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This is the BumpTop Prototype by Anand Agarawala and Ravin Balakrishnan. Its basically an interactive interface that takes on attributes you'd find in the real world. Watch the videos on their website and you'll get a better explanation. Just watching the first couple of minutes and you'll get a good feel of things. Essentially, real world desks are piled with stuff, documents and files that are in a mess but orderly according to the user. The computer desktops don't have quite the same feel at all and there's this loss of a certained ordered chaos. Often, the most creative minds also tend to be rather messy people. So its possible that interfaces like this might encourage a way of working which has a human touch and hence promote a more creative outlook. I know I'd use this.

Off Josh Spear.

Last season's Singapore Idol was pretty decent TV fare and I thought the winner was ok. This season just makes me cringe. I managed to watch most of the 4 piano shows and even the results shows. Its so easy to pick out those going through, given the poor quality of singing across the board. Even the decent ones weren't great. Some were so awful I turned the TV off. At times, I felt tormented and hung on just to hear some vindication from the judges. I wanted to make sure it wasn't just my TV or my ears playing tricks on me.

The results shows are horrible as well. I watched 2, whilst waiting for the World Cup to start. Recycling the same songs and having two hosts desperately trying to squeeze out suspense like water from a grain of sand. And why do we even need an extra, squeaky host?

Perhaps the poor singing has to do with the youth and nerves of the participants but the bland "lines" they say before and after performances make me think about the rigidity of Singapore's education system. I feel like they spent more time rehearsing how to say "And I hope you'll vote for me, Singapore!" (cue big smile, wink, waves) in front of a mirror than practising their singing. There were a few retorts though. But, saying things like "I don't suck dammit!" just comes off rude when in fact they do suck. As much as vacuum cleaners in fact.

I don't profess to be some expert singing coach or whatever. I was in a choir before so I know what singing is like and how difficult it can be. I also don't expect the wannabes to be amazing knock your socks off singers. I merely expect them to be half decent. If you counted the number of flat notes there were, you could level Bukit Timah. And despite the fact most of them are so young and are styled relatively fashionably, the music on offer really sounded old fashioned and boring.

I think I'd be somewhat embarrased by this season's quality if I were a judge or organiser. I think I'd have skipped to the top 4 and not waste time, weed out the rest. Like Ken Lim put it to the bunch coming back for the wildcard show, "some of you are only here for the numbers".

I'd rather have Careless Whisperer as one of the "top" 12 because its about the same. Watch if you're into teen dramas, although I think other crappy productions on channel 5 might be better in that department.

Its a pity. We've got people like Stefanie, Tanya et al flying the flag and most bands in Singapore may not have amazing singers but musically, they're competent to say the least. I don't feel like washing my head after listening to them. So I'm just sad, as a music lover, to see that this is the best we can come up with in a singing competition I don't expect much of. Sing-a-poor iDull.

Angry Retail comes out of Dubin, Ireland and they sell a good range of tees and assorted stuff. I say stuff because they even have a weighing scale. They blend a good sense of humour with a good sense of graphics and it comes out well in all the stuff they have. Edgy but cute and most definitely cool. The name is a bit of a misnomer but it still somehow fits. If you miraculously understand whatever I've just said, then you'll definitely get their stuff!

Via Josh Spear.

Japanese apparel retailer Uniqlo has reached the shores of the U.S with a combination of temporary “pop-up” stores and a fixed flagship store opening in Soho NY. A label well known for its affordability as well as its quality, Uniqlo stores are ubiquitous in Japan and have already expanded into Europe as well as China. Some of their jeans are actually selvage quality at well below typical selvage denim prices. On the tee shirt front, they have collaborated with Staple Design and Parisian retailer Colette for some special designs amidst a series of shirts with prints from Los Logos and some by art and design students from around the world.

Interestingly, they've put together a set of top designers with respective roles to introduce the launch. Their website is designed by Yugo Nakamura, who has created a relentlessly spawning field of Uniqlo logos that react to your mouse pointer. The interior of the shop space itself is designed by Wonderwall's Masamichi Katayama, who has designed the insides of A Bathing Ape's Busy Workshops across the globe.

The 36000 square foot Soho NY store is set to open Fall 2006. Via jeansnow.

This cool bag is from Colin's from Alfredo Haberli's by my side collection. Its very very modern and stylish and definitely very manly. Via theapt.

Nope, those aren't FREITAGs. They're by Vaho Works, a Spanish based company that converts trash into fashion, "trashion". They recycle PVC advertising flags that come from Barcelona and Madrid and turn them into bags, whilst also using other stuff like awning fabrics as well.

Sustainability is a key prerogative in the company's ideology. The materials used would otherwise just be dumped even though they were once glorious billboards for various events and already great graphic works in their own right. Everything is handcrafted in Spain, they even add a bit of social responsiblity into the mix, with prison inmates and people with pyschiatric problems helping out and getting paid for it.

What's cool is they also dedicate some bags for the ladies. This might be "trashion" but its certainly not headed for the litter bin.

Via theapt.

Thinglink is a database of created things. From music, to art, products and ideas, its a platform that allows makers and creators to link their creations and document it online, creating a resource for manufacturers and other creators to browse through. Started by Aula Design Oy , a small Helsinki-based company, Thinglink hopes to create social networks amongst creative types from all over the world.

Setting up an account is simple and straightforward and you can easily create a link to your own items, giving your stuff an audience that may not have previous access to it and vice versa. Flickr users can also use their photos on the site as well.

Each thing linked on the site gets a unique 6 digit code that becomes its product code, much like an ISBN number, it allows for easy searching and tracking. Each thinglink can also be tagged with various tags to help in the description of the items. In fact, they encourage makers to write more about their creations. Thinglink is a great way for any makers to showcase their work, given that everything is free and as it grows, so will the audience. Initiatives like this certainly help the little man to fulfill their dreams.

Via Boing Boing.

Yea they have a sale, rather unexpected really. The catch is that only some shirts are on sale. They've also relaunched in a sense, dumping OMG clothing and introducing 3 new sections. Threadless Kids has got tees more suited for the young uns, whilst Type Tees (the continuation of OMG I suppose) is all about slogans. Threadless Select is where they shine, at $25 a shirt, you get to pick an artist designed shirt which puts more effort into the detailing, so expect more colors and textures and print sizes for those. That's all in addition to their existing collection (if you see tees which are sold out, you can still request a reprint) and the 12 month club.

Scale is the latest release from Matthew Herbert who has dropped his first name and is now just Herbert. The record is lush and juicy, full of soul and feel and its dance music with an agenda. Previously Herbert released an album inspired by the evils of the food industry in Plat Du Jour. But he also produced a brilliant album for Moloko's Roisin Murphy, Ruby Blue. Imagine this somewhere in between, only replacing evils of the food industry with political evils of today. Whether you agree with his stance on various current events, you have to be sour to pour scorn on this. This is fun music. Campy and delicious. Herbert's process in making the album just adds to it, like recording drum beats in a cave, underwater, in a fast car, a hot air balloon... You won't know it if I don't tell you. But like the first track, Something Isn't Right, that's the feeling you get soon after a few listens. Check out his videos about the process and his own ideas on the Scale site. You can also check out his P.C.C.O.M. Manifesto.

 

You know that word of mouth thing, where one thing passes to another and sometimes it comes right back at you?

superfuture is a site I visit from time to time. First knew about it back in the early part of this century after frequent visits to various graphic design newsfeeds. It has a main section dedicated to Singapore now and it certainly makes sense to me given the raft of shops I've seen popping up in recent times. I remember a couple of months back, when I had a chat with a friend of a friend, who owns homespun, a tidy little shop tucked away in the artier district of Singapore, near the Asian Civilizations museum. Normally, all you'll find would be tourists and kids on school tours but they have been getting some press. So here I am to spread the word even more. Other than some funky retro furniture by said friend, you can also find products from all over South East Asia, Local Brand tees, jewelry, recycled product lamps and more.

Back to superfuture. There's only one map for Singapore, unsurprisingly. We are still a tiny dot on the map after all. There's also a link to a satellite image via Google Maps and you'll see what I mean. Still, the density of shopping means there are separate areas to visit, with Orchard getting the most hits. Its just rather poignant to see a word like Kim Seng as a section itself, dedicated to Zouk.

Back to homespun. In that chat I had with Catherine the owner, she told me that she got put onto superfuture because of a friend, who's part of a collective called FARM, which meets up monthly to show off and discuss design related stuff. Their last meeting was preposterously timed at night on the 10th of June. (Hello? World Cup?) In any case, each ROJAK meeting is a chance for almost anyone to showcase their work, be it photography, art, design, architecture etc and have people talk about it. So anyway, this ex-classmate sends us all an email about FARM and it took me a few days (Hello! World Cup!) to realise that oh its that farm, not the one in Lim Chu Kang.

I suppose a small country like ours, its hard to keep things under wraps and everyone will know in time. Still you have to help push things along the way, so I'll be superultranationalistic and dedicate a section to Singapore myself, with a distinct local flavour so ang mohs reading won't know wtf is going on.