danielincandela.com
you see it differently than.me
There’s a new project in town: youseeitdifferentlythan.me
It’s a collaboration with Casey Mullins – who’s a photographer, writer, Moosh in Indy, pretty funny human, friend, mother and lots more.
you see it differently that DOT me
We’re in cahoots on this new project that combines the written word and photography. We met for lunch one day and had it all figured out before I had eaten my 3rd wedge of quesadilla.
I’m lucky. Casey get thousands of web hits a day. I celebrate when I get double digits. I’m glad she agreed to collaborate on this. She also wrote about this project, here. Notice all the comments? Yep.
Our project is a simple concept.
We take turns picking one of our photographs from Flickr. We both write about the image, without consulting the other. The post is then published as one – two sides of the story, one pic. Pretty cool, huh?
We both take it very seriously. We both believe in it. It’s still in it’s infancy. We’re still figuring it out. And we both think you’ll enjoy it.
Would we lie to you?
Runnin’
Over the past few months, I’ve listened to Pandora on a regular basis. Daily at work, in the car and also at home. It rocks. I created a bunch of stations, including The Pharcyde station, a hip hop group I somehow missed over the years, even though I was certain I would like them. I love them. One song hit me instantly – Runnin’. It’s a laid back track that reminds me of the west coast, palm trees. a cool breeze and being happy. It’s my current #1 song I listen to on a flight.
Aside from Runnin’, I’m also running again. I’ve had an on again/off again relationship with running, and in the last week, I’ve found it again and it feels great. There’s a new technology component to it as well. I run with my iPhone which lets me stream Pandora or listen to my music library through the iPod. It also allows me take photos along the way (something I always wanted to do). I can send texts, receive calls, and send a tweet – all admittedly, very hard to do while running. But I usually give myself a couple of blocks to cool down from a run. I use this time to record ideas or send e-mails that have come to me during the trek. Running is a healthier past time for me, but more importantly, it’s a creative exercise. I cover a lot of things while pounding the pavement and listening to music. Which is timely.
Outside of a hectic work schedule, I’m working on a few creative personal projects that have a pretty big scope. I’m lucky to be working on some of these with people I respect and love. Some of these projects have been in the works for years. Some of them are brand new. Either way, I’m really excited about them and hope to share information with you all very soon. I’m taking these one step at a time, but to me, they’re all big, big steps. It’s been a long time coming.
I’ve always relied on good ideas coming to me in the shower or on a long run. I’m glad I’m now doing both.
Snapped whilst running
I love…
Football. Or soccer. I remember my first World Cup in 1982. I collected the Panini stickers. I was staying with family in France, and I remember as Paolo Rossi had the tournament of his dreams. I remember in 1986 as Diego Maradona defeated England with true artistry and con artistry. In 1990, I discovered English pubs and wept with the nation when Paul Gascoigne, Gazza, picked up a yellow card and automatic suspension for the semi-final. In 1994, I went to my only World Cup match (Spain vs Germany) and was boarding a plane in Portland, Oregon as England played a thrilling match with Argentina…and Beckham was minutes away from a red card. 1998 – I watched a sleepy Ronaldo and a practical deity in Zidane. 2002, France didn’t show up, Ronaldo found redemption, and Seaman got lobbed. And in 2006, Rooney saw red, in more ways than one. It’s been tough being an England fan.
I'm an England fan
And now it’s the 2010 World Cup and I’m still hopeful. England can win the World Cup. One of my wishes, is to see England win the World Cup before I die. It will be my son’s first World Cup too. He’s an England fan. The tournament is every four years, which leaves a lot of down time. I like to read. About soccer. I also have some pics, here.
This post is prompted by the impending opening match and the arrival of two new books – Soccer and Philosophy by Ted Richards and A Beautiful Game by Tom Watt. I haven’t read them yet, but I can barely wait – especially A Beautiful Game – stunning photos and great players talking about how soccer has changed their lives. Wow.
A Beautiful Game
I read my fair share of soccer books, so here are my must reads for this summer’s World Cup.
Scoring at Half-Time – The Northern Irish Pele? You better believe it. One of the greatest players ever, that got tangled up in booze. Lots of it. A fascinating read.
The Miracle of Castel di Sangro – Throw an American journalist into Italy, with a lower league team facing tough competition, political pressure, tragedy and great Italian drama. One of the first books I read within the soccer world. Any my friend Meggie wrote a great review, here.
Garrincha: The Triumph & Tragedy of Brazil’s Forgotten Football Hero – I’m a big fan of the show Intervention. And this book is so similar. This poor man was a train wreck. Lost his virginity to a goat, played for Brazil, and drank practically his entire life. BUT – watch video of him on YouTube. Amazing.
