SYNTHESIZED FASHION - In the overwhelming flood of the New Media, Society has come to accord ever greater importance to appearances, succumbing ever more deeply and mindlessly to the lure of superficial beauty and make- believe. As a result, content and intrinsic values fall into ever greater disregard. Never before have the caprices and dictates of soulless fashion been disseminated, promoted and imposed so sweepingly and irresistibly as via the powerful instrument of the New Media. And the trends of today, unprecedentedly fast- moving, intentionally but mercifully short- lived and disposable, are conceived out of purely commercial considerations and entirely lack aesthetic and creative merits and imperatives. In the present darwinistic feeding frenzy of trends, original ideas are reduced to a mass commodity and people, to the status of ostentatiously consuming showroom dummies. But then it has always been the way of the world that entire generations, age- groups and social strata have been forced to live out stereotypes alien to their nature.
New York City, as in other large cities like Los Angeles or Chicago, is a city of rooms, where many secret things occur clandestinely behind closed doors. Who knows what mysteries are even now unfolding inside the apartment in that very ordinary-looking building on the corner of 39th Street and Sixth Avenue, or even in the apartment right next door to it?
This series of photographs entitled “Rooms,” captures visits to rooms inside of places about which you may never have thought, or even if you’ve imagined what they’re like, you’ve probably never actually been there. The photographs capture a wide range of social and economic experiences in New York City, including: scenes at a garment-district sweatshop, a swingers sex club, the dressing-room in a stripper-club, a morgue in Harlem, New York City’s Office of the Mayor, the behind-the-scenes kitchen of a fancy-gourmet restaurant, super-elegant bathrooms and even a bowling alley in the basement of an art museum.
This piece includes a number of great color photographs, as well as a remarkable slide show of additional photographs.New York City, as in other large cities like Los Angeles or Chicago, is a city of... more
Having mutiple remote controls can be frustrating, especially when everyone in the household wants to argue over who gets control of them. Well, a new technology project is expanding on the remote control theme, bringing a whole new way in which the item can be used.
The CRISTAL (Control of Remotely Interfaced Systems using Touch-based Actions in Living spaces) research project on user interface technology is combining a coffee table with remote control functions to create a universal remote, designed to allow household members to control the functions of devices all in one room (the living room).
A birdseye view of the living room is visible on the tabletop, via video streaming. The user can turn lights on and off and even play DVDs by using the touchscreen technology, that the table functions with (see video).
Stacey Scott, assistant professor at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, and a member of the project explained: .“We wanted a social aspect to activities such as choosing what to watch on TV and we wanted to make the process easy and intuitive.”
Although universal remotes have been worked on before (Microsoft introduced "Surface", as a multi-touch display capable of following orders from user's hand gestures), they have been challenging to use.
The CRISTAL tabletop remote could cost between $10,000 - $15,000 (approx. £6,000 - £9,120) and could take up to 10 years before consumers see it on the market for purchase.Having mutiple remote controls can be frustrating, especially when everyone in the... more
Discovery-News.com: Some people wear business suits to work, but scientists at Draper Labs have to wear "bunny suits" because they work in a clean room. Discovery News takes a tour of their lab and learns the ins and outs of clean room culture.
For more technology news stories, check out http://dsc.discovery.com/technologyDiscovery-News.com: Some people wear business suits to work, but scientists at Draper... more
After living in London for many years, the acclaimed 85-year-old British novelist Elizabeth Jane Howard now lives in Suffolk (UK), in a house that she bought only ten minutes after first seeing it. Houses have always been important to her: this one is her harbor after a very stormy life. In this article, the 85-year-old Elizabeth Jane Howard talks about the writing room in her house.
The detailed article includes a wonderful photograph of her writing room.After living in London for many years, the acclaimed 85-year-old British novelist... more
The Vertical Camp likes living the Playa life of luxury. With this multi-level condo looking structure they are able to live in relative comfort. The condo has a large living room, dining room, kitchen, personal bedrooms and a penthouse that offers some of the best views in the city. Take a tour of one of Black Rock City's premier properties.The Vertical Camp likes living the Playa life of luxury. With this multi-level condo... more
Sergio Dreyer shows us around the Daddy Long Legs boutique hotel, located in Cape Town, South Africa. The thirty rooms at the hotel are all custom designed by various artists giving each guest a truly unique experience. The blend of experimental art and comfortable living spaces make this hotel a destination of its own.Sergio Dreyer shows us around the Daddy Long Legs boutique hotel, located in Cape... more
