Ardbeg Galileo Rockets To Market. The Special Release of A Limited Edition 12 Year Old Whiskey That Is Out Of This World.

Ardbeg Galileo has landed.


Galileo, a vatting of different styles of Ardbeg laid down in 1999, is a combination of spirits that have been matured in ex-Marsala wine casks or in ex-bourbon casks. Together they create a sweet, smokey whiskey. The few thousand cases of the 12 year old whiskey made available are being picked up quickly and the space experiment that it was named after is going strong.



The beautiful packaging by Zing:





Invited by US Space Research Company, NanoRacks LLC, Ardbeg has been taking place in an experiment to test micro organic compounds in a maturation experiment since 2011. Vials of Ardbeg were launched into space and are currently maturing on the International Space Station.

The experiment will help explain the nature of "terpenes" compounds and will provide Ardbeg with information on new chemical building blocks in its own flavor spectrum.

Having recently become available, Galileo is restricted to two bottles per person (but already out of stock on the Ardbeg site). Bottled at a strength of 49% it is non chill-filtered for extra texture and mouth feel.



Tasting Notes
Aroma: A burst of intense smoky fruit escapes into the atmosphere. Add water and breathe in toasted vanilla, sizzling cinnamon and warm hazelnut.
Taste: An explosion of crackling peat ignites flavour explosions. Tangy lemon and lime juice, spiced toffee, followed by smooth buttermilk, bananas and currants. Smoke brims with creamy cappuccino and toasted marshmallows.
Finish: Long and smoky with tarry espresso

above: The Ardbeg Rocket Tour kicked off in Chicago on May 3, 2012 and will stop in 22 states in 28 weeks. Tour stops include key U.S. landmarks in states including California, Texas, New York and Florida. An Ardbeg Brand Ambassador will be on board the tour to educate consumers on the experiment, the brand, and where legal, to sample Ardbeg, recently rated by The Whisky Bible as the "Best Single Malt Scotch – 10 Years and Under."

Ardbeg

Ardbeg only ships within the UK, however other specialty liquor stores around the world do carry the item. Prices seem to range from $89.99 to $199.99

Here are a few online stores that carry the product:
Worldwide merchants who carry the product
Single Malts Direct
Online merchants who ship world-wide

Some Serious Bodywork. Car Wreck Made Of 17 Painted Bodies by Emma Hack For Anti-Speeding Ad (and A Look Behind the Scenes).

above: a close up look reveals the twisted and painted human figures comprising the image

Body painting illustrator /artist Emma Hack put her talents to work for MAC, South Australia's Motor Accident Commission for an anti-speeding campaign. The billboard and internet ad, "Body Crash" features 17 humans painted to appear as a wrecked non-descript sedan and was conceived of by Clemenger BBDO, an Australia-based advertising agency.


above: the outdoor board for Australia

“It had to be slightly nondescript as it was portrayed crashed,” Ms. Hack wrote to Wheels in an e-mail. The artist selected athletes, bodybuilders and members of acrobatics teams to fulfill the technical requirements. “They are used to holding weight and their fatigue level would be higher,” she said.

The subjects also had up to five layers of makeup-based paint applied to their bodies.
“As far as I can see it actually hasn’t been done before, this whole 3-D element of having people stacked on top of each other,” Ms. Hack said about the project.

A behind the scenes video of the project:


At the outset, Ms. Hack executed a sketch of the car to determine the number of people that would be required, as well as the approximate placement of the bodies. “The side mirror would be a head and the tires would be people rolled up,” she said. “Once I started sketching those people on the drawing, everything sort of piled up and made sense.”

The photo shoot lasted 18 hours and up to five layers of paint were applied to each of the 17 male and female bodies.

images courtesy of MAC/artist Emma Hack and photographer Jacqui Way

Empire State Glows Blue As CNN Projects Re-election Of Barack Obama. Brand New Lighting Technology Courtesy Of Philips Color Kinetics.

above: CNN projects the re-election of Barack Obama as President of the United States and the Empire state building is lit up blue to reflect the electoral tally.

CNN joined forces this evening with the Empire State Building to display to New Yorkers, the network’s viewers in the United States (and around the world) the results of the presidential election. As each state was projected by CNN and electoral votes were allocated to the candidates, a vertical LED-illuminated “meter” located atop the spire of the building displayed CNN’s running tally of the race to 270.

This occasion marks the iconic Empire State Building’s first-ever use of their new custom LED panel technology, a state-of-the-art dynamic lighting system from Philips Color Kinetics that is unique to the Empire State Building and allows the building’s façade and mast to change lighting scenes in real-time. The four-sided tower, which sits atop the building more than a quarter of a mile from the streets of Manhattan, was illuminated in patriotic red, white and blue vertical stripes, while the mast was lit in blue and in red on two sides each to represent President Obama and Gov. Romney’s respective electoral vote totals:

CNN, exclusively shot footage from the rooftop of a neighboring building, and aired live images of the illuminated tower as the evening’s results progressed. Once CNN projected Barack Obama as the winner of the presidential election, the tower lights of the Empire State Building changed to all-blue:

above: Instagram photo by facelessnyer

The Empire State Building celebrates many cultures and causes in the world community with iconic lightings. Its tower lights recognize key milestones, events, charitable organizations, countries and holidays, a tradition started in 1932, when a simple searchlight was used to announce the election of New York-born Franklin Delano Roosevelt as President. To honor the United States Bicentennial, the Empire State Building installed colored floodlights to illuminate the building at night, lighting up red, white and blue, leading to today’s very popular Lighting Partner program.

