http://www.psfk.com Your Go-To Source For New Ideas And Inspiration Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:21:49 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.psfk.com/2009/04/possessed-inside-the-mind-of-a-hoarder.html Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:01:38 +0000 Rob Walker points us to the short documentary “Possessed”, a film directed by Martin Hampton that delves into the fascinating world of hoarders and their belongings. Martin tells the story of four individuals who can’t let go of their mounds of stuff, ranging from old furniture to memorabilia to completely valueless bits like used cotton swabs and trash. The film tries to get at what drives hoarding behavior, suggesting it may be a type of mental illness and/or an extreme reaction to reckless consumerism and a culturally-condoned obsession with material wealth and consumption. Martin made the film during a VisualRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2009/03/otakus-at-home.html Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:28:59 +0000 Patrick Macias points us to some interesting images of the ‘stay-at-home’ Japanese generation known as Otaku. The photos show that despite their disinterest in leaving their bedrooms, they still seem to amass a lot of possessions – often around a particular theme. There seems to be some similarities between these men and the monorcolorists New Yorkers who lived a single color scheme, no? More photos: Otaku Power – Trivia/Desire/Transformation]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/12/kickbee-babys-first-twitter.html Fri, 12 Dec 2008 17:34:43 +0000 It seems it’s never too early to get your kids started on sharing their thoughts and emotions. Designer and expectant father Corey Menscher has created the Kickbee, a device worn by pregnant mothers that senses a baby’s movements inside the womb and transmits them onto digital networks.  Realizing that fathers don’t have the same intimate physical connection to their unborn children, Menscher wanted a means of experiencing greater awareness and believes that this technology can do just that. The Java application receives the sensor values and analyzes them. When a kick event is detected, a Twitter message is posted via theRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/12/rfid-powered-mirror-ties-physical-objects-with-digital-world.html Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:51:22 +0000 Violet, a company devoted to building products based on “calm and emotional technologies,” recently unveiled their new Mir:ror device.  The cleanly designed product resembles a USB-powered cup holder, but it’s essentially a simple RFID tag reader paired with some innovative software.  The idea behind Mir:ror is to streamline your physical life by scripting digital events through RFID tagged objects.  For example, you affix one of the provided colorful RFID stamps (called Ztamp:s) to your car keys and after waving it over the Mir:ror pad your computer reads you the traffic report for the morning commute. The slogan is to createRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/12/tinkering-intuitive-learning-for-our-future-forward-world.html Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:45:21 +0000 While conducting research for one of our client projects, we stumbled across an in depth discussion on tinkering written by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang following a conference entitled ”Tinkering as a Mode of Knowledge: Production in the Digital Age” put on by the Carnegie Foundation.  His thoughts touch on tinkering as both a powerful learning tool and means of relating to our future-forward world where technology is becoming increasingly ubiquitous. In his notes, Pang defines tinkering as: us[ing] materials at hand, combining heterogeneous parts and components (e.g., raw and finished materials, handmade and industrial objects, customized and personalized consumer products) in ways that push beyond theRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/12/notes-from-the-underground-the-good-knife-supper-club.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:07:50 +0000 Despite a long list of “must try” restaurants in our neighborhood, last week we opted for an entirely new experience and attended the launch of the Good Knife, a new underground supper club in Manhattan’s Gramercy area. Originally, many such clubs arose as a means of allowing chefs to stretch their creativity. Participants could enjoy an intimate and casual setting, welcome in an era ruled by theme restaurants and grand settings. Foodies especially jumped at the chance to sample new talent. As the popularity of underground restaurants and eating clubs grew, so did the scale and spectacle of the dinnersRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/11/national-geographic-store-opens-in-london-offers-self-dna-sampling.html Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:42:23 +0000 Notcot points us to some highlights from the new (and first) National Geographic store on London’s Regent Street. The three-story shop features beautiful gallery spaces, science-themed bits and bobs to gawk at and to buy, the expected melange of relics from around the world (Burmese army trekking stick, anyone?) and a swanky cafe. But what really caught our eye was the The Genographic Project Public Participation Kit Notcot got their hands on: Quick description of The Genographic Project: “The Genographic Project is a global research partnership of National Geographic and IBM. With support for field research from the Waitt FamilyRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/11/the-translation-of-an-american-icon-bat-manga.html Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:27:48 +0000 In 1966 the original Batman television series found so much success in the U.S. that it was eventually exported overseas. When the show aired in Japan, the audience was so enamored by the Caped Crusader that the publisher of Shonen King, a popular boys’ magazine at the time, contacted DC Comics to license the rights to the Dynamic Duo. They would go on to create their own original Batman stories interpreted through the lens of Manga. Though the run was short-lived, lasting for only one year, the comics presented an interesting twist on the Batman paradigm, offering entertaining glimpses intoRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/10/augmented-reality-virtual-insanity.html Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:07:52 +0000 There is an old curse that goes like this: “May you live in interesting times.” It doesn’t get any more interesting than two recent strange news stories about digital worlds sparking irrational behavior in the real world. These two items illustrate the weird problems we could be encountering on a regular basis as bleed-through increases across the border of the real and virtual worlds. The first story is about two kids in the Netherlands that robbed a 13 year old boy at knife point, forcing him to log in to RuneScape, an online game, and transfer an amulet, a mask,Read more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/10/event-nerd-nite-nyc.html Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:02:20 +0000 We’ve received details on the next (and what will be our first!) Nerd Nite in NYC, a monthly event that brings together nerds of all persuasions to listen, learn, and share ideas. (Over drinks, of course.) Nerd Nite, which originated in a Boston bar in 2003, has grown far beyond its beginnings as a small get-together for self-proclaimed nerds interested in presenting their passions to their likeminded peers. November 15′s Nerd Nite, which will be held at DUMBO’s expansive new art space, Galapagos, will feature talks from three obsessives  coming from three disparate areas of expertise (evolutionary genetics, role-playing games,Read more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/10/american-dream-a-biological-impossibility.html Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:41:36 +0000 If you aren’t living in a big house, driving a fleet of cars and sporting the latest stereo system, don’t feel so bad.  According to Peter Whybrow, author of American Mania: When More Is Not Enough, the material road to happiness does not sit well with our 200, 000 years of ‘scarcity-driven evolution’. The Director of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA believes our evolution from an environment which barely satisfied our day to day needs to one of plenty, has left us socially incapable of coping with the modern comforts of affluence and material wealth.Read more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/10/comment-on-the-creator-class.html Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:38:43 +0000 I’ve finished my presentation for Friday’s PSFK Conference Asia – and one of the last slides comes from a comment that was left on the site the other day. Gabriel Amadeus said: “[Creator?] Hey, that’s me! Not that I am successful at it or anything, but I much prefer to be a jack of all trades instead of specializing in “vector illustration”, “interactive flash”, or “band posters”. “In the past week I’ve designed flyers, banners, screenprinted shirts, welded a homemade bakfiets (dutch cargo bike), organized a scavenger hunt, planned a freakbike booth at the Oregon Manifest, and applied for aRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/10/hand-dripped-coffee-seoul-2.html Mon, 06 Oct 2008 09:12:53 +0000 The other day on the phone a client of our consultancy service said to us, “The problem Starbucks created was that for every store they put up, they inspired something like 16 others to be created.” We’re not too sure about the numbers but I’m sure that if you’ve walked through your caffeine drenched neighborhood recently you get the point. A walk through the Samcheong-dong and Hongdae districts of Seoul last weekend reminded us of this comment. Alongside the bright green-lettered Starbucks are dozens and dozens of other coffee shops: some Western brands, some European-sounding brands and a growing numberRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/09/manga-sparks-wine-craze-in-asia.html Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:50:02 +0000 The Japanese comic book “Kami no Shizuku” translates to “The Drops of God”. It’s the story of Shizuku Kanzaki, a wine enthusiast who is on a heroic quest to find the 12 best wines in the world. Described as “The Da Vinci Code” set in a Tokyo bar, the story is part mystery and part richly detailed, surreal wine review. The curious thing, is that the Drops of God has been creating an explosive new demand for wines in Asia. A mention of a specific wine can boost sales tremendously. The Telegraph reports: Shizuku Kanzaki’s adventures in the comic KamiRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/09/psfk-interview-david-art-wales-on-secret-societies.html Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:41:44 +0000 David Art Wales shared his insights on the power of secrets and clandestine societies at Interesting NYC – a topic he’s become quite an expert in since spearheading the Prudent Boozer movement and exploring the uber-hush hush world of the