I think the one thing people want most, when it comes to leisure, is good cultural experiences. This is a product of focusing on breadth and depth.
In the future, the most admired art won’t just be aesthetically pleasing or emotionally stimulating. Though it must also be that. In the future, the thing that will separate good art from bad art will depend on how the artist decides to incorporate social interactivity. You won’t just see, and then feel. You will also [...]
I think a good life is experiencing wonderful art. Whatever “art” is to you.
1. John Mayer 2011 Clinic (berklee-blogs.com) Berklee was visited by celebrity and Grammy Award-winning alum, John Mayer. Similar to his 2008 clinic, John Mayer demonstrated his candor about the pitfalls of the music industry, his sarcastic humor, and, of course, his skill as a guitarist and songwriter. Most impressive, though, was the amount of time [...]
Now, when coding, I try to think ‘How can I write this such that if people saw my code, they’d be amazed at how little there is and how little it does?’ -Anonymous
I’ve realized that I see things differently than most people. Sometimes, I also see different things.
1. Design Without Designers (core77.com) I will always remember my first introduction to the power of good product design. I was newly arrived at Apple, still learning the ways of business, when I was visited by a member of Apple’s Industrial Design team. He showed me a foam mockup of a proposed product. “Wow,” I [...]
In today’s world, much of formal education is focused on subjects such as math, science, English, history, computer science, business & economics, engineering, among sub-disciplines and specializations within each. I think peoples’ efforts to improve education in these fields are needed. I think these fields are important. But I think they’re no longer enough. And [...]
In the media, people often talk about the U.S.’s shortage of engineers. As a result, they encourage kids and students to become engineers. I think that’s good, but I don’t think it’s enough. I think we also need to focus on design. The U.S. needs better designers. It needs better design. Design should be one [...]
I agree that the purpose of copy is to sell. Good copy sells. But that’s the destination. What’s the journey like? I think good copy makes one feel. And the deeper one feels, and the longer one feels, the better it is. The more it sells. This can done by incorporating triumph, tragedy, sports, humor, [...]
I just came across a passage in Brewster Ghiselin’s The Creative Process, where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart discusses his creative process. (The passage is actually a selection from Life Of Mozart (audiobook), by Edward Holmes.) Mozart writes:
The PS22 Chorus is an elementary school chorus from Public School 22 in Graniteville, Staten Island (New York). It is composed of 60-70 fifth-graders, and is directed by Gregg Breinberg. Students are assigned to the chorus after an annual auditioning process at the beginning of each school year. PS22 is the largest elementary school in [...]
1. The “Thriller” Diaries (vanityfair.com) “Michael Jackson’s 1983 “Thriller” remains the most popular music video of all time: a 14-minute horror spoof that changed the business. Behind the scenes it gave its star a temporary home with director John Landis, sparked a near romance with actress Ola Ray, and revealed how damaged the young pop [...]
Lady Danville – Cars Lady Danville is an acoustic folk pop trio from Los Angeles, California. With Michael Garner on keys, Matthew Frankel on the cajon, and Dan Chang on the guitar Lady Danville is most recognized for their well-crafted harmonies, thoughtful lyrics and refreshing dose of energy, wit and charm, evoking the sound of [...]
1. Who Is Jonathan Ive? (businessweek.com) “Last spring, an eclectic mix of designers thrilled an auditorium full of their peers at a conference called Radical Craft, put on by the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi told inspiring stories of his rise to fame. Artificial intelligence pioneer Danny Hillis [...]
This is a clip from Objectified, which is a documentary by Gary Hustwit, about “our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them.” The film is available for rent through either Apple’s iTunes, or Netflix. I thought it was wonderful.
French Marie Claire’s April issue contains no retouching of its models. You can read more about it here, here, and here (May 2009). And you can view two slideshows of unretouched models here and here (August 2009).
John Mayer performed at the Key Arena on Wednesday night. You can see photographs from his show (Michael Franti & Spearhead opened for him) here.
Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler recently did a photo shoot (entitled “Speed Trap”) for W Magazine. You can view some of the photographs here and get a behind the scenes look here.
I’ll admit it, I’m a Matt Damon fan. And I just came across an interesting GQ profile of the man from August 2007 by Lisa Depaulo. “Our first meeting, in Madrid, was a bust. You could say it was a test of wills and Matt Damon won. Perhaps we should have taken it as an [...]
John Mayer recently had a candid conversation (interview) with Playboy Magazine. ““Given the type of news coverage he gets, it may surprise you to learn that John Mayer is also a musician. His major-label debut, Room for Squares, came out in 2001, and within two years he was rewarded with his first Grammy win, followed [...]
Dyske Suematsu offers an interesting perspective on the music tastes of Americans. He parses the way Americans listen to music, as oppose to, say, the Japanese. “The current market share of Jazz in America is mere 3 percent. That includes all the great ones like John Coltrane and the terrible ones like Kenny G (OK, [...]
I know, I know, Kanye West was a jerk for interrupting Taylor Swift’s 2009 MTV Video Music Award’s speech for Best Female Video (“You Belong With Me”). But if you can’t separate the art from the artist, you won’t enjoy much. With that said, Kanye recently penned a blog post which he entitled, “Creativity.” To [...]
As you may know, Joon Report also covers “the arts.” It’s an area that necessitates distinct, but careful, attention. At times, there may just be photographs. Sometimes words and stories. And perhaps other times there will be something that’s different from photographs, words, and stories. But today, this is what I have to share.
The band, OK Go, creators of the “Dancing on Treadmills” video for its song, “Here It Goes Again,” have captured the minds of many with its latest performance. The song is, “This Too Shall Pass,” off of its third (and latest) studio album, “Of the Blue Colour of the Sky.” You can find out more [...]
Ryan Leslie is here. But you may not know who he is. Back in 1992, at the age of 14, Ryan was attending public school in Stockton, California. But because his parents worked as Salvation Army officers they were required to move frequently. And they were expecting to move again soon. But Ryan didn’t want [...]