May 24, 2010
“Let’s go to another commercial.” –PC (1:45)
Apple’s iconic “Get a Mac” ad campaign is no more: Jobs & Co. have pulled the plug on the cheeky TV spots that pitted stuffy-button-down-middle-aged-guy John Hodgman against relatable-young-hip-dude Justin Long (human representations of PC and Mac, respectively).
Here’s a montage of some memorable moments between the two titans of technology:
It’s an easy metaphor for the shift from the PC vs. Mac decade to a full-fledged, multi-platform war between Apple and everyone from Google to Adobe to Amazon—not to mention Microsoft ever-looming in the background—though it’s far to early to tell who will be the next Hodgman.
December 15, 2009
Shamelessly co-opting politics, sports, street art and advertising in a vaguely predictable topical one-off—will I stop at nothing to stay relevant?
Not my best work, but what the hell (I wasn’t satisfied with Obamicon.Me’s quick rendition and I like to have control over these things anyway). I’m at a loss for an appropriate four(ish)-letter caption.
Original photo via Everdream Radio, a weird media site that Google Image search managed to dig up. I wonder how long it will be before I receive a takedown request… or lawsuit.
December 3, 2009
While Americans tend to pigeonhole IKEA as the beginning and end of home furnishing for the pre- and post-grad years known as the early twenties, the rest of the world sees it from other perspectives.
In this corner, coming in at some 50-strong, we have the displaced and disgruntled creative elite of Hamburg’s Frappant office building, staging an ideological protest by (re?)appropriating the showroom as a functional workspace.
And in the other corner, we have legions of workaday Chinese, young relatives and cameras in tow, drawn to the blue-and-yellow monolith purely for sport and leisure, with little to no intention of actually buying anything.
And thus, Sweden’s pride and joy asserts its rightful status as a symbol for capitalism, globalization and (lest we forget) affordable modern design.
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December 2, 2009
–My subway obsession continues… though I don’t believe that any of those stations could possibly be real. (DB)
–Steven Holl’s Nanjing Museum of Art and Architecture (top) is nearly finished. I’ve been meaning to check out his Linked Hybrid (bottom) in Beijing, but haven’t had the chance…
–I just discovered Sleevage, a blog that explores album artwork new and old. (The Animal Collective and Jay-Z entries are quite interesting and relevant as year-end list time is upon us.)
–PSFK has brought an interesting phenomenon to my attention: adman George Parker cites Starbucks’ unbranding experiment in his post on a resurgent (No Logo-esque) brand backlash (astute readers will note that I just read Naomi Klein’s manifesto). I followed the link to Bryant Simon’s essay on Reuters.com, which provides a nice rundown of Starbucks’ attempt to appropriate the local, indie coffeeshop aesthetic—i.e., the rejection of its corporate encroachment and supersaturation tactics. Very interesting.
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December 1, 2009
–Nike Sportswear NSW Holiday 2009 Collection. (The Chinese happen to love Nike, myself included… which is somewhat ironic because I just read Naomi Klein’s No Logo. Possibly the topic of a future post.) (HB via Starcow)
–Ministry of Sound × Transportation for London × New Year’s Eve (PSFK)
–Looks can be deceiving: Susan Boyle slays the charts (Daily Swarm)
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November 13, 2009
Lebron’s name in Chinese is just “James” [詹姆斯; zhan1mu3si1, pronounced like the title of the post].
AP Photo with a touch of 'shopping
The Cavalier has made headlines by mandating (or at least advocating) the permanent retirement of the number 23, which he currently shares with the Greatest. The move has been regarded as a curiously deferential form of hubris—insofar as LBJ hopes to be the last player to sport the big 2-3—as the superstar will settle for number 6 (his Olympic designation) next season.
Via Cleveland.com of all places… though I did come across this story in a Chinese paper the next day, with a headline that roughly translates to “In the Vault” or “Seal It Up” (封存), which I take to be the Chinese translation of ‘retiring’ a number.
