Beads

While out to pick the most suitable Longchamp shopping bag last spring.. came across this interesting dress with lots of beadwork at another shop.  Interesting enough to photograph. :D

Design Against Throwawayism

Now if only Apple (and the likes of it) with its millions of iPhone sales each year would practice more of the meaning of the text of this blog entry's title and it'd be perfect.  Right now I just think of them as designing for the sake of selling, not necessarily to improve my life (despite all that marketing), and the environment around us.

I mean what's the point of buying a new -- and might I add costly -- smartphone when a new version of it comes out some months later anyway?  You pay so much only to find next year there'd be new features your device can't possibly have. And the year after, and the year after it, and the after that, too and so on.  I mean really, do we really even need those?  And all the while, your first device actually still works fine.  They just make it so that it's not compatible with some app or other that you're forced to get a new one. 

And what happens to last year's models then if each iPhone owner changed models each year?  And these are millions of owners.  Not just 5 million.  It's the size of many individual countries' populations. Do they get recycled?

Do upgrades mean surrendering them to the provider for recycling.  And is it actual recycling or a type of recycling where they only get shipped out to a developing country for it to take care of the toxic side of things.. like outsourcing the dirty side of it?

Does anyone even care to ask before they go get a new model the next year?  Does Apple (and its ilk) even have a system or process in place to manage these and be a more responsible manufacturer/designer of such goods?

Since I moved to a place in the northern hemisphere some years ago, I do notice many things that should probably be done away with.  Other cases in point:

• Ikea's probably millions of candles in glass being one of those.  So same goes to Bath and Bodyworks (and the awful cheap smell coming out of their candles). Gah.  I find they're really such a waste.  They should sell the candles without those millions of glass.  Are they even recycled glass?

• Cushion throws are another... Pilllows  or throws should be designed so that you can change the covers.. not be forced to get rid of it 'cause you don't like the cover anymore.

• Fashion - there's only so much seasonal items one must get each year and thereafter.  I've enough summer items so far so I don't really bother adding anymore

Anyhow, I guess I'm just one of those people who prefer living with less clutter.  And that influences my purchase decisions.  I'm sort of a minimalist but not that extreme.  I have my fair share of design junk, but I don't make it a point to change them regularly nor get the latest this, or latest that.  I tend to think that people who do really don't have anything else to do and must be bored with their lives.

Even now, I don't generally buy books anymore.  When I do, it won't be the throwaway sort.  They would have dual purpose  Art, design and architecture books for example (usually hardcovers).  You get knowledge yet at the same time, they're good decors in the home. Hehe.  Unlike paperbacks that I probably would throwaway if I didn't think it's wasteful since I don't reread books I bought, or donate them.

And my home decor or fixtures, usually are from trips overseas.  Then it feels like they've more significance and thus worth the buy, or splurge.  There'd be stories behind them.  And that's fun and gives the place more character.

screenshot of an image search online

It's good to see that Helsinki's Iitala has similar design thoughts.  And sometimes, ironically, Ikea.  But the technology ones, not really.  In the end let's just say it's always better to spend money on experience than on another item one doesn't really need or has no special meaning or importance to oneself.

Peek a boo!

One afternoon in the spring of 2014, somewhere in a little nook in my abode.. potted daffodils on top of the cabinet.

I chose the pastel robin's egg blue paint on the wall... similar to Tifanny jewelry packaging.  Calming...
Yeah that's a fireplace in brick, covered by/behind the white cabinet...
Blue thing on the leftmost is the back of a director's chair.
And I love my Tiffany floor lamp. hehe!

Stuff I No Longer Buy

Well, not a lot anyway.  I no longer buy the following as much:

• books
• cds
• dvds

Since the internet and the multimedia advances that came with it a long time ago, I've stopped buying the above.

For music, I don't even buy from iTunes.  But if I like the soft copies I hear from specific CD albums, I go buy the CD if I have to.  Similar goes for movies/tv shows, I get their DVDs.  And even then, they'd have to be extremely to my liking that I'd find it worth my time, effort and money to go and buy.

Except for home decor I buy from my travels, I'm just one of those who naturally practices minimalist philosophy when it comes to purchases.  I'd rather not have any more junk or clutter in my home and if I have to it had better be something that serves dual or more purpose.  Even with this blog I limit the tag categories so as not to make it anymore complex than it has to be.

