whatleydude

Things of note for the week ending June 29th, 2012

1. Amazing Superman Art is Amazing
Part painting, part sculpture; this pixelated masterpiece is just marvellous. It’s almost as if Kal-El has been made up of those tall buildings that he famously leaps in a single bound. I like.

A lot.

2. Visit England

England lose on penalties. For more on our culture and traditions go to visitengland.com

— VisitEngland (@VisitEngland) June 24, 2012

This is awesome.

Not England going out of the Euro 2012s, of course not. But Visit England leaping on it so quickly meant that they basically WON THE INTERNET.

At the time of blogging, the tweet in question had received over 9600 retweets and was still being held up as a champion of excellence for brands working in, and across, the world of super-reactive social media.

Well done Visit England, I salute you.

3. A 3D mapping project of the London Underground
I found this the other day and immediately forwarded it to my friend (and avid London Underground blogger), Annie Mole. She blogged it, naturally, but I couldn’t help myself either.

There’s only a limited amount of stations you can view at the moment (as they’re being built from public drawings, plans and memory only), but it’s still worth seeing if only because you get to see why the Victoria to Bakerloo change at Oxford Circus (above) is just so darn quick.

Go play.

4. The Star Wars that I used to know
This is especially timely as me and the girl are currently revisiting the series and, given the other half’s limited knowledge of said saga, we’re viewing them in MACHETE-ORDER.

Machete order makes perfect sense. In the mean time, and/or if you need any further justification, watch this epic Star Wars music video… which is just so good.

….so so so so so good.

5. Six terrible movie decisions (that gave us great movie moments)
There’s a few here that I knew already, but The Empire Strikes Back stuff is fairly cool (telling you exactly why Han was – SPOILER – frozen in carbonite at the end of the film, for example). That, combined with finding out why ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is such a Christmas classic makes this list worth a look.

Also, while reading that, I was reminded of the bat-sh*t crazy Nick Cave Gladiator 2 script that I read once.

Man, I wish that got made.

—

Bonuses: I haven’t bought a ticket to see The Amazing Spider-Man*; a London F1 Grand Prix would be EPIC, clearly; and if you missed Google’s amazing Project Glass / Live Sky-diving trick last week, then you can both watch it, and find out how they did it, over on Techcrunch.

—

*I don’t know why that’s a bonus thing of note this week, it just is. I was super-excited about it, but that seems to have worn off. Perhaps it’s the over-egging of the pre-release pudding. Maybe I’ve seen too much of the all-new, all-shiny amazing one himself…  Maybe I’m just not as taken with it as I thought I’d be…  *shrug*… watch this space.

– Whatley out.

Things of note for the week ending June 22nd, 2012

1. Awesome girlfriend is awesome
I have a new Moleskine. It has Lego on it. It’s amazing. That is all.

2. Hakkasan
OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD. I ate at Hakkasan for the first time EVER this week and… OH. MY. GOD. the food is AMAZING. Melt in your mouth, gifted from heaven, purest of all Asian greatness – I literally can’t stop thinking about it.

Eat at Hakkasan. At once.

I could go into massive details about certain dishes, and what was so good about each one, or why one thing might be better than the other – but I won’t, as I am fairly sure everything on the menu is awesome. We didn’t have one bad dish (and we ate a lot). It’s not cheap. But dudes, spoil yourselves.

Best meal I’ve had all year. Fact.

(and how’s this for amazing service? The girl bought me a present – see item 1 – and, because I unwrapped it like an excited child over dinner – the staff thought it was my birthday AND THEN MADE ME A BIRTHDAY DESSERT. Just, fantastic).

3. Legoland Windsor

We went to Legoland last weekend (more girlfriend-based awesomeness) and had such a good time! From wet-rides to rollercoasters, to taking arty shots of awesome Lego displays (see above) and back again. Legoland is a proper giggle. Alright we had a small person with us, who we got to spoil with bricks and who kept us all smiling the whole day there, but still. It was a LOT of fun.