As I type, I realize I have other books I love. Robbie Fowler’s book is hilarious. Bobby Charlton’s book about his Manchester United career is inspiring and moving. Tony Adams wrote one of the most honest auto-biography’s ever. Steve McManaman’s recap of his Real Madrid time is incredibly thoughtful and engaging. There’s a theme here. The best books are honest. They’re not emerging or mid-career books. They’re well planned, well designed and have a clear message. It sounds simple, but there are LOTS of terrible soccer books out there. Take my word for it, or do some online research – fans will let you know.
I’m building up quite a library. Maybe I’ll write something, one day.
What are some of your picks?
TED (not the airline)
Remember Ted the airline? It was a sub-brand of United Airlines several years ago. It was eliminated in 2008 because of high fuel costs and the general problems most US Airline carriers have in running a profitable business. I feel sorry for the airlines. What ever happened to the romance, the thrill of flying? It’s gone. I wish I had been around during the glory days of Pan Am.
TED offices
But, I’m actually writing about TED today. You know, the Ideas worth sharing people.
Back in December, I had the pleasure of interviewing at TED. I had gone through the application process, participated in a phone interview at SFO airport (while boarding a plane) and eventually, arranged travel to New York City. Throughout this process, I was lucky enough to talk with, at great length, Executive Producer of TED Media , June Cohen. She’s smart, funny, high energy and brilliant. Just look at what TED has done for the online experience and use of video. And this doesn’t consider the work TED has done to wake up human beings around the world.
I didn’t get the job, but I did get to visit their offices and meet many of the staff – people involved in content, directing, programming, editing, digital rights and so on. And then I got a really cool job at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar. Smiles all around.
I’ve been meaning to write about TED, my experience and so on – but I’ve been waiting for the right time. I guess I just needed to make it through the Indy 500. Which I did, and it was beyond amazing. So much digital content!
2010 Indy 500 Driver Intros
And now that life is somewhat normal again, I wanted to share some of my favorite TED videos with you. I remember when I was working on ArtBabble – I referenced TED almost daily on what ideas to use in creating a devoted video site. They are amazing. So here are just a few of my picks.
I love the work of Charles and Ray Eames. I’ve visited the Eames Home and I’ve had the pleasure of working with Eames Demetrios. Now there is a video on TED. ’nuff said.
I love cooking. I love England. I love Jamie Oliver (and Gordon Ramsey). And we need to eat our greens. So here you go.
And how about Elizabeth Gilbert? She’s got a smart sense of humor, she’s thoughtful, and talks about human creativity and the genius inside. Listen to her!
I could go on and on, so I’ll stop at three videos. That’s the great thing about TED. If I were to write this post again tomorrow, I would probably pick 3 different videos.
I’m interested in hearing about your favorite TED speakers or more simply, what some of your inspirations are.
Mine are still simple – be creative, be kind, and do great work.
Who moved my tweets?
Me and O
It’s been a busy past six weeks – a ton of work projects, a fair amount of traveling and very little personal time. Everyone faces the challenge of the balancing a professional and personal life. It’s become a lot harder now that I’m a father and that I’m still a newbie at work (2 months in), but I’m doing pretty well. The blurriness of work/home life got me thinking though. For a long time, I’ve operated online with the assumption that there is no distinction between me “personally” or “professionally” when it comes to an online persona. I always assume that whatever I place on the web will be seen by friends, family, colleagues and strangers. Not everyone does this, but it has helped me cope with how I want to be perceived, issues of privacy and so on. But for some reason, I’ve started thinking about my use of Twitter and similar issues. I originally used Twitter just so I would understand it. As I understood it, I realized it would be a good opportunity to provide personal updates and share professional projects. Twitter use for me really got going during the launch of ArtBabble. This combo approach for Twitter worked well for me and I noticed my followers increased and represented a healthy balance of friends, museum nerdz, and general tech peeps. Not bad.
I'm a museum nerd
And then I left the museum field. It’s been a couple of months. All of sudden I seemed a little lost. My followers (and we’re not talking that many) had come to expect tweets that were personal and museum themed. Now they were getting just personal updates. I wasn’t sure how to weave in my new professional focus of auto racing related, digital content. I wasn’t sure what their thoughts were on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway or the IndyCar Series? And I certainly didn’t want to ostracize anyone.
My approach was to take it slow. I enjoyed tweeting about my personal stuff – soccer, walks with O, The Mighty Boosh, cooking and so on. And then I started easing into some racing related content – nothing too specific, but tweets about traveling, new websites, P-Diddy, and so on.
The Mighty Boosh - Lester Corncrake and Tony Harrison.
