jo gray blogs

this blog is dead

2007-12-13T01:20:00.000+09:30

i'll always love you, internet. but i love lots of other things more (now). thanks for the fun. xxx bye. xxx

the future is not now, not yet

2007-09-08T23:36:00.000+09:30

10 future web trends of the read/write web.

groovle

2007-09-08T23:30:00.001+09:30

Groovle is your Groovy Google Custom Search Homepage. Groovle was created so people can customize their Internet homepage with images ranging from favorite celebrities or sports teams to more personal images of friends and family etc.

With Groovle you can create a personal homepage using your own photos. Simply select the file from your computer, upload the image, and the custom homepage is created.

more photoshop beauty

2007-09-08T23:16:00.000+09:30

animoto

2007-09-08T23:01:00.000+09:30

move over 'death of the author', pretty soon editors will be redundant, too.

animoto - just upload, click, click again and you've made a short video. this is generative art if ever i've seen it.

here's a silly one i prepared earlier (well, sorta).

HBO ad magic

2007-08-08T17:54:00.000+09:30

oh, i like this HBO ad. i could watch it for hours and hours.

how tall are you?

2007-08-08T17:46:00.000+09:30

this graph has confirmed what i've always suspected - i am tall.

visumap

2007-08-08T17:24:00.000+09:30

an online mind-map. quite cool.

i'm back

2007-08-05T00:45:00.000+09:30

it's been a long time since i've blogged properly - at least 6 months, i think. and while i don't promise a return to form, i am trying to bring the love back to jo gray blogs. so enjoy these recent offerings and please accept my sincere apologies. your support has been noted.

feel free to poke me if i get lost again.

octopie

2007-08-05T00:40:00.001+09:30

oh this is the cutest plush toy ever created.

gamers and their avatars

2007-08-05T00:36:00.000+09:30

putting the first face to the second life.

rise of the deviants

2007-08-05T00:31:00.000+09:30

a flash pop book animation game ad.

the evolution of apple

2007-08-05T00:25:00.000+09:30

pictured below: my very first and most recent mac.

photosynth demo

2007-06-16T17:08:00.000+09:30

i can't wait for the future .

try it yourself.

thanks jo

2 new things (oops, make that 4)

2007-06-06T09:27:00.000+09:30

two great things happened this week.

i set up a book club with 6 other enthusiastic ladies and tim got a new job.

he'll be a roving reporter for channel nine news. if you're not in melbourne, you can still catch his national stories, so pay close attention!

i love this city, i love my husband... hopefully i'll love my book club!

UPDATE: Oh, and how could I forget? Myke and Mil and Jess and Pete got engaged! There must be something in the water...

running the numbers

2007-05-23T23:51:00.000+09:30

from the site:

Running the Numbers
An American Self-Portrait

This new series looks at contemporary American culture through the austere lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on. My hope is that images representing these quantities might have a different effect than the raw numbers alone, such as we find daily in articles and books. Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 426,000 cell phones retired every day. This project visually examines these vast and bizarre measures of our society, in large intricately detailed prints assembled from thousands of smaller photographs.

typography

2007-05-23T23:42:00.000+09:30

a stylish and informative motion graphic.

via ektopia

bikes and birthdays

2007-05-23T23:18:00.000+09:30

i bought a bike on monday night and hopefully it'll be delivered tomorrow. i can't wait - it's been so long since i've been in the saddle.

big shout out to the special birthdayness people this week. three of my dearest turn 30, 31 and 33 - phew, i'm exhausted just thinking about it.

why am i so attracted to geminis?

happy mothers' day

2007-05-14T21:58:00.000+09:30

yesterday was mothers' day, and for the first time in ages i couldn't speak to my mum. she's in europe at the moment (venice, to be exact) with her gal pal, jenny.

anyway, she emailed me yesterday saying that she'd revisited a favourite restaurant of ours, from a couple of years ago. for some reason, the waiter remembered her, and asked where her 'tall daughter' was.

happy mothers' day mum - even tho we couldn't be in the same city, i was with you all day.

feed the head

2007-05-05T12:40:00.000+09:30

a bit like grow. rollover and click.

ads vs reality

2007-05-05T12:31:00.000+09:30

this post is for my media kids. hi girls.

pulp muppets

2007-05-05T12:30:00.000+09:30

yet another mash-up.

lost rhapsody

2007-05-05T12:00:00.000+09:30

blood spill pillow

2007-04-27T11:08:00.000+09:30

this could raise a few eyebrows at work.

via ektopia

gorgeous layf

2007-04-26T14:11:00.000+09:30

and here he is all grown up on a lazy sunday afternoon.

thanks for the pics, mil.

zoomquilt two

2007-04-17T20:14:00.000+09:30

click this link, i beg you! you'll find the trippiest, coolest collaborative art project since zoomquilt one.

i love this kinda stuff.

asleep and awake

2007-04-17T20:03:00.000+09:30

i find this quite disturbing.