Oh, and there’s a Lego submarine too. Amazing.

4. Friends
The past seven days really have been so good. I’ve caught up with a lot of people whom I’ve missed a fair bit recently and this week, be it over email, drinks or dinner, my friends have made me roar with laughter, smile with joy and generally warm all the way through with stupid happiness.

Thanks guys, you know who you are – and you rock.

5. The Girl Who Would Be King
One of my newest blog finds, 1979 semi-finalist – aka, comic book geek, Kelly Thomson – is giving away the first part of her book ‘The Girl Who Would Be King‘.

Chapters one and two are available already and I’m fairly sure three and four won’t be far behind now reading parts three and four. It’s good. So read it.

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Outdoorsy bonuses this week: work commitments meant I had to sell my Isle of Wight Festival ticket (booo!), but the washout looks mental, so there’s one upside. No Isle of Wight means I’m free to go to Royal Ascot this weekend. I’ve not been before, so it should be ace! Festival-wise, I’ve still got Nova to look forward which, weather depending, is looking like it’s going to be great too.

Different theme to this week’s five things.
There’ll be more cool stuff next week.

Whatley out.

Things of note for the week ending June 15th, 2012

1. Stunning Stained Glass
I’ve had the page up of these stained glass watertower images for nearly two weeks now; returning to them almost daily just gently bliss out and take them in.

It is a beautiful piece of art.

2. #361Live
I blogged about this awesome event a little while back. Well, part one is now up and live so you should go and listen, yeah? Go on then.

3. The Indecent Proposal
The second event of note from last week was ‘The Indecent Proposal: should bloggers blog for love, or money?‘. It was certainly an interesting evening, with great panelists from different blogs and agencies, debating the above. The (perceived) authenticity of blogging and, in turn, bloggers, allows for a difference of interpretation and opinion when it comes to the reporting of certain things (ie: the truth). So when money changes hands, well – that’s a grey area.

However, one thing came to light that was just mental.

Interesting #PRBloggerEvent: do you blog for love, or money? (£5 to £10k being bandied around)

— James Whatley (@Whatleydude) June 12, 2012

Yes, that’s right.

Apparently, there are brands out there that are paying £10,000 for blog posts. THIS IS INSANE. We, as the audience, of course, GASPED, and then probed and questioned further. More came forward: another blogger was reported as being paid £8,000 per month for their ‘advocacy’.

There. Are. No. Words.

Now look, while there is no law against paying for blog posts (see this quote from the Office of Fair Trading):

“Online promotional activity, just like any other promotional activity, must clearly identify when promotions and editorial comment have been paid for, so that consumers are not misled.”

Which means, any paid-for blog posts must be clearly marked. Right? Right.

TEN THOUSAND POUNDS IS A JOKE.

4. What if Pixar did DC?

They probably never will. Given that Pixar are wholly owned by Disney, who in turn also own MARVEL. So yeah, that’s out. BUT – if they did – then it might look a little bit like these awesome images by Daniel Araya – via iO9

5. 22 Storytelling Tips from Pixar
This one is pretty much what it says on the tin. So y’know, go read them.

–

Whatley out.

Things of note for the week ending June 8th, 2012

1. Game of Thrones

This image has been kicking around the ‘net for a little while now and it is all kinds of awesome. Game of Thrones season 2 is at an end now. It was epic. Peter Dinklage has been killing it. Good work sir.

And if you’ve not got ’round to watching this show yet, what are you doing? GO!

2. Fan boy theories
I came across this thread on Reddit (via Super Punch) the other week and it is, as one follower called it, a monstrous time vacuum.

Covering off such topics as ‘Why Rugrats is completely imagined’, ‘Who Sean Connery really is in ‘The Rock”, ‘Why it’s actually quite plausible – up to a point – that R2D2 was Luke Skywalker’s father’ and finally, my personal favourite, ‘Why The Bride doesn’t actually kill Bill in ‘Kill Bill”.

