprising number of features. It has a five-band equalizer and an FM tuner with 20 station presets.
The Turner Prize is an annual prize given to a British visual artist under 50, for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work in the twelve months preceding 9 May 2005, named after the painter J.M.W. Turner. It is organized by the Tate art gallery, and since its beginnings in 1984 it has become the United Kingdom's most publicised art award. The prize fund in 2004 was £40,000 with £25,000 being awarded to the winner and £5,000 each to the other shortlisted artists.
The four artists who have been shortlisted for the Turner Prize 2005 are Darren Almond, Gillian Carnegie, Jim Lambie and Simon Starling. The Turner Prize 2005 is supported by the makers of Gordon's.
R.A.G. (541 Octavia St. San Francisco , 415-621-7718) stands for "Residents Apparel Gallery." The funky collective shows off edgy, affordable men's and women's clothes from about 50 local designers. Bios tacked to the racks give the scoop on these up-and-comers like Chelsea Snyder, who has "been sewing since I was 10" and now creates placemat-size paisley miniskirts. R.A.G. doesn’t choose to have a specific taste instead prefers to showcase a wide range of styles ranging the gamut from deconstructed to very tailored pieces to represent the very diverse and unique styles in our community. R.A.G. currently showcases 40+ designers and rotates in a few new designers monthly
There are a bunch of new travel podcasts sprouting up all over the internet. All you need is a digital music player to get the skinny on urban destinations.
iToors Walks & Rides are dramatic audio tours taking you to a city's most interesting places by topic. You'll get the insider scoop on the lives, legends, stories and gossip that make a place come to life. We'll throw in a few facts for good measure, but these are anything but dry and academic.
Students at Marymount Manhattan College created Art Mobs. They've produced (unofficial) audio guides for MoMA, and they're making them available as podcasts
Blue Brolly is a U.K based company that produces self guided walking tours in and around London/
Antenna Audio gives you a behind the scenes look at Chicago’s Millennium Park through interviews with architect Frank Gehry and artist Anish Kapoor
AvroKO is an idea driven, integrated design and concept group that creates high-style architecture, brands and environments. As a collective of artistic abilities and disciplines, AvroKO designs with a unique, “open-media” format. This has led them to projects as varied as curating art shows for Sony and Banana Republic, producing graphics and branding work for clients such as Adidas, Baby Phat, Jennifer Lopez and Rimmel, as well as award-winning, concept based architecture for multiple New York restaurants, including PUBLIC, Sapa and Odea
They also have plans to design furniture and begin selling apartments.
Interesting idea about Apple’s next battle against cell phone makers
Now Apple has released its first portable video product, Apple's next battle can now commence. Forget the iRiver, the Sony MP3 players and even the PSP. They don't even register. Apple's true enemies are the mobile phone brands. Apple must face this battle - the Battle For The Bulge - because the mobile phone brands have already got the upperhand. You see, in the end we'll only want to carry one device in our pockets. A phone AND a media player is one bulge too many in our tight designer London Denim jeans. Phones are already omnipresent in a way Apple can only dream of. Your phone rides the train to work with you, goes to the beach with you, watches over you at night and wakes you up in the morning. Your phone keeps you in touch with your mates, even sends and receives pictures of them - and now your phone even plays video clips. It's a wherever, whenever product. The iPod, even the video iPod, looks distinctly 2D compared to standard cell phone. Yes, the iPod is a beautiful product with an amazing user interface and amazing memory. But memory capacity is not a defendable position -...
The Battle For The Bulge
L.A. based line Evil Genius brings you innovative designs with a casual yet punk rock feel. Composed primarily of jersey knit material, Evil Genius pieces reinvent what a t-shirt should and can be.
Buy Evil Genius online at Chocosho.com
The Sonos Digitial Music System allows you to play music stored on your computer (or network attached storage device) throughout your house, either wired or wirelessly. The Sonos system comes with two wireless remote controls that allow you to browse your music.To really understand what it can do, go to www.sonos.com and view their demo. That's what I had to do before I really "got it."