From zhu yunwei's website:

opened / closed eyes
each portrait consists of two portrait shots.
I took two pictures of each person - one with opened eyes,
the other with closed eyes.
I then integrated the two pictures into one portrait,
resulting in the calm but unnatural expressions seen here.
human beings wake up and open their eyes in the morning,
close their eyes and fall asleep at night, these are which the two
normal states of everyone.

ps - my mum can do this naturally. she's a freak.

the zimmers do my generation

2007-04-17T19:58:00.000+09:30

this one's for my dad.

cassette walletts

2007-04-17T19:53:00.000+09:30

for a different kind of storage medium.

no!

2007-04-17T19:50:00.000+09:30

it goes on a bit, but you get the point.

i'll be back

2007-03-29T22:31:00.000+09:30

i know, i know, it's been a long time between posts. i haven't forgotten about you and i still care...just been too busy for cut and pasties.

but i'll be back soon. promise.

x

farewell zefrank

2007-03-20T20:59:00.000+09:30

this is a sad sad day.

a recommendation from guy garvey (see below)

2007-03-15T20:06:00.000+09:30

in exchange for yacht rock.

elbow tonight

2007-03-09T16:15:00.000+09:30

i've been smiling all day. a big, goofy smile that stops people in their tracks.

hooray!

pepsi viral ad

2007-03-07T20:17:00.000+09:30

ads have changed so much in my time. in this new one from pepsi, you're a dj in a hip hop club and have to 'move the crowd'.

you can quote me on it

2007-03-07T20:06:00.000+09:30

i just love this - a room full of warholesque speech bubbles. part of the comic attraction exhibition.

SP*C**L DFCTS

2007-03-07T17:24:00.000+09:30

portugal networks presents a selection of interactive flash works. 1000 ants is my favourite.

man-made in japan

2007-03-06T19:30:00.000+09:30

it's a truman world.

"Ocean Dome is known as the world's largest indoor water park (300m-100m-38m),
with a retractable roof. The air temperature is always kept around 30º C
and the water temperature is kept at around 28º C.

The name Seagaia is a combination of the words "sea" and "gaia",
which is Greek for earth. It's located near the Pacific Ocean on Kyushu Island.
(thanks to Nana Yoshizumi)."

how the world really shapes up

2007-03-06T19:27:00.000+09:30

"We all know what the world looks like. But a new series of extraordinary maps shows our planet in a very different light.

Rather than defining each country by size, these computer-generated modified maps - or cartograms - redraw the globe with each country's size proportionate to its strengths, or weaknesses, in a whole series of categories.

For instance, when it comes to military spending, the U.S. appears bloated, but Africa is huge when HIV prevalence is mapped.

The cartograms were produced in a unique collaboration between the universities of Michigan in the U.S. and Sheffield. Here are images and more details on some of the most fascinating..."

thom yorke, speed painting

2007-03-05T22:43:00.000+09:30

it's not a lettuce

2007-03-05T22:29:00.000+09:30

it's a safe.

dead celebrity soulmate search

2007-03-01T19:50:00.000+09:30

and these are the three candidates who best match my specs. always knew i had a thing for poe.

cool viral ad

2007-03-01T19:33:00.000+09:30

nokia's latest viral ad for their gps navigation system is great. part hollywood blockbuster, part video game, you must drive through the streets of paris to help a damsel in distress.

these ads are getting smarter by the minute.

humanity lobotomy

2007-02-28T16:41:00.000+09:30

please, please watch this movie. it's very important.

