cureforthecommondigital

Please welcome bot@ifttt.com to your Google Talk contacts and edit the Google Talk channel for improved performance http://ifttt.com/channels/google_talk puts the internet to work for you. via task 578219

The world's top chefs talk about their favorite kitchen tools

We were recently invited down to check out the Cayman Cookout taking place at the Ritz-Carlton in Grand Cayman, and we jumped at the chance to talk to some of the world's top chefs. In our latest video we learn a little bit about what makes a good kitchen tool and why. We chatted with Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin, April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig, José Andrés of Minibar and Anthony Bourdain of No Reservations. This eclectic, multi-national crew of elite food experts shared their favorite kitchen tools and offered insight into why they are essential.

The acclaimed artist offers us a rare glimpse inside his Brooklyn studio ahead of his upcoming mini retrospective

While we all like to tap into an artist's brain, find out exactly what goes on in their mind to make them create what they do, sometimes there isn't really more behind a work of art than simply a vision that a person is unable to explain through words. The different approaches to making art—from pragmatic to utterly emotional—is part of what keeps the field perpetually intriguing.

A reticent painter originally from Côte d'Ivoire, Ouattara Watts recently opened up his studio to Cool Hunting for a preview of the newly formed works comprising his forthcoming exhibition. The large, garage-like space is located in an industrial part of Brooklyn between Williamsburg and Bushwick that's home to numerous emerging artists. With both the Whitney Museum and Venice biennials on his résumé, the veteran painter may hold more clout than his neighbors, but his artistic spirit seems unaffected by his widespread success.

Organized by Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld, Watts' upcoming NYC exhibition—which Roitfeld says is more like a small retrospective—will feature 18 new paintings alongside a few existing pieces. Watts completed all of these large-scale works in a matter of about six months, explaining that with the way the world is right now, he has a lot to say. At the moment, he is mostly preoccupied by the population of mistreated children in the world, a concern that presumably evolved since the birth of his own child, a life-changing moment for him.

Bursting with color and layered in fabrics and objects picked up from his global travels, Watts' paintings are still entrenched in his own style of Neo-Expressionism. Cryptic serial numbers abound, alluding to a secret code that only he knows about, but one that could potentially be worked out through clever deciphering or a deep understanding of West African cosmology. The mysticism that prevails reflects a coalescent spirituality, his beliefs not tied to one religion or another, but that together are very much a part of his enduring creative passion.

The mix of media Watts uses is also symbolic of his constant exploration, and the people he encounters along the way. For example, the massive piece, "Vertigo #4" is covered in a denim remnant given to him by the shop owner of a fabric store near his Midtown apartment. Glued to this is an Ikea-like dish cloth embroidered with the initials "JL"—who they belong to Watts claims not to know. These found objects and recycled fabrics likely speak to the movement against using expensive materials, a notion developed in the 1970s by fellow Ivorian painter Mathilde Moraeau which she called Vohou-Vohou. The mix also undoubtedly marks a more natural way for Watts to express himself, free of monetary limitations or a prescribed aesthetic.

Although known in his own right, it's difficult not to associate Watts with the legendary artist Jean-Michael Basquiat. The two met in Paris while Watts was studying at the renowned L’École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, and while their friendship was short-lived due to Basquiat's death, Watts considers him almost like a soulmate. Basquiat convinced him to move to NYC, where Watts gave rise to African art with prominent shows at the Gagosian and Vrej Baghoomian galleries.

The exhibition opens 7 February and runs through 19 February 2012 at the cavernous space known simply as 560 Washington Street.

All images by BHP, see more in the slideshow below.

Social networking platform will monitor activity in certain nations around the world

The credit company gossips that computer giant is creating a new touch-free way to make purchases.

New study out of Harvard suggests that iPad, Kindle Fire and others are bad for your health.

Our latest favorite music for avoiding the outdoors

As winter sputters along in New York, we're finding plenty of reasons to be homebodies —an activity that calls for the appropriate soundtrack. Like Atlas Sounds' opener "The Shakes," some of the best music for the season seems engineered for playing on vinyl, a choice that helps conjure warmth on even the coldest, darkest nights. We also included some cheerful songs, perfect for the intimacy of always being indoors, and a few rebellious shouts ("Yella Diamonds" by Ricky Rozay, Waka Flocka and Ludacris on "Rich and Flexin'") to get you amped for work when you'd rather be snuggling. Remember, you have to be ready to be reborn come spring.

Listen now

Secret phone charger for the literary aficionado

The dummy book motif has appeared on accessories from handbags to desktop boxes, only partially satisfying true literary geeks because, after all, they're only just replicating the covers. Book Chargers by Rich Neeley Designs, on the other hand, are made from actual vintage books outfitted with an impressively subtle power source for an iPhone or iPod. The USB-compatible hook-up tucks neatly behind the book's binding, and the dock itself is discreet enough to go unnoticed at quick glance.

