Redesigned Diamond Cigarette Packaging Could Simply Make It Too Inconvenient To Smoke

Redesigned Diamond Cigarette Packaging Could Simply Make It Too Inconvenient To Smoke: "

By Andrew Liszewski

Governing bodies have tried many different ways to discourage smoking including dramatically increasing the price of cigarettes through taxes, by forcing tobacco companies to include graphic and disturbing imagery and warnings on the packaging to even requiring them to be hidden away behind closed doors at stores. And while this brilliant redesign of cigarette packaging isn’t the end all solution to the problem, it’s another step that will hopefully discourage more people from smoking.

The flip-top cigarette box is actually incredibly well designed when it comes to portability, accessibility and even marketing. So Eric Askin figured that by breaking the rules of design it could actually discourage people from using a harmful product, and that’s what led to the creation of his diamond-shaped packaging concept. It fits terribly in a pocket, the cigarettes are harder to access or share, less of them can be stacked on a shelf and when they are, the branding is obscured, they’re more difficult to ship and they’re more expensive for tobacco companies to make and manufacture. Of course the new packaging would have to be mandated the same way the current warning labels are, but I think it’s a brilliantly simple way to make the terrible habit even more of an inconvenience.

Monkey Saves Dog; Breaks Hearts

Monkey Saves Dog; Breaks Hearts: "

A terrible pipeline explosion tore through Nanjing, China, killing 13 people and injuring 300. Horrendous news like that has become so commonplace that it’s almost hard to connect and understand their trauma, especially when the Chinese press is limited from reporting the facts.

Until a photo of a monkey saving a puppy dog from the explosion hits the internet, when all the f**ked up pieces of the world fall into place.

Twitter user sinyi88 tweeted this photo of a monkey, in some sort of leash contraption, grabbing a puppy and running away from the explosion with a look of terror on his little monkey face.

(via nowpublic)

While we don’t have video of the occurrence, we do have an animated GIF ahead that has perhaps never been more appropriate in the history of the world. It’s our favorite GIF ever.

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Hyper-Realistic Wall Paintings by David Jon Kassan

If you were to round a corner in a building you thought empty and come face-to-face with one of these figures, you might experience a moment of heart-thumping fear before realizing that there’s nobody there. Painter David Jon Kassan has not only mastered an incredible 3D effect in his wall paintings, but manages to capture the true essence of his subjects rather than a flat but finely rendered likeness.



Based in Brooklyn, Kassan leapt into full-time painting after being laid off in the aftermath of 9/11. Determined to find a way to do what made him happy, he put himself through art school and emerged with an even bigger thirst to learn and improve. His signature style of realism is multi-layered, with a darkness influenced greatly by his urban environment.

The grit of the wall itself – grit of the city – is subtly incorporated into the image in a way that gives it more than just a bit of extra physical substance. It speaks to the subject’s environment and how they interact with it. Kassan combines the imperfections of the wall surface with a keen eye for nuances in each model’s facial expressions and posture for highly emotionally charged results.

“My work is a way of meditation, a way of slowing down time though the careful observation of overlooked slices of my environment,” Kassan says in his artist statement. “It is the subtlety of emotion in my acquaintances that inhabit the aforementioned environment which intrigues me. My paintings strive for reality, a chance to mimic life in both scale and complexity. The viewer is given an eye level perspective of the subject. A view that is unbiased and in its most raw condition.”

“It is my intent to control the medium of oil paint so that it is not part of the viewer to subject equation. The image stands alone without evidence of the artist. I displace textures from their natural environment by moving them out of the context they exist in. Taking the abstract form from the streets where they get lost and moving them into the gallery space where they can be contemplated as accidental abstractions.”

Skin That Apple: 15 Awesome iPhone Cases

For every Apple enthusiast who sees utter perfection in the sleek, modern lines of the iPhone, there’s someone who sees it as the ideal opportunity for customization and self-expression. Whether you’d like to cover up that smooth plastic exterior with some goofy hand-sewn felt, add a case with its own built-in flash or make it self-sufficient with an incorporated solar panel, these 15 fun iPhone skins and cases definitely add personality and function.

