Link About It: This Week’s Picks
Russian skywalking, Jay-Z’s Empire, Globars and more in our look at the web this week
1. Cutty Sark
The world’s last surviving tea clipper is once again open to visitors. Severely damaged in a 2006 fire, the Cutty Sark
has been restored by London architects Grimshaw and is now open to the public in the Greenwich World Heritage Site.
2. A due Colori
For his latest series, Italian photographer Alberto Seveso captures the dynamic movement of colored ink permeating water. While simple in concept, “a due Colori” offers a rich sensory experience with its boldly contrasting colors and texture.
3. Skywalking
From Russia comes the new photography fad of skywalking,
or taking pictures of people in high places from even higher places. Meant to give a never-before-seen perspective, these pictures are both vertigo-inducing and awe-inspiring.
4. Crash Test Behind The Scenes
Commercials where cars go plummeting into a concrete wall at some outstanding speed curiously appeal to almost everyone. The pure, explosive destruction we get to enjoy isn’t without careful planning though. A new video takes a detailed look behind the scenes of a crash test, documenting the immense amount of work that goes into demonstrating how safe our cars are on impact.
5. Jay-Z’s “Empire” Game
Move over Farmville. This week rap mogul Jay-Z announced plans for “Empire“, a Facebook game that mirrors much of his own life. Good karma is garnered through remembering friends and family as you move from the Marcy Housing projects in Brooklyn to the “hotspots of the rich and famous”.
6. It Gets Better on Stage
The gay youth support network that grew grassroots-style on YouTube has set its sights on the stage. Incorporating music, theater and multimedia for a touring live production that will focus on “communities where the It Gets Better message is needed most”. The project lives as a Kickstarter project, so it’s up to you to make it happen.
7. Livehoods
A student-produced algorithm is the basis of “Livehoods“, a project that culls
FourSquare data to produce a digital map showing the hangouts of
like-minded people. They used the similarities found in 18 million check-ins to create clusters that depict a more accurate view of the human dynamics of a city.
8. Globars
With more people taking to the bicycle as a primary mode of transportation than ever, industrial designer Mitchell Silva developed the Globar to light the way. Relying on USB rechargeable batteries in the bar ends, the integrated drop bar lighting system features a series of LEDs to increase personal visibility and road presence.
9. Burgerapp
Finding a slammin’ burger in London just got easier with Burgerapp—an iPhone app that geographically organizes the burgers featured on the popular blog Burgerac. Filled with tips, photos and reviews, the app is a useful tool for adventurous burger fans and tourists alike.
10. Eat My Shorts
To release their summer line of SoCal-inspired clothing, Brixton dropped a high energy lookbook that captures the spirit and style of skate and surf culture. By focusing on team riders in their respective elements the perfectly styled video subtly introduces new threads to a crowd not known for seeking out fashion tips.
11. Pantone Plus
The color experts at Pantone just introduced 336 new hues, bringing their list to 1,677 in total. Called Pantone Plus, the additional colors “include a wider variety of values, saturation and undertones” that will give designers even greater creative freedom and distinction in their work.
12. Wind-Powered Car
If you have a lot of spare time on your hands, you may as well spend it creating something completely wild, like this Chinese farmer who took it upon himself to construct a unique alternative energy vehicle. With a simple fan on the front generating energy for the batteries, the asserted 86-mile range and $1,600 materials cost makes for an ultra-promising experiment.
13. Marley: The Film
A new documentary on Bob Marley tracks the growth of his
music from bootstrap production to international phenomenon. Chock full
of old footage and new interviews, the documentary details his life
from music and religion to social and political impact.
14. 3D Printed Guitars
As 3D printers become a mainstay in our social psyche we continue to see more and more fascinating designs emerge, birthed from the minds of the hyper creative. Created by a professor at Massey University’s School of Engineering & Advanced Technology in New Zealand, these 3D-printed fully functional guitars are some of the best yet and the source files are available for free online.
15. Just In Case
While beginning your preparation for the upcoming end of the world, be sure to pick up Just In Case, a survival kit created by Mexican agency MENOSUNOCEROUNO. The kit features both crisp design and useful supplies—like water and chocolate.
16. Instagr/am/bient
Online ambient music publication Disquiet ingeniously paired 25 musicians with 25 Instragm snapshots and asked the question: if the given image were to be used as cover art, what would the album sound like? The resulting creations make up an entire album of mellow music directly inspired by a series of single decisive moments.
