Random inspiration

Here's some random stuff that inspired me this week.

Daft Punk's video for "Around the World."  Or anything by Michel Gondry, really.  His stuff doesn't really ever make sense, but despite that (or perhaps because of it), it's completely coherent and compelling.  Why can't ads be this interesting to watch?  Gondry once said "It has always been my goal to make people feel alright when they watch my work."  Maybe we should all use that as a starting point.

"It's odd, and a little unsettling, to reflect upon the fact that English is the only major language in which "I" is capitalized; in many other languages "You" is capitalized and the "i" is lower case"   
- journalist Sydney J. Harris. 

Does that tell us something about what is emphasized or prioritized in different cultures?  I wonder if English-speakers are more self-oriented than others, all due to a simple grammatical artifact.  It made me think about the effect that basic things like language have on the way we think and organize the world.

Kapitaal is a gorgeous little Dutch short film looking at the world with everything stripped out except for brands, media, posters, and other public signage.  Makes you realize how much visual noise we're surrounded by all the time.  And this visual effect somehow both heightens it and calms it down at the same time.
via City of Sound

 

PostSecret.  I keep forgetting about it and then rediscovering it.  Always worth spending some time on.  Great insights into the human condition, and some truly touching, funny, and weird stuff.

"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid." 
      -  Basil King (although often misattributed to Goethe). 

This is one of my favourite quotes.  Thought of it in regard to the failure thing.  It's good advice.

Comments

[garth breaks]

Jason,
In describing "Kapitaal" you observe that the film made you "..realize how much visual noise we're surrounded by all the time".
I think it's important for those in the ad industry to acknowledge their contribution to this problem - it's not "how much visual noise we're surrounded by all the time", but rather, how much visual noise we're helping to create (all the time).
I'm not suggesting we'd be better off living in an ad free utopian commune, but owning up to both the pros and cons of the industry will hopefully help to establish a proper balance.

Just my two cents.

[Jason Oke]

Totally agree.

Actually, there's been a fair amount of debate and discussion around this industry in the last while around this issue. While marketers have been encroaching on public spaces for a long time (in response to the declining effectiveness of mass media), a backlash has started up in some corners of the industry.

More about it here:
http://lbtoronto.typepad.com/lbto/2006/07/ambient_media_o.html