Overall the system is very well designed and works great. Setup is very easy Sound quality is good and the controller interface is great. Granted, it is kind of expensive, but Sonos does nicely fill the gap between less expensive PC-based solutions that don't work as well or seem like serious audio products, and the ridiculously expensive music servers from audio equipment manufacturers. If you want music throughout your house, you should check Sonos out.
Continue reading "Sonos Digital Music System" »
A working manuscript of one of Beethoven's final compositions has been rediscovered in a seminary library. It was found by a librarian clearing out old archives at the Palmer Theological Seminary and displayed briefly at the seminary Thursday in a glass case and under the eyes of several plainclothes guards.
The discovery was kept hidden since July while the bound manuscript, roughly the size of a magazine, was authenticated and appraised.
Tokion Magazine announces the Third Annual Creativity Now Conference, to be held at Cooper Union's historic Great Hall on October 15th and 16th, 2005. This unique symposium will bring together top figures in art, design, fashion, photography, film, new media, publishing and marketing. In the same room for the first time, the people shaping today's popular culture will spend two days exchanging their ideas, methods and inspirations before an audience of 2,000.
On the cinema side, there's an address from director Todd Haynes; a discussion of documentary filmmaking with Jonathan Caouette (Tarnation), Bruce Sinofsky (Paradise Lost) and Ondi Timoner (Dig!); plus, comedian David Cross "moderating" . In art, Glenn O'Brien interviews Richard Prince and riffs on photography with the legendary William Eggleston and Stephen Shore. Execs from Geico, Absolut, and iPod give their ideas on advertising, and Napster's Glenn Kaino, xBox's Jonathan Hayes, and artist Doug Aitken discuss the lofty Future of Content. Angelic icon Antony Hegarty (sans Johnsons) closes the show
Buy Tickets
Resonance FM, London's first not-for-profit, art-radio station, has recently begun podcasting selected shows — allowing listeners to get their cultural fixes on the go. There's the beats and breaks-oriented podcast Rhythm Incursions, which claims to be one of the first-ever shows to be aired with the complete consent and involvement of the record labels it supports. For an alternative (read: leftist) take on finance, check The Truth About Markets, with former stockbroker and current anti-capitalist Max Keiser, who runs an activist hedge fund. Perhaps the most fun, however, is just tuning in for a random sampling of the station's vivid and multi-faceted personality.
United Nude is a design company co-founded by Dutch architect Rem D Koolhaas and English shoemaker Galahad JD Clark. The idea is that the company is neither an architecture firm nor a shoe company but a design firm producing collections as a result of a constant stream of inspiration rather than broad seasonal ranges.United nude successfully launched with the Mobius Shoe and has plans to move into clothing, furniture, bags, eye-wear and a book.United Nude shoes and sandals are inspired by the Barcelona chair design of famous architect Mies van der Rohe and based on the infinity loop of the Mobius strip. The result is a divinely elegant, architecturally streamlined and highly fashionable shoe.
Buy United Nude online at Zappos.com
Rock al Parque (Rock in the Park) in Bogotá is the biggest and best annual rock festival in Latin America. Now into its tenth year, 300,000 people are expected to squeeze into Parque Simón Bolivar to enjoy the consistently great line-up.
For three days Bogotá's rock fans can enjoy a wide variety of international, national and local bands performing for free. In the weeks leading up to the event, local up-and-coming groups take part in a battle of the bands for the privilege of performing.
The festival began in 1995, attracting around 50,000 fans. Past performers include Manu Chao, inventors of the ska sound The mighty Skatalites, Kinky from Mexico, the rocking Robi Draco Rosa, the masters of Colombian dance music Sidestepper and Andrea Echeverry from Aterciopelados.
The Sofia Mini Blanc de Blancs is a sparkling wine with a distinctive blend as unconventional as the woman who inspired it and admittedly, it appears to be a wine more to be seen drinking with.
Comes in a beautiful six-sided box containing 4 mini cans, the packaging can pass off as a designer perfume box and the glittery rose red colour almost makes you think of Christmas.
