version3.0

• Pei-San Ng makes incredbile art from matchsticks.
  
  (via Chairman Ting)
• A wonderful, short presentation from Kurt Vonnegut, describing the shapes of stories.
  
  (via kottke)
• There is something pretty interesting going on just around the corner from my new home here in Vancouver. This Space is working collaboratively with the community to create a new business in an empty building in Chinatown/Strathcona.
  
  They are going to run a voting and feedback process over the next few months on everything from what the business will do, to the employees who will work there. It is a great concept, and I am looking forward to seeing the results of such a long term and ambitious collaboration project.
• GoPro make some really cool, inexpensive little HD video cameras that are great for action sports. If you get a whole bunch of them together you can do some pretty incredible stuff:
  
  (via Spoke)
• More GoPro cameras put to good use. This beautifully edited short film about base jumping features incredible scenery from the incredible jump spots they use around Europe. I have a huge admiration for base jumpers, and it is something that I hope that I get the chance to do (and have the courage to go with doing it) one day.
  

  (via Infinity List)

• Anyone who has been keeping up with the changes at Facebook will no doubt have heard about the influence and input of Nicholas Felton (aka Feltron). Apparently while he wasn’t busy helping out with completely re-imagining the Facebook profile he has been helping one of his relatives, an Australian winemaker, with some unique, beautiful, and fascinating labels. The labels are data driven, displaying data about the process behind making that particular vintage. Things like heat of fermentation, the time the skin is left of the grapes, and the ripeness of the grapes. These are all things that contribute to the final complex flavour of the wine.
  
  You can read more of the story behind them, and check out the labels in more detail on the Between Five Bells site.
• Photographer Sam Gellman went on a four day trip to North Korea and took some incredible photos of their annual ‘Mass Games’. Apparently the image in the background is made up of 20,000 ‘pixels’ – each a Korean child holding a coloured card which they frequently change.
  
  (via MyModernMet)
• Kyle McDonald and Arturo Castro have been collaborating on some pretty cool real time face tracking and substitution. This seems to have culminated (at least for now) in the implementation below, which if you are a Phillip K. Dick fan will probably get you pretty excited.
  
  (via Creative Applications)
• Archie Out of Context (the brainchild of Ashleigh Rajela) does exactly what it says on the tin, and is very funny. Who doesn’t like a good double entendre?
  
• My good friend Matt has an incredible talent for making hilarious little video mash ups. David Schwimmer smashes the club with his latest tear out dubstep anthem:
  

I recently learned the story of Roman Opalka (via TodayTomorrow & Triangulation), a French-born Polish painter who’s work has left a huge impression on me.

In 1965 Roman began a work ‘OPALKA 1965/1-∞’ that would take him the rest of his life, more than 40 years, to complete. On that day in 1965 he began painting consecutive numbers, in white, on the top left of a black canvas the size of his studio door (which he called a “Detail”). He continued to paint in perfectly uniform rows until he reached the bottom right corner. Once he finished one “Detail” he would start another identical detail where the previous left off. Five years after he started he gave up all other projects to dedicate himself solely to this work.

Few changes were introduced during the course of those 40 years. He changed the background colour in 1968 to grey because grey was neither symbolic, nor emotional. In 1972 began gradually lightening the grey by one percent per “Detail”, with the objective of eventually painting white on white. He also introduced documentation to the method, recording himself speaking the numbers aloud as he painted, and photographing himself in front of his detail at the end of each day’s work. He avoided travel, but if it was necessary he produced “Cartes de voyage” a continuation of his numbers in black ink on white A4 paper.

In all he produced 233 canvases, right up until his recent passing on August 6, 2011.

I find myself drawn to this because of my predisposition toward projects at the intersection of art and science (I attribute that to my parents, I am the offspring of an english teacher and a maths teacher). More than that though, I am fascinated by this story of complete devotion to a task. Opalka would undoubtedly have had his detractors, those who said, either directly to him, or more likely whispered behind his back, that what he was doing was stupid, crazy, or ridiculous. But his strength of conviction, and commitment to his idea drove him to ignore that and complete something incredible. That to me is truly inspirational.

If you would like to know more about Roman Opalka and his work check out:

• The beautiful obituary in The Economist
• The official Roman Opalka website
• The reasonably comprehensive entry on Wikipedia

• Polar bear created from 20,000 zip ties. Yes.

  Created by Design Office Takebayashi Scroggin (D.O.T.S). (via designboom)

• In an effort to encourage the citizens Lucerne to make use of rubbish bins Clockworx came up with this fantastic idea turning it into a series of different games around the city.

  
  (via swissmiss)

• Japanese photographer AppuruPai has an incredible set of long exposure images from the new high speed train connecting Odaiba to Tokyo.

  
  (via today and tomorrow)

• Scottish dude Danny Macaskill does stuff on bikes that will blow your mind. You have probably seen some of his other films, and this fresh one is just as good. ‘Industrial Revolutions’ sees him take apart an old train yard, including an incredible display of tight rope riding.

  
  (via Pinkbike)

• Those clever folk at Deep Local have built a concept bike that lets you shift gears with your mind for Toyota Prius. While undeniably futuristic, it was built using readily accessible technology and components. Apparently with 10 minutes of training you can be smoothly shifting the gears of this beautiful Parlee Cycles one off design with nothing by the power of thought. Detailed coverage of the entire project is over on Prolly is not Probably.

  
  (via fastcodedesign)

• Berlin based generative design studio onformative has an impressive body of work. The solution they came up with for their most recent project for Actelion, a biopharmacuetical company, is elegant and impressive. They developed a custom Processing application that generates still and animated brand imagery for Actelion. What a fantastic approach to producing a cohesive brand identity.

  
  
  

  Actelion Imagery Wizard from onformative on Vimeo.

  (via CreativeApplications.Net)