mbf tod@y

8-bit tie

"To develop secret new apparel items we set about to build an artificially intelligent supercomputer and task it with creating the ultimate geek fashion accessory to rule them all (and in the darkness bind them). However the only electronic parts we were able to scrounge were some old NES systems, a Colecovision football game and an Atari 2600. Undaunted, we quickly wired everything together and posed the ultimate apparel question to our newly created digital monstrosity. Unfortunately after a few Mario style bleeps and bloops the whole mess caught on fire. But while cursing and walking the charred remains to the dumpster we came up with an amazing idea for a necktie rendered in 8-bit processor style. Now you can enjoy the fruits of our labor by wearing the stylish ThinkGeek 8-bit Tie to your next cocktail party or robot battle event. The silky microfiber construction and easy-to-use clip-on functionality will have the ladies in a swoon of 8-bit ecstasy. Pair it with the upcoming ThinkGeek 8-bit After-Shave to complete the effect. " (ThinkGeek)

For 19.99, it's a bargain!

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Video Games Ruined My Life!

Instant classic.

(Thanks, Valentina!)

Get your t-shirt here

giannicanova 2.0

"La cosa che so fare meglio - credo - è insegnare. Cinema, ovviamente. Mi piace contagiare gli altri con le mie passioni. Mi piace che gli altri mi contagino con le loro. Ho avuto la fortuna di avere grandi maestri. E la possibilità di trasformare una passione in professione." (gianni canova)

Leggi

The Starbucks Aesthetic

"But that may not matter to consumers. “You know, it’s not that different from feeling cool because you’ve got an Apple computer,” said the novelist Jonathan Lethem. Mr. Lethem was one of the well-regarded, not-quite-mainstream artists who were featured at the New York Starbucks salon, which he experienced as a supportive environment for creative work. As for the Starbucks sensibility itself, he said, “It’s the faint affect of a counterculture shackled to the most ordinary, slightly upscale product” — just more of what he describes as the “faux-alternative” aesthetic that’s been around for decades". (Susan Dominus, The New York Times)

“Move with the herd.” ;-)

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Bruce Sterling: Decoding Advertising

"Check out the Indian detailing in those jeans. Jeans have been the signifiers of globalization for something like fifty years now. They're Pax Americana, Washington-Consensus clothing. But these are Indian jeans. They're as Indian as Indian railroads and Indian cinema. An American woman could show up in a pair of these Indian jeans in Chicago or New York, and people would look at her funny; these jeans, which are the ultimate American garment, just aren't quite Yankee any more." (Bruce Sterling)

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As if we needed another reason to boycott Nike

"When Zinédine Zidane, the French soccer star, leveled an Italian defender, Marco Materazzi, with a blow to the chest during the World Cup final in July, the incident nearly overshadowed Italy's victory over France. Now, in celebrating their soccer superiority, some Italians, and their sponsor, Nike, are taking a few jabs at the French." (Eric Pfanner, International Herald Tribune)

["soccer superiority" mon cul]

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The New Fiat 500

"FIAT wants a few good designers, and it’s willing to pay. For the introduction of the 500, a small car that revives a model name and a styling theme charged with memories, the company hopes to rekindle the same devotion once lavished on the 500’s family of charismatic predecessors [...] Central to the success of the new Fiat, Mr. Stephenson has said, will be its “Italianness.” Everyone loves Italian design, art and food, he believes. A successful Italian car must radiate the culture and inspire immediate recognition and love". (Phil Patton, The New York Times)

Oh, pleeez! Give me a break. Go read Roland Barthes, instead. Or watch some Lupin The 3rd anime...

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Links

To "get" this, read this.

Games, Rap, Rock and Reeboks

"If you have got the right sneakers you know who you are.

“I am what I am.”
(Mike Skinner in an advert for Reebok)

If you make music, you don’t know who you are.

“I am he
As you are he
As you are me
And we are all together.”
(John Lennon in “I am the Walrus”)

If you play the game right, you know that you don’t want to know  who you are. Let’s look at this:

“The basic plot of Half-Life 2 is pretty simple in concept, much as the first game was. You are once again Gordon Freeman.”
(Half-Life 2 by Valve Corporation)

Am I Gordon Freeman? Pardon me, who said so?  Do I know, who I am? Maybe. Do I want to know, who I am: Not really.

It appears to me that the problem is such: If I find out, that I am Gordon Freeman, I have to cope with pretty unpleasant situations, e.g. “You are going to have to murder a lot of hostile beings in order to save the day.” That’s not fun anymore, if I really am Gordon. It’s frightening, it is tedious, it is dirty, all the blood sucks and it is painful as hell." (Mathias Fuchs)

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Neil Barrett, designer

"Barrett, who has lived in Italy since 1989, told CNN he believed he was the first fashion designer to have created a national football team's uniform. "Of course the Italians would have to be first," he told CNN. [...] "I'm incredibly proud of the team. Designing their uniforms is a total coup for me. I wanted to make them look as great as possible, so I based the designs on a super hero's outfit." (from CNN News)

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