Chocolate Bar iPhone Case

(image via: varologic)

Just in case your appetite for chocolate isn’t already big enough, you can make it even harder to resist with the Chocolate Style Silicone case. With a texture that looks and feels like real chocolate, this iPhone case will get your stomach growling every time your phone rings.

Rotary iPhone

(image via: craziest gadgets)

Not everyone digs the sleek and shiny aesthetics of modern gadgets – even though they like the gadgets themselves. This handmade felt case, spotted on Etsy, gives fans of retro style a fun rotary exterior to look at while maintaining all of those essential modern functions.

Trompe l’Oeil Camera Skin

(image via: iphonestuff)

Many a photographer has begrudgingly admitted that the iPhone can actually take pretty cool pictures, but that doesn’t mean they’re ever going to abandon actual cameras. However, photography enthusiasts might get a kick out of this realistic-looking iPhone skin, which almost makes it look like the real thing.

Factron Changeable-Lens Camera iPhone Case

(image via: olivia munn)

If you’re a photographer who would prefer to go beyond mere decoration and actually improve your iPhone’s photo-taking abilities, perhaps this case is for you – if you can get beyond the bulk and the $200 price tag. Interchangeable fish eye, wide-angle and close-up lenses attach to a metal and leather exterior that gives the light plastic iPhone quite a bit of extra heft.

Modern Sheet Metal Case

(image via: yanko design)

Sexy or ugly? Opinions vary greatly, but either way, this sleek steel iPhone case certainly gets people talking. It has silicone interior pads to cushion the phone and leaves all important features accessible including buttons and air circulation.

Beamer Case Has Built-in Flash

(image via: pichaus)

Yet another case for iPhone owners who love to take photos is the Beamer, a 2-piece plastic case with a built-in flash that can also be used as a flashlight. Press the button once for 10 seconds of light, or press it two times in quick succession to keep the light on.

Gameboy iPhone Case

(image via: vinaminh)

When this covetously geeky iPhone case was spotted in Japan, it instantly became an internet sensation with Nintendo lovers scrambling to figure out how to buy one. It’s hard to tell exactly where this Gameboy case might be available for purchase, but if you’ve got some time and dedication you can replicate it yourself with a tutorial from Instructables.

Playstation iPhone Case

(image via: ps3maven)

Assuming you don’t mind the ‘adorable factor’ of handcrafted felt, this awesome case is a must-have for iPhone-owning gamers. For just $20 you can get the console-shaped case, and another $7 scores the cute controller accessory.

Etch-a-Sketch iPhone Case

(image via: gizmodo)

More on the fantastically cute hand-sewn felt front: this one, modeled after an Etch-a-Sketch. No word on whether you can get your sketch customized, but the same Etsy seller also offers a totally 80’s cassette design.

Solar iPhone Skin

(image via: treehugger)

Why not put your iPhone skin to work for you and let it power your phone? The Solar Surge skin features an integrated solar cell that can fully charge your gadget with the power of the sun, giving you about 30 minutes of talk time on a 2-hour charge.

Bookshelf iPhone Skin

(image via: geeky gadgets)

No matter what your taste in art may be, there’s likely an artistic iPhone skin out there that’s just right for you. This ‘bookshelf’ skin is just one of the many offered by Urban Outfitters.

Laser-Engraved Wood iPhone Case

(image via: unplggd)

A plastic iPhone is hardly ‘natural’, so what’s a techie treehugger to do but find an earthy case like this wooden one by Engrave Your Tech. In fact, you can get any image you like laser-cut into the wood.

Hybrid Case Grips and Slides

(image via: switcheasy)

You want your iPhone to slide easily into your pocket, but it’s awfully annoying when you can’t seem to keep a good grip on it. Rather than drop it all the time, check out this slick hybrid case called “Torrent”, which features easy-to-grab sides.

