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Today Google launched their new beta Squared service. I tried it with the keyword "organs". Judge for yourself...
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Dotme
Regi's website is finally up and running. I like her design very much. Congratulations! (even available over IPv6)
TV Spots
Manchmal gibt es Werbespots, die sind so grottenschlecht, dass sie schon wieder gut sind. Der Spot der Fischer Bettwarenfabrik in Wädenswil ist so einer:
Der war so "gut", dass er sogar Nachahmer fand. Der folgende Spot war in Tele Züri zu sehen:
Der war so "gut", dass er sogar Nachahmer fand. Der folgende Spot war in Tele Züri zu sehen:
Priceless
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Planet in Peril
For those of you, interested in global topics, there is a very good book published by Le Monde Diplomatique. It contains about 300 large maps on a great variety of global topics. I found it extremely interesting, though somtimes a little depressing.
English: Planet in Peril
French: L'Atlas environment
German: Atlas der Globalisierung
English: Planet in Peril
French: L'Atlas environment
German: Atlas der Globalisierung
Not only as a stockholder of the publisher of Le Monde Diplomatique in its German edition, I highly support this suggestion.
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Tweakfest
I checked out the Tweakfest in Zurich this weekend, and god was I disappointed. Rarely have I seen worse organizational skills in action. The entrace hall of Technopark worked as the main event hall. There were several installations in that hall. Unfortunately there was not a single board with explanations. So visitors couldn't be quite sure WHAT they were seeing. It was even difficult to distinguish WHERE installations were and what they were supposed to show. If you wanted to know something you had to find the right person (who wasn't marked in any obvious way) and speak to them.
I even dropped by some of their presentations. One an "art" project allegedly which basically showed sequences from some selected YouTube videos (c'mon is that art?!?). Their first video showed some asshole cutting the eyelids off someones eyes which made me feel sick and I left these weirdoes.
The Flausen presentations were quite entertaining as always. Okay the guy who tried to fill the breaks with some home made electronic music was bad, not to say annoying.
On Saturday I had a look into a Second Life presentation. The guy on the stage was sooo bloody boring I almost fell asleep. He was clicking around in Second Life and made some idiotic comments like "Wow, this guy's from Brazil!" (uh how amazing is that?) and "Wow, look at the mirror effects in the floor" (yeah great effect from the 80s). I mean the 3D graphics in Second Life obviously sucks badly. So nothing to raise eyebrows there anyway. But it was a demonstration of how unbelievably boring this Second Life thing is! The presentation ended with the Wifi network breaking down. I just felt sympathy for that guy.
I actually heard that Wifi connections were a major problem throught the "festival". Why someone would rely on shaky Wifi for a presentation I don't understand. What's wrong with ethernet? Surely it would have been no problem to get a cable and a Switch within Technopark to any presentation.
There was also a presentation of World of Warcraft (which also suffered badly from Wifi). The interesting story about this presentation: They had announced it in their flyers but didn't actually have anyone to do it. Then just asked some friends "erm, would you mind...".
Actually they shouldn't have called the thing "Tweakfest" in the first place. Because only one presentation was about actually tweaking something. And that was some electronic soldering stuff.
Infrastructure wise the whole festival was horrible. They honestly were serving hot saussages and burgers only, along with sponsored cigrattes (WTF?) to those poor kids with no friends who were spending the day alone in a lounge chair with their laptops on their knees.
I think the "organizers" of the "festival" should have to appologize to Steve Wozniak for talking him into a keynote.
I even dropped by some of their presentations. One an "art" project allegedly which basically showed sequences from some selected YouTube videos (c'mon is that art?!?). Their first video showed some asshole cutting the eyelids off someones eyes which made me feel sick and I left these weirdoes.
The Flausen presentations were quite entertaining as always. Okay the guy who tried to fill the breaks with some home made electronic music was bad, not to say annoying.
On Saturday I had a look into a Second Life presentation. The guy on the stage was sooo bloody boring I almost fell asleep. He was clicking around in Second Life and made some idiotic comments like "Wow, this guy's from Brazil!" (uh how amazing is that?) and "Wow, look at the mirror effects in the floor" (yeah great effect from the 80s). I mean the 3D graphics in Second Life obviously sucks badly. So nothing to raise eyebrows there anyway. But it was a demonstration of how unbelievably boring this Second Life thing is! The presentation ended with the Wifi network breaking down. I just felt sympathy for that guy.
I actually heard that Wifi connections were a major problem throught the "festival". Why someone would rely on shaky Wifi for a presentation I don't understand. What's wrong with ethernet? Surely it would have been no problem to get a cable and a Switch within Technopark to any presentation.
