Man Made DIY

Recently, filmmaker Brent Hoff and The Stanford Center for Cognitive and Neurobiological Imaging hosted the 1st Annual Love Competition. Contestants from ages 10 to 75 were invited to spend "five minutes in an fMRI machine, thinking deeply about love and allowing the imaging technology to measure activity in their dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin/vasopressin pathways. 

If you think this sounds unromantic, you’ll want to reserve judgment."

Click play to watch is (not really) surprisingly touching sh… read more

Creative director Nessim Higson and animator/editor Joe Fleming have created Him Her, a delightful short filmabout the importance of communication in relationships.

The pair use simple kinetic typography and a sparse set of words to … read more

Valentine's Day is a curious holiday. On the one hand, you don't wanna fall into feeling obligated to go for lots of red and lace and candy and baby's breath (unless your partner says you should feel obligated, in which case you most certainly should), but you don't wanna just ignore the holiday altogether. So this year, send something thats full of stuff that you're into...like good design.   

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I'm not opposed to the idea of Valentine's Day. I actually quite like it. I mean, I understand and sympathize with the argument that you shouldn't need a greeting card-sponsored single day of the year to tell someone you love them. Sure. Yeah, duh. Nobody actually only does that on Valentine's Day. And if you do, you're a butthole, and Valentine's Day isn't really for you, is it?

But there is an appeal of having a day of the year dedicated to reflecting on where your love life might be. If you're in a long-term relationship, having a marker to see how it might have grown and changed over the years is at least interesting, if not helpful, if you're open to it. If you've spent the last few V-Days with different folks, or with no one in particular, it might be somewhat painful, but could also serve as a way to reflect on the role of all relationships in becoming who you are, and what you actually really want from them.

The problem, of course, is in the execution of Valentine's Day. I'm not much for red roses and babies breath, but that's only an aesthetic problem, cause I think flowers are generally kinda cool. I can go without stuffed animals and factory candies, but am always a fan of sharing thoughtful cards and handwritten messages, and being intentional about all sorts of intimacy. (You know what I'm getting at.)

But the one place where I think we really need to rethink Valentine's Day? The love song. And that's where I need your help.   … read more

February 10, 2010: You Make Me Bleed, and I Don't Care.

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