Upon leaving the TED alternative BIL Unconference, Rahmin Sarabi wanted to see what his friends had to teach each other in a similar co-education framework. The community-powered learning community (un)classes became Sarabi and partner Jonathan Strauss' chance to see what smart folks would be willing to share, and the result is a good “what to do on a free Saturday afternoon†solution given the classes' informal nature and wide range of content. Peer instructors have raised their hands everywhere from New York to Boise, and the Cloudspace-powered community offers everything from the very practical  (Accounting for Dummies and Salesforce) to the fantastic (cheesemaking and straight razor shaving). Talk about the joy of learning.
We’ve been digging on info-graphs for a while, it’s our preferred method of learning. Intuitiongames is hosting an info-graph game titled “effing hail” explaining the weather through destruction. For those of you that don’t know how hail is formed, basically small water droplets get caught in a whirl wind deep inside a freezing thunder cloud. The longer they get blown around the more water collects to freeze and thus larger hail. Wouldn’t you prefer an info-graph to that explanation?
The premise of the game is to keep the small pieces of hail in the sky so its get bigger and bigger. Once they get to a certain size the small gust of wind you control can direct your moster ice rock to crash into a skyscraper or a plane. Damage is the goal. I got to the level where you had to take out some satellites. I couldn’t do it, maybe you can. It’s Friday, let’s play games!
Christian Broda, professor of economics at the University of Chicago, has created a map where he replaced U.S. states with countries with a similar level of GDP. With an $825 billion stimulus package on it’s way to the House floor, we get yet another perspective on America’s role in the global marketplace. It is pretty crazy that all of Canada’s GDP is about the same as Texas. More surprising was Russia’s GDP was about equal to New Jersey. And they don’t even have the Giants.
When I meet with my international friends I am always humbled at their ability to speak two, three, or four languages. Now that I’m a little older, I’m kicking myself for not studying a language in high school and college. Sure, I can count to seven in Spanish and say “the dog is on the table” in French, but other than that, I am out of luck. The polylinguists at Livemocha are on a quest to build the best language learning service on the web. It’s extremely similar to the expensive Rosetta Stone software but Livemocha allows you to interact with native speakers who add supplemental information to the standard lessons. This includes grammar help, alternate colloquial meanings and other helpful hints. But the best part – it is all totally free!
Got the tongue twisties when trying to say “Auf wiedersehen” to the new German girl in your building? Or perhaps English is your second language, and you almost have a panic attack before saying “beach”, for fear it will come out sounding like something not so pleasant? Have no fear, for Forvo is here. A way less foulmouthed and organized version of Gringoes.nu, it similarly relies on the help of people like you and me to add recordings to help others learn to pronounce words in different languages. The variety of tongues stretch from Afar to Zulu — there are 196 languages in all. The only thing that’s missing is a dictionary, which makes all the difference between “beach” and the other “b” word. Nonetheless, I can’t think of a more fun and surmountable New Year’s resolution than learning a new language.
When Rafael Augustaitiz – a student and long-time member of Brazil’s pixacao tagging movement – staged his graduation show along with the rest of his class in Sao Paulo at the highly esteemed private art college Belas Artes last Wednesday, he took a different route that made the news and pissed a ton of people off, but did get them talking. He invited 40 to 50 (the numbers vary on all reports) pichadores to help him mount a protest about what essentially is the divide between the poor and the rich, between art and how far it can go. Pixacao, for those who don’t know much about it, is a visual form that a lot of disadvantaged youth identify with here in Brazil. During the show, the group went on a rampage using spray paint as artillery, bombing the school with their cryptic-like tags, even spraying officials in the face who tried to stop them. It was chaos and now, after the event, school administrators are thinking about pulling Augustaitiz’s financial scholarship. This insane bit of rebellion was captured on film, and you can see it here to decide whether the message came through loud and clear or just lost its gas.
See Dick get vintage cool. See Jane become art. See Dick and Jane on your wall as a whimsical conversation piece. Whether they're part of your memories of early childhood education or not, the nostalgic kick of Dick and Jane has become a universal part of North American culture. Anyone who doesn't know See Spot Run just hasn't been paying enough attention. With a blend of retro-chic and a naughty wink, Sundance has given authentic grammar school Dick and Jane flashcards a second life. The cards come in neutral tones on matte black metal frames. But the twist is that these elementary vocabulary words are mixed into more adult themes: “I Work For A Clownâ€, “Let Them Eat Cake,†and our personal favorite, “Go Go Bootsâ€. Each piece is totally unique and range from $150 – $225. See us spend.
