Merlin Mann Takes a Stand

Merlin Mann, the cool uncle of the Interwebs, encourages himself and others to rise above the trite remarks, easy jokes, and poorly conceived and executed “user-generated” content permeating our culture, in order to create something better:

What worries me are the consequences of a diet comprised mostly of fake-connectedness, makebelieve insight, and unedited first drafts of everything. I think it’s making us small. I know that whenever I become aware of it, I realize how small it can make me. So, I’ve come to despise it.

So, here’s to being exceptional.

And if you’re unfamiliar with Merlin, check out 43 Folders, 5ives, or my personal favorite, You Look Nice Today.

Kim Høltermand

Gorgeous architecture photography.

Studio KXX

Nice design and illustration over at Studio KXX. I really dig the horizontal navigation, but I wish there was a big link at the end to send you back to the menu. Oh well.

Cast Iron Ampersand

Do I need one of these? Hell no.

But it just might be the coolest 20 pounds of iron I have ever seen.

Lightmark

Incredible “light paintings”.

If you have ever seen the Sprint commercials with animations created using flashlights, then you get the concept. These photographs, by Cenci Goepel and Jens Warnecke, however, are far more striking. The landscapes are beautiful; I particularly like the shots in Norway, where you can see the Aurora Borealis.

30 Most Incredible Abstract Satellite Images of Earth

Gorgeous satellite photography of our amazing planet.

The images you see below were taken at the turn of the Millennium, when NASA’s scientists had a brilliant idea: to scan through 400,000 images taken by the Landsat 7 satellite and display only the most the most beautiful. A handful of the best were painstakingly chosen and then displayed at the Library of Congress in 2000.

XTRABOLD™ – Nelson Balaban

Pleased to share the amazing work of XTRABOLD.