UNSTRUCTURED PROCRASTINATION

This week our friend, playground designer and contributor Marie procrastinated by researching (and photographing) leaves in and around Clapton Square. This little wander around might inform a future project. Maybe not. Maybe the goal was solely the active procrastination and the photographic register was unintended. Anyway, we though it was seasonal appropriate and that the results were very beautiful and we wanted to share that with you in the hope that someone might find that inspiring, or ridiculous, or wonderful... everything is valid if its somehow moving.


And of course if you want to share the results of your unstructured procrastination, seasonal or not. Please do so (:

TO DO (OR NOT TO DO) LIST

Our friend and fellow procrastinator Marie, is organizing a beautiful experience in Regent State and wants to invite you all to be part of it.

Find below here invitation and you can also read the post in GOOD.

Invitation: Draw a dream for a better neighborhood

Dear Procrastinators

We are currently encouraging the kids from Regent Estate, a neighborhood in East-London, to express their dreams for their neighborhood in drawings. On March 28th and 29th, we'll be exhibiting all the dreams drawn on a clothesline across the neighborhood. And we would like to make a surprise to the kids, asking artists and creatives to make a drawing of one of the dreams expressed by the kids, that we'll show to them on the day of the exhibition. If you want to help to realize this, please get in touch by email by March 26th at regentdreamsdrawingfactory@gmail.com and we'll send you the complete dreams list! So far we have a zoo, a café for superheroes, a tree house, a park for disabled people, a pool with sharks and dolphins... 

And if you are in London, come to visit the exhibition of the dreams on March 28th and 29th 3-6PM at Workshop 44, 44 Marlborough Avenue, London E8 4JR United-Kingdom

Thank you for your help !

GROUNDHOG DAY SPECIAL

Photograph from AP via National Geographic.

Dear friends, readers, followers, occasional visitors... today, February 2nd, is Groundhog Day. Is the day when Punxsutawney Phil, probably the most famous groundhog of the world, and definitely the only one with weather forecasting powers, comes out of his burrow on Gobbler's Knob to predict the weather for the rest of the winter. I know.

This very peculiar ritual inspired Danny Rubin to write a story that later would inspire director Harold Remis to make a movie, that some would say is a modern classic... or at least a really nice comedy. Thanks to Groundhog Day, the movie, starred by Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell, 21 years ago, a lot of people around the world (including some of us) heard for the first time about Phil the groundhog, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and all together this wonderful and bizarre Groundhog/Winter/Forecasting universe.

For our mini Groundhog Day special we put together contributions from regular collaborators and friends and a collection of links for you to find out more about Groundhog Day... if that's what you're into. Also, don't forget to check this week's In Dog We Trust section because it's filled with nice Groundhog facts and info.


Groundhog Mono by Germán Herrera.

Dear Procrastinator by Marie James.

I am very bad with predictions but I found funny that we have to celebrate groundhog, the horse and the "crêpes" at the same time. So I made you a drawing. Happy ground-horse day to you!

A modern prediction, by Kerilyn Tacconi.

If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow this Groundhog’s Day, the ‘Amish' trend will really take off. Beards are already heading in that direction, and will continue getting more gnarly until they reach historic proportions. Then Brad Pitt will sport one to the Oscars and metrosexual men around the world will jump on the bandwagon (literally). There will be a run on chambray at JCrew; Smuckers and Tiptree will go out of business; Apple will start developing abacuses. The booze industry need not worry, though, as everyone needs a good rumspringa every now and again.

Groundhog Day Graham Crackers via Babble.

Procrastinate away and find out more about Groundhog Day.

- Really interesting facts about the origin of Groundhog Day, and the use of other animals like bears, badgers and even goldfish to predict nature's changes in this article from The Huffington Post called: The Secret of Groundhog Day. E.T.P. 4'

- Watch Primus performing the song Groundhog's Day live in Bonaroo 2011. E.T.P. 7'21''

- If you haven't seen Groundhog Day, the movie, have a look at the trailer. E.T.P. 2'54''

- If you have seen the movie maybe you want to read this article written by Ali Arikan a couple of years ago in Slant: Imagining Sisyphus Happy: A Groundhog Day Retrospective. E.T.P. 12'

- Finally if you're the cooking type and you are really into celebrating this day, here are some recipes you can prepare to enjoy your Sunday. E.T.P. 1-2 hours.

