I'm pretty sure this one doesn't require 1.21 gigawatts. But thanks to the Texas-based outfit in Humble, if you're in the market for a what basically boils down to a brand new, all-electric DeLorean to build your time machine out of, you're in luck.
Talk about an auto design that just does not go outta style. The DeLorean looks as classic and futuristic today as it did when it rolled off the original assembly line in 1981. And man, crazy how the iPhone looks completely at home within the interior!
But maybe I've just partial due to the site we just finish.
I'm a big fan Everyday Carry, a.k.a. EDC. Its a blog showcasing user submitted pocket dumps of exactly what people carry on a daily basis. Here's the breakdown of my very own EDC, click here to enlarge.
• Leather Wallet • Field Notes Memo Book (Graph Paper) • Parker Jotter Stainless Steel Mechanical Pencil • Nixon Rotolog (Walnut) • iPhone 3GS • iPod Sock (Best iPhone protector ever) • Von Zipper Kickstand Sunglasses • Key to 2009 MINI Cooper S Clubman • Wedding Ring
The whole EDC culture is based on emergency preparedness, which is pretty cool. I actually dig my EDC—but I don't carry a blade or pack heat so guaranteed it'll never get featured. And I guess I'm also pretty much screwed come the morning of the zombie apocalypse.
I like to kid around that I'm the only guy on my street who doesn't own a truck, a gun or a dog. Yeah, I'm not so much a fan of trucks in general. But I spotted a VW Rabbit-based pick-up on the way to work the other day and it inspired me to find these cool snaps.
Love that the bike's paint job matches and they've both got blacked out rims. With this set up, I think I actually could be a truck guy.
This just in via @jeremywchase. Production photo of Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle, perhaps escaping with the Batpod? Not so sure how I feel about this yet.
UPDATE: So based on this recently released pic, I did a Google search and discovered that pics of the Tumbler have been snapped paparazzi-style at The Dark Knight Rises film shoot. I have to admit I'm pretty bummed out. I'm mean, I've been a staunch supporter of the Tumbler being Batman's first version of the Batmobile. But let's face it, it was blown up. Based on all the Lamborghini action in The Dark Knight, I was seriously hoping for a Lambo-based Batmobile to make its appearance in the final installment. Something like this concept by industrial designer Slavche Tanevsky:
One year ago today I started an experimental photo blog on Tumblr. I was inspired by a couple of curation-style Tumblrs, and I wanted not only to learn more about that blogging system but how I'd do as a Tumblrer myself. I'd already amassed a decent collection of cool pics, so I determined I'd post one a day. In fact I only missed a couple of days when we were camping (or unfortunately in the hospital). Here are some of the insights, rules and posts I made along the way:
Curation of Cool
My posts started off being random things I like, the Millennium Falcon, MINIs, etc. I was surprised how heavily influenced (for better or worse) I was by the community. My Tumblr evolved specifically into photos only of cars, motorcycles, bikes, architecture, industrial design, fashion and celebrities. No more, no less.
The Parameters
I noticed over time that I started unintentionally and subconsciously creating a set of image guidelines and parameters for all the photos I uploaded. For instance, all the pics are landscape rather than portrait. I never posted a black and white image. I also posted photos with tons of woodgrain, which became almost an ongoing theme.
Color SchemingPrior to starting my Tumblr, I did a little experiment on the Kyality blog where I paired products with the factory MINI colors, which I called Color Scheming. I found myself connecting one day's photo to the next via color, tone or texture. If you check out my archive, you can actually see some cool evolutions, juxtapositions and color patterns over time.
Celebrity SundaysI started doing this pretty quickly. Every Sunday evening throughout the year, I've posted a pic of a celeb (typically a music or movie star) in what I considered a Kyality-style pic. My favorites are all less polished, more real shots of famous folks in some cool, architectural environment.
Notes vs. CommentsSystems like Twitter and conventions such as likes and notes are basically killing comments on blogs. For instance, though this post may be read a few times, chances are it won't get a single comment. The notes system in Tumblr is pretty amazing, you can actually see content—for lack of a better term—go viral. The most comments I've ever received on a single post on this blog is around 8 (with at least one of them being me). The image from my Tumblr above has 126 notes (consisting of likes and/or reblogs) and counting.
