Kaleidoscope

Remember putting your eyes up to the end of Kaleidoscope and rotating it around to have a magical burst of colors dance in front of you? In case you do (or don't) try playing with this fancy virtual tool by zefrank. It's not quite the same as the real deal, but this way you get to build your own Kaleidoscope with nothing more than a black circle, basic geometric forms, and a rotating blue wedge. My final result was way cool, and I used all the pieces.

Warning: Don't stare at the rapidly moving colors too long. You may start to feel sleepy, very sleepy.

Globalization = Americanization, or does it?

According to the folks over at the Freaknomics Blog, globalization does not equal world domination of the English language. Thank you. It's about time people realize this. This is something that I'm super passionate about researching/studying. In today's age, language (and culture by the way) is alive! I honestly believe that America, The West, and even the English language is not steam-rolling the rest of the world.

I especially like Christian Rolling's take on the future of language and globalization:

Rudimentary English might still be the most convenient means of oral or written communication between strangers of different cultures on planet Earth, but globalization is giving a new (virtual) planetary presence to hundreds of languages and cultures through millions of Web sites, mixing text and videos.

The big loser? Grammar

Amen. Right on. The world: thriving & inventive. Internet users: grammar ignoramuses. Take a peek, What Will Globalization Do to Languages? A Freakonomics Quorum

Kid's Drawings Reversed

I love the concept of taking children's drawings and turning them into real life photographs like Yeondoo Jung does in the collection "Wonderland". Not only are the photos surreal and fun, the idea is so rich. We have an artist's interpretation of a child's interpretation of nature.
The layers of reality, imagery, and artistry are thick. The photographs are striking, innocent, and beautiful. With the original kid's drawing side-by-side, I love the idea and final product. They beg the question what is posed? what is natural? what is based on reality? and what is based only on the notion of reality? Yeondoo Jung is my new favorite Korean artist.

Works in the post:
1st: Cinderella
2nd: Fox's Magic Trick

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day!

Today we celebrate and honor all the service members who have fought and died for our freedom. America is grateful.

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I have found a new obsession. I am now in love with "vintagizing" my photographs in Photoshop like the flag one above. Ohhhh, somebody better stop me.

Verb: to yardsale

I participated in the cultural phenomenon know as 'yard saling' this morning. While I have set out my own junk to make penny before, this was the first time I actually went to other people lawns to peruse their goods. It's unbelievable how many yard sales are in a small concentrated area on a Saturday morning!

I think the most interesting thing was looking through people used book collections. Why do people try to sell their Harlequin Romances? A. I wouldn't want the neighborhood to know I had 30 boxes of that slime. B. Nobody wants them!

Before going, I did my research. The Yard Sale Queen has everything you wanted to know about yard sales, including nightmare stories.

Today I made the weighty purchase of a $.10 roll of blue ribbon and a $.10 copy of the Poisonwood Bible. Less than a quarter for two things. Bah ha. If it weren't for all the junk that you have to sift through, I think could like this yard saling thing...

Internet Advertising

This article in the Washington Post is very interesting. It talks about how website owners can make 10 times more money from advertisers by tracking users for the purpose of displaying tailored advertisements.

The article says:

The growing practice of "behavioral targeting," or sending ads to online users based on their Internet habits, is now under scrutiny by the Federal Trade Commission, whose review could shape not only Web advertising rules but the character of the Web itself.

For while public interest groups argue that compiling profiles of largely unsuspecting Internet users ought to be illegal, online advertisers and publishers respond that their ad targeting tactics protect privacy and may be essential to support the free content on the Web...

Behavioral targeting promises to bolster sagging online ad revenue with a more profitable approach.

Interestingly, on Facebook within the past few months I've noticed advertisements that are almost creepy--like they know too much information about me. A few ones I noticed were: "Want To Learn Spanish by Teaching English in South America?," "Be a Fan of Empowerment," "Te Gusta Julieta Venegas?" and "Put a Link to Us on Your Blog for Cash." There were more too.

It's like they somehow peeped at my info and said hey, these are ads that this girl is likely to click on. To be honest, it makes me uncomfortable.

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Oh, and after writing this post I googled "advertising" and the first link that popped up was for Facebook ads: "Reach the exact audience you want with relevant targeted ads."

I'm feeling even more uncomfortable...

America Picked the Wrong Idol

What? Really? America got it wrong. After over 97 million votes total, how on earth did David Archuleta not win American Idol? He had it in the bag, especially after last night's performance. What was the population thinking? I was SURE he was going to be the clear leader. Looks like my prediction after the first episode this season was unfortunately wrong.

I suppose there is consolation in knowing that David Cook, the winner, is a good singer too. He had his moments.

About American Idol:

It remains both the most popular show on U.S. television and a pop culture phenomenon, having produced a list of successful stars from both its winners and losers.

I'll still buy Archuleta's album when it comes out. He's still going to be a winner in the hearts of the 44% of the 97 million people who voted for him.

Million Dollar Homepage

I wish I had this idea first. The Million Dollar Homepage that sold 1 million pixels for $1 dollar each to eager advertisers to have a stable URL link on a basic homepage.

The Million Dollar Homepage is a website conceived by Alex Tew, a then 21-year-old student from England to help raise money for his university education. Launched on August 26, 2005, the website is said to have generated a gross income of $1,037,100 USD.

That's insane. And so simple. Good for the entrepreneur. Funny thing though is that he ended up dropping out of college because he was SO successful and made SO much money. I wonder whether this project was 'good' for him in the end or not? Can a million dollars and the fame of a good idea replace a university education?

That is the question.