One of my favorite blog sites is back up and running! Formerly known as Houtlust,.. it is now called Osocio. Read a quick excerpt below >
“Osocio is dedicated to social advertising and non-profit campaigns. It’s the place where marketing and activism collide. Formerly known as the Houtlust Blog, Osocio is the central online hub for advertisers, ad agencies, grassroots, activists, social entrepreneurs, and good Samaritans from around the globe.”
Check out Osocio for a ton of great content from all over the world. Marc Van Gurp the man behind Osocio was and continues to be a huge inspiration to me. Keep up the great work Marc!
King Corn is a feature documentary about two friends, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fast food nation. In King Corn, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, best friends from college on the east coast, move to the heartland to learn where their food comes from. With the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, nitrogen fertilizers, and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow a bumper crop of America’s most-productive, most subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat — and how we farm.
Visit > King Corn < for release dates, more info, etc.
“To commemorate its 60-year anniversary of fighting for children’s rights, UNICEF used its exceptional talent in organizing people for a worthy cause to gather the work of 60 renowned artists for a just-released anthology called 60, Unite for Children. Illustrators and graphic designers like Joshua Davis, Tokidoki, The Ronin and Tara McPherson contributed interpretations of their world views to the 180-page tome, some of which the book’s website material warns are “abstract, others more explicit; some will be radiant, others dark and pessimistic.” 60, Unite for Children kicks off a worldwide traveling exhibit for a year that will begin in November. There are only 2,000 copies of this book around, and all profits from the sale of book will go back to UNICEF.”
Another product release from the (RED) campaign. This (RED) Aqua Table is designed by famous architect Zaha Hadid. Priced @ $49,560,.. it’s probably just a bit out of your (at least my) price range,.. but it’s nice to look and all the profits are going to support the Global Fund.
“Established & Sons is extremely excited to partner the (RED) campaign founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver in 2002. This global initiative’s primary objective is to engage the private sector in the fight against AIDS in Africa by channeling funds from the sale of (RED) products directly to The Global Fund. The iconic Aqua Table designed by Zaha Hadid has been the most sought after piece from the Established & Sons’ collection; it is sold internationally as both a Limited Edition of 12 and as a production table. Since it’s 2005 debut all edition pieces have been sold, one of the two Limited Edition’s prototypes was sold at a Phillips de Pury’s auction for $296,000 and another is currently being exhibited at the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum as part of the Zaha Hadid retrospective.”
Established and Sons is only going to produce 39 of the (RED) Aqua Tables. They are all signed by both Zaha Hadid and Bono and will be available for purchase directly through Established & Sons web-site.
Pretty cool project getting started today called > Bloggers Unite “Blogging for Hope”This blogger-driven campaign promises to raise awareness of abuse-related subjects and related non-profits around the world.
Bloggers are supposed to blog about putting an end to some sort of abuse (anything you want) and then track any measurable results (traffic counts, comments, links from others, recognition from charity or media, donations collected or made to a charity as applicable, etc.) for two weeks. Then the winners will be announced and they’ll receive some pretty cool prizes.
I love the idea and so far it looks like they’ve gotten a ton of bloggers on board. The thing is I just read about this today and don’t have time to participate the way i’m supposed to. But that won’t stop me from trying something in the next few weeks. Watch this space_
In the meantime get involved yourself or keep an eye out for some of the blogs that are participating.
Leonardo DiCaprio e-mailed me the other day asking me to help spread the word about his new environmental flick entitled “The 11th Hour”
“With the help of over fifty of the world’s most prominent thinkers and activists, including reformer Mikhail Gorbachev, physicist Stephen Hawking, and Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai, The 11th Hour documents the grave problems facing the planet’s life systems. Global warming, deforestation, mass species extinction, and depletion of the oceans’ habitats are all addressed.However, the most powerful element of The 11th Hour is not a portrait of a planet in crisis, but an offering of hope and solutions. The film ends with a call for restorative action through reshaping human activity.”
Check the trailer out >
The 11th Hour opened on August 17th in New York and Los Angeles. On the 24th it opens in other cities, and in the following weeks across the country. Go visit 11th Hour Action to find out when it will be playing in a theatre near you. While you’re there check out what steps you can start taking today to help make our planet cleaner and greener.
Camilla Engman was chosen by the Converse 1HUND(RED) artists program to design a pair of Chucks for the (Product) RED campaign. Check out her Little Red Riding Hood inspired kicks here >
“For Converse 1HUND(RED) Artists, Engman drew upon the fabled character of Little Red Riding Hood as her primary inspiration. Engman noted, “The artist’s role in contributing to a cause is to try to help us see the cause anew, to understand it, to feel it in a visceral way.” She chose the character for her pluck and bravery, her warmth and kindness, and her iconic familiarity. Indeed, the Little Red Riding Hood character appears in many of Camilla’s works as a recurring motif. “I wanted the design not to interfere too much with the shoe and to be something I would like to wear myself. The Little Red Riding Hood character has appeared in many of my paintings and drawings and probably will again. She has so many attributes that I like,” she added.”
Converse hasn’t started selling Camilla’s kicks yet,. they’re still sampling them. Once they receive enough orders (I’m sure they will) then they’ll begin manufacturing them. So keep an eye out,.. or check back for an update. Congrats Camilla!
