We do love small things or everyday objects that get new meaning in context. So it should be no surprise that the discovery of Tatsuya Tanaka’s daily photographs depicting tiny diorama-style figures surrounded by every day objects have been a pleasant surprise.
These are just a few of our favorites, to see them all, visit Tatsuya Tanaka’s website or Instagram.
Images via Instagram
Samurai Jack, the critical acclaimed animated show about a samurai, up-rooted from his own time, on a quest to travel back and defeat Aku, the shape-shifting Master of Darkness, ended suddenly in 2004 without resolution.
Twelve years later, Jack is back and the final chapter of his journey is darker than ever. Jack, who up to this point has been battling Aku and his robotic minions, is now faced with the Daughters of Aku, seven young women who’s sole purpose it is to destroy Samurai Jack.
The shows creator Genndy Tartakovsky said in an interview with Polygon that he always planned for this season of Samurai Jack to be the darkest yet, as this marks the end of Jack’s journey, and Tartakovsky wanted to explore themes and acts that he couldn’t before.
“In my perception of the show the darkness was surface,” Tartakovsky said. “It was dark because the show was sad, but it didn’t go down into the soul. Here, we get to go all the way to the bottom. The haunting of the past and the self, is a pressure that you either need to forget or grieve. He’s traumatized and he cannot let go.”
Just like the original 52 episodes, the new season maintains the iconic series’ beautiful, artistic style with intense action sequences filling the screen only to zero in on certain aspects of the scene.
Samurai Jack’s fifth and final season started airing March 11 on Adult Swim.
Images via YouTube
NPR’s All Things Considered asked listeners to write and send in scripts for commercials that celebrate the small things in life, then turned five submissions into radio spots.
The idea originated back in 1972 when NPR’s Susan Stamberg encouraged listeners to write commercials for the things that matter – live’s simple pleasures. Back then listeners promoted things such as taking a walk, love letters and cumulus clouds.
Forty-five years later the more than 2,000 submissions included pitches for bonfires, breezes, silence and simple kindness.
The spots that were produced were non-commercial commercials for Puns, Trees, Nothing, Ear Scratches and Yummy Words. Below is just one of them – Trees – Submitted by Adam Drake of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
My favorite part is hands-down the disclaimer: Trees may not be right for everybody. Side effects include tree houses, tire swings, fruit, shade, and woodworking. Please consult your biome before selecting a tree. Not every tree is right for every biome, enjoy trees responsibly.
Of course the radio ad for doing nothing rings especially true these days… Click here to listen to them all.
While at NYNow in NYC, I came across this awesome campaign by MailChimp, who is not so concerned that people get their name right, but rather want to intrigue people about who they are and to have some fun along the way.
Check out the whole campaign – if you would like to go down a long (fun and entertaining) rabbit hole.
Slider images via MailChimp
Pablo Stanley, writer at The Design Team, put together a great comparison of typeface vs. font.
Plus, he reiterates the importance of sticking to a few simple typography rules.
Check out the whole article here.
Drivers in Arizona have been greeted for the past few years with a running series of timely, humorous, holiday or pop-culture inspired roadway signs by the Arizona Department of Transportation. This January was no different with the suggestion of a new year’s resolution:
The tongue-in-cheek humor has attracted more than 156,000 followers on ADOT’s Twitter account. Below is a look back at some of the freeway signs posted in 2016:
Before we get too far into 2017, we thought we would take a look back at some of the freeway signs posted in 2016. #ADOT pic.twitter.com/JGABThlNRY
— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) January 1, 2017
In an interview with AZCentral, Tom Herrmann, one of the people who handles the @ArizonaDOT Twitter account said: “If we just talked about traffic and it was all dry, nobody would care. … We’re trying to get traffic information out there. If we do that and get a smile on people’s faces, that’s even better.”
Images via ADOT’s Twitter account
A choir of 16 praliné-chocolate boxes by Chocolat Frey surprised visitors at a Swiss shopping center with some holiday cheer, serenading shoppers of all ages with festive acapella songs.
The encounters were filmed on hidden cameras and turned into a video for the shops’ website. For a second look, check out the outtakes and “auditions” of the boxes.
