One Plus One Equals Three

Saigon: Eat Korean, Charge Your Phone

Spied in a Korean restaurant* in Saigon: why not charge your phone (if it happens to be a Nokia, Samsung or LG, Motorola or Siemens) whilst eating some hearty, spicey Korean fare... washed down with the local 333 beer of course. Unfortunately my phone's a Sony Ericsson so I couldn't utilise their unique complementary in-meal recharge service. However I can report that the meal itself (dolsot bibimbap) was very good.

*When travelling with a Korean (my darling wife), within minutes of arrival – no matter where you are, one grows accustomed to the habit of looking for the nearest available kimchi – even when the local fare is devastatingly good, as it was in Saigon.

Jean-Luc Godard: YouTubed

"Films are the only things by which to look inside people, and that's why people are so fond of movies and why they'll never die."

An excerpt of the infamous ten minute tracking shot (and opening) for Jean-Luc Godard's 1967 film Weekend. Lots more YouTubed Godard in the continuation.

David Lynch on Films on Phones

The Beautiful Signage of Old Vietnam

Most of the photos here are from the city of Hoi An, now largely a 'tourist town' in Central Vietnam. From the UNESCO site: "Hoi An Ancient Town is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century. Its buildings and its street plan reflect the influences, both indigenous and foreign, that have combined to produce this unique heritage site."

A fascinating place to visit, and highly recommended for type-nuts. The mix of Vietnamese, Chinese and French typography is spellbinding. (But note that in order to fit in with the surrounding streetscape, some signs have perhaps been deliberately 'aged' – see Phuc Loi below). Cars are banned from the old city area of Hoi An too. You get around by walking, cycling, perhaps a ride on the back of a motor-scooter. Lovely.

Even More Propaganda Posters

Whilst we're on communist/socialist 'propaganda' posters (see below): some Soviet, Czech, Chinese, North Korean, Vietnamese and Cuban political posters. I'd hit the mute switch though... not so sure about Jimi as soundtrack IMHO(!)

Vietnam: Propaganda Preserved (Sort Of)

Upon landing in Vietnam, the first thing I was keen to spy was a propaganda poster or three (and then have a bowl of steaming phở). However the first thing I spied, which kept us entertained over a few days spent in Ho Chi Minh City (which I'll call Saigon, the locals' preferred term for the city-proper) was a completely dizzying and endless sea of motor-scooters and bicycles all politely jostling for position as they whizzed through Saigon's streets (everyone gives way to... everyone!). Then the propaganda posters came into focus.

Unlike other communist countries that have seen the development of their economies and cultures evolve into 'market-based communism' and perhaps have no real need to pursue the design of posters promoting anti-Western concepts and nationalistic concerns (such posters would compete with KFC, Honda and Samsung advertisements and signage after all), Vietnam still continues the 'propaganda poster tradition' (in a way). North Korea maintains a hardline 'old-school communist' approach to their propaganda (guns, tractors, heroic stances), whilst Vietnam's 'propaganda' has evolved into public service and health-related announcements, as well as creating posters based on traditional nationalistic and nation-building themes. Saigon's bustling streetscapes are dotted with them.

Now it's easy to see communist propaganda being commodified into hip, street-savvy clothing and it's readily available in a few galleries about town that cater largely for tourists. The hip element of Saigon culture has embraced the propaganda poster as an indigenous 'street' art form with shops such as Dogma printing prop-posters onto t-shirts that wouldn't look out of place in some of the trendier night-spots around town. The Apocalypse Now bar being a Saigon favourite(!). My favourite propaganda poster gallery in Saigon was the Hanoi Gallery, with a remarkable collection of decades worth of posters. Originals retail for US$200, small prints for US$10.

Of course I walked away with a few...

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The Visual Articulation of 'Artikulation'

Created in 1970, this is the non-traditional musical notation by Rainer Wehinger of György Ligeti’s Artikulation, a seminal piece of early electronic music from 1958. Wehinger's musical notation "used a timeline measured in seconds, and used shapes and colors instead of notes on a staff. He used dots for impulses and combs for noise... (and) different colors to represent variations in timbre and pitch."

Thanks Mark Seggie.

Roman Cycle-cop Celebration

To 'Mel' of Murrumbeena: 1+1=3 isn't obsessed with motorbikes and motorscooters (I've only ridden one a couple of times), but they do seem to find their way into this blog quite a bit, as chance would have it. For some reason. I must like them. Well, scooters anyway.

Molte grazie Leon!

Good Afternoon Vietnam

I'm just back from a short trip to Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City and Hoi An). Stay tuned for some Vietnamese design and visual culture-related posts.

At left are some of Vietnam's old style of banknote. They're made of paper and are readily identifiable (handy in crowded markets) due to each note's distinctive colouration. The new Vietnamese banknotes are polymer, complete with a transparent window (just like the Australian ones – I bet they're made here). They lack the visual charm of their predecessors – but then again, what rapidly developing nation wants to be known for using elephants as a construction tool? – and some denominations are so similar in colour that sometimes it's a little tricky telling them apart. That's not so good in crowded markets or dimly lit restaurants and bars.

You can always use US dollars over there – but they look even more alike...

A fascinating place. More posts to come.

Fancy travelling there and want to learn how to cross the extremely busy, motorscooter-populated roads? Watch and learn... More in the continuation.

A Monkey of an Olympic Promo

I concur with indents.tv. Olympic promo spots are usually slo-mo footage of athletes in motion, bathed in a golden light with a ribbon or flag or two blowing in the breeze behind them. How about a monkey and a pig from a 400-year-old, 100 chapter Chinese novel condensed into a two-minute trip that ends at The Birdnest? Devastatingly brilliant work by the Beeb and the Gorillaz guys - Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. More at the Beeb.

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+ A great post on the amazing broadcast design of the Tour de France

Kath & Kim: US Version

The first promo for the US version of our beloved Kath & Kim. Oh dear... Via Indents.tv

Dangerous Australians

A British friend of ours (who now lives here) jokes that it's difficult for him to do outdoorsy things in Australia (at least I think he's joking). According to him, If he 'goes bush', deadly spiders, crocodiles and snakes will get him. If he decides to go for a swim, man-eating sharks and stinging jellyfish will attack, and if he goes to the cricket here, England always loses. No fun.

He may not rush in to see Dangerous Australians, part of the Surviving Australia exhibition at the Australian Museum, but he could learn more about the creatures he fears most, and what first-aid treatment to use (if required). Sydney's Lightwell has developed a "six-metre long interactive table exploring Australia’s deadliest top ten creatures ... Scurrying across sand or lurking under rippling waters, the table’s inhabitants respond immediately to prying visitors in a scarily life-like way." The interactive funnel-web spider certainly had me jumping! Very effective and nice work indeed.

PS: That's refreshing to know.