iPad

Apple announced it newest piece of hardware today, the much anticipated iPad! First off the device looks amazing. The interface and industrial design appear to be everything we have come to expect from Apple products. And while there is a an incredible “Wow” factor I’m not sure that there is a space between a smartphone and a laptop for the non tech-savvy among us

All that said the device looks INCREDIBLE and I would love to be typing this post on one right now, going to have to start saving my change! Be sure to watch the video on the product page. It reminds me of all those youtube videos showing concepts of future computing technology. The future is now!

Daily Drop Cap

ith the increase of digital formats on which to consume written media it seems to some like physical books are becoming things of the past. While I don’t agree with this I do agree that things are changing, and fast. It’s always nice however to see people who are keeping it old school and taking design and typography back to some of it’s roots. It’s in this spirit that the daily drop cap was created.

Every weekday Jessica Hische posts another drool inducing initial cap not only for us to admire but to use as well. Along with each post is the code to use her beautiful typographic work, as we are doing in this post. She is also offering a VERY limited (2 prints total) run of her first Daily Drop Cap alphabet as a two color letterpress print.

Water Brains in China

I was exposed to this short animated film late last year and have watched it ten times or so to try and understand the meaning in some sort of relevant way, beyond the gorgeous animation.

The film comes from Guangzhou, China, depicting children studying under the rigorous draconian task masters that consume the work of the children; their brain steam, of course. Do not be fooled by the whimsical first forty seconds of this film, its realism is acute.

Establishing that talent and excellence have been employed here, I am so so curious about what this all really means. I think, after watching a few times, I might be closer to understanding what Chinese students (or students in most East Asian countries) are pressured to do; which is overachieve on a massive scale.

Clearly, the steam-eating beasts represent the machine of China, probably labeled ‘A Tradition of Excellence’ by the party. The human cost, however, is a lost childhood. What becomes of ones lost childhood? Does it get gobbled up, moving you to the next ‘level’ of excellence?

I love that the victims in the end use their intelligence against the steam-eaters, turning them into cute, harmless fuzzies. What a beautiful suggestion, to feed the beast until you know enough to destroy it.

In other words, this animation is smarter than I am.

Espresso

A beautiful video featuring one of Intelligentsia Coffee’s (I can only assume) fantastic barista’s explaining why espresso is such a beautiful and delicate art. With so much good coffee in Portland it’s easy to take for granted the skill involved in creating a finely crafted latte, and this video was a great reminder of the amount of skill that goes into creating a perfect cup of coffee.

(via laughing squid)

Sundance underdog

Showing at Sundance Film Festival as we speak, I’m pulling hard for this film, Nuummioq. First of all it’s fun to say. More importantly this is the first feature film to come out of Greenland. These guys have been working so hard to find funding since 2008, literally hitting the streets at Cannes asking for sponsorship. Additionally the filmmakers have released large amounts of behind-the-scenes peeks at the human costs of making a feature film in a country as remote as Greenland.

I really appreciate their honesty in approaching this work. I wish I could be at Sundance through Tuesday to show my support as the film makes its rounds.

As it turns out, friends of the Fort, The Woodlands, have two songs in the film, which couldn’t be more perfect. The Woodlands are just as dreamy as the berg-bearing fjords and cold sensibility of the film.

From Producer M. H. Lynge:

What begins as an unremarkable outing becomes a transcendent journey at the edge of the world as he grapples with his elusive past and tunes into the present. So breathtaking and luminous is Nuummioq’s landscape that you can almost feel the brisk air oxygenating your lungs.

Nuummioq Sundace page & screening schedule.