OUR PREDICTIONS FOR NEXT YEAR

Here in The Procrastinator we have a lot of ideas, wishful thoughts and predictions for next year, who doesn't? It's that time of year after all, so we thought it could be fun to ask our contributors, friends, and potential procrastination partners for their predictions for 2014, and here's what they share with us.

Illustration: Victoria Fernández.

"I think that 2014 is going to be the gay year. Madrid will host the World Gay Pride, some Easter Europe contries are changing there constitutions to never allow egalitarian marriage. Russia, no comments. Germany approved undefined sex on child birth certificates. A lot of illustration agencies are inviting their artists to create pieces within that subject. There's also Barilla's CEO unfortunate comments, and the IKEA ads. So, as you can see the gay theme is everywhere, but not in the usual way but because the legitimation or destruction of their rights. I feel that it's a crucial moments when postures will be defined because we not talking about minorities anymore, we're talking about a new social structure."

Victoria Fernández.
Illustrator.
Madrid, Spain.

Image via Marie James.

"Dear Procrastinator, for me 2014 will be... craftivist! We'll win the war against social inequalities and global warming stitching strong political incentives inside lovely handkerchiefs we'll offer to our politicians and cooking delicious soups made with vegetables grown in community gardens. Yummy, we can change the world!"

Marie James.
Pink Pony.
London, UK.

Photo: Linda McCartney (Eastman) via Pian.

"2013 came and went as fast as thunder! For me at least. What do I think next year will bring along?
In terms of photography, things are shifting and they will continue to shift for 2014. The whole digital camera "everyone is a photographer" thing is cooling down thanks to smart phone cameras and instagram. People that are more into taking candid shots, selfies, cat shots, baby shots, and food shots are finally getting diluted, creating a gap between them and the those with the compulsion to create images with a camera as a medium of self expression. I think photos with strong content are gonna have a big comeback, and eye candy (macros, HDR, etc) photography is gonna drop next year.
Camera brands are starting to launch more and more models that resemble old school cameras, thankfully cause they are so pretty, so it seems like maybe the whole nostalgia thing will continue to blossom next year, even photoshop now carries default color correction named after types of film. Film is not dead after all I guess, although a lot of film are still closing production.
2014 is a year for small business, personal projects, local consumption, and connecting more with people in a human level."


Andreína Restrepo.
Photographer.
Brooklyn, US.

Cartoon by Mankoff via The New Yorker.

As for me, I think is going to be a very intense year, regulation-wise. Technology is making possible a lot of amazing stuff but society will have to rethink the changing concepts of anonymity, security and personal privacy, and the legal, cultural, social and psychological implications of having a drone delivering take-away on your doormat. The NSA is listening. Google Glass is recording. 1984 might be coming 30 years later to a CCTV city near you! 

In a less intense note: I believe the FIFA World Cup will stay in South America, but not in Brazil. Tourism activity in Uruguay will triple. Celebrity political activism Russell Brand style will definitely be a thing (a virus perhaps). Tweeting trousers will be the new Atkins diet. iPhone 7s will read your mind, iPhone 8s will scan your soul. Someone, somewhere in Hollywood will pitch a studio a remake of Bladerunner. And finally, winter, as Punxsutawney Phil will confirm on the 2nd of February is going to be extremely long.

Image via Creative Review.

Now to help you build your predictions is this next three weeks here are some articles that will inspire you:

Turning Points 2014 via The New York Times
Bringing the maker revolution to Africa one Raspberry Pi at a time via Fast Co. Labs.
Pantone's Color of the Year via Creative Review
5 Ways to feed 9 billion people without ruining the planet via Fast Co. Exist.
On Smarm via Gawker.
Mind reading, Cyborgs, and fusion. What Darpa wants young scientists to work on via Fast Co. Exist.
Future Fashion via i-D.
The Top 12 Art Cities of the Future via Fast Company.


