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prior listings

 

• how do you feel? 6/27/02 
  Description: You feel physically surrounded by other beings. Their moods impact on yours.
  Comments: The bad news is that 2001, overall, was a sad year.  Approximately 64,000 clicks were registered to come up with the result.  There were over 36,000 "sad" clicks – oddly enough, as the graph shows, the lowest point in the year (the saddest) appears to be early-to-mid October and the next lowest, around Christmas time.  I'm thinking this thing that measures the "world wide mood" must be somewhat accurate.  The good news is that 2002 is looking up – the world wide mood is happy again, though the total number of clicks seems to be drastically running behind last year's responses.  The concept is based on an offline art idea in Berlin where an apartment building was to be equipped with "feelers" in each of its 360 units.  Inhabitants would press a button to indicate their mood (happy or sad) and the indicator on the outside of the building would show the overall mood of its residents.  Taking the concept online is very cool, but I'll warn you that you'll find what's probably the world's biggest cursor there (which seems so appropriate considering that it's all based on clicks.  Today's results are happy so far but I guess that can change – swing by and let 'em know how you feel...
   
• microknee 6/26/02 
  Description: writer/poet/singer-songwriter Chad Smalley's megajournal of poems, songs, drawings, photos, thoughts, stories and strange noises
  Comments: 33-year-old Chad is currently "shacked up in Houston... finishing a long overdue degree in English/Creative Writing."  There's a picture his mom took of him writing when he was only 6.  Back then, it was "picture stories" he created, but today it's poetry and songs.  In addition to the journal (or should I say as part of Chad's "megajournal"), he shares a number of his poems and has three demo songs you can download (.mp3).  I listened to 2 of the songs and they're pretty good.  Primarily influenced by "Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel and The Beatles" but also "shaped by" the likes of Ferlinghetti, Bowie, Einstein, R.E.M., Dylan, and the Who, Chad's "currently plotting a solo album."  His journal is interesting and the site design is excellent.  "Wanker?"  Naaaw...  Creative?  You bet!
   
• milov.nl 6/25/02 
  Description: the personal website of Milo Vermeulen
  Comments: Today's pick comes from Wateringen, Holland – it's the personal site of 23-year-old Milo, a recent graduate in Interaction Design who works coding HTML, JavaScript, PHP, and MySQL, and knows oodles about DHTML as well.  The weblog is the site's starting point – plenty of interesting links and, better yet, it's rich in photographic content.  Looks like Milo likes taking photos every day.  Coding, huh?  Check out the way his comments feature works – expandable/collapsible right on the page – that is cool.  I also like the way it parenthetically shows the names of people who have commented next to the toggle link.  There's a number of other sections beyond the weblog – "graphics" and "photos" are both rich in visual content, but be prepared to use your browser's navigation buttons in these sections as well as in the "i.am/bald" section, which contains a lot of cool coding experiments and what Milo calls "(d)html artworks."  The "forum" has some good user-submitted content (like more photos, baby!) and Milo's "links" page is a big one.  Overall, the site is well-designed, visually appealing and rich in content – cheers Milo...
   
• MAGNIFY™ 6/24/02 
  Description: an online digital print magazine (Adobe Acrobat Reader)
  Comments: Similar to one of my picks back in March (see 3/18/02), today's pick delivers its unique content in .pdf format – it calls itself an "online print magazine" and I suppose if you have a decent quality color printer with the right stock in the feed, you'd be able to enjoy it offline in hardcopy form as well – but my guess is most users enjoy the great visual content via their browsers using Acrobat Reader.  The current issue is their second and features the works of 13 participants from 6 different countries.  The "invited designers" are given size specifications to follow, but the rest is entirely up to each of them.  The result is a most enjoyable collection of colorful artworks "that can be downloaded and/or viewed off this website" – very nice!
   
• eyewideshut 6/23/02 
  Description: visual archives of German designer/photographer Markus Schaefer (Flash)
  Comments: Of the 5 "visual" sections, there's 2 that I really, I mean really like and if I had to pick one over the other, I couldn't.  One is called "Closer" and the other, "Out."  They are starkly different – one's photos are all grayscale (at least they appear to be b&w to me) and the other's shots are delightfully mixed greens plus earth tones.  Markus is an extraordinary photographer.  And the site's design is a sweet combination of minimal design and Flash.  Enjoy!  
   
