Lacie's Philippe Starck External HD

You know who Philippe Starck is, right? If not, well, he's just THE man responsible for putting the New Design style at the forefront of consumer consciousness. His designs range from spectacular interior designs to mass produced consumer goods like chairs, tables, watches, motorbikes and yes, even toothbrushes. Chances are, even if you are not aware of him, you have seen and admired one or many of his works and even the products that have been inspired by his original designs (yes, imitation).

And now Starck has another design to boot. This time, an external Hard Disk Drive for Lacie. While it may not be the fastest HD in the market, you can't deny that it's just beautiful and if you're wondering about the price, expect to pay a premium on a Starck-designed product.

Comes in 320GB and 500GB flavors. Embedded USB 2.0 cable with automatic back-up software.

The LaCie Starck Mobile Hard Drive is the result of a collaboration between LaCie and world-famous designer Philippe Starck. Its sturdy 2mm of aluminum casing keeps the LaCie Starck from overheating, and helps it to be very resistant, enhancing its overall dependability. The polished aluminum exterior is stylish and tough, but also light enough to transport, making the LaCie Starck both completely chic and completely mobile. A convenient aspect of the LaCie Starck is its embedded USB cable, which allows you to maximize its compact nature and portability. It’s easy to extract your cable, as well as coil it back inside of the drive. In addition, it guarantees that you’ll never lose your USB cable—a feature that underscores Philippe Starck’s commitment to practical and usable design.

It's National Geographic's 122nd Birthday

One of my fondest memories about my father was when he shared to me his collection of National Geographic magazines. It was back in the mid-80's and i'm still a kid, not more than 8-years old. I have that moment frozen in the cloud of my memories. That one moment stirred my love for reading. That one moment showed to me how incredible the world is. 

So National Geographic has been integral in how i saw the world; on how i perceive it until now. National Geographic is a personal icon. And even if i did not continue my father's subscription to the magazine, I have become addicted to the NGC (Thank you for television!).

But of course, nothing compares to that exciting sensation of flipping through the pages of a physical, tangible magazine and devouring all the pictures, all those amazing photographs that continue to reflect how our world continues to evolve.

Below are some of the covers (compiled and featured by Wired) to celebrate National Geographic Society's 122nd Anniversary yesterday, January 27. 

From the article:
The National Geographic Society celebrates its 122nd anniversary on Jan. 27. The first issue of the magazine was published nine months later in 1888. Though the early issues had rather drab academic-looking covers, by 1959 they were consistently adorned with eye-catching art and photos.

Here we’ve collected some of our favorite covers from 1959 to 2000, including a penguin with a high-tech backpack, a self-portrait by Koko the gorilla and a shark attack.

Read More 

Inspiration Showcase #3

As a lover of many forms of visual communication, I always find inspiration from other artist's work among many others. When i see an an art work or a design, i study it and try to understand its story. I believe that every art work, in whatever form tells a story, if it doesn't, then the purpose of the work is defeated. Because a work of art is suppose to communicate something; its supposed to rouse a certain spark of life in the spectator.

It is in this breadth that i have compiled some works that i have come across in the past weeks that i found to be in this category; works that not only reflect a distinct concept but are innovative, affecting and beautiful.

The Umbrella (By Luminatii)

Lemon (By sa-cool)

Yellow Brick Road (By Larafairie)

Rain (By Antonisfes)

Music (By Jonl521)

Delirium HighSpeed (By Hicky2)

Music Power (By Waver-H)

Claustrophobia (By Black-Nemesi)

No Smoking (By Mohammadamiri)

THE (By Skryingbreath)

Please feel free contribute your own inspiring art works/videos either through email or via twitter (twitter.com/johnluarca). Please put #Inspiration" in the subject line or before your Twitter message.

Underwhelmed about the iPad

Except for the iBooks feature of Apple's iPad, the apparently "oh that's fast" CPU speed and the crazy thin body, there's nothing truly surprising about the device.

I think Apple is still not giving us all the iPad's power just yet though. I think Steve and his boys are still cooking up something. I hope so. Because it's a little disappointing, really.

In the meantime, I think the iPad looks like a Digital Photo Frame. Seriously.

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What i think about Apple's latest creation, the iPad

Obviously, this is not a hands-on review. These are my first impressions while tuned in to Apple's much-hyped launch of its latest creation, the iPad, Cupertino's version of the tablet.

The iPad is the culmination of Apple and Steve's hard work and still-to-be-proven-successful attempt to combine the powers of the iPod, the iPhone, the Netbook and Kindle. The iPad features a 9.7-inch capacitive multitouch display, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, an accelerometer, compass, speaker and mic. This is also the first device to have the "Apple A4" processor. Battery life is declared to be at 10-hours.

Aside from the expected and "normal" features common to the iPod Touch and iPhone like multimedia capabilities and internet, the iPad can also play games (more efficiently than the iPod Touch and the iPhone i suspect) and run various applications (again, much better than its smaller touch siblings). It also has iWork for those quick and on-the-go office needs.

