Stipla magazine

Stipla combines quality writing and photography with in-depth digital extras, for those who want to see beneath the surface of a story. From Palestinian racing car drivers to Bolivian wrestlers, Indian recyclers to British engineers, we uncover stories from around the world that reveal people and places in unexpected and captivating ways. Technology brings Stipla to life. Articles run alongside videos, panoramic photography, interview clips and animation, the playful interaction adding substance without ever distracting readers from what matters; the people in our stories. Stipla is dedicated to telling stories in the best and smartest way possible. Sometimes that's a 1500 word feature, but every so often it’s something less linear. By taking advantage of what the tablet has to offer, Stipla meets the demand for challenging stories told in a new way.

Instead of trying to configure print or website content to fit onto iPad screen, a team in London decided to take advantage of the tablet's capabilities and employ it as a unique medium for sharing stories. Stipla is a new iPad magazine that combines writing with panoramic photographs, video shorts, animations, interactive maps and more digital "extras" to bring the focus of their stories to life—and it's an immersive reading experience like no other. The name is an acronym for "story, technology, innovation, passion, life and adventure." [1]

Unlike publishing websites that make their articles accessible immediately, and anywhere, these stories will never be easily searchable or sharable on social media networks, because they live inside the iPad app. This limitation adds something valuable to the stories you read—likening it more to an actual print publication. To share an article, you would have to physically hand it over to a friend—just like the old days. Stipla Issue #1 can be downloaded at the App Store for $3, or you can purchase a recurring subscription for $6. It is compatible only with the iPad. [1]

[1] Ref. http://www.coolhunting.com/culture/stipla-magazine.php

they draw and cook : recipes illustrated by artists from around the globe

Nate Padavick and Salli Swindell are a brother and sister design and illustration team who have been working together for over 10 years. After creating hundreds of magazine and book illustrations including many super tasty illustrated recipes, Nate and Salli came up with the idea of They Draw & Cook while on a family vacation. They asked some of their artist pals to help, but never got enough recipes to justify printing a book, so Nate built a quick blog and Salli started to spread the word. They Draw & Cook now contains the biggest and best collection of illustrated recipes anywhere.

They Draw & Cook is essentially a recipe site that features cuisines from around the world, but its beauty and differentiation is that all the recipes are illustrated. As opposed to the text-heavy format for recipes we’re all used to, the illustrated approach challenges foodies to simply demonstrate the process for cooking a dish, but also telling a story about that dish: Its origins, its ingredients, and perhaps even the feelings and memories that come about when smelling them. The artists whose work you see on the website are a varied and talented bunch. Some of them are professional illustrators and practicing artists, while others are passionate doodlers and drawers, and a few have only recently begun to draw.

Nate and Salli were blown away by the creative energy artists worldwide pour into their recipe illustrations, and they realized that artists have similar passion for their favorite places to live and visit. So they launched They Draw & Travel, a sister site of They Draw & Cook , as a place for artists to express that passion, and for readers to discover their creations. Each map is one-of-a-kind, highlighting off-the-beaten path sites and activities that are local favorites. You won't find anything like this in a guidebook! Whether you're planning your next trip, reminiscing about places you've been or dreaming about places you want to go one day, They Draw & Travel is inspiring, useful and fun!

see. make. eat. | the Picture Cook

Cooking is a nonverbal activity that many people best understand visually. However, today's standard format for cookbooks is a recipe for ultimate intimidation for the aspiring chefs ; a mathematical formula accompanied by beautiful, close-up photographs of the prepared meal taken on a DSLR camera. It is with this notion that artist Katie Shelly began rendering her recipes entirely in handsketched image form and created “Picture Cook”. A fresh and original cookbook with artistically illustrated recipes, concentrated into one page each, that are as fast to learn and easy to follow as they are delicious. Drawing recipes and keeping them to a page is hard, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the content is dumbed down. See the book on Amazon here.

Dispensing with lengthy directions, Picture Cook distills 50 homey recipes into their most basic components and renders them step by step in enchanting line drawings like nothing ever seen in a cookbook. Perfect for visual learners, novice chefs, and design aficionados, these whimsical recipe blueprints provide quick and simple guidance for making classic dishes every cook should have in their repertoire. Her collection of friend-tested dishes like fresh pesto, carrot soup, eggplant Parmesan, and sweet potato fries will become readers’ go-to recipes for quick weeknight meals and dinner parties alike.

