THE Right Brain vs Left Brain test ... do you see the dancer turning clockwise or anti-clockwise?

If clockwise, then you use more of the right side of the brain and vice versa.

Most of us would see the dancer turning anti-clockwise though you can try to focus and change the direction; see if you can do it.

I see clockwise... What do you see??

The Zen principles of Aesthetics are derived from the Buddhism beliefs of Anicca or Impermanence where “everything, without exception, is constantly in flux, even planets, stars and gods”. (Wikipedia)

THE PRINCIPLES:

FUKINSEI (imbalanced)
Asymmetry, odd numbers, irregularity, unevenness, imbalance is used as a denial of perfection as perfection and symmetry does not occur in nature.

KANSO (simple)
Elimination of ornate and things of simplicity by nature expresses their truthfulness. Neat, frank and uncomplicated.

KOKOU (austere)
Basic, weathered bare essentials that are aged and unsensuous. Evokes sternness, forbiddance, maturity and weight.

SHIZEN (natural)
Raw, natural and unforced creativity without pretence. True naturalness is to negate the naive and accidental.

YUGEN (subtle profound)
Suggest and not reveal layers of meaning hidden within. Invisible to the casual eye and avoiding the obvious.

DATSUZOKU (unworldly)
Transcendence of conventional and traditional. Free from the bondage of laws and restrictions. True creativity.

SEIJAKU (calm)
Silence and tranquility, blissful solitude. Absence of disturbance and noise from one’s mind, body and surroundings.

Source: Aen Direct

(via Thinkingalaud)

A great piece of work that marries photography/art, engineering, and social impact.

Once Bigshot is put together, it functions like any other digital camera — even better than many, in that it features multiple lenses situated on a wheel. The wheel rotates to produce not only a standard perspective but also panoramic views via a wide-angle lens, and 3D images via a stereo lens. The website teaches photographic techniques, from traditional rules of composition (dividing the image field into thirds) to stitching together multiple pictures into David Hockneyesque collages. Energy produced by turning the hand crank powers the camera when its battery runs out of charge, and Bigshot’s single-LED flash can be used to each semiconductor technology.

Nayar has field-tested prototypes in New York, Bangalore and Vung Tau City, Vietnam, leading day-long workshops in which children build cameras in the morning, learn about photography techniques in the afternoon and present their images in the evening. (He is currently testing Bigshot in Japan and is planning forays into the Middle East and Africa.) Soon, he hopes, more of these exchanges will occur virtually, by way of his website. “Bringing down walls, visually transporting yourself to see how your eight-year-old peer in Israel, the West Bank or Africa lives,” he said. “That has great value.”

It's simply beautiful in all respects, by making an impact on young lives through hands-on education and exploration.

Lately I've been reminded of and realizing the importance of true craftsmanship and materials exploration. And manufacturing knowledge. Aaahh ...EAMES :)

Taiwan’s EVA Airways now has two Hello Kitty branded Airbus A330-200 for domestic flights. Wow, they're really pushing the Sanrio cuteness with themed food, bath products, and other graphics like boarding pass and menu. I wonder if flight attendants and pilots dress in Hello Kitty uniforms for these short, domestic flights...?

I recently flew EVA Air from HKG to TPE. The short 2 hour flight was a comfortable, seamless experience :)

I just received an email newsletter from ArtBistro. I thought it was more spam and that my email had somehow gotten handed over.
Anyways, only some quick clicking around on the site, but seems like Monster is trying to compete and catch up to sites like Behance.net and Coroflot.com. I haven't heard of ArtBistro before; it apparently has been a branch of Monster since 2008. There's certainly a lot of sharing of information going on.. but I wonder how the creative community will support the site and if it will highlight any user driven content. Wonder if I'll ever come back to check it out too... Only time will tell :P