I’m reminded of Tyler Durden’s Seventh Rule of Innovation: “Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken.”

Now, The Bear took early fame by summiting Everest at age 23. Pretty cool.

So how about trying highest mountains on every continent while being a few years older?

In early 2003, a Wall Street banker named Bo Parfet set out to accomplish just that. Follow the incredible story of one man’s battle against his own limitations from dodging avalanches to crossing a ladder over a bottomless crevasse. Find out what it takes to bury a dead teammate at 27,000 feet. Be there for every near-death experience and be inspired and reminded to defy the odds of chasing our dreams.

Check out his blog here.

There’s really only one path to enlightenment, or that of culture, nay, that of life: get out there and walk it.

With 2015 just around the corner, Hoverit Ltd has created something even Doc Brown’d find inspirational:  a hovering lounger.

Repelling Neodymium magnets keep your acrylic throne afloat as you drift and doze (or jump up and down).  Though, I’d imagine keeping cell phones and iPods away… which probably was the original intention anyway.

Images speak louder than words:

Video speak louder than images:

httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=h5v4SnrHQO8

Got the future?  Get in touch with Phil at GEDDEM dot com for your feature.

As the world blazes by on CNN, I find a calming solace in the morning, by having a fresh brew, and tuning in to The Daily Show with my spiritual mentor, guiding star, and homie-at-large, Jon Stewart.  Ahh.

What was pretty spiffy for today was an intriguing interview with P.W. Singer on his new book, Wired for War.  For starters, if Jon Stewart says it’s a meal, I’m buying it.  The book (as I await my Amazon order) appears to be a chase through robotics history moving through current day warfare (both on the battlefield and on the ethical / political / economical / human-itical front) with interviews of war Generals, rocket scientists, and 19-year old UAV pilots.  Cool.

Perhaps the most interesting bit of the interview for me was a reflective on the effects of culture and the acceptance to robotics.  Western civilization has the Terminator.  Asian civilization has Astro-boy.  You do see the brilliance of where this is going right?  Godzilla vs Barney coming Summer 2010.

Ready to fight?  Join the war with this.

For those who live without a calendar, January is almost over. That can only mean one thing folks: Valentine’s is right around the corner! Before we release our special Valentines’ Gift Guide,
check out Swank Bears, the new hotness blazing across the Pacific Rim. Classic.  Exotic.  Organic.  Artisan.

With these boutique’d teddy-bears, limited designer fabrics and genuine sheepskin leather meet a single craftsman at a production rate of a-single-bear-a-day.  Fear of conformity?  Only 49 other connoisseurs would own your specific make.  Get your Swank Certificate and Henna emblazoned collectors set (with exclusive Onyx necklace) here.

Got Swanky products?  Be in touch with Phil at GEDDEM dot com for your review.

The logical continuation from last Tuesday’s trip through the definitively/purposefully non-sensible streets of Haight & Ashbury comes a humbly sensible inner reflective of our guest MDS. As the rabbit hole suggests, one must regress in order to progress. Please also stay tuned to other GEDDEM Interviews. If you are interested to be interviewed by GEDDEM please contact us.

GDM: Your background?
MDS: Born in rural Southern Taiwan in 1947. Even as a kid I was into art. Just always saw things a little differently. Put myself through 1969, Taiwan Shida University, Fine Arts Department with first honors in oils, watercolor, and graphic design. Then, exchanged 8 years for 2,500 sketches as an essay illustrator for The China Times. 1977. Decided to take my wife and daughter West in chase of the American Dream. Wanted to go fine arts, but after a few gallery shows, things didn’t work out so well, so decided to head back home. After 30 more years of commercial arts, now retired in San Francisco, happily/luckily with the same wife [laugh].

GDM: About Inspiration?
MDS: Creation is the goal. In the beginning, the water colors were experimental. To strip away excess. Bringing art back to an absolute rudimentary style and color. Simplistic. Experimental. Technical. Emotional, I’ve always had a thing for humanity and society. The human touch of emotion and concern. It’s the sensitivity of emotions. Art is explanation. I want to explain why people are the way they are.

Chen Hui-Kun, Mrs. Chen, MDS, 1980

GDM: Who is Chen Hui-Kun?
MDS: My Mentor. He was a good teacher. Learned his craft in Japan. Then refined in Paris. A dedicated, diligent artist. It may have been him who inspired my understanding of the human connection to art. That regardless of time, language, culture, space, that the human emotion is universally true. Perhaps his work ethic was most inspirational. Strict. Diligent. The Japanese way. I’ve never met another man more hard working. Short with words, but you can tell that he wants you to do well. Almost fatherly. We were all poor kids from the countryside then. And he understood. “咱巄是甘苦囝仔” he once told me. And it moved me.