Freemasons. We asked David if he could share a little bit more about his thoughts on what makes secrecy so sublime, and he was kind enough to divulge. A little. At Interesting NY, you spoke about “Secret Societies and the Twilight of Hidden Knowledge.” What’s so special about secrecy? We all love secrets. They’re so precious and fragile, and theyRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/09/lists-online-inspiration-archives.html Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:45:24 +0000 Why are lists and compilations (both text and image based) so popular on the internet these days? It could be seen as an easy way to organize, and wade through an endless swamp of online information. Or maybe it’s just a good way to archive and display found inspiration. Regardless of the reasons, the results are captivating. Rosecrans Baldwin explores the growing popularity of lists on The Moment blog: Not long ago, the Web was all about personal sites, and we all knew one another by first names. Then the blogs showed up, and now with Tumblr and Flickr andRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/08/penguindating-where-book-lovers-meet.html Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:10:15 +0000 PenguinDating is a new site by Penguin UK that aims to – you guessed it – help bookworms find love. In partnership with Match.com, Penguin launched the site to introduce a little literary twist to the online dating scene. While sites like GoodReads provide a virtual community for avid book readers, PenguinDating focuses more primarily on dating. Members of the site can search through Match.com’s member profiles to find people who share their literary tastes, as well as find members on PenguinDating through members’ mini-book reports on the latest books they read. Advertisements for the site will be placed inRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/08/from-glamor-to-geek-new-yorks-2o-party-scene.html Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:52:46 +0000 The New York Times has an interesting article explaining how the New York Tech scene has evolved from glamor and glitz launch parties to soldering competitions and PowerPoint Presentations. Apparently, when the Internet bubble collapsed, New York Techies went back to doing what they do best; geeking out and making stuff. Now, young Internet entrepreneurs, some holdouts from the old days and a few members of the city’s creative class (and underclass) are engaged in a new type of party, which mashes together Silicon Alley 1.0’s camaraderie and optimism, meetup.com’s spontaneity and informality, Burning Man’s home-brewed creativity, and a technologyRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/07/the-long-tail-of-the-dragon-of-love.html Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:04:43 +0000 Kevin Kelly makes an interesting point in a response to discussion by Seth Godin about the Long Tail and role of creators (in the short tail) and aggregators (in the long tail). I’ve been wrestling with this for a while and I think the only advantage to the creator that I can see in the long tail is that aggregators can invent or produce a long tail domain that was not present before. Like Seth’s Squidoo does. Before Squidoo or Amazon or Netflix came along there was no market at all for many of the creations they now distribute. TheRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/06/the-history-collaboration-and-popularization-of-burning-man.html Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:40:38 +0000 A new documentary entitled “Dust And Illusions” by Olivier Bonin, features an in-depth look a the history of Burning Man. After four years of research, filming and in-depth interviews with people involved in the Burning Man community, this film explores how the anarchic festival is coming to terms with it’s own popularization. What started out as a small gathering on the beach of San Francisco has evolved into a fully functioning city in the Nevada Desert. And with nearly 50,000 attendees last year, many participants are concerned that the event’s mainstream appeal will jeopardize the festival’s utopia vision. While theRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/05/obsessives-typo-warriors.html Fri, 23 May 2008 13:37:49 +0000 The Chicago Times reports on Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson who are traveling across the US correcting typos and grammar as they go. Driving a GPS-guided ’97 Nissan Sentra they call themselves TEAL — the Typo Eradication Advancement League. When they spot typos on signs, they stop and if they can’t ask someone to correct them, they do it themselves. So they approach a cafe, a shoe store, a visitors center. They identify a typo on a sign, a label, a poster. They point out the typo. They await the reaction. This next part varies. They are greeted warmly (sometimes).Read more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/04/supercuts.html Mon, 14 Apr 2008 05:37:24 +0000 Andy Baio has identified a growing list of videos on the web that montage nearly every instance of a certain word, quote or event in a film or TV show. He points to the above clip from LOST and says: This insane montage of (nearly) every instance of “What?” from the LOST series started me thinking about this genre of video meme, where some obsessive-compulsive superfan collects every phrase/action/cliche from an episode (or entire series) of their favorite show/film/game into a single massive video montage. Here are some examples he has found: Film Requiem for a Dream, montage of everyRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/03/is-your-smartphone-making-you-a-smartass.html Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:39:39 +0000 Love it or hate it, the iPhone is significant–not just technologically, but culturally. We are even coining words (iPhoneisms?) to describe its societal impact. There’s “iPhone Envy” (aka “iPhone Lust”), “iPhonization”, and now we have “awkward iPhone moments”. These happen when a question arises and someone whips out their iPhone to look up the answer, stemming further conversation. Here is an example, as described in a recent LA Times article: Backstage recently in a Little Rock, Ark., theater, actress Natalie Canerday said the cast of a play was enjoying debating the year Bruce Springsteen’s album “Born to Run” was released.Read more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/03/obsessives-the-tape-project.html Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:54:18 +0000 Russell Davies points us to his ‘type’ of obsessives – music makers and collectors that use open reel tapes. The Tape Project that seems to be driving this movement says that these 15ips, 1/4″ half track stereo tapes reproduce the original master tape as practical. Albums retail for $200 and some then sell on eBay for double that price. In the FAQ on the site the people behind the project respond to the question ‘Why but open reel tape in 2008?’ with this answer: Dan: I had been putting on this show (Vacuum State of the Art Conference) for severalRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/03/obsessives-vinyl-junkies.html Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:12:20 +0000 The NearSightedMan pulls out some of his favorite quotes from the book “Vinyl Junkies: Adventures in Record Collecting” by Brett Milano. They give an insight into the obsessive world of record collecting: “Collecting is creepy. Record collectors put each other down for their various fixations. Everybody is convinced that his way of collecting is superior. They look down on casual collectors, who are just accumulators – the kind who’ll just pick up anything and let it pile up. A true collector is more of a connoisseur, and that’s the good thing about collecting. It creates a connoisseurship to sort outRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/03/freezing-hits-40.html Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:52:27 +0000 A couple of weeks ago we spotlighted the ‘Freeze’ movement where a crowd would turn up to a public spot (like Grand Central) and freeze in time. ImprovEverywhere now says 40 such events have taken place and have a list of videos from Berlin to Wellington. IE says: It’s been exactly four weeks since we posted our Frozen Grand Central mission. The response has been unbelievable. The YouTube video has 7.4 million views and counting. It’s been covered by The Today Show, Nightline, Good Morning America, and countless news outlets around the world. Most interestingly, it’s inspired people in 40Read more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/03/obsessives-ex-dders.html Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:10:28 +0000 The New York Times recently published a fun diagram to illustrate the supposed impact of playing Dungeons and Dragons early in your life. It suggests that if you did that you’ll either have an intense relationships with computers and/or science fiction and that the roll/role-playing concept may have contributed to the algorithm behind Google’s search ranking. In the accompanying article, Adam Rogers says: We live in Gary Gygax’s world. The most popular books on earth are fantasy novels about wizards and magic swords. The most popular movies are about characters from superhero comic books. The most popular TV shows lookRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/02/obsessives-monocolorists.html Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:07:38 +0000 Finally, something to kick off this obsessives series: New York magazine interviewed five New Yorkers who wear only one color all day, every day. They include a shoe designer who only wears blue; a fashion designer who dons grey; an industrial designer who clads himself in white half the time, and pink half the time; a fabric designer wrapped in kelly green; and a singer-songwriter who only wears brown (probably like half of New York, now we think of it). Some interesting quotes: NY Mag: Why blue? Valeria “ValBlu” McCulloch: In college, I majored in color theory. Blue was theRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/02/mixed-reality-treasure-hunt-nintendo-ds-required.html Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:48:13 +0000 Nintendo is giving their players a does of real life adventure on Enoshima, a little island near Tokyo, where Nintendo DS-toting players are participating in an island-wide mixed-reality treasure hunt. In “Treasure Quest: Enoshima – Treasure of the Dragon” competitors use their portable consoles to find clues around the island which eventually lead them to a hidden treasure. Anyone who is able to find a way to Enoshima (which sits 50 km south of Tokyo) can participate in the game for free, so long as they’re already a Nintendo DS owner. The game depends on the DS’s wireless capabilities, whichRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/01/sewer-art.html Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:12:23 +0000 Maybe this is one for the Obsessives pool: Zezao is a Sao Paulo based artist, who does much of his work underground - in sewers and manholes. Part of the reason is he creates his art is to highlight the problems that the Brazilian city is ignoring beneath it.]]>