And then I noticed new followers emerging. I had sustained my existing fan-base (and I say that with as little arrogance as possible) and started to attract followers with strong interests in auto racing, the IMS and IndyCar. Cool. I’ve been very selective about my racing tweets. I try to select content that will have mass appeal. Our work Twitter accounts, @IndyTalk – IMS & @IndyCarNation – IndyCar, get tremendous fan interaction on almost every tweet – they don’t need little ‘ol me retweeting everything.
My modest presence on Twitter now has a focus on a more personal distribution of content or storytelling. I guess, looking back on the museum community, we were all trying to reach a smaller, niche audience and we wanted to try and reach everyone, no matter what (and I say that with no disrespect…just fact). I’ve been blown away by the level of fan interaction, passion and opinions of our followers in the new job. It’s incredible. So I’m going to keep using Twitter, keep sharing stuff, and hope I find the right balance of appealing to a strangely diverse collection of followers. If you continue, thank you, If you don’t, I completely get it.
So that’s about it. All this talk of me, me, me! What about the people I’ve started following recently. I’ve added tons of people over the past few months. Here are a just a few -
@TheNaptown – we’re talking Chef James Bryant, new owner of The Naptown Restaurant and Wine Bar. He’s very new to Twitter but he’s given me lots of tips when it comes to BBQing. Follow him or better yet, go eat.
@diorabarid1 – actress Diora Baird. Her tweets are unexpected and surreal. I love surreal…even though she was in an episode of Two and a Half Men…oh well.
@LeilaniMunter - race car driver and passionate environmental advocate. Her recent documentation of the oil spill in Louisiana has been eye opening. Learn more about her, here.
@RoyHobbson – writer of The Silent Pagoda. Funny, witty, edgy and has got his finger firmly on the pulse of the local racing community. Even if you despise racing, you’ll enjoy his writing.
That’s it – there are plenty more people I love following. I’ll feature them in a future post. If you’ve made it this far, thanks so much for reading.
May I present to you – Museum of Robots
This post has a cool title and it’s a cool read. But first let me provide a little context. I joined Twitter back in 2008. I did it right before attending SXSW because I didn’t want to be a loser. I was and didn’t use it. As Twitter gained more momentum, I drifted back and began to use, mainly so I would understand it. In my line of work, I better understand the latest Friendster/MySpace/Facebook/Twitter/foursquare/???. I rejoined and looked for Twitter friends based on my interests. Robots, Formula One racing, Design, Travel, Museums and so on. In a weird twist of fate, I found the Museum of Robots. They represented a huge interest of mine and I couldn’t believe it. A healthy obsession began.
Museum of Robots on Twitter
I love robots. I love robots in movies (especially R2D2). I love collecting robots. I love robot art. And I strongly believe in Isaac Asimov Three Laws of Robotics -
- A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
- A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
I love peaceful robots. The violent one’s really freak me out. I especially enjoy cheeky robots.
A small collection of my peaceful robots
So I started following them on Twitter and instantly enjoyed their banter. And for some reason they followed me back. Score! I continued to research and discovered more and more about them. The Museum is actually located in Second Life. A virtual museum that features curated digital robot art (why didn’t I think of that?). If you are a Second Life user, you can find their location, here. I learned about their design firm, their housewares line, their love of Formula One, their niceness, and of course, they adore robots.
Vicki and Richard Küng are Museum of Robots, Küngdesign and all of the other things I mentioned. They are smart, creative and web savvy. That goes without saying. But they’re also the type of people contributing essential online content to an environment thirsty for quality experiences. My goal in this series, “May I present to you -” is to highlight the people contributing meaningful digital content and shaping the web in a transformative way. Museum of Robots does that for me not just through robots, but incredible design, superb content, humor, insight and an un-robotic humanness. I often harp on about story telling, content over technology, or the personality of technology. For me, Museum of Robots are experts in this arena. Why wouldn’t I adore them?
At this point, I will stop and let you hear directly from them. Enjoy their answers and insight. Leave comments, suggestions or questions. Thank you for reading. And a big thank you to Museum of Robots for letting me stalk them…
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Who is Museum of Robots and Küngdesign? The people behind them are Vicki Küng and Richard Küng. Küngdesign is our design and branding agency. We started in the ’90s doing retail store design and permanent exhibits, then the internet came along and we discovered we were geeks, so we moved it all online and work primarily on online branding projects. It’s all still based on our perspective of relating people to their environment, communication and storytelling, just translated to an online or virtual environment.
Museum of Robots is a housewares line we started 2 years ago – after working in pixels for so long we wanted to design things you can touch. The inspiration is robots, which to us are the essence of modern and nostalgic- futuristic and retro, technical and playful, functional and entertaining.
Some of the Museum of Robots housewares line
Museum of Robots is also a museum in the online 3D virtual world of Second Life.