So for books, I'd rather buy those that can be double-purpose, something you'd also be proud to display in the house.  Not something you know you can easily give away or not care if someone doesn't return it after borrowing it.  That way it's more value for money.  Lol!  So I guess this would mean art, design or architecture books that I find interesting.  Or perhaps that's just the industrial designer in me.  I don't buy mass market bestsellers in hard cover.  Besides I no longer have as much time to read as I used to.

So I think I might also cancel my cable subscription soon and just use Internet streaming via a device like Roku.  I might do this next year once my subscription expires. Would cost me less too than the bloated fee I pay for cable.  Thank goodness for Roku or Netflix and the like.  Hehe!

Interesting 3D Ad at a Bus Stop

Snapped these pics of a bus stop ad downtown while on my way to lunch.  3D ad with the cups.  It's kinda cute.

Les iPhones 6 et 6 Plus

I was just at the Apple store twice last week, trying out the two new iPhones.  I've been waiting for Apple to come out with a phablet as I ride out my phone's term contract with the service provider.  The contract expired this month. 

screenshot from the Apple website

I haven't got the iPhone yet let's be clear.  I'm not the sort to buy the first things that come out.  I wait and see reviews first.  I just went to the store to try both out and see which color I like best in person before I decide if I should get one.  My impressions:

• The first time I held each they felt really slippery.  That's the biggest thing that struck me quite not so favourably.  So slippery I had to grip each while trying it out.
• Because of the slippery metal back:  They look nice but the design is such that you have to buy a case if you don't want to end up with a broken iPhone much sooner (now what sort of design is that, Mr. Jony Ive? Lol).  If you don't appreciate just how fragile these things can get, please see this video of someone who did some drop tests on each model.  Eye opener there.
• Better graphics than my oldie (almost Jurassic) Google Android phone.  I loved the iPhone's UI. wah.
• Can only use the 6 Plus with both hands.  I don't think it's designed so you can use it with one hand only.  I tried but I had to tilt it some (and risk it slipping out of my hand) to be able to use it one-handed.
• I think the nicest color for me is the silver one.  I found it really looked clean.  Almost minimalist Japanese design which I also love (except it sacrificed with a slippery design you need a case for, gosh.).  Then the darker black or gray one next.
• I liked the resolution on the 6 Plus more.  I tested via a streaming youtube video of a late night talk show.
• I liked that it's really like a little tablet the 6 Plus.  Smaller than the iPad Mini.  Like another article mentioned, it should have been called iPad Nano.  Lol!  Its display orientation changes to landscape.  I didn't see a disable option on that aspect of it though when I checked the Screen/Display settings to do so.

Anyway, my reasons for having an iPhone as my next phone?

Bye iPod Classic and Hello iTunes v11.4

Before the iPhone, there was the iPod Classic.  Now that iPhone 6 is released, Apple has discontinued the iPod Classic. =(

I love my iPod Classic 5th generation, with 80gb.  It's both a music and video player, a portable file back up device, and back then at least, photos straight from a camera can be backed up to the device as well!  I didn't have to bring a laptop to back up photos or find a place to back up the photos to a CD/DVD what have you when on the road travelling.  Gosh.

It's simpler to use than iTunes and I don't have to have to buy music from iTunes to play my collection.  That music player didn't have to be combined with a multimedia and communications device such as an iPhone.  There are just lots of occasions when I'd rather use my music player independently of the one in my smartphone.  I've even brought my iPod on a trek in the Himalayas.  I imagine an iPhone would be rather less useful to me up on the boondocks and past the clouds, don't you think?  And I was able to take my iPod with me running.  I can't imagine carrying a "taller"/bigger and more slippery iPhone in place of the iPod so I can have music on one ear while running.  *sighs*

Anyway, I just updated my iTunes program on my Macbook to v11.4, and now Apple wants me to sign in with my Apple ID before I can play music from "radio" in iTunes.  Gah.  Thank goodness for TuneIn radio.  I don't like the idea of having to sign in to listen to radio on the Internet.  Like what does Apple care that I have to sign in with my Apple ID before the radio feature on iTunes can be useful?  Geez.  Gathering data on me? *frowns*

I've never used nor created an iTunes/Apple ID account before this, though I've been a Mac OS X user since 2005, back when Mac laptops didn't yet run on Intel chips, but rather on Motorola ones (I believe).

Sorry I kind of digressed.  I was just annoyed by this iTunes radio Apple ID sign in bit.

So back to the iPod, this means I might have to shop around sooner or later for an alternative.  *sighs*  Thanks Apple!  Really! (smiley rolls eyes).  Sony's looks promising.  Or I'll just stick with an iPhone.  Not very happy about this at all!  Gah.  My iPod's still in good shape.  I wonder when its battery will finally die.