Seriously mental stuff. Click through, and be prepared to lose HOURS of your life.

You have been warned.

3. Xbox SmartGlass

I did have a massive write up in my head about just how awesome Microsoft’s new ‘SmartGlass’ is shaping up to be (and I might just save that for another day, perhaps as a follow up to my other 2screen post).

But today, instead, I’m going to link to this TechCrunch article that explains it all, and then, while you’re reading that, I’d also like to post this excerpt from a post I wrote about ‘the importance of ecosystems‘ back in September 2011.

But the key part here for me is Xbox. The one thing everyone seems to be overlooking: The Xbox. There are 53.6million of these machines worldwide – already sat under televisions. Of those, 66% are connected [or at least registered] online via Xbox Live. Include in that another 10million Kinects [the fastest selling peripheral of all time] and you have one hell of a home entertainment system / internet ecosystem.

If anyone wants to hire me as a technology trend-spotter, please feel free to get in touch…
#justsayin

4. Sydney Opera House Projection Mapping
Project mapping, you either love it or you hate it – The electric car from Toyota, is awesome. I saw some live once, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, that was cool too. Then, Madonna absolutely nailed it at Superbowl 2012 and now, in my opinion at least, it’s all a bit passé.

Keeping that in mind, I thought that this effort – via the Vivid Sydney light festival at Sydney Opera House – was simply beautiful.

Talk about a building MADE for this kind of work. Just.. Wow.

5. Mad Dreams

Dreamt I went to a Nokia device launch with @ConanOBrien. Mental.

— James Whatley (@Whatleydude) June 5, 2012

This what I dreamt Nokia launched last night: the phone-interchangeable, sefl-powered, kinetic mug charger. twitter.com/Whatleydude/st…

— James Whatley (@Whatleydude) June 5, 2012

Yeah. I should really lay off the cheese.
…for what it’s worth mind, Conan and I had a blast.

—–

Bonuses – the best response to ‘What does it feel like to be the CEO of a start up‘ will make some of my friends cry; a month old article written by Avengers star, Tom Hiddleston, on why Superheroes are important; and just a quick link to a new mobile-technology focused podcast that I’ve started with a friend, entitled ‘The Voicemail‘ - more on this, soon.

Things of note for the week ending June 1st, 2012

1. Good times
Writing this blog throughout the week as I do (picking up links throughout the week and saving them to WordPress on the fly), means there is often a close kind of overlap with some of the awesomeness out there. As I type this particular segment, it’s 9:30 on Sunday May 27th and the sunshine is GLORIOUS.

Yesterday was the first picnic of the year and, as well as hanging out with friends and generally having a laugh, there was Frisbee (see above), Lasagne and then later, EUROVISION. Which, thanks to Twitter, was actually quite bearable.
Note to self: add this to your ongoing 2screen case study collection

As the girl quite perfectly put it: super fun time

2. Love this from Steven Sanders

First, I found this from one of my new favourite tumblrs, and second, I have a soft spot for awesome-pencils-on-white-backgrounds because they totally work with my blog theme (thanks again Vero).

Oh, and I just really love the picture too.

3. Awesome Brothers
I have an awesome brother. Fact. Having this guy as a brother would be awesome too. For his sibling’s birthday not only did he go out and find a pair of Iron Man bracelets (if you haven’t seen Avengers Assemble yet, you won’t know how awesome these are) but he also drew this pic of him using them. AMAZING.

I guess that’s what happens when your brother works at Pixar.

4. Empty Underground
I like to take photos of the London Underground when there’s noone else around. I’ve blogged about it before, others have too. There’s a hashtag and a Flickr group but it’s just a hobby more than anything else, and it’s fun. Anyway, this one is from last week. It’s one of mine and it’s probably top five favourite all time Empty Underground shots.

You get a coffee on me if you can guess where and how I took it.

5. Amazing comic book people are amazing
I admit it. I cried.

If you can’t bear to sit through the 30second ad at the start (sorry – can’t do anything about that),why not go read the story instead. Either way, it’s a lovely piece of good news to sign off with.