Printable iPhone Skin

(image via: ohgizmo)

Sometimes, you just can’t find anything that’s quite your style. If you’ve got visions of getting your company logo or a personal photo emblazoned across the surface of your iPhone, a printable, customizable skin is the only way to go. IaPeel lets you print it from your home inkjet printer and has pop-up guides to ensure an accurate fit.

How to Turn Your PC into a Mac

There’s nothing a little tape won’t fix.

Ever wondered how to fit in with the rest of your college buddies? Grab an apple and a big ole’ roll of tape and get to it. No one will be able to tell the difference, I promise. They still haven’t figured out your scale in an iPhone costume isn’t actually an iPhone, amirite?

The Good Kind of Baggage

The Good Kind of Baggage: "

>> I've had a bit of an arduous day getting back from Stockholm and I still have a TON of things to post about but this post about this particular LCF graduate has been due since the MA show last week when her out-of-control luggage caught my eye. Nay, "caught" is an incorrect word. They very elegantly swayed and glided into my path of vision. I wanted to wait until the other half did a very indepth interview with LCF MA Fashion Artefact grad Sarah Williams who has fused her love of impeccable craftsmanship with pushing the boundaries of conventional luggage. I don't think I've ever seen such a literal collision between the new-gen and respect for old techniques. I'll leave her to explain her thought processes and intentions but suffice to say, she's keen on setting up her own design label which means I'm going to start saving up the pennies for the ultimate vanity case and portable trunk complete with overly-specifically shaped pockets for storing all of my odd-shaped accessories.

The cases and the work of other LCF MA Fashion Artefacts and Footwear grads are on exhibition until tomorrow at the Mall Galleries if you want to double check that these shapes are....and I can't quite believe I'm ending a post on this... fo' real!

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Mardi Gras: Made in China

Mardi Gras: Made in China: "

During Mardi Gras in 2007, I was standing on a balcony with Shelly, a fifty-year-old woman from Oklahoma City who described herself as a housewife and a grandmother. About every three minutes Shelly performed a typical routine that many women perform during Mardi Gras on Bourbon Street. “Hey you, up there! Show your tits!” one man yelled to Shelly. “Give me some beads! Big beads!” Shelly responded, emphasizing the word "big" and "beads" as she negotiated with anonymous members of the crowd, while they bargained with Shelly on which part of her body they wanted to see. “I want those beads,” Shelly declared, while pointing to a man wearing heart-shaped beads around his neck. “You want these? Then you gotta show me those,” the anonymous man playfully yelled, pointing to her breasts. “You like these?” Shelly exclaimed, pointing to her breasts as she slowly and playfully raised her shirt and then lifted her skirt for the crowd to see. Immediately hundreds of male revelers below let out a thunderous roar as they showered Shelly with Mardi Gras beads.

Every year revelers exchange millions of plastic beads for sex and nudity on Bourbon Street, but what happens when we follow those beads from the hands that exchange them to the hands that make them? Where does the actual manufacturing of these beads that provide so much pleasure to celebrants come from? While participants are using beads to get down and dirty for transgressive thrills, the majority of the world’s plastic bead production occurs in Chinese free-trade zones that were established in the late 1970s. I had an opportunity to stay for two months inside the largest bead factory in the world: The Tai Kuen Bead Factory in Fuzhou, China, owned by Roger Wong. Those two months form the basis for my film titled MARDI GRAS: MADE IN CHINA — an exploration in a commodity chain.


MARDI GRAS: MADE IN CHINA follows the story of four teenage workers who sew plastic beads together with needles and thread and also pull them from a machine. Each story provides insight into their economic realities, self-sacrifice, dreams of a better life, and the severe discipline imposed by living and working in a factory compound. I was eventually kicked out of China under the premise of not having a journalist visa, so I continued following the bead trail to New Orleans in an effort to visually personalize globalization. What I found, and presented in the documentary, is that Mardi Gras beads were hand-crafted and made from cut glass in Czechoslovakia up until the late 1960s. Glass beads were the most popular throws at that time, but a rise in costs, political conditions overseas, and a safety ordinance that cautioned against items that might cause eye injuries all contributed to the decline and ultimate elimination of glass beads and the rise in popularity of plastic ones.