• Deeeesign Aid™ 6/22/02 
  Description: the number one style source for digital artistry
  Comments: It's "simply the finest resource in aiding young and ambitious individuals trying to make their way into the fields of digital art and interactive design."  Right at the outset, I'm thinking "come on guys – you just got here and you're already the finest?"  Call me skeptical, but they've gotta be pulling my leg.  "Nowadays, since there are hundreds of thousands of people getting involved in the digital game, it is becoming harder and harder to stand out from the masses."  With that statement, I'm starting to think they're bein' straight with us, though they did forget to mention how many of us hundreds of thousands are underemployed.  So, they say "style is what separates the pros from the ams..." and that they're "the number one style source" and they'll help you "develop top-notch style."  But once you go to download any one of the three "specials" (like the "global emergency design kit"), you realize that your first impression was absolutely correct – they are goofin' on ya.  Host a design contest and use slab serif fonts if you wanna be hip and think twice before adding a news window to your personal site.  The site is absolutely full of... ummm... errr... advice – yeah, that's the ticket!  If I'm not mistaken (though I've booted a few), this is great satire...
   
• Me Head 6/21/02 
  Description: So now Me Head is no longer in print. It is only online, and we are fine with that. For now.
  Comments: Syg Pound and friends are celebrating their 2nd anniversary ("at least in rough draft form") – the whole thing started in "one of the most uneventful years in American history."  The plan was go live in print and on the web and they actually managed to put out six printed issues.  "Our hope was to sell ads in order to pay for print runs, but somewhere in the process, we forgot to sell ads."  And so, the online version lives on despite Syg's nervous breakdown.  "A College Droput, an Army Reject, a Social Misfit, and a Poetry Student" is the team that launched this puppy (in Syg's words) and I've got to admit that the content is oddly amusing (you'll find links to the current issue's articles at the bottom of the sidebar on the main page).  Though Tulsa and a few other select cities no longer enjoy the printed version, which was distributed in a nifty display that later became a museum piece, they can thank the web for delivering this whacky journal on an ongoing basis.  It's amazing what you can pull off for $12 per month...   [Grouse]
   
• play / create 6/20/02 
  Description: a collection of Shockwave interactive art
  Comments: At first, the "clock" looks like a simple thing, showing the time with a small, slow-moving animation in the background.  Then, I figured out that you can get that 3D box goin' with a little mouse magic – before I know it, the thing is spinning real fast, leaving faint, fading trails of its movement behind – very cool!  I'm not sure you could pull this one off in Flash – today's pick uses Shockwave and there's 8 pieces of interactive art.  I particularly liked "new flowers" – not to be confused with "(foreplay) flowers" which is just as good! – the intensity of the colors and the 3D movement are astounding – very organic.  The piece I liked the most, though, is called "(foreplay) pop" – drag the mouse to one of the corners of the window and keep dragging and holding it in various spots and watch what it does – cool soundtrack, too.  The name of the site is right on the money...
   
• Private and Public 6/18/02 
  Description: Portraits of pedestrians at Marble Arch, London (Flash)
  Comments: Today's pick is a unique project from photographer Simon Høegsberg – most of the pictures were "taken from the same spot" and they span a period of 1 full year.  Four seasons of portraits, all "snapshots of pedestrians who happened to walk into the frame of the camera."  Jesper Elg, who wrote the "Notes" talks about the project in terms of "intimacy vs. surveillance" – a most interesting read – "...people carry their feeling visibly and how often you tend not to notice it, especially in crowded surroundings and in the transit of everyday life."  Presented via Flash, the content is excellent and as far as design goes, excellent as well.  Rune Høegsberg (Simon's brother, perhaps?) is the site's designer.  Simon discovered his interest in photography in 1995 and left his home in Denmark in 1998 to study photography in London – he graduated this year.  I love people photos and Simon's work is most satisfying – the portraits seem so real...
   
• crystallyn.com 6/17/02 
  Description: In demand, super dream, drama queen. Wild eyed stare, golden hair, skin so fair. Taste this life twice. Therapy for this doomed planet.
  Comments: "We write to taste life twice" is an interesting way to describe the art of words.  Crystal a/k/a the poetess has an optimistic imood at the moment – I've got a feeling it applies to her most of the time.  The most important element of a personal website, in my prejudiced and slightly whacked but consistent opinion, is honesty – when the words hit you square between the eyes as being sincere, you've hit the realm of personal expression – the realm that interests me most about the web and today's pick hit me in that special way.  "...and we know what that makes of both you and of me and / so here we are, at a terrible impasse, perched on the edge / of a sheer precipice, looking downward, without realizing that / one of us has already fallen off."  Though taken out of context, the words above are powerful by themselves, helping make sense of the feeling she "wasn't really breathing anymore."  Not everyone appreciates poetry, I know, but words (poetry or prose) serve a purpose, afterall, to both the writer and the reader – in my case, Crystal's 4 lines made me understand something about myself.  Powerful.  Her unique style of describing herself in the "Me" section grabbed me as well – I may try to write my own bio in the same format – "...full moon. long distance phone calls. foreign films. emotional conversations. voyeurism. pop-it-beads. sudden kisses. warm towels. amusement parks. summer heat lightning... rollercoasters. walking through cemeteries. grape juice. moonstones. surprise packages. frozen winter trees..."  And what a great photo!  An interesting personality shines through the words...
   