Save the Internet | Rock the Vote

water figures

2007-02-28T16:30:00.000+09:30

i love these shots. there's just so much to see in every drop.

first truly great podbook

2007-02-28T16:21:00.000+09:30

How to disappear completely, a novel (of sorts) by Myke Bartlett is near completion. Check out the website for free downloads and a very nifty interface.

i'm confident in saying that this is the best podbook i've 'read'. the site is glamorous, the words well-crafted.

wow.

drag and draw (with light)

2007-02-28T16:07:00.001+09:30

want one.

la logo

2007-02-28T16:02:00.000+09:30

this site's got em all - a brief history of major logos.

7

2007-02-24T17:52:00.000+09:30

seven colours, seven films.

imho, red's the best.

via in4mador

art come true

2007-02-24T17:42:00.000+09:30

almost.

human click

2007-02-24T17:39:00.000+09:30

a bit of interactive flash fun.

via geisha asobi

podlove

2007-02-22T15:03:00.000+09:30

this new series of short documentaries (from sbs) looks very interesting. watch out for the one on love + second life.

google's masterplan

2007-02-22T14:58:00.000+09:30

an excellent motion graphic for anyone interested in google and its monolithic status (especially in regard to privacy).

emmeline

2007-02-22T14:50:00.000+09:30

a lovely little animation about a girl from a town that doesn't exist. at least, not anymore.

human skateboard

2007-02-22T14:45:00.000+09:30

this is one of the best commercials i've seen in a while. a brilliant stop motion of human skateboards, released by pez.

via ektopia

he's coming, at last.

2007-02-08T20:19:00.000+09:30

elbow! will! be! here! in! 4! weeks!

last time they were here, i became an absolute groupie. guy garvey is god.

the multitouch interface

2007-01-27T15:23:00.000+09:30

just like minority report, only better.

one million picture

2007-01-27T14:54:00.000+09:30

we know how these things work - collaboration is the name of the game.

random movie generator

2007-01-27T14:36:00.000+09:30

hmm...this kinda thing might work in class.

via the generator blog

adam frank's shadows

2007-01-27T14:31:00.000+09:30

i would love one of these shadow gadgets for my home.

via elsewhares

peer_pressure

2007-01-27T14:21:00.000+09:30

from notcot. :

PEER PRESSURE! The latest from Alice Wang (of Audio Sticks and Pet Plus) - this time she takes on the issue of peer pressure and how it relates to the public and private aspects of your persona.

...currently on display at RCA ~ including double sided headphones (for when you want to listen to embarrassing music on the inside, but project ANYTHING else outward), popular mobile (because constantly getting sms’ means you’re popular), fast typing keyboards… and more.

what is love?

2007-01-27T14:12:00.000+09:30

things aren't much clearer after seeing this

via glubibulga

youtube to ipod

2007-01-27T13:53:00.000+09:30

i'll be using this handy device. thanks, tarm.

x+x=we

2007-01-27T13:50:00.000+09:30

generation 'x' parents create generation 'we' kids. read more.

diy business cards

2007-01-27T13:35:00.000+09:30

flashy.

pandora: music genome project

2007-01-27T13:21:00.000+09:30

pandora will create a personal radio station for you based on the "musical connective-tissue" between songs. it's pretty cool.

google game ads?

2007-01-27T13:14:00.000+09:30

CNN, citing the (subscription needed) Wall Street Journal last week reported that Google “is negotiating to buy Adscape, a closely held San Francisco firm whose technology allows for the placement of ads over the Web in video games.”

doesn't surprise me one little bit.

via google blogoscoped

light criticism

2007-01-27T13:07:00.000+09:30

i got a big lump in my throat watching this. culture jamming from the graffiti research lab.

via reevo

remind me

2007-01-27T13:03:00.000+09:30

i'm a bit taken with info aesthetics at the moment. that's why i love this vid.

via reevo

classic youtube

2007-01-27T12:09:00.000+09:30

hello mr crow

2007-01-16T17:03:00.000+09:30

i agree with jamie. this is one of the most exquisite animations i've seen.

feltron seven

2007-01-16T13:59:00.000+09:30

in mock celebration of the annual report, feltron has tabulated and displayed the major trends and patterns constituting his life.

it's a great idea and one i might pursue with the kids.

via information aesthetics

help clive with radical transparency

2007-01-16T13:54:00.000+09:30

clive thompson, a hero of mine, wants your help. he's writing an article for wired about radical transparency and, given the subject matter, would like some feedback.

