Hasta La Ideas

Homeless Hotspots features profiles of some of the people carrying wi-fi signals, along with a suggested fee to be paid for the service. Screenshot from http://homelesshotspots.org

We love to be connected. Thanks to wireless 3G networks, it’s easier than ever to check email and Twitter, talk on the phone, pay your bills, watch videos and post pictures from virtually anywhere and at any time. But it’s not fast enough—wireless internet is still the fastest way to get online with a mobile smartphone or tablet.

Recently at SxSW, a project called Homeless Hotspots sparked a heated debate online. A great post at NPR linked to the flurry of media about the project, such as quotable quotes like Wired declaring it “like something out of a satirical science-fiction dystopia.”

The project had more prosaic goals, which was to update the analog practice of street newspapers as a source of revenue for those without homes:

Our hope is to create a modern version of this successful model, offering homeless individuals an opportunity to sell a digital service instead of a material commodity. SxSW Interactive attendees can pay what they like to access 4G networks carried by our homeless collaborators. This service is intended to deliver on the demand for better transit connectivity during the conference.

BBH Labs defended their project in a length blog post, emphasizing that the participants were compensated for their work. It’s a thoughtful post worth reading.

I started thinking about Liam Young’s Electronic Countermeasures project, which has been making the rounds on social media. Young’s project reflected on the need for constant connection through a more robotic means. The video feels like a scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. But this time, our alien friends aren’t delivering news from outer space: they’re bringing us the Internet.

In his video description, Young expands on the sci-fi nature of his work, which reimagines quadcopters as a pirate network of wi-fi routers that quickly disperse and reconfigure throughout cities:

We have built a flock of GPS enabled quadcopter drones from components that were originally intended for aerial reconnaissance and police surveillance to create this flying pirate file sharing network. The drones are autonomous and drift above the public spaces of the city as a balletic interactive aerial choreography. Part nomadic infrastructure and part robotic swarm we have rebuilt and programmed the drones to broadcast their own local wi-fi network as a form of aerial Napster. They swarm into formation, broadcasting their pirate network, and then disperse, escaping detection, only to reform elsewhere.

It’s a stunning image, these magic Golden Snitches that we desperately try to catch with our phones.

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Terada Mokei est un passionné de modélisme. En repensant la place des maquettes et en les sortant des habituels modèles de véhicules militaires, cet artiste japonais propose des situations de tous les jours. Avec cet exemple de sortie de métro urbain est à découvrir dans la suite.

Previously on Fubiz

• Kazakhstan Subway
• Stockholm Metro
• String Map

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Our interview with Paul Budnitz on the release of his third model

Just eight months after the debut of his eponymous bicycle line, Paul Budnitz has once again put his legendary design abilities to good use with the release of Budnitz Bicycles‘ third model. Sporting massive 29-inch wheels, a silent Gates carbon belt drivetrain and the trademarked cantilever frame engineered to absorb road shock and improve handling, No. 3 is your dream city cruiser.

Sharing the same stunning silhouette and clean lines as its titanium predecessors, No. 3 takes a welcomed step towards accessibility with a lower price tag and a more badass vibe (though No. 1 and No. 2 still command waiting-list status at prices climbing over $5,000). We recently caught up with the former Kidrobot founder to talk about his latest designs, the transition from titanium to stainless and to learn just what it is about Budnitz Bicycles that keeps them in such high demand.

After launching your first two bikes, what’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned and how did you apply it to the new No.3?

When I set out to design the new model No.3 as the ultimate urban bicycle, I had to think differently from what I’d already done with the earlier models. I asked myself, what will the new bikes have that the others don’t? What would make me want to own all of my bikes?

If you look at our bicycle models as a whole, you’ll see there’s very little overlap. The idea is that there’s a reason to own each of our bikes, and we have several customers that have one of each, in the same way I have an iPhone, iPad, Powerbook, they each serve specific functions. Steve Jobs continues to be a role model for me.

When we last spoke you mentioned the first two bikes were inspired by Aston Martins and Maseratis, how would you describe No. 3?

When I was drawing up the jet-black model No. 3 I had a picture of a vintage Rudge motorcycle on my wall. The Rudge is a pre-war British big-engine motorcycle that only came in one color—gloss black—with few logos and precise detailing. There’s a whole Rudge culture. Riders were encouraged to take a lot of breaks, to stop every hour or so and look at the landscape and have a smoke. I just love that.

You see the visual influence in No. 3’s jet-black frame and titanium badges. The “ride slow on a fast bike” concept is built into our company philosophy, too.

We’ve also got a new bicycle coming soon, the more minimal No. 4 was actually inspired by an oversized BMX bike that I saw my friend and collaborator Chad Phillips riding around a few years ago. It had smaller (but not too small) wheels and was just the perfect size for city living. You can ride No. 4 right into an elevator, or put it into a trunk of a cab or store it easily in a small apartment. But it’s not a tiny awkward folding bicycle, it has fat tires and a full-sized cockpit. It flies. Someone saw me riding the prototype around Brooklyn a few months ago and called No. 4 a Stingray on steroids.

Why transition from titanium to stainless steel?

Models No.1 and No. 2 are still only offered in titanium, they were designed around it. Titanium is the ultimate bicycle material, ultra-lightweight and compliant. It’s hard to beat. But only a few fabricators can work with it well, and it’s costly.

