The Meaning of Life

Based on the Short Stories of Etgar Keret, and adapted for the screen by Etgar Keret and Director Tatia Rosenthal, $9.99 is a stop motion animated feature which offers slightly less than $10 worth about the meaning of life.

Have you ever wondered "What is the meaning of life? Why do we exist?" The answer to this vexing question is now within your reach! You'll find it in a small yet amazing booklet, which will explain, in easy to follow, simple terms your reason for being! The booklet, printed on the finest paper, contains illuminating, exquisite color pictures, and could be yours for a mere $9.99.

This is the ad that alters the life of the unemployed 28 year old who still lives at home, Dave Peck. In his struggle to share his find with the world, Dave's surreal path crosses with those of his unusual neighbors: an old man and his disgruntled guardian angel, a magician in debt, a bewitching woman who likes her men extra smooth, a broken hearted man who befriends a group of hard partying two inch tall students, and a little boy who sets his piggy bank free. Their stories are woven together, examining the post-modern meaning of hope. Visit www.9dollars99movie.com.

Lemonade

More than 70,000 advertising professionals have lost their jobs in this “Great Recession.” Lemonade is about what happens when people who were once paid to be creative in advertising are forced to be creative with their own lives. I can't wait to see this. I take that back. I need to see this. (Via SwissMiss)

Sweetest Note Ever

"Every time I see you I find myself, later in the day, thinking who is she, what magic is she. I want to know. And you to I?" From Megan McIsaac's Flickr Photostream. (Via English Muse)

I Want To Go Here!

This is the Kuroshio Sea tank which is second largest aquarium tank in the world. And I love the song: Please Don't Go by Barcelona.
(Via Put It On Your Kite)

500 Pieces of Prudent Advice for My Baby Daughter

Lately I've been reading Jaime's blog. Though I am 27 I find her posts useful. Some are things I will integrate into my life like #116: At the close of each day, fill your head with thoughts of how lucky you are. Some things I'm proud that I'm doing, for example #161: Live alone for a period of time. And some are things I would like to share with my daughter one day like #154: You can talk to me about sex. And I love the art and quotes that are mixed in. Here is one quote that I saved from post #2: Try to know what is bubbling around inside your heart.

Your heart is a great river after a long spell of rain, spilling over its banks. All signposts that once stood on the ground are gone, inundated and carried away by that rush of water. And still the rain beats down on the surface of the river. Every time you see a flood like that on the news you tell yourself: That's it. That's my heart. —Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami

If were to offer anything, I'd say that it's okay sometimes to not know who you are. Life will bring challenges to question your beliefs and values and it's okay to defer, to surrender, to change, to progress, to digress. In the end if you have grown, then you have lived.
Artwork: Proteus 1984. Cy Twombly.

Quote of the Week

Originally uploaded by Emma Über.

I am currently reading Rilke on Love and Other Difficulties by German poet Rainer Maria Rilke. This is my second time around and there’s still so much to digest. Here are three Rilke quotes that seem most relevant to me at the present moment:

“It is not inertia alone that is responsible for human relationships repeating themselves from case to case, indescribably monotonous and unrenewed: it is shyness before any sort of new, unforeseeable experience with which one does not think oneself able to cope. But only someone who is ready for everything, who excludes nothing, not even the most enigmatical will live the relation to another as something alive.” Yes, Rilke is talking about human relationships, but oftentimes, my relationships with others can be as muddled and confusing, as painful and joyful, as my relationship with my self. With everything that happens or doesn’t happen, I cope again and again. Each time I see more of myself. I may be shy and wide-eyed, a little fearful, a little unsure, but I survive, I grow, I strengthen, I love. I embrace and I let go. I refuse inertia—and, in doing so, I think I may have found my best and most fulfilling relationship yet.

“Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.” I’m not sure what frightens me, or maybe I do and don’t want to confront it. This is a scary thing... maybe one day I will have the courage to do this.

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” This is a guide to how I want to be. I want to remember in moments when I’m caught up in the details of not knowing what and when and why and how that I need to go back to the notion of trying to live in the unknown—and that, in fact, hopefully will lead to the answer.

