On Monday google announced a beta of Gears for Safari. Gears allows the content of supporting webapps to be stored locally thus available when you are offline.

After installing Gears for Safari and tinkering a bit I was happy to find it working without many problems. Later I was pleasantly surprised to find that Gears was also showing up and working in Fluid!

I fired up my Google Reader SSB and speedily downloaded 2000ish articles with the click of a button. When I disconnected from the internet and relaunched my SSB all my articles (minus images) were waiting for me. After reading through a few I reconnected to the internet and sync up my read/unread count. Easy as pie.

I thought this was pretty nifty so I tried it out with google docs. Upon “trusting” google docs it allowed me to put an icon on my desktop to act as a shortcut. I was surprised to find that when clicking the icon it actually launched my specific google docs SSB. Unfortunately when trying to go offline google docs gave me this error:

An error occurred while updating software. Failed to update software for the applications: Google Spreadsheets

No dice with offline google docs for now.

I have to say I am pretty impressed with how well the Gears BETA is working in Fluid. When a full version of Gears is released for Safari/Webkit I can only begin to imagine the many ways It can be used. If you want to give it a shot for yourself you can download it here.

Anyone else have any interesting Fluid + Gears experiences? What webapp would you be most excited to gain Gears support?

A few months ago while wandering around a local art gallery I came across some illustrations I adored. I tried to find them online so I could stare at them whenever I pleased but was unable to. Fast forward to just the other evening - while playing with a neat little Flickr tool (flexplore) I came across one of the illustrations again. I quickly emailed the person behind them - discovering his name was Marc Johns - and asked if I could do the next Friday Flickr Feature on him. Naturally, I was very pleased when he agreed.

Where do you reside?
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

How long have you been creating drawings? Why did you start?

I’ve been drawing since I was was tiny. I’m not tiny any more though. Not big, but definitely not tiny. All silliness aside, I’ve been making drawings like the ones you see on my Flickr for about three or four years. As to why I started, well I can’t really stop. I will always always draw.

Which of your pieces is your favourite?

I don’t really have a favourite piece. I tend to like my most recent work the best. I guess I’m a bit restless that way; I feel that I can always do better. I guess the ones I like the best are the ones that make me laugh, or make me think “where the hell did that nonsense come from?” I like the ones that surprise me.

Where do you find inspiration?

I find inspiration everywhere. Magazines, overheard conversations, television, intersting articles found online, and so on. Sometimes it’ll just be one word that’ll get me going. I love language, and I love to play with it. I always keep a small notebook in my back pocket to jot down ideas. I have a drawer literally full of them. When I don’t know what to draw next, I just flip one open and usually find something. I’ve been meaning to scan a bunch of them and put them online. I always like to see other artists’ sketchbooks, so I should share mine too.

How long does it usually take you to create a piece? How do you know when it is finished?

Some pieces take a few hours. I sketch it out in pencil, and sometimes redraw it 3 or 4 times, to get the sizing and composition right. Then I’ll do the lines in pen. then I erase the pencil, and paint with watercolours. I’ll often do 2 or 3 layers of watercolour, to get more depth, and more complex colours. I’ve never really timed myself. I tend to make several drawings at once, so that while the paint is drying on one piece I can work on another. Other drawings, like my post-it note drawings, obviously take much less time! I like to keep my drawings pretty simple, pretty sparse. I usually know exactly what I want when I start them, so there’s very little ambiguity in my mind as to when it’s finished.

How do you feel about Flickr? Do you believe that there is a certain point in an artist’s career when they should stop using Flickr for fear of it seeming unprofessional?

I love Flickr. It’s been a great way for me to share my artwork, because it is a social network based around sharing and discussing images. Other networks are writing-based, like blogging and chatting. Even though Flickr’s focus is primarily photography, I still think it’s one of the best tools for visual artists. There are loads of professional artists on Flickr, so I would never consider it unprofessional. I can imagine someone who becomes a very successful gallery artist might stop using Flickr, for the simple fact that they no longer have time or need the exposure there. I’m certainly not there yet, and I doubt I’d stop using it if I were!

You can find more of Marc’s work on his Flickr or his personal site; www.marcjohns.com

Every Friday internet jogging features an artist, series or something special Chelsee finds while scouring the white, pink and blue treasure trove. We call this the Friday Flickr Feature.

UPPERCASE gallery has published another fine book titled Old School.

The “Old School” theme celebrates the aesthetics of twentieth century education through an art exhibition and companion book, as well as curated objects. It is inspired by vintage flash cards, old desks, biology class, science fairs, crayons, card catalogs, textbooks, class photos, teachers, yearbooks, lunchboxes, gym class, maps, lockers, report cards, film strips, recess, spelling, chalk… and the list goes on!

Chelsee (who writes Friday Flickr Feature each week) is one of the 80 talented artists who contributed work to this wonderful book and exhibition. Prints of her film and polaroid photos will be for sale through UPPERCASE in the upcoming week.

To celebrate the book launch UPPERCASE gallery has transformed itself into an old school classroom complete with school desks, chalkboards, polaroid cameras and all sorts of things from yesteryear.

If you’re in the Calgary there will be a special opening day party on Saturday, August 23, 1-5pm. It’s sure to be a good time but If you can’t make it don’t sweat! The exhibition will be open until September 30th.