Stainless is just a wonderful material, light and strong and gorgeous. It never rusts and has a fantastic ride. Using stainless also allowed us to bring down the pricing a bit on No. 3 without sacrificing quality, which as I mentioned was one of my goals. I want more people on my bikes.

What aspect of the new design are you most excited about?

Well, No. 3 is just the ultimate all-around bicycle. You can’t beat big 29-inch wheels and two-inch tires for a fast, smooth ride, and it’ll roll over just about anything. And it looks elegant as hell.

It’s just so much fun to ride, you feel like a little kid—weaving in and out of traffic.

Which of the four frames do you ride the most?

I designed all these bicycles for a specific purpose, so I use them all. I take my original model No.1 for longer rides, because it’s so crazy light and beautiful. No. 2 is what I use when I go riding for fun with my daughter. No. 3 is my go-to bike nowadays, because the big wheels are just so much fun—and also because it’s new, and I’m still having fun playing with it. I keep a No. 4 prototype at my place in New York City, and I use that one for travel, too.

Do you think the pared-down design is what sets Budnitz Bicycles apart?

Yes, our design philosophy is “Nothing Added”. The idea is create something perfect, something just right. This goes all the way down to the way the bicycles are engineered. If you don’t add functions and things people don’t need, you really can make a bicycle that will function immaculately, a frame that will last forever, and keep people excited about riding it. That’s the goal anyway.

The No.3 is now available directly from Budnitz Bicycles starting at $2,800.

From left, “A Devil’s Bridge” (2011-2012) and “The Expulsion (or, The Rebel)” (2011). Portrait below by Diego Singh. (Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York)

“I’ve always been obsessed with the occult,” says Hernan Bas, standing among the shadowy figures, stolen souls, and devastated landscapes in his latest series of paintings. “But lately, it’s become not as scary as it used to be.” Today’s candy-coated demons and witches next door (Vampires! They’re just like us!) inspired the Detroit-based artist to put the “super” back in supernatural. The nine works in his solo show “Occult Contemporary,” on view through April 21 at New York’s Lehmann Maupin gallery, replace the easy-listening version with darker stuff. But don’t look for the devil you know. “A lot of the paintings are based on original stories where the devil is the protagonist, but whenever humans make these deals with the devil, the devil always ends up getting screwed,” says Bas with a chuckle. “So I wanted to paint him as a sympathetic character, because really, he’s just trying to do his job.”

Born in Miami, Bas has made a name for himself with masterfully colored canvases that offer idyll glimpses. His possible paradises are often inhabited by young men prone to contemplation amdist craggy lagoons and swirling abstract skies. Lately, Bas has been increasingly tempted toward abstraction. He points to “One of Us” (2012), in which a mix of acrylic, airbrush, charcoal, and block printing depict a gentleman being beckoned to join a cultish pack. “If there was anything autobiographical about this show, that [figure] would be me, because it’s like ‘Join the Abstract Expressionist group! We’ll lure you in,’” he says, pointing to a field of blue at the bottom. “I flipped this one multiple times. That blue was originally the sky, not the water. That’s the thing with abstraction. You can hint at landscape so easily, but then I isolate one small part and it’s abstract again, like a mini-Rothko.” And is that a de Kooning we spot floating in the upper left corner? “De Kooning for sure,” he says. “I was floored by the show at MoMA. You kind of forget how good he is.” Read on for more from Bas, who talked with us about painting, the devil, and Detroit.

The natural world—forests, trees, bodies of water, mountains—usually figures prominently in your work, but in Occult Contemporary, the built environment and architectural elements loom large. What’s the story there?
I’ve been having leanings toward abstraction lately. When I take a step back from that, adding the architecture to it and making things that are more angular and grounding are a way to take it back a little bit from abstraction. It allows me to make it more readable as a location or a scene that could actually be happening, not just in your mind.

How do you begin one of these paintings?
I usually start with a general abstract composition. I just start throwing paint on it. They all usually look like 1950s New York School paintings when I first start them. I compare it to the whole idea of staring into clouds, when you start to see shapes, like “Oh, that could be a cliff.” That’s why I tend to lean toward landscape, because whenever I do an interior scene, I have to plan it a little more significantly ahead of time. So it’s a little bit of laziness, but also it’s just more fun.
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Here are some photos of the kit created by fashion designer Stella McCartney for British athletes at the London 2012 Olympics, unveiled today.

The design for Team GB features a deconstructed Union Jack flag and is made by sports brand Adidas.

See all our stories about the London 2012 Olympics here and check out our Designed in Hackney initiative to highlight creative talent in one of the five host boroughs here.

Here are soem more details from the Olympic Delivery Authority:

Official Team GB Olympic Kit launched

The kit that will be worn by British athletes at the London 2012 Games has been revealed today by adidas, the Official Sportswear Provider of Team GB and ParalympicsGB.

Designed by Stella McCartney, Creative Director for the project, the kit combines the best in performance technologies and British style. It was revealed at the Tower of London where athletes including Jessica Ennis, Phillips Idowu and Ellie Simmonds showcased the range.

Adidas UK Marketing Director Nick Craggs said: ‘All eyes will be on the British athletes when they take the stage at the Games, so we wanted to ensure that they would be the best equipped team through a combination of leading technologies including PowerWEB and Climacool and a unified and striking team identity.’

The kit is the most comprehensive range ever supplied to a national team, including competition kit, training wear, the presentation suit, footwear and accessories. Adidas will supply over 900 British athletes with a total of approximately 175,000 items of clothing during London 2012.