During an Australian vacation, I had a chance to stop by the Cookie Composites shop with a friend that’s an active skydiver so that he could pick up a new lens for his skydive helmet/camera rig.
Seeing this small company that operates on a global scale up close and personal really gave me an appreciation for their hands on approach and handmade quality. Each piece is made with precision and care, and they were happy to show us around even though we showed up at their door essentially unannounced.
In 2006, Cookie Composites decided to reshape their brand, and hired a team of media and advertisement specialists to develop the brand’s new values. During that time, Ricardo Sa Freire was brought on to develop a range of new helmets that would translate those new values into a signature shape for their new products, and he shared that process online.
The ROK helmet is what came out of that process, and it’s a helmet designed for swoop canopy divers and base jumpers, with air intakes in both sides that are used to measure the speed through the sound of the wind.
Since the process behind the end result is no less impressive than what they created, it’s a fantastic read that gives you a glimpse into the world and work of a real designer as he creates a product that is designed to look good, save lives, and function in some of the most extreme environments imaginable.
[Via: NOTCOT]
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…Brian Lam doesn’t like Halo 3 fanboys?
by Cory O'Brien
Gizmodo’s Brian Lam is apparently a big fan of controversy, as he has stirred up quite a bit of it with his latest antics.
To promote the release of Halo 3, Microsoft sent select bloggers (Somehow, I didn’t make the list.) a swag bag that was filled with extremely cool Halo stuff; including an Xbox 360 Legendary Edition, a Master Chief helmet with the game inside, various accessories, and more.
After receiving the sweet bag full of swag, Brian posted an unboxing video on Gizmodo that was given a less than warm welcome by Halo fans because of the way he handled the stuff. Some felt that he ‘tossed around’ his free goodies in a way that showed disrespect for what he was given, and they were less than thrilled by the way Brian appeared to throw away things that he was given for free, even though they would have given an arm and a leg for any of it.
To show their feelings, comments from the fanboys soon flooded in, and a death threat or two was given out.
In response, Brian replied to many of the comments in a rather stand-offish way, and then removed the video.
Skip forward a day, and Brian again posted a video of the Halo 3 swag, but this time, he was did a rebag of it. He goes through all of the stuff, and carefully explains each thing as he puts it neatly into the bag.
Then he throws the bag out of the window of his apartment.
Then he announces the ending of the game.
Just like that. No spoiler warning, no sign of impending doom. Just an unleashing of one of the worst spoilers in the history of spoilers.
Some found it funny, while others felt like the victims of a shock and awe attack.
More comments followed, and the battle now rages on between the fanboys and the spoiler fans.
Which side are you on?
Side note: Interestingly enough, the video was titled “halo3fanboyseatshit_gawker.flv when it was on the Gizmodo site.
*Spoiler Warning: The following video contains the ending of Halo 3*
[Gizmodo - Halo 3 Swag Bag]
[Gizmodo - Halo 3 Swag Rebagging]
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