Proper CitationAfter some friendly banter with @upto12 and @wanken, properly citing my sources whenever possible became a substantial effort throughout the year. I'm actually shocked how little this is focused on within the blogosphere. Even more shocking is how social media is more or less set up to celebrate the sharer of content rather than the creator. My experience on Tumblr spawned this post on the StruckAxiom blog.
All in all, the Great Tumblr Experiment was pretty fun. Will I continue to post? Yes. Will I post more than once a day? No. Will I worry about posting everyday? Probably not. Finally, here are some cool Tumblrs to follow if you get a sec: anchordivision, convoy, thefashionator, beeteeth, valeriejar, mwaissmann, everydaycarry and analogdialog. Enjoy!
Finally got the Clubby detailed and snapped these pics at the new Saint Joseph the Worker Catholic Church design by Sparano + Mooney Architecture. Enjoy.
I want to let you know that I support the fact that you recently announced that you need to increase your rates, you have every right to do so. However, due to your serious lack of content on Instant play, you're forcing a digital-forward guy like myself to go back in time and use discs again. I don't get it. Would it not make more sense to give folks who want to be fully streaming a way to supplement your extreme lack of streaming content via discs without having to have two full, separate and equally-expensive plans?
The choice to separate these plans is a clear step backwards in the way I live my digital life style. In the past, I've converted many friends to your service, mainly due to how progressive you've been. I can no longer claim that, I will no longer refer you and it honestly saddens me. In fact, this act has forced me (one of your past tried and true brand evangelists) to sincerely apologize to multiple recent referrals who made large scale hardware investments and content service changes (at my behest) based on your previous set up. It really put me in quite an embarrassing position.
In September, we will only be accessing the disc delivery portion of your services because we love exceptional content. We've very much enjoyed many of the docs, foreign films and TV programming you have on Instant, however we like great, mainstream flicks as well. So you have relegated us to discs yet again. Please figure out a way for a digital-forward customer like me (who has an iPhone and an iPad and also loves exceptional quality content with access to anything and everything) to use all of your services without enrolling in separately managed programs that do not currently equal one another in quality of selection.
Just let me be clear. I (and probably everyone else out there) get that your rates will inevitably go up over time. I do not have issue with that. But again, due to your overwhelming lack of quality content on Instant play, you are currently not in a position to separate your plans (as though they are equal to one another) and attempt to position it as a benefit to me. It's actually a massive inconvenience.
Here's a quick take-it-or-leave-it suggestion: if you have to separate the two plans for structural reasons or whatever, fine. But for those of us who want and use both services in order to supplement each other, give us a slight discount for using both. It would seriously help soften the blow of a price increase in these bleak economic times.
One final thought. Just be awesome. If you strive to look at your customer and PR choices through the lens of 'awesomeness' you won't run into this type of bizzaro snafu again. Cuz let's be brutally honest here, this recent announcement is not awesome.
It's always fun to see what Mrs. Kyality and the Kyality Kids drum up for Father's Day gifting. This year, it all started with some TRON: Legacy goodness: a model of Kevin Flynn's light cycle and a die cast light jet. Then more Jeff Bridges awesomeness in the form of a Crazy Heart DVD and things rounded out with a Voltron tee shirt and a baseball glove to play catch with the boy. Apparently, there's one more goodie on the way. I'll keep you all posted.
UPDATE: This just in... the rest of my haul. Click the pic to check it out:
The latest Batmobile on one of my fave blog, BatmobileHistory.com, is pretty fresh design by Gordon Murray. Apparently DC had it created for is foray into stage events with Batman Live. It's no Tumbler, but absolutely says Batmobile. Apparently Motor Authority dismissed it as "awful."
It's definitely not the worst Batmobile ever. I mean seriously, have you SEEN Batman Forever?
I've been working an image-a-day Tumblr experiment for a while now and I've settled into the tradition/habit of posting a cool celebrity photo every Sunday. I'll be honest, it's tough to find decent ones the fit the Kyality style. But this week I came across this awesome photo shoot with Jude Law for the the fashion brand Dunhill. Cool stuff.
Last weekend Mrs. Kyality and I got to visit the Mile High City to see a U2 concert that we'd purchased tickets for nearly 18 months ago. The concert was good, but the urban exploring was fantastic. Based on a tip from my friends at Changethethought™—we hit up a great place called Steuben's.