The Essence of Summer

Beautiful photos from The Sartorialist.

I tried to explain that if they want to become a fashion designer they should try to take photos that will inspire a certain feeling of a season, or a gesture, or a mood. The pictures that I took above are, to me, the essence of Summer. If I was a designer I would look at photos like this at the beginning of the spring design season, just to remember what it is that everyone loves about the sun, warmth, and vacation. —Scott Schuman

The Science of Sleep

In Prelude to a Kiss Meg Ryan admits that she has a terrible memory and insomnia. Well, so do I. Perhaps this is a solution to restless nights, Zeo Personal Sleep Coach. Developed by scientists, the product tracks, analyzes, and guides you to blissful nights of zzz’s. Here’s how it works: Before bed, put on the jazzy headband that records patterns using sensor technology. In the morning, check out the bedside display, which is connected to the headband wirelessly and evaluates your REM, light, and deep sleep. Then head to the website, which recommends techniques, tools, and tips based on your personal data to address the things affecting your rest. Soon enough you’ll be jumping over rainbows on the back of a unicorn while making sweet love to Edward Cullen. (Via Daily Candy)

For 2009, Idea Subscription

This is a great concept. For all of 2009 David Horvitz will send out small texts of simple instructional ideas through a mailing list to which you can subscribe. He will also post screenshots of them on his tumblr page. He will does not do this everyday, only when he feels like it and has access to the internet. But he wil attempt to do them everyday. You can also receive these in the postal mail.

This post is from Vic. I relate so much:
I am feeling a little lost for inspiration at the moment. Or maybe a little lost in general. Things are changing, always changing. I am about to turn 28 and I have no idea where I’m going or what I’m doing. And this is fine, of course. In fact, sometimes it’s great and I wouldn’t want it any other way. But there are moments when I think about the strange order in which I do things, in which I’ve done things, and I wonder how it got like this. How did we get here? And I don’t mean just you and I, I mean everyone. How did you get here? What are you doing?
But then I look at this photo of Oprah and I realise that everything is going to be ok. It has to be. After all, this is all there is.

The Girl Effect

An amazing use of animated sans serif type! Also (and more importantly) a thought-provoking piece about the profound impact that modest investments in the lives of girls and women can have on world hunger, poverty, social injustice, war, etc. Check it out!

Quote of the Week

This past weekend I went to see "Picasso: Mosqueteros" at the Gagosian Gallery. This masterful show reminded me of why I fell in love with art. As a child I didn't care how good something was or if it had meaning. I just loved playing with colors. It was fun. Pure creativity. Unedited. I was a genius. I believe, we start off as geniuses. We are like a mold of clay, except we are already perfect. Along the way situations, people... they chisel away at you. You change. And you forget. But, now I remember. I think today, I will pick up a brush, mix some paint and just have fun.

“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” —Pablo Picasso

Live What You Love

I needed this today. Print is available at Hijirik Studio.

"How To Break Up" Tales Of Mere Existence

Good 50×70 Winners

The results of Good 50×70 are out. There are some amazing posters.

Quote of the Week: Happiness

Every Monday I send out a quote of the week. Here's what I sent today:
Lately, there has been much talk about the pursuit of happiness. Maybe we've been looking at the concept of happiness wrong. Is happiness something one can pursue? Perhaps, it's simply a state of being. It is a choice one makes. I choose to be happy. Yes, there are still many things I want, many things I want to do, and I am driven to strive for and do those things. Once attained, these things will allow for a better quality of life, but I can't say that they will guarantee happiness. Plus, I know I'll just want more. It's human nature.

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.” — Frederick Keonig

Richard St. John's 8 Secrets of Success

Seth Godin at TED

John Wooden Redefining Success

I needed this today:
With profound simplicity, Coach John Wooden redefines success and urges us all to pursue the best in ourselves. In this inspiring talk he shares the advice he gave his players at UCLA, quotes poetry and remembers his father’s wisdom.

Days With My Father

Days With My Father by Phillip Toledano is a beautiful and heartbreaking website. (Via A Cup of Jo)