This is why the internet exists.

It's true that Google Maps provides a remarkable service to the world for free. And Street View was an impressive advancement.

But this is what makes this service priceless.

Click here and then click on the north arrow.

Thanks Google!

Here's a really fun spot for Nike Football (as in, soccer, for you Americans).

While I don't find the actual concept/message to be great, it's still done in a really interesting style and has plenty of fun stuff to pick out (such as appearances by Wenger, Febregas, Ronaldo and Rooney). Props to Guy Ritchie who directed it.

Nike Football - Take It To The Next Level

File under crazy future tech:

So, if you were wondering what the future might hold, here's a pretty good look into that crystal ball. Except that crystal ball isn't quite so much telling the future as just something to look through to see the present on the other side.

According to a few sites including TechRadar and Pink Tentacle, a Japanese company named NTT is releasing a technology that uses the body as a transmitter of data. Available by the end of June, Firmo (yeah, sweet name) promises to revolutionize (perhaps) the way that we touch the world.


Essentially what happens is that there's a thin transmitter device in someone's pocket that, when the person comes in physical contact with a receiver-linked device, sends a weak AC current through the person's body to the receiver in the form of electricity. The initial application for such technology is for electronic locks. As soon as a subject with a transmitter in their pocket touches a door handle fitted with an electronic lock and Firmo receiver, the door will unlock.

The price tag for a 5 transmitter, 1 receiver set is ¥800,000 (or around $8,000US), but that's expected to drop once it begins to be mass-produced.

Right now the speed is only 230 kbps and works unidirectionally, but NTT is working on a version that will be 10 Mbps and send and receive data from either side. (It may be about two years or so before that.)

Think about that for a second. Theoretically, you could receive all of someone's contact information from them the moment you shake their hand. (No more business cards to keep up with!) You could send and receive video to and from a computer, poster or even your friend just by touching it (or him or her). This technology may eventually be incorporated into cell phones and other mobile devices so that when you're looking at products in the store, your phone will receive discounts or additional information for a product when you pick it up.

The technology starts to get a little scary when you imagine that such chips could be implanted into the human body so that they never can be turned off. I have my own theories about all that future tech stuff, but I'll spare you at the moment. I'll just let you keep thinking about your body being used as a data network.





(Oh yeah. One more scary thing: The first commercially available super-human-strength robotic exoskeleton was announced today in—of course—Japan. The even scarier part: the system is called HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb) and was developed by a company named Cyberdyne.)

Ukuleles and Kaisers

If I had an international successful rock band, this is the kind of stuff I'd pull. I've already talked about hiring an Indian man with only an elementary grasp of English to come out and sing the entire show in place of the singer. Here, the Kaiser Chefs perform their biggest hit from their latest album with the help of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. If you've never heard of the former, shame on you. If you've never heard of the latter, check out YouTube for a nice introduction.

The Kaiser Chefs and the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain - Ruby

Photoshop Phail

I have just found my new favorite blog. This is the art directional answer to my other favorites, Apostrophe Abuse and the "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks.

Hello, Photoshop Disasters.

As Peter Parker's Uncle Ben always told him, "With great power comes great responsibility." Since it's creation, Photoshop has put great power in the hands of the masses—the nearly unlimited power to alter an image (and thus our perception of reality) or perhaps even create one out of thin air. In advertising, Photoshop has single-handedly opened our industry to unlimited visual possibilities while also pulling focus from brilliant writing and concepts and replaced it with Photoshop versions of World's Strongest Man competitions. (See Archive for further details.)

That being said, it appears that some people are clearly in last place at the moment. Below is just a sampling of some of my favorites from Photoshop Disasters. Let it serve as a warning to us all—a very funny warning.


That magic stamp tool doesn't seem all that magical right about now.


Jessica Simpson's mutant sister, clearly kept hush-hush by her parents and Jessica's PR agent. (Note: They haven't done as well with Ashley.)


General Mills takes on not only women's body image but also racial integration in a whole new way.


Dude, this is just terrifying. Thanks for the nightmares, JC.


. . . but not correct perspective.


Check out Kirsten's arm here. Just look at it for a second. Is it really four feet long or is this a covert hint that she might actually be a super heroine herself? The Rubbery Woman? Goo Girl?


Batman Begins . . . to look pretty dumb here. This made me laugh out loud. Not so much a Photoshop phail as just a logical blunder. What does he find so interesting about that window frame? Maybe the bat needs to get his eyes checked.

Anyway, great blog. Tons of gaffes. Check out the blog for more. Don't make the same mistakes.

May I whiff your phallus?

I'm not sure what to really say about this. I mean, what can I really say? I guess you should probably just press play.

