New Music Discovery: Happy Boy + LEO37 + Balance and the TravellingSounds

I was planning to write this piece last weekend but due to the current situation of Japan where I am right now, things kind of got off schedule. So before things get worse, I’m going to post this one already! The last week was full of new discovery on arts, music and designs, and for now I’ll be sharing these wonderful artists I found out while flying out on the Internet cyberspace. These are sure tune-shakers! Check ‘em out!

Happy Boy
Manila, Philippines

One talented music-man I found shared on the Facebook dashboard by a friend of mine. I clicked the link, played the button on soundcloud, and what came next was bliss. It was heavenly. I don’t even know this guy’s real name, but it didn’t matter. His samples are great. Amazing. I got fond of lyric-less music when I started listening to Caspian and El Ten Eleven, and this music creations of Happy Boy gave me a smile. Simple tunes, simple beats, simple cutesy notes. Perfect when you want to relax and want to travel in space or swim under the sea while lying in bed. Treat yourself also to some poetry reading on some of the tracks.

Here’s a sample from one of his creations. Check all of his tracks on his Soundcloud account. You’ll also get to download some of them for free.

Let Darna fly once again!

Darna Lives! via darnalives.blogspot.com

Darna Lives!
darnalives.blogspot.com

It was only last week that I came across this blog about a one-shot resurrection comic for the iconic Darna, the Philippines' famous classic super heroine. At first, I was hesitant to look into the fan fiction since media had already given me a bad impression of Darna through the recent years (will talk about this in a while). But knowing that it's a project by two of these generations' comic foundations, Gerry Alanguilan and Arnold Arre, one must not ignore the treasure they are digging and bringing back to us.

A quick rundown on its history: Darna is a fictional character popular in Filipino comics, created by komiks legend Mars Ravelo. It is a story of a girl named Narda who, after swallowing a magical stone from outer space, becomes  the amazon-like super heroine Darna. Along with her sidekick Ding, she fought numerous evil embodiments including the serpent-headed Valentina, some aliens and some bad guys. She first appeared in print in 1950. Since then, it was adapted into new forms of media, from comics to television series and movies. Notable actresses that played the super heroine were Vilma Santos, Lorna Tolentino, Sharon Cuneta and Anjanette Abayari.

7 Tips to Having a Hangover-free Morning After a Party

Tagay na mga brad! via bargainmugs.com

For the party-lovers out there like me, how typical is this scenario: You and your friends attended a party where there was loads of booze which you drank the entire night, and also hit on those nachos and pizzas served on the table while playing around. Indeed it was a fun night, everyone got drunk, and everyone had a blast. You were so happy you eagerly slept already to preserve the memory. Turns out, you woke up in the morning not recalling what happened the night before, and instead ended up with a throbbing ache running around your head. You’ll then recognize you’re under the punishment of the hangover.

Everyone probably must have experienced the agony of a hangover scene (or if you haven’t and want to see the major consequences, watch the Hangover movie). We know it’s a headache (figuratively and literally), but we still want to enjoy and have fun when there’s alcohol around. I too have the same dilemma, so what I did was to ask around for the best tips to lessen or even not to get any hangover by the morning. I’ve collected a handful of tips to bust that hangover before it even hit you. See if it can help you deal with it.

Drinking lots of water. This was the most suggested answer from the survey I made. In case you haven’t noticed, drinking beer and alcohol will leave you totally dehydrated. And thus, the best way to keep hydrated is to drink plain water. It smoothens your throat, keeps the oxygen pumped up inside your body, and your blood circulating. This is your best bet to a hangover-free morning the day after. I drink 2-3 glasses of water before dozing off.

How to: Be Inspired and Where to Get Ideas

Finding inspiration to sky dive! (image via flickr)

We can’t deny to ourselves that every once in a while, we need to find some inspiration to jumpstart our boring moments. Some people rely on finding an extraordinary feat before having some fuel to work, while others need little amazing things to keep them awake. As for me, being a designer, I need to look for things that can make a good element or basis for my craft. And so for a long time, I found different ways to get my creative mind running. I weren’t a firm believer of the “1% inspiration, 99% perspiration” policy since back then. Keeping it balance was, and still my killer formula.

I compiled a small list sharing all the best and the craziest (take note, craziest, so expect something unlikely included in this) activities to get my ideas and inspirations from. Hopefully, some of you might be getting yours the same way I do!

5 Portfolio Websites from the Philippines

Hora! Last time, I featured some wonderful websites and blogs dealing on industrial design from the international scene. I’m still researching on Philippine-based ID firms with wonderful works, so for the meantime, I’m sharing to you these 5 portfolio websites on creative media which you probably didn’t know or haven’t seen yet. Be proud, these Filipino creative media artists really rock!

Happy Garaje
http://happygaraje.com/about-hg/

Happy Garaje is a design and illustration studio from Cebu, Philippines. As how they said about their work, they “like to create things and tell stories.” Indeed, you can see that their works are loosely based on imagination and are out of this world. Click on the Accolades page on their site and you’ll be amazed by how many art awards and recognitions they have received.

Electrolychee
http://electrolychee.com/

The first time I came across the dynamic art duo of Electrolychee was on my 3^rd year in college (some three years ago) when they were invited to talk about their works by our art organization. They seem to be having a lot fun doing what they love from how they share their achievements over the years. Their works consist of different styles ranging from cute colors to minimalism to doodles and many more.

