AMQ: R.I.P.

You possessed the talent so many others, mistakenly, think they do.

Rest in Peace Alexander McQueen!

Architecture: Lego

Lego's Architecture Series is (currently) only available in the United States. 

This fantastic series of five (and growing) landmark buildings seems the perfect gift for that precocious child that already is making the Taj from his current lot of Legos, or the adult you notice spends a bit too much time with the blocks when the kids are not even around.

There is no shame in loving great buildings. Fortunately for us all, Lego is making such love, a very cool thing.

More info at Lego Architecture 

2.0: Apple iPad

As much as I was looking forward to the Apple iPad and pulling for it's success, there are a few reasons I have decided to wait for the 2.0 version. 

Issue #1

There is no video camera. 

There is no good reason for the exclusion of a video camera on the iPad. Apple learned from the 1st generation of iPhone owners, the screaming importance of a video camera. They included video in the 3GS and everyone is happy. 

The iPad is larger (by a ratio of nearly six) and more powerful (64 GB) than it's phone counterpart, yet the single biggest complaint from it's last product launch is not included? Even the iPod Nano has video.

The only logical explanation must be, that video would make the entry level Mac notebooks unnecessary and twice as expensive as the iPad.

Issue #2

Mapping/GPS will not work on the iPad at all times, unless you have the 3G model (available in April).

This may seem a trivial matter, but having a big beautiful, high-resolution device like the iPad and not being able to use it in the car for directions seems crazy. Also, the higher resolution would have been one of the best platforms for on-the-go usage of Google's Street View feature.

Bad decision.

Issue #3

Will the next generation come with a phone pre-installed? 

Whether Apple, or it's business partner, AT&T, like it, the iPad will have 3rd party developers offering phones within months of it's release. It is inevitable. A phone will be on the device.

As much as I think Steve Jobs is a visionary, his age tends to empower his (already proven defunct) belief system of him being in control of the timing on such things.

The information/digital age we live in now does not allow any business to choose the timing on anything other than a product introduction. Once the product is on the market, everyone is going to copy it, hack it, modify it, improve it and make the product better.

The iPhone had no video camera, but 3rd party developers made one and offered the feature on hacked phones. The iPod had/has no phone, thanks to the same group of developers, you can now make calls on your iPod. 

Monsignor Jobs is a creator of beasts. But now that he has done the creating, the beast is unleashed.

These are concerns enough for me to back away from the device, as it is initially being offered. Of course, all of that could change the minute I walk into the Apple Store and get my hands on one. 

We'll see.

The Future: Apple iPad

Apple launched the much anticipated iPad (egg on face for going with iTab, iTablet and iSlate in the past) this afternoon.

From all reports, it delivers. Since I have not touched the iPad yet, I don't feel it would be responsible for me to write about it.

Instead, here is a photo gallery of the new device, along with specs and pricing.

(CLICK ON PICS FOR DETAIL)

Maestro Jobs at the helm . . .


The App Store as seen on the iPad

A sexy on screen keyboard . . .

Announcing the future of, well, everything . . .newspapers look like newspapers . . .


Pictures as seen in "view" mode and clustered albums . . .
Video is crystal clear and YouTube allows space for related videos . . .


The App Store and the new FULL-COLOR iBooks store, which is as big a game-changer as the iPad . . .

Maps are much larger, without losing an iota of definition . . .

Sexy from all angles. This is the 3G model, the WiFi model has no black at the top . . .

Slim, like Jim . . .

The future of gaming platforms . . . 

As sleek as a legal pad, only it houses everything imaginable . . .

You asked for a keyboard, you get a keyboard . . .

Pricing. The WiFi is available in March, the 3G in April . . . I am in line right now . . .

More info at Apple

First Aid: Help Remedies

If you need to know why I am so excited about introducing you to Help Remedies, look no further than the company's mission statement:

Help Remedies was created to make solving simple health issues simple. We find the best solution there is, and take away everything else. By stripping away some of the complexity and fear mongering of the health industry, we hope to make medicine friendlier and more accessible, and in doing so empower people to make their own health decisions.

The company's products cover 6 basic issues one might encounter:

headache

cut

blister

aching body

sleep

allergies

All of which come in these neat visually striking boxes that easily fit in to a handbag, briefcase or pocket.

More info at Help I Need Help.

Art: Christopher Wool

Art: John Parot

Large Prints: Joseph Christian Leyendecker

While most are more familiar with the works of his Saturday Evening Post counterpart, Norman Rockwell, Joseph Christian Leyendecker has always been the giant of the period to me. 

Rockwell's "style" is much more popular and recognizable, but Leyendecker has the more important imagery, and perhaps more familiar.

His reliance on cherubic baby figures to ring in the New Year, as opposed to showing the old human figure limping out, helped fix the national artistic discourse on looking to each new year with optimism.

Baby New Year 1910 is a great example: At once capturing the magic, imagination, recklessness and optimism of the coming Aviation Age in it's infancy.

I was heartened to see the December 2009 Sotheby's Leyendecker auction beat the pre-sale estimate by 600%, and brought 5 new records for this under-appreciated genius.

One other thing I found fascinating about Leyendecker is his penchant for turning advertising work into collectible artwork (at the time). This scene from a campaign for Arrow dress shirts is one of the earliest forms of aspirational advertising, as who would not want to live the Arrow life after seeing these two gents.

More Leyendecker examples: