A Little Birdie Told Me So...
Sunday, January 20, 2008
What happens when you combine a handful of indie artists, a smattering of t-shirts, cool designs and a humble collection of charities? The answer, my friend, is Yellow Bird Project.
Joining forces with the likes of Wolfmother, Rilo Kiley, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and newest addition The Shins, Yellow Bird Project is a non-profit intiative that simultaneously makes money for charities while raising awareness for the charity and boosting artists' profiles. How it works is this: artist [insert band name/artist name here] creates a banging t-shirt design and chooses a charity to which all proceeds from the t-shirt sale will go. It's as simple as that.
Some of the charities include Amnesty International, Road Recovery, MercyCorps, The Elliot Smith Memorial Fund (Free Arts for Abused Children), Nature Conservancy and the like. Read more about each one and who supports what here.
What's not to like? Get a t-shirt, spread the word about your favorite artist and charity, and save the world, one t-shirt at a time.
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To learn more about Yellow Bird Project, check to see what they're all about.
Design & Innovation 202: Capsule Inn Akihabara
Sunday, February 11, 2007
The Capsule Inn in Tokyo is pretty much one of the most spaciest things or ideas I have ever seen. But I don't mean space like matter, but futuristic and universe-considerate. Basically, it is a 169 "room" inn except the rooms are not what you think, they are infact, capsules hence the name of the place. For about 4000 Yen ($33) you get your own capsule with adjsutable lighting, personal cable television, radio+clock and it can all be controlled while you are laying down. Imagine a morgue, but not the ones for dead people. Everyone shares several public bathrooms. And the capsules are stacked. It's pretty much amazing! Also the way the picture is illustrate above makes it look like from an 70s future. 
Coincidentally I saw this picture in the LBN news alert (credit Getty Images). A Japanese man reading the news from his capsule. Note the handle bars and steps to get down. When I first saw this picture, I thought it was a mini guy in a pet shop doggy cage. The women and men are separate and the women can book group capsules. I am uncertain of the Japanese male/female ratio concerned with the workplace, I presume it is mainly men but it would be interesting to research. There are 140 rooms for males and 24 for women. This completely encapsulates Japanese culture and mindset (no pun). It's energy efficient, it's small, it's quick, innovative, and just jawesome. Unfortunately, with where America is going, I think most of us won't be checking into that place. I think a new goal of mine is to get a room there one day! 
bbqchickenrobot
WideEyedEggplant
The GOOD Pants
2Scoops
El-izzle
Open Mike