Other highlights of the book include a detailed tutorial on knife skills and charts that show multiple variations for tacos, omelets and more. In between recipes Shelly offers helpful advice in the form of drawings, such as the best way to peel ginger (use the edge of a spoon) or suggesting coconut milk or yogurt instead of milk in a smoothie for a "tangy" flavor. Be sure to check out the helpful index in the back that indicates which recipes are vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and/or no sugar added. Picture Cook could be the perfect gift for budding chefs, college students, or any home cook in need of some visual inspiration.

exercise encyclopedias

So you have decided to work out, but you have realised that as you get more into shaping your body and getting your yonger age strength back, it is damn hard. Not only you have to set your diet straight, changing your eating habits, but you have also comprehended that what you have been doing for s many years now, has taken a toll on your body and physique, making it even harder to even see the first results of your efforts. If you are motivated and determined to succeed, then a more “engineering” perspective on how you work out, and what exercises to employ, may help you out. The following are some suggestions for books that are out there, and could give you a more detailed insight on available body exercises or their mechanics thereof.

Mad Skills is the world's largest illustrated exercise encyclopedia and contains over 700 unique exercises to build strength and mobility. It is designed as a reference tool for athletes, trainers, and coaches, to help steer creative movement selection for effective workouts. Categories of exercise movements include: barbell lifts, kettlebell skills, gymnastics conditioning, whole body movements, yoga postures, stretching, partner skills, and more. Written by Ben Musholt, a physical therapist and APEX Movement certified Parkour and Freerunning coach in Portland, Oregon, his movement-training background spans from gymnastics, to martial arts, and board sports. His goal is to help fellow athletes have the fitness needed to excel in their favorite sport. See the book on the Amazon website here.

Any beginner starting a program of workouts will be concerned to know how to do the exercises involved to achieve his or her goals. Muscle Exercises Encyclopedia is intended as a work of reference for the beginner, the advanced athlete, the enthusiast, or the fitness professional, whatever the users level. It is written by Oscar Moran, a professor of Physical Education and a national weightlifting and bodybuilding trainer, fitness sports technician, sports nutrition technician and an expert in martial arts. Muscle Exercises Encyclopedia contains over 440 exercises with comments and illustrations based on empirical know-how and scientific research. It includes all the basic and numerous less common exercises with comments and illustrations. See the book on the Amazon website here. Furthermore, the available Stretching Exercises Encyclopedia, by the same author, offers a general theory of muscle stretching. Anatomical pictures explain the different muscle groups involved in each exercise. A test to measure the degree of joint mobility is also included. Helpful tricks, tips and recommendations for all proficiency levels complete the encyclopedia. The unique feature of both these books, is that each exercise includes information about the movement one needs to perform, the posture that one must adopt, common mistakes that should be avoided, the principal and secondary muscles worked with this exercise as well as a series of very useful tips and advice. See the book on the Amazon website here.

Increase strength, build mass, burn fat, and define your muscles. With full-color anatomical illustrations, step-by-step instructions, and training advice, Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomy is the authoritative resource for sculpting your physique without free weights, machines, or expensive equipment. Targeting all muscle zones and primary muscle regions—arms, chest, shoulders, back, core, thighs, glutes, and calves—Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomy presents 156 of the most effective bodyweight exercises that can be performed anytime, anywhere. The book is written by Bret Contreras, MS, CSCS, who has become known in the strength and conditioning industry as The Glute Guy because of his expertise in helping clients develop strong, shapely glutes. He is currently pursuing a PhD in New Zealand. Contreras has conducted numerous electromyography experiments in his research. See the book on the Amazon website here.

how to swear around the world

There are several must have items for your modern day jet setter, and now we can add a new one to the list in this How To Swear Around The World. Written by Jason Sacher and illustrated by Toby Triumph, this is an essential phrasebook that will show you how to tell people off in the most effective way in every part of the globe, and even includes illustrations making it easy even for the slowest of learners. Now, with over 6000 different languages spoken all over the globe, this is by no means a comprehensive catalogue of all the various profanities, but it will surely allow you to offend other people, by swearing or profane oaths, from one corner of the world to the other.

