Just saw two projects that I thought were really interesting with Hallmark. The first is a printed book with a recorder (google: Hallmark recordable book), so the small device captures you reading a story to your kids. Below, if you click on the link, you can watch a video of how this works. I find this a very engaging experience.

http://www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/article%7C10001%7C10051%7C/HallmarkSite/GoldCrownStores/GCS_HOLIDAY_GIFTS_STORYBOOKS

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The second is a voice-recognition stuffed animal. I remembered while I was attending ITP, several students experimented with this type of interaction. There are several types of interactions that are described here:

http://corporate.hallmark.com/Product/Valentines-Day-Gifts

This is a seed to an interesting project.

http://www.internetarchaeology.org

I remembered growing up through junior high and high school, history was so mundane. I felt like I was reading irrelevant content, which sounds so sacrilegious. I do remember some blitzes here and there, and I was interested in McCarthyism, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Thurgood Marshall, and Brown vs. Board of Education, but everything else is a bit of a blur (and I took AP History, lol).

Anyway, later on through travel and practicing design, I grew to love history. Last year, when I visited Ireland, I borrowed a couple of travel books that explained the whole history of Ireland within a chapter or two. And about 10 years ago, I took a class on the history of graphic design (taught by Carl Heinz), and we had to read The History of Graphic Design. I didn't buy the book because it costed $80 at the time. Instead, I borrowed it from a friend. I believe with the exception of a couple of chapters, I read that whole textbook, and was fascinated how history was perceived by creatives. Anyway, I recently checked the price online, and I snatched one for around $3.00. I really can't believe my luck. In retrospect, I think history should have been taught with this book first, or any history relating to the arts. Cultural and art events that relate to the era (e.g. Bauhaus movement in relation to the war), or Paul Rand's controversy (with this magazine cover for Direction) can be of interest because of the artifacts produced in that era.

Anyway, Amazon is offering a Kindle version (sigh), which I highly don't recommend because there are lush visuals to accompany the text. It almost costs the same amount for the hardback version.

For more about Paul Rand, this article was recommended by Nick Sears and Jonathan Cousins (who have stronger "developer" skills) -- a good read for the geeks out there.
http://www.paul-rand.com/thoughts_politics.shtml

Michael Ang referred this screen to me. It's pretty amazing. It is low-power, has without-backlit option (reading screen in sunlight is easy), and color option. Pretty amazing technology. If you do a search on the Engadget site, you will see some posts about a demo in Google Android tablets at CES. A netbook using this screen is going to cost ~$100, amazing!

Here are some good ones:

Anonymous

Feds monetary policies create financial disasters; Great example of a pyromaniac working for the fire department.

Charles Hampton

Thank you for being a light to the world. I have every confidence that Wikipedia will help lead us out of the dark ages.

Albert Morton [this guy donated $100]

I never thought about Wikipedia needing money. OK! I'm on board now.

Karl Jay Garcia

If I could only have ONE website, it would be wikipedia

Adam Burton [he donated 2 Canadian dollars]

I dont have much this year....but thank you for letting me use this wonderful source of knowledge,

Maybe this is why I am strangely attracted to process. Here is the original link. #33 (e.g. recreate an experience with the constraints of the current environment) and #42 are what often goes through my mind.

1. Allow events to change you. You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them.

2. Forget about good.
Good is a known quantity. Good is what we all agree on. Growth is not necessarily good. Growth is an exploration of unlit recesses that may or may not yield to our research. As long as you stick to good you'll never have real growth.

3. Process is more important than outcome.
When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we've already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we want to
be there.

4. Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child).
Joy is the engine of growth. Exploit the liberty in casting your work as beautiful experiments, iterations, attempts, trials, and errors. Take the long view and allow yourself the fun of failure every day.

5. Go deep.
The deeper you go the more likely you will discover something of value.

6. Capture accidents.
The wrong answer is the right answer in search of a different question. Collect wrong answers as part of the process. Ask different questions.

7. Study.
A studio is a place of study. Use the necessity of production as an excuse to study. Everyone will benefit.

8. Drift.
Allow yourself to wander aimlessly. Explore adjacencies. Lack judgment. Postpone criticism.

9. Begin anywhere.
John Cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. His advice: begin anywhere.

In an effort to push publishing forward, Esquire magazine experiments with augmented reality. Last year, it was eInk, this year, AR. Now, I'm just going to guess that the creators used Adobe Air and/or Flash for this? Or do they use Open GL. In any case, the quest to push the digital realm of 3D to our physical spaces is hot right now. Other uses of AR is Yelp's "Monocle" feature of the iPhone app. Esquire's and Yelp's foray into AR is still premature, but nevertheless, it's definitely worth the experience (Esquire: $3.95/Yelp: free). I can really see AR in gaming or educational applications, but as Esquire demonstrates, AR can be used for advertisements as well (see Lexus AR - reappropriating infrared tech). There were some fullscreen issues with this ad (see photo below-looks like non-HD footage on HD screen). Any HD consumer of media would think this was a mistake rather than intentional.

