Perlan 2 World Altitude Record

 

 

Congratulations to our client, Airbus Perlan 2 in making history today, setting a new world altitude record for gliding 52,172 feet over the Patagonia region of Argentina.

 

News Article

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bitcoin Glyph Redesign

 

 

 

In the headlong rush to develop crypto the meaning behind Bitcoin has largely been an afterthought.

A Bitcoin glyph must live alongside the Yen, the Euro, Pound Sterling and the dollar with its own unique identity.

Before the Unicode Consortium assign the current Bitcoin glyph to us forever, perhaps we should consider its meaning.

The current double-stroke is either (a) Spanish in origin (symbolic representation of Pillars of Hercules), or (b) a combination of "U" and "S". Both are nation-specific and run counter to the ideas of Bitcoin/crypto.

Using the Thai baht "฿" creates confusion and leaves Bitcoin undifferentiated.

A single stroke "฿" has primary visual equivalency to the US dollar mark (among others)––imperfect for a universal currency.

"Ƀ" has been proposed as a substitute, but has no wider meaning.

In sum, a new currency needs a new glyph, not one borrowed from history.

 

 

 

 

Propose combining "B" with the triple bar "≡" meaning "logical equivalence." Also "congruence"–– agreement or harmony; compatibility.

 

twitter.com/bitcoinglyph

 

(Creative Commons usage. Permission is granted to copy and distribute this document).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Is Bravery?

 

 

An Oxford University student sits in a grand wood-paneled room waiting for his final year psychology exam to begin.

The don checks his watch then instructs the students to commence. The grad turns the page and reads the question: What is bravery?

He rocks back on his chair for a moment contemplating the question, then leans in to scribble something down, stands, and as his classmates stare in disbelief, walks from the hall.

The don walks over to his desk and picks up the paper. Beneath the question he'd written: "This is."

In sports, coaches train players to avoid paralysis by analysis. When athletes think too much it negatively affects their performance. They think too much, they choke. It's best they just get out there and play the game without thinking themselves into a hole.

Unfortunately paralysis by analysis is widespread among brands and their ad agencies. Demand for consistently favorable quarterly earnings forecasts, focus groups, a heavy-handed FCC, and gun-shy network censors have forced both clients and their agencies to become ever more risk-averse, but therein lies the paradox: at a time when ad-avoidance by consumers is at an all time high, brands need to be buying more breakthrough work, not less.

And just in case we've all forgotten what bravery looks like, it's here in the face of Mexican revolutionary Fortino Samano moments before his death by firing squad in 1917.

His very last word on this planet: "¡fuego!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Penguin Classic: George Orwell 1984

 

 

Treat your audience as though they have the same intelligence as you do and they'll thank you for it. Takes bravery though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image Of The Day: Warriors For Peace

 

 

Cliff Ke Le Matias atop the Perkins Drive Lookout, Bear Mountain, NY, photographed by Ben Draper.

 

Courtesy 1903 Magazine

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Every State’s Favorite Band

 

 

The Echo Nest dug into listener data on popular services like Rdio, Spotify and MTV to build a stat-by-state map of the nation's favorite bands. But you probably could have guessed NJ and FL.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Site Of The Week: Namechk

 

 

Great aggregating tool this. NameChk searches the availability of your new name on dozens of social sites. Boom!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nikola Tesla's Letterhead

 

 

Einstein was supposedly once asked what it felt like to be the smartest man alive. “I don’t know," he replied. "You’ll have to ask Nikola Tesla.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Razzle Dazzle Camouflage

 

 

Credited to British artist, Norman Wilkinson (1878-1971) the concept of 'Razzle Dazzle' camouflage 'Is essential to break up the regularity of outline and this can be easily effected by strongly contrasting shades…a giraffe or zebra or jaguar looks extraordinarily conspicuous in a museum but in nature, especially when moving is wonderfully difficult to pick up.'

When a German submarine spotted one of these flamboyant warships in their primitive rangefinders, it became extremely difficult to judge the speed and heading of the vessel’s course. This made it nearly impossible to accurately make a successful torpedo hit.

 

 

Razzle Dazzle was applied to over 2,000 warships and 4,000 British merchant ships in both the World Wars.

 

 

And it’s still used today on car prototypes to prevent competitors getting a clear view of a new car’s lines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talent You Should Know: Saul Leiter

 

 

I was recently introduced to the stunning street photography of Saul Leiter (talent I should have known!) His work captures a bygone erea of New York with a abstraction that looks fresh even today; truly, he paints with a lens.

And as many images as I've posted here, you're just left wanting to see more...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Idea Of The Week: Kintsukuroi

 

 

kintsukuroi. (noun) Japanese. "To repair with gold"; the art of repairing pottery with gold or silver so the piece is more beautiful for being broken.

A stunning concept.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Site O' The Week: MapCrunch

 

 

Hit the 'Go!' button on MapCrunch and enjoy a random Google Street View from anywhere in the world. 

Wanderlust activated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GMO Squirrel Test

 

 

Maybe the squirrels know something?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Site Of The Week: Beats Music

 

 

Your playlist curated by mood and location. It's a big idea.

 

beatsmusic.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peg Of The Day: No Salute

 

 

Unfollow the crowd.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New British Flag

 

 

What the revised British flag will look like if Scotland votes "yes" for independence.

And no, this isn't an April Fool's.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kurt Vonnegut Story Theory

 

 

 

The screewriter William Goldman (Butch Cassidy, All the President's Men) was asked how you write a screenplay. He said you sit down at a typewriter and type 'FADE IN.'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speed Reading Test

 

 

Test here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

60 Seconds On The Interweb

 

 

 

So basically social, gaming and shopping. God forbid we're working!