wired: “In his new book, Beautiful LEGO, Mike Doyle has curated more than 200 pages of the world’s best Lego art. From museum-ready sculptures to indulgent geek references, the book highlights the impressive evolution of the legendary toy. “Every...
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wired:

In his new book, Beautiful LEGO, Mike Doyle has curated more than 200 pages of the world’s best Lego art. From museum-ready sculptures to indulgent geek references, the book highlights the impressive evolution of the legendary toy.

“Every year this stuff gets more and more intricate and the technique gets better, so I thought it would be great to celebrate the merits of the medium,” says Doyle, who is also a Lego artist and includes some of his own work in the book.

A graphic designer by day, Doyle re-discovered Legos four years ago after visiting Legoland with his two sons and then cruising around the internet to see what other people were doing.

After a lot of research on technique, he tackled his first project. It was 2009 and the housing crisis was in full swing, so he decided to make an abandoned and decaying house. It took him hundreds of hours to complete, but he was hooked. Now he spends months building larger and larger houses that have an increasing amount of detail and several hundred thousand pieces.

The appeal for Doyle is the ability to “go beyond the medium.” At some point, he says Legos stop being the subject, and instead just become a tool. Like a painter seeing beyond the paint to envision the painting. He calls it a kind of “transcendence.”

[MORE: These Are Some of the Most Amazing Lego Projects Ever Built]

(via wired)

Source: Wired

It’s not a web app. It’s an app you install from the web

So why does it feel as if the average native app is so much better than the average web app?

The reason, I think, is this: it’s easy to make web pages. Anyone with a text editor and a browser can do it. You can learn the basics and actually publish a website in a weekend, as an amateur, without much trouble. Making a native iOS app, by contrast, is difficult and time consuming: you have to pay Apple $99; you have to download XCode and learn how to use it, along with a strange language called Objective-C; you have to create, sign, and upload certificates; you have to compile your code and figure out how to run it on your device; and you have to publish it for others to see, which requires navigating all the rules, regulations, and technical issues surrounding the App Store. All these things make for a large barrier to entry that just doesn’t exist on the web.

http://blog.forecast.io/its-not-a-web-app-its-an-app-you-install-from-the-web/

instagram:

Spotlight: Iceland

Since launching, we’ve seen Instagram spread from our headquarters in the Bay Area to every corner of the globe. In this series, Spotlight, we’ll highlight top users from countries and cities with thriving Instagram communities.

The island country of Iceland is best known for its volcanoes, beautiful waterfalls, northern lights and hard to pronounce, well, everything! It’s situated between the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge slices right through the center of the small island nation. Though it is only 103,000 square kilometers (40,000 square miles), there’s no shortage of photographic terrain.

Want a first-person tour of Iceland? We put together a list of some amazing Instagrammers from in and around the country.

  • Hans-Olav, snowy scenery and daily life around Iceland’s capital city, Reykjavík — @solavander
  • Sig Vicious, graphic designer with an affinity for architecture — @sigvicious
  • Vala Halldorsdottir, biking and camping adventures around the island — @valahalldorsdottir
  • Anna Sig, stunning nature photography — @annasig

To explore the country in depth, you can also browse the location pages for some of Iceland’s most popular landmarks:

instagram:

How I Shoot: Levitating with @JunantoHerdiawan

How I Shoot is a series where we ask Instagrammers to tell us about the set-up and process behind their photos. This week, @JunantoHerdiawan shares how he takes photos where he appears to be levitating.

Camera: iPhone & iPad.

Vantage Point: “Levitation is like philosophy. It’s not just a jump shot; it is a floating moment. I like to travel and see many interesting places in the world. My idea is to levitate in any interesting place or interesting moment. By doing that, I feel like I can float or fly in any place in the world.”

Shooting: Using an application that takes multiple photos at a time while you jump makes it easier to capture the perfect levitation photo. “I use the Fast Camera application on iPhone or iPad to capture the moment. It is a continuous-shoot application that can capture every second of my levitation.”

Editing: While Junanto may touch up the lighting or tones in his photos, there are no special apps or programs used to create the levitation effect. “I don’t use editing for my levitation photos, no special application. I only adjust for lighting and other effects.”

Follow Junanto’s levitating adventures in Jakarta, Indonesia, and throughout the world at instagram.com/junantoherdiawan.

Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way (Official Music Video) (by StevieNicksHD)

I’ve just dug out my Rumours CD from the attic. I don’t remember enjoying the album that much first time around. Maybe I’ve reached the right age for Fleetwood Mac at last, because right now I think it’s fantastic!

I’ve always loved Go Your Own Way. The timing of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie is just perfect. Perfect! 

Source: youtube.com

The Cure - Friday Im In Love (by polydorclassics)


I don’t care if Monday’s blue
Tuesday’s gray and Wednesday too
Thursday I don’t care about you
It’s Friday, I’m in love

Monday you can fall apart
Tuesday, Wednesday break my heart
Oh, Thursday doesn’t even start
It’s Friday I’m in love

Saturday, wait
And Sunday always comes too late
But Friday, never hesitate…

Source: youtube.com