What drives you? Design, communication, technology, fun. All wrapped up in the context of business, as these are commercial, if creative, entities.
What determines good online content? Great storytelling. I think the success has to be evaluated ultimately by the user, but it’s up to content creators to have a vision and be true to it, whatever kind of content they’re making. For commercial content creators it’s about the audience, so making content that resonates with them, rather than a making a commercial disguised as content, is important. BMW did it wonderfully with The Hire in 2001 and Absolut is doing it now with I’m Here. Those are both reflective of what the brands stand for, but are still great stories and content.
Self-expression is different – that comes from passion. You laugh at Chocolate Rain, but you never doubt the commitment of the guy who made that. It’s genuine and that makes it compelling.
Robots are _______. Our friends. Twee and true in equal measure.
What’s with this Second Life thing? Yeah – we get that a lot. It’s an online 3D virtual world and that’s where Museum of Robots exists as a museum. We have exhibits, a permanent collection, visiting artists, art shows, events, lectures, competitions – everything a real life museum does.
We find artists, design exhibits, run a gift shop, experiment with technology within the SL environment, do marketing outreach to attract visitors, and join up with other museum and gallery owners to compare notes, cross-promote and give each other support.
Current exhibits are “‘Bots, Bugs & Beasts: The Art of Joshua Ellingson”, “From Teapot to Robot: The Sculpture of Clayton Bailey”, “‘Robots and Donuts: The Art of Eric Joyner”, and ‘Celebrity Robots Hall of Fame’, featuring famous robots of film and television.
Best robot movie? This question was the source of much discussion – determined by movie era? What’s a robot? Based on script or action? Robot as star or sidekick? Good robots or bad robots?
We were on the verge of over-thinking the entire topic, so we decided to stop with these, and narrowing it down to two is the best we could do – but it’s a consensus answer:
The Terminator (the original)
Wall-e
Best popular culture robot reference? We see robots everywhere – it’s all one big pop culture reference to us – so it’s kinda hard to be objective. Having said that, the most-quoted robot line in this household is by Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet, “That is correct, Sir”. It covers a lot of territory, depending on delivery.
Your favorite robot?
Vicki: Acrobot. He’s a toy robot from the 1960’s, about a foot tall and stands on his head or feet. He makes me laugh every time and I cannot explain the attraction.
Richard: It’s like trying to pick your favorite child but if pressed, Robby for a movie robot and Answer Game Machine for a toy robot. Don’t tell the other robots I said that.
You live in America and like Formula One? Do tell…. It’s what happens when a Los Angeles-born surfer girl who’s always loved cars (cruising in lowriders on Whittier Blvd, weekends at the drag races) marries a Canadian F1 fan. Married, in fact, in a classic car museum on a Memorial Day weekend, celebrating our anniversary at the Indy 500 a number of times.
Needed an excuse to use one of my pics
F1? Nothing beats the drama, sounds and emotion of F1 – and that’s before a wheel ever turns on a track. The locations, the politics, the scandal, the speed, the glamour, and sometimes even the racing, are an incredible blend of entertainment, sports, design, technology, human drama and skill. Although sometimes it is a little lonely being an F1 fan in the States!
Can you tell me about your houseware line? Any new projects on the horizon? The housewares line…the defining principal is that the products are functional and should also have a sense of humor. When you’re called Museum of Robots it’s important not to take yourself too seriously.
The signature piece is our Flying Saucer Bowl, and we sell a lot of Rocket Salt & Pepper sets. Yes – it’s thematic. We also like to experiment with translating industrial materials so we have a line of PET Felt bags made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles; felt fabric and the products are made in the USA, and the fabric’s original use is the automotive industry.
We’re adding recycled aluminum pieces, working hard on making more products in the US, and the felt fabric is always a source of new ideas. We introduce a range of new pieces every six months so we’re always in development.
Aisle or window seat?
Richard: aisle.
Vicki: aisle. Which means when we travel together he takes the aisle and I take the window. Pick your battles.
If you could ask yourself any question, what would it be? And what’s the answer?
Q: Are we there yet?
A: I hope not.
What’s next for you? “Walter’s Kitchen Nook”. It’s a scripted series filmed entirely in Second Life, and is the story of Walter Sparks and his show “Walter’s Kitchen Nook”: he’s half-human, half-robot, intergalactically famous and ready to share his household style secrets.
The series will consist of 5-minute webisodes, with an overall storyline about Walter – he shares his household secrets, and has a few secrets of his own. Yes – it’s a hybrid-robot soap opera. We hope to have sponsors for each of the episodes and the sponsor’s product will be interwoven into the narrative, so the series is not an infomercial but an integration of sponsor messages into the action: Walter will interview a product each week, for example. It’s a return to the ‘commercial sponsor’ approach that was popular in the early days of TV and is popular again – we’ve taken product placement and worked it into the story. For the pilot we’re using the Museum of Robots Flying Saucer Bowl as a product Walter uses to solve a household dilemma.
