Notes from the Nexus

The Gigapxl Project

What an amazing use of technology!
 

 

 

 

From the Gigapxl Project's website:

Our Vision

Defining the upper limits of large-format photography, digital scanning and image processing, custom-built Gigapxl™ cameras capture images with unprecedented resolution.

It would take a video wall of 10,000 television screens or 600 prints from a professional digital SLR camera to capture as much information as that contained in a single Gigapxl™ exposure.

The Project's near-term goal is to compile a coast-to-coast portrait of America; photographing her cities, parks and monuments in exquisite detail.

A longer term goal is to create for future generations a world-wide archive of vanishing cultural and archaeological sites.

Thanks to my friend Art (who just won't blog!) for pointing this out!

Christo's Central Park Gates and Yosemite

I've not yet mastered blogging while on the road, but wanted to share some of what I've been lucky to see these past weeks.  Was in NYC for a client, and succeeded in finding time between meetings to get to Central Park and walk through some of The Gates - Christo's (and Jeanne-Claude's) most recent public art project.  As is usual with Christo's projects, there is some debate about whether the work is, in fact, art.  Watching the faces of the crowds of people strolling through Central Park on a very cold day it was apparent to me that many people were transformed.  They were seeing the Park, the city and their surroundings in general in new way.  To me, this is a not only an endorsement of the positive value of Christo's contribution to NY, but a clear indication that he created a work of art.  By the way, this was a contribution in the true sense - Christo and Jeanne-Claude not only paid for the materials and the staff to install and maintain the installation, but they received nothing from the sales of all the related merchandise - they donated all merchandising rights to two non-profits who support NY's parks and public art.  Kudos to Christo and Jeanne-Claude for a wonderful gift to the people of NYC, and to all of us lucky enough to have visited the Gates.

After returning from NY I spent last week with my family in Yosemite National Park, one of my favorite places.  It was an interesting contrast with my experience in Central Park.  The scale and the beauty of Yosemite is beyond words.  We had the luck to be in the Valley during a full moon; the view of the cliffs in the moonlight, with the snow on the peaks was utterly astounding.  Yosemite is beautiful any time, there is a special beauty right now with the snow highlighting the amazing geography.  We're going back in a few weeks for the annual spring conference held by the Yosemite Association, an organization devoted to supporting the Park. 

Sony wades into the blogosphere

Article on AdAge about Sony's deal with Gawker Media, with Sony being the sponsor of their newest blog, Lifehacker, for $25,000 a month.  Gawker is a publisher of professional blogs, including the eponymous Gawker of course, as well as Gizmodo, Wonkette, and others.

It will be interesting to see how members of the blogosphere view this latest evolution - a "bespoke" blog, as it were.  I believe that this is a notable step in the maturation and mainstreaming of blogs - a major brand putting a fairly reasonable sum behind a blog.  While it's a drop in the bucket for their ad expenses, even in the online world, it bodes well for those who are looking to create viable business models in the blogging world.

Two btw's:

• Today's lead posting on Lifehacker is How to Cut Vegetables. Not an especially insightful post, and definitely not about gadgetry.  I'm still looking for the Sony connection.
• The entire AdAge article had not one link.  Not to Lifehacker, the topic of the article, not to Gawker, nada. Do these guys get blogs, or just write about them for ad types?

Happy Birthday, Don Quixote!

" Somewhere in La Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember, a gentleman lived not long ago, one of those who has a lance and ancient shield on a shelf and keeps a skinny nag and a greyhound for racing."

This past month marked the 400th anniversary of the publication of Miguel de Cervantes' "Don Quixote."  Widely considered the first modern novel, this is one of my all time favorite books.

The story is wonderful, following a man who sets out to right wrongs and to help the oppressed.  The book, unlike the Broadway version "Man of La Mancha" which seems to drive our current cultural concept of Don Quixote, is a paean to a person on a mission.  It is also a wonderful description of a man who leads by his actions, and engenders total loyalty by his commitment.  Granted, many consider his actions, and he himself, to be crazy, but this does not sway him.  An apt description of many entrepreneurs and leaders that I've worked with.

Worth (re)reading, and worth considering as we go about our lives.