Criterion Designs from Criterion Collection on Vimeo.
Author: Dan
Giving is clearly the best part of Christmas so why not indulge yourself:
Books for goats, Valyrian Steel
Help Heifer International end hunger and get some sweet things from Pat Rothfuss and his awesome pals (think of a fantasy author, they’re probably in). Donate anything and you’re in the lottery to win rare editions, signed editions, other lovely extras, or if you think I’ve been an especially good boy this year (I have, I really really have) you can buy Longclaw for me and sleep safe knowing that you’ve helped a whole bunch of people feed themselves and that I’m safe from reanimated corpses (other goodies are up for auction).
Child’s Play
A bunch of children’s hospitals have Amazon wishlists, you can buy the toys and games they need so kids in hospital over Christmas have decent stuff to play with. Close to home there’s Bradford, Manchester, Alder Hey, Sheffield, and Dublin, but there are hospitals all over the world you can help out or you can donate directly to Child’s Play.
Wikipedia
Support Wikipedia. You almost certainly use it, and you probably ignore the fundraising message when it pops up. Pay the £3.
If you want to support another cause but you’re not sure who to give to try Charity Navigator or Give Well.
Even if you’re trying to keep Christmas small you are probably going to spend a hell of a lot of money, and a decent amount of it on crap, make sure you give something to a decent cause.
PS: Longclaw.
I don’t there’ll be a better-looking film next year. The palette is perfect. If the car sequences are as practical/real as I’ve heard (and as they (mostly) look) this is going to rock.
Categories
Logo Design
This is just lovely to watch, truly lovely.
Most logos aren’t designed in fifteen minutes, but most designers aren’t Aaron Draplin. Aaron’s a Portland fixture by way of the Midwest, the owner of Draplin Design Co., and an advocate of “blue collar” design: design that works. Here he takes our logo design challenge, creating a dozen iterations of a logo for a fictional construction company. Not inspired? Just wait. Watch as he sketches, brings his ideas into Illustrator, and tests and tunes the different iterations. The logos Aaron creates prove design can elevate any company or brand. Along the way, he provides tips for freelancing, finding inspiration, and providing clients context for logos that won’t just live in PDFs.
…“the lost European explorer experiment,” has been repeated many times during the past several centuries. Typically some explorers get stranded in an unfamiliar habitat in which an indigenous population is flourishing. Despite desperate efforts and ample learning time, the explorers die or suffer terribly owing to the lack of crucial information about how to adapt to the habitat. If they survive, it is often due to the hospitality of the indigenous population. The Franklin Expedition of 1845–1846 provides a good example. Sir John Franklin, a Fellow of the Royal Society and an experienced Arctic traveler, set out with two ships to explore the northern coast of North America and find the North West Passage. It was the best-equipped expedition in the history of British polar exploration, furnished with an extensive library, manned by a select crew, and stocked with a 3-y supply of food. The expedition spent the winter of 1846 at King William Island, where it became trapped in the ice. When food ran short, the explorers abandoned their ships and attempted to escape on foot. Everyone eventually perished from starvation and scurvy, perhaps exacerbated by lead poisoning from their tinned food.
King William Island is the heart of Netsilik territory, and the Netsilik have lived there for almost a millennium. King William Island is rich in animal resources—the main harbor is named Uqsuqtuuq which means “lots of fat.” The British sailors starved because they did not have the necessary local knowledge and, despite being endowed with the same improvisational intelligence as the Inuit and having 2 y to use this intelligence, failed to learn the skills necessary to subsist in this habitat.
From The cultural niche: Why social learning is essential for human adaptation which looks quite an interesting read but if a 41 page pdf is a bit weighty for this time of the morning there’s a good article here about Cultural Evolution that references the study along with (rabbit-hole warning!) a bunch of other interesting studies and examples. Well worth your time.
(via Andrew Ducker)
Categories
Just one more thing
Will Yoda reappear as a force ghost? If so will he be puppet Yoda? If not, why not?
And that’s probably enough Star Wars for now.