Some of you might have stumbled upon a fun blog of mine recently - Cooking for looking - an attempt to define culinary surrealism - making food that tastes great but doesn't necessarily look like food. (Or making a dish that looks like a different kind of dish e.g. looks just like a burger but is actually a dessert - I challenge you to make that one!:=) . I had been doing this for some time myself and was then encouraged by friends to spread the surrealism online.
These kinds of blogs have grown in popularity recently and the Times even ran an article on Cakewrecks the other day. Now, Cooking for looking is somewhat of the opposite of Cakewrecks - or thisiswhyyourefat.com for that matter - (I follow both) in that you show off your culinary bravado rather than your #fails. So good luck and share your creations on cookingforlooking at gmail.com. Oh, and check out the edible garden ... before the edible mummy wrecks it all.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Mr Krax finds a voice of his own
Krax (who hatched here) finally found a voice of his own, or rather became the unvoice of the Sweden social web-barcamp. Thanks to Henrik's ruby magic in the car and my cardboard craft the night before, he could read all tweets hashtagged #mrkrax in the main tent. Check out the Linux wizard below trying to figure it all out.
Update: Ted posted a really good summary of sswc on his blog (Swedish only).
Friday, August 21, 2009
Mr.Krax and Sweden social web camp
Heading down to Sweden social web camp with my friends Henrik Berggren and Ted Valentin and our new pal Krax (check out what that means in a Swedish dictionary). Krax hatched in the family kitchen late yesterday evening and has yet to learn how to speak. We're doing our best to remedy that by the time we arrive at Tjärö in the archipelago in southern Sweden.
Update: Watch Krax speaking tweets
Update: Watch Krax speaking tweets
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Creating the illusion of biking in the sky
Last Sunday I attended the NYU ITP grad student's open house and came across this marvellously analog project by Marios Diamantis - an upside down bike - check out the video I took from the exhibit below (note that the TV is upside down too and that he's pedaling backwards). Still can't make up my mind whether this is functional or dysfunctional. There is an officially sanctioned video here. Enjoy.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Innovation In C
Tonight I participated in the miracle of Terry Riley’s 'In C' (to borrow an expression from Louis CK) at Carnegie Hall. 'In C' is an amazing piece. This is what the score looks like:
The rules of the game are as follows: All performers play the same page of 53 melodic patterns in a sequence but with each musician having the freedom to determine how many times to play a specific sequence before moving to the next. Any kind of instrumentation is possible.
Basically the entire piece is improvised which is neat as each musician chooses when to phase in or out. But what’s really neat about it is that it gets you thinking about innovation. We tend to think of innovation as a one-man show. (And even in cases in which we say that organizations innovate we don’t really think it’s the group being creative). Here, on the other hand, the individual’s contribution isn’t interesting – what’s interesting is how the group innovates. It’s the interaction between individuals that creates musicality. As Terry Riley puts it in the performing directions:
“One of the joys of 'In C' is the interaction of the players in polyrhythmic combinations that spontaneously arise between patterns. Some quite fantastic shapes will arise and disintegrate as the group moves through the piece,”
Note that Riley writes “as the group moves through the piece”. 'In C' strikes me as the perfect example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Music flows from the interplay of patterns that "spontaneously arise". I tried to think of any digital equivalents during the performance but came up blank. Not sure mashups meet the bar. Any suggestions? (Listen to a sample?)
PS: Also, if you will, why not consider 'In C' as a metaphor for (internet) business. It seems dead easy to perform (I’ll probably regret saying this), but in principle anyone who can read rhythms can do it – much like anyone with basic programming skills can put together an app. Provide the platform and have others do the legwork
The rules of the game are as follows: All performers play the same page of 53 melodic patterns in a sequence but with each musician having the freedom to determine how many times to play a specific sequence before moving to the next. Any kind of instrumentation is possible.Basically the entire piece is improvised which is neat as each musician chooses when to phase in or out. But what’s really neat about it is that it gets you thinking about innovation. We tend to think of innovation as a one-man show. (And even in cases in which we say that organizations innovate we don’t really think it’s the group being creative). Here, on the other hand, the individual’s contribution isn’t interesting – what’s interesting is how the group innovates. It’s the interaction between individuals that creates musicality. As Terry Riley puts it in the performing directions:
“One of the joys of 'In C' is the interaction of the players in polyrhythmic combinations that spontaneously arise between patterns. Some quite fantastic shapes will arise and disintegrate as the group moves through the piece,”
Note that Riley writes “as the group moves through the piece”. 'In C' strikes me as the perfect example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Music flows from the interplay of patterns that "spontaneously arise". I tried to think of any digital equivalents during the performance but came up blank. Not sure mashups meet the bar. Any suggestions? (Listen to a sample?)
PS: Also, if you will, why not consider 'In C' as a metaphor for (internet) business. It seems dead easy to perform (I’ll probably regret saying this), but in principle anyone who can read rhythms can do it – much like anyone with basic programming skills can put together an app. Provide the platform and have others do the legwork
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Self-surveillance
My flip arrived a couple of days ago. I have been flaunting it to my friends and realized what it means to be a product advocate. I have relished in recorded conversations, jokes, smiles and heated debates (no worries I keep them to private as I was born into a generation obsessed with privacy). Now I’m just waiting for proper audio and video search so I won’t have to tag everything in my lifestream. Even better of course if it had enough memory for me to hang it around my neck and not worry about capturing all the fun going on. Highly recommended.
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