Tripping as a Tool for Self-Improvement. Psychedelics are the chameleons of the drug world—amenable to a variety of uses, dependent on the user’s attitude.
The importance of set and setting cannot be overstated. If you use them as intoxicants, you will become intoxicated. If you want to see pretty shapes and colors and “trip out” to music, then they will act as sensory enhancers. If you want a new mode of consciousness that leads you to experience life in a novel way, they will satisfy that urge.
How to Profit from “Lean Advertising” The footwear industry has traditionally been a hotbed of memorable advertising, with brands such as Nike and Reebok spending millions to sign athlete-endorsers and hire ad agencies that create spectacular TV campaigns.
But the approach taken by DC Shoes, which makes footwear for skateboarders, couldn’t be more different. In 2009 the company began shooting videos featuring its cofounder Ken Block driving a tricked-out race car around closed-off airports, theme parks, and even the port of San Francisco. The videos last up to nine minutes and have almost no talking; the stunt driving is interspersed with glamour shots of footwear. Instead of buying expensive TV time, DC Shoes uploads the videos to YouTube. Over the past four years they have gotten more than 180 million views—and in 2011 alone, sales jumped 15%. Many other companies would like to mimic this approach.
Because viewers actively choose online videos, they watch them more attentively than they watch TV ads. How Prescriptive Analytics Could Harness Big Data to See the Future. Short Meditations on Utopia Pt. 1/3. In the next few posts, I want to discuss the human tendency to get lost in imagining ideal states of affairs.
I often find myself getting lost in utopian vision on many levels. There’s the persistent feeling, why can’t things be more like (fill in the blank)? This perpetual dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs is one of the aspects of what the Buddha meant by suffering (dukkha). It’s tough not to look out at what’s wrong with the world (and all the people in it) and not think “if only.” If only things were more like… then everything would be better. I’ll be looking at this issue from six different perspectives. 1) Evolutionary Perspective A few years ago, I faced a choice: put my job on hold and follow a dream to write a book, or stay in my position to ensure I wouldn’t lose it. Could our ancestors, hunting wild game in Africa so many thousands of years ago, ever have envisioned such a paralysis? Meditation: 2) Relationship Perspective.
Alberto Cairo - What Makes an Infographic Cool? GUEST POST by Alberto Cairo A ‘cool’ infographic is one that not only forces you to stop and stare at it with awe, but also —and above all— one that gives you insights that you would not get otherwise.
‘Cool’ infographics reveal patterns and trends that lie buried below mountains of data and facts. They make complexity clear without compromising its integrity. To be truly ‘cool’, an infographic needs to be honest, truthful, deep, and elegant. ‘They Live’: Artist Shepard Fairey on John Carpenter inspiration. May 08, 2013 | 4:06 p.m.
A scene from "They Live. " (Shout! Factory) Much has changed socially and politically since the release of “They Live,” John Carpenter’s 1988 sci-fi action film about a blue-collar Joe, played by Roddy Piper, who inadvertently stumbles onto a vast global alien conspiracy. But watching the movie today, it’s nearly impossible not to be struck by its prescience — Carpenter tackles homelessness, income disparity, even global warming in an entertaining adventure movie. “They Live” also calls to mind the work of Shepard Fairey and his “Obey” propaganda posters (not to mention, of course, the images crafted by groundbreaking conceptual artist Barbara Kruger).
As it happens, he does. “The film… has a rather profound concept, which is that people don’t realize they’re being manipulated because they’re so caught up in consumption and the rat race, the drag of day-to-day life, they don’t realize they’re being controlled,” Fairey said. Nile Rodgers. “THE HARRY FOX AGENCY ONCE FIGURED OUT THAT something like two billion dollars worth of music has flowed through this one guitar,” says Nile Rodgers.
He’s talking about “The Hitmaker,” the ’59/’60-era hard-tail Fender Stratocaster you hear him playing on hit albums he produced for Madonna, David Bowie, Diana Ross, Sister Sledge, Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck, Duran Duran, and myriad other stars. You also, of course, hear that Strat featured prominently in the riffs that power Chic, the band Rodgers formed in the late-’70s with his late, great partner in groove, bassist Bernard Edwards. The Rodgers/Edwards tag team is considered by many to be the funkiest guitar/bass tandem that ever existed, and Chic’s dance floor smashes “Good Times” and “Le Freak” remain two of the most influential funk clinics of all time. Handy EQ Reference. How to Increase Testosterone Naturally.