The Sofia Blanc de Blancs bursts with rich pear, honeysuckle, and exotic passion fruit aromas. Crisp apple, melon, and juicy tangerine flavors fill the palate, with notes of bright lemon and honey evident on the refreshing, mouth-tingling finish.
The grapes for the Sofia, mainly Pinot Blanc, are grown in northern Montery County. Containing 11% alcohol content, the Sofia Blanc de Blancs bursts with rich pear, honeysuckle and exotic passion fruit aromas. Crisp apple, melon and juicy tangerine flavours fill the palate, with notes of bright lemon and honey evident on the refreshing, mouth-tingling finish.
It is best served ice-cold, out of the freezer, if possible. But seriously, drinking out of the can may be a little too gassy and dry for some. But for others it might be just right.
Buy it from Wine.com
$19.99 For the 4 Pack.
Google Will Eat Itself is a web project that aims to buy out Google with funds generated from Google Adsense:
“We generate money by serving Google text advertisements on our Websites. With this money we automatically buy Google shares. We buy Google via their own advertisement! Google eats itself - but in the end WE own it!”
The project organizers say that it is a critique of Google's growing monopoly of information.
The 12.8-megapixel Canon EOS 5D creates a new D-SLR category, combining a full frame CMOS sensor with a lightweight, compact magnesium-alloy body. Weighing just 810 grams, it features a second generation 35.8 x 23.9-millimeter CMOS sensor, 3 frame-per-second, 60-Large-JPEG-frame burst, and 0.2 second start-up time operation.
Marking five years since Canon's first CMOS image sensor appeared in the EOS D30, the release represents Canon's fifth new CMOS sensor to be released since April 2004.
Equivalent in size to a frame of 35mm film, the camera's 35.8 x 23.9-millimeter CMOS sensor gives photographers a full angle of view without magnification or cropping effect. It provides tighter control over depth of field and improves image quality by capturing more light with its large pixels.
But from Amazon.com
Isn’t interesting that some of the cheaper, budget hotels offer free wi-fi while many upscale hotels charge you up the wazoo for it? I mean come on I shell out $250 to stay in the W in San Diego and I have to go to the lobby to get free Wi-Fi. I just doesn’t make sense to me. Well the Gay Financial Network put together a list of hotel chains offering free Wi-Fi and if that isn’t enough take a look at our post about free Global Wi-Fi hotspots.
There is a simple beauty in the paintings of this modern Zen "artist-monk." SongYoon. Almost child like, the embody they Buddha Nature.
From his website:
“As a contemporary seeker on the Path, I have chosen painting as my own special way of living amongst the people. My training as a monk -- sutra study, chanting, meditation -- prepared me well for this experience. Particularly the meditation. Zen meditation is much brighter than the gold and silver of the world, and its scent is more elegant than that of all the flowers in the marketplace. Diamonds are both beautiful and indestructible; yet following the laws of karma, they will inevitably return to dust. The crystallization of Zen, however, is as endless and infinite, as is the scent of a painting.”
Make sure you read his whole introduction.
Palladium is a French company based in a rural city close to Lyon, France. Since its founding in 1947, Palladium has sold more than 60 million pairs of shoes worldwide. To this day, each pair of Palladiums is constructed with the same basic elements as the originals: natural materials, authentic colors and a lug sole designed for maximum durability and functionality.
In 1950, they introduced the rubber soled Pallabrousse in beige canvas. Since then, it has been the preferred shoe for the French Army, scouts, hunters and world travelers. Today, the Pallabrousse is the same as it has always been. Versions of the original are worn everywhere in the world by all generations looking for shoes with original styling and utilitarian functionality.
Since 1998, Palladium has been a subsidiary of Consolidated Shoe Company located in Lynchburg, VA. Palladium shoes are sold worldwide to a very focused group of better retailers, select department and athletic stores.