"Normally, I don't post about magazine assignments I'm working on -- because the editors want to keep it secret. But now I'm researching a piece for Wired magazine, and the editors have actually asked me to talk about it openly. That's because the subject of the piece is "Radical Transparency". And, in fact, I'd like your input in writing it.

The piece was originally triggered by a few postings on the blog of Wired editor-in-chief Chris Anderson, and the thesis is simple: In today's ultranetworked online world, you can accomplish more by being insanely open about everything you're doing. Indeed, in many cases it's a superbad idea to operate in highly secret mode -- because secrets get leaked anyway, looking like a paranoid freak is a bad thing, and most importantly, you're missing out on opportunities to harness the deeply creative power of an open world..."

read more

delete your myspace!

2007-01-16T13:49:00.000+09:30

this is great. from a friend of a friend's site:

"Just in front of us in the crowd at yesterday’s baseball game were a dozen or so young lads and lasses, all dressed in green t-shirts with “Add me” on the front, and their myspace IDs on the back. Well, all except this guy:"

what's it called again?

2007-01-16T13:08:00.000+09:30

project one: stardust

Jean-Christian Bourcart has turned the neglected projector window into art with his stardust collection. "The window is often dirty, dusty, with fingerprints on it. Or the flux of light is so strong that each grain of dust becomes iridescent. The image, partially stopped on its way towards the big screen, is completely fuzzy: a simple moving mass of colors and forms. Nothing is recognizable except maybe a blue sky or a silhouette. The traces on the glass become the only matter of the movie."

project two: abstractor tv

"Abstractor is a simple device that instantly transforms any TV into a beautiful piece of art. Anyone can easily create an Abstractor by attaching two black boards to any TV screen. These boards cover the screen entirely – except for a small horizontal gap between them – allowing a narrow beam of light to escape from the TV. All TV programs and commercials look beautiful through the Abstractor."

if any of you know the correct terminology for this artistic practice (you know, when you play around with a medium's form to produce a new and unexpected experience of its content ), please let me know. it's on the tip of my tongue, but i just can't pin it down. tama? panda?

via ektopia

masayuki kido (roxik)

2007-01-16T12:59:00.000+09:30

masayuki kido is a freelance web designer specialising in digital toys and movement. his projects pictaps and toy1 are definitely worth a visit. don't forget to play!

ads ads everywhere

2007-01-16T12:51:00.000+09:30

two new places you're destined to get hit: airport security bins (you know the trays you put your wallet and coins in?) and stamps. just so you know.

lil layf

2007-01-11T20:29:00.000+09:30

my brother with brand new baby layf. just beauty full.

family fun

2007-01-08T17:28:00.000+09:30

UPDATE

Layf Andrew Gray was born at 1 in the morning on the 9th of january 2007 (his mum's birthday).

He's a lovely chap, with long limbs, big hands and bright blue eyes. He winks when he's eating and doesn't cry. And he's slowly getting used to wearing clothes and being looked at.

I love him deeply already. xxx

as i write this, my brother and sister-in-law await the birth of their first child - there's pushing and moaning and groaning going on right now, and i'm waiting for the phone to ring.

it's been a wonderful two weeks of family - first with glendana's wedding, then down south with nieces ella and keely and a family catch up with all my cousins.

i'm a bit knackered, to be honest, and glad to be back in melbourne - *my* baby.

another shout out

2006-12-23T10:44:00.000+09:30

and another big shout out to my very good friend tama, who's just announced his engagement to the lovely emily.

this is very strange - both karina and tama were born on the same day but have never met, now they're both engaged. i hope their weddings don't clash!

btw - i hope everyone has a wonderful christmas and a very happy new year. i'll be making a reappearance in early january but in the meantime, i've got some celebrating of my own to do:

1. my very first nephew is due any minute
2. my good friends dana and glen are getting married
3. one of my closest buddies is moving to melbourne in the new year
4. my mum and dad are visiting
5. the weather is glorious
6. i just scored a tablet notebook for work
7. i start a challenging and exciting job in the new year
8. my beautiful husband gets some long overdue time off
9. we're going down south to lie on the beach and eat turkey with his family
10. i'm the healthiest and happiest i've been in a long time

UPDATE: Hot Chip is coming!

