Interesting bits that have caught the eye(s) of the NYT this year include:

Eye-recognition advertising technology… Bicycle Highways… Man-made Trees… Zombie defense strategies… and more.

Not necessarily the most mind-blowing stuff in every case, but many are things that I had not seen in 2009…

A nice opening of the Year End ‘Lists’ season…

Here’s the link.

I’ve shared drome riding before, but on deeper investigation, this thing is a bit of a sub-culture that has incredibly deep roots to the early days of motorsport and traveling carnivals in America.

Now with amateurs getting into the act, it may be a fad ready to break (again)… Viral video, anyone ?

(Homemade!)

Learn more about Motordromes at Wikipedia.

The Wall of Death (AKA Motordrome) is a carnival sideshow featuring a drum- or barrel-shaped wooden cylinder, ranging from 20 to 36-feet in diameter, in which stunt motorcyclists ride and carry out tricks. Derived directly from US motorcycle boardtrack (motordrome) racing in the early 1900s, the very first carnival motordrome appeared at Coney Island amusement park (New York) in 1911. The following year portable tracks began to appear on traveling carnivals and in 1915, the first “silodromes” with perpendicular walls were seen. These motordromes with perfectly straight walls were soon dubbed the “Wall of Death.” This carnival attraction became a staple in the US outdoor entertainment industry with the phenomenon reaching its zenith in the 1930s with more than 100 motordromes on traveling shows and in amusement parks. The first known Wall of Death in the UK appeared in 1929 at Southend.

(What Wiki fails to mention is that you weren’t really serious unless you also rode with a LION in your sidecar…

Further reading:

Thrill Arena

Side Show World

They get it, but why no mobile app ?

“As programs like OfficeMax’s Elf Yourself have shown, consumers love to be the center of marketing stunts, something that HBO has proved yet again for the second season of Flight of the Conchords.

HBO worked with Deep Focus for a program in which consumers were invited to send videos of themselves lip synching the Conchords’ classic Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros.

The Lip Dub promotion, as it was called, depended heavily on the show/band’s community of 500,000 fans on Facebook where it got more than 470 comments and 5,400 “likes.”

Article here.

Fifty one years on, it’s iconic for so many reasons in both technique and subject—this BAFTA Award nominated film captures the essence and texture of the 1958 Coupe des Alpes, and more broadly, a re-building Europe.

“Got it, race-cars, so what?” you say. Well. Aside from this being an excellent reference for period design, and camera… (Best just watch the movie and not waste your time on my inarticulate sputtering about why this worth your time)… There is charm and intimacy imparted to the event here in lush, un-hurried storytelling that doesn’t exist in today’s short-form highlight ‘packages’ that you’ll see on broadcast… No bleating background music, no chase-helicopters, no feigned drama or commercial breaks…

It’s pure.

Categorical golden ages are usually obvious only when they’ve passed. Their real measure seems to include a rise where all the supporting bits and pieces shine superlatively as well. The associated fashion, typography, industrial design, etc.

It’s all here.

Autoracing was hitting a style-peak in the late fifties, early sixties, and here’s a great window to enjoy it.

Without further ado – (Best in HQ mode) :

Design team HeHe built on the idea of contextualizing public spaces with Dr.Evil-grade “La-sers…” — a bunch of sites picked up on this already, I’m still recovering from the Holidays.  Illuminating the cloud in proportion to the energy use of the city is a great tool to build conservation awareness and engage folks. For other examples of beam installations, see an older post here.

much more about this at the project home page.

If you’re interested in more like this, check out Blinkenlights, Ars Electronica and their past winners at wikipedia.

Ever catch yourself keying a phone number from layout or gestural memory rather than numerical memory ? Cool. Bravo! to ATT and Mental Floss, for a peek into the 1960’s era user testing when phone designers were puzzling over how to redesign a ubiquitous tool… replacing the telephone dial with push-buttons. Turns out the winner, the 3X3+1 layout of the modern telephone was not the most efficient design, nor the closest to the existing pattern, but merely the mostly generally pleasing overall according to the folks on the other side of the glass.