But what excites me though about the iPad is the iBooks, the iPad's eBook (ummm, no its ePub for Apple) reader. I think this will be what's "huge" in this device. I mean, i don't see it appealing to those people who already have iPod's and iPhone's (Apple fanboys aside) but to those who love to read, like me (hahaha).

What i like about the iPad...
1. Large enough screen to watch a movie decently.
2. Large enough screen and power to handle cool games (not my cup of tea though, but still a +).
3. Battery life; 10 hours and what (?) a month on standby?
4. iWork (but with the portable keyboard accessory; sorry Apple i don't type as accurately as I would hope on touchscreens for long documents).
5. iBooks (this is biggest seller among all the features to me).

What i DON't like about it...
1. The name. C'mon Apple! iPad?
2. The design. Not too enamored by the design, yes, its crazy thin, but the screen just looks awkward to me. It doesn't look seamless. But thats just me.
3. No 3G, well, if you want 3G and Wi-Fi, it'll cost you more.
4. The price. $829 for a full-packed (wi-fi+3G, 64GB) iPad? Seriously.

My verdict...

I'm underwhelmed.

iPhone3Gs Supreme:The world's most expensive phone

Honestly, i find this too frivolous and tasteless. And even if I have the money, I would not buy this. But that's just me.

This is the iPhone 3Gs Supreme priced at £1.92 million designed by Stuart Hughes. According to their website it took 10 months to make, the whole casing created with 271 grams of 22ct solid gold, the front bezel housing 136 flawless diamonds. The rear logo in solid gold has 53 flawless diamonds amounting to 1ct and the front navigation button is home to a single cut very rare diamond at 7.1 cts. The chest which houses this unique handset is made from a single block of granite, in Kashmir gold with the inner lined with Nubuck top grain leather, weighing a massive 7kg. 

Video: The Story of Bubble Boy

Found this video a few days ago and the theme spoke to me. It tells about BubbleBoy and how his inner demons and his past has affected the way he views the world and therefore, himself; limiting his potentials - the possibilities and opportunities of life seemingly unreachable.

The intentional eerie atmosphere and tone of the short film has given it more character and perhaps, helped in vividly communicating its message.

The Story of Bubble Boy


Synopsis: In a stab-happy world, a sad outcast wrestles with his demons. The story of bubbleboy is a film about being trapped by the past and redeemed by the future.

Director: Sean Ascroft
Producer: Sean Ascroft Karl Mather Kristy Fransen
Writer: Karl Mather
Cinematographer: John Simpson
Sound design: Danny Grifoni
Composer: Hylton Mowday
Editor: Sean Ascroft
Key Cast: Andrew Supanz Nina Pearce

Video: Love on Post-Its

Saw this a few days ago and it's totally adorable; an office romance sprung forth by the use of post-its. I know, using post-its to create a collage of love messages isn't exactly earth friendly, but hey paper is recyclable anyway and when you're in love, one tries to get the message across in any (so long as they're legal and decent) way possible.

So, watch you guys.

Cheers. ☺

Saw this first in BitRebels.

Japanese man travels across 37 countries on $2

Japanese Keiichi Iwasaki travelled across 37 countries with only $2 and his bicycle as his only means of transportation. Iwasaki, 36, left his home and his air-conditioning job in Japan in 2001. After cycling the country for a year he decided to extend his journey to South Korea and continued to 36 other countries. He cycled over 45,000 kilometres during his marathon adventure and became the first Japanese man to climb Mount Everest from sea level without using any transportation.

He chose to avoid air travel and opted for cycling or ferries for transport in order to soak up the atmosphere.

''I didn't want to use aeroplanes because I wanted to see and feel everything with my own skin. With bicycle, I can always feel the air and atmosphere of the place.''

Mr Iwasaki is in Switzerland and hopes to climb Mount Blanc, Europe’s highest peak, before travelling to Africa and the US over the next five years.

Via The Daily Telegraph

10 Meaningful and Amazing Animated Short Films

I find short animated films to be a forward-focused medium capable of greatly affecting its audience even though it could only run for a few minutes. They are short but powerful and mostly mind blowing. In fact, i believe that it is the time constraint that essentially helps the message become pure and heartfelt.

Further, the kind of work, the amount of time, effort and creativity that these people, the animators, put out to produce these outstanding animated films is absolutely admirable .

In this breadth, I have decided to share with you 10 animated film treasures and my favorites that are mostly leaning on the more sentimental (I'm a sucker for sentimental themes); those that make one reflect about love, hope, the triumph of the human spirit, desperation,dreams. These videos are incredibly meaningful and has struck something tender and lonely in me and I hope that you take the time to watch them and hopefully be moved by them as well.

The Artist's Model by MattCarter



The Clocktower By Arenyth (Pls click the title to play off site)



Fireflies by Juusan13



I Know You by Robertas



Clouds by FargalEX



Colored for Life by TSnow



Entropy by RhubarbZoo

Office 2010: The Movie

MS Office 2010 (previously codenamed Office 14), the next version of Microsoft's highly successful office and productivity suite is on the verge of its launch. Proof of which is this teaser movie that has been generating a lot of buzz in the web.

