There are novelty items I now kick myself for not grabbing more of in my final months back home in ole Blighty (they were always at till and chip as chips but superficially I’d pick up Grazia for double the price) - one of them are Aero Bars  This advert invited Skate Fairy Ty Evans to skate through (an of course faux) skaterbowl park of chocolate bubbles.

If you’ve ever had an Aero you’ll know how on point this whole experience is.

We’re all in love with the sound of our own voices. C’mon, lets break out the honesty here; all curation is merely subjective opinion.  It’s what primordially in the world of commercialism determines the fashion catwalks, billboard advertising, and music sales.  Posed with the realisation that all artists need structure to produce order, the Klein Dytham studio started a new underground night in the depths of Roppongi, Tokyo - Pecha Kucha.  Pronounced “peh-chak-cha” from a Japanese term for the sound of conversation (”chit-chat”), it urges precisely that.

Laden with only the obstacle of time, designers are invited to discuss their work with 20 images (each shown for 20 seconds only) and given 6 minutes and 40 seconds of Andy Warholism till the next speaker is up.  Rather than sucking up to the guy who turns out to be the banker in the room, individuals can find exactly who they want to wax lyrical with.

It’s happened in 180 cities since 2003.  The first one of this year in NYC is now but days away.

When your car doesn’t work for you anymore the phone’s there to get it fixed; you can install a new engine or paint it red and show off some cream leather upholstery.  It’s a fallacy of our time that new starts in our career can’t get a facelift in the same way.  Gone are the days of our parents generation where you’re educated as a doctor, and by god you better be poking needles into sick kiddies till the day you die.

The creative industry can be a stubborn juggernaut that demands consistency, otherwise you’re spat out as fast as those  dirty dollar bills when you’re just trying to buy a metrocard like real quick.  Whatever a purist’s critique on the slash/slash culture of this cut and paste epoch, the creative industries remain the most welcoming and liberal minded homebase for disillusioned workers starving for a shift in gear and highway route to ’somewhere that feels better than this’.

SheSays, a monthly, networking event joins forces for some big wigs who’ve gone from B to Z but still doing just fine.

The speakers:

Vivian Rosenthal - Tronic Studio
Tina Glengary - Big Spaceship
Julie Zukof - Anomaly
Geetika Agrawal - Sr. Interaction Designer - RGA

Every creative entity, whether it be an agency, collective or individual creative, faces up to the NDA challenge; the ‘let’s trust’ each moment when they’re considering working together.  In the spirit of collaboration, we’re throwing a get together with our friends at Cool Hunting and Good Peoples, with guest hosts Behance at subMercer, our favourite speakeasy in Soho.

My Cousin Roy is music maestro for the night - a vinyl DJ selector who’s played parties for LCD Sound System and Fools Gold, amidst influential labels on the underground scene.  Next month during the 99% conference we have Acyde, founder of TMI and culture aficionado for Nike London.

Needless to say, this is not an invite to the masses – we’re inviting all kinds of creators to join us – photographers, artists, DJs, designers, writers, visionaries and individuals who make things happen.  No list, no dress code, no bottles — come as you are.  This is the first of a monthly series and we want to start it off right!

hosted by: Kat Popiel (Seed), Katie Longmyer (Good Peoples) & Tim Yu (Cool Hunting)
guest host: Behance
vinyl set by: My Cousin Roy (Wurst)

Thursday, March 12th

10pm * say NDA at the door for entry

subMercer 147 1/2 Mercer St. (between Houston & Prince)

NEXT MONTH: NDA – Thursday April 16th

A stones throw from our HQ is home to SPIN, a new ping pong social club opening this month; a land where fanatics of the underground sport can sweat out their talent in an aesthetic more common to high end corporate gyms.  They’ve thrown in a shop, bar, private room sponsored by Fred Perry, lounge and a heap of pros to teach and challenge you to play.

They need a new logo!  The winning SPIN New York logo designer will receive $1000, plus a ping pong play date with Susan Sarandon (she looooves ping pong)!

Street guerrilla marketing agencies still have time before there’s real competition but Dutch media architecture collective, Urban Alliance, have created ‘urban wallpaper’.  Movement from passersby urges the lights on the walls to react, thereby shaping new designs.
via PSFK

Ron Winter’s drum website urges even the dumbest of drummers to get their type on and blast out a track.  Frustrated secretaries who can bang out 85 words a minute might just be ready to show down Asian computer nerds and their nimble fingers.  Ipod battles and Guitar Hero now seem so clunky in comparison.

Someone wants to be my friend on Facebook - I think they know I’m on my way to Shake Shack.

So another booze beverage has hit the shelves; this time a fancy sake called Ty Ku.  Hailing from Japan I can only guess, it’s new promo campaign, “Show us your skin’ asked a bunch of tattoo-heads to send in photographs of their body art.  The prize; star in a new ad campaign starring ‘you’ with a party thrown in your honour at your most loved tattoo parlour.  A tad naff I hear you mutter, but check out this dude -

So yeah, naked dudes that risk a needle going anywhere near their nether regions fascinates me - all the way to the dog tracks.  The judges are a bit suspect - Creative Director of Inked (check), Mario Barth (renowned tattoo artist, winning a gazillion awards - check), but um, Neyo?  Richie Rich? Dhani Makalani Jones?  Oh that last one is an American football player.   I’m all about segueways but really??

The Beeb are so bloody on point.

The No. 1 Detective Agency is Alexander McCall Smith’s novel series set in Botswana, featuring the first lady detective to solve mysteries, everything from infidelity, kidnapping and mistaken identity.  BBC1 adapted the book for a mini series, shooting it last year; threw in songstress Jill Scott to play Precious, Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral) to screenwrite and (the now late) Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) to direct the whole shabang.

America, it’s coming -  HBO March 29th.  Watch the trailer.