Red It

These guys' shoes are more fashionable than mine. :P

While on the bus, I just had to take a pic of these hip Asian guys' get up.  Lol.

My 2014 Olympus EM10 Camera Purchase

I'm now updating my camera and purchasing a micro four thirds system SLR instead of a full frame DSLR.  Mainly due to size and cost concerns and also finding sophisticated point and shoots limited still for the image quality I want.  The smaller it is, the easier it is to bring with me, and thus the more photo opps I can get.

I've opted for the Olympus OMD EM10 for value for money, over a predecessor -- the Olympus OMD EM-5:

 

screenshot of the OMD EM10 from the Olympus website

• I believe I really don't have much need for the weather sealed feature of the EM-5 and the most expensive Olympus OMD EM1
• nor the 5-axis stabilization of the EM-5 and EM-1.  3-axis is a good compromise with the EM10.
• EM10 has features of the premium EM1 that the EM-5 doesn't.  Wi-fi among them.  Wi-fi must be standard in technology offerings where it can be used and EM-5 didn't have that on its release in 2012.  Which is why I held off purchasing the EM-5 when it first came out.  Seemed half-baked to get the EM-5 at a time when competitor cameras were being released with wi-fi but didn't seem as good as the EM-5.  I waited instead.
• EM10 has a built in pop up flash.  I don't like shooting with flash but small though it is on the EM10, convenience matters a lot to me for times when you need flash as a fill in mechanism.  I don't wanna rummage around for one to attach onto the camera nor keep it on the camera always for portability as it adds to the bulkiness since it's not a pop up flash.  This is the case for the EM-5, no built in flash, just one you can attach.  So another reason for me for waiting instead and not buying the EM-5.

Because of the lack of weather sealing and a 3-axis instead of the 5-axis stabilization on the EM10, the EM10 then costs less than the EM5.  Plus the built in flash on the EM10 is sweet too.

Updating My Camera This Year

I'm considering updating my camera this year.  And discussing a tiny bit re design here.

For my photography/camera needs, aside from wanting a camera that outputs DSLR-quality images, it has to have:

• a built-in viewfinder
• wi-fi
• art filters
• pic size can print to poster size prints
• built-in flash would be nice to have
• with a kit lens

And most importantly, be not bulky like a normal DSLR.  I don't enjoy lugging heavy gear and lenses with me.

I like street photography, candid people shots, portraits, macro, travel and culture, and not just landscapes... almost documentary-like.


Anyway, my current cameras are:

Carnivále

I just finished watching two seasons of HBO's Carnivále.  My gosh.  I'm glad I finally got around to it.  Thank goodness for torrents.  Lol!

Years ago when it was playing on HBO back home, a friend mentioned the show and really encouraged me to watch it. But I never got to watch any episode because I always end up catching it when it was playing right in the middle of an episode already, while I was browsing through channels.

Anyway, years later (this year in fact), I still remember that recommendation and decided to try it.  Well what do you know, it's now my favorite show.  Better than Rome, Game of Thrones, Lost, etc., if not the best.  I can't believe it.  If this show was broadcast at the time of Twitter and FB, etc., I think it may have had enjoyed more popularity.  But then again maybe not.  Many good shows today get the ax and the not so good ones remain.

And the actors were all good - especially Nick Stahl, Michael J. Anderson, and Amy Madigan.  Wow.  It feels kinda bad that Nick Stahl doesn't seem to be too active these days.  It's a pity.  (I also liked Terminator 3 where Nick Stahl was in, vs the second one).

The set and production design alone for Carnivále was worth buying the DVD sets for the two seasons for which the show ran.  It's like I just collected something historical, almost factual, but in very good art form.  My goodness.  I'm just so amazed by it.  HBO's Rome's set design/production effort paled next to this one.  Gosh.  *shakes head*  I liked Rome, Game of Thrones, Lost etc but none of them made me buy their DVDs.  I may have thought it but I never did/decided not to.  But for this show, I did.  Especially when it's probably getting harder to find original DVDs for it as time goes on.  It's a great show.  I wish it went on for more than 2 seasons but it's all right too that it stopped where it did.  Great ending. 

Lazy Day Off - Kinda

Spent part of a chilly day off putting on the finishing touches to a DIY outdoor bench made of pallets that a friend built for me.