Designers should be Objectified

Objectified movie poster, image from http://www.wired.com

For the past days since starting this Extra Kanin blog, I was trying to write an article that will give our readers the basic definition of industrial design. Many people don’t even know what industrial design is and what the profession is for. We always come across friends and acquaintances back in college asking us what we do, and what makes us different from more popular courses like architecture, interior design and fine arts. From a point of view of an outsider, industrial design is an unknown degree with no solid future. However, for those who practice it, the profession is prestigious.

Just last night, I finished watching this 2009-released documentary about industrial design (much thanks to Nian Suministrado for referring this to me). The movie is entitled Objectified, directed by Gary Hustwit, the same man who created the Helvetica movie (next on my to-watch list). For the people who don’t have a clue, now you will get the chance to better understand the nature of our profession. Objectified is the 90-minute tour to the world of simplicity, common sense, modernism and creativity as ingredients for design.

Every Guitar Has A Story

It Might Get Loud (2010)
Music Documentary

Every guitar has a name, and every name has a story behind it. Stories of adventure through music land, of clashing notes and sweet riffs. What’s more amazing are the musicians behind them, their masters, the geniuses that make the guitar moan and cry. It doesn’t matter how loud it gets, because that’s not the sole purpose of it. Just music and music alone.

One day in January of 2008, three of the greatest rock guitarists of this modern time came together to discuss the electric guitar. One came from Dublin, one from Tennessee, and the most veteran came from London. The Edge from U2, Mr. Jack White of White Stripes and The Raconteurs, and Mr. Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and the Yardbirds, respectively. When this kind of men come together to talk about the one passion they all share, you know stories of inspiration and motivation will surface and amaze you. I know, because that’s how it turned out for me.

Flipped: Love As Told From Both Sides

Flipped (2010)

Flipped poster. from www.tribute.ca. 

It all started on their first meeting, when second-grader Julianna Baker instantly fell in love with second-grader Bryce. What comes next was predictable to tell, but after watching both sides of the story, you may want to think over those memories you had in your childhood puppy love years.

Here’s the quick rundown on the story (skip if you have plans on watching the it first): Bryce and his family moves in to a new house in the village, where Julie lives across the street. He felt annoyed on the troublesome girl, but on the girl’s side, it was love at first sight. First time I saw him, I flipped, she said. Right then on, Julie never ceased to express her love for young Bryce. It became her ultimate goal to have that special kiss from her first love. Bryce on the other hand tried everything to keep the girl out of the way. That lasted for the next few years, until Bryce committed some foul mistakes that hurt Julie. Then the story, umm, flipped. Now the boy began going for the girl, and that made little Miss Julianna confused over her feelings. It even made her angrier at some point. There came a moment when the anticipated kiss was almost there, but then it was all wrong timing. Then she walked out away. Then there were tears. Then there was a tree planted in the front yard of the Bakers. They were smiling. End of story. Haha, just go watch the movie. Reserve the sweet feeling and know why you should feel it after watching the flick.

Industrial Design Websites For Your Inspiration

As an industrial designer, it has always been a part of our design process to include research as a partner of every step. There is research done before the project starts, while idealization commences, laying out the mechanism, internal functions and the ergonomics of the initial design, the marketability of the product, and even the right way to deliver the product’s message. The hardest way of dealing with this is the lack of visuals and commentaries about how the ideas will run and be born. So the quickest place to go for a design study besides the library is the Internet, although industrial design is still not that popular of a topic to look for on the web. As to help the students and others of the same profession, I compiled a list of wonderful industrial websites that will give any designers ease on where to get ideas, backgrounds, methods, and of course motivation and inspiration while working on their designs.

CORE77
http://www.core77.com/
http://challenges.core77.com/

Every industrial design student knows about Core77. It’s like the “House of ID”, the one website where every design ideas converge. And that’s exactly how the website presents its contents. Core77 shows the readers what they need to know, in terms of latest designs, commentary columns, news, information, hotlinks, what’s coming, and a lot more. Designers that write about designs, so you can be sure of what you read were experienced firsthand and understood by the writers. Plus, they hold competitions in what they call the Design Arena for amateurs and professionals to participate in (with most cash prizes enough to make you start a business or design firm already). It is truly a haven for us industrial designers.

Three Sundays of Summer

Sunday Morning I

A red car. We were sitting inside the red car, on which the doors were flung open for the 2AM breeze to blow in. A red car under the large mango tree, the mango tree under the vast starry sky above. It was a very fantastical scenario.

We were sitting inside the red car. Me and her. I was on the passenger seat, and she was at the back, probably curled up to lay. Or was sitting, perhaps. I wasn’t looking at her, I was just amazed at the star-dusted velvet blanket. We were talking of stuffs. Candid, sensual, funny stuff. If you think this is a love story, then you guessed wrong. This ain’t another 500 days of summer-theme as well. Though I was busy spotting the different alignment of the heavenly bodies, I was listening to her story. Her love story.

Oh wait. Excuse me. His love story.

Bad as it may seem, but we were having delight talking about this guy who’s silently courting her. Yet we can’t judge situation. I on my part had no right to judge as well. She, perhaps can, but it was heartbreaking too to break another heart. And seemingly, the breezy evening was not paying attention either.

“Victoria. Your choice, your life.“

The doors were flung open for the 2AM breeze to blow in. A cold summer mid-morning.