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All posts for “travel”
In honor of the start of the Beijing Olympics, we've decided to make it "China Week" here on the Common Craft blog.
In a lot of ways, China was where we first started to experiment with video. We bought our first video camera (a Sony DCR - PC 1000) in Hong Kong, just before spending about a month in mainland China in 2006. Over the time in China, we edited and posted our first "real" videos. This week, we'll share a few of those videos and some stories from our time there. It's stuff you... Continue Reading
I wouldn't call it disappointment, but rather a dose of reality. I spent the last week in Las Vegas at the Community 2.0 conference and with my family thereafter. Coming back, I must say that the trip gave me some much-needed perspective. Let me explain.We work from home. We make videos, we put them on the Web, people watch them. We track our views, our Technorati links, our mentions in Twitter, our blog comments. A good percentage of people we see in social situations in Seattle are aware... Continue Reading
Japan Tobacco's Clever and Strange Smoking Manners Signs
Posted by: leelefever on February 23, 2008- 4:00pm
Categories: communication, humor, japan, travel, visualthinking
Japan is surely one of the politest places you're likely to visit. If you ask someone for directions, there is a good chance they will walk you there themselves. Behaving honorably is an important part of the culture and there is never a lack of signs, often cleverly illustrated, reminding the public of what is expected.
One of the most interesting and clever examples I found is produced by Japan Tobacco. In smoking areas, on trains and near ashtrays, there are often signs related to smoking... Continue Reading
Updated: I've created a schedule of sessions and parties I plan to attend at SXSWi (maybe Sachi too!). You can see the schedule here.
I suppose it's the time of year for directionally-based conferences.
I'm heading up to Northern Voice in Vancouver this weekend and Sachi and I both will be heading south to Austin, Texas for SXSW Interactive starting March 7th. I hope we'll be able to meet you at one of these conferences.
10 Photos from Our Time in Japan
Posted by: leelefever on February 17, 2008- 4:00pm
Categories: offtopic, personal, photography, travel
The delicious food, the amazingly nice people, the sites, the experience, Japan is one of our favorite places. Thankfully one of our friends moved there recently and has an extra bedroom (thanks Ken!). Before the planning was done, 5 of us from Seattle decided to go. The photos below will give you a taste of our time there.I took 2,900 photos in the 15 days we were gone. You can see a set of 135 photos on Flickr. The photo below is one of my all time favorites. We happened to be a Meiji... Continue Reading
Dear reader, we will return in a couple of weeks time - please don't forget about us. We'll be thinking of you. In the mean time, here are some words to live by:
While this blog won't be updated, you may find new things on Flickr and Twitter. See ya soon!
This video is a masterpiece in my opinion - especially if you're into Japanese culture (Sachi is half-Japanese). It's just so culturally real, so bitingly satirical, so truly funny. It won awards at the now defunct Resfest in 2003, and now it's on YouTube for your viewing pleasure.
Give it a little while to get rolling - it starts slow and literal.
First, we want to wish you and yours good cheer and positive vibes for the Holidays. It's been an exciting year for us at Common Craft and it couldn't have happened without you. Your links, your blog entries, your emails to friends all put a spotlight on our work that wouldn't have happened otherwise. Maybe there is something to this social media thing after all. J
Between now and the New Year, we'll be with families on separate coasts and generally unavailable.
If you're looking for an... Continue Reading
My most recent Tweet (a short update to the Twitter service) was this:
Today's my twitterversary! 1 year of meaningless drivel flowing from my keyboard and phone. I still count it as time well-spent. about 4 hours ago from TwitBin
It's true. I've been using Twitter for one year as of today and I've been thinking about it. What does Twitter mean to me? Why have I adopted it?
First - a bit of explanation. Twitter provides a way for you (and your
friends) to share short updates about your... Continue Reading
When we arrived at our rental house in Mexico, we found well-worn notebook with hints about the town and surroundings. On one of the pages was a story that I had heard before, but for this particular vacation, and at this point in our careers, it had extra meaning. It matches, with a bit of exaggeration, our goals when it comes to managing our lifestyle.
A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village and an American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how... Continue Reading