triggerhappymedia

I’m so excited and proud- tonight is the press event for the The Alzheimer’s Project documentary! This will include an advanced screening of “Momentum in Science” (the third part of the four-part series) followed by a panel discussion with a few of the doctors featured in the film.

The Alzheimer’s Project will begin airing on HBO on Sunday, May 10th at 9PM.  Free online streaming of the entire program will also be made available to reach as many people as possible.

It used to be that musicians wanting to spread philanthropic vibes in the name of Africa would gathering together to record timeless classics like 1984’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” That song has stuck around since then (like it or not), as has Bono’s commitment to the cause.

Over 20 years later, “Brooklyn Go Hard” by Jay-Z featuring Santogold is available via the (Red) Wire campaign to eliminate AIDS in Africa. The song is also part soundtrack for Notorious, the upcoming film about B.I.G.

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Trigger: Typographical illustration by Evan Roth

“After years of civil war, most Lebanese were coming to terms with their nation’s past and looking forward to a peaceful future. Director Zeina Aboul Hosn visited Beirut a week before the war began. This film is a journey through her memories of Beirut – as the bombs started falling.”

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Trigger: watch more short films at Pangea Day’s official site

Quote: “Pangea Day is a global event bringing the world together through film. Why? In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it’s easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that – to help people see themselves in others – through the power of film.”

The following advertisement is part of Amnesty International’s Unsubscribe project. The campaign addresses inhumane interrogation techniques like those used in Guantanamo Bay.

Words can only do so much to describe torture: the stress position, forced nudity, sleep deprivation, and waterboarding. Images show just how these practices violate human rights.

The spots can be found online, and they will also be previewed in UK cinemas starting in May. This makes sense because it is a UK-based project. But considering that American intelligence are the main purveyors of this kind of abuse, shouldn’t these ads run with the highest visibility in the US?

Show your support by unsubscribing at the link below.

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Trigger: Unsubscribe

DROME magazine is pleased to announce the launch of

sideways
a smart art project

New York, March 19th 2008
9.00 p.m. - midnight

7 World Trade Center, 52nd floor, 250 Greenwich Street

smart chose DROME magazine as the only Italian magazine together with 10 other excellent cross-culture magazines from all over the world, to select the gifted artists of different ages, backgrounds and levels of fame of the sideways project, the sought-after art anthology book produced by Die Gestalten Verlag in conjunction with smart.

The recent ecology-inspired works recommended by DROME are by: Karin Andersen, Zaelia Bishop, Silvia Camporesi, casaluce-gegier, Rubens Lp, Native & ZenTwo, Christian Rainer, Sten and Fernanda Veron.

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Trigger: smart green marketing and Drome magazine

National Novel Writing Month starts today, and so does a unique challenge for all aspiring writers out there: pen a 50,000-word novel between November 1st-30th.

But why? The goal is to provoke those who are “working on a novel” or “writing a book one day”- and, let’s face it, there are lots of us out there- to actually do something about it. So many words on such a short deadline means no time for editing. Thoughts must flow freely- and fast. This will enevitably result in lots of crappy writing. But there’s also the chance that some brilliant ideas will come from it.

Users of the NaNoWriMo site can chart progress, make friends with other participants, and scope out forums for advice or critiquing.

Click below to join..and wish me luck!

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Trigger: NaNoWriMo

Last Thursday indy graffiti mag, Overspray, celebrated the launch of their sixth issue with an art battle in Brooklyn.

To play on the issue’s theme, the four competing artists represented the California graf scene. Click here to watch ‘em duke it out on canvas.

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Trigger/Site: Overspray magazine

Just posted: my pictures from the Richard Serra exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.

They’re also in the mix at “theMoMAproject [NYC]“. This Flickr group has been so popular that a dedicated site was recently launched at Photomoma.org.

Photomoma is not meant to catalog the art itself, but to explore how museum goers document their experience with photographs. The site’s creators, Travis and Brady Hammond, write that “the result will be a pastiche of images that will force the viewer to critique their own relationship to the artwork in the photographs. Furthermore, the viewer will have to question whether or not the photographs themselves are works of art. In this way, Photomoma is designed to educate viewers not only about the artwork in the photographs, but about art in general and the ways in which the Internet can change how we both see and perceive it.”

I like this idea- and seeing the art again from many different points of view.

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Trigger: Photomoma

Oh, how we loathe change! When The Guardian decided to redesign their website, they received some praise…and many requests to change it back.

The difference-

Spacing. Less text equals a cleaner appearance. Instead of using blurbs below the headlines, most stories get a one line hotlink. The use of curtains instead of captioning saves space around the pictures.

Positioning. The site now reads side to side instead of up and down. The old horizontal design was made for short attention spans, while the new version encourages the eyes to dart around the page. The full articles, however, remain in the long and streamlined format.

Focus on freshness. Notice the prominence of the strap “Last updated one minute ago” on the new site. Obviously the idea that The Guardian is a hub for the latest news and features was at the heart of the redesign. The interactive blog pages are also listed front and center with the option to see how many comments a posting has received.

What do you think of the new look?

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Trigger: Guardian Unlimited online

First impression of Portfolio: it’s heavy.

The content is drowning in luxury ads. Well done to the sales reps who sold the hell out of the target audience’s HHI.

Bear in mind that I am not in this target audience. On the positive side, Portfolio covers a range of topics- philanthropy, entertainment, sports, the arts, and the environment- roped together under the theme of how they relate to big business.

But something is missing throughout. Flavor. The features are interesting, yet lacking a provocative edge. Perhaps the problem is timing. Business is about daily transactions where fresh information can be old news within minutes. For Portfolio, the trick will be to fit business content into a monthly timetable.

The title will take a hiatus until the official launch September. I can’t speak for the imported Italian leather types, but I certainly won’t be hanging on the edge of my Ikea seat.

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Trigger: Conde Nast Portfolio