If you are strapped for cash, just check out my screenshots, but the relevant ones are embedded in this blog post.

To begin with, Barbarian and Psyop worked on the tech and design of the AR for Esquire. You download the software onto your computer, and hold up the magazine's semicode to a web cam. I really enjoyed Robert Downey Jr.'s monologue and the fashion bit. I phased out on Jillian (maybe because of her story didn't interest me), except for the last part, which she says, visit her past midnight, and she'll tell you another joke. I am definitely going to try it after midnight to see if her content varies. You can change the direction of semicode to activate different 3D video clips.

The scattered letters for Robert Downey Jr.'s would appeal to any student of typography. The illustrations for the fashion exhibition (not really a slide show, more animation) were definitely really cool. All in all, the AR experience was beautiful and hip.

The slide show exhibiting "jr's" work was probably the most frustrating experience. Partially because jr's photographs are so compelling, but navigating through the media was très difficile. I spent a good 20 minutes flipping directions of semi-code, since the slide show player was too speedy. The photography looked better on my screen than the magazine, but navigating through print pages was definitely more convenient.

Last, was a jazz sample from an artist. An experience you can't get from print. But aside from the great music, it was a pretty flat experience. Maybe AR will help save the cost of print for publishers, but readers will pay with their time. Consider this: Would you want to download a piece of software to access to experience another dimension of your magazine? Would you do this for every magazine you have? Is this AR experience immersive enough to repeat weekly or monthly?

In any case, I was narcissistic enough to get a cool profile photo out of this experience ;)

Full-screen warning by Esquire and app confirmation.

Lexus Ad

Fashion Animation/Exhibition

Slide show of jr's compelling photography.

Music AR experience.

First of all, MoMA is exhibiting Tim Burton's work.

Aside from that, if you don't live in New York, check out this site I found:
http://www.timburtoncollective.com/multimedia.html

It features episodes of Stain Boy, and some characters from the Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy. There is an edition where the cover is black and purple (beautiful cloth bound). Most of the animations are done in Flash and are beautiful (they are funny, ridden with sarcasm). Tim Burton is a creative genius.

Also, check out his free fonts (which are cool, and not as cheesy as most free fonts):
http://www.timburtoncollective.com/fonts/fonts.html

This year because of the economy, I am seeing more people travel within the states. Well here are some steals if you don't have a lot of money to travel abroad for the holiday season. Here are some advantages compared to flight (e.g. you don't get pinged if you want to bring another bag, you don't have to go through all the security hassles, they are pretty lenient in canceling or rebooking rides, there are outlets so if you wanted to work you could, you can bring your own wireless card and use it on the train).

Amtrak offers these deals:

Rail pass

15-day pass (8-legs) for $389
They also offer 30-day and 45-day passes, perfect for students to travel together in the summer.

Just watched CNN Heroes show that awarded people making a difference. The premise is there were ~9k applicants, but they awarded 10 people $25k, and allowed people to vote for 1 out of the 10 to receive an additional $100k. I thought the award (etched wooden plaque) was interestingly designed (not the black case for the "Hero of the Year" -- looked like a coffin). In any case, I wished CNN awarded more than $25k to all recipients, but they may recieve more money from just the high visibility of this show. Was wondering where Bono was.

These were the people who made a difference (in the order of CNN's presentation of awards):

Doc Hendley
Bringing clean water to devoloping countries.
http://www.winetowater.org/

Roy Foster
Aids homeless veterans a second chance (was formerly homeless and veteran himself).
http://www.standown.org/

Efren Peñaflorida
Pushcart classes so kids can be interested in education rather than gangs.
http://dynamicteencompany.org/

Jordan Thomas
Provides proesthetics to amputees 18 and under (mostly shyed away from Health insurance companies).
http://www.jordanthomasfoundation.org/

Betty Makoni
Women's Rights Advocate (Counciling Women who have been raped--Probably the most disturbing story is health rumor that men can cure HIV by raping virgins).
http://girlchildnetworkworldwide.org/

Derrick Tabb
Started a music ed afterschool program (teach and form bands) in New Orleans for poverished. I also read about how successful music ed program is in NY school (if interested, read Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers).
http://www.therootsofmusic.com/

Jorge Munoz
Drives a bus during the day, and at night prepares and delivers homemade meals to unemployed people in New York.
http://www.anangelinqueens.org/

Brad Blauser
Provides wheelchairs for Iraqi kids so they are empowered with mobility. Also aids parents too.
http://www.wheelchairsforiraqikids.com/

Budi Soehardl
Budi is a pilot, but he also started an orphanage in Indonesia. They have 49 kids.
http://www.roslinorphanage.org/

Andrea Ivory
Provides mammograms to uninsured women for early detection of breast cancer. If you see her dress at the awards show, the bustier part of the dress (I think) signifies the pink ribbon of breast cancer.
http://www.flbreasthealth.com/