MDS 2008, by PS

Please note images shown in this entry are the properties of MDS, courtesy of GEDDEM, and cannot be used or reproduced in any way without the written consent of MDS or GEDDEM.com.

Through the Looking Glass taught us a simple lesson: for ordinary things to make sense, there must be unordinary things that make nonsense.

MDS is an artist of old.
Classic fellow.
Humble.

Haight & Ashbury is a San Francisco neighborhood of about the same age.
Classic by another definition.
Not exactly humble.

GDM: What is art?
MDS: – [dry laugh] Artists have been trying to figure that out for generations.  As a worker in art… you apply what you know.. your skills and abilities to define and explain what you perceive.  Your work then, becomes an explanation of your perceived reality… which in turn becomes your personal style.  A cup can be classic.  A cup can be modern.  It’s each artist’s personal interpretation that allows for variety and flair. A different cup for a different artist.  Art also, is the human touch.  The moon will inspire different thoughts and emotions for each individual, which again, allow for personal interpretation, thus variety of artistic humanity.

GDM: What is culture?
MDS: – Culture is a regional thing.  Every area.. has a culture.  Culture is people.  The manifestation of human existence, in that specific time frame and definitive location… is culture.  You could call it history.. heritage.. tradition.  In short, what we do today becomes tomorrow’s culture.

GDM: What is technology?
MDS: - Art is definition.  It’s personal.  Creation of fine art is for personal pleasure regardless of what anyone else tells you.  Technology on the other hand, is practical application.  A chair can be artistic.  But if the designer has no consideration for practicality… applicability, then the design is only pure art.. and most likely non-functional.  Technology is then, a means of improvement.  Continuous improvement.  To overthrow yesterday’s rule towards progress of something different.  There’s a funny overlap for the need of destructive progress within art and tech in the spirit and soul of not only rewriting a previous design, but to shatter and create something truly original and new.

GDM: Do you know why I chose Haight & Ashbury for this interview?
MDS: – [laugh] It’s the antimatter.  This place is the epicenter of counterculture, unrestricted with absolute freedom of thought and expression.  Clever place to interview an artist of old, on culture.

GDM: What are your thoughts on the future of tech / art / culture?
MDS: – I believe all three are progressive.  The youth will push all three forward hand in hand.  Tech will rationalize what can be rationalized until everything is extrapolated to its logical extreme.  That is when an artist will come in to overthrow the institutionalized methods towards a greater unmethodical ideology.  Once change has occurred, culture will enter to solidify the methods/anti-methods towards stability of reproduction of expression.

You can’t deny technology in the face of art.  It’s the new medium that society needs to accept and learn to appreciate.  There is no definition to art, only inclination.  If 51% of the world enjoy your work, then your work is successful.

What can change is your thought process, the media you use.  There is no right or wrong or direction. The youth will dictate our mark in the culture that we leave behind.

GDM: Your mediums?
MDS: – Oils, watercolor, sketch, sculpture, photos.. a little bit of everything to keep the mind sharp.

GDM: On photography?
MDS: – Photo is the lazyman’s art.  It replaces sketching.  Using an image to quickly portray a thought or emotion.

GDM: Equipment?
MDS: – Hasselblad, Nikon film and digital.  The H is crap worth practicality… but peerless in quality.  The Nikon is the quickness.  Digital photography is the new kid on the block.  Irreplacable is film, but you cannot deny the functionality (and practicality) of digital.  It’s a waiting game until the tech matures and plateaus out.

GDM: Final message?
MDS: – Experience.  That’s your isolator towards your own persona.  Go out there and experience the path less chosen.

Who is MDS?
MDS = Artist of 1947 + Taiwanese patriot + Prodigy of Chen Hui-Kun

Who are You?
Got stuff to say?  Hit up phil at GEDDEM dot com to get your GEDDEM on.

So bootylicious it'd make Beyonce proud.

Who says you can’t teach old dogs new tricks?  It’s time to dust off the ‘blad and bring your medium-format photography into the digital age.

The Hasselblad CFV II brings seamless digital integration to your V-system cams.  In short, you get to keep the optics (lens and body) of your current Hasselblad, and in place of the film magazine, goes the CFV II.  Voila.  And as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.  Go see what’s what at the H User Showcase, or do the founder proud at Victor.

16 Mpixels meets 1957 for a cool $10,000.  Now let’s see if the XIAO can pee in its pants too.