There was also a presentation of World of Warcraft (which also suffered badly from Wifi). The interesting story about this presentation: They had announced it in their flyers but didn't actually have anyone to do it. Then just asked some friends "erm, would you mind...".
Actually they shouldn't have called the thing "Tweakfest" in the first place. Because only one presentation was about actually tweaking something. And that was some electronic soldering stuff.
Infrastructure wise the whole festival was horrible. They honestly were serving hot saussages and burgers only, along with sponsored cigrattes (WTF?) to those poor kids with no friends who were spending the day alone in a lounge chair with their laptops on their knees.
I think the "organizers" of the "festival" should have to appologize to Steve Wozniak for talking him into a keynote.
I tried to go to their homepage twice in the last couple of weeks. The first time it was not available. The second time, my browser froze when I tried to download the program.
mad
mad
Firefox ad
Wierd iPod accessories
BusinessWeek has some pictures of the strangest accessories for your iPod. My #1 is the iPod gloves, whereas I find the a belt very cool idea but poor design.
Recommended reads
Here are three books that all have to do with globalization:
I came across a wonderful book called The Hidden Connections by Fritjof Capra. It is scientific (Capra has a PhD in theoretical physics) but written for intelligent reads with little or no scientific education. The book is about life and alive systems in general. After exploring what the characteristics of life and living organisms are, Capra applies this theory on social end economic context and finds amazing results. The book offers many interesting details from biology, psychology, sociology etc. that are based on very recent research. But it also compares different theories that have accumulated over the centuries.
The second book I recommend to everyody who does not understand why people gather up in Davos every year to demonstrate against the World Economic Forum. It is called Das Neue Schwarzbuch der Markenfirmen by Klaus Werner and Hans Weiss. This is the new (2005) release of the former book with a similar title. It is probably not yet available in English, but in Spanish. This book shows you how many big western companies make their money by exploiting the third world, and how the global political structure and organizations encourage and support this abuse. The appendix features 50 companies (you know many of them) with detailed accusations of their practices. Good if you like adrenaline shooting through your veines.
The third book is related to the second one (actually cross-ref'd a couple of times). It is not new but still not so widely known here. It's called No Logo! by Naomi Klein. It is the main book about anti-globalization famous for its details about sweat shops.
Oh: You can buy sweat shop free clothes downtown Zurich from American Apparell.
I came across a wonderful book called The Hidden Connections by Fritjof Capra. It is scientific (Capra has a PhD in theoretical physics) but written for intelligent reads with little or no scientific education. The book is about life and alive systems in general. After exploring what the characteristics of life and living organisms are, Capra applies this theory on social end economic context and finds amazing results. The book offers many interesting details from biology, psychology, sociology etc. that are based on very recent research. But it also compares different theories that have accumulated over the centuries.
The second book I recommend to everyody who does not understand why people gather up in Davos every year to demonstrate against the World Economic Forum. It is called Das Neue Schwarzbuch der Markenfirmen by Klaus Werner and Hans Weiss. This is the new (2005) release of the former book with a similar title. It is probably not yet available in English, but in Spanish. This book shows you how many big western companies make their money by exploiting the third world, and how the global political structure and organizations encourage and support this abuse. The appendix features 50 companies (you know many of them) with detailed accusations of their practices. Good if you like adrenaline shooting through your veines.
The third book is related to the second one (actually cross-ref'd a couple of times). It is not new but still not so widely known here. It's called No Logo! by Naomi Klein. It is the main book about anti-globalization famous for its details about sweat shops.
Oh: You can buy sweat shop free clothes downtown Zurich from American Apparell.
I regularly wear American Apparel undies, however I can't confirm that they are always free of perspiration.
mad
mad
New skin album
Today over lunchtime I bought Skin's new album Fake Chamical State. It seems like I have found the CD that I will listen to the most this summer...
Gusgus live
Last night Gusgus from Iceland played in the Q Club (while queueing I tough that it's a rather silly name for a club by the way). It was a special night because it was the 5th anniversary of the Q. I went there with Ivan.
Gusgus started with some really strange songs and they had a hard time getting people started. But eventually they remebered their best songs and that was when I went totally crazy :-) Check out their website; they have all their songs as MP3s! David on their latest album Attention is my favourite.
I had seen them before in Volkshaus when they were the supporting act of Moloko a couple of years ago. And in that concert I actually liked them more than Moloko. I think it's the finest house music you can get these days.
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Gusgus started with some really strange songs and they had a hard time getting people started. But eventually they remebered their best songs and that was when I went totally crazy :-) Check out their website; they have all their songs as MP3s! David on their latest album Attention is my favourite.
I had seen them before in Volkshaus when they were the supporting act of Moloko a couple of years ago. And in that concert I actually liked them more than Moloko. I think it's the finest house music you can get these days.