Virgin Airlines Should Give Its Passengers Access to More Mile-High Galleries, Not One Flight Stands

When Virgin America announced last week a new in-flight feature that helps passengers buy and send drinks to anyone in the cabin, the world cringed at the sleazy possibilities. I’m not so offended by the fact that Richard Branson and Co. were so upfront about their passengers becoming bedfellows upon arriving at the terminal. After all how exciting is it to have a sexy stranger help you with your luggage and share a cab?

The thing is: there are enough resources for single people wanting to meet. And we red-blooded humans have a knack at finding ways of getting laid.

I am more a fan of Virgin Atlantic’s short-lived in-flight art gallery that was introduced earlier this year. In February, first class passengers traveling from London to New York had the chance to view British artist Ben Eine’s iconic typography and purchase the works duty-free for upwards of £15,000. Think of it as SkyMall reimagined as a boutique storefront for the artsy in-crowd.

Virgin Atlantic’s ‘Gallery in the Air’ will continue to partner with different artists although a second collaboration has yet to be announced.

We’re All in the Gutter But Some of Us Are Looking at the Stars

In his new photo book, Vertical Horizon, photographer Romain Jacquet-Lagreze has captured the density of Honk Kong from the ground up.  While images of Hong Kong’s crowded skyline are common enough, Jacquet-Lagreze’s abstract take on the city’s elongated architecture from a worm’s eye perspective give the urban landscape a new sense of awe.

Hey Sister Am I Good Enough for Your Heaven? Say Will Your God Accept Me in My Black and White?

Janelle Monae Feat. Erykah Badu – “Q.U.E.E.N.”

I heard this life is just a play with no rehearsal 
I wonder will this be my final act tonight 
And tell me what’s the price of fame? 
Am I a sinner with my skirt on the ground?

Spotlight: Snøhetta Architectural Design Firm From Norway

This weekend I posted some info about SFMOMA getting ready for its makeover to become the largest space for public art in the country. Snøhetta, the Norwegian firm who nabbed the museum’s expansion plan design, has created (or is in the process of pitching more concepts for) some of the most visually arresting architecture across the globe. Most notably, the National September 11th Memorial Museum Pavilion in New York and Busan Opera House in Korea (photo above).

Snøhetta’s Greatest Hits (photos below):

New National Opera House in Oslo

Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Library of Alexandria) in Egypt

Norwegian Embassy in Berlin

Lillehammer Art Museum in Norway

James B. Hunt, Jr. Library at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC

The Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA

Norwegian Wild Reindeer Centre Pavilion

Ryerson University’s New Student Learning Center in Toronto, Canada

International Cave Painting Center (co-design with Casson Mann)

With a Click of a Magic Mouse

Kibardindesign, a design firm from Prague, have created a concept for a levitating computer mouse. The appropriately named “Bat” prototype uses magnetic technology to levitate four centimeters above the mouse pad. Something like this might become the standard of multi-plane browsing as we enter the age of 3D computer screens.