The Burton Mail seems to be voluntarily standing in as the regional version of The Mail, as it published an article about a sick stunt.
Upon first reading, perhaps the fact that a mock execution was performed in a shopping centre is rather shocking. But if you take into consideration the facts, then you’ll soon realise that the article was simply another method to make gullible punters angry. Similar to arguments like “how dare immigrants take our jobs?” (they don’t) or “games and music are making our kids turn to crime” (again, it doesn’t).
The facts are simple. It was a quick, short stunt and it was not in public (no one else was really around, as the photo evidence suggests). The main form of evidence that suggests this event ever took place, are the photo’s taken by the guys who did it and since the photo’s were taken last year, only one person has been offended. That person decided to become offended by voluntarily finding the pictures on a social network.
The offended parent said, “I saw these photographs published on a social networking site. As someone who has lost children to these conflicts I find it totally unacceptable to behave in this manner.” She finds it totally unacceptable to behave in that manor, whether it is public or private and she must voice her very important opinion, because as a parent, she is superior.
They didn’t execute anyone and they didn’t even disturb the peace since no one was around. The worst thing they did was publish it to Facebook, but even that isn’t so bad.
The point is, we can’t not do things just because someone might get offended. If I staged an act where I slipped over a bar of soap and died, someone who has experience of that happening to someone close to them may get offended. Does that mean I shouldn’t do it? No (morally, maybe I shouldn’t – but that is a personal decision). I have every right to do that, just as the people who staged this stunt had every right to do what they did. I don’t want to live in a world where people can’t do anything or express themselves, just in case someone gets offended.
As for the parent, I can sympathise with her, but when she became distressed in her fit of sorrow, she somehow managed to inform the local press of her views on the morality of such an event, claiming that she had authority on the subject (perhaps in an orgasm of narcism, perhaps she genuinely wanted to make the world better). It was a weekend and so the conservative minded press put it to print.
Side-note: I’m not attacking the parent either, just the viewpoint she presented and her mindset that is sometimes shared by others; I’m not even claiming that I am correct either. It’s simply my side of the argument and my opinion on the matter.
Normally I try to not blog too much about things; the internet is a wonderful and whimsical place and if I really feel the need to share one of the many amazing things I witness each day (thanks to the Internet), then I usually do so on my forum or indeed, through my Twitter or Facebook account.
One of the great things I saw the other day (via Kottke), was a photograph depicting the elegant and emotional suicide of 21 year-old Evelyn McHale, who plummeted to her tragic death from the observation deck of the Empire State Building in 1947.
Initially, I didn’t think it was enough to blog about, as with the many things I view in a single day. But it has been playing on my mind a lot and I’ve decided that not only has it affected me, it’s really worth looking at.
I’ve covered minimalist posters in the past and whilst these aren’t quite as exciting, I definitely love the concept. It’s worth a look for those who are fans of minimalism and simplicity, like myself. Justin Van Genderen’s designs can be seen and purchased here.
The Modifyers is a pilot animated episode by artist, Chris Reccardi. He does some wonderful illustrations, amongst other things and you can check out his website here.
I love these little terrariums, cute but well arranged. They would look lovely on a desk somewhere. They seem so delicate and positive. Check them out at Lítill.
For most of us, Floppy Discs are obsolete, inferior and old methods of portable file storage. I have memory sticks and external hard drives, but haven’t actually used a Floppy Disc for many years.
UK artist, Nick Gentry, however, has found a use. To him, the simple Floppy Disc is his canvas.
Steve Jobs addressed Apple employees at a town hall meeting and had some very intriguing things to say. Whilst, as TUAW mentioned, they are probably not word-perfect quotes, they offer an insight into the head of Steve Jobs and the future of Apple.
Steve Jobs reportedly said about Google:
“We did not enter the search business. They entered the phone business. Make no mistake: they want to kill the iPhone. We won’t let them.”
It should be noted that before Google decided to launch an attack on Apple by introducing themselves into a competing market, they (Apple & Google) had a very good friendship and had worked together extensively on a few projects (including the Maps application on the iPhone itself).
I don’t blame Steve (or Apple) for taking the offensive on this one and if Apple introduced a search engine of their own, it’d probably be the one I would use (assuming that their knack for design, intuitive user experiences and technology ports over nicely enough).
Steve didn’t stop there, he lampooned Adobe too:
“They are lazy. They have all this potential to do interesting things, but they just refuse to do it. They don’t do anything with the approaches that Apple is taking, like Carbon. Apple does not support Flash because it is so buggy. Whenever a Mac crashes more often than not it’s because of Flash. No one will be using Flash. The world is moving to HTML5.”
It has been a long time coming and he’s right. I hate how Adobe products (even Photoshop) seems to use their own user interfaces, despite Apple having a universal standard already. I hate how the shortcuts to hide the application are the same for everything, except Adobe products.
Adobe purposely broke the user experience because they got cocky and decided they could run things better, but they can’t. They really can’t. Their interface isn’t nicer or cleaner, it has a novelty feel which wears off very quickly. It isn’t appalling either, I’ll grant them that, but it would make sense to keep consistency within the operating system and the applications that use it.
Flash, like other Adobe products, is pretty sluggish and clumsy. It is the reason for most crashes I’ve experienced and I’m sick of it. A web without Flash wouldn’t be a bad thing for me, it’d be a better place (sort of). I get that Flash can be useful sometimes, and that is why desktops (even Apple desktops) use it. But I don’t want my iPhone crashing and losing battery over it.
Even if Adobe fixed Flash, I don’t need animated advertisement banners in my life.
As for potential, they have loads of it. They have created a wonderful tool for designing and image editing, amongst other things. Shame that they charge through the nose and shaft their customers by providing less than 100% in quality.
And while I’m here, since I’ve offered my opinion everywhere but my blog, the iPad is interesting but for the most part, just an oversized iPod Touch. I don’t think it is a flop (I blame the hype that frothing imbeciles created in the run up to the event). Eventually, the iPad, like other Apple products, will gestate into something really awesome.
P.S. I’m mourning for text-based books. I do hope they continue, there is nothing better than a physical book, in my opinion.
I’m a big fan of minimalism and these movie poster remakes (in minimal and gracious form) are just stunning, they would make any minimalist lover salivate uncontrollably.
You can currently view and buy the posters from the creators site at Shoot The Glass.
For designers and creatives everywhere, I thought I’d share an intriguing find (in case you hadn’t already seen it), you can now display the ‘7 rules’ to your clients in your office, studio or simply put it in your bedroom. It’s a giant sticker and you can select the colours and whatnot. Click here to check out the designers site.
The expressive strokes, bold shapes and organic colours create some tantalising effects and it is difficult to look at one of his paintings and not feel something. His paintings are loosely similar to Frank Auerbach, in terms of technique at least.