Please share your predictions in the sharing comments, and thanks again for reading!

OUR WEEKLY PROCRASTINATION

Photo: Matt Brown sharing a 1856 illustration of a future airport.

 Photo: Andrew Collinge and London 2020 vision.

 Photo: Westminster Arts Reference Library books.


This week we attended Salon No. 9: London Futures organized by Antique Beat at the Westminster Arts Reference Library. Matt Brown, editor of the wonderful Londonist shared with us some very interesting archive articles, photographs and drawings with Victorian visions of future London. Daily (balloon) flights to America and India, smoking forbidden (go figure!) and even a joke about women wearing trousers. Some current predictions were shown at the end, showing an increasingly green and sky-scrapped London.

Andrew Collinge, Assistant Director, Intelligence and Analysis at Greater London Authority, and second lecturer of the night, believes that some of these modern visions might become truth as soon as in 2020. GLA recently published its new vision for the capital London 2020 (you can read it here), a very humble plan to make London "The Greatest City on Earth". Collinge paraphrased Shakespeare's famous quote: "What is the city but the people?" and pointed out that he believes that this "greatest city" is basically the "world class infrastructure" needed to host amazing people doing amazing things.

He shared with us some very interesting figures that represent challenges for the GLA, like the 3.4 million Tube journeys everyday, the 450.000 new jobs needed by 2020 and London's amazing 2012 GDP: £ 455b.

As usual, the Library contributed with a display of books related with the Salon's topic for people to have a look before and after the lectures. It was a very fun, very interesting evening, and we left the Westminster Arts Library already wanting for the Salon No. 10 to come because it sounds amazing: A Night in Old London. Read more about this wonderful event and book your tickets here.

 Image: Annie Hall's screenshot via YouTube.

Annie Hall's Late Saturday Evening Procrastination (non topical cinematographic news)

by Marie James

If like mines, you friends cry foul when you say that you've never seen Woody Allen's Annie Hall and yes we are in 2013, it's because they know about the extreme pleasure of watching, comfortably settled in the red chair of your local cinema on a late Saturday evening, a beer on your left hand and pop-corns on your right, a movie released 36 years before; the joy of the time travel and relevance of the stories in the new millennium. You'll still have the magic of the first time. And they are jealous.

No current screening confirmed. Just buy yourself a subscription to your local independent cinema and let the non-topical time call you!

OUR WEEKLY PROCRASTINATION

Photo: The Source Family (2013) via Dazed.

Dazed and Tripping. Whenever you have a chance this month click on dazeddigital.com/tripping to take an spiritual journey watching some top documentaries of the world's most infamous cults. From the Sahara to Big Sur. Under the sea to higher than God. Good old anthropological procrastination guaranteed. Read Dazed article about this Cult Documentaries About Cults here.

Photo: Adhocracy via Lime Wharf website.

The Third Industrial Revolution is coming, and you can be part of it. 

By Marie James.

ADHOCRACY is an exhibition taking place at Lime Wharf, a new and very nice venue on Regent's canal / Victoria Park in Hackney, East London. The exhibition explores how new and democratized methods of production introduced by the Web and digital technologies - such as micro-blogging and 3D printing -  are stimulating a "cultural revolution". If most of those projects presented are still at the stage of prototypes, we leave the place understanding that it's definitely up to us to make this new ecosystem, made by and for the people, working at our own level. And they give you full of inspiration for that!

The exhibition opened Wednesday 4th September and runs until Saturday 12th October 2013. 

Hours: Tuesdays – Saturdays 11am – 8pm. 

Website: http://limewharf.org/

ADHOCRACY on in the London DesignFestival: http://www.londondesignfestival.com/events/adhocracy

This past Thursday was Jarvis Cocker 50th birthday and for a belated celebration we recommend have a look at the BBC documentary The Story of Common People, the famous 1995 Pulp's song that reached number two on the UK singles charts. The phenomenon described on the song (the Greek girl that wanted to live 'like common people') was known as slumming or "class tourism". The song was written by the band members Nick Banks, Jarvis Cocker, Candida Doyle, Steve Mackey and Russell Senior. The documentary is online, just click here.