The book description from Amazon goes like this : "This essential phrasebook collects the most colorful, explicit, and outrageous ways to tell people off in every part of the world. Featuring dozens of different languages, the sayings range from everyday swears to family curses to expressions for X-rated relations with animals. Phonetic pronunciation is provided so that readers can curse like a native, and handy illustrations provide visual guides to these foreign exclamations. Perfect for the international traveler who may need to wish an enemy a painful death, insult a person's grandmother, or accuse someone's mother of having intimate relations with bears in the forest."

A Map of the World

Maps help us understand and navigate the world. For centuries, maps have become better, more refined, and more precise—there are no blind spots anymore. While Google Maps and GPS systems have become our tools of choice for navigation, contemporary maps have evolved into platforms for cutting-edge illustration, experimental data visualization, and personal visual storytelling. A Map of the World is a compelling collection of work by a new generation of original and sought-after designers, illustrators, and mapmakers. This work showcases specific regions, characterizes local scenes, generates moods, and tells stories beyond sheer navigation. From accurate and surprisingly detailed representations to personal, naïve, and modernistic interpretations, the featured projects from around the world range from maps and atlases inspired by classic forms to cartographic experiments and editorial illustrations.

NewsMap

Newsmap is an application that visually reflects the constantly changing landscape of the Google News news aggregator. A treemap visualization algorithm helps display the enormous amount of information gathered by the aggregator. Treemaps are traditionally space-constrained visualizations of information. Newsmap's objective takes that goal a step further and provides a tool to divide information into quickly recognizable bands which, when presented together, reveal underlying patterns in news reporting across cultures and within news segments in constant change around the globe. [1]

Google News automatically groups news stories with similar content and places them based on algorithmic results into clusters. In Newsmap, the size of each cell is determined by the amount of related articles that exist inside each news cluster that the Google News Aggregator presents. In that way users can quickly identify which news stories have been given the most coverage, viewing the map by region, topic or time. Through that process it still accentuates the importance of a given article.

NewsMap was created by Marcos Weskamp, a Design Engineer who has a deep interest in playing with and visualizing lots of data. He is a self-taught technologist who, as he says, constantly investigates the fields of Interaction Design and Information Visualization. You can also access NewsMap from our sidebar NewsRoom section here at Metronome.

[1] Ref. http://marumushi.com/projects/newsmap

Dancers among us

Have you ever wondered how everyday situations could be transformed by a little bit of dance creativity ? New York photographer Jordan Matter has taken the ordinary and made it extraordinary, with Dancers Among Us, a project which started back in 2009 and since then documents dancers leaping, spinning, lifting and kicking, right in the midst of otherwise ordinary moments of daily life.

A portrait photographer Jordan started the project by asking members of the Paul Taylor and Martha Graham Dance Companies to pose for him in iconic Manhattan locations like the Yankee stadium or the Public Library. For the realization of the photographs no props or other technical means (eg. Trampolines, etc.) were used.

Jordan, a professional actor initially, was drawn into photography literally by circumstance. In his own words : “One day I was at a friend's house, looking through her head shots. Not one photograph said the slightest thing about her. They were very generic, very studio and very boring. When she told me what she had paid, I almost choked on my Starbucks. Outrageous! I've been the victim of that a few times myself. The next day I grabbed my camera, took her up to the roof and fired off two quick rolls before the sun set. That was it. I was hooked, whether I knew it or not…”

And continues : “…Her agents soon sent me their clients, who in turn recommended me to their friends, and a photography career was born. The Today Show, Tyra Banks, MSNBC, CBS, NBC and the BBC have since profiled me, and my work has been featured in many magazines, newspapers and galleries throughout the world. I enjoy the process, I love what I do and I consider myself very lucky. That's the whole story.”

Jordan collated all the photos and has a book released under the same title, Dancers Among Us”. The book is organized around themes of dreaming, loving, playing, exploring, grieving, working and living, essentially constituting a a celebration of life, that is fresh, surprising, original and universal.

To get a visual idea of how the project was carried out, see the following feature video, available also at the project’s site.

