Link About It: This Week’s Picks
Scrotal Tree Decorations, iPhone OCDock, Hollywood Doom and more in our weekly look at the web
1. RIP Ravi Shankar
The influence of the late, great Ravi Shankar can’t be overstated—teaching Western music luminaries from John Coltrane to George Harrison, his sitar sound has been a landmark mastery. In honor of Shankar, NPR has collected the five recordings you must know from “West Meets East” to “West Eats Meat.”
2. TAM’s New First-Class Cabin
First class gets even more luxurious and comfortable with Brazilian airline TAM’s latest renovation. Done in partnership with the design studio Priestmangoode, TAM is introducing a first-class cabin that boasts not only comfy chairs but actual couches. Designed to evoke a home away from home, we think we could find a way to get cozy in these new digs.
3. (thumbs up) Emoji
Discussing the visual alphabet that is emoji, New York Magazine has a text chat with former Apple intern Willem Van Lancker, the man responsible for designing around 400 of the original 500 characters.
4. Old Virginia Modified Herringbone
A Continuous Lean’s new video reveals the unique weaving process behind The Hill-Side’s limited-edition collection of “Old Virginia Modified Herringbone” ties and scarves. Bob, a sixth generation hand weaver from Virginia, created the collection’s colorful pattern in his small workshop in Virginia’s rolling backcountry.
5. Writers’ Favorite Classic Book Illustrations
From Beatrix Potter to Dante’s Divine Comedy, illustrations have played an intimate role in shaping literature and our understanding of the classics. In a recent campaign to celebrate classic books, the Folio Society invited several artist and authors to share their favorite literary illustrations.
6. Bauballs
“Scrotal tree decorations” is how It’s Nice That describes the twin projects from testicular cancer organizations Orchid and Everyman. Designed to be hung as a charitable reminder, the ornaments take the form of decorative testicles for cancer awareness.
7. Lapka for iPhone
Marketed as a “Personal Environment Monitor”, Lapka pushes you to begin thinking about the invisible things that are constantly happening around us. The accessory’s sensors easily plug into the iPhone’s headphone jack and enable the user to take different environmental measurements, from humidity to the nitrate concentration of your fruit. Accompanied by a free application, Lapka stores all of your measurements and lets you keep track of day to day changes.
8. 5,000 Bottles of Beer on the Wall
To celebrate 140 years of brewing Heineken has installed a massive
“bottle wall” on the side of their Amsterdam
HQ. Made of 5,000 bottles backlit with LEDs, the wall will display images submitted via Facebook from anyone and everyone inclined to raise a glass.
9. Hollywood Doom
Stanley Donwood of Atoms for Peace and “GIF-itti” artist INSA present a doomsday street mural GIF just in time for the apocalypse. Using time-lapse photography, the mural was painted and altered to create a looped animation of Los Angeles under fire from flooding, comets and sinister-looking bats.
10. iPhone OCDock
Designed specifically for iMac users—and neat freaks—the
beautifully sleek OCDock iPhone charging station
reduces desk clutter and blends in with all your Apple products. Now
on Kickstarter, the dock features a paper thin, 0.007-inch-thick cord
that seamlessly fits under your iMac stand and is available in two
sizes to accommodate even the most adamant minimalist.
11. Humans Are Disgusting!
Did you know that eye boogers are actually called “gound,” and it’s
made of dust, blood cells and skin cells? Did you know that on average
a single human produces over 10,000 gallons of saliva in their life
time? Find out more lovely facts like these with Aaron Rogers’ informational video short.
12. Bay Bridge Soundscape
Set to complete in 2013, the San Francisco Bay Bridge is currently securing its legacy with a little help from Lucasfilm. The sound division—Skywalker Sound—crawled into concrete pillars to record a gunshot and create an audio impression of the space. In the future, Skywalker can use the impression to fake sound effects in caves and concrete structures, immortalizing the bridge through popular media.