Bonuses are all long-form pieces again this week; How to Spot the Future, via Scroggles, is very similar to Where Good Ideas Come From in its nature, but still worth a read all the same; Beating the anxiety of online reading; and A Guide to Influence(rs) Chapter One has made me want to write my own guide on how to engage with communities.

Five things of note for the week ending Friday May 25th, 2012

1. Amazing post-Yugoslavia monuments

There are 25 of these monuments (all different, by the way) scattered across the former-Yugoslavia. Built during the 60s and 70s to immortalise battle sites and concentration camps, these relics of remembrance are as varied as they are stunning. Melancholic yet engaging, spend some time looking them over and hey, if you’re ever in the area, seek them out.

2. A whale, in a forest
The work of Argentinian artist, Adrián Villar Rojas, this forest-beached whale is a sight to behold; even just digitally.

Sad, confusing and yet somehow deeply compelling; the life-sized mammal so out of place in such a way is a sight hard to forget. This is a rare occasion where I really wish I could be there in person to see this work.

3. Assassins Creed II – aka ‘playing with Desmond’
I’ve been a huge fan of the Prince of Persia games for ages and ever since the last decent round wrapped, I’ve been looking for a suitable free-playing replacement. The Batman: Arkham Asylum/City games came close (and actually win out in many respects), but I still missed that parkour-esque freedom. That was until, at long last, I finally dived into Assassin’s Creed II.

Thanks to recommendations from Rob (and I think Sweena too), I skipped the first one and went straight to the sequel (a fact I’m kind of regretting now) and I am loving it. If you’re an Xbox* owner and haven’t played these yet, they’re available to download now via the Xbox Marketplace at fifteen quid a pop. Not bad at all.

*other consoles are available.

4. Railroad-based awesomeness
First, this video – found via Mr Siminoff – of a group of mates creating a purpose-built railway go-kart – aka ‘The Rail Rider’ – is just awesome. I can’t watch it without grinning from ear-to-ear.

While you’re still smiling, take a deep breath in, scroll down, and breath out.

Nice and slow.

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5. Keep C.A.L.M.
The campaign against living miserably is a charity setup to combat male suicide – aka: the biggest killer of young men the UK today.

I first encountered them just a little over 18mths ago and have been a big fan of their work, and what it is they’re actually trying to achieve, ever since. This past Thursday night I finally met the whole team and am looking forward to supporting them further over the coming weeks, months and years, in their ongoing mission. Expect more on this, soon. In meantime…

If you’re a man (or if you know one) who doesn’t want to admit that things are pretty crap right now, or is really struggling to keep things together or, worse yet, doesn’t feel like they’ve got anyone else in the world to turn to.

It’s OK. You’re not alone. I promise.
And you can talk to CALM.

Whatley out.

;

Five things of note for the week ending Friday May 18th, 2012

1. Mother of Dragons Disney T-Shirt
Game of Thrones fan? You’re gonna love this -

Available to buy from Etsy (warning: the model used has seen happier days)

2. The Networked Urban Environment
I have few industry heroes and, ever since I saw his TED Talk on ‘Our Mobile Phones‘, Jan Chipchase has been one of them. His latest post, ‘The Networked Urban Environment‘ is (so far) a great read. I’m about halfway through it at the moment and it’s one of the better future-gazing pieces I’ve read in a while.

Imagine never having to look for a parking space ever again. Imagine that from here on out, this problem is solved. Fast-forward to 2025. You’re driving from Brooklyn to Manhattan…because driving in New York City, and everywhere else, has become much simpler a task than it was a decade or so before… or has it?

Definitely worth a look.

3. The OTHER inbox in Facebook
Look, some of you are going to know about this and have known about it for ages. For the rest of you (like me, about two days ago), this will completely and utterly blow your mind.

