Link About It: This Week’s Picks
The art of pickpocketing, a vomiting robot and sound trapped in a bottle in our week’s look at the web
1. Everest in Two Billion Pixels
Take a visual tour of the world’s highest peak through an intriguing two billion pixel interactive image of the Khumbu glacier. Made from 477 individual high res images, the navigable photograph allows for zooming to different site areas for an even closer look. We recommend going full screen to truly explore all the nooks and crannies, and even inside a tent at base camp to see the effects of climate change.
2. Now and Then
The decay of Detroit has stretched over a long period of time, and creative ways to bring attention to the troubling subject keep coming up. The photo series “Now and Then” is a particularly captivating example tracing the evolution. Centered on the ever-deteriorating Lewis Cass Technical High School, the series superimposes old images upon new ones, giving a ghostly effect of what once was.
3. 100 Greatest Sports Photos
With year’s end comes a time of reflection, and perhaps nothing succeeds at conjuring up nostalgic glory like the world of sports. Kottke directs us to Sports Illustrated’s 100 greatest images of the game from Muhammed Ali’s victorious knockout swing on Sonny Liston for the 1965 heavyweight title, to Nadia Comaneci’s perfect 10 routine captured in mid-air, to Lou Gehrig’s heartbreaking farewell to baseball on 4 July 1939.
4. Jeremy Mann
The Fox is Black brings us a series of paintings depicting downtown San Francisco from American artist Jeremy Mann. Full of texture and feeling, the set reminds us that landscape painting is alive and kicking.
5. The Art of Pickpocketing
While the act of pickpocketing is obviously looked down upon from a moral standpoint, theatrical pickpocketer Apollo Robbins is often looked up to as a quick-handed savant. Known for his “almost supernatural ability,” Robbins combines swagger with an uncanny knack for manipulating people’s attention and bodies without them knowing it. This week The New Yorker profiles the enigmatic man who now plies his trade as a Las Vegas performer.
6. Orwell Covers
In a collaboration with David Pearson, Penguin recently released a series of five new covers for George Orwell’s most notable works including “Animal Farm,” “Down and Out in Paris” and, most radically, a censored front for “1984.” With the title and author text completely blacked out, the new version of “1984” makes a simple but profound reference to the novel’s statement on the manipulation of history.
7. Vomiting Robot
Ever wondered how people with a norovirus can spread it to you and
everyone in your family? Meet Larry, a robot built by scientists not to bleep and bloop as a cute little sidekick, but given the power of projectile vomiting to help study the transmission of disease. Larry can barf up to 10 feet
and has helped scientists figure out that particles containing the
virus can be aerosolized, allowing them to spread—so watch out!
8. Turning 50: Carrera and Daytona
In an auspicious coincidence, 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of two iconic timepieces: The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona and the TAG Heuer Carrera. Our go-to watch resource Hodinkee chimes in with a reminder to appreciate the legacy and keep an eye out for something special from the brands at this year’s Basel World.
9. How Maps Became Personal
In an interview with The Atlantic, Google’s Michael Jones elucidates the personalization of mapping in recent years, turning it into a static record of space to an interactive and constantly changing landscape, as well as what to expect in the near future. His thoughts on the subject range from the next generation of mapping directions to the politics of geography and the advantages of digital tourism.
10. iPad mini Becomes a Dashboard
Custom car company Soundwaves of Tampa introduced a video this week that showcased the possibilities of an iPad mini-embedded dashboard. Installed in a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta, Soundwaves of Tampa secured the iPad with magnets and integrated it with the rest of the car’s entertainment system, allowing the user to access all of their iPad mini’s features on the go.
11. An Infographic for 2012
To celebrate the biggest events from 2012, graphic artist Yiying Lu created an infographic of 2012 highlights exclusively for Visual.ly. Playfully depicted as a long, winding road towards 2013, the infographic goes through everything from partisan votes in the presidential election to numbers for the iPhone 5’s record-breaking sales.
12. Re: Sound Bottle
This interesting prototype from Jun Fujiwara of Tama Art
University takes a very unique approach to how we interact with music by literally trapping sound under its lid. Pop the cork and record some sounds—people talking, bubble gum popping—and let the bottle mix your sounds with pre-programmed beats to create some fun DIY music.
13. Geneva Sound System Model XXL
If you have been thinking of upgrading the hardwood sound cabinet
you inherited from your Nana the Geneva Sound System Model XXL might
make a suitable replacement. This beautifully composed system features Apple Airplay
and Bluetooth and digital amplifiers that power six speakers and a massive, eight-inch subwoofer that’s guaranteed to shake up your living room.
14. Isom Tables by Sebastian Scherer
The colorful, modular Isom tables by Sebastian Scherer are meant to be viewed from all angles. Made from solid sheets of colored glass glued together with UV adhesive, the translucent layers of the Isom table overlap and create varying color intensities. The table’s angular form combined with its transparent appearance evokes the illusion of an isometric cube.
15. Brock Davison Instagram
Inject your Instagram feed with professional photographer Brock Davis’ genius conceptual iPhone shots. Playing with convention and proportions, each one is cleverer than the last, from a bulldog rendered in ketchup with mustard teeth gripping a hot dog to a plastic toy soldier skateboarding down a bathroom sink ramp to a Matchbox car zooming high-speed-chase-style over a slice of birthday cake.
16. Mikkeller Seasonal Beer Labels
Swedish design studio Bedow has miraculously translated the transience of weather in a series of temperature-controlled labels for Mikkeller Seasonal Beer. The Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer varieties each sport a beautifully simple, black and white sticker that features changing graphics to reflect their respective behaviors —Autumn’s falling leaves, Spring raindrops and the Summer sun’s beating rays actually morph on each bottle—it’s not the beer.