Here’s the trailer -
It all circles back to our belief that the best online content hews to the same criteria that offline content does – good storytelling. In this particular case it’s literal, but there is a lot of creative leeway in how to tell a story and we hope we live to be 200 so we can see what people come up with.
Looking out the window
Do you remember you first flight? I surprisingly don’t. The first flight I remember (which I think was my 3rd) was on Virgin from London Gatwick to Newark. I don’t mind long flights, but my first experience with America, was the Newark airport. Oh well. My mom told me, that my first flight was from London Gatwick to Geneva, Swtizterland on the now defunct airline British Caledonian. During this flight, I got to visit the cockpit, annoy pilots and check out europe. Pretty cool, but it’s a shame I don’t remember it.
Since my first flight (even the one to Newark), I’ve been fascinated by and in awe of flying. I still get apprehensive during take off and landings. I always look up at the sky to identify passing planes. I love the history and panache of Pan Am. I keep up with airline industry. My first “May I present to you…” series was about Harriet Baskas, a wonderful writer about….airports, travel and more. And when I do fly, I spend a lot of the time, looking out the window, 6 miles in the air, zooming at 500 miles per hour.
Looking out the window...
I enjoy the alone time on a flight. I always get a window seat. I listen to music, play video games on my PSP, work and read. But I always have one eye on the window, and my camera handy. It’s amazing what the world looks like at 30,000 feet.
I love my blues
I’ve taken hundreds of these shots. And of course I upload them to Flickr, including contributing to a couple of really cool groups. From the Airplane Window and Window seat please, both include shots from above, from travelers all over the world. It’s amazing what people capture just from an airplane window. It reminds me I have a lot more to see in this world.
In my career, I’ve worked a lot with video, web development and online strategies, but I always find myself coming back to the still image and most of the time, Flickr. Maybe I’m old school or I like the simplicity of a single framed shot. In the case of sitting on a plane, I guess I want to make sure I’m not going to forget a unique experience.
Chunks of ice below
I’ve been slightly inactive on Flickr recently because of the new job, bad weather and lack of travel. In the next month or two, I hope to become more active on Flickr, including some new projects. You’ll still get my standard window shots, views from my hotel room, clouds, and all the other predictable pics I capture. But, I am working on some new things, including video. So stay tuned.
By the way, if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them.
My/Your Cannoli Flickr Group
I don’t recall the first time I had a cannoli. I do remember eating the most incredible cannoli in 1996 while in Venice. It was amazing. Since then, I’ve held a special space in my stomach for this delicate Italian dessert. I’ve enjoyed some good one’s since, but none quite compare.
A cannoli from Rome
So of course I took this sugar appreciation to the next level. I created a Flickr group.
It’s simply called Cannoli, and you can access it, here. I started this group almost three years ago during a long layover at La Guardia airport. I adore Flickr and I was thinking of creating a group that would be fairly unique. Surprisingly, cannoli was available. I formed it and searched through Flickr looking for cannoli images, but not finding many. I invited as many as I could to the new group.
From Flickr user lismi171
There a reason I’m writing about Flickr. I started my new job at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week and I’ve been thinking a lot about digital content and online outlets – such as Flickr, and I’ve already started devising some unique approaches for involving Flickr in our online strategies – specifically how we can engage fans in innovative ways. Stay tuned for updates on IMS and the online arena (especially Flickr sets and groups). But back to the cannoli (wiki definition, here).
Since the group launched, the number of cannoli images has increased dramatically. I spent part of tonight viewing some of the images, selecting my favorites and inviting them to join this group. It’s already growing. I like Flickr for this reason. It’s members are committed, community-driven and willing to participate. Not to mention the talented photographers.
The cannoli is a simple yet complicated dessert. It’s delicate and robust. It’s crunchy yet soft. It’s like life.
So enjoy my dorky Flickr group, upload some images and in the words of Peter Clemenza:
“Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.”
On the road to Asheville and Appville
We just returned from a family road trip. It involved 17 total hours in a car with a 5-month old, 1 speeding ticket, detours, horrendous weather, some fast food, energy drinks and did I mention a baby in the car? But the trip was worth it – quality time with family and the lovely city of Asheville – home of microbrews, Grove Park Inn and a little house called the Biltmore (see below).
The Biltmore
My younger, brother-in-law also surprised us with a visit. Aside from being hilarious – he also knows technology, I mean knows everything. So he asked what apps I had for my iPhone, and an education began. Here are some of new apps he mentioned to me and some of my favorite oldies but goodies.
