LG Arena Unveiled at Mobile World Congress

(via Wired's Blog)
LG is preparing to launch a new flagship device, the Arena, that it hopes will compete directly with the iPhone. The device made its industry debut at the Mobile World Congress today in Barcelona. The phone integrates an interesting new 3-D user interface and has a number of Apple-esque widgets built into the system. Here's hoping Verizon picks up on this model.

Joaquin Phoenix on Letterman

Joaquin loaded on Late Night. Letterman's handling of the situation is pure genius.

BEFORE - 2006:

AFTER - 2009:

Shameless Plug

I'm part of a bi-weekly student radio production on KSPC 88.7 FM Claremont called Uproot. Our staff basically covers a wide variety of local, national and international issues from a progressive, youthful point of view. We go live from 5 to 7 PM PST. If you're in the area, you can catch it on your FM dial, if not, you can always stream KSPC from your computer. Thanks!

Jaguar C-XC Concept

(via Kanye's Blog)

Concept car designer Phillip Dean unveils his vision of a hydrogen-powered Jag with obvious aerodynamic features. Note that there's a single pane of glass stretching from the car's hood to rear window. Not very practical, but damn it's beautiful.

VISVIM in Cuba. Spring/Summer 2009 Preview.

(Via CadmusFamily)

WikiTrivia

(via Red Ferret) Programmers Alex Ksikes and Philipp Lenssen have created a new online tool called WikiTrvia that takes information directly from Wikipedia and compiles trivia questions on a variety of topics (music, movies, literature, computers, etc). Like I needed another reason to procrastinate...

Pepsi Rides the Obama Bandwagon

Saw this add for Pepsi on TV yesterday. The Superbowl ad is presumably meant to dovetail with the cola company's latest billboard campaign that focuses heavily on the call for change inspired by the Obama campaign (see Current's take on it). Featuring video of rapper-turned-social activist Will.i.am rapping over Bob Dylan's 'Forever Young', the commercial succeeds in defining a new generation of social activism driven by optimismmm.

Zen and the Art of Kanye West

Kanye visits Big Boy's Neighborhood from qdeezy on Vimeo.

Through tragedy and an ever-expanding musical repertoire, Kanye West's avant garde approach to art and design has turned the one-time Chicago beat-maker into a global ambassador for hip hop. Although I'm a big fan of his music, it's his outlook on life and the state of things that I really respect. Watch this clip of Kanye discussing life, those gay rumors and the Chris Brown-Rihanna blow up.

Refocusing This VariationBlog

I started this blog last August with the intent of creating a no-frills travel blog, but now that I'm back I am forced to answer the nagging question "what's next?" Since returning to Claremont after a long hiatus in Edinburgh and then on Maui, I have thought considerably about what direction VariationBlog should take. It seems that the most successful blogs have a focus: Hypebeast has street culture; Daily Kos, its liberal critique; Wired, it's tech fodder. And although I'm a close follower of all three, I've realized that I as an individual am not one single subject. Thus, I've concluded that in order to correctly represent me, VariationBlog must be a sum of my parts, a conglomeration of what I find interesting, topical and important. We'll see how it goes from here. (Photo Credit)

Mourning and Mortality

Less than an hour ago, I found out that a close relative died last week in a fatal accident back in Hawaii. The news is unexpected. It's sad and unsettling. And I don't know what to make of it all.

Earlier today, before I got that call, I was thinking randomly about the unpredictability of life, how everything that we live through and everywhere that we find ourselves is nothing like what we've envisioned. And in this time of confusion and grief, this contemplation resounds louder than ever before.