I've been wanting patio furniture for my balcony for the warm months but find patio furniture being sold here quite generic-looking or bulky or just not with the design I have in mind (especially a low-seater design), and if otherwise, quite expensive for sure.  You wouldn't believe how expensive they sell such things here.  And to think I took the outdoor bamboo furniture I got back home for granted when it's quite inexpensive compared with the prices of such things here.  They'd be surprised if they knew.  That'd fetch quite some amount here for sure.  'Cause it's pretty good and sturdy bamboo furniture.   *shakes head*  I certainly haven't seen bamboo furniture here of the likes made back in the Philippines.  And one of the chairs has become my pet dog's chair even. lol. 

I just wanted an outdoor seating solution where I can cozy up/put my feet up on the seat as well, with my laptop, or a book maybe, outdoors at a corner of the balcony. Since a side of my balcony faces a park and the front is open sky, not another building or structure, it'd be nice to hang out there in the evenings especially.

I thought I found the right bench at the right price while browsing through the Internet. But, while browsing the Internet, I also saw some DIY pallet benches I liked. Actually, I preferred. However, no one sees pallet benches sold quite commercially. Not very common. If it were, it'd be probably by a really expensive furniture/design store I expect. And it'd be probably cost at least slightly more than an Apple iPad mini or iPhone, that's if you're lucky enough to find one. So I thought I'd settle for the commercial one online. But made of plastic. =(

Anyway I showed it to a friend and he suggested a bench made of pallets. Well, what do you know! He and I are on the same wavelength. Lol. Didn't think I'd know someone else here, especially a guy, who's into design/art, too. Also, it turns out the commercial one's length is longer than the side corner of my balcony where I plan on placing the bench anyway so ultimately I can't buy that bench for that side of my balcony.

What's even better was, my friend works for a company that gets delivered goods on pallets. A-ha! So long story short, I gave him my specifics in terms of dimension and how low I wanted the bench and voila, got my bench now.

readying to spray outdoor/exterior wood stain on the bench

Great Intro

My gosh. I watched this film two nights ago and am so glad I did, if only for this opening/intro alone.




That's amazing cinematography, to the tune of Beethoven's music too. Pretty cool.

The movie itself I liked too. Production design, the cute kid.. so funny really. I wonder if Lee Pace never laughed while doing scenes with her. She's sooo cute!! Sometimes seems like she just said her lines candidly. lol.

Fave Philippines Video

The Philippines. So beautiful. This Survivor intro did the Philippines justice. The shot of the Banawe Rice Terraces.. gosh! And those animals. And the moving aerial view. I suppose it kinda beats any video the Philippines's Department of Tourism has ever put out.




I haven't watched Survivor in a very very long time. 'Til they shot this 25th season in the Philippines and the opening or intro is truly the best I've come across with Survivor. Makes me wanna go back home (but skip Metro Manila and the rat race and crabs there). Lol!

Then it's got shots of the Survivor participants in slow motion... with true emotion, candidly smiling, or really emotional or just challenged. Pretty cool.

And it's in HD too.  And when seen on a really big screen HDTV... oh wow!

Whomever edited it, chose the right scenes at the right time to the right music. It's just stunning. The best. Well done. =)

My Mobile Gadgets & Cons vs Android

I have the ff:

- laptop
- smart phone
- tablet
- cameras

The gadget I can do without most?  The tablet.  It came free so that's good.  I didn't have to spend a real dime on it.  Useful though when travelling and you don't need the additional weight of a laptop, if you need to use one.  But last time I travelled, I didn't get to use it.  Wifis at the airports I was in were quite weak, virtually impossible to connect to or get data from.  That includes Heathrow's Terminal 5 (my most stressful international terminal experience ever... would prefer not to go through that place again if I can help it).  And I didn't think to use it when I got the good wifi signal at a place I stayed in, I opted to use my smartphone for data via wifi instead.  Hmmm.  So I might leave the tablet altogether next time I travel.

As for my smartphone, it's an Android one.  And the phone's a Google Nexus phone.  Came free with the plan I signed up for.

I'm waiting for the Apple iPhone 5 reviews to come out.  It's too bad Apple opted to ditch Google Maps this time as I use it to get directions to whichever location I need to get to.  I wonder how their alternative is?  And if any browser in iPhone 5 would let me still use Google maps?  Maybe I'll change phones to iPhone 5 next year, pending reviews and budget of course.  Hehe!  I do like spending funds on travels, and not on constantly updating my gadgets even when they still work.

