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Interesting Stuff on the Internet

Interesting stuff on the internet is an article sharing my favourite recent online inspiration and distractions.

Ron Carlson is the creator of one of the most hated thing on the internet: the pop-up ad. In this article he apologises, “What we wanted to do was spill boiling oil onto the heads of our enemies as they attempted to bang down the gates of our village. But as everyone now knows, we had some problems, primarily technical problems, that prevented us from doing what we wanted to do the way we had hoped to do it. What we’re asking for today is another chance.”

City Googs is a street art project about the personification of cities in areas that are otherwise ignored. Googly eyes are placed on city objects to create life and a distinct character. They photograph the characters and give them unique narratives. Makes me happy every time I checkout their latest character.

Why do we help one another and why do some people help other people more often? The biology of altruism, good deeds may be rooted in the brain. This article also forms an interesting connection between a psychopath and an altruist.

You are barreling through a tube until all of a sudden…WHEEE! You are thrown out like a rag doll before plunging into a chlorinated pool. Photographer Krista Long captures this moment and the absurd joy of water-slides in a photographic series entitled “I Love Summer.”

Magic to Colon is what fog is to San Francisco: it forms the omnipresent backdrop to the city. Welcome to Colon; Magic Capital of the World! This interesting article talks about the importance of magic and how it identifies the city.

This year, I have been doing lots of research into offices that that offer both design and construction services. Oswald Homes is a wonderful example who remain a constant leader in the Australian high-end housing industry. Be sure to checkout their work.

Madness and the Muse: We are captivated by the idea of the troubled genius. But is it a fiction? The notion that there is an established connection between mental illness and creativity is far from undisputed. A new generation of researchers, who came of age in the era of positive psychology, frame creativity in terms of flow states and mindfulness; in other words, not as symptoms of disease but as evidence of human flourishing. Such an interesting read, filled with links to more interesting reads.

What makes for compelling design? This article goes through some interesting notions about embracing drama, playing on fear, identifying hope and the concept of same same but different.

Why are Victorian houses so creepy? Frank Lloyd Wright, the Adams Family and Hitchcock: How Victorian Architecture became the default haunted house.

NPR Cities: Nature Reclaims it space. A wonderful photographic collection of nature growth in unexpected city spaces.

I love Joan Didion’s article on self-respect. The article was published in the pages of Vogue in 1961. “People with self-respect have the courage of their mistakes. They know the price of things.”

A Pickpocket’s Tale: The spectacular thefts of Apollo Robbins. In magic circles, Robbins is regarded as a kind of legend. Psychiatrists, neuroscientists, and the military study his methods for what they reveal about the nature of human attention.

Five Things Tinder Guys Don’t Know about Being an Independent Filmmaker. I love this article because it applies to anyone independent and relates so much to my transition from architecture into writing and jewellery design. Namely, most of the time you will feel like you are not actually doing what you set out to do.

Innovation–by definition–includes an element of newness. The more you know about a topic the less likely you are to be open to truly groundbreaking advances in the same area. Your expertise got you where you are. But will it keep you from seeing where to go next? Is it possible that your expertise is actually undermining your ability to think creatively and be open to new ideas?

Architectural historians like to place architects into neat categories: Art Deco, Modernist, Post-Modernist, etc. Antoni Gaudí always escapes their efforts. His work is an eccentric mix of art nouveau, gothic revival, non-Western historical influences, and all of these manifest in the Sagrada Famila in Barcelona. Checkout this wonderful exhibition on his unfinished masterpiece. 

I have always been fascinated by the relationship between architecture and skateboarding. The sinuous and solid forms of the skate park are unlike any other form of landscape design. 5 very cool skate parks designed by architects.

Taking drones to the top of Hong Kong capturing some incredible footage of our built environment. Checkout their wonderful photos and videos. Other people inspired to reach new heights? Fruity King is not about just being satisfied but also the drive and thrill. Supercasino on the other hand is about over the top gaming.

You only live once; buildings that are so audacious, so over-the-top that they can only be described as YOLO. Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld has a few of these bold projects in his portfolio and they are incredibly stunning. Check them out here.