a blog about soybean cake and other essential topics
In a way, nothing says that Christmas and the holidays in the United States have arrived like lit, spinning massage balls captured on video, uploaded on YouTube and posted on a tofu blog.
It’s a good marriage of technology, owning a robot (at least for me) and a design that somewhat confounds.
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It’s been a blast blogging about bean curd this year. I’ll try and post a few new items before the end of the year. I’ll certainly be back after 2010 starts.
In any event, I hope you have a joyous holiday season and a wonderful 2010! And thank you for reading my blog!
This year, I learned much about soybean cake and how humans view it, as well as other odds and ends. Feel free to read previous posts in the archives.
In the on-again, off-again world of blogging and finding time during the busy holiday season, I’m back.
I’m back now because I have a few extra moments. I’m making the case for clear communication, across all demarcation lines in life and even when we all speak English.
Why?
I recently tried getting more information regarding unemployment benefits and health care insurance.
I’m still collecting unemployment benefits because my full-time job search continues.
The state representatives with whom I talked were friendly and earnest. I am not faulting them.
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My days continue to be busy. But I enjoy carrying my digital camera and taking pictures of bright lights and great signs. For example, this Bradlee sign has clean lettering and the right ring to it.
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And this glowing red China Harbor sign catches people’s attention as they drive by Lake Union in Seattle. I’ve always been curious about lettering styles that try to copy the writing of Chinese characters.
Of course, the green words “The Best in Chinese Cuisine” are always inviting for people who are looking for a place to eat.
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Finally, I’ve always been a fan of the words, “Team Seattle.” The truck belongs to a commercial company.
And if you’re a fan of Helvetica font, there’s a movie devoted to the topic.
Images of Edith Macefield's house in Seattle - the one she refused to sell for $1 million - have shown up on Chinese news sites. The image was taken by Joshua Trujillo, a Seattle Post-Intelligencer photographer at the time. Photo source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer via nddaily.com
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Web sites and blogs in China have burst with news in recent days about tensions in the Chengdu area involving a construction company that wanted to build a road through a woman’s house – and her refusal to leave.
The Chinese describe this type of structure as a “nail house.”
And the case of Edith Macefield, the famous woman from Seattle who stayed in her own “nail house,” has surfaced in China.
The Chinese case, which began in 2007, is complicated but the woman reportedly lived in a spacious building in the Chengdu area, which is located in the southwest province of Sichuan.
Some media reports say that she built her house without the proper government permits – but that practice occurs in China and she had been living in it for more than a decade.
She asked for more than $1 million to leave. Compensation was offered but only for the building materials and decorations and not the market value.
Actually, it might not be a “huh?” moment – given the state of print journalism and advertising.
But it’s still news because Editor & Publisher is one of the companies to chart the big-picture and nuanced story of print journalism over the years, including the shocks in the past two years or so.
Now, the publication is set to go out of business.
The company’s Fitz & Jen blog has a quick note. But Poynter has the full note from parent company, Nielsen Business Media.
Ask any journalist in a mainstream organization and you’ll likely hear that reporters and editors often would review Editor & Publisher’s list of the top newspaper Web sites in the country, as well as comparisons to the year-ago period and time spent on sites.
I know: Insider stuff.
The past few days were busier than I expected. I’m still running errands and hope to post more blog entries soon.
But here’s one noteworthy item that The Seattle Times reported: The famous, down-home Elliott Bay Book Co. will move from its historic spot in Seattle’s Pioneer Square to the site of a former garage on Capitol Hill.
Reporter Melissa Allison has all the details, including a quote from a person who was shopping on Capitol Hill and captured what many people in the Seattle area are thinking:
They’re the heart and soul of Pioneer Square.
That’s true in many ways.
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Using the power of many to form a single art piece or story is growing in popularity for many practitioners of video.
When done right, as with this Vimeo video from Tom Lindsay, it works well. All the dice line up just right – which I know takes creativity and time – and the music is just the right tempo.
I’ve already seen examples involving dozens of people in front of computer monitors who join together to make a music video, 6,000 Post-it Notes that tell a video story and barcodes that form Bruce Lee’s face.
Lindsay is part of trim editing, which does commercial video work. I like the company’s Web site.
Oh, yes. The group in the dice video is Fujiya & Miyagi.
The dice-as-full-art-video technique would actually work well using a Mao poster, given the colors.
Keep in mind that I picked that example for the colors and image, not for the message.
The P-NUT from Honda is a concept car, designed for cities and limited space. Photo source: paultan.org
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The unveiling of Honda’s sleek, three-person concept car, the P-NUT, proves one important thing.
While the Tokyo Motor Show and Auto Shanghai have been popular in Asia and the world, in relative terms, the Los Angeles Auto Show takes place in a city where car culture remains king and automobiles need to be seen.
Keep in mind that the historic Route 66Â touches the City of Angels.Â
Honda unveiled the car this week at the show, giving critics enough fodder to pen some zingers. P-NUT stands for the Personal-Neo Urban Transport.
In The New York Times, Tori Tellem wrote:
Nothing as unusual as this three-seater will ever see production. But maybe it has a future in the circus as a new clown car?
Streetcars sent from Germany arrived at the Port of Tacoma this week. Their final destination is Vancouver, British Columbia. Photo source: Port of Tacoma
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It’s easy to think that only people take mass transit.
But as this image at the Port of Tacoma shows, even streetcars shipped from Germany need a lift, too.
The streetcars were headed to Vancouver, British Columbia and landed at the Port of Tacoma on Dec. 2, according to port officials.
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