They can also be bought online at Amazon.com or Zappos.com
The trappings of 20th century Americana are frequently evoked in Ted Boerner’s furniture: a Lucite table that resembles a 1940s juice tumbler, a sleek upholstered chaise with the silhouette of a folding pool lounger, a dining table with a Lincoln Log like base. Ted Boerner’s childhood summers in rural Wisconsin were filled with midcentury modernist inspiration, much of which stemmed from his grandfather’s rustic log cabin. Outfitted with Eames chairs, a hand built modern staircase and a tangible patina of historical vitality, it was a setting steeped in the same simplicity and well-wrought comfort that Boerner has become known for in his furniture designs
Continue reading "Ted Boerner Furniture Designs" »
Designed in a remarkably authentic Arts and Crafts style, and patterned after some of Greene and Greene’s historic Pasadena houses, the Lodge at Torrey Pines shows a respect for history that’s rare on the prefabricated Southern California coastline. And all the more impressive is the fact that despite the century-old look, it’s brand new; this hotel was completed in 2002, and hewed strictly to traditional tongue and groove methods of craftsmanship, as well as modern building regulations.
The site, as well, is something to behold—adjacent to the Torrey Pines State Reserve, the hotel sits on a bluff overlooking a rocky coastline, surrounded by stands of pine trees and acres of sagebrush and sandstone. You’re just north of La Jolla, and just south of Del Mar, with the hotel’s cars available to chauffeur you to destinations in town; yet within the resort’s grounds, the feeling of seclusion is nearly total.
Book the Hotel
Continue reading "Hotel Watch ~ The Lodge at Torrey Pines" »
Hiroshi Tanaka has spent 15 years developing an electrolysis device that simulates, he claims, the effect of aging in wines. In 15 seconds it can transform the cheapest, youngest plonks into fine old draughts as fruit flavours are enhanced and rough edges are mellowed, he says.Without diluting the wine, the electrolysis causes a rapid rearrangement of the hydrogen and oxygen atoms around the alcohol molecules, which would normally take place over years if the wine were aging naturally.
Continue reading "Wine Aging Machine" »
Celebrating San Francisco’s unique built environment and design community, Architecture and the City is the first series of its kind in the Bay Area to feature architectural tours, film screenings, exhibitions, design lectures and more. Now in its second year, the month-long celebration hopes to engage members of the public and design enthusiasts, as well as architects and designers, with a deeper appreciation for San Francisco’s rich architectural and design community. In honor of the second annual celebration, Mayor Gavin Newsom has officially proclaimed this period of September and October a time for San Franciscans to celebrate "Architecture and the City."
Find, subscribe and listen to online radio shows with the freshly unveiled Yahoo! Podcasts beta.
A “comprehensive directory of podcast series and individual shows from across the Web,” you can search, tag, review, and rate podcasts with Yahoo! Podcasts. Subscribe to a series with Yahoo! Podcasts and automatically acquire the latest episode when it’s posted using Yahoo!’s Music Player as well as iTunes, Winamp and Windows Media Player. Looks like Yahoo’s looking to compete with the iTunes Music Store podcasting bit, and that, my friends, is A Good Thing.
The next generation of On-line travel guides such as 43Places and TravelPost.com are online and taking advantage of new Internet technologies that there predecessors did not. Tagging, RSS, and photo syndication, all of which allow individual users to link evidence of their travel experiences online have the ability to enhance the users experience and create an travel ecosphere within the site and its users.
Continue reading "Online Travel Guides" »
Contemporary artists, gallery-owners and collectors flock to the Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain (FIAC) at the Porte de Versailles, one of the major dates on the worldwide calendar of modern art. This year's event offers 174 galleries representing 23 countries, with newcomers including Canada, Cuba and Japan.
FIAC has enjoyed something of a revival in recent years. Illustrious guests have included Micheline Szwajcer from Belgium, Waddington Galleries from the UK and Metro Pictures from the USA. The fair places an emphasis on the work of young, emerging artists, and stalls by newer galleries such as NW Projects London, Art & Public Geneva and Pepe Cobo Seville. Drawing, painting, printmaking, video art, sculpture, photography and installation are all available for perusal or purchase.