Client: Microsoft

Agency: Traffik

Director: Dennis Liu

Producers: Jonathan Hsu, Matt Anderson

Production Designer: Nicole Teeny

Script: Dennis Liu, Jt Arbogast, Gary Roosa

Art Director: Kevin Su

DP: Doug Emmett/Dennis Liu

Edit/Sound Design: Dennis Liu

VFX Company: LOICA

365 days left to save the world

Great video directed and animated by Ubik, reminding us of the effects of global warming to this one planet we call home.

3650 from Ubik on Vimeo.

Global warming's tipping point means that if we don't do something in the next ten years, it will be too late to do anything at all. So, there are just 365 days left to save the world... and counting.

Whitney Houston: The Wait Is Over

Finally, definite album news and release date for one of the world's greatest and most affecting voices, and my greatest singer of all time, Whitney Houston. Whitney's new album will be released worldwide September 1, 2009 on Arista Records. This is Whitney's 7th studio album. Since her 1985 self-titled debut, she has built an illustrious career that has generated over 170 million combined worldwide sales of albums, singles and videos. Cited by the Guinness Book of World Records as music's most awarded female artist of all time, with an unsurpassed tally of 411 awards, inclusive of 6 Grammy Awards, 2 Emmy Awards, 23 American Music Awards and 16 Billboard Music Awards, Whitney remains a singular force in music today. Be sure to visit www.whitneyhouston.com regularly for up-to-date album information, exclusive photos and more exciting news!

And to remind us how great a singer Whitney Houston truly is, below are two exceptional performances that showcases her ability to richly interpret a song and touch people through it -no qualms, no lip-singing, no dance brouhaha - just the voice and a phenomenal stage presence that makes you stop and listen.

Manila's Super-Blogger BryanBoy in D&G's Swide

Manila's very own super-fashion blogger, Bryanboy, gets interviewed by Dolce & Gabbana's digital arm, Swide. Well BB has been interviewed a lot in the past, but this one interview struck me as the most interesting because the questions and answers captured in part, what I wanted to know about BryanBoy, the person.

In his blogging life - fashion superblogger BryanBoy has been described as an "Internationally-loved fashion superblogger" by the New York Times/The Moment, "a cult read in fashion circles" by Style.com and "one of the nine hottest internet celebrities" by The New York Post - Marc Jacobs even went so far as to name a handbag after him (the BB ostrich bag).

Swide interviews the man behind the super-blog.

"Sorry I'm Late" & "Little Big Love" Short Films

Award winning short films done by brilliant London-based Motionographer Tomas Mankovsky. Watch the making of the videos here and here.

Little Big Love from Tomas Mankovsky on Vimeo.

Sorry I'm Late from Tomas Mankovsky on Vimeo.

In support of Cinemalaya 2009

The Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival is a film competition and festival that aims to encourage the creation of new cinematic works by Filipino filmmakers – works that boldly articulate and freely interpret the Filipino experience with fresh insight and artistic integrity. It also aims to invigorate the Philippine filmmaking by developing a new breed of Filipino filmmakers. Each year, ten fresh talents are given a seed grant in order to create the film of their dreams. These films are then featured in a nine-day long festival at the Cultural Center of the Philippines every July and compete for the coveted Balanghai Award. Awards are also given in twelve other categories, as well for the best efforts in short narrative features. The film festival begins on July 17 until July 26, 2009.

These are three short films made to promote this years festival.

"Saan Nagtatago Ang CCP?" (Looking for CCP) Stars Dino Jalandoni.


"Candelabra" (The Candle Holder) Stars: Erik Matti and EJ Galang


"Ang Kapatid Ko'ng Nagpupumilit Makita Si Ricky Davao" (My Sister Wants to See Ricky Davao") Stars: Ina Feleo, Cinemalaya 2007's Best Actress, Ricky Davao, and Coco Martin

Google Chrome: The Evolution of Simple

I am a fan of Google Chrome and i can't wait for the Mac version to be finished.

YouTube Cannes Young Lion 48 Hour Ad Contest

Vote for Filipinos Katrina Encanto and Apol Sta. Maria in the YouTube, Cannes Lions & Oxfam's 48 Hour Ad Contest.





(Via Plus63)

Great McDonald's TVC's from all over the world

For inspiration and fun, i have gathered some of the best and most memorable McDonald's TV spots that i found over at YouTube. Most of these are really fresh, fun and heartwarming - the direction that all McDonald's commercials seem to take.

McDonald's is one of those global brands who has gone beyond race and geography and has reached a global mass appeal that is phenomenally unbeatable. And these kind of TV spots have helped in creating and empowering that global appeal.

The Ball

Directed by Orlando Mesquita (Mozambique). Since 1984, Orlando Mesquita has edited, directed, and produced over 20 films, including features, educational programs, and documentaries. His projects explore the many facets of Mozambican life such as the role of women and war, refugees, and demobilized soldiers. In 1999 he won a Kuxa Kanema Best Video Award for his work as a co-director and editor on Community Stories.