Over the weekend I went to see the movie Avatar. It was amazing in all regards. While I was watching it all I could think of is that it looked like a Roger Dean painting had come to life (think of all the YES covers in ’70′s). It was lush and the detail was insanely good, right down the most minute movements. James Cameron is like George Lucas on steroids. While there we several side stories going on in the movie and a few underlying messages in the film, the main theme of the movie can be summed up in one sentence – “You can’t take by force from one group of people and give it to another simply because they need it“. While I don’t think that was the main message James Cameron wanted to deliver, it’s clearly in there. The best line in the movie came from the main character (Sully) just before he had to face a daunting task – “Sometimes your whole life comes down to one insane move“. I love that line. I think a lot of people can relate to that.
ANTHIDOTE
Living Well, Thinking Rationally, and Combatting Daily Ordinariness
Filed under Design …
James Klotz Photography
There are all kinds of people who think they’re photographers and then there are those that make you rethink your abilities as a photographer. James Klotz is one of them. He specializes in Architectural Photography be it Interiors or Exteriors of Skyscrapers or Museums or Personal Residences. If it is a building, he should be shooting it for you. One look at his site and you’ll see why he’s consistently hired to shoot the images when they need to be right and when its the difference between a closing the sale or not. You can check out the full site here:
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The 5 coolest products right now
When I first made Anthidote I did so as a place to be able to cover true talent, true quality, great products, and rational thinking – four areas in which I like to surround myself. Well… with all that has been going on with politics and current affairs for the past several months the posts at Anthidote have been a little heavy on the “rational thinking” side of things. I decided to have a little fun and put up a post covering the top 5 coolest products on the market right now from what I’ve been seeing lately so here goes:
1. The Zero Halliburton briefcase :
2. Marushin Motorcycle Helmets :
3. The FrancisFrancis X-1 Trio Espresso Machine :
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Shanghai Art Scene
I am in Shanghai for the weekend and a local friend of mine took me to a part of the city where there is a street called Moganshan Road that is reconfiguring itself as the up and coming art scene in the city. We walked through a vast array of literally thousands and thousands of condominiums to this quiet little zone where the wall of just this street are covered in graffiti and leading to a sort of old factory/warehouse district where inside are the fantastic works of original art. The art is so different than anything you might see in other parts of the world because it is a strange mix of Western style art with of course Chinese influence. I saw ancient Roman/Greek style art featuring Chinese faces, paintings of modern cars sinking in the rivers, enormous paintings of math lessons in Chinese, and a host of other really great works. Lines 3 & 4 in the metro will take you there. Here are a few shots for you:
Zen Habits
Zen Habits is a site that I have known about for some time now and have always found it to be pretty insightful on getting things done and looking at the way you are currently doing things in your life. The site is very good looking and is packed with useful ideas. It is written by Leo Babauta based in Guam. I find it worthwhile and so might you. Starting today I am also adding it to the list of recommended sites found on the anthidote.com homepage. Check it out here:
Michal Levy “One”
One of the original Anthidote.com posts was about a phenomenal computer animation called Giant Steps based on John Coletrane’s song. It was done by Israeli Michal Levy who followed that animation up with this brilliant piece of work called “One”. The animation is beautiful and the music is excellent – especially the resolution that starts mid-song with its play between major and minor 7ths that reminds me so much of Lyle Mays’ compositional style. You will not be able to not finish this once you click it. Check it out here:
