Women can feel safe w/ Pink Taxis

Pink Taxis in Puebla, Mexico

The government of the city of Puebla, Mexico have recently launched a women-only taxi service called Pink Taxi.

The vehicles are driven by women only, and are designed to make women feel safer and protected against sexual harassment and robberies. Each car include a beauty kit, GPS and a stolen vehicle recovery system. It is also an innovative idea to employ housewives, as it will generate 105 jobs in the city .

Hmm.. but are there smarter ways to equip and educate women on being safe?

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Careful.. not G rated: Custom Body Measurement

Odd. Interesting...
I suppose there's a need everywhere and product solutions as well..

The photos show custom male pleasuring device heads featuring the vaginas and anuses (or should that be ani, anii?) of a number of female porn stars. The future perfect link in all of this is: in mainstream societies today what body parts are by default measured? And why? And as technology becomes increasingly wearable what other body part measurements are we likely to see mainstreamed? What value added services might the known measurement of celebrities, porn or otherwise then enable?

For example when will custom molded ear pieces become mainstream? And in turn how will this affect usage behaviour in particular device sharing?

On a similar note: CNN Health says that sex is good for you.

1. A longer life 

2. A healthier heart

3. Lower blood pressure

4. Lower risk of breast cancer

5. Lower risk of prostate cancer

6. Pain relief

7. A slimmer physique

8. Better testosterone levels

9. Fewer menopause symptoms

10. Healthier semen

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Bigshot Camera with social impact

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.

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Philippe Starck's "Design for Life" Episode 1

I recently watched the first episode of Philippe Starck's "Design for Life" reality show.

In an effort to find a new generation of British design talent, Philippe Starck, one of the world's best known product designers, invites 12 hopefuls to a school of design he has set up in Paris.

Starck (to me) has always been rather contradictory in his design philosophies.. nothing frivilous and unnecessary, but often creates intensly lavish and unnecessary products or environments. Controversial, but nonetheless beautiful and ironic.

Even if Starck chose the designers based on portfolios alone, I wonder how much of this show is 'reality' versus production. 'Design for Life' is great for the publicity of not only Starck, but also the profession of Industrial Design, raising awareness (much like Gary Hustwit's Objectified), bringing design to the surface (no pun intended) and making people aware that many products would not exist without designers.

More episodes at BBC

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City One Minutes: See the world in one minute videos

Are you curious to know how people live on the other side of the world? What does Moscow look like between three and four in the afternoon? What happens in Rio de Janeiro between eleven and twelve  at night?

In City One Minutes life in each city is divided into 24 one minute portraits, each depicting one hour of the day.  Every film is a personal impression of the city in which the artist lives or in which he is staying.

On cityoneminutes.org you can browse through time and place in a number of ways. For example: Follow the life in Beijing throughout 24 hours; explore life in each city between 5 and 6 in the morning; watch all the films in a mosaic of cities.

Watch videos at CityOneMinutes.org :)

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"Scratch" Documentary: record scratching

Scratch by Doug Pray (music documentary, 2000, 92 min, 35mm)

This electrifying documentary is a tribute to the innovative art of DJing, featuring legendary figures DJ Shadow, Mix Master Mike (Beastie Boys), Afrika Bambaataa, and Jazzy Jay, among others. A deeply insightful historical document and a highly entertaining glimpse into the world of underground hip-hop, the film features “the world's best scratchers, beat-diggers, party-rockers, and producers wax[ing] poetic on beats, breaks, battles, and the infinite possibilities of vinyl.”

I saw the documentary this past weekend at the ICA. Such an interesting culture that I never knew about, with some very unique sounds that make record scratching or 'turntablism' like a new type of musical instrument.

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