CardStar: I’m man that believes in carrying a money clip. This app organizes all of your discount or reward cards for easy scanning at checkouts. CVS, grocery store, the playa ball, Toys r Us, yeah, it’s all stored. You’ll be organized and your money clip will shine.
BigOven: Need to know how to boil water, make lobster bisque, a sunday roast, Chicken marsala? This app will save the day while you’re walking through the grocery store looking for paprika. Unfortunately, it won’t turn you into Gordon Ramsey.
Knocking Live Video: Wow. Turn your iPhone into a streaming web cam. Wanna give someone a home tour? Wanna stream some street racing? Wanna give a live video demonstration of _______? Get to it. Send your video to a buddy, colleague or parent. What are you waiting for? Read their blog posts here or see the demo below -
These were some of the best apps my b-i-l mentioned, and these don’t include what I already regulary use, such as TweetDeck, Facebook, Flickr, and more recently foursquare. But, there are a couple of other apps I’m excited to use shortly – RedLaser and Remote – it’s all about scanning barcodes for deals and controling iTunes with my phone.
Some of the apps are incredible. I remember back in November, calling home from New Zealand, using Skype via free wifi – how amazing is that? But really, in closing, can anything top The Mighty Boosh app? I know my life is complete.
I’ve missed a million apps – but I have I overlooked a must have? Let me know.
Dropping the A for an S
I’m about to begin my last week of work. I started at the Indianapolis Museum of Art in December of 2004. It’s been an incredible journey filled with tremendous growth, learning, laughter, mistakes, travel, success and innovation. What a five years. On March 1, I begin the next challenge, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
On the roof of the IMA
I’ve been so lucky to work on some ground breaking digital projects that have helped place the IMA on a global map – the IMA (or the Indianapolis in IMA) is now more than ’south Chicago’ or a ’suburb of Chicago’. It’s been especially rewarding to see how well perceived the museum is in places likes NYC and overseas. I’m glad I could help with that.
This is more than just a going away announcement. My favorite part of the job has been the projects and travel, so with that in mind, I thought I would write a couple of top-5 lists, in no particular order.
PROJECTS
Roman Art from the Louvre Webisodes – 11 short HD videos, on location in Paris and Rome, hours and hours of footage and interviews, award winning, blend of education, marketing and an authentic voice, funny, edgy and I got a private showing of the Mona Lisa. It’s a project I never thought would happen…but it did. And – a perfect example of what can happen if an organization is willing to trust staff. My favorite video below…
The IMA Blog – Produces more digital content than any other IMA project, features the perspectives from a variety of departments including technology, education, curatorial and conservation, some pretty cool guest bloggers that have included Dan Wheldon, Adrianne Curry and author Patrick Smith. It’s one of the best out there.
Nature Holds My Camera – What happens when a museum (especially Director and CEO Maxwell Anderson) allows staff from education and new media to develop a major exhibition? Well, success for one. Fun, second. And the opportunity to work with video artist Sam Easterson, animals, great exhibition design, interactivity and the chance for a museum to reveal it’s fun side.
ArtBabble – it’s been called the YouTube for arts. It’s also been one of the biggest projects I’ve ever worked on; from actually producing videos, to developing the site, to the branding, to the content, to the partner relations, to the marketing. Babble On. Award winning and got me a quote in my favorite newspaper, The Guardian.
Play Art Loud - ArtBabble
Video, Video, Video – Ok, it’s not one project, but it’s been four years of hard work and evolution. When it comes down to it, my colleagues Dan Dark and Danny Beyer have turned the IMA into one of the world’s leading museum video producers. Not bad. Videos range from marketing trailers, to kind-of-boring lectures, to engaging artist interviews, interpretive and educational pieces and major documentaries. One of my favorite videos below.
Those are just 5 projects. It does not include 2 major web redesigns, an iPod Touch tour, the Davis LAB gallery space, exhibition web sites, podcasts, Flickr projects, marketing campaigns, side blogs, creative solutions and so on (I didn’t want to bore you).
TRAVEL
Before I list 5, let me say that this is almost impossible. I love traveling and every destination, so don’t hold me to just these 5.
Martha’s Vineyard – yes, I once actually went there for work for a weekend-long meeting to discuss a major educational project. A summer meeting on Martha’s Vineyard? Yes please.
House on MV
Havana, Cuba – yeah I got in. It’s a stunning country and a place I would visit again in a heartbeat. It triggered my love for good rum, cigars and cuban music. Here’s some video I shot (and actually edited!).
Walla Walla, Washington – it might just be the name. It might be the gorgeous 4 hour drive from Seattle. I don’t really care. It’s a beautiful area filled with vineyards. Call it the Tuscany of NW.