Mr Porter's manual for a stylish life

Respected British men’s retailer Mr. Porter steps into the world of publishing with a paper back book for every curious gentleman. They’ve fittingly titled  it The Mr. Porter Paperback: The Manual For a Stylish Life, Volume One. And yes, by ‘Volume One’ they mean to imply that there shall be others so gear up as this little tome teaches everything a man should acquaint himself with: interior design, fashion, cars, music, etc. [1]

Mr Porter arrived at a time when online fashion retail struggled to provide that functional stimulus and emotive connection with male consumer. Now over a year into their carnation Mr Porter continues to examine new ways of catering for those that pine for that aspirational lifestyle; a connection deeper than solely the sartorial, with interests prevalent in other aspects of man’s life. The book content is an amalgamation of new and existing features from their ongoing online Journal relating to cars, fashion, interiors design and music as well as interviews and insider style tips from their famed experts – of past and present. [2] Order a copy at Mr. Porter here.

[1] Ref. http://lostinasupermarket.com/2013/01/the-mr-porter-paperback-the-manual-for-a-stylish-life-volume-one/

[2] Ref. http://www.joshua-s.com/mr-porter-paperback-volume-one/

Spoon &fork product design books

Although somewhat older publications, those are 2 of my favorite selections, offering timeless value and inspiration throughout the years, as I believe. They encompass some of the most characteristic work of some of the most influential product designers out there. If you can find them new or used, grab them.

Spoon [Paperback]

A book on product design published by Phaidon Press,  01.11.2004

444 pages. Purchase info from Phaidon here.

Eggers+Diaper has designed "Spoon"

Spoon presents the work of 100 product designers, selected by 10 critics, educators, designers and entrepreneurs who are all involved in innovative developments in contemporary design. Essentially an exhibition in a book, it provides an overview of the product design world and presents the most forward-looking and ground-breaking designers of today. The different kinds of objects illustrated - from furniture to tools, from high-tech products to cars and motorcycles - make up a wide collection of what is today considered good design. Spoon is a comprehensive view of new product design, presenting the work of 100 exceptional international designers who have emerged on an international platform in the last five years, selected by 10 critics, designers and entrepreneurs who are highly respected for their informed opinion on the international contemporary design scene. It provides a unique opportunity to see a diverse collection of recent design projects that includes a whole range of objects: furniture, lighting, tools, utensils, high-tech products, machinery and so on. The designers are listed in alphabetical order featuring two double-page spreads for each, with recent, exemplary products.

And Fork: 100 Designers, 10 Curators, 10 Good Designs [Hardcover]

A book on product design published by Phaidon Press,  19.03.2007

444 pages. Purchase Info from Phaidon here.

Jannuzzi Smith has designed "&fork", a heavyweight hard-back that offers a comprehensive global overview of up-and-coming industrial designers. Generously illustrated, it presents the 100 most exceptional young talents to have emerged on the international scene, selected by 10 of the world’s top design critics, including Chieko Yoshiie of Casa Brutus in Japan, Francesca Picchi of Domus, Tom Dixon from Habitat UK and Sang-kyu Kim, a Korea-based design curator.

"& Fork" seeks to represent the best in international product design from around the world. In order to make the most comprehensive selection of 100 important young product designers working today, 10 key figures from the design world were enlisted to curate the project. These 10 writers, curators and designers have combined their extensive knowledge to ensure that "& Fork" truly represents this exciting field and its most innovative developments since its highly successful predecessor, Spoon, in 2002. Australia, the UK, South America, the Far East, USA and Europe are all represented and give the book a truly global perspective. With a short written piece provided by the curators for each designer we are given insight into why the designer's work has been chosen, and their background and future design plans. Each curator has also chosen one piece of design for the 'Good Design' chapter of the book. Here they have a chance to discuss one object by one designer that they believe has made a significant impact on the design world, and that young designers of today are still influenced by and can learn from.

MADE quarterly

MADE focuses on inspirational people from around the world who create incredible things, including but not limited to industrial design, architecture, fashion, interior design, photography and the culinary world. MADE aims to get inside the heads of those individuals to find out how they do what they do, and what inspires them to create. Each issue will take a peek behind the scenes and offer the reader a rare opportunity to glimpse inside the minds of these inspiring individuals.

