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50 Years Of Space Exploration

Click to enlarge a fascinating (and very large) map illustrating the last 50 years of space exploration.

Pre-Handshake Handshake Device

Great creativity often arises from playfulness, and so we love the creative mind of Dominic Wilcox and his sketchbook thoughts, ideas, and inventions all collected on VariationsOnNormal.

Above, a device that aims to help those who are at odds with each other make a first step toward reconciliation.

Peg O' The Day : Ice Cube Makeover

America. The land of reinvention. And no irony.

The Ice Cube melts a little.

 

New Business Is A Dogfight

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Nothing you haven't read in SunTzu's 'Art Of War' but the aerial combat tactics developed by World War I flying ace Oswald Boelcke struck me as similarly useful for winning new business:

– Try to secure advantages before you attack. If possible, keep the sun behind you.
   
– Always carry through an attack when you have started it.
   
– Fire only at close range and only when your opponent is properly in your sights.
   
– Always keep your eye on your opponent, and never let yourself be deceived by ruses.
  
– In any form of attack, it is essential to assail your opponent from behind.
   
– If your opponent dives on you, do not try to evade his onslaught, but fly to meet it.
   
– When over the enemy's lines, never forget your own line of retreat.

Boelcke and his pilots flew only in large well-organized formations dubbed "circuses." Any Allied plane that came within their part of the sky was doomed.

But even as his own kill score grew to 40 Boelcke cared little for his personal record: "Everything depends on sticking together when the staffel (squadron) goes into battle. It does not matter who actually scores the victory as long as the staffel wins."

'The Father Of Air Fighting Tactics' crashed and died after a mid-air collision with one of his own pilots and was buried in the cathedral at Cambrai.

British pilots at the POW camp at Osnabrück sent a condolence card.

Baron Von Richthofen reflected, "I am after all only a combat pilot, but Boelcke, he was a hero."

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The Unclosed Bicycle Frame

For Victor Robilliard it all began with a question:

“If the bicycle is the standard-bearer for sustainable transportation, shouldn’t the object itself communicate the same message?”

Ahh, sweet logic.

His answer is the radical new frame design you see above.

Sometimes creativity is all about elimination.

"I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free."— Michelangelo.

Link

Site O' The Week : Xtranormal

Step 1: Type your script.

Step 2: Upload to xtranormal

Step : Pick a character.

Step 4 : Send you expletive-filled short movie to everyone except your Mom.

What's Your Creativity Number?

 

I'm currently working on a design project for a large multinational communications agency. This system for judging creative work is posted on the wall.

01 - DAMAGING : This work is worse than a waste of time. It is damaging to the client and us. You'd be better off staying at home.

02 - WASTEFUL : This work is a waste of time. People will actively avoid it. You have wasted both the client's time and your own resources.

03 - BORING : Both the idea and the execution are ordinary. The customer will tune out before it's finished.

04 - PREDICTABLE : This is soundly executed but bland. People have seen it all before and will get to the end of the message before you do.

05 - COMPETENT : This idea is told in an interesting way or it is well executed. People will give you the time to complete the message.

06 - REWARDING : This work will get noticed. People will feel rewarded having spent time with it. Its impact will linger longer than the duration of the message.

07 - INNOVATIVE : This is innovative work and the best example of this category in the network. It's refreshing message and execution will ensure that people will want to see it again.

08 - MARKET LEADING : This is the best work in this category in the world. It leads the market and people will take the time to rethink their perception of the brand and the category.

09 - WORLD CLASS : This competes with the very best ideas in the world of communications. It is an entirely new idea that is highly involving. The audience will spend time exploring and playing with the idea.

10 - WORLD BEATING : This sets a new standard in the world of communications. It is an entirely new idea that is highly involving. The audience will spend time exploring and playing with the idea. It is being talked about worldwide.

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It's a great lens through which to view your ideas.

The only question you have to ask yourself is: Do I have the balls to live by it?

Household Name Blog : 1,000,000 Hits

This blog just clicked through 1,003,150 page views today. Thanks for dropping (and re-dropping) by.


About Us

Peace Index Rating

[click to enlarge]

A map of the current world peace standings created by design firm Always With Honor (Their mission: to create work that simplifies, synthesizes, and clarifies).

Each country is sized according to their peace index rating.

The larger the country code the more peaceful the country.

Peg O' The Day : GPS

So friends, how did my car get here?

A: On a ferry to Shelter Island. 

How Humans Experience Their Food

The rational explanation of an emotional experience.

Umami?

How To Die By Firing Squad

Shortly before Ronnie Lee Gardner was shot through the heart by a five-man firing squad at Utah State Prison, Mark Shurtleff tweeted: "I just gave the go ahead to Corrections Director to proceed with Gardner's execution."

"A solemn day," Mr Shurtleff typed, "Barring a stay Utah will use most extreme power and execute a killer. Mourn his victims. Justice."

Gardner, 49--who spent 25 years on death row for gunning down a lawyer during a failed court-room escape--chose to die by firing squad, an option open to him because he was convicted before Utah adopted lethal injection in 2004.

He was strapped to a black metal chair surrounded by sandbags to stop ricochets.

A white target was then pinned over his heart, a hood placed over his head, and five volunteer marksmen armed with .30-caliber rifles opened fire from behind a wall.

Only four of the weapons were loaded with live rounds and one contained a wax bullet, allowing the marksmen to retain some doubt over whether they fired the fatal shot.

The executioners were all certified police officers who remain anonymous.

They stood about 25 feet from Gardner. He was executed and pronounced dead at 12:17 am.

The coroner listed 'Cause of Death' on the certificate as 'homicide.'

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Um, what century are we in?

Twenty years in this God-fearing country and I still don't understand its primal fascination with revenge. I don't deny he was a killer, but life without parole seems to be sufficient for every other civilized nation.

My trumping argument: Can we continue with state-sanctioned homicide if just one single person is executed and later found innocent?

Talent You Should Know : Rafael Rozendall

Here's an idea: Let's treat the web window as a creative opportunity to be explored and not just a place to sell crap stuff.

You will enjoy the single serving web pages created by digital artist Rafael Rozendall.

Thank you Rafael.

Quote O' The Week : Ideas

My car broke down on a trip through New Jersey last week.

The local mechanic had this taped on the wall.

I asked him if the sign was good for business or bad for business.

He just smiled and shrugged.

Where Ideas Come From: Part 2

Where Ideas Come From: Part 3

Talent You Should Know : Christoph Niemann

 

Illustrator Christoph Niemann has an ironic take on road maps.

One can only image the curse that map-reading has become for him.

Idea O' The Week : My Bike Number

Having lost three bikes in six years I welcome the idea of MyBikeNumber.com

Google Attempts To Kill Net Neutrality

SIGN HERE

Talent You Should Know : Marchand & Meffre

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The faded glory of old Detroit, at once poignant and magical, from the series 'The Ruins of Detroit' by Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre.