Vik Muniz @ TED

Incredible artist (and Brooklynite!) Vik Muniz talks about what inspires him, his process, and his art.

Enjoy, mes amis.

Vik Muniz @ wikipedia

"Non-Violence"

This wonderful sculpture stands in front of the UN building on 45th St.

It is called "Non-Violence." It was created by Swedish sculptor Carl Fredrik Reutersward in 1980, and gifted from Luxembourg to the United Nations in 1988.

NYC Traffic

New York streets are hard to maneuver a car through.

Why?

Other cars.

If you think of the city as a heart, and the streets as its veins, then the cars will serve as blood in this particular metaphor.

Moving cars, that is.

You see, when a car stops moving and parks on the street, it's the same thing as plaque forming in the city's veins and arteries. It slows everything down.

Add an additional layer of plaque over the parked cars, i.e. the double-parked cars, and you begin to see why getting through the city at five on a Friday is such a trying task.

Luckily, we have many solutions!

Like this little beauty:


Or this one:


The way of the future is robotic parking. This is an incredible system that accomplishes many goals at once. You can access you car very quickly, it is stored in a safe place, out of the weather, and most importantly, you help to keep the streets free and clear for pedestrians, bicyclists, and cars that are moving goods and people around.

Very smart.

Here's some video of a robotic parking system at work:


Ha ha! No tip required.



To recap, we can go from this:


to this:




With space and sanity at a premium, this little energy-saver can help restore both.

Yay!!!

-J

Handipoints

A friend recently brought Handipoints Chore Charts to my attention, and I'm so glad they did!

Handipoints is an incredibly clever website for parents and kids.

The gist is: You set up a checklist of chores and activities you would like your child to do, they do the chores and check them off on their handipoints page, and the parent then awards the child points that they can use in HandiLand.

I wish I'd had something like this as a child.

The great thing is that control is entirely in the hands of the parents and their children. You can discuss with your child and agree as to what exactly the child will get in return for fulfilling his checklist. If Junior wants a bike, or skis, or archery set, they can work for it.

So smart, and such a good use of the internet.

Well done to the good people over at Handipoints!

Check 'em out: Handipoints.com

Things I Love: My Radius Toothbrush

I've been rockin' the Radius Source toothbrush for about three months now.

I love it so much, I had to tell you about it.

Firstly, it's the best eco-friendly toothbrush I've yet seen.

It's got a handle made from renewable wood and CORN PLASTIC. Nebraska Corn Plastic! Yee-haw! Feels good in the hand, looks soft but is really tough and durable.

The heads are replaceable! This lo-tech solution uses 1/5th the materials and energy as tossing an entire toothbrush every time you get a new one. Creamy.

Finally, because the heads are replaceable, the toothbrush easily switches over to accommodate lefties! Being a lefty myself, I appreciate this gesture.

And the extra wide head and soft bristles feel good against the gums and leave the mouth feeling scrubbed and renewed.

A fine toothbrush if you happen to need one.



Check out their site here: Radius .com.

Clever Swiss

Apparently, Switzerland's trash situation is so together, they have specific trash cans just for batteries.

NYC needs these too.

Here's a great International Herald Tribune article about "waste collection" in Zurich.

Have a good Monday.

-Jackson



(Thanks to Andrew for the photo.)

Great Building

This building is on Atlantic Ave. near my apartment in Brooklyn. It makes me smile every time I walk past it.

I wonder what they do in there? Hee hee hee.

Marvelous Compost Bin!

What plays the guitar solo? Is that a tomato? A meatball? Pepperoni?

Who made this? This is so great. Please get in touch with me.

superforestnyc@gmail.com

Delightful.

Virgin America is Smart

I flew Virgin America the other day and I noticed something they did that is really smart.

They've stopped using little stickers for when you check luggage.
Instead, the barcode is both your boarding pass AND your baggage claim check.

Less paper, more smarter.

And the flight was pleasant and clean.
Now if we can get them to run the planes on Biofuels, we'll be rocking.

Take a gander at Virgin America's site.

love,

J

Solar Billboard

From Treehugger

Very smart.

And well done over at PG&E!

Check out the enviro-friendly direction PG&Es going in on their site.

Seems everyone wants a piece of the "saving our species" action.

Barier Houses

They're shaped like soccer balls! They float if it floods! They come in nearly any size you want, even for doggies!

Barier Houses! Strong With Disasters!!








via archinect




The sensible structures are made in Japan by World Window, and can be bought either fully assembled or in kit form.

If one were to be attempting to rebuild say, a city demolished by floods (New Orleans, Ao Nang, Tamil Nadu,) this might be a dwelling worth considering. Put it up on stilts above the water line and you're ready for anything.

Smart houses for smart people.

World Window has more pictures on their site: g-wood.jp

Things I Love: Techno Air Filter Mask

Okay, let's face facts: wearing a mask out in public is a bit weird.

For some reason it is culturally acceptable to cover ones eyes with sunglasses, but not to cover ones nose and mouth. That said, I live and work in NY, and the air quality here is... lacking.

Last summer I was living in Harlem and riding my bike to and from Chelsea every day. Between the car exhaust, the construction dust, and the helicopter fuel, it was quite a workout on my lungs.

So I went online to gotpollution.com and got one of these sweet babies!

The Techno Air Filter Mask!

Here is some product info:

"The Techno Gold mask combines Hepa-Type filtration for sub-micron pollutants with the Dynamic ACC (Activated Charcoal Cloth) filter. This combination provides increased filtration ability covering a broader spectrum of pollutants than either filter on its own.
Working in combination with the Techno Gold filter, are two
new Techno valves specifically designed to improve airflow
performance on exhalation. With these new features, the
Techno Gold mask is at the top of the range in performance
and conforms to European Standard EN149FFP1(S).

Filters Out:
Hydrocarbons including Benzene & Pyrene, Nitrogen Oxides,
Sulphur Dioxide, Lead Oxide, and Black Smoke. Sub-Micron
Particulates including Pollen Dust, Rape Seed Dust, Irritant
Dusts and Clay Dust."

I wore mine while biking. I wore it while out on walks. I wore it during the hottest hot of the New York summer. And I felt great. The mask works really well at filtering out city funk while not suffocating me or getting sweaty inside.

Today I went for a walk with my dog and threw it on. It kept my face nice and toasty while warming and filtering the air I breathed. I love this thing. I highly recommend it to anyone who is going to travel to a city where the air is bad, or who likes a warm face in the winter, or who is concerned about getting the flu and wants to put a bit of distance between their breathing holes and the world.

Personality is all in the eyes anyway.

Viva Masks!

Wear it in the Summer.

Wear it in the Winter.



Be safe out there. Stay warm.

-Jackson

Techno @ Amazon:
amazon.com
Techno @ Gotpollution.com:
gotpollution.com

The Incomparable Ramona Otto

There is an artist in Los Angeles whose work I adore.

Her name is Ramona Otto, and for many years she's been making the most wondrous things, all out of found and recycled objects!

check her site out:

ramonaotto.com