Hasta La Ideas

At first glance the White Desert Coffee Table seems to be a basic and straightforward linear form, however with closer inspection the “hidden” detail ..

As Stockholm’s art and design schools prepare to open their doors for annual graduation shows, there are already ripples of exciting suggesting that this year holds many delights for the viewer. Last year the city was outraged at the work of Konstfack student Anna Odell, whose video work documented her own fake suicide attempt.

This year however, much of the buzz is as a result of clever thinking instead of hyperbole. Linda Shamma Östrand is a student at Konstfack whose cerebral work takes in an exploration of mixed cultural identity or, in her words, the notions of being a hybrid. The vehicle demonstrating her chosen topic is her self-bred hybrid frog (pictured top), Oophaga vicentei x Oophaga pumilio (pictured below left and right). The frog’s scientific name contains the “x” to indicate that it is a hybrid variety with the names on either side denoting the species of its origin.

“As a child of parents from different countries, I am always compelled to describe my parents’ origin instead of my own when people ask me where I come from,” Östrand explains on her mini-site. “It led me to wonder whether I am bearing a seemingly unknown problem. By breeding a hybrid fertile frog and simultaneously writing a diary of reflections in my everyday life, I am exploring hybrid disciplines in an attempt to understand the hybrid concept,” she clarifies.

Some critics argue that emerging students are losing their poignancy and relevance due to aspirations of grandeur and ego-driven projects. Through her unique frog and inward-looking questioning of identity, Östrand has given reason for the viewer to talk about her conceptual, didactic art without damning its visual medium.

Photo of Oophaga vicentei by Thomas Ostrowski; Oophaga pumilio by Steven M. Whitfield

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pFor me, the whole point of buying the device in the middle was so I wouldn’t have to carry the devices on either side, and wouldn’t need a charging tray like this one; but if I had roommates or an Eternal Roommate (i.e. a Mrs. Hipstomp) and needed multiple charging stations, I’d probably scoop up one of A HREF=”http://bluelounge.com/refresh.php” BlueLounge’s Refresh/A models./p

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pI like the clean design, the tidy, neatly-labeled cable solutions and the cover-up tray. I probably wouldn’t buy it in pink though. Er, unless the Eternal Roommate demanded it./p

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p align = center”Get the pink one or sleep on the couch, your choice.”/p
a href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/bluelounges_neat_charging_tray_16552.asp”(more…)/a
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pRight now we’re a big fan of the South Korean conglomerates, because they’re combining the high-tech resources and sheer manpower of an incumbent corporate giant with the bold rebelliousness of a hungry upstart. Two years ago, as we were all sliding into recession and jobs were being shed, A HREF=”http://www.core77.com/blog/business/lg_chairman_gets_design_puts_his_money_where_his_mouth_is_9704.asp” LG increased their design budget to US $100 million/A under a “design-first management philosophy” championed by LG Chairman Kon Bon-Moo; now comes word that rival Samsung is investing $20.6 Ibillion/I in green technologies including solar power, LEDs and energy efficiency./p

pSamsung is starting their green initiative by looking at both the effects of their own operations as well as the results of the usage of their consumer products. As A HREF=”http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/samsung-to-invest-20-billion-in-green.-are-you-doomed/” Michael Kanellos reports in IGreenTech Enterprise/I,/A /p

blockquoteThe company has already laid out an ambitious carbon reduction plan. It wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from both its operations and from the use of its products by 50 percent by 2013 on a normalized sales basis. In 2008, Samsung and its products emitted 9.4 million tons of greenhouse gases, with about 60 percent of the emissions coming indirectly through product use. By 2010, greenhouse gases will be down 45 percent from 2001. By the end of the year, it wants to reduce standby power on all of its electronics to 1 watt./blockquote

pFirst up on the docket: A A HREF=”http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/samsung-begins-green-push-with-ontario-deal/” $6.6 billion push into wind and solar projects/A in Ontario, Canada./p

pNeedless to say, if a company of Samsung’s size and influence throws their full weight behind green, it will have a lasting impact on the planet–and hopefully inspire their competitors to follow suit./p

pRead Kanellos’ full article explaining their process A HREF=”http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/samsung-to-invest-20-billion-in-green.-are-you-doomed/” here/A.br /
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