Steuben's was a classic old stomp in Boston and was reopened recently in Denver with amazing environmental design, a fantastic menu and a delicious brand. Korn Design delivered exhaustive, consistent branding with a perfect balance of both modern and retro vibes. And seriously, their Cubano is probably the best sandwich I've ever had ever. Period.
No, you don't see too many Japanese cars on this blog. But I came across this Scion xB pickup concept a couple of years ago by designer Sage Vaughn. And I'm amazed just how often I think back to it. I totally dig the tan/black motif. And if for some strange reason I ever find myself needing a utility vehicle of some kind, I'll be sure to sport some minimalist vector graphics on it.
For the last few weeks, I've been getting a ton of questions about my thoughts on the design of the newest version of The Beetle. Though I've kind of dodged the question, I haven't meant to seem evasive. I've merely been gathering my thoughts and some interesting questions have arisen.
First and foremost. I dig the new design. Yes, I was a big fan of the original New Beetle, especially the Turbo S. I loved its iconic, minimalist geometry and UFO-like stance. I also totally get where VW is going with this new design and its serious hearkening back to Dr. Ferdinand Porsche's first "peoples' car."
I really like its lines, the fact that it can graceful accommodate 19-inch rims and its sporty retro vibe. But these design choices come with some repercussions. This is a decidedly more masculine car than the New Beetle, which beckons the question: Who is VW targeting with this one?
I think we can all agree that despite some cool trim options over the years, the New Beetle has been come somewhat of a chick car with the Golf/GTI platform becoming VW's bromobile. This newest version of The Beetle is more of a man machine and for the most part, I think VW is targeting, well… me. I mean here I am, driving a sporty retro racer. If this is VW's attempt to win me over then I'm confused, isn't the GTI already meant to do just that?
Though I can totally geek out over VW's design choices with The Beetle, I just can't see myself behind the wheel of one. There are just too many hot hatches and cool cars in line before I'd ever consider The Beetle. This list consists of multiple MINIs, the BMW 1-Series, the Fiat 500, the Audi A3, and even the Mazdaspeed3 for heaven's sake. We'll have to see what accouterments The Beetle R brings (a move which I question as well), but I suspect my feelings won't change dramatically.
The bottom line is that In a hyper-competitive small car market, VW needs to focus on who's really driving their cars and stop adding to its own competition.
The Kyality Clan made a weekend trek down south to Zion National Park and I snapped this pic of this fantastic fixie. Love the geometry of this whip and even though you'd think this rod belongs in the urban jungle, it seemed to fit just fine among the red rocks. Click here to enlarge.
As of last Monday, I've had the pleasure of seeing Arcade Fire live for the fourth time. The first two were on the Neon Bible tour, Red Rocks in Denver and in Lehi, UT. Last year, I saw them in Portland and finally in Orem, UT last week.
At first glance, you'd think that the Portland and Red Rocks shows would be amazing—and they were. But for some reason, the Utah shows have been absolutely outstanding. In fact, the Lehi show from a couple of years ago still ranks among one of my favorite concerts of all time. I kinda thought it was just a fluke. However last week's performance proved that Arcade Fire rocks a little bit harder in the Beehive State.
At both Utah shows, frontman Win Butler has mentioned that he'd often visited his Grandfather in Sandy, UT growing up. Yeah, Sandy—talk about the suburbs. There's definitely an air of nostalgia and even excitement as he reminisces.And other than a handful of d-bags making a ruckus near the front of the stage, the concert-going crowd at these shows have been way into it. Not too many peeps who are too cool to completely rock out and sing-a-long sans inebriation. I just hope Arcade Fire keeps coming back to the Crossroads of the West and that I'm around to see 'em.
I'm pretty sure this one doesn't require 1.21 gigawatts. But thanks to the Texas-based outfit in Humble, if you're in the market for a what basically boils down to a brand new, all-electric DeLorean to build your time machine out of, you're in luck.
Talk about an auto design that just does not go outta style. The DeLorean looks as classic and futuristic today as it did when it rolled off the original assembly line in 1981. And man, crazy how the iPhone looks completely at home within the interior!
But maybe I've just partial due to the site we just finish.