If you’re from out of town or prefer not to leave your house you can order the book online!

Calgary twitter folk are having a TwitUp (tweetup, get together, gathering etc.) tonight at The Ship & Anchor. If you feel like grabbing some drinks and watching Calgary’s own twit louderthan10 play some tunes then come on down around 7:30 - 8:00pm.

I look forward to speaking in over 140 characters with you all.

By equivoque on Flickr.

I’ve done this week’s Friday Flickr a little bit differently. It is a sort of themed post. The theme? Defects on Polaroids, I believe they make a Polaroid photograph fifty times more beautiful and these are a few photographs to prove my point.

By youampersandme on Flickr.

By jordigual on Flickr.

By revivify on Flickr.

By amaliachimera on Flickr.

By lindsayandyou on Flickr.

Every Friday internet jogging features an artist, series or something special Chelsee finds while scouring the white, pink and blue treasure trove. We call this the Friday Flickr Feature.

by scatter little pearls

I love dogs. Therefore, my favourite images usually include dogs or other dog-like creatures. With that being said I decided to do Friday Flickr a little bit differently this week. Instead of a single artist - I searched through my Flickr favourites and found a few pictures from different photographers to share!

by John Kelso

by speedtrials

by daniel shea

by maplesyruponly

by rebeccaismissing

Every Friday internet jogging features an artist, series or something special Chelsee finds while scouring the white, pink and blue treasure trove. We call this the Friday Flickr Feature.

Jonathan Edwards from Windsor, Ontario creates haunting, elaborate images using only a Polaroid Spectra camera. I had the good fortune to ask him a couple of questions about his work.

How long have you been creating photographs?
Not for a long time.

What sort of cameras do you use?
Polaroid Spectra System is easiest and best. I use a digital camera that is in my pocket for sampling and tests.

Are all your photographs done with film?
If you are looking at my Flickr everything has been made with Polaroid film.

Do you ever do any post-processing do your photographs?
I don’t have the patience to work like that. If I have to fix something it is to make it look viewable. This isn’t a frequent problem. I accept what looks real. Digital manipulation is too slow to find the same results. It is an annoying process. Making things exist in real life is better than elaborate Photoshop work and also allows for an experience outside the frame.

Do you ever use digital?
I require a specific ambience. Polaroid has more tricks. You can take a picture of a digital image using a Polaroid. I’d use a digital camera that could take respectable pictures. I don’t know of any. Please ensure that the production of Polaroid film is revived soon.

Who is the boy in the majority of your photographs? If it is you - why do you choose to use yourself instead of a model?
It’s easiest working alone. The body is a puppet. Everyone is busy or difficult. I don’t like seeing pictures of myself littered everywhere though. I want to use other people.

Which of your photographs is your own favourite?
I don’t think about what I like. I don’t like spending too much time looking at anything. When I do I don’t see them.

You can find more of Jonathan’s work on his Flickr.

Every Friday internet jogging features an artist, series or something special Chelsee finds while scouring the white, pink and blue treasure trove. We call this the Friday Flickr Feature.

The WordPress for iPhone/iPod Touch app officially made it’s way into the iTunes App Store tonight so instead of sleeping I grabbed a bottle of Boylan’s Natural Cane Cola, downloaded the app to my iPod Touch and shot this quick overview of the application. If you want to try it yourself you can download it here.

What do you think of the WordPress App? Are there features you were hoping for or would like to see in future versions? Do you think you would ever even blog from a mobile device?

Joseph Zorn - from the suburbs of Chicago - takes gorgeous Polaroids of the places he sees every day. I was able to ask him a couple of questions about his quiet photographs.

How do you go about locating the empty, lonely spaces found in your Polaroids?
They are spaces and scenes that surround where I live. The pictures I take are little tributes to what I see around me every day. I drive around and see what fits into what I want to show.

Why do you find yourself attracted to these places?
These are places and objects that have a story to tell. I think there is some drama to be seen there.

How do you feel about the ‘death of Polaroid’? Do you still have a stash of film and what will you do when it is all gone?
I think it is very sad. I was kind of lost when I stopped taking Polaroids. I quit when they stopped making Time-Zero/SX-70 film. I could have continued with 600 but I never liked it as much and had a suspicion that it might soon be gone. I stopped taking polaroids over two years ago and have done quite a bit of work since with my Holga camera.

Which of your Polaroids is your personal favourite?
I don’t really have a favorite. They all have something different to offer. The first picture I took in 2003 with an SX-70 camera turned out pretty good. And there are a few much older pictures that I took with a Polaroid One-Step that kind of paved the way for what I’ve done more recently.

You can find more of Joseph’s photographs on his Flickr page.

Every Friday internet jogging features an artist, series or something special Chelsee finds while scouring the white, pink and blue treasure trove. We call this the Friday Flickr Feature.

Today Muxtape announced the ability to scrobble songs to your Last.fm account. I have been looking forward to this feature for some time and am happy to announce that it works great! Simply visit your Muxtape user settings, link your two accounts and enjoy.

If you feel like celebrating why not install Paul Hart’s Muxtape Mini userscript and enjoy some Fluid menu extra party jams!