It's been a while since my last post, so I apologize, but Twitter has been all consuming for me. Although, I hope to once again blog when I have more time available. For now 140 characters is the perfect solution for me. 

I've been focussing on launching new offering and direction for my company Sidewalk Studios. We will be reshaping over the next few months. I've merged with a good friend and recently development partner and we are working hard to build our new platform and will be creating web applications full time. In the meantime, I will be strictly on Twitter as that is the most efficient way for the time being to do my research as we are in development. So feel free to follow me as I'm compiling some great sources on anything and everything to do with the forward movement of the web industry. http://www.twitter.com/sidewalkstudios

Ciao for now!

This was just to good to pass. The legendary Lee 'Scratch' Perry and Andrew WK in the studio working on Lee's album. This seems like an odd duo to start with, but throw in a big bag of green, group clapping, some colouring markers and Jesus Christ, and it makes for one crazy studio session...and by crazy I mean crazy. By the way, Lee's hat and kicks are serious, and  true evidence that Lee is from the future, and has been sent here to relay messages from Jesus in the form of ill dub beats. Jesus crystals don't lie...Respect. [via PitchforkTV]

How is it possible that I have never stumbled upon this ridiculously awesome website before?! The Take-Away Shows are video podcasts of artists or a band that have been invited to perform on the street, a bar, elevator, subway, etc... Since 2006, founders Chryde and Vincent Moon were seeking a new way to share and film music. Currently, with other directors globally joining forces on this project they are planning for a world wide expansion. 

This type of project is exactly what makes the internet so brilliant. The footage is raw, real, candid and no editing is involved -- one take. The clip that I posted above is of the one and only Tom Jones, performing We Got Love in his hotel room. This is truly a moment...a moment of many moments on this site. Check out the footage of Bloc Party performing out front of a pub too. 

What a ridiculous library of exclusive live music performances this will become one of these days...one I'm sure the founders will retire on.  

I pretty much gave up on the general local directory sites a long time ago. There wasn't many features and search always felt outdated. Who uses a phone directory anyhow these days? With the ease of calling 411 on my mobile or Google local, why would I bother. Well the new Canpages.ca might change your mind. They have a load of features integrated into their mapping tool to get you the information you want. You can have it delivered to your mobile, or share it with your friends on Facebook, or save it as a document for future reference. It's actually quite impressive. 

But the real asset here is that they have started to add Street View, which is only available in specific areas of BC right now. Looks like Google Local will have some competition in Canada. In addition, Canpages offers access to traffic cams in realtime so you can get a snapshot of what to expect on route to your destination. You really have to try it for yourself as there are a lot of rich search features that helps you to narrow down your request. However, I think the big hit is their iPhone app which I've been playing with earlier today. It's got a simple interface, it's quick and it has speak recognition built in so you don't have to type your request while on the move. Great job!

Tim Berners-Lee is the inventor of a little thing called the World Wide Web. The video above is from the TED conference, where he talks about the Semantic Web. Its very exciting and humbling to hear him speak about linked data and his vision for the next web. Forget EF Hutton, when Tim Berners-Lee talks you should listen. [via TED]

My wife and I went for a walk this weekend and came across a tiny little antique store at the top of our street. We were immediately drawn to these simple and playful teak wooden toys. The shop owner didn't know the artist's name but he informed us that the toy was made in Denmark in the 50's or 60's. Regardless, we had to have them so we bought both and now we're trying to figure out who the artist was. After a few quick searches in Google we came across two names, Kay Bojesen and Hans Bolling (who's work seem to be the closest to our find). Hans uses teak, rope, fur, and the eyes are painted similar to that of the figures we bought. That said, I couldn't find images of these exact figures. If anyone out there can confirm or knows who made these please contact me!

Christopher Nolan (the director of Dark Knight and Momento) made his directorial debut in 1998 with a movie he wrote called "Following". The movie revolves around the main character Bill. Bill is described as "an unemployed aspiring writer who lives a solitary and boring life in London, England. Bill has a fascination with people, and with hopes of finding material to write about, begins to pick individuals out of a crowd, and to follow them." Okay, does that sound a lot like Twitter? Did Nolan have early insight into a personality disorder affecting generations of people today? Think about the massive popularity of Twitter and Facebook, in essence, aren't these sites set up to stalk people virtually?

Yah yah, I know I'm reaching, but today is Friday the 13th and to be honest when I receive email notifications that someone I don't know is following me on Twitter I get a bit nervous. The idea that strangers are silently following your every tweet is a bit creepy, no? I guess the point of this post is becareful who you follow and be aware of who's following you...mmoohahaha....

P.S. You're all more than welcome to stalk...I mean follow me on Twitter!

When people take the time to put thought into a project, and think about what their fans want...well, the end result is a happy customer, which in turn will translate into sales. Canadian band Metric, has done a great job to promote and sell the latest album via ilovemetric.com. Big record companies take note. 

Offering your fans a choice, good value, and maybe a bit extra isn't that difficult. Why wouldn't I pay for something like that? Metric's site offers many choices to purchase their new album, Fantasies. Buy just the digital download, digital + vinyl, digital + vinyl + cd, or the deluxe edition (full of good bonus material) all priced accordingly from $8.99 to $64.99. Visit their store to see all the offerings which include everything from posters to clothing. 

The best thing they did though was the addition of a media player that can be shared across social networks or embeded on a website like I have above. Its a nice touch. Embedded are 2 full tracks, a documentary, and a music video. Good stuff and if by any chance Metric or their label has come across this blog, I just want them to know that I'd love to work with them on any future digital media projects, I've got lots of ideas...call me!

Form of chemical liquid...form of florescent molecular tea bag...Wonder Twins power, activate! No relations to the cartoon heroes, Korean designer Wonsik Chae's creative light concept in the form of a tea bag is really quite beautiful. "Consisting of a cup filled with a chemical intermediate and a bag containing florescent molecules the light works through a catalyst of this chemical reaction."  [via Gizmodo]

Flickr clock is an ongoing project. By joining the group, Flickstr's can then contribute their videos and display them on a timeline at the exact time they were taken. The theme here is to capture a "real moment" in time, so don't go uploading lol cats, movie trailers, or your latest slideshow animation, as those will be screened and removed. The more the merrier, so tell all your friends as they are hoping to grab a worldwide snapshot of specific moments in time....reminds me of the Van Halen track.

You can't go wrong with a sci-fi series about a crazy large spaceship, helmed by a Captain that hangs with a Vulcan named Spock, and beds down green babes from outta space. Rrrespect. So don't even kid yourself, this movie is going to rock the bells, Run DMC styles! The movie website is pretty slick too. Enjoy...05.08.09.

Here's a sneak peak at the new homepage design which is scheduled to go live next week. In typical Facebook style, the design has not deviated too much with the exception of nice rounded corners on profile thumbnails. In terms of experience, there are some significant changes. Basically, they've simplified the publishing tool and have consolidated the system so you have one stream. And the best part, I think, is that you can now filter your streams based on groups.