A court decision has renewed the possibility that service to BlackBerry wireless e-mail devices might be cut off for most users in the United States. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington rejected Friday a request by Research in Motion, the Canadian company that makes the BlackBerry, to rehear its appeal of a patent infringement case brought by NTP, the patent holder. A three-judge panel of the court ruled in August that Research in Motion had violated seven of NTP's patents.
If the Supreme Court declines to hear the case, the case would be sent back to a federal district court to reconsider certain aspects of a 2003 jury verdict against RIM. That verdict raised the seemingly remote possibility that RIM might be forced to stop selling BlackBerrys.
Most photo printers are made for home use, linked to a personal computer. The P450 from Lexmark is more for travelers: It cannot connect to PCs or Macs, but it can receive JPEG images from just about any digital camera or Bluetooth camera phone and, unlike other printers, it can burn images to a CD or copy them to memory cards.
Once loaded, photos can be previewed on a color LCD screen of 2.4 inches, or 6-centimeters, for cropping, resizing, one-touch red-eye removal, one-touch color enhancement or conversion to black and white, or weeding out shots you do not want to print or save. The P450, available in October at $199, can also display photos on a TV using a conventional cable.
The P450 holds 25 sheets of 4-inch-by-6-inch paper and is small enough (10.9 by 6.3 by 6.1 inches) and light enough (6.5 pounds, or about 3 kilograms) to take along for printing on the go. It can print images directly from PictBridge-compatible cameras via a USB link, and virtually any memory card.
Adapters are needed for a few memory cards and for Bluetooth camera phones.
The printer will not connect to your computer, but you can upload images to a PC from the CDs you've burned.
Buy it from Amazon.com
$199.99
Two new airlines are opening this fall to and will be flying strictly upper class service no economy.
MAXjet claims to be the first carrier to offer an "all-business-class trans-Atlantic service," with one-way fares as low as £599, or about $1,050, which it says are "50 to 75 percent less than current fares in the marketplace."
MAXjet will operate Boeing 767-200ER aircraft, with 102 seats, allowing each passenger about 1.5 meters of legroom in a 2-by-2 configuration. The inaugural flight will leave Kennedy at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 1 and arrive at Stansted at 7 a.m.; the first westbound flight departs Stansted at 10 a.m. Nov. 2, arriving at Kennedy at 1 p.m.
Eos, named for the Greek goddess of the dawn, is led by the former British Airways executive David Spurlock and offers daily flights with an initial fleet of three Boeing 757s, replacing the usual mixed-class configuration of 200 or more seats, to carry 48 passengers in "premium tailored suites" of about 2 square meters, or about 21 square feet. Seats recline into an almost 2-meter flat bed. Passengers can call up meals and snacks at any time. And a second seat is provided for colleagues, allowing them "to comfortably meet, work or dine together."
Eos's unrestricted round-trip price of £3,500, or about $6,190, from London to New York is almost half of the British Airways first-class round-trip fare of £6,659. Eos is offering an introductory fare of £2,500, about $4,400, "for a limited time" at www.eosairlines.com.
The inaugural flight is scheduled to depart from Kennedy at 7:05 p.m. on Nov. 1 and arrive at Stansted at 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 2. Westbound flights will leave London at 10:30 a.m. and arrive at Kennedy at 1:29 p.m. on the same day.
"Apex" which means the highest point, "museum" which is a place of artistic appreciation & value. Similar to a museum setting we work in exhibitions putting out 2 themes each season.
Apexmuseum designs sophisticated clothes which encompasses looks of military, classic, college preppie & peaceful modern. The logo - the lightning bolt resembles the sky & the building represents land - is where land and sky meet as one.
