Gilbert & George discuss their work.

Gilbert & George are really quite lovely to listen to. Like two uncles. I worked with an art director who really loved G&G. I now understand.

Can anyone suggest some links for new writing?

I know they're out there, but where are the new writers? I search and search and still they escape me. Apart from McSweeney's, does anyone know of some small independant free presses that attract really good writing?

Brain Candy

Go here. You'll like it. The studio intern at W+K, Portland has a mindblowing lo-fi internet art site that's just an epilepsy of flashing goodness. It's called jpegmess.org. It's chewy.

Art Monthly Exhibition Listing

Here is a link to an updated London exhibition listing from pretty much every good gallery around. Courtesy of the good chaps at Art Monthly.

The Riflemaker Gallery - London

This is a neat art gallery in Soho. It's always free and always good. The John Maeda exhibition (above) is interesting, but make sure you see Chris Bucklow's work. It's just beautiful, it really is. Updated regularly.

Ockham's Razor - Brain 2.0

Audio clip that cites Ian Pearson of British Telecom (Futurologist) on the future upgrades he believes will be made to the human brain in order for us to continue evolution. Does get a little too sciency fiction toward the end, but it is nonetheless an interesting view. Charts the predicted evolution of man from Homo Sapien to Homo Cyberneticus and on towards the Homo Machinus. Maybe. Maybe not.

Stefan Sagameister talks about happy designing

Talks like a terminator. Designs like a visionary. Looks like a funky Austrian designer. Everyone love Stefan. He speaks here about what makes him happy with his work and life.

Richard Restak talks about Neuroscience

Richard Restak talks about how the principles of Neuroscience are beginning to be adopted in regular life and introduces the concept of memory morphing and it's importance to advertising.

David Minkoff's Jewish jokes

Moshe was taking to his psychiatrist.
"I had a weird dream recently," he says. "I saw my mother, but then I noticed she had your face. I found this so worrying that I immediately awoke and couldn't get back to sleep. I just stayed there thinking about it until 7am. I got up, made myself a slice of toast and some coffee and came straight here. Can you please help me explain the meaning of my dream?"

The psychiatrist kept silent for some time, then said,
"One slice of toast and coffee? Do you call that a breakfast?"

This is the largest collection of jewish jokes in the world.

For Peter Horowitz. And his chicken soup.

Daniel Gilbert's lecture on Happiness

Dan's book "Stumbling on Happiness" just won the Royal Society Prize for Science Books. Seems positive psychology is finally going mainstream. Thank you to all those hippies out there who kept the dream alive until the scientists could come in with their MRI's. Here is a great lecture from Daniel at the 2004 TED conference on the Science of what makes us happy. You will enjoy this, I promise. Afterwards, buy yourself an ice cream. You deserve it.

Google Logos

This is the logo Google used to celebrate Louis Braille's Birthday on January 4. Neat huh? Google keep all their holiday logos here Including the april fools one when they announced they were opening a new office on the moon.

Strawberry Frog - Your friendly neighbourhood Global Ad Agency

You know when you meet normal people and they ask you how creatives come up with their Crraaaazy ideas. This agency always makes me feel like a normal person. This is where the smart people work. Plus their name seems to drive people nuts.

Leda Cosmides talks about tranhumanism

Leda Cosmides gives a calm, reasoned view of transhumanism and points out that while we're far from putting our brains into a computer and living forever, we do use a good deal of body modifications and augmentations in day to day life. She also does a good job of tempering some of the wilder notions of the transhumanist movement. Leda is one of the most important evolutionary psychologists in the world and a great lecturer, you will enjoy this, I proimise. Open in iTunes so you might have to make sure it's open first.

Alexi Sayle on the dangers of Stand up Comedy

Bitterness. Irrelevance. Psychological disturbances. An inability to connect with people. It isn't all beer and skittles being a stand up comedy act. Article in the Independant following the death of Bernard Manning.

Sam Harris - The end of faith

The always engaging Sam Harris speaks about his book "The End of Faith". It's nice to know that not all Atheists are as angry as Richard Dawkins and that a moderate and reasonable voice can come out the secular corner. This is a really, really good lecture.

Australia's Greatest Biscuit

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Make your case for Australia's Greatest Biscuit. Even if it's your mum's Anzac cookie.

The Best Lecture at Interesting 2007.

I like is a a half-pint, a low-talker, a cheeky besom, a timorous beastie, a shutterbug, a magpie, a modern lover, an empathicalist, a book jockey, a pedant and a Glasgow dreamer. She was without a doubt the best speaker at Interesting 2007 and her specch "Everything these days is nice" was very very.

Thanks to whoever scanned this. I do these all the time, but I have no way of getting them online. I think I'm going to ask for a scanner for my birthday.

Interesting 2007

Thanks to Kirsty Angus, I got to see the Interesting 2007 conference which was great.

Lobo 2006 reel

Check out this reel from wunderkinds Lobo. I wish I could give them my entire reel to turn into an illustration. Doesn't it just make 35mm film look cheap?

All in the mind - Happiness

The latest podcast from All in the mind comes from the neuroscience conference in Melbourne and discuses the importance of happiness. Isn't it crazy to think we actually have to devote serious discussion on the merits of being happy. Ask a kid, they'll tell you it's the easiest thing in the world.