Lovely Walla Walla
Singapore – exotic, hot, AMAZING food, beautiful people – you name it. I was lucky to travel with my best friend Despi Ross and also snuck in a trip to Malaysia. I also got stuck in Japan on the way back. Why, thank you.
Hindu temple in Singapore
London, England – it’s where my heart is and it was a dream come true to visit on business (and then visit my family). I would move to London in a heart beat – if they could afford me. Pubs, football, amazing clouds and the britishness – I’ll queue up for that!
Millenium Bridge
So, 5 destinations. It doesn’t include New York City, Tijuana, Rome, Atlanta, Paris, Madrid, Wellington, Sydney, Toronto and much more. I’ve loved them all and it’s been a real honor to visit them.
In a couple of weeks, I’ll begin my next professional challenge as a Producer, Online Media and Strategies at the IMS, where I’ll be responsible for developing Online Media strategies including Social Media for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights Series. It’s an amazing opportunity for me both personally and professionally, I have a million ideas for this new position and a lot to learn.
Who knows what the next five years will be like?
Channeling Sandra Lee
We’re not actually channeling Sandra Lee (that will be a different post). What we’re doing is cooking. A lot.
My mother-in-law and I are hosting a small football party today. This is Indianapolis. It loves football and I love cooking and food, so a perfect activity for Sunday.
I’ m not really doing any of the cooking – Nancy is, and she’s an amazing chef and very kind to run with this idea today. Especially since she’s doing all of the work as I type.
So here’s what’s on the menu today. My friend George Greco always said, “It’s not tipping I believe in, it’s over tipping.” We’ve employed a similar approach to the menu. Overthetop.
Texas Sausage Balls – “Texan woman moves to New Jersey to hit the big time.”
- 1lb Jimmy Dean Sausage HOT
- 1.5 cups of Bisquick
- 2 cups of finely shredded mild cheddar
- Make ‘em into balls, about the size of a walnut
- Bake at 325 for 20 minutes, deep in the heart of Texas. Don’t mess with it.
Nancy’s Sweet & Tangy Potato Salad – “The key is miracle whip!”
- 6-7 Russet Potatoes – peel and par-boil, chunk it
- 5-6 chopped celery stalks
- 5-6 chopped carrots
- 1 medium onion – slice and dice people
- 12oz of miracle whip
- 3 tablespoons of sweet relish
- 4 hard boiled eggs (3 in it, 1 for garnish)
- 4lbs of paprika (or a couple of dashes)
- Mix it all together with love.
Nancy’s Nacho Layers of Love – “Some like it hot.”
- 2 bags of large tortilla chips (none of that lime crap)
- Chopped and sauteed onion
- Can ‘o green chiles
- Yellow or Red bell pepper, chopped and sauteed with onion and chiles
- 6 Jalepenos (throw ‘em in the sauteed mess)
- Some chipoltes – throw ‘em in
- Can of drained black beans
- Add chile powder, salt & pepper cumin.
- Layer all of this crap on chips. Add cheese. Add More chips. Repeat. It’s a layered nacho experience. Unforgettable.
Corporate Toll House Derby Pie – “It tastes good, despite it’s corporate origins – and because of that, no photo.”
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup of flour
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 1/2 cup of brown sugar
- 3/4 cup softened butta
- One 6oz package of Nestle semi-sweet morsels (it HAS TO BE Nestle or you will get sued)
- 1 9-inch unbaked pie shell.
- Mix it all together, blah blah blah. Add to pie crust. Zap it at 325 for about an hour. Cool before cutting. Or else.
Big Bubba’s Brisket Bunz – “A modified Paula Deen recipe”
Since I provided a link to the recipe, I’m not going to list everything. I will say this. The dry rub is one of the most under-appreciated parts of cooking meat. I’m not kidding. So we’re going with a char crust rub – including salt ‘n peppa, sugar, chiles, mustard and so on. Plus some top secret sh*t I’m not divulging that may or may not involve coca cola.
Instead of serving this formally, we’re going with brisket sandwiches to mix and play with potato salad and chips and beer and so on. It’s for sitting on the couch holding a beer and shouting at the TV. The toppings offer guests the opportunity for creative consumption – going with a cole slaw or horse radish perhaps?
We cooked 3.25 lbs of brisket – emphasizing the natural meat flavor…and you guessed it, da rub!
So there you have it. Sorry you didn’t get the evite. It was delicious! And thank you Nancy!
The official IND airport Flickr group
I’m a huge Flickr junky. I love taking photos, adding them to my Flickr acct., and most of the time adding nonsensical descriptions. It’s one of the few creative outlets I have. Here’s one of my favorite Flickr images, snapped with one of my old phones. This is outside the Rathskellar. He probably had one too many Optimators. Or was listening to Polka Boy.