We wrote about Trailerwrap last year when the project started by the University of Colorado at Boulder College of Architecture was still just in infancy– lots of drawing and sketches. Slightly less than a year later, the project is complete. The group of students involved and a few dedicated treachers really pulled this one together with attention to detail– taking a defunct trailer and turning it into high design. Check out their Flickr account for more shots, and if you’re in the Boulder, CO area pop by for the open house on September 21st. Congrats Adam!
One of the newer, more young-spirited cultural spaces in Sao Paulo, Escola Sao Paulo fills a niche that’s important to a city whose artists have been gaining more worldwide attention in the last few years. It’s an informal school that staunchly focuses on promoting contemporary culture — from dance and gastronomy all the way to music and design — via classes and seminars taught by renown experts, often accompanied by guest lecturers. The site, located on the busy thoroughfare Rua Augusta, is a super-center of slashes: school/art exhibition space/shop/library/workshop and soon, cafe. Take a look at a few of the next months’ class offerings: a Cinema Workshop in which students learn how to make a short d/v film on a low budget, a Photography Seminar that teaches everything about the subject and a History of Gastronomy Course taught by a famous food critic that shows participants how food influences our culture and us as individuals. All classes are very affordable and provide easy registration. The book and CD/DVD library are free and open to the public. This school is a great concept that surely beats the intimidation and hassle (not to mention cost) that I’m used to in the U.S. when considering taking an extension course at a public university.
While it is not statistically likely that you — a loyal JoshSpear.com reader — live in a trailer, these abodes serve an important role in our society. With ever-increasing wage and wealth disparities in our economy, many American families look to the mass-produced mobile home as an affordable and convenient place to live. Unfortunately, a trailer park stigma exists due to the consensus that these things are horrendous looking and could be blown over in a second by the ‘big bad wolf.’ Thanks to Trailer Wrap — a project initiated by the University of Colorado at Boulder College of Architecture and Planning — the trailer park stigma may begin to subside. The idea behind Trailer Wrap is to provide simple and affordable solutions to improve the condition of mobile home–addressing lack of comfort, inefficiency, and poor aesthetics. Trailer Wrap comes in the form of a simple, affordable kit that can be assembled easily by just a few people. Thanks to hard work by students, dedicated faculty, and help from a wealth of sponsors, Trailer Wrap continues to build steam to become a widely implemented concept. Thanks to Boulder-based architect and buddy Brian Nelson for a heads up on this one.
“Math is hard; life is hard, but in the hands of Craig Damrauer, math and life come together with a unique and simple clarity in his New Math: Equations for Living flashcards. In the tradition of LCD artist Jenny Holzer, these equations turn words into art, investing tired concepts and commonplace events with new meaning.†Craig’s application of mathematical formula's to real-life feelings create witty and intelligent observations like Boca Raton = Long Island + 40 years and Foreign Country = obscure + exotic + CNN. The New Math flashcards are sure to spark conversation and are available from Environment 337.
The seven ways of design thinking: Intending, defining, exploring, suggesting, innovating, goal getting, and knowing–as developed by Dr. Charle Burnette. The methodology is provided free to anyone interested in teaching children and young adults ‘the creative and critical thinking skills they need to cope with any subject or situation’. The model, which is called iDesign seems really great, and like any good teaching resource has excellent iconography and description. Trying to teach your kid brother to be ‘more creative’, or are you a teacher with a class full of stubborn but talented students? This might be the perfect resource for you. Via Swiss Miss
Sian Matthews, a graduate from The Royal College of art recently took a shot at redesigning the ice cream scoop– this is what he came up with. He created these spoons while training to be a silver smith, and I think they turned out damn well. Each spoon is created by hand, and made to order. He seems like a promising talent in the design world, and recently was awarded the DKNY New Designer Award.
We’ve been digging on info-graphs for a while, it’s our preferred method of learning. 
Got the tongue twisties when trying to say “Auf wiedersehen” to the new German girl in your building? Or perhaps English is your second language, and you almost have a panic attack before saying “beach”, for fear it will come out sounding like something not so pleasant? Have no fear, for 
While it is not statistically likely that you — a loyal JoshSpear.com reader — live in a trailer, these abodes serve an important role in our society. With ever-increasing wage and wealth disparities in our economy, many American families look to the mass-produced mobile home as an affordable and convenient place to live. Unfortunately, a trailer park stigma exists due to the consensus that these things are horrendous looking and could be blown over in a second by the ‘big bad wolf.’ Thanks to 