MADE Quarterly is a new publication from the publishers of award winning graphic design periodical Process Journal, based in Melbourne, Australia. All content in MADE Quarterly is hand-selected and curated by the Creative Directors, both from a design and editorial perspective. The content is not about breaking the latest news or events, it is motivated by a desire to uncover and provide insight into the  inner workings of creative individuals and collectives from all corners of the globe.

The premiere edition of MADE Quarterly features: Nendo (JPN), Aulik Fiser Architects (CZE), Dinosaur Designs (AUS), Feit (AUS), Alt Group (NZL), Form Us With Love (SWE), Wrenchmonkees (DNK), Katie Quinn Davies (AUS), Patterns From Above (USA), and Noe Duchaufour-Lawrance (FRA). The first edition of MADE Quarterly features four individual covers (distributed randomly), each displaying chosen works from our esteemed contributors. Get your copy here.

Kinetic fanzine

Singapore-based creative agency Kinetic, with an interactive imaginarium titled "Kinetic Fanzine vol.1", have obtained a Webby Award in Best Visual Design (Aesthetic). Part interactive toy, part virtual fun house, Kinetic’s web zine is a strange brew of narrative storytelling and stream-of-consciousness collage; above all, it’s a clever piece of self-promotion. See it here.

The website is styled after fanzines, which spawn non-professional and non-official content for the knowledge and pleasure of those who share their interests in various topics of interest and cultural phenomenons.

Kinetic Vol. 2

In a conference of independent agencies, "Fanzine Vol 2 : Independence" was launched. The limited publication featured stories of autonomy from around the world. Passages were entirely fabricated, naturally.

see also : Kinetic Fanzine Writer, Joseph G. Davies

Think, question & inquire. Skeptic mag.

Skepticism has a long historical tradition dating back to ancient Greece, when Socrates observed: “All I know is that I know nothing.” Modern skepticism however, is embodied in the scientific method, which involves gathering data to formulate and test naturalistic explanations for natural phenomena. The key to skepticism is to continuously and vigorously apply the methods of science to navigate the treacherous straits between “know nothing” skepticism and “anything goes” credulity.

Scientific skepticism (also spelled skepticism) is the practice of questioning whether claims are supported by empirical research and have reproducibility, as part of a methodological norm pursuing "the extension of certified knowledge". Scientific skepticism is different from philosophical skepticism, which questions our ability to claim any knowledge about the nature of the world and how we perceive it. Scientific skepticism primarily uses deductive arguments to evaluate claims which lack a suitable evidential basis. ^[1]

Skeptic is a quarterly science education and science advocacy magazine published internationally by The Skeptics Society, a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting scientific skepticism and resisting the spread of pseudoscience, superstition, and irrational beliefs.[2] Founded by Michael Shermer, founder of the Skeptics Society,[3] the magazine was first published in the spring of 1992 and is published through Millennium Press. Skeptic has an international circulation with over 50,000 subscriptions and is on major newsstands in the U.S. and Canada as well as Europe, Australia, and other countries. ^[2]

I thoroughly enjoyed, a long video publication featured on the site, titled "Ancient Aliens debunked", which in a straightforward fashion contradicts many of the claims of the aliens-that-have-visited-earth-numerous-times advocates, on whose views and proposed evidence a whole History Channel series was based upon. Links for the video can be found here and here.

Should you wish to explore more on the matter of scepticism, I would suggest the Sceptic Magazine (UK), or the FreeThinker (UK). For a concise source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation, try Snopes.com.

In general terms, as we are increasingly hammered by views and revelations, of all different sorts, that require our belief, time or money, we have to stand skeptical or critical to say the least. So I urge you to think, question and inquire, before you actually believe. Don't blindly believe, no matter how tired or desperate you may feel.

Of course you cannot question and inquire about everything. It is counter-productive and sure takes a lot of time. For most of cases most scholars suggest using this thing called "common sense". That, needless to say, implies that there is sense in someone, before that sense being common, and actually put into use.

^[1] Ref. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_skepticism

^[2] Ref. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeptic_(U.S._magazine)