There are many reasons why RealNetworks'®RealPlayer® popularity, in my opinion, has gone with the wind. Despite Microsoft's preloaded Windows Media Player® (WMP), it's not the choice many make; rather, it's more of a default. Many of have resorted to external players like Winamp and JetAudio (my personal choice).
Given the popular proprietary format Real® uses (.rm, .ram, etc.), the browser plugin, and in essence the software itself, lives on. This funny picture found on Flickr, however, captures one of the frustrations with the tool very well.
I can't believe that someone actually did that right on their logo on the side of a building. I wonder if it was at their headquarters. It's just too funny; and very appreciated. ▣
Every day in the Thai province of Samut Songkhram, about 43 miles (70 km) southwest of Bangkok, a unique market is held whose vendors need feet as quick as their minds. Why? Because much of the market is located directly on a set of operational railway tracks. Eight times daily, a train runs through without care for stopping, sending vendors and visitors to action stations before business as usual resumes.
The following brief video (41 seconds long) captures the hustle and, what we would here in the US be regarded as, "the insanity" that is the Mae Klong market.
Thailand has its fair share of interesting fresh markets offering a slice of daily Thai life – be it night bazaars serving insect delicacies, or floating markets bobbing on canal boat platforms. Still, the market at Samut Songkhram, known locally as Mae Klong, is king when it comes to unbridled excitement.
For visitors, there's more to the experience than braving the railway tracks and dodging the occasional train. Another attraction is the sight of all the goods on display along the 100-meter length of track near Mae Klong Station. From fresh fruit and vegetables to newly caught seafood, it's all shielded from the blazing sun by canopies of the stallholders' own making. This next video (about 4 minutes long) captures all of that, along of course with the train as it passes by along with the merchants' reactions.
The beginning of part 2 of the video featured below, shows the market from the front of the train. The video does a good job documenting the station, its distance from the market, as well as put some of hazards in perspective. For example, the gap between the train the canopies shot from within the train is truly remarkable.
And, while the market sellers may expend energy regularly packing up shop, and coping with an ever-present occupational hazard, it's evidently worth it. Just think of the passing trade they get, as well as the ease of access for people expressly taking a trip there. ▣
Tip Tuesday has been mostly tech-related. This week, I'm taking a break. Instead, I give you this popular YouTube video on how to chill a drink in 2 or so minutes.
iPhone/iTouch users: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc9BHiQUpWU ▣ Click here to see Tuesday-only posts.
With the plethora of pink slips circulating in the media and advertising industries (some estimates place the losses close to 70,000), you would think some creative type would have parlayed theirs into pink lemonade.
That's exactly what Eric Proulx did when he was laid off from his copywriting job at Arnold. He first created a blog which soon grew to a job-hunt site for "adpeeps" called please feed the animals, then he documented the stories from the recently laid off creatives and suits from hot shops such as Arnold, TBWA/Chiat/Day, Richard group to see what they are doing in their life after advertising.
And it looks like it's become a film filled with interesting lives, hope for the future and major life changes for the group of former adpeeps.
Life after advertising includes art, yoga and even changing genders! The short documentary candidly tells the story of former Directors, Designers, and Writers from the instant they were fired and what came next. Each person describes how their dismissal dramatically changed their life. The time to pursue life-long dreams ranging from painting to holistic healing became new sources of creativity. Lemonade will be released for free online in late September. ▣
