atolemdro

“a moment of happiness has the power to bring the world closer together”

putting the words above in action, coca-cola placed their ”small world machine” in new delhi, india and lahore, pakistan, hoping to improve relations between the two nations. via coke:

The “Small World Machines” provided a live communications portal linking strangers in two nations divided by more than just borders, with the hope of provoking happiness and promoting cultural understanding around the world. Coke and Leo Burnett used first-of-its-kind 3D touchscreen technology to project a streaming video feed onto the vending machine screen while simultaneously filming through the unit to capture a live emotional exchange. People from both countries and various walks of life were encouraged to complete a friendly task together – wave, touch hands, draw a peace sign or dance – before sharing a Coca-Cola.

while cynics might point out that sharing a coke isn’t the same thing as signing a peace treaty, even a symbolic gesture can have a great impact in changing a person’s outlook. also, the technology behind this is just cool on its own.

via co.create.

(Source: atolemdro.com)

as a part of the “new african photography” series, nigerian photographer george osodi studied his homeland’s traditional monarchs. via al jazeera:

“[There are] frequent clashes among different ethnic groups,” says Osodi. “Lots of people have lost trust in their identity. I felt it was important that we see this diverse culture as a point of unity instead of seeing it as something that should divide us as a nation.

“The easiest way I could approach this was to look at the monarchy structure in the country because they are closer to the people than the governors.”

click here to see the documentary on the project.

see if you can solve this scrabble-inspired brain teaser. details here.

“I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me…When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves or figments of their imagination, indeed, everything and anything except me.” - ralph ellison, invisible man

artist liu bolin hides in plain sight (no photoshop) as a commentary on what he sees as a conflict between “civilization and development.”

check out more of his art here. what do you think about the project, both artistically and as a form of social critique?

via open culture:

In the fall of 1979 Bob Marley and his band, the Wailers, went on tour to promote their album, Survival. It turned out to be the second-to-last tour for the reggae star, who had been diagnosed two years earlier with cancer. But in late 1979 Marley appeared to be in excellent form. Lucky for us, a camera crew was there to record one of his shows. The film above was shot at the Santa Barbara County Bowl in California on November 25, 1979, just 16 months before Marley’s untimely death at the age of 36. It was released on DVD in 2003 as Bob Marley: The Legend Live.

click here for the full set list from the 90-min clip (video time code in parenthesis).

63-year old phillip patterson spent the last few years handwriting the entire king james bible. here he is talking about his experience with the book of proverbs:

Having never before read the Book of Proverbs, I had a picture in my mind of trite lessons that parents sometimes used to justify their own actions, “spare the rod and spoil the child” leaps to mind. I hadn’t considered the possibility that those particular pages offer a handbook for right living.

Through this entire experience of handwriting the King James Bible, I have come across many ideas that are timeless. Timeless because the problems facing us in this young century have not changed much over these thousands of years. The only thing that seems to have changed is the weapons we’ve invented in order to afflict ourselves – so sad.

Perhaps it is difficult for an individual within the security of his or her home to affect significant change in the world at large. It is possible, however, to begin to begin change within one’s self.

Proverbs speaks greatly of vanity on the cellular level of the soul. It conversely offers remedies that open windows out to the fresh air of personal salvation. For me it’s a place to start. My own question revolves around how far I’m willing to go.

click here for more info/photos from the project.

by skurtur (via street art utopia). if an angel spilled god’s paint all over the earth, would you pull out your umbrella like the adult or just bask in it like the kid?

previously: mo’ money, mo’ problems | smug shrinks humanity | the greatest street fighter | you can only ride this once

lovely words by franz kafka, taken from his letters to milena jesenská. my favorite part is the bit on cloudy subtleties. those nuances that make people/things unique. unlike kafka, we’re not always willing to spend a minute, much less a lifetime, figuring them out. why not? part of it could be not caring enough, being too busy or maybe just being scared of what we might find underneath the uncertainty. whatever the reason to avoid it, we should remember that within those subtleties are the materials needed to better understand the world around us and the people within it (yourself included).

(Source: atolemdro.com)

choreographed dancing underwater is cool enough on its own, but the mother-son dynamic makes this video even more graceful. details via director conor horgan:

A short dance film, written and performed by David Bolger (choreographer and artistic director of CoisCéim Dance Theatre, Dublin) along with his 76-year-old mother, Madge Bolger. The film was shot in the Marian College swimming pool, where Madge worked as a swimming instructor for many years and where she taught David to swim.

related: making deep end dance

(Source: atolemdro.com)

see what a week of groceries looks like around the world

faith d’aluisio & peter menzel took a look at food consumption in 24 countries. countries pictured above: chad, japan, italy, usa. click here for more pics from the series. some things to think about as you scroll through the gallery:

how the amount of food compares across countries/your household
common staples across countries
processed/packaged vs. organic/grown
any favorite items from your home country

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