Vatican City

Methinks a good defrocking is good and necessary now and again… (just a hunch—I predict a string of significant defrockings in the Holy See and assorted outlying provinces, and likely sooner rather than later). I’m guessing that as you read this, “God’s Rottweiler,” aka Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, also now known as “Pope Benedict XVI,” is busy bracing himself for the pending “fall from grace”—with regard to the plethora of child-abuse cases by priests worldwide bubbling to the fore—possibly even foreshadowing the implosion of the Catholic Church.

Maureen Dowd (whose column I read occasionally by dent of following The New York Times) makes this astute suggestion: “If the church could throw open its stained glass windows and let in some air, invite women to be priests, nuns to be more emancipated and priests to marry, if it could banish criminal priests and end the sordid culture of men protecting men who attack children, it might survive. It could be an encouraging sign of humility and repentance, a surrender of arrogance, both moving and meaningful.”

I know, this is a bit heavier than most of my posts, but the sheer hypocrisy currently on exhibit is deeply vexing to say the least. But hey—the Vatican has some terrific art… and as if to distract and mesmerize the unwashed masses, you and I can now zoom back and forth (click and drag) through the Sistine Chapel with virtually angelic grace, here. (I promise the experience is worth it—be patient as the site loads [because patience is a virtue, don’t you know]. An extra bonus is the background music provided by—you guessed it—choirboys!).

Thanks to friend Oliver Oike for the link.

Somewhere in misfitland…

Finally someone has successfully defined the difference. This simple nerd/dork/geek/dweeb Venn diagram should save us all a lot of time and frustration in the future—without the need for exhaustive explanations. Now imagine adding a red dot with a “You Are Here” call-out…

(thanks to Bruce M Campbell for introducing me to what seems to have become a popular memetic infographic some time last year—original source of the diagram is unknown)

Randburg, South Africa

Check out a great feature article about the work of ex-pat Zimbabwean designer/educator Chaz Maviyane-Davies in the handsome online edition of DESIGN> magazine, here.

View a bunch of previous posts about Chaz and his graphic activism here.

A good idea, no?

(image by Darren Scott—thanks Toze)

Toronto, Canada

Sorting through some old files at the office this week I came across a one-page response that I’d submitted to Applied Arts back in 2001—in answer to the question posed by Sara Curtis, the magazine’s editor at the time: “What do you keep in your work space to inspire you?” The resulting piece was featured as the last page of the May/June (Vol. 16, No. 3) issue…

“What inspires me most are encounters, experiences, and exchanges with other creative people I meet around the world. When I travel, I collect meaningful mementos, visual artifacts, and small mnemonic objects—steeped in memories, rich in semiotics and ready to trigger recall in an instant. Back in the studio, these tactile little collectibles act as icons for experiences and invite the Muse. Here are some items from my bulletin board and the corners of my office…”

(you can see the full page as a PDF and read the image captions or by clicking on the image below — Sorry, links broken).

Isn’t it great how the days are starting to linger… longer?

(original image source unknown)

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

THE HAITI POSTER PROJECT (link broken, sorry) was launched three days after the January 12th, 2010 earthquake in Haiti, as a “collaborative effort by the design community to help effect change through our work.” Signed and numbered, limited edition posters have been donated by designers and artists from around the world. All money raised will be donated to Doctors Without Borders. Check out the project’s onlin gallery of posters (ranging from refreshingly naive to remarkably refined) here.

(thanks to friend Martyn Schmoll for the link)

Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba

Here’s one for all my climbing buddies (some of whom have made themselves damn scarce of late, if I may say so). Ev’s daughter Jennifer just forwarded the following ditty to me, from one of her 5-year-old son Sam’s favorite* books… eloquently expressing a truism we know all too well.

The daring ibex risk their necks
On scary airy mountain treks.
Each one must climb with skill complex
Or else become an ex-ibex.

*Mammalabilia: poems and paintings by Douglas Florian.

Berkeley, California

The talented folks at Free Range Studios (who previously produced highly effective viral narratives that I’ve blogged about such as The Meatrix and The Story of Stuff) have just released their latest—The Story of Bottled Water. Once again, Annie Leonard delivers an important message with remarkable clarity and focus. View it here.

It’s high time that this story of the evils of bottled water be elevated and shared more broadly. I never have, nor ever will, buy bottled water. Local well or tap water suits me just fine—bottle your own (in a perpetually reusable container). I carry a Sigg bottle with me in my car, and there’s always one on my desk. When traveling in regions of the world where drinking free local water might present a health hazard, I carry an effective, compact, light-weight water filter with me as well—one minute of light pumping provides a liter of clean, refreshing, potable goodness.

Oh, today also happens to be World Water Day.