July 5, 2011
Polara Golf is brand for a line of golf balls that correct hooks and slices, based on the physics of their design. The new design, released August 2010, utilizes state-of-the-art aerodynamics and a principle axis of inertia. The ball has shallow truncated dimples around its equator and has deep spherical and small spherical dimples on each of the ball’s poles. Officially sanctioned balls are designed to be as symmetrical as possible.
This symmetry is the result of a dispute that stemmed from the original Polara, that had six rows of normal dimples on its equator but very shallow dimples elsewhere. This asymmetrical design helped the ball self-adjust its spin-axis during the flight. The United States Golf Association refused to sanction it for tournament play and, in 1981, changed the rules to ban aerodynamic asymmetrical balls.
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July 5, 2011
Lulz Security, commonly abbreviated as LulzSec, was a computer hacker group that claimed responsibility for several high profile attacks, including the compromise of user accounts from Sony Pictures in 2011. The group has been described as a ‘cyber terrorism group’ by the Arizona Department of Public Safety after their systems were compromised and information leaked.
It has gained attention due to its high profile targets and the sarcastic messages it has posted in the aftermath of its attacks. LulzSec released a statement claiming to to disband on June 26, 2011. The ’50 days of lulz’ statement, which they claimed to be their final release, confirming that LulzSec consisted of six members, and that their website is to be taken down.
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July 4, 2011
The Noid was an advertising character for Domino’s Pizza in the 1980s. He was a villainous red-suited imp, with red rabbit ears who attempted to ruin Domino’s pizza but was constantly thwarted. Commercials that featured the character used the slogan ‘Avoid the Noid!’ As part of the advertising campaign, a computer game was released in 1989 called Avoid the Noid. The object of the game is to deliver a pizza within a half-hour time limit, in an apartment building swarming with Noids. In 1990, Capcom released a different video game, Yo! Noid, for the NES.
In early 1989, Kenneth Lamar Noid, a mentally ill customer who thought the ads were a personal attack on him, held two employees of an Atlanta Domino’s restaurant hostage for over five hours. After forcing them to make him a pizza and making demands for $100,000, getaway transportation, and a copy of ‘The Widow’s Son,’ a conspiracy theory novel by Robert Anton Wilson. Noid surrendered to the police. After the incident had ended, police Chief Reed Miller offered a memorable assessment to reporters: ‘He’s paranoid.’ Noid was charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault, extortion, and possession of a firearm during a crime. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
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July 4, 2011
‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ is an idiom in many parts of the English-speaking world referring to the comparison to one’s neighbor as a benchmark for social caste or the accumulation of material goods. To fail to ‘keep up with the Joneses’ is perceived as demonstrating socio-economic or cultural inferiority. The phrase was popularized when a comic strip of the same name was created by cartoonist Arthur R. ‘Pop’ Momand. The strip debuted in 1913, and ran in American newspapers for 26 years, and was eventually adapted into books, films, and musical comedies. The ‘Joneses’ of the title were neighbors of the strip’s main characters, and were unseen characters spoken of but never actually seen in person.
The philosophy of ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ has widespread effects on some societies. According to this philosophy, conspicuous consumption occurs when people care about their standard of living in relation to their peers. The term was re-coined or re-introduced into US narrative in 1976 when a small article was written about current parenting style. Social status once depended on one’s family name; however, the rise of consumerism in the United States gave rise to social mobility. With the increasing availability of goods, people became more inclined to define themselves by what they possessed and the subtle quest for higher status accelerated. The upward mobility over the past few decades in America is due in part to the large number of women joining the labor force.
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July 4, 2011
Subvertising is a portmanteau of subvert and advertising. It refers to the practice of making spoofs or parodies of corporate and political advertisements. Subvertisements may take the form of a new image or an alteration to an existing image or icon, often in a satirical manner. A subvertisement can also be referred to as a meme hack and can be a part of social hacking or culture jamming.
According to AdBusters, a Canadian magazine and a proponent of counter-culture and subvertising, ‘A well produced ‘subvert’ mimics the look and feel of the targeted ad, promoting the classic ‘double-take’ as viewers suddenly realize they have been duped. Subverts create cognitive dissonance. It cuts through the hype and glitz of our mediated reality and, momentarily, reveals a deeper truth within.’
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July 4, 2011
Indie electronic (also called indietronica) is a music genre that combines indie, electronica, rock and pop music. Typical instruments used in indietronica music are electronic keyboard, synthesizer, sampler and drum machine.
Indie electronic began in the early ’90s with bands like Stereolab and Disco Inferno, took off in the new millennium as the new digital technology developed, with acts including Broadcast from the UK, Justice from France, Lali Puna from Germany and The Postal Service, and Ratatat from the US, mixing a variety of indie sounds with electronic music, largely produced on small independent labels.