• For The Masses 6/16/02 
  Description: design to survive - promoting the finest in New Zealand online culture to a global audience
  Comments: Something I really like about the web is the chance to learn more about places around the world, sometimes through the eyes of photographers, and other times, through alternative portals which focus on sites in specific geographical areas.  Whether those portals are design-related or not, I appreciate the service they provide to web surfers interested in learning more about places they might never actually visit in their lifetimes.  Some recent picks that demonstrate geographical focus include NYC Bloggers (6/10/02), cool.online (3/27/02), and Design Radar (2/25/02).  Like these sites, today's pick is a window to a specific locale.  14 designers and developers, all Kiwis (they're from New Zealand, that is), have banded to together to promote the "online culture" of New Zealand.  The site design is as good as it gets, IMHO, and the graphics are superb.  Other previous daily picks among the members are Grant (lostpixel.com) (3/10/02) and Reinoud (Reinvent) (10/20/01).  I love the art in the "Panels" section and the screenshots in the "Links" section.  "Profiles" (with similar tasty graphics) has some interesting interviews of Kiwi designers.  Great site!
   
• 665 6/15/02 
  Description: a list of six hundred and sixty-five different and (quite possibly) interesting things (mature content)
  Comments: JSP warns that his site "is anything but a family site" and that it's not for you "if you're easily offended — hell, if you're offended by any thing at all, ever..."  He also states that "disclaimers suck."  That's JSP as in J.S. Power, as in Jeffrey S. Power, not to be confused with that big concern, J.D. Power, which I only mention because I figured out why JSP's named seemed familiar to me.  Anyway – today's pick is actually a list that's being built – a list of "(quite possibly) interesting things.  It has a predefined number of things on the list and is almost 2/3 of the way towards reaching its completion.  It's unclear what will become of the site when the list stops – JSP does say "the format won't change until the last number is hit."  The content is hard to describe, but I will say I found some intelligently funny stuff among the items on the list.  Jeffrey earned his "one out of ten" rating, but not for his good looks as it turns out, and it's not hard to understand why that personal ad he placed got no responses.  Some of the photo series are a gas, too (see 399 thru 403).  Maybe the best way I can describe it all is "thoughtfully strange."  "Sounds like a goofy pick, Joe" you say?  I'll just let JSP respond to that one – "Yes, it's a fairly stupid idea. But then, so are a lot of ideas..."
   
• Virtual Plastic 6/11/02 
  Description: ..surgery for Windows. Collected tweaks and links to change the look.
  Comments: Let's switch gears today to the realm of resources on the web.  Got Windows?  Chances are you do.  Like the way everything looks?  Chances are you don't.  It might be the "Start" button that you find annoying or maybe you've always wished you could "skin" the windows.  Perhaps being able to add a folder of shortcuts (an embedded "submenu") to the systray would be useful to you.  Enter today's pick, a repository of sorts for information and tools related to changing the look of Windows – there's also tons of useful information if you just want to get a grip on some "basics" of using Windows.  My impression is that most of the software tools are designed for more advanced users and you might hear that little voice within saying "don't try this at home" now and then.  I've noticed in some of the posts that they make it a point to specify if the software tool is friendly to beginners or not.  I like the look and feel of today's pick – nice navigation (love the expanding menu) and the search engine works well.  The site has been online for over 3 years and is updated frequently – the "Site Info" menu on the sidebar is a good place to start...
   
• nyc bloggers 6/10/02 
  Description: there are a million blogs in the city; here's where to find them
  Comments: "New York City probably has more bloggers per square mile than anywhere else in the world."  Makes sense to me 'cause I'm guessin' New York City probably has more people per square mile than anywhere else in the world.  I might be wrong about that, but we can safely conclude that New York City is one big mass of humanity.  So – a directory of bloggers in the Big Apple would be cool in itself, but Mike and Liz came up with something much more unique than a directory – "...shouldn't there be a better way to find other New York City blogs?"  The site actually maps almost 800 NYC blogs (and growing!), using the subway system as the grid – There's 2 blogs on Broadway, 12 off the Kew Gardens exit, 15 on 7th Avenue, and so on.  Since I encountered this site a few weeks back, I've been thinking how cool a concept it really is.  Just imagine the possibilities!  There's a rather elaborate backend in place, thanks to the work of Matt Johnson – and the frontend is impressive, too – nice design and excellent navigability.  Check out the "9/11 Posts" section while you're there.  It's nice to add such a neat alternative portal to the collection...
   
