Some of my personal favorite blogs made the list including…

#40 Chez Larsson a Swedish blog written by Benita Larsson on Design/Organizing/DIY blog

#36 Oh So Beautiful Paper Invitation/Stationary/Everything else paper blog written by Nole in Washington, DC

#31 Making it Lovely Chicagoan Nicole Balch, a woman who LOVES pink everything, writes about her house to home renovation style & journey

#2 Design*Sponge Brooklyn writer Grace Bonney features reader projects, artists home interiors and so much more

  ‘In 1970 Gordon B Holcombe a pioneer in the design and construction of buildings utilizing coated fabrics predicted that,’ “Before the year 2000 the house you live in may come in a can of liquid and a roll of fabric-and be inflated like a balloon. And by the end of this decade, everything from your drinking water and the pools your children swim in and acre-size farms will be protected by air-supported domes.” Speciality Fabrics Review August 2008

As part of the Art on the Edge Festival which was held at the Progress Energy Performing Arts Center in Raleigh this past weekend, the Architects of Air put up a 10,000 sq ft installation called Levity III which brought to reality all the possibilities imagined by Mr. Holcombe more than 35 years ago. This was truly one of the highlights of my summer as I was inspired by the captivating color scape and the energy that playfully moved within. It was great to see the potential of material through imaginative architecture. Now my vision of an inflatable ‘Nap Pod’ seems a bit more feasible.

mascots of 2008 Beijing Olympics

I read a lot about the FUWA when they were first unveiled as the 2008 Beijing Olympic mascots about a year ago. Thought now, on this opening day might be a good time to review how the mascots came to be.

According to the Olympic site, each of Fuwa has a rhyming two-syllable name -a traditional way of expressing affection for children in China: Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow.

When you put their names together — Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni — they say “Welcome to Beijing.”

Beibei: fish and water are symbols of prosperity and harvest, as well as having a surplus for a good year and good life. According to the site, “Beibei is known to be gentle and pure. Strong in water sports, she reflects the blue Olympic ring.”

Jingjing: a symbol of happpiness. The Panda is loved and protected throughout China. He and the lotus’s on his head symbolize the lush green of the Panda’s environment and the desire to protect nature’s gifts. “Jingjing is charmingly naïve and optimistic. He is an athlete noted for strength who represents the black Olympic ring.”

Huanhuan: “In the intimate circle of Fuwa, Huanhuan is the big brother. He is a child of fire, symbolizing the Olympic Flame and the passion of sport. Huanhuan is outgoing and enthusiastic. He excels at all the ball games and represents the red Olympic ring.”

Yingying: a fast and agile antelope, she symbolizes China’s great and huge landscape. “Strong in track and field events, Yingying is a quick-witted and agile boy who represents the yellow Olympic ring.”

Nini: represents the golden winged swallow – the most popular kite design in China. “Nini is as innocent and joyful as a swallow. She is strong in gymnastics and represents the green Olympic ring.

Han Meilin designed the mascots, went through many renditions (bureacracy is everywhere, after all), and infused the mascots with meaning and depth. they are not just a bunch of cute little dolls. He got his original idea from the five factors making up the world, including gold, wood, water, fire and earth.

Han Meilin was given an original concept by another person involved with the Olympics. His design team came up with over 4000 iterations of the characters and over 60 changes to the prototypes

Here is a sampling of what some of the other mascot ideas were:

Read this great interview with Han Meilin from the China Daily about how he came up with the characters.
Or see the Official Olympics Site to get more details about the mascots and their final meanings.

Similar to the BMW fabric car Aly wrote about a few days ago, these Lamp Girls by Marianne Maric combine textiles with product design to give structure to the fabrics. Fortunately in this case, artistry and iconic culture are also added in.

Kind of the sexual inverse of “where the sun don’t shine.”

source: elitalice.com

Public Art that’s gorgeous, AND with a purpose! “Green Energy Design” is an event hosted by Interni Magazine during Milan Design Week. “It focuses on the creative processes of a series of Italian and international design talents, through projects characterized by a highly experimental, multimedia approach, capable of transmitting design culture and expression to the city as a whole.”

The Solar Tree shown above is by Ross Lovegrove, with Artemide. “Solar Tree, doesn’t use energy but takes it from the sun, and is a sinuous tree made of steel tubes that support bubbles, each of them accommodating 38 sophisticated solar cells linked to a system of batteries and electronic devices hidden in the base. LED lighting. The bubbles light up at night thanks to the light accumulated by the solar panels by day.” Look at it! A beautiful and whimsical sculpture in an urban setting. YEA!

Ofigea, by Jacob Foggini, with Nice, is a giant centipede-like series of lit up discs. “It has a linear development of 55 m x 1.2 m dia (disc), 4 m high, and consists of hundreds of LED-lit discs in iridescent colours, made in methacrylate M-Cryl, a regenerated product, saving 70% of energy compared to a first-rate equivalent.” It symbolizes metamorphosis and regeneration…and it’s super cool.

See Interni Magazine for full details
Storry originally seen on MocoLoco.com

The City of Raleigh currently is updating its Comprehensive Plan for the first time since 1989. Over the next 20 years, the city is expected to grow by 70 percent and reach a population of 700,000. Kids City is one element of the City’s strategy to educate people on the issues and engage them in envisioning Raleigh’s future.

Emma Farquhar sees the future clearly, complete with flying cars, the river all Raleighites long for, and her house in the trees.

Kids have eco-visions too! Check out “The Solar Hotel!”

The Mudcats stadium moves downtown, and all the important people of Raleigh are there enjoying the game.

Industry moves downtown too. Shown here is a Gatorade factory…and right beside it, there’s a chocolate factory. Chocolate and Gatorade…new energy for the downtown core!

You can always count on kids for the big ideas, the creative avenues we all wish for but are afraid to develop. Kids Day 2030 brought a little fun into the idea of planning – and maybe to the future reality of Raleigh.

Driving back from the beach yesterday, we passed Camp Lejeune. For at least 2 miles along the highway the fence along the road was covered with displays of love for the military men and women returning from their tours of duty. It was a very touching sight.

Eastern Standard Time, the partial eclipse begins around 8pm-ish. The total eclipse begins about 10pm-ish.
The eclipse is visible from South America and most of North America (on Feb. 20) as well as Western Europe, Africa, and Western Asia (on Feb. 21).

According to the NASA site about lunar eclipses, “An eclipse of the Moon can only take place at Full Moon, and only if the Moon passes through some portion of Earth’s shadow. The shadow is actually composed of two cone-shaped parts, one nested inside the other. The outer shadow or penumbra is a zone where Earth blocks some (but not all) of the Sun’s rays. In contrast, the inner shadow or umbra is a region where Earth blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the Moon.”

This is the last total eclipse until December of 2010.

The center square on the top plane is exactly the same color as the center square on the side plane. No foolin. If you went through design school or art school, you studied color illusions. But I bet the illusions on this site still blow your mind. Check it.