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The Eco Zoo

The Eco Zoo is an educational site aimed at teaching individuals how to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle based on examples of various animals - i.e. the Kangaroo "brings his own bag" when it goes shopping, etc. So, in that respect, the concept is entertaining. However, the actual implementation - the site itself - really has me reeling. Built by Masayuki Kido, aka Roxik and his Sharikura 3D Flash engine, it is absolutely the site of the year both in terms of progressive technology, smart use of that technology with the design and overall feel.

Be sure to check out each animals "flip book" and notice that you can rotate the site (aka camera) around at almost any point in the process. Also consider how smooth the site operates and that you've probably never seen anything done like this, so well, in Flash before.

J Zachary

The portfolio of J Zachary Keenan showcases a nice blend of both Design work and pure Art endeavors. I am particularly enjoying this piece and these ghosts.

Via Nussbaum.

Tilt Shifted: Monster Trucks

I've pointed out the goodness of the tilt shifted video from Keith Loutit before but this Monster Truck Rally video, Metal Heart, is ridiculously entertaining. It's often difficult to tell if you're watching a stop-motion animation or an actual video - particularly during the Godzilla truck sequence. Oh, and the t-shirt cannon guy is subtle but a serious treat.

Christmas Insight 08: III

• Core77 Design Gifts - 77 gifts under $77. The animated background gif may be a bit irritating but the gift guide itself is a great resource, anytime of year, for some inspirado. Via Falfa.
• The Small Print - a collection of prints from Frank Chimero in an affordable Lulu printed book.

Meet Your Printmaker

Kory clued me in to the blog Meet Your Printmaker - basically a run down of print shops from around the globe creating a seriously dynamic range of works. The pictured piece is from Studiocromie, a studio in Southern Italy. The amount of work found within the blog is overwhelming to say the least but should provide a nice bit of inspiration when needed.

Practice / Work / Play

Practice / Work / Play is the personal blog of Demetre Arges; an interactive designer living in Seattle and a pal of mine. Though, apparently, not that great of a pal because I had no idea he had a blog - but that's all changing now. This one is bookmarked and RSS'ed so I don't miss out. His content is basically the type of stuff found here - art, nerd insight, design goods, music, etc. - but done in a nicer looking design and with more intriguing content than my own. I welcome the new regular read.

Frank Chimero

I had seen the works of Frank Chimero before (mostly The States project) but apparently since that time he's changed domains, launched side projects and posted quite an expansive portfolio. If you aren't familiar with his work be forewarned - it's depressingly good. Thus far I am particular enjoying the Silhouettes, new states and just about anything found in here.

Mini Munny Custom Contest

Apparently this Mini Munny Custom Contest has been up since Feb. but it's brand new to me. The Caveman wins in my book but they are all mindblowing in their craftsmanship.

NSAG: We Wrote This Down

Matthew Genitempo is a busy guy. He designs tees, runs a blog and is quite the photographer. Which brings us to the matter at hand - the latest Smallest Art Gallery show opened this past Saturday featuring a number of his works - all viewable here. Be sure to drop by the space and see them in person and come back by on the 18th when we rotate them out with a second set!

In summation, Matthew Genitempo photos on display at Nashville's Smallest Art Gallery.

Halcyon Bikes: Now Open

Today marks the official opening of Halcyon Bike Shop here in Nashville. Despite it being a rather cold time to open a bike shop I am pretty excited to have them around. Their focus is on used bikes at affordable prices for practical riders - in other words, it's not a super fancy high-end place where you get a sideways glance for not knowing your carbon fiber from your knock-off alloy. They are located right off the corner of 12th and Halcyon (imagine that), have a flickr stream, an official site and even an opening party.

Now I have to figure out what bike is best for me, that's the hard part. Any suggestions?

bio-bak: full immersion

The Bio Bak site is a full-on Flash immersive experience. You navigate much like you would Google Maps but are given tasks along the way to enhance the whole experience. Stick with it until you find all the zoom tools so you can see the entire layout from one single view - it's worth it. The range of styles used through is a nice variation and the humor is reminiscent of Ren & Stimpy at times - well animated, slightly crude and effectively entertaining.

Via Catbird.

Useful Web Gadgets

The Helvetireader is a "minimal interface theme for Google Reader" - basically trimming the fat and giving you a much cleaner interface. I've not tried it out yet myself but am looking to dive in this afternoon. Am I the only one that thinks that the Amazon.com Universal Wishlist is incredibly useful and brilliant? Granted, it's basically just a bookmarking tool but in this particular context it becomes a lot more beneficial.

Nicholas Hughes: Simplicity at work

Landry said it best: Nicholas Hughes does a whole lot with very little. The images are sparse and simple but still engaging and compelling. That's not an easy balance to achieve to say the least.

Christmas Insight

Ongoing Christmas gift ideas:

• Threadless T-Shirts - while often a bit too kitschy for my taste it's hard to beat the $5 Holiday Sale. There's also some on sale items at sister sites Type Tees, The Select Series and Threadless Kids.
• Tiny Showcase Art - granted, it's not a "Sale" - but that is only because TS prints are always affordable. Or you could go all out and get a very limited edition copy of 10 Beasts - TS will aid you either way.

Jensen Sportag - Sergio

Jensen Sportag have released a digital EP entitled Sergio - available for free download over at Gay Werewolf (if it asks for a password, it is petitef33t). It is the first release in a four part series entitled "Perfect Strangers" - each EP being an individual of some sort. I highly suggest downloading these tracks for various reasons:

• It is free.
• It will not always be free.
• It is fun to listen to.
• The cover art is absurd.
• It contains the track "2x2" - which, for me, could not have more repeatability.

There are more reasons but when you get down to it, it's just an enjoyable listen. And why wouldn't you want that?

UPDATE - No longer free but you can get it on iTunes or Amazon.

Face Art

This face paint set is one of the more disturbing things I've seen in awhile. The elastic movements of this guys face mixed with the full coverage face painting is just a bizarre combination. Some of the better examples are here and here. I don't mean to sound negative about the project - it's well done for what it is - it just fills me with unease.

Gift Insights

The Christmas season is now officially here. In an attempt to make the gift giving season a little easier on you, I am (hopefully) going to post regular links to intriguing items / sales / guides to help you along.

• The Small Stakes is having a Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale. If there aren't three posters in his shop that you're into, I'll be very surprised.
• Griffin Technology is having a 50-70% off sale on "classics" like the iTrip, iClear, etc. etc. through the end of today.

Tilman Faelker

Tilman Faelker's portfolio may not be massive but there are plenty of good works to be found throughout. I think Baroque Dogue might be my favorite of the bunch.

Mix: Stay Indoors

I posted a new mix over the weekend. Please go download and enjoy.