• Fubbs 6/8/02 
  Description: the world of Fubbs (Flash)
  Comments: The guy in the bigger flying machine seems to be at an advantage – his propeller gets in the way of those other guys in the little backpack models – but if they get past the propeller, they manage to grab it with their lines and pull the bigger flying thingy further up into the clouds.  Before they were planes.  Let's call today's pick retro plus as it emulates the style of the 1800s with it's graphics and art (that's right, I said art!).  A click on the classic pointing hand will close the curtain and bring you back to the main stage where the rotating image machine offers more iconic choices.  I pick the puppet show next, not knowing that's what it is until I get there.  When and if Jacob dies and I become the new uber usabilility tzar, I'll vote for this type of navigation, especially at $10k a pop... ;~).  The puppet show is totally entertaining – I can't stop playing with it, making the puppet dance to the music on the gramophone.  More curtain calls – more amusement from what appears to be one of those traveling shows I've seen in some old western – only this one uses Flash...  [stereot < pixelsurgeon]
   
• sadee 6/7/02 
  Description: independent projects - design and process (Flash)
  Comments: There's a neat little list of women designers (with links to their sites) that I recently discovered – if you're a woman designer, you may wanna swing by there and see if you're listed.  Anyway, I've been checking out some of the listed sites I wasn't already familiar with and today's pick is one that really impressed me.  Milena Sadee's Flash interface uses what looks like little contact sheets, overlapped and horizontally scrollable along the bottom of the work area – very smooth – the icon sized thumbs are clear and inviting.  In addition to a section of Flash experiments, there's also sections of images from Mexico and Belize that I really liked – image #05 in the Belize section is really artsy and #08 in the Mexico section left me feeling a little sorry for the poor bull.  Another section called "halou" has some interesting multiframe series – check out #05.  I like the way Milena's fit the site perfectly for 1024x768 – this is an excellent design with great visual content...
   
• hunkabutta.cöm 6/6/02 
  Description: Tokyo photos, a stranger's life in pictures
  Comments: "I've always enjoyed living vicariously through other people's sites, so now I feel that it's time to give something back, to share a little bit of my life in Tokyo with whoever might be interested."  Born in Canada but now living in Tokyo, Mike Clarke is the guy behind today's pick.  I found a number of interesting posts in this weblog/journal/photolog kinda site, both textual and visual – surprise! – the photos are what really made me wanna dig in – Mike's good at it.  Click on any photo and you'll get the fullsize version (which is pretty standard, I'll admit), plus a cool twist – send it as a postcard.  If you really wanna see the variety of shots, hit the "gallery" – "Tokyo Flowers" – "Baby Gallery" – "The working man" – I hate to use a certain cliché I see far too much on the web (not on today's pick, thank you), but I'm gonna – "...and more!"  Did I just say that?  Ewww...  Anyway – I'm tickled to have discovered Mike's "life in pictures" – did I ever tell you how much I like cool photo sites?
   
• Masqued.net 6/4/02 
  Description: ... my passions incinerated. An exhibition of digital art, design and personality overdose.
  Comments: The site was "born on 28th May 2002" after having been built in 3 days earlier that month.  Helena calls it "a digital extension of self and soul."  The metaphor of "masked dancers" whose destiny is to "momentarily colour the world" sets an effective tone for this highly personal space of art and words.  Helena is obviously driven by her love for Dmitri and the artistic stirrings within her – after going through a tough time dealing with a "fear of design" based on her experience with another site in 1999, she met Dmitri last year and "rose from the flames" with new confidence and creative energy and "artistry prevailed."  And here we are now with the birth of Helena's newest endeavor – "a dedication to [her] drifting soul and for the one who ignites it."  So that's where the story of today's pick begins.  I think they used to call this type of site a "sculptured" one, and another old phrase, "vanity site" comes to mind as well.  I'll simply call it a beautiful site, full of real personality.  There's a few other projects linked here in the "masks" section – Helena's elegant style shines through all her work – special talent – "Magick" indeed!  And the end of the story is that Helena is only 16 years old...
   
• flawed 6/3/02 
  Description: An exhibition of new art by Tavish... Reality is overrated.
  Comments: This doesn't happen often – today's pick has the same site name as a previous pick – two great websites sharing the same single-word handle is where the similarity ends, though – each is unique in its own right.  Today's pick is a gallery of 6 pieces of "new art" from Tavish, a Canadian artist in Montreal.  The almost-real subject of each artwork seems to represent an emotional state or human condition (to me, anyway) and I think Tavish does a good job in conveying expression and mood through the artificial characters.  Ask Tavish what it's about – "perception, alienation, fashion, sex, culture, convergence, obsession, distortion, dichotomies, and (of course) the liminal."  Each piece is presented in Flash with an interesting twist of interactivity – following the link to each "source artwork" is something I'd recommend.  Can artist and designer be one in the same?  You tell me...