Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Friday, October 10, 2008

ouch!


This is the third shattered iphone I have come across in the past two months. It's unbearable to see the smooth, silky glass cracked like an eggshell in so many different places. In fact, I have noticed one too many broken iphones that I am pleasantly surprised when I find one in tact. What's the deal? The iphone revolutionized the cell phone category with its lake-like touch screen, simple casing, and inexplicable magic. It seems so wrong for it to look like a pair of gym sneakers. 

The iphone above belongs to Peter who dropped it while someone tried to rob him of it. His situation is understandable, but he admitted that his roommate's iphone was also cracked. Why can't people just hold on to these beautifully expensive devices? Is it too sexy and sleek for it's own good? One more slip, and you may find out.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

the power of palm

My father, the most Gandhi-loving, energy-conserving, tree-hugging person I know called me tonight to tell me about an article he found in Time magazine about sustainable, throw-away dishes.

I love the square and hexagonal shapes of the palm-steamed verterra plates instead of the conventional round ones. It really separates itself from the costco-going, bj-bargaining consumer market and brings disposable to a whole new green-chic level.

The article brought me back to my vacation days in India when occasionally we ate our meals on large, flat banana leaves, which are wonderfully waterproof for all those curries. They are used especially during weddings in India when the entire village participates.

I couldn't help but feel my father encouraging me to find inspiration from our own culture for eco-friendly innovations. I was born in Kerala, India -the land of coconut trees, and quite possibly the place where Mike Dwork sourced his palm, and established his million-dollar business.

Friday, October 3, 2008

eye spy


This sculpture is like a giant video camera, and when inside I felt like I was part of a covert operation. The installation, called 'Vergence,' is based on the idea of a pinhole camera. Several holes are cut into the four sides of this structure and a lens is placed at each of the holes. Light refracts through the glass and projects the moving, outside scene up-side down onto hanging, plastic sheets. It's quite entertaining to figure out the mystery of this piece while standing in the darkness within and viewing the world without (you).

vergence - the simultaneous movement of both eyes in opposite directions to obtain or maintain single binocular vision - wikipedia.org