Apexmuseum was established in 2002 with experience dating all the way back to 1984 with a manufacturing/design background with a variety of today's lifestyle and outerwear companies. Our garments are manufactured with 100% quality & professionalism overseas. We work hard to pedal our heart's work across the atlas. "No Good Thing Ever Dies"
Buy Apexmuseum Clothes @ Chocosho
Now that wine is the alcoholic drink of choice for people of the United States combined with the rapid growth of organic foods, an organic wine store was bound to spring up sometime and it has. Appellation Wine and Spirits has opened at 156 10th Avenue (19th Street) in Chelsea New York City. The store will focus on small producers and organic/biodynamic/natural wines. Started by former accountant, Scott Pactor organizes his selection by flavor – light to full – rather than by geography. To further encourage the budding oenophile, he’s placed description cards in front of each bottle, offering a profile of the winemaker, flavor and aroma, as well as pairing and drinking suggestions. Every one knows what organic is, but what exactly is Biodynamic. According to the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association of America: "Biodynamics is a method of agriculture which seeks to actively work with the health-giving forces of nature.” An increasing number of winemakers are now switching over to organic and biodynamic methods of farming including Benzinger, Fetzer and Frog’s Leap. I don’t live in New York but if you do stop by and drink a bottle for me.
For those of you in the Providence area, on Saturday October 8, RISD with have their 17th Annual alumni sale.This outdoor event features over 160 artists, with thousands of items for sale, each one designed and created by RISD alumni and students. Items for sale range from greeting cards to fine art as well as home accessories, jewelry, ceramics, glass, furniture, rugs, clothing and photography. For more information, contact Alan Tracy or call 401 454-6618.
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, Vancouver is the world’s most liveable city. The stability, health care, culture, environment, education and infrastructure of the cities were assessed. Each got a percentage and the lowest score defined the most agreeable place to live, according to the e-mailed survey. Vancouver was ranked high in part becuase of a lower perceived threat of terrorism. I spent two days in Vancouver this past spring and absolutely loved it. Seemed to be of a cross between San Francisco and Boulder, CO without the street people.
- Top 10 Cities
Vancouver
Melbourne
Vienna
Geneva
Perth
Adelaide
Sydney
Zurich
Toronto
Calgary
Tablet Hotels has a great listing of unique hotels in Vancouver. My pick is the Opus Hotel
Lisbon based e-studio has recently developed an organic concrete. The Betão Orgânico has a permeable surface which allows plants to grow out of it. This new material exploits concrete’s capacity to trap water and retain humidity, so the substance can nourish plants even during a dry spell. The organic concrete makes it possible to create permeable living surfaces, allowing architects and urban designers to incorporate a bit of greenery directly into their designs.
Click on the Projectos link to find the link to Betão Orgânico
Via Inhabitat
Travis Smith, who just returned from a trip to Singapore has a great theory about traveling and being a tourist. It is not that groundbreaking but I have just never seen anyone put it into words so well. He believes tourism can be reduced into six categories
- Learning something new
- Eating something new
- Buying something new
- Watching something new
- Doing something (physically) new
- Meeting someone new
Go check out his site and see what you think
de Young Museum Grand Opening
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
Saturday, October 15 - Sunday, October 16
Open around the clock • Free General Admission
The de Young celebrates its re-opening in Golden Gate Park with a 31-hour museum marathon, FREE to the public!
The museum will be open continuously from 10 a.m. on October 15 until 5 p.m. October 16. The opening weekend program includes music, dancing, food and a full schedule of performances by local groups throughout the museum grounds. To memorialize the occasion, a photo opportunity station will be located near the historic sphinx sculptures.
Continue reading "de Young Museum Grand Opening" »
Yesterday, Sony announced the Cyber-shot DSC-N1, an 8.1-megapixel ultracompact that will be the first Sony digital camera to include a touch screen. About the size of a deck of playing cards, the stylish Cyber-shot DSC-N1 is a high-performance, 8-megapixel camera, with an amazingly large, 3-inch, touch-screen LCD that is rare for a compact camera of this size. The N1 features a new album function that automatically stores up to 500 of your favorite images in VGA resolution, and uses them to create dynamic slide shows with music and transition effects – in the camera.
Continue reading "Sony Cybershot DSCN1" »
I just came across a great website that combines Google Earth with the 0lll architecture photographs database.
Two factors make Pointingit unique:
1st. Pointingit only points to architecture.