Dead Clown
I’ve started several Flickr groups over the past few years. I’ll be highlighting them over time, but today I wanted to focus on the one I started for the Indianapolis International Airport. You can view it in all it’s glory, HERE.
Thanks to Flickr user HOK Network
Indianapolis now has a world class airport. Truly world class. And if you want to learn more about it, I suggest you read this series of posts by Indianapolis blogger and urban contemplator, The Urbanophile. Even if you’re not into airport commentary, read any of his other posts, Indy is lucky to have him.
I’m not proud of the new George Lucas Oil stadium. I’m not that fond of Conseco Fieldhouse. BUT, I am a huge fan of the new airport. The new airport might be the single, most important project this city has ever done. In my opinion, it has made Indianapolis a city. I had the opportunity to tour the new airport prior to its opening and I remember thinking a good tag line for a marketing campaign, could be: “The New Indianapolis Airport: You don’t have to move anymore.” And I’ll bet anyone a beer, it helped Indianapolis in it’s successful bid to become a potential World Cup venue.
So I’m asking you to join my sense of pride. Join the Indianapolis International (flights to Cancun and Toronto) Airport Flickr group. Travel, enjoy free wifi, rest assured your baggage will make it and take pictures! I know I will.
The baggage nerve center
May I present to you – Stuck at the Airport
This is the first of what I hope to be a series of blog posts where I introduce some people and blogs I have been lucky to discover during my travels, meetings, conferences and the exploration online. I hope you enjoy.
So, the first of this series focuses on the blog Stuck at the Airport by Harriet Baskas. I’m a travel junkie and absolutely adore airports. I wasn’t lucky enough to travel through JFK and see the Eero Saarinen TWA terminal during its heyday, but I would have truly appreciated it. To provide a little background, I’ve been fortunate to travel frequently. My favorite airport is Singapore’s Changi and as an Indianapolis resident, I started the the IND Flickr group. Through my work at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, I convinced Patrick Smith, author of Ask the Pilot, to write a beautiful, compelling blog post, The Jetliner as Art. I love airports, traveling and planes.
The beautiful sterile Changi
But enough about me.
I stumbled upon Harriet’s work in the first half of 2009 through some general research about airports and travel. I immediately became a fan of her blog and the many travel, airport and airline related articles she crafts. As it often happens in the online world, we exchanged e-mails, blog comments, and tweets. I remember thinking how cool it was that I could easily connect with someone that I respected. Harriet is a wonderful commentator on the state of modern travel, specifically the culture of airports, airline industry, quirky happenings and the latest in TSA occurrences. Beyond that, Harriet is a pretty big fan of museums, a talented and award winning radio producer, contributor to USA Today & MSNBC, author and much more. It’s not often I meet someone who shares my passions – travel, airports, airlines, museums and so on. And she’s an expert!
Stuck at the Airport
After some communication, Harriet featured me in one her blog posts – Airport fans: yes, there are some – which made me feel pretty chuffed. Harriet and Stuck at the Airport made this series, because she’s an example of intelligent internet publishing. Harriet is not only active on her blog, online publications and other sites, but synthesizes her content through Twitter (@hbaskas) in a way that is engaging and interesting. Her multiple online methods of communication are fully integrated and connected to reveal her content, her stories. So many people fail at this.
Travel is one of the most rewarding things we can do in life. It’s inspiring, challenging, sometimes life-changing and hard work. Travel helps us understand this world and the beauty of cultural diversity. Harriet has created the perfect job. So the next time you are planning a trip, in the midst of traveling or stuck at the airport, check out Harriet’s work. She’s totally worth it.
And, as part of this “May I present to you…” series, I plan on always asking a series of questions. So here goes -
What drives you? Personally, generally? General curiosity, mostly. Oh.. and coffee. That’s what led me to traveling around to visit unusual and offbeat museums for a long running series of radio stories and for books. And that’s what got me stuck at the airport that one day when I decided there needed to be a guide to all the other things (besides waiting) to do at airports.
Answer: Stop asking me that.
….Thank you to Harriet for participating in the very first, May I present to you…., series. Stay tuned for the next installment, and if you have someone you think I need to feature, please let me know.
Welcome to the soft launch
It’s Downy soft! Thanks for checking in.
I’ve finally got around to creating danielincandela.com.
I’ve done this as a way of representing myself online, but to also start sharing some of my personal projects. I focus so much on my work projects (which I love) that I often neglect some pretty cool things I do at home from time to time.
So, give me a week or two to get this site in shape and hopefully, start enjoying some new content from yours truly.
Ciao.