Riskay ft. Aviance and Real - Smell Yo Dick
My first reaction—OK, second—was that this is perhaps just a brilliant viral video for iPhone. Or maybe the world is just this dumb.

CSI: Creative Scene Investigation

The One Show's coming up in New York. And it will certainly be quite a show.

Bonus: The Circus is hosting a little shindig for alum at Lucky Jack's in Chelsea Thursday night. Copywriter extraordinaire/ex-lawyer/Jew Steve Nathans is responsible for a very funny invite and series of viral videos. Actually, they're only funny if you've done hard time in the halls of Circus. But I have, so it's funny.

CSI: 1 of 3


CSI: 2 of 3


CSI: 3 of 3

So, if you're in New York stop by.

Me . . . only not

Before I begin, let me state that this was shown to me by a friend research men's underwear for a packaging design project.

This image comes via the of-course-why-didn't-I-think-of-that-for-a-blog-idea blog Men's Underwear Blog, or as they affectionately refer to themselves, MUB.


This image bares a really terrifyingly striking image to me (from the neck up at least).

Ironically—or perhaps totally appropriately—I haven't bought a pair of tidy whiteys in over 15 years, but I'd actually wear those. Horse prints on underwear? That's kind of awesome. (Or maybe it's just because a more physically fit doppleganger of myself is wearing them, and I have some self-absorbed narcissistic complex that causes me to feel an affinity for them.)

Either way, funny.

Also, I'm not responsible for you clicking on that link above and then click on banner ads for companies such as Koalaswim.

I'z on yur computerz!

For those of you that don’t know, I’ve just unleashed my portfolio onto the world wide net at www.ievenwrotethissickurl.com.

But don't get too attached because, just like all the work in my book, the site is subject to severe change and slaughter. In fact, I’ll be launching a second (much more fun) site within the next two months or so. Oh yeah, and I’ll also be making a site for our agency, the Brandy Agency.

Web design bonanza.

Anyway, sneak a peek and let me know what you think.

Garfield Minus Garfield

Jon Arbuckle's always seemed a bit off to me. Huge buggy eyes, puffy brown mop, he spends his days conversing an obese cat who seems to be a nemesis of equal intellect and a dog that's missing half of its brain stem. But what if he didn't even have those companions around to keep him sane. Well . . . armed with that question and a little Photoshop magic, the Garfield Minus Garfield blog gives us a little peek into the schizophrenic, isolated, depressed existence of Jon Arbuckle.








Click the link for a whole lot more.

How sweet is this?/How long did this take to make?

Another gem from the Thank Krichmar Blog

Kraak & Smaak - Squeeze Me

In tents.

Maximum the Hormone - Bikini Sports PONCHIN

What will those Japanese think of next?

Man Hate Movie

Normally I'm a fan of artsy, quiet movies that capture a certain aspect of life so impossible to express except through gorgeous cinematography and brilliantly awkward dialog. Normally.

That being sad, I just saw perhaps the worst movie of my life tonight: Man Push Cart. The plot of the movie is . . . well . . . there is no plot. The essence of the piece is that you get to witness the monotonous, disappointing, lonely life of a Pakistani immigrant named Ahmad living in New York who runs a bagel and coffee cart in the streets of New York City.

I get what the filmmakers were trying to do. Still, it was a really terrible flick. While I've definitely seen worse movies as movies, this was the most uninteresting and non-engaging film I've probably ever seen. The cinematography was for the most part uninspired. The music was severely lacking. The dialog was dreadful. And over the screenplay was really terrible. It seemed more like a senior film thesis than a movie that had been nominated for various film festivals. Like I said, I suppose I can see the merit in its artistic approach, but overall, a wholly unenjoyable film with really no redeeming qualities.

Want to know the entire plot of the movie?


There you go. Sorry I just ruined the entire movie for you. Oh wait, it was already done before you put it on. That's basically all that happens for 87 minutes straight.

Literally, you see this same scene so many times (around 12-15) that it becomes laughable how really terrible the film is.

I guess the title in broken English should've been the first tip-off. I can't wait till the sequel comes out, Man Push Cart Again.

Epic Korean drumming

Slap a Tama drums logo on the end of this video, and you have the best viral video ever. EVER.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPWjNX4PBlI

Things to make you cringe

http://view.break.com/409510 - Watch more free videos



THE OTHER SIDE OF STEROIDS - video powered by Metacafe

Dumb luck.

Literally.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqq9zZR0fHI

The safe word is "blankie"

Along with the "Doughnuts and Fresh Seafood Restaurant" seen off I-10 in Texas, here's another gem from our recent LA-TX road trip, this time in Lake Charles, Louisiana: