sleepinginmyhead

what's pharrell up to?

 

I'm all for folks embracing the term 'artist' in all it's forms, but seriously Pharrell, what's with the chairs?

the mobile studio

I forgot to mention, when I was on my way to Tokyo I shared a flight with Franz Ferdinand (the band, not the deceased Archduke). They were in the lounge when I arrived, and I thought that was my brush with fame for the day, but when I piled onto the plane they sat all around me, with Alex Kapranos in front. He was making music on the flight which was interesting. Just for the stat fans (hello Jase): He uses Spotify, and listened over and over to 'Previous Condition' by Lung Leg (spotify link). He then used a Korg Nano Key USB keyboard to create his composition in Logic Pro 9.

Sorry if I sound like a stalker, but it's a 12 hour flight, you notice things.

Etymology wednesday: Milliner

A milliner is the fancy name for a hat maker, but it's true origin means 'a vendor of fancy wares, especially those made in Milan' (it could well have been 'Milaner'). In the 1450's the Italian city was famous for straw works, fancy goods, ribbons, bonnets and cutlery, but by 1530 the word simply meant 'one who sells women's hats'.

new feature! S.I.S.

I work in London's Soho, a bustling cauldron of advertising, prostitution, TV and retail. As such it is frequented by a great deal of people who could be considered 'famous'. These famous types tend to come into town in the week, as they either a) have business or b) want to avoid being spotted by visitors at the weekend. That can't stop me though, so I've decided to keep a record of the famous types I see when popping out for my lunch. I've also decided to keep score too, here's how it works: 

10/10 would be a Barack Obama, 1/10 would be the guy who played Beppe in Eastenders. 

I'll try to give context wherever possible too, and perhaps a photo, although don't hold your breath, I'm not the 'photo a celebrity' type. So without further explaination, I'll begin.

SIS: Suggs from Madness, having a pint outside a pub on Berwick street. 4/10

etymology wednesday

WIG: Today's etymological endeavour is a long tale for a short word, the origins of 'wig' are tortured indeed. To begin, we need to start with the word 'peruke' meaning a 'natural head of hair', which finds it's own origins from the Latin 'pilus' or 'hair'. Over time, this word became corrupted through 'perruck' and 'perwyke' to become 'periwig', meaning 'one who wears a wig professionally', such as a lawyer. This was later shortened to 'wig' in around 1675. The Irish colloquial phrase 'wigs on the green' means a fight or a rumble, as wigs are likely to become detached during a fight, which leads to the contemporary phrase 'to flip one's wig', meaning 'behave hysterically'.

the quest for Nikka Pokka

I've just arrived back from Tokyo a little jetlagged but OK. I'll be posting a few more pictures and text over the coming days, but I thought I'd start with this. Whilst there, our research clients asked us to undertake a personal quest and document it, in order to begin our immersion into a different culture. I shot a small video documenting mine, which is above, and yes 'Nikka Pokka' does come from the english 'Knickerbocker', etymology fans...

now that's a promotion

Somewhere in Redmond, there was a meeting to discuss how to promote the launch of Windows 7:

"OK Tom, but we're known around the world as this big evil american corporation, and I think it harms our reputation, so we should try something different"

"How about a tie-in with Burger King? They did that for the Transformers movie?"

"Hmm I don't think so Tom, not sure it sends out the right signals, plus all that stuff about obesity might not reflect well on our brand"

"Stop being a pussy Brad, Oh oh oh oh! We could put seven burgers in it! for Windows 7! Best idea ever!"

"Errr, I'm not sure Tom..."

"Nah, that's what we're doing, I'm going on break....."

patent illustrations

Over the last few years I've seen my fair share of patents, and I've even been involved in a few, but one thing has always puzzled me: what's with the illustrations? When a patent is filed, it usually makes sense to include an illustration of the innovation, just to make sure everything's clear, but the quality of these illustrations is so poor that they often serve to confuse more than help. The illustrations which are produced by design led companies such as Apple look like something from the pages of an 18th century etcher or a 10 year old's homework diary. There are companies which specialise in illustrating your concept for a modest fee, which might make sense for a shed inventor, but I'm at a loss to understand why big budget hi-tech proposals are filed in this way. There is a long list of stipulations regarding the style of drawing permitted by the USPTO, but that doesn't explain the weird stylistic flavour. The only benefit I can conceive is that by keeping the drawings naive, there is much more room for interpretation or secrecy, both of which are useful in disputes. It is odd though, and whilst I'm at it what's up with police artists?

MW2 is coming

Next week sees the release of a landmark videogame which is destined to break all records and set a new standard for the market. On November 10th, Activision and Infinity Ward will release the snappily titled 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2', or 'MW2' for those in the know. There'll be some readers who are already reaching for the mouse to browse to something much less nerdy, but hang on a second. The game is set to sell 1.7 million units in it's first week in the the UK alone, making it far and away the most successful game of all time. If these predictions are realised, Activision will net an estimated £64 million in the first seven days, making MW2 bigger than the last Harry Potter film. The trailer for MW2 is above, and whilst I could have done without Eminem, the game looks stunning by anyone's standard.

nippon calling

After a hiatus of 18 months or so, I'm back to Tokyo tomorrow. We're off on a research trip, which looks particularly good from the agenda, so keep calling back for observations from the East. Remember you can view photographs on the sleepinginmyhead flickr stream by clicking on the images to the right or by following this link. (above, shinagawa station timelapse: 2008)