Soaring 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan (from base to antenna), the Empire State Building is the “World’s Most Famous Office Building.” With new investments in infrastructure, public areas and amenities, the Empire State Building has attracted first-rate tenants in a diverse array of industries from around the world. The skyscraper’s robust broadcasting technology supports all major television and FM radio stations in the New York metropolitan market. The Empire State Building was named America’s favorite building in a poll conducted by the American Institute of Architects. The Empire State Building Observatory is one of the world’s most beloved attractions and is the region’s #1 tourist destination. For more information on the Empire State Building, please visit www.esbnyc.com, http://www.facebook.com/empirestatebuilding, or @EmpireStateBldg.

Tune in to CNN’s “Election Night in America” coverage beginning at 6 p.m. ET, or join the conversation on Twitter by following #CNNElection and @EmpireStateBldg.

CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.

Now You Have No Excuse. Get Out There and Vote.

http://www.yourfuckingpollingplace.com/

Angel Falls Chandelier. Glass Figures Lit With Halogen Spotlights In 3 Sizes By Nigel Coates.

In the Angel Falls Chandelier, glass angels lit by halogen light are falling from heaven. Part sculpture, part fixture, the chandelier crosses the boundaries of formal design into decorative arts and is avaliable in three different sizes.

Nigel Coates, well known for his unorthodox approach to design, has created an engaging, unique light. Customizable groups of hand made crystal (24% lead) “angels” are illuminated by halogen lamps.

What caused these angels to fall from the heavens? it’s up to the viewers to decide, either way, angel falls is sure to garner attention, and generate conversation, in any setting.

materials: Hand-formed glass crystal with stainless steel ceiling rose and halogen spotlights.



dimensions and prices:

Q12 light: dia. 21.6” x 74.8" max height - 12 angels $4,760.00

Q11 light: dia. 21.6” x 74.8" max height - 18 angels $6,163.00

Q10 light: dia. 21.6” x 74.8" max height - 24 angels $7,523.00

Buy it here at Unica Home

DVF X evian. Diane Von Furstenberg's New Limited Edition Bottle Design For Evian.

The legendary and elegant Diane von Furstenberg (aka DVF) is the latest fashion designer to pair up with evian water for a limited edition bottle design.



For the collaboration, DVF drew inspiration from her personal relationship with evian water and her own love of life: "I am so excited about this collaboration because I have always loved evian and I think drinking water is one of the most important things we can do to love ourselves and love is life! To me it is all about living life to the fullest and I am so proud to work with evian to spread such an important message," said Diane Von Furstenberg.




The bottle, composed of 100% recyclable packaging, is sealed with evian’s new screw cap design. The bottle also features a nod to DVF’s iconic mantras with “Water is Life is Love is Life is Water is..” which graces the bottle with her own distinct handwriting along with the ubiquitous heart DVF logo in a special hue of red, created exclusively for the evian® collaboration.






Diane von Furstenberg is the first American and female designer to join the renowned group of designers who have previously collaborated with the brand.

Below are the links to my blog posts on the previous designer evian bottles:
•Issey Miyake,
•Paul Smith,
•Jean Paul Gaultier and Christian Lacroix,
and
•Courrèges.

Since launching in 2008, more than 10 million limited edition bottles have been sold in over 150 countries.

See Diane talk about her design for evian in the video below:


The DVF Limited Edition 750ml bottle will be available internationally at select retailers on Monday, November 5th.

Tweet using the hashtag #DVFlovesEVIAN

The Wes Anderson Alphabet by Hexagonall. 18 Minimalist Posters Based On The Cool and Quirky Characters From Wes Anderson's Films.

Characters from Wes Anderson movies serve as inspiration for Alphabet posters in a minimalist meets Saul Bass style by Madrid designer and Illustrator Hexagonall.

A Look At Clay Sinclair's Solo Exhibit At London's Woolff Gallery

Artist Clay Sinclair (shown below)has a new exhibit at London's Woolff Gallery running through the 23rd of November.



The artist sums up his work and inspiration as follows:

"I love creating art. I also love thinking.
A quick look inside my brain and you’d see it is always ticking over with new ideas, moral dilemmas, plans for the future and rationalisations of my sometimes absurd behaviour. This obviously influences my art where my thoughts, anxieties, complexities and contradictions are there for all to see.

Like all of us, there is another side to me.
When I think back on the art I have seen in major exhibitions, the artists that have had a lasting impact on me could be separated in to two categories. The ‘mental stimulators’ such as Hundertwasser, Tracey Emin, Grayson Perry and those that transcend conscious thought, Howard Hodgkin, Anish Kapoor and Mark Rothko. These latter artists create art that cuts through the clutter of my mind, and touches the emotional, unconscious part of me which I so often neglect.

I hope that with my art I am able to both stimulate, challenge and provoke and also enable stillness and contemplation in the present moment.
Both are what I am." --Clay

Here's a look at the works shown in the exhibit:

















Below is a short film encapsulating artist Clay Sinclair's 'I Think... I AM' exhibition at Woolff Gallery:

Film directed by Prano Bailey-Bond Produced by Woolff Gallery

Woolff Gallery
London - 11th Oct - 23rd Nov 2012.
89 Charlotte St, London, W1T 4PU

all images courtesy of Woolff Gallery