Cool Hunting
| 27 September 2006view entries from: this week | this month | view previous day | view next day |
Latest from Nokia
by Josh Rubin
Yesterday was a big day for Nokia at their Open Studio event—eight new products, an indy store driven Music Recommenders service, David Bowie appearance, Gnarles Barkley concert, Om Malik panel discussion and a tricked out Mustang alongside a smoothie stand. All of this grounded by their new(ish) message that they make "multimedia computers with telephony capability" as opposed to mobile phones that do lots of other things.
Among the eight there are three worth highlighting. The N95 is a all-in-one device with high-end music, photo (5 mega pixel!) and video capabilities. It can connect to virtually any form of wireless network and has built-in GPS for all your hunting and gathering needs. And you can talk on the phone, either via your carrier or with voice over IP. For a computer that does all this it's pretty small, but for a mobile phone it's a bit chunky. One useful novelty is the 2-way sliding display—slide it up to reveal the keypad or slide it down to get the music and video controllers. Of course, the image and interface on the display rotate accordingly.
While it will be awhile before the N95 makes it to the US, the N75 is built specifically for us. Available in time for holiday, this is the first great-looking clamshell-style handset I've seen from Nokia. It's thin, full featured and has beautiful displays on the inside and out—which is necessary to show off your pictures taken with the 2-megapixel camera. The integrated music player also makes listening to tunes straight-forward using the three control buttons on the cover of the handset.
Last but certainly not least is the music-enhanced N73. Like the N70 and N91 which were also part of the music edition the device is clad in a slimming matte-black finish. It's amazing how much sexier this phone is in black over the silver and orange version currently on the market. I'm partial to a candy-bar style phone and this one is my new favorite. With a fast 3.2-megapixel camera featuring a Carl Zeiss lens and built in flash, this phone makes me comfortable leaving the house without another camera. And yes, it has a handy built in music player that works in all the right ways.
Spank the Monkey
by Wendy Dembo
The graffiti equivalent of the super heroes’ Justice League of America, the group show “Spank the Monkey,” opens today, Wednesday, 27 September 2006, at The Baltic Center for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, England. Featuring some of CH’s favorite artists, including Chiho Aoshima, Dzine, Faile, Shepard Fairey, Banksy, Freaks Gallery, Os Gemeos, Groovisions, Invader, Barry McGee, Ryan McGinness, Takashi Murakami, David Shrigley, Swoon, Ed Templeton, and Miss Van, some of the all-stars have made installations in the gallery and some have done some planned public interventions throughout the area. (See images here.) But locals should be on the lookout for some extra-curricular art—now that the show is up, there's sure to be a lot of bombing before the artists leave.
Spank the Monkey
27 September 2006-7 January 2007
Baltic Center for Contemporary Art
Gateshead Quays
South Shore Road
Gateshead, UK
NE8 3BA
tel. 44 (0)191 478 1810
fax 44 (0)191 478 1922
text phone 44(0)191 440 4944
Human Game
by Ami Kealoha
Looking at modern culture through the lens of sports, Human Game: Winners and Losers, is a new book by Fondazione Pitti Discovery that covers technology, fashion, art, medicine, politics and much more. Divided into five major chapters (corresponding to the five Olympic rings)—Limit, Games, Mutation, Tradition, and Freedom—the beautiful photography and entrancing histories and essays bring out the sports enthusiast in anyone. We especially enjoyed the sultry fashion photography and sections like Athletic Supporters, Argyle, Snow Suits, and all the coverage of sneakers, natch. $40 from D.A.P.
By Todd Thomas
40 Acres & a Mule Collection
by Letizia Rossi
Honoring the 20th anniversary of Spike Lee's 40 Acres & a Mule production company, Marc Ecko recently lent his sartorial flavor to a new line of sportswear that debuted this week. Inspired by memorable cinematic moments from Spike Lee's films, the collection of varsity jackets, rugby jerseys, graphic t-shirts, french terry hoodies and light jackets share the same in-your-face humor and bold looks that make a Spike Lee Joint. Details like an embroidered skull emblem and a mule patch on the Wake Up Rugby and the shout-outs to Lee's legacy on the Sho' Nuff fleece (pictured, middle), are well-made tributes to the films of a seminal American filmmaker. What's Really Good Magazine is selling the collection for a limited time (through 23 October 2006) from their online Pop-up shop. T-shirts start at $55.
