Tummy troubles

Picked up Penguins' "The Culture of the Abdomen" yesterday, the title & cover illustrations reminded me of the special relationship I've got with my stomach. Maybe, just maybe, I've been a little too peckish since Christmas. The look of disgust on James' face when I ask for 'thirds' assures me I should probably slow down.

Fortunately, the book contains some valuable information on how I can get my stomach back to the glory days of 2002. First published in 1924, the '57 edition I've got isn't shy of it's success: "This book has been responsible for the restoration of waistline and bowel function in so many thousands of individuals during the last few years." Will I be one of them? Well, with photo plates a' plenty - the book gives many helpful tips...



I was refreshed by the above, an honest role model. Look at him, he's not afraid of weight gain (or age). He's willing to give tips on how to lose it, but he's not exactly Adonis, he's one of us*. Compared to today's 'culture of the abdomen' it all seems very dated...



*Sorry to bracket you, however taut your abs may be, as 'one of us'. Was just a way of bringing us closer, reader and writer united in a nostalgia for the stomach that was.

Sarah Illenberger

Some very feminine and beautiful work from this lovely young German lady.

You know those really, sweet, pretty, cute girls that you meet from time to time, well this is what we think their perfect little insides look like.

And this is the perfume that makes them smell so utterly delicious.
Sarah Illenberger

Transport for London - Awareness test

It may not be as fun or shocking as some of the other THINK (& Transport for london) adverts but we do think its a neat little way to deliver the message, if you make the effort to actually play along.
You can visit the Do The Test mini site to send it on and find out a little more info.

Coke & GTA

It seems as though this ad has been created in a GTA-style and not in conjunction with the game itself, if thats the case it's a great bit of publicity for the new GTA game. However Wieden & Kennedy have done an amazing job as usual in getting the "Coke side of life" idea across. We would go as far as to say its one of our favorite ads being shown at them moment.

Barnaby Barford's porcelain figuries

'Oh God, Oh God, Margaret Thatcher naked on a cold day, Margaret Thatcher naked on a cold day', Barnaby Barford, 2007


Salads! I'll give them fucking salads!', Barnaby Barford, 2007

Artist Barnaby Barford, winner of the Wallpaper Best Young Designer award back in 2004 is showing his wonderfully crafted, ironic and often humorous creations currently at David Gill Galleries London.
With titles such as 'Nobody Fucking Move', 'You Sexy Bitch', and 'Struggling Will Only Make It Worse' they may not be suitable for your nan's bits'n'bobs shelf. To see more of Barfords mantelpiece masterpieces check out Wallpaper magazines article.

Kyna and Jennie's Banned Ads

Recently there has been controversy over the stunningly beautiful GHD ad TBWA/Manchester created around christmas.

"The complaints particularly highlighted the use of the phrase from the Lord's Prayer and the depiction of the letter "t" as a cross in "thy".
The ASA said that while previous ghd campaigns did not "mock" faith or belief, the new ads went further with the women appearing to be praying while being erotic."(guardian.co.uk article)

Kyna and Jennie were working on these ads when we were at TBWA, we vividly remember the day some of the models popped in for a casting session. We are positive the girls didn't set out to offend anyone, so it's weird for us to see so much negativity surrounding the ads.


However this isn't the first time Kyna and her partner have attracted the attention of the Advertising Standards Authority.
They also wrote the banned Original source ad featuring a naked woman in a sexual pose who "appeared" to be under 16, we are pretty sure she wasn't 16 but it still got the chop (Read more here).

Its odd that two of the sweetest, friendliest girls could be getting so many people all hot and bothered.
We wish them both all the best for the future, hopefully we'll get a chance to grab a beer with them and the other TBWAers next time we're back up north.

To see Kyna and the other guys at TBWA/Manchester in all their glory check out our 2007 christmas card.

Online Hearing Test

The first of its kind we have seen online, a unique experience.
Could be good inspiration for those students who are working on the Ogilvy D&AD brief "campaign promoting the idea of really listening as opposed to just hearing".
Put on some headphones and really involve yourself for a moment.
Listen Here

Jar Tops

Selection of Jar Tops designed by Jorre van Ast.

"By screwing on plastic tops, these readily available jars are turned into vessels with a specific function. A generic jar is transformed into kitchenware, creating more practical and emotional value. The family includes a sugar pot, milk jug, chocolate sprinkler, oil&vinegar set and a water jug."
- Jorre van Ast.

Seems like a great asset to anyones kitchen. Though maybe not in house of this angry blogger: "What's the point of saving jars to reuse them if you are going to throw out the perfectly usable lids and replace them with something else? I thought the point of reuse was to REDUCE our consumption, not to create a market for yet more products."

Surely it's just a brilliant idea? & perhaps a bit less rusty than holding onto the original metal cap..

Fig Crumbs

Michael Crowe has some beutiful words on his blog Fig Crumbs. Who would have thought someone that pairs socks for the military could write such lovelyness.
Heres another one of our favorites to wet your appetite.

Untitled

-


Untitled is the title of this

Untitled isn't a title it's what it is

Untitled is when the title's amiss

Untitled is a title that takes the piss




- by James & Joe

Perfect paper airplane flight

A basic yet stunning video following the flight of a simple paper airplane. It's probably unlikely, however if this was the only take, and we had thrown it, with the perfection of the slow decent and delicate landing, it would have made us cry.

Coke Zero finger that farts onto a tongue.

An eye that pulls a finger that farts onto a tongue, amazing! The ad looks stunning aswell, the animation is crisp and smooth, and the lighting is nice and pale.

P.E.T.A M.I.L.F

This Mothers day PETA put a young heavily pregnant woman in a cage and displayed her in central london in the name of vegetarianism. PETA, like us all, do seem to love nakedness - however maybe they are using it a little too much. Look, remember this, oh and this, don't forget this, this, oh sorry and this, this, this, this, and of course this. Like we said lots and lots, without even mentioning this, and this.
We think they may have mistakenly employed a few ideas men from Nuts or ZOO magazine, or they are solely targeting horny burger eating, kebab scoffing red blooded males. Probably not the most likely bunch to turn veggie.
Anyhoot, if you would like to find out a little more info about the pregnant lady stunt READ HERE. Alternatively to have a sneaky perv on pictures of her naked see HERE.

Cute bird sculptures.

We found these cute little birdies flapping and the web and coaxed them here with a few bread crumbs.
You can find out more about their creator, artists Abby Glassenberg HERE

Sticks & Balls

sticks & balls By Jacqueline Wright and Alice Lowe/ 2007
Great video and even better song. Who would have thought golf could be so god darn sexy!
The film was made on a Super 8 video camera without any editing, yes, it was shot exactly how you see it, how refreshing..
Found on www.straight8.net a site dedicated to this sort of S8 no edit production, thanks again to Craig Kind.

Photoshop Magic

The above image was found on worth1000.com. It was the wining image in a competition to "Simply take any work of art and remove the character from the image, leaving their garments in place." Simple really!!
The site is for the Photoshop gods out there that can, at the click of a mouse, make anything look like, well, anything. Its amazing to see the true extent to what is possible with a little bit of Adobe know now. Things have really moved on from the days of MS Paint.
This image was taken from a competition entitled "Collectibles for Those Who Hate "Cute"

Its definitely worth a look, even if just to see some of the funny and ever so slightly scary images people have created. We're sure 90% of fake viral images like the one of a mans head being inserted where it shouldn't (come on we've all seen that one) started with a mouse click from the people on this site.
An Imaginative and very technically talented bunch, thanks to Craig Kind for the heads up.