Focus and Simplicity

There has been whole lot written about Steve Jobs yesterday and today, and there will no doubt be much more as it will take years – maybe decades – to fully decipher the impact of his accomplishments. What they mean to the fields of technology, communication, and art. 

In wading through it all, my favorite piece thus far was from Wired:
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/10/jobs

It nicely overviews the multiple facets of the man - his successes and his failures, his inspirational qualities and his negative traits, his exceptional life and his untimely death. 

Personally, the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Steve Jobs (and Apple) is the perfect fusion of art and science. Never abandoning the details of design and aesthetics for the realities of form and function. And vice versa.  The way Apple has been able to walk that razor’s edge is what makes them unique. 

Also when I think of Steve Jobs, my mind randomly goes back to that 2007 keynote when he unveiled the first iPhone. Not so much because of any of the technology he was presenting… but oddly enough I’m still drawn to the quote he used to end his speech that day:

“I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”
– Wayne Gretzky

Elegant in its simplicity and inspirational in its enlightenment, it’s a classic example of a “why didn’t I think of that?” idea. Which is of course why it was so appropriate. Steve Jobs proactively considered how we’d use technology in the future; and the solutions he imagined are so seemingly simple and beautiful it makes you wonder what we did before they were around.

And if that's not something to aspire to creatively, I don't know what is.  

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BONUS Steve Jobs fun facts!  

1. He was not responsible for the invention of the mouse, as some would have you believe.  Though Jobs was essential in popularizing it, those accolades fall to Dr. Douglas Engelbart.
2. But he did invent Halo - check out this keynote from May of 2000. No, actually not really. Halo was initially developed for the Mac by Bungie Studios, and Jobs was he was going to use it to jump-start gaming on the Mac platform before Microsoft bought it out from under him.  He was not pleased.
3. If you're interested in more reading, here's a pretty great list: 7 Best Reads on Steve Jobs.  Be especially sure to read Brian Lam's article, Steve Jobs Was a Kind Man: My Regrets About Burning Him, and the infamous iPhone 4 prototype debacle.  

Use Force. Fight Cancer.

In an attempt to boost sales for the blu-ray version of Star Wars, George Lucas has dared to team up with Stand Up to Cancer and we STILL don't get the version where Han shoots first!

Aw, who am I kidding? The promo video is hilarious, there are really cool cause t-shirts, and it's a great idea to help a charity with something that's going to sell faster than a fan boy can say blue milk.


Visit the cause website to get all the info and see cool shirts.

Now I just need a blu-ray player...

UPDATE:
Since posting this, I came across another video. Not only can Star Wars cure cancer, it can blown kid's minds too!

Eat your heart out, Don Draper.

I know, I know. You've already come all the way here to M&HD, and now I'm going to ask you to click a link to go allllll the way over to Flavorwire? You're tired, and you're pretty sure Flavorwire isn't even in a nice part of the interwebs. I can't believe I'm asking you to do it, either. But see, I happened to come across this very cool post highlighting some submissions from a Photoshop contest over at Worth 1000 (I know, a site covering a site covering a site... it's MADNESS.) The idea was to come up with old school advertisements (or adVERtisments, if you're British) for today's technology. There's some very clever stuff, not the least of which is a tiny, almost throw-away tag line for Nokia.

My favorite? A toss up between the aforementioned Nokia and The Amazing Wii. Check it out for yourself.

Like a glorious felt-covered phoenix, The Muppets are reborn

Just in time to accompany "Green with Envy" - "The Green Album".

Which includes this cool remake of the theme music by OK Go:

Foodie Movie

From Cebu Osani Films: Eye What You Eat

Rather cool short films/recipes. Dig it.

Potage from erik shirai on Vimeo.

Visit Eye What You Eat here and thanks to Anthony Bourdain for finding this. (We're best friends)

By a Nose....

Last week when I was about 5 glasses of pinot grigio deep, I inadvertently came up with a fascinating hypothesis. Now before the comments come flying in (read: my brother might write a comment if he's not working) this not a proven theory. There are many exceptions to this "rule".

Hypothesis: Caliber of acting is directly linked to the size of an actor's nose. To demonstrate, I've compiled a group of male actors.

Case in point: Check out the Schnoz on That Guy

From top left: Al Pacino, Peter Sellers, Adrien Brody, Ian McKellen, Daniel Day Lewis, Robert Deniro

Mostly dramatic but each has proven capable of having strong comedic value or vice versa. All are well-rounded and well-established actors. One of these actors also had a full breakdown on stage while performing Hamlet when he actually saw the ghost of his real dead father. That is commitment and that is craft.

Case in counterpoint: Carefully Styled Hair Won't Help You

From top left: David Hasselhoff, Ryan Reynolds, Leonardo DiCaprio, Keanu Reeves, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vanilla Ice

All of these actors play every role they touch the same way. Ryan Reynolds? Funny and sarcastic. Keanu Reeves? Emotes with the same amount of his Matrix action figures.

There are two examples that are more subtle and require explanation. Leo had only one role where he truly acted and that was What's Eating Gilbert Grape?. The other equally controversial choice is Vanilla Ice. I've seen Cool As Ice three times, it pains me to say this brilliant MC should stick to music.

You may have noticed that this list does not include younger actors. Acting is sometimes like those 8 glasses of delicious pinot grigio: They get better with age. If the hypothesis does hold true we can expect great things from:


And again, since this is not a proven theory there are always exceptions:


Thoughts?

A Little Bit of Love on a Monday...

A rather beautiful mash up of some of cinema's best bromances:


You gotta love the progression of this piece. Much like any romance, it has is ups and downs. The video starts out with playful glances and laughs, moves on to arguments and fights, and ends with what men do best; They hug it out.

The only glaring abnormality is the fella at the end talking to a wolf. Apparently that's taken from a 60's British cult film Withnail & I about two actors trying to make their way. I'm guessing Martinovicable was trying to tell us that not every budding bromance ends happily, some end as bitter as Hamlet's words.

So, take a broment today and hug the man you love.