2nd. All the placemarks are enhanced with links to photo galleries of the buildings, and when possible other relevant weblinks. So don’t forget to click on the placemark itself to find this other information.
You will need to have Goole Earth installed, which at the time of this writing is only available for PC users.
The 14th installment of Wine Bogging Wednesday is my first. This months event was hosted by Jens at Cincinnati Wine Garage and he chose new new world pinot noirs. Jens definition of a new new world pinot noir is one that does not come from the old world nor the west coast of the United States. With that in mind I chose a fantastic pinot from Central Otago in New Zealand
Continue reading "2003 Amisfield Pinot Noir Central Otago" »
Get ready for a day of shopping at a new kind of festival. Come have a cocktail and grab a full lunch in the Capsule lounge inside 111 Minna as you shop, socialize, and listen to great music all day long.
On Sunday, October 16th, CAPSULE will once again be closing the alley
of Minna Street, between 2nd St. and New Montgomery, filling it with
80+ designers offering all varieties of clothing and accessories.
This is still the largest independent design sale of the year.
Vendors will represent men's and women's clothing and accessories
including multi-use bags, purses, belts, hats, jewelry, glasses, as
well as photography, paintings, and other goods.
Click Here for a vendor list
Splashpad is a wireless power solution to power up your mobile phone and other portable devices like iPods and PSP's simply by placing them on a mouse-mat-sized pad called the SplashPad. No physical connection is required between the pad and the devices. The Splashpower solution is based around technology that uses inductive coupling as a means of power transfer - which means you don’t need any wires, connectors or contacts between the pad and the device. Products using the Splashpower solution are not yet available in the shops. They are currently working with top-tier consumer electronics companies to incorporate Splashpower wireless power technology into their devices and aftermarket products. Exact product launch timescales have not yet been announced.
From todays USA Today comes a very handy list of global Wi-Fi hotspots around the word. These are sorted by type of location, i.e. restaurant, train station, library etc., but there is also a search function at the bottom that lets you find hot spots by city and country. A great bookmark for a world traveler. I, for one, dream about checking my email at the Piazza Immacolata in Sicily
Via Gadling
When you surf the Web, your life is an open book. Your IP address, your Internet cache, browser history, and more is open to snooping. Each packet you send generally travels through several computers to reach its destination.
Along the way, the packet can be intercepted and used by others to track your Internet activities -- or to attack your computer, maliciously or otherwise. Further, web sites share information about your visit with others to target you with ads that match your activity profile. If you're a regular web adventurer, these and other ungracious activities happen to you frequently with or without your knowledge.
Anonymizing software can provide a key layer of protection by routing your communication with most web sites through an anonymous proxy server that substitutes its Internet address for yours. That way, you never actually "touch" the web site; the proxy does it for you. And so your private information is kept private.
Continue reading "Surf the Web Anonymously" »
Family owned and loved, Kowalski has managed to find it's way onto some of the coolest shelves in the coolest retails outlets globally.
Found in the cute little boutique store on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, the fashion metropolis of Milan, The hustle and bustle of Tokyo, Covent Garden in London, Soho in New York, the sunshine of Sydney.
They come from a small city named Elche, in the southern part of Spain, and have been written up as the next big thing. They are Kowalski made from leather, canvas, and suede with a hand crafted vintage look. The collection possess shoes modeled on an original running spike, that classic sand shoe that sits in everyone's wardrobe, slides and sandals, a collection for the ladies....a cute trainer with charms and jewels threaded through the laces. Kowalski, a shoe you would expect to find at the bottom of your closet after that once in a decade clean up.....will now be counted amongst your favorites. If you dare to be different then Kowalski will give you the edge !
I’ve got a great craigslist story and evidently so do a bunch of others. 24 Hours on Craigslist is a story about the stories behind one day of the site's postings. From this single post on craigslist they assembled 8 film crews to document a random day-in-the-life of what has evolved into the world's largest community board. Not just the "Best-Of" or the "Success Stories", but a real, down-to-earth look at the fastest-growing grassroots cyber-community in the city that started it: San Francisco.
Continue reading "24 Hours on Craigslist" »
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