A couple of nights ago, the girl casually mentions how useful it is that the ‘other’ inbox is on Facebook’s iPad app.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“The other inbox on Facebook, I’ve just found it on the iPad app. Cool.”

“Hang on, rewind, what is this ‘other’ inbox.”

“The other inbox.”

“No, you’re just repeating the same thing.. what is the other inbox.”

She shows me.
It blows my mind.

It turns out that if someone isn’t your friend on Facebook and then they message you, their messages end up in the other inbox.

This is ridiculous. First off, this is NOT obvious. I’ve missed a whole bunch of messages from people I’ve met from all over the world! Second, this will also explain why a whole bunch of messages I’ve sent to non-friends haven’t responded either (at least, that’s what I’m telling myself).

Admittedly, a fair amount of the stuff in there is spam, but still – I’m into double figures on the amount of messages I’ve missed. I’m gutted. But hey, I know about it now and will check it more regularly.

Every day’s a school day.

You’re in for an amazing year!

5. Howard Stern / Sacha Baron Cohen
An extremely rare out of character interview with Sacha Baron Cohen, (thank you Howard Stern). Cohen says himself this is only the third time he’s ever been interviewed as himself (preferring to turn up to talkshows etc as his creations such as Ali G, Borat or, most recently, The Dictator) and is clearly a fan of Stern’s work.

Engaging and enlightening throughout, I’ve been listening to it while writing this blog post and it really is brilliant. Featuring hilarious anecdotes about the comedy-writing process, the dangers of filming Bruno in Arkansaw and the unforeseen perils of attempting to sneak the ashes of Kim Jong Il into TheAcademy Awards

Listen now, before it gets taken down.

___

Bonuses – This Could Hurt for iOS looks pretty good (I’ll be downloading as soon as I hit publish); this bookcase + chair hybrid just made my ‘want’ list; and these 1950′s takes on the Batman universe from artist Denis Medri are fantastic. Poison Ivy + Bane are definite faves.

Liked this week’s edition? Hit the Tweet button and tell your friends.

Whatley out.

Five things of note for the week ending Friday May 11th, 2012

1. Back to the Future Business Card of WIN
Tom Wilson played ‘Biff‘ in the Back to the Future films. Apparently, he carries a business card that he gives to fans to answer all those BTTF questions in one.

Perfect.

2. Some (more) decent lengthy articles
First up, ‘Frequent fliers who flew too much‘ is a brilliant read about unlimited first-class tickets that used to be available from American Airlines.

“Creative uses seemed limitless. When bond broker Willard May of Round Rock, Texas, was forced into retirement after a run-in with federal securities regulators in the early 1990s, he turned to his trusty AAirpass to generate income. Using his companion ticket, he began shuttling a Dallas couple back and forth to Europe for $2,000 a month.”

You can see why they stopped it. Have a read.

Next, I’m halfway through this fantastic interview with Joss Whedon. He directed, amongst a whole host of other things, The Avengers. And he is awesome.

Finally, Kathryn Schulz on ‘Internal Time‘ is proving to be a fantastic read. Purely because I never thought I’d ever read the line ‘Modern human beings are not much like mimosas’. Check it.

3. 100,000 LED Lights Illuminate a Japanese River

4. Retro-active Foursquare tracking
For some reason (and this is proper geeky) I love the idea that you can track your check-ins with GCal. Use case: ‘Had a meeting with Robbie the other week at that cool place on Wardour St., what was it called?’ – which means I now have a 4sq layer in my Google Calendar.

So simple.

Via.

5. Useful Apps / Plug-ins
Attachments.me is a great Chrome plug-in for searching through Gmail attachments. It’s proved to be an absolute life-saver lately. And their CEO, Jesse Miller, is a thoroughly nice chap too.

Build apps in iOS? Take a look at Alau.me. It’s like bit.ly, but for app download tracking.

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Bonuses -  Stunning Star Wars toy photography (click) and Avengers Concept Art (below) have both made my day today. Until next time…

‘Aftermath’ – click to embiggen