More information and data are at (and via) Mental_Floss and Gizmodo.

John Francis at TED. He is the founder of Planetwalk, an organization around raising environmental awareness and peace.

This talk is not about the Environment or Peace.

His path has been to walk the Earth…What’s Yours? HD Video below.

More at TED.org

September 29, 2008. 700 Points. Shock doctrine applied to the stock market, enjoy this awesome video. Banks are failing, but it’s cool. I was tired of having to pay a royalty to WaMu everytime I said “WaHoo!” anyway… Are these ‘victims’ Bankers, or the Taxpayers, or completely unrelated to the news but serving my ends… You decide. -via Kottke.

The New York Times continues to do a great job managing offline to online. One way is by using multimedia modules like this one, using image galleries with a spoken narration. See the development of the Olympic Torch, here:

A Collection of Olympic Torches – Interactive Graphic – NYTimes.com

Two notable flame ceremonies here:

and the road to Beijing…

The world may be slightly less fun with Richard Knerr’s passing. Knerr was cofounder of Wham-O and his quest for the ‘Wow’ factor brought uncomplicated delight to millions. His obituary at the LATimes.

WHAM-O will commemorate its 60 years of providing summer fun with its enduring, iconic product line-up of world-famous favorites, including some exciting updates, each designed with an energy and enthusiasm that has made the name WHAM-O synonymous with fun. These, iconic products include:

Hula Hoop® – An idea that was inspired by Australian children using bamboo rings for exercise, WHAM-O first created a rendition of this pastime in 1958. Also celebrating a milestone anniversary this year, the Hula Hoop was an overnight success with a resulting fad that spread so quickly and unexpectedly that production of all other WHAM-O products was suspended to meet demand. Well-known for the recognizable “shoop-shoop” sound made when used, what better time to commemorate this classic childhood favorite than on the anniversary of the 60-year-old toy innovator, WHAM-O.

Slip ‘N Slide® Mega Shark – Summer fun will be an adventure with this exciting “Shark Attack” Slip ‘N Slide with water-powered shark jaw. It opens and closes continuously – without electricity – and kids can slide into the open mouth and get wet, or knock the shark’s head off.“ End the ride by sliding into the inflatable splash zone.

Frisbee® Pro Classic with U-Flex™– Celebrate WHAM-O’s 60th anniversary with this versatile Frisbee in six hot new colors – perfect for all ages and skill levels. The product’s U-Flex™ Technology makes it a cinch for anyone to grip, throw and catch this Frisbee. If a competitive game of Ultimate is more your style, the Official 175g Ultimate Frisbee Disc works well and is heavy enough to play a rousing game with. Perfect for the beach, park or backyard, these Frisbees are sure to be an “ultimate” success with everyone.

SuperBall® – A collaboration created by WHAM-O and Chemist, Norm Stingly in 1963, the “out-of-this-world” SuperBall® is made of an amazing material called Zectron™. Compressing 50,000 lbs. of energy, the SuperBall® bounces higher than any other ball on the market and will provide hours of bouncing fun.

Hacky Sack® Striker™– Invented in 1972 and sold to WHAM-O in 1983, the original footbag, Hacky Sack®, became an instant craze. The game of Hacky Sack is challenging as well as fun for all ages, and with this 14-panel, soccer ball look-alike, soccer and Hacky Sack lovers alike can test their foot-eye coordination by attempting to keep the ball in the air – just as they would with a full-sized soccer ball. Take it a step further and learn a freestyle trick or two, even create your own. The possibilities are endless.

WHAM-O’s line of 60th Anniversary products will be available at major retailers nationwide. For more on WHAM-O’s 60th Anniversary, visit www.WHAM-O.com.