So Happy Christmas everyone! I hope 2007 is as lovely and exciting as the preview suggests. x

a shout out

2006-12-22T04:06:00.000+09:30

i forgot to send a shout out to my dear friend karina, whose lovely fella just popped the question. congratulations, Q, looking forward to a lovely day in '07. x

a year in pictures

2006-12-22T03:52:00.000+09:30

there are some amazing pictures in this sideshow - just make sure you turn the volume down, the commentary is annoying.

here, lebanese citizens watch Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah speak as smoke rises from Israeli attacks in the suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon. (Sunday July 16 2006).

gigapixel photography

2006-12-22T03:37:00.000+09:30

i'll never forget that scene from bladerunner, where harrison ford zoomed in on a picture to reveal something originally out of shot. it seemed so feasible to me at that time, and so exciting.

that's why i love this gigapixel stuff - i don't think it'll be long till we can unpeel the multiple layers of a photograph. exciting times!

via information aesthetics

battle of the bands

2006-12-20T08:34:00.000+09:30

i love this idea. i especially like the rolling stones/velvet underground/pink floyd pastiche. very cool indeed.

via ektopia

new song spot

2006-12-19T06:40:00.000+09:30

this morning i am mostly listening to midlake. loverley.

give it a bash - the whole way through - go on - it's good.

coloured children

2006-12-19T06:04:00.000+09:30

they sure have a lot of stuff.

via glubibulga

bubble.ply

2006-12-19T05:53:00.000+09:30

this is a pretty cool tool - use it to annotate any online video. here's a good example.

new from grow

2006-12-12T15:18:00.000+09:30

grow a creature. possibly my favourite so far.

scary mary mashup

2006-12-12T11:12:00.000+09:30

this is really well done.

via ektopia

play playce

2006-12-11T17:19:00.000+09:30

this is an interesting concept. steffen p walz, a swiss phd student, has developed an interface that enables you to access its content by playing a retro computer game. i'm glad there are people like walz out there - sure beats the hell out of a homogeneous myspace world.

via collision detection

list time

2006-12-11T13:48:00.001+09:30

here's a nice one to begin with - the best music vids of 06.

gay robot

2006-12-11T13:36:00.001+09:30

i had forgotten how cool gay robot is.

cardboard bush worship

2006-12-11T13:25:00.000+09:30

i feel a bit sick.

Find this video and thousands of others at vSocial!

go elf yourself

2006-12-11T13:17:00.000+09:30

i did, and the results are quite funny. this is going to be a popular ad viral.

country stereotypes

2006-12-07T21:00:00.000+09:30

another 'google images' experiment/social commentary/artwork:

"All of these pictures were the first Google Image result for French man, French woman, Mongolian woman, Mongolian man, Korean man and so on (except in cases where there was explicit nudity or violence, for which I chose the second image). What you end up with is a gallery of (mostly) stereotypes of what people in different countries look like. (Note that Google results vary from time to time, country to country.)"

data visualisation

2006-12-07T20:52:00.000+09:30

this one's quite pretty.

via google blogoscoped

YouTube + 50

2006-12-07T20:50:00.000+09:30

just so you know...YouTube is not your only option.

via a welsh view

pixelotto

2006-12-07T20:34:00.000+09:30

do you remember the million dollar homepage, where some bright spark sold pixels for a dollar each, making him a very very rich puppy? well, he's doing it again, but this time he wants to make YOU rich too. he'll sell pixels at twice the price and put half the money in a million dollar lottery, to be won by a random visitor.

this guy is such a canny businessman - not only will he sell space, but he'll generate a load of traffic and ensure that people actually look at the ads. if only our aforementioned academic could think of a meme like that. it would spread pretty quickly. better yet, why doesn't he measure this one? it's early days, there's heaps of space left...(at least there was when i looked).

measuring the speed of a meme

2006-12-06T13:37:00.000+09:30

it's an 'experiment' from academia, so i'm doing my part like a good bottom feeder. but lets not forget this is a fake meme - and this will probably change the nature of its growth.

there, i've done my bit. what will you do now?

FakeYourSpace

2006-12-06T13:16:00.000+09:30

the sadder side of social networking.

"Welcome to Fake Your Space. You have found a new and exciting service which offers help to all the men and women out there who don't feel like they are popular enough on social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. If you are tired of seeing everyone else with the hottest friends and want some hotties of your own, then this is the place for you."

via the presurfer