DesignBoom has a nice article about the design and evolution of the #1 Foam Hand, made by Geral Fauss, one of the most popular pieces of US sports merchandising.
‘I saw the students in the stands holding up an index finger, and shouting ‘we’re number 1′ at the playoff games… Students rallied around the team and kept a fevered pitch during the playoffs. I knew that they wanted something ‘big’ to show their spirit…..so I thought , why not a large hand sign.’
Wow. Sky News has brought something rather “impressive” to light: The Olympics fireworks display was faked… Read the full article here, but here’s the bottom line:
“The global television audience of more than three billion people watched in amazement as a series of giant footprints outlined in fireworks proceeded through the night sky from Tiananmen Square to the Bird’s Nest stadium - except they were watching a computer animation.
Even the giant television screens within the stadium itself broadcast the fake images.
Stunned viewers thought they were watching the string of fireworks filmed from above by a helicopter, but in reality they were watching a 3D graphics sequence that took almost a year to produce. It even included a ‘camera shake’ to mimic the effect of filming from a helicopter…
…Organiser said that the footprint fireworks were there for real, but thought it unsafe to try to film them - so they recreated them instead.”
More photos of the ceremony can be found on Flickr.
Woohoo, got a Rapha package in the post today - next day delivery (always great service). Got myself a cap and some socks to keep me snug on the bike - possibly all the way to Dunwich; but we’ll see if the weather is on our side first! Anyway, always a joy to receive some a quality product. Bravo!
If you like bikes as much as i do you’ll lose hours perusing the virtual museum that speedbicycles has created. Above are a few snapshots (by no means highlights, just a few grabs) of an ottusi pista, an Andy Hampsteneddy merckx special Motorola Alpe D’Huez racer, and a gitane aero racer… If you appreciate good design/typography/engineering you’ll enjoy this site. highly recommended.
Vans are in the process of releasing a range of shoes and saddlebags designed with fixie riders in mind. The usual cotton canvas has been replaced with a ballistic nylon (love that description), which means they should be ultra hard-wearing. If they had any sense they would also use a harder compound for the sole, or insert a harder section behind the ball of the foot, so it’s stiffer in the toe clip; but we’ll see. I personally really like the white version. They all have 3M reflective patches, which may or may not help a car see you hurtling down a hill, brakeless, at 40kmh. the white version gets thescrapbook seal of approval.
“As a longtime supporter of, and innovator in, the bike community, PUMA is happy to present the I-Cycle Film Series produced by Daniel Leeb of Cinecyle Productions. This collection of short films is dedicated to exploring bike culture and its influencers.
Featuring today’s trailblazers of the two-wheeled community, this film series talks about the importance of biking and the impact this simple activity has on the world we live in. For the production of these films, we followed guys who look at their bikes as more than just a mode of transportation.
The advocates we pedaled alongside include: Matthew McGuinness, a cofounder of The 62, a Brooklyn-based art collective who started Re-Bicycle; George Bliss, the man behind New York’s Pedi-cabs; Brendt Barbur, founder of The Bicycle Film Festival; Matthew Modine, actor and founder of Bicycle-For-A-Day and finally, Antonio Bertone, PUMA’s CMO, who much like the men above, finds pure joy in cycling to work every morning. “
Team Slipstream (British Champion - David Millar’s team) will be riding the new FELT AR1 frames at the Tour de france this year, and they are gorgeous. Unusually for a road bike they feature aggressive aero tubing and a cut-out, almost time trial like down tube to ease the air over the rear wheel. Should be interesting to see how they get on in the mountains!! if they use them throughout the tour.
Nice article and photo selection of Norman Foster and Partners’ Elephant Enclosure at Copenhagen Zoo from The Guardian. The photos compare some other Zoo architecture, but specifically the consideration for building this £25m Elephant House and the learnings that were undertaken.
“The Elephant House represents the latest thinking in elephant welfare. Those two glass-domed enclosures - one measuring 45 by 23 metres, for six cows and calves; the other 30 by 15 metres, for two bulls kept in separate pens during the mating season for fear of fights - open out through mighty rusted steel doors into a landscaped paddock where the animals can roll and play, meet their public and take a dip in a pool three metres deep that extends 60 metres along one side…The Elephant House covers approximately 10% of the entire zoo site: elephants need to roam.”
There are some great Zoo facts too. Did you know the giraffe house at London Zoo was built in 1836-7?
