Reliable data on economic growth is hard to come by in many parts of the world, especially in developing countries. Yet according to scientists, outer space offers a new perspective for measuring economic growth.
Using satellite images of nighttime lights, J. Vernon Henderson, Adam Storeygard, and David N. Weil from Brown University have created a new framework for estimating a country or region’s gross domestic product, or GDP by observing the changes in a country’s “night lights” as seen from outer space.
“Consumption of nearly all goods in the evening requires lights,” they write in a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper. “As income rises, so does light usage per person, in both consumption activities and many investment activities.”
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It’s funny how these mixed up brands still feel like they make sense. Peculiar image of the week.
This collection of green, leafy, eco, enviro, bio, organic logo’s was collected by Andrew Kinnear.
See also: Five strategies of biomimicmarketing, Biodiversity in the Supermarket.
Jim Reinders, an experimental artist with a history of using curious media, became so enthralled by the beauty of the famous Stonehenge in England that he had to recreate it. However, Reinders, instead of using stone, decided to embrace a more modern, Americanized approach. Shortly after his father died in 1982, Reinder came up with the idea to build “Carhenge“.
Five years later during a family reunion, with the help of some thirty family members, Reinder used thirty-eight automobiles to mirror the position of the rocks that construct Stonehenge. All the automobiles, which include a handful of cars, a pick-up truck, an ambulance, and a 1962 Cadillac as the heel stone, accurately and proportionately depict the real life structure.
For a while now printer ink is probably the most expensive liquid per litre on earth. Still we need our images so badly that we accept this fact. The Human Printer manages to make it even more expensive (although for now it’s free). Watch how it works and view the different printer models.
Perhaps in the long run, historians will consider this as the official end of modernity as we knew it: The comeback of the wonky cucumber, abnormally bent banana, and comedy carrots, at least in the EU.
As of July 2009, the European Commission abolished more than two dozen laws that have stipulated the look of Europe’s fruit and vegetables – including Brussels sprouts – for the past 20 years. A majority of EU member states, including Britain and Ireland, have voted to reform rules like EC Commission Regulation No 2257/94, which stipulate that only the most perfect-looking produce adorns supermarket shelves and caused international ridicule by stating that all bananas must be “free of abnormal curvature” and at least 14 cm in length.
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Part of the Fallen Princesses series by Dina Goldstein.
“These works place Fairy Tale characters in modern day scenarios. In all of the images the Princess is placed in an environment that articulates her conflict. The ‘…happily ever after’ is replaced with a realistic outcome and addresses current issues.”
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Male - BMW, Armani, Durex - is looking for a Female - Dolce & Gabana, New York Times, Victoria’s Secret.
Branddating.nl is a (serious) dating site that relies on the identification people have with brands. It replaces characteristics like “sporty”, “spontaneous” and “funny” with brands like “Apple©”, “Starbucks©” and “Camel©”. We were surprised how well it works and how much more easy it was to describe yourself with brands than it was to do it with words. Although the site offers a lot of Dutch brands, we guess you get the point.
Start dating: Branddating.nl. See also: iReligion, Wood of Logo’s, Media sunrise, We are all born in a world.
Regular readers of this website know we are keen to speculate that our global financial system is best perceived as an ecology, which although originally constructed by man, has now gained a certain agency of its own.
Although these next ecologies – like the global financial system and the internet – unquestionably differ in many regards from older ecologies – like rain forests, cloud formations, or coral reefs – there still lies a certain luster in visualizing them as phenomena of old nature.
Already we have seen approaching hurricane$, the ¥€$ datafountain and a magnificent flock of Visa’s. Now there is also the credit card rainbow, compiled of thousands of creditcards, freecards, discount carts and gift cards from around the world.
The piece was commissioned by the Graphic Design Museum in Breda, the Netherlands where is is currently on display until the end of September 2009. After that, I expect this nextnature rainbow will travel the world.
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