Over at my portfolio site, I’ve unleashed a new piece of work called ‘ángeles perdidos‘ (use Babelfish if that doesn’t make sense.. it’s deep). Go and look.

It’s based on some photos I took in L.A. last summer.. specifically, from the ‘Bona Vista’ cocktail bar in the Bonaventure Hotel.. The views aren’t bad at all. I actually started doing stuff to these photos shortly after coming back from California last July but then promptly forgot about them amidst doing other bits of work; but then this weekend I found my scribblings nested in several old folders and decided it was worth finishing off. There were several other versions but the final one I went with is definitely the most easy on the eye.

You can grab it to use as a desktop wallpaper background thing from my aptly named ‘goodies section‘ too if you like. I have. It’s nice.

Meet The World is a really nicely done (and rather clever) series of flags with new legends attached to them. If that doesn’t make sense, just look at the picture and that’s what I mean.

Some of them are pretty harsh (ie. Somalia) but the facts speak for themselves. Although, to be honest, I haven’t checked the percentages of these facts myself.. but that’s neither here nor there. It’s the message that matters. Nice design-age.

via cpluv.

Stumbled on this last month on cpluv but didn’t actually get ’round to watching it so it’s just festered in my ‘don’t forget to look at this at some point’ bookmarks folder for all that time. Finally made 5 minutes to watch it last night and it’s uber cool.

On a cold Saturday in New York City, the world’s largest train station came to a sudden halt. Over 200 Improv Everywhere Agents froze in place at the exact same second for five minutes in the Main Concourse of Grand Central Station. Over 500,000 people rush through Grand Central every day, but today, things slowed down just a bit as commuters and tourists alike stopped to notice what was happening around them.

The reactions of people walking around are what makes it. Great stuff.

Go and watch: http://improveverywhere.com/2008/01/31/frozen-grand-central/

So Fidel Castro has announced his retirement. He’s not had a bad run has he(?) It’s been a long time coming really and I don’t think anybody can really say they’re surprised what with his obvious health issues.. He said himself:

“It would betray my conscience to take up a responsibility that requires mobility and total devotion, that I am not in a physical condition to offer”.

and that’s fair enough innit(?) 49 years in power! Must’ve done something right.

I went to Cuba a couple of years ago and it really is(/was) a superb place to travel around, albeit in a limited fashion. It’s a beautiful country in so many senses and we’ve often talked about going back. However, I think it remains to be seen how much the country will change without Fidel at the top.. As long as America doesn’t get it’s grubby hands on it, I think it’ll do fine. There’s a quote on the BBC page from Bush, saying “…we’re going to help. The United States will help the people of Cuba realise the blessings of liberty“. Wow. Lucky Cuba. Because that approach always turns out well doesn’t it(?)

BBC Video of Castro’s ‘career’

Long title but it’s the best way I could describe this

Nice advert for (presumably) the Spanish Metro service.. Check the link to viddy the quicktime.

http://www.peliculasponder.com/2004/content/directors/gi_01.htm

KRS-One; purveyor of true hip-hop to some, babbling mentalist to others, undisputed legend to all. He has his moments. One of the more positive things he has been orchestral to is the Stop The Violence Movement, which regardless of your opinion on hip-hop, is nothing but a good thing. Started in the late 80’s, they try to get people ‘to take responsibility for the way in which conflict is resolved‘. Noble. The site is worth a visit if the song ‘Self Destruction‘ means nothing to you. There was a west coast single too called ‘We’re All In The Same Gang‘ (with Ice-T, NWA and MC Hammer amongst others) which I actually prefer but that’s beside the point. Anyway, by most accounts, it’s been a fairly quiet few years for the movement, but they’re re-starting in 2008 with a potentially stonking new single..

Over a three day period from February 7-9, The Game, Chamillionaire, Nelly, David Banner and 55 other artists joined Kris at the Los Angeles Recording School to record new audio and video for the initiative. A number of artists from the LA underground also turned out to show support, including Rakaa Iriscience of Dilated Peoples, and Planet Asia. The legendary MC has also confirmed future contributions from artists such as 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg, Fat Joe, Cassidy, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Lil Mama, Talib Kweli and MC Lyte.

- XXL

It’s debatable as to how much clout KRS (/the STV Movement) can have nowadays but it’s good to see people like The Game and 50 Cent show their support (although even that poses questions about hypocrisy and whatnot).. I’m curious to see what comes out of this new lease of life. Could be interesting.

Yeah it’s a little old now (if half a week can really be considered ‘old’), but in case you’ve not seen it..

Nice use of the pyramid (though I’m sure I read somewhere that they wouldn’t be using the pyramid live again?). Also, those glasses are insane! Where can I buy a pair?! Or would they burn your face after a while?.. Hmm.. Still, pat that man on the back for picking up 4 awards. Not too shabby.

Also, this week saw the unveiling of the Spike Jonze directed video for Flashing Lights which you can see by clicking on that there link. Not a lot happens. Mostly lingerie. Kinda blah to be honest.

Some great photos which have rightfully been awarded various honours at the 62nd College Photographer of The Year. A lot of testament to being in the right place at the right time (or even the wrong place at the right time), armed with a camera. It reminds me that I really should carry my camera around with me more.. But then, I don’t wander around war zones, and I don’t think a photo series of me walking to and from my office is quite as engaging.

The main photo above is Silent Protestors by Brandon Kruse - Link

A silent protestor shows how he feels towards the head of a local wing of the National Socialist Movement, a group referred to as the modern Nazi party. Over 1,000 Columbians showed up for the party’s march through town that would leave 8 protestors arrested by the end of the day.

Evidence by Dominic Nahr - Link

A bloody hand print on the wall in a stairwell is left in Mohamed Ghorayeb’s house, a colonel in the Palestinian Preventive Security Forces. He and six other Fatah members died in their house after clashes erupted between Hamas and Fatah around and in the colonel’s house, also destroying his home and seven cars on the January 4, 2007, in Jabalia Refugee Camp, Gaza Strip.

Just when you think that Lost couldn’t get any more confusing, they go and introduce new characters with potential ghost-talking abilities and multiple future-past-present-future flashforwardback things. Oh, and the bones of a polar bear wearing a Dharma collar in the Tunusian desert. Brilliant.

There’s all sorts of mental, overly complex theories out there but all I want to know is - what is the monster?! When Locke asked Ben that very question in episode 2 of the new series, I almost thought we’d get an answer. But no. That’d be too easy. Actually, there’s tonnes of things that still need answering but I won’t dwell on those; instead, I’ll rejoice in the revelation of how the plane wreckage was found in the ocean. They touched upon on it in the show with some news footage, but for the full story take a look at Find 815 (or if you’ve not got the time to unravel the events yourself, click here for an overview). It’s another nice accompaniment to the main tv series which answers a few things but also creates even more mysteries. Worth a look if you’re a fan of the show

The extent to which the makers of Lost go in order to support/add to the story never ceases to amaze me. The amount of work they put into things like The Lost Experience is uber-impressive and while there’s a part of me that just wishes they would concentrate on answering things within the show, I definitely appreciate the extra legwork that goes into creating the whole ‘Lost-universe’. Cross-platform immersive narrative-ness at it’s best.