The proliferation of plastic marks the emergence of a disposable culture. Following the plastic bead from China to the U.S. illustrates how the commodity chain is connected to different people along the alienated and seemingly disconnected route.

The raw material for the beads comes from polyethylene and polystyrene — oil based liquids supplied by Chevron (and coming out of Iraq). Here, the film comes full circle. After Mardi Gras ends in New Orleans, the beads are left on the ground where some people collect them and send them as care packages to U.S. soldiers in Iraq where they celebrate Mardi Gras by tossing beads into the streets! Hence, disposable culture is exported overseas as a cultural ritual. In other words, the beads go full circle from a liquid material in Iraq, to China, to New Orleans, and back to the streets of Baghdad where soldiers exchange them in a material form.

The DIY spirit of asking questions, making art, distributing the art, and then making a new film is, for me, exactly why Etsy exists. When I look through the growing membership of Etsy, it inspires me to keep producing socially and environmentally conscious work while listening to the community members who make this possible because of their love for handmade items. Etsy connects the producer and consumer — as people — directly in a very personal way. And that is the intent of MARDI GRAS: MADE IN CHINA. If we connect the makers and buyers maybe a new economy based on fair wages and accountability is possible.

ATM Skimmers, Part II

ATM Skimmers, Part II: "

Easily the most-viewed post at krebsonsecurity.com so far has been the entry on a cleverly disguised ATM skimmer found attached to a Citibank ATM in California in late December. Last week, I had a chance to chat with Rick Doten, chief scientist at Lockheed Martin’s Center for Cyber Security Innovation. Doten has built an impressive slide deck on ATM fraud attacks, and pictured below are some of the more interesting images he uses in his presentations.

According to Doten, the U.S. Secret Service estimates that annual losses from ATM fraud totaled about $1 billion in 2008, or about $350,000 each day. Card skimming, where the fraudster affixes a bogus card reader on top of the real reader, accounts for more than 80 percent of ATM fraud, Doten said.

If you have Flash enabled for krebsonsecurity.com, you should see a slideshow below that will cycle through to a new image roughly every 8 seconds. To pause or resume the slideslow, click on the center of the image. To go forward or backwards, click the left or right edge of the slideshow image, respectively. To enlarge the slideshow to full screen mode, hover your mouse on the image until you see a circle with two outward-facing arrows, then double-click.

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A First Taste Of What The Google Tablet’s Interface Will Look Like (Pics)

A First Taste Of What The Google Tablet’s Interface Will Look Like (Pics): "

Last week, the world saw Apple’s long anticipated tablet device, the iPad, for the first time. In the aftermath since that announcement, a few things have become clear: it will be great for some people, but its apparent lack of flexibility (at least in its first iteration) may leave something to be desired. It’s increasingly looking like the best alternative will be Google’s Chrome OS, which is clearly on a collision course with the iPad. And tonight, we’ve come across some very impressive mockups of what Chrome OS may look like on a tablet form factor.

The photos have been posted to the official Chromium site (Chromium is the open source project behind Chrome and ChromeOS). And while Chromium is not actually part of Google, it appears that these mockups were put together by Glen Murphy, Google Chrome’s designer. In other words, there’s a good chance that the final version of Chrome OS will resemble this.

Update: Be sure to watch this video to see a mockup of the tablet in action.

It’s worth pointing out that there almost certainly will be multiple “Google Tablets”, given that Chrome OS won’t be tied to a single device. That said, Google is working with select hardware partners to ensure that it runs on devices that are up to its specifications, and there may be one tablet device that is designated as the “Google Tablet”, much like the Nexus One is the “Google Phone”.

Via TheChromeSource.

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