Ralph plays with Number Four

Last week, Penguin Books UK released the sensational new thriller “I Am Number Four,” the first release in a trailblazing new science fiction series, The Lorien Legacies. Together with Penguin, the principals of digital creative agency Ralph are proud to announce the launch of “The Legacy Test” online at www.iamnumberfour.co.uk. A complete news release on the project, featuring input from Ashley Wilks, Head of Digital Marketing and Websites for Penguin, and Chris Hassell, Ralph’s co-founder and creative director, is available here.

NYC, where will you watch the World Cup?

With soccer (er, football) now reigning as our planet’s most popular sport, beginning tomorrow, the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa will take center stage as its most prominent sports event. According to Jeremy Hollister at creative ideas studio We Are Plus, as a tribute to New York City’s vibrant international diversity, World Cup fever is greater there than nearly anywhere else in America.

We Are Plus is applying the power of social networking software to tap into this native enthusiasm with its World Cup Game Finder, a free mobile app — now available at iTunes — that helps NYC-based fans find local venues screening games featuring their favorite teams, and offering the easiest way to find the best spot in the city to join your fellow fans and support your favorite team. For more information, please visit www.nycgamefinder.com, and please help spread the word!

Jeremy Hollister – Zink Magazine “The Color Issue”

Talented agency owner/creative director… and photographer, artist, curator, and mover Jeremy Hollister of We Are Plus recently photographed these images for February’s Color Issue for Zink Magazine, and launched www.jeremyhollister.com.

N.A.S.A. NSFW 2010 (adult content)

Last February, N.A.S.A. (North America/South America) debuted “The Spirit of Apollo” on Anti- Records. I’ve written before about the ongoing creative collaboration between lifelong music aficionados Squeak E. Clean (aka Sam Spiegel) and DJ Zegon, and their friends, friends of friends and musical heroes. Today, “The Spirit of Apollo” continues involving many superstar artists from both U.S. coasts in bringing people together through music and art. I hope you enjoy the updated playlist, featuring the talents of N.A.S.A.’s many fine-artist friends. Read more

Lessons on professionalism, persistence and “Endurance” from artist Theresa Ortolani

Two years ago, I attended a publishing workshop hosted by Kiki Bauer, senior designer for powerHouse Books, at the powerHouse Arena in Brooklyn. Six of us attended, each eager to discuss our very specific idea for a brilliantly conceived, beautiful and riveting coffee-table book like those famously published by powerHouse. Theresa, Lori, Brad, Debra, John-Michael and I all presented our pet projects to Kiki on that day, and I’ll bet the rest of our classmates are as proud as I am to see that Theresa has persevered in seeing hers through, and getting it into print: “Endurance” published by powerHouse Books, is now available for purchase. In fact, the official launch party is happening at powerHouse Arena on Thurs., Dec. 3. More information on Theresa Ortolani, “Endurance” and this very cool upcoming event follow below. Read more

Brought to you by deep love and appreciation for local libraries

Growing up in Illinois, Tennessee, and Florida, I am extremely indebted to many local libraries and librarians who helped encourage me to learn and grow as an individual. This week’s posting is short and sweet, inviting you to visit the American Library Association’s great ilovelibraries.org site where you can learn a lot about local libraries across America and sign up for their informative newsletter, their Facebook fan page, and more. Happy learning!

Honorable Murray Silver, on Rev. Martin Luther “Daddy” King, Senior

My dear friend, the Honorable Murray Silver, Esquire, was recorded during a June 2008 presentation for students and faculty of Hilton Head Preparatory School, honoring Rev. Martin Luther “Daddy” King, Senior.  A world-famous trial lawyer, former Atlanta Municipal Court Judge and long-serving advisor to the Martin Luther King, Jr., Center for Non-Violent Social Change, Mr. Silver had a close personal friendship with Daddy King that lasted for many years, and intertwines their fates to this very day. Read more

Business ventures of your dreams…

I remember being 12 years old and being very impressed by a young guy I met, Tommy Ewasko, who at that time (1978) was well on his way to becoming a professional photographer. Tommy was the first professional creative person I ever crossed paths with, and after getting to know him a bit better, I began to see the world in a different way. Last month, my successful English entrepreneurial comrade Rob Ford of Favourite Website Awards (TheFWA.com) shared a story with his friends on Facebook where he was included in a 10steps.sg feature by Johnson Koh entitled “Interviews of Ten Accomplished Founders.” If you have not visited TheFWA.com before, I can easily imagine you having a kind of epiphany when you do, and there are other domains within Rob’s empire which are equally inspirational, including FWATheater.com and FWAPhoto.com.

To me, because his business model is original, creative, seemingly very fun, and largely self-guided, Rob represents the kind of successful entrepreneur that one only dreams of becoming. Do please read the “Interviews” article linked above to learn more about the origins of Rob’s business, and those of the other talented young gentlemen listed below. There’s enough inspiration here to change many people’s perceptions of the very nature of business… and represent new approaches to how resourceful individuals can build their own unique success stories independently.
. BuySellAds – Todd Garland
. Envato – Colliss Ta’eed
. Good Tutorials – Zach Holman
. Abduzeedo – Fabio Sasso
. Tutorial9 – David Leggett
. DeviantArt – Angelo-Sotira
. iStockPhoto – Bruce LivingStone
. Pixel2Life – Dan Richard
. SmashingMagazine – Vitaly Friedman & Sven Lennartz

A tale of two FILE Magazines…

I am a big fan of the international design industry news and discussion site QBN.com. During a visit there yesterday, I clicked my way into a discussion on the subject of FILE Magazine. What I found there impressed me with the depth of knowledge represented by the site’s membership, and two very different — and yet very cool — magazines, both named FILE. The first, which we’ll call “FILE MAGAZINE (www.file-magazine.com)” is a new DVD/print-based literary/culture/arts magazine from the UK. As someone pointed out in the thread, it features a very old-school approach, in that it is subscription-based, virtually all its contents are offline, and in order to get an issue, would-be readers will need to pick up a copy at one of many retail outlets, or otherwise rely upon the mail. While the person that brought this publication to QBN’s attention took some heat for the mag’s traditional approach, others who have gotten their hands on copies have praised the value based on the £6.50 + p&p; cover price, the high quality of the printed and DVD contents, and even made the point of how much more they’ve enjoyed experiencing the magazine than they would have if it was “just another” online mag featuring online video content.

Oddly, soon after the original announcement for “FILE MAGAZINE” appeared with its link and info, someone wrote, “Not to be confused with filemagazine.com.” This other publication, which we’ll call “FILE Magazine (www.filemagazine.com)” is (ahem) an online publication that presents its own collection of high-quality photographic images which “treat subjects in unexpected ways,” and does a great job of showcasing and appreciating its contributors. Seemingly, this FILE represents a totally different philosophy and approach to its business model — and its way of reaching, engaging and entertaining readers. To me, both projects are very much of interest, and perhaps even moreso because of the contrasting existence of the other. I thought you might enjoy checking them out yourself.

Freeload: WMIG / The FADER Present We Mix It Good Mix Vol. 7: Crookers

The filmmakers from creative production company Shilo (www.shilo.tv), together with We Make It Good‘s creative director Clayton Vomero, have partnered with The FADER to release the next editions of their original mix series, and are very proud to announce the We Make It Good / Fader Mix Series Volume 7 release, featuring Italian DJ duo Crookers. As with all the past We Make It Good Mix Series releases, the artwork for the Crookers release was created by Shilo’s Evan Dennis. Enjoy!

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