Hess is More NYC Workshops

by Jacob Resneck

Coming off the heels of touring in Istanbul, London and Copenhagen and in anticipation of his upcoming studio release, Danish electronica virtuoso Hess is More (née Mikkel Hess) will be in Manhattan to offer a five-day workshop that includes interactive performances with Hess' live act.

The program will include an open rehearsal, a preview of “Denial” his fourth album and three concert performances at Nublu.

This isn't the time that Danish Grammy-nominated electronica and jazz performance artist has attracted our attention. This five days of workshops and performances (through 19 January 2008) isn't something fans and those just discovering his work will want to miss, especially tomorrow's open studio session that Hess is inviting people (and their own instruments) to attend, much like he does in his audience-participation live shows.

The nitty-gritty is on Hess' website under “Updates;” reservations can be made by emailing him directly at news [at] hessismore [dot] com.

Macworld 2008

by Tim Yu

Those of you as obsessed as we are (read: setting up our laptops at the lunch table) already know today's Macworld news—the overall theme of which seemed to be wireless capabilties—but for the rest of you Steve Jobs today announced several new slick Mac products, the most impressive being "the world's thinnest notebook," the MacBook Air (pictured above) and the all-new Time Capsule (pictured below).

Not for the user looking for loads of power and speed, the new MacBook Air was engineered with portability and wireless capabilities in mind, but it still gives you enough zip with 1.6-1.8Ghz, 2GB of RAM standard, an 80GB hard drive (or SSD 64GB upgrade) and a multi-touch trackpad that allows you to pan, zoom and rotate like an iPhone or iPod Touch. All of this with a full size keyboard and 13.3-inch screen fitting into a body that is 0.76 inches at its thickest and only three pounds. We like the flip-down ports (pictured below right), but the lack of an optical drive might be annoying (there is a super drive accessory available that connects via USB) and there's no access to the memory or battery in case you want to upgrade or change either.

Geared towards the WiFi world, the Air does have the ability to access the optical drive of another Mac or P.C., allowing you to install and migrate systems wirelessly. We were also impressed with the all-new Time Capsule which serves as a WiFi base station as well as a 500GB-1TB backup and storage device that works sans wires with Time Machine in Mac OS X.

Other notable announcements include an update to the iTunes store which allows you to rent and play movies (yes, wirelessly), along with a firmware update (1.1.3) for the iPhone which (thankfully) adds mass texts capabilities and also utilizes WiFi spots to triangulate your global positioning. However, still no search or cut and paste capabilities?!

For more in depth info, visit Apple to watch videos and learn more. Available for preorder, the MacBook Air starts at $1,800 and the Time Capsule at $300.

Ida Maria

by Josh Teixeira

So we heard the most amazing unsigned band in Williamsburg, Brooklyn the other night. Except we were at a noodle and dumpling bar called Snacky and the band was blaring from an iPod.

Norwegian-by-way-of-Sweden Ida Maria and her bandmates are sure to be the next hot-shit-of-the-moment and their song "Oh My God" will not stop playing in our collective brain. Currently self-released on their own Nesna records (although certainly not for long), Ida Maria belts out brash postpunk with tons of melody—something like a young, raw Björk singing for the Futureheads isn't far off.

Currently touring in London, we can't wait until they bring their supposedly fierce live show back stateside. Until then, we'll have to settle for MySpace and YouTube since their singles are only available in the Swedish iTunes store.

Design Police: Visual Enforcement Kit

by Ami Kealoha

Like those little stickies that say "Sign Here," the witty Visual Enforcement Kit points out (with excruciating detail) what needs attention, in this case in the world of 2D design. For anyone who's faced more than their share of design that needs help, the downloadable pdfs provide handy pre-printed critiques like, "Severe lack of creativity" and "Kern this!" We particularly like "Hire a copywriter" and "Do not get en and em dashes mixed up."

While the stickers might make crits easier (if you were to actually use them), they probably won't make them much less painful. Either way, they're sure to get a chuckle from any frustrated designer or art director faced with the predictable set of errors and equally predictable responses.

via Newstoday

Multipolar Projects: It's Really Really Really OK

by Mike Giles

As a woodworker myself I understand the monotony and borderline insanity of a repeated task. (Yesterday alone I made over 1,000 notches in some wood blanks to make boxes.) However, when it's all done, there's definitely beauty in the results and therapy in repetition. That said, Chicago-based artist Sighn has taken on the mother of all projects, hand-cutting 1,000,000 wooden "ornaments" each with the simple slogan "It's ok.” I was able to get a few questions in to him right before he hunkered down to cutting out his second batch, which start shipping today. There's more info about the undertaking (including a mini-doc) on his site.

How long does it take for each "sculpture?"
Each piece takes 15 minutes from start to finish with the prep work before and after. Plus time to package it, box it up, and ship it. The actual cutting itself takes about 3-5 minutes.

Do you have a "traditional" job?
For now.

Is this the the first 1,000,000 piece project you have conceived?
First and last.

How many hours do you put into the project in a given week?
Pretty much every waking minute I am thinking about this project, fantasizing how I will actually complete it. Every chance I get, I am in the shop, cutting away. I don't know if I could put a number on it, just a word: Constantly.

Have you thought of hiring elves?
I have been considering this for the prep work, as well as the packaging, shipping, etc. However, it is my challenge to myself, that every single piece will be cut and numbered solely by myself. Possibly the other tasks, I can get help to lighten my load. Got to get this done before arthritis kicks in.

More images after the jump.

Four-Leaf Clover Necklace

by Letizia Rossi

Made from a real clover painted with copper and then dipped in 24 karat gold, the Four-Leaf Clover Necklace by Little Yellow Girl is the latest item of jewelry we've found that elevates something common to finery. I love the idea of wearing actual plant-life encased in gold around my neck.

With its recently reduced price of $52, the necklace makes for a beautiful and inexpensive good luck charm. Purchase it from BlondeLA.

via Store Adore