If I end up with an iPhone, I might donate my current smartphone to this NGO.  They need it.  And I probably wouldn't miss it since I don't find anything really special with its design.  Hehe!

My Android phone also couldn't be read by my Apple laptop therefore I couldn't back up my phonebook to my PC.  I like Apple's products, but I'm not that much of a fanatic.  These companies should be fined for making things so exclusive that you're forced to buy one or the other.  What a waste.

And I hate how Google seems to have changed the Android function/interface such that I have to be signed in to my Google account to add someone's info to my phonebook.  Even if they allow me not having to sign in to add info to my phonebook, they certainly don't make it easy as I wasn't able to do so.  Therefore, Google would have all the goods on you, and whomever you're adding.  Like they're gathering a directory of everyone on their servers.  The ones you're adding probably aren't going to appreciate it if they knew that their info would be stored by Google instead of just in my phone unit or network operator.  So it's very invasive don't you think?   Which is why I'm still checking out if I'd have the same issue if I switch to Apple's smartphone.

We'll see.

Gmail Teahouse Theme Screenshots

view of my Gmail account with the Teahouse theme, blurred the

details of my inbox of course

I used the Teahouse theme for my Gmail account in the past few months.  And I noticed how it changes scenes and how the fox character changes locations or activities in the design depending on what time of day it was.  It's fun trying to check out what might be the latest setting for the time I open my email.  So much so that I took to taking screenshots of each changed scene that I catch.  Lol.

fox feeding the birds in his garden

fox in his kitchen

fox watering his bonsai in the garden

fox in the kitchen and food on the garden table

fox watering his garden

Design and Culture Icon

"We don’t have good language to talk about this kind of thing.... In most people’s vocabularies, design means veneer. It’s interior decorating. It’s the fabric of the curtains and the sofa. But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of a man-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service...

.....That is the furthest thing from veneer. It was at the core of the product the day we started. This is what customers pay us for — to sweat all these details so it’s easy and pleasant for them to use our computers. We’re supposed to be really good at this. That doesn’t mean we don’t listen to customers, but it’s hard for them to tell you what they want when they’ve never seen anything remotely like it."

 -- by Steve Jobs

The above was quoted from the New York Times, re Steve Jobs expressing his focus on design in a Fortune magazine article in the year 2000, the year after I graduated with a degree in industrial design.  I couldn't have defined design better myself.  Even back then, while working on my industrial design degree, I was already tracking the comeback of Apple.  And I have entrepreneur uncles who used Macintosh computers in their businesses pre-colorful iMacs.  So about 5 years or so later -- after some messy experiences with Windows PCs and laptops and my non-existent Windows OS reinstall and formatting skills (lol) -- I finally got my own, an iBook running on a PowerPC G4 chip by Motorola (the last of its kind).  

my old Apple iBook G4, at a hotel in Germany

Along with the above info (only emphasized by the Fortune magazine interview), once I got that Mac and used its OS and hardware, I never went back.. hehe!  Best decision I made and money well spent. 

Design - I Like Some Felines

 my shot of one such feline at a teahouse in the Himalaya, Nepal

I've been liking felines and it's only now that I've realized it.  I like Sanrio/Hello Kitty.  I like my different Mac OSXs (a striped one, and my current roaring feline... skipped the one in the snow).  And I like Puma since 2007.

These words from my Puma's shoebox too made my day:
"Re-cyle

1. As a doll's house, for a small doll.

2. As a container for useless stuff you really should have chucked out by now.

3. As a place for private photos you can't store on your hard disc."

And I was even thinking to keep the shoebox for actual photos (not necessarily the private kind) am packing, before I read those words on the box package when I got home.  Lol!

Am removing old photos from their photo albums instead of packing the albums and having those taking a bigger space in a moving carton.  Then put back the shoes into the box once am at my new destination.

The box also has a guide on shoe sizes where it compares some selected sizes to real life items. Case in point: If your shoe size is a France size 47, it's as long as a "party blower blown", or if it's a US men's size 16 and 1/2, they're as long as "a gangster's gold chain". hahaha! Crazy Puma!

The barcode's kinda funny too.  

screenshot from http://martin318is.blogspot.com/ website

To know more about Puma's re-inventing the design of the shoebox as we know it: click here.
(Indeed it'd be great if several other shoe companies follow suit.)

To read a rather funny and cool story about this shoe company: click here.
(No wonder I like this feline then:  I liked its sibling's shoes, too, before this feline's revival).

Yeah... I'm definitely not gonna throw out this old box yet! hehe! :P