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July 3, 2011
Ted McCarty (1910 – 2001) was a pioneer of electric guitar design and production. This began when he was chosen as vice president of the of Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1949, then later as president from 1950 to 1966. This period became known as Gibson’s golden age of electric guitars. During his tenure, Les Paul’s electric guitar design, the first solid-body guitar produced by Gibson, came to fruition. The Gibson Les Paul later became the company’s flagship solid body.
Never satisfied, McCarty sought to create a hybrid design that would combine the sustain of a solid-body electric with the mellow warmth of a hollow-body. The ES-335 was created as a ‘semi-hollow,’ with both a central block running the length of the guitar and hollow wings. McCarty was also responsible for the development of the Tune-o-matic bridge system, the humbucking pickup, and the Explorer, Flying V, Moderne, SG and Firebird guitars. Like Leo Fender, McCarty never played the guitar. He instead talked with every guitarist he could in order to find out what guitar players were interested in.
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July 3, 2011
An Aerobie is a flying ring used in a manner similar to a flying disc (Frisbee) for recreational catches between two or more individuals. An Aerobie is lighter, and is more stable in flight than a Frisbee. It can be bent to tune it for straighter flight. Designed in 1984 by Stanford engineering lecturer Alan Adler, the Aerobie has a polycarbonate core with soft rubber bumpers molded onto the inner and outer rims. The outer rim has a spoiler designed to impart stability.
In the 1970s, Adler began attempting to improve the flying disc, considering its design characteristics. He tried streamlining the shape to reduce drag, but this resulted in a disc that was more unstable in flight. Eventually, he turned his attention to the ring shape. This led to the development of the predecessor of the Aerobie, which was called the ‘Skyro.’ About a million of this model were sold. In 1980, it was used to set a Guiness World Record throw of 261 meters. It lacked the spoiler rim of the Aerobie. It had low drag, but was only stable at a certain speed. The later introduction of the spoiler, which balanced the lift, made the ring stable ‘over a wide range of speeds.’
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July 3, 2011
‘Eminence Front‘ is a song written and sung by Pete Townshend of The Who. It appears as the sixth track on the group’s 1982 studio album, ‘It’s Hard.’ It is the only song from the album that the band has opted to play live after the initial post-release tours. Lead singer Roger Daltrey, vocally critical of the album, described ‘Eminence Front’ as the only song on it that he felt was worthy of being released.
In the song, Townshend sings about the delusions and drug use of the wealthy and hedonistic. The lyrics describe a party in which people hide from their problems behind a facade. Townshend has introduced the song in live performances with: ‘This song is about what happens when you take too much white powder; it’s called Eminence Front.’
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July 3, 2011
The Subservient Chicken is a 2004 advertising campaign created to promote international fast food restaurant chain Burger King’s TenderCrisp chicken sandwich and their ‘Have it Your Way’ campaign. On its website, a man in a chicken costume performs a wide range of actions based on a user’s input, showing pre-recorded footage and appearing like an interactive webcam. The site takes literally the advertising slogan ‘Get chicken just the way you like it.’
There are more than three hundred commands that the Subservient Chicken will respond to, including: Moonwalk, Riverdance, and pick your nose. When told to perform sex acts, take off his mask, or do anything the Subservient Chicken considers offensive, the chicken walks up to the camera and shakes a scolding chicken finger in disappointment.
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July 3, 2011
Almost 30 years after its release, the plot for the movie ‘Trading Places’ was part of the inspiration for new regulations on the financial markets. In March of 2010 Commodity Futures Trading Commission chief Gary Gensler stated, in testimony he gave to the 111th Congress, ‘We have recommended banning using misappropriated government information to trade in the commodity markets. In the movie, starring Eddie Murphy, the Duke brothers intended to profit from trades in frozen concentrated orange juice futures contracts using an illicitly obtained and not yet public Department of Agriculture orange crop report.
The ‘Eddie Murphy Rule,’ as it came to be known, later came into effect as part of the Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which dealt with insider trading.
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June 30, 2011
John Pasche is an art designer, most famous for designing the ‘Tongue and Lip Design’ logo for the popular band The Rolling Stones. He designed four tour posters for the Rolling Stones between 1970 and 1974, and also worked for other reputed artists, such as Paul McCartney, The Who, The Stranglers and Dr Feelgood. He works as a freelance designer in Surrey, UK, and he still remains a fan of the band.
Pasche designed the ‘Tongue and Lip Design’ logo in 1971, which was originally reproduced on the ‘Sticky Fingers’ album. In what was perhaps one of the first cases of rock brand marketing, Jagger reportedly approached the Royal College of Art in 1969 looking to commission images for the band. Pasche designed the logo and ended up working for the Stones. ‘Face to face with him, the first thing you were aware of was the size of his lips and his mouth,’ Pasche said.
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