Neeley and his wife, Brenna, travel around Southern California on what they call "book hunting" excursions. They've picked up tomes like a 1977 edition of "Alice in Wonderland", a manual called "Modern Dentistry" dating back to 1975, and a cloth-bound copy of Louisa May Alcott's "Eight Cousins" from 1914 for the antique bases they then refurbish to keep your modern technology fully juiced. The selection of books also includes contemporary releases bound in throwback past-edition covers, with titles spanning "The Picture of Dorian Gray", "Huckleberry Finn" and more.

Rich Neeley Book Chargers sell through the designer's Etsy shop, with prices ranging from $48-$55 per book.

It’s an old trick but it still appears to work. The trick with banknotes on the street, with a message on the back. Here it is an anti-littering campaign done in Beirut Lebanon by a group of graphic design students. They call themselves Metel Ma Shelta (Just as You Picked it Up). 

“Just as you picked this up… you can pick up litter from the streets”

Campaigning can be so easy. The Facebook Page of Metel Ma Shelta already have over 2,800 likes and is shared many times.

This is their statement:

As we were strolling around the beautiful streets of Hamra, we witness a man pulling his arm outside the window of his car to throw a tissue paper. What upset us the most was that this was happening across Lebanon and we weren’t able to do anything about it. We, as graphic designers decided to use what we’re best at (our witty minds and shiny tools) to visually express our frustration regarding the littering issue in Lebanon. Since people nowadays are immune to flyers, we thought of creating something irresistible that no one can overlook. Mmmm, so what can be irresistible to every individual on this planet...That’s when it hit us like a lightning bolt! MONEY, MONEY, MONEY!

Author: Marc

We review the best in design, trends, culture, arts and fashion in our weekly 'What's Trending Now' roundup.

The kick-off weekend for Occupy Design includes a hands-on series of workshops examining design within the context of protest.

Hibrow.tv.com curates video of visual art, music, literature, theatre, dance and cinema for an upscale audience.

Canadian band Blurred Vision have teamed up with music legend Roger Waters to promote Amnesty International’s campaign against executions in Iran.

The group cover Waters’ Pink Floyd classic “Another Brick in The Wall (Part 2)” as the video shows a variety of activists demanding that Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hoseyni Khāmene’i stop sentencing political prisoners to death — including Canadian Saeed Malekpour, an Iranian-Canadian web designer condemned for “insulting Islam.”

The musicians (and AI) encourage supporters to sign the petition, share the video, and upload their own messages of “Hey Ayatollah Leave Those Kids Alone” to the campaign Facebook page. You can also buy the song at iTunes.

All I know is that when Roger Waters shouts, I listen. In abject terror.

See the video after the break.

Author: Tom Megginson

The former director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts says that role of creative pursuits today is to help us examine the awkwardness of our culture and find the things that bind us together.

PSFK is on scene at IDS Toronto to share the highlights of the latest offerings in houseware and furniture design.

The Faculty Project curates free online lectures by professors from top universities.

When tweets from Katie Price (aka Jordan, a British glamour model) talking about the recently released Chinese GDP figures and the potential effects of large scale quantitative easing on the liquidity of the bond markets began appearing in my Twitter stream early this week I was a little surprised. Not entirely shocked (I 'accidentally' read her autobiography and she's undoubtedly a smart cookie and a successful businesswoman), but certainly a little confused. Had her account been hacked, had she decided that what the UK really needed was a new Iron Lady and that she was up for it? A few tweets later all was revealed when Katie tweeted a picture of herself holding a chocolate bar as part of the Snickers campaign 'You're not you when you're hungry.'

Ignoring the questionable exploitation of the British public's perception of Katie as not being intelligent enough to tackle the global economic meltdown via Twitter, this campaign struck me as being a fairly well executed case of a brand using a celebrity's profile within Twitter. I can certainly understand the resentment felt by some users when they realised this was part of a marketing campaign but from the perspective of an interactive marketer (IM) it felt pretty effective. I don't follow Katie but her tweets appeared in my timeline via multiple sources - friends, media bloggers, internet loudmouths and later more mainstream news organisations - often prefaced with far too many exclamation and question marks, but still people stayed engaged, retweeting and commenting on her subsequent tweets. Whether I'm going to buy a Snickers bar based on the recommendation of Katie is unlikely but that chocolate bar is now in my thoughts, somewhere it hadn't been for a while.

Read more

The following is a guest post by Senior Research Associate James McDavid:

When tweets from Katie Price (aka Jordan, a British glamour model) talking about the recently released Chinese GDP figures and the potential effects of large-scale quantitative easing on the liquidity of the bond markets began appearing in my Twitter stream early this week I was a little surprised. Not entirely shocked (I "accidentally" read her autobiography and she's undoubtedly a smart cookie and a successful businesswoman) but certainly a little confused. Had her account been hacked, had she decided that what the UK really needed was a new Iron Lady and that she was up for it? A few tweets later all was revealed when Katie tweeted a picture of herself holding a chocolate bar as part of the Snickers campaign, "You're not you when you're hungry."

Read more

Experts debate whether good ideas are the product of individual genius and hard work or "groupthink" and brainstorming.

"Heart Stop Beating" is a fascinating look at the lives of Drs. Billy Cohn and Bud Frazier and their successful implantation of a continuous flow, beatless, mechanical heart.