Photosynth. The Future of the internet

Your jaw will drop. I promise. Watch it. It's the future. Then afterwards, visit the site.

Jeff Hawkins - Brain Science and computing

Jeff Hawkins is awesome. Even if you have no interest in Neuroscience you should watch this TED lecture. He gives his ideas about the framework of how the brain works, which is essentially a predictive model, (or rather one in which the neo cortex observes patterns and sends this informtaion to the other parts of the brain) and explains why it is high time we had a workable model of the mind. Plus he gets a few laughs.

Cliff Freeman & Partners CEO work / life split

Ever since the "Where's the beef?" commercials of the 80's, I have wanted to work at Cliff Freeman Partners. The CEO gives a podcast here that while not quite as gut bustingly funny as an elderly lady saying the word beef five times inside thirty seconds, is still very good. Something for you workaholics to think about. Oh and the little logo fellas above were designed by Stirling Mclaughlin for CFP. I like the Scorpicat.

Binaural Sound

I love this stuff. You put a tiny microphone in one ear, then a tiny microphone in the other and suddenly, you can actually hear people standing behind you. You can feel them just standing there. It's eeire. Check it out, you will need headphones for this though. Well worth it. I'm currently doing some cool stuff with Binaural sound if anyone wants to join in.

Cool Looking Ads Blog

Good ideas. Great art direction. This is apparently the official Cannes Print Blog, but I suspect that if it were, it'd come with an offical Cannes Price Tag. Plus, and I love art directors, but even French ones wouldn't spell "Looking" with one O. God bless the internet.

The MIT adverlab Blog. The Future of advertising technology

I go here from time to time to have my brain melt a little bit. I'm not sure how many of these technological advances leap the gulf between gimmick and viable advertising medium, but who cares right. They've invented paper that sings. The image above is projected onto the smoke from dry ice so it's essentially a free standing hologram. Very bladrunner.

V.S.Ramachandran Lectures on Synethesia

A series of lectures from the always charming V.S.Ramachandran who researches Synethesia and Neuroscience. He was lucky enough to find a colour blind synesthete who could only see the colour red when they looked at the number five. Again, through Real Audio, the betamax of the internet streaming world.

Lecture one: Phantoms in the brain

Lecture two: Synapses and the self

Lecture three: The Artful Brain

Lecture four: Purple numbers and sharp cheese.

Lecture five: Neuroscience, the new philosophy.

Another great Art & Neuroscience lecture from Margaret Livingstone

Apart from having to put up with the endless, "Dr Livingstone I presume" jokes from fellow neuroscientists, Margaret Livingstone also has to convince people that what they see isn't actually what they see. This lecture on vision and aesthetics is fantastic.

Timothy McSweeneys Quarterly Concern.

Your daily dose of hyper irony. New writing and new ideas in literature. New forms. New structures. And most of the time, just a lot of college humour from young people with too much time on their hands. Started by Dave Eggers (A Heart breaking work of staggering genius) to give him and his friends a place to publish their stuff it has grown into something completely cool. Updated daily.

Dr Margaret Livingstone's Art & Neuroscience Lecture

Margaret Livingstone's lecture about what art can tell us about the brain is fascinating. It's about 45 minutes and you can't download it to your iPod, but it's well worth eating lunch at your desk and watching it. She explains why certain colour combinations send parts of the brain blind and even explains how the eye's centre surround visual system makes the Mona Lisa smile. You'll never take your eyes for granted again.

The New York Academy of Science Podcasts

A little punk rock on the sound quality, but they do manage to interview the most incredible people. Jerome Kagan gave an interview as did Steven Pinker. There's a great podcast from the father of String Theory who talks about how his dad wanted him to be a plumber. It's great to hear his accent. True Brinx style. He sounds like Sipkowitz.

Squidoo

You know it. I love it. I hope it doesn't go all Wiki on us. The human side of interesting. Interesting groups, links. All made with human brains not meta search engines.

Creativity on Speed Lectures

This is a great site on how deadlines can make creativity better. I find that I do my best work at that point when I no longer know what I'm doing and the limitations all dissolve and the ideas ust stream straight out.

Contagious Magazine

It's the planners bible. A quarterly intelligence briefing outlining non-invasive advertising, revolutionary marketing strategies and all the new trends and emerging technologies. Basically, it's a time machine for the marketingindustry in a handy Magazine + DVD. And they know their stuff. Contagious only comes out four times a year and they manage to flog a subscription at USD$1200.

Revenge of the nerds.

Think maths nerds aren't cool. Check out how a group of MIT mega-geeks managed to outsmart Las Vegas Casino's for millions. Think Oceans Thirteen only with braces and pocket protectors.

Oh man this guy rocks!

Akiyoshi Kitaoka is amazing. Hands down, the best visual illusionist in the history of the business. Go there and wait for your eyes to melt.

All In The Mind Podcast.

The award winning "All In The Mind" podcast is a radio program and podcast created by Radio National on the ABC in Australia. It is truly the best neuroscience podcast on the planet. The BBC do a similar show but it's not nearly as extensive or well produced. One of the best podcasts I've ever heard.

There's no place like the middle, so let's jump right in.