Imani Powell-Razat, a designer/illustrator by trade (see Spye Design Studio) is also a mom who has designed and created an entertaining and informative application for the iPad that is a multicultural celebration of the world's drums.
above: Imani Powell-Razat of Spye Design and her son, Orion, playing with his iPad
Drum Circle Kids is a colorfully animated app that allows your child to engage in and create unique jam sessions by tapping five colorfully animated drummers that represent various types of drums found throughout the world.
The American Trap Set, Caribbean Steel Pan, Chinese Drum, Cuban Conga and the West African Djembe (with more drums to come) can be easily turned on and off with the tap of a finger and combined for dozens of possible musical and sound combinations.
Adding to the fun, is the possibility of discovering ambient sounds hidden in the scenery.
In the learn section, kids can swipe from one drum to the next and touch to play each drum while learning fun drum facts.
Imani Powell-Razat, a designer/illustrator by trade (see Spye Design Studio) is also a mom who has designed and created an entertaining and informative application for the iPad that is a multicultural celebration of the world's drums.
above: Imani Powell-Razat of Spye Design and her son, Orion, playing with his iPad
Drum Circle Kids is a colorfully animated app that allows your child to engage in and create unique jam sessions by tapping five colorfully animated drummers that represent various types of drums found throughout the world.
The American Trap Set, Caribbean Steel Pan, Chinese Drum, Cuban Conga and the West African Djembe (with more drums to come) can be easily turned on and off with the tap of a finger and combined for dozens of possible musical and sound combinations.
Adding to the fun, is the possibility of discovering ambient sounds hidden in the scenery.
In the learn section, kids can swipe from one drum to the next and touch to play each drum while learning fun drum facts.
If you haven't heard of silly bandz, you've either not come in contact with anyone under the age 20 in the past month or you live under a rock. As a matter of fact, the trend is so large that today The Daily What via joystiq has a post about the upcoming Silly Bandz Nintendo DS game from Zoo Games.
And even the technician at my dermatologist was wearing them last week.
above: children are stacking, trading and collecting Silly Bands like crazy
"Silly Bands" are the term given to shaped rubber bands that people have begun wearing as bracelets. The animal and object shaped colorful rubber bands have become collectible, traded and worn in multiples on the arms of kids and adults alike.
But if you want a little more adult version (or to compete with your children), Kikkerland has designed them in the shape of four different Kama Sutra positions- shown above on the wrist and below.
Made of silicone and sold 24 to a package (six of each design).
If you haven't heard of silly bandz, you've either not come in contact with anyone under the age 20 in the past month or you live under a rock. As a matter of fact, the trend is so large that today The Daily What via joystiq has a post about the upcoming Silly Bandz Nintendo DS game from Zoo Games.
And even the technician at my dermatologist was wearing them last week.
above: children are stacking, trading and collecting Silly Bands like crazy
"Silly Bands" are the term given to shaped rubber bands that people have begun wearing as bracelets. The animal and object shaped colorful rubber bands have become collectible, traded and worn in multiples on the arms of kids and adults alike.
But if you want a little more adult version (or to compete with your children), Kikkerland has designed them in the shape of four different Kama Sutra positions- shown above on the wrist and below.
Made of silicone and sold 24 to a package (six of each design).
Artist Jenny Holzer, best known for her projections, LED installations and truisms -- artwork made with words, is collaborating with Keds for the Whitney Museum to launch a special collection that features her famous phrase "PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT" which has previously appeared on everything from golf balls, a BMW v12 race car, condoms, on wooden postcards and installed on buildings and more as art projects.
The KEDS, which feature the phrase, will be available in both high and low tops, canvas and leather and in black or white: above: artist Jenny Holzer, courtesy of artnet
"It's great that Keds and the Whitney are friends," states Jenny Holzer. "I have a renewed respect for shoe designers."
The collection, which is expected to retail for approximately $70-$75 a pair, will be available at select Bloomingdale's stores nationwide beginning in July, as well as on bloomingdales.com and keds.com starting in July 2010.
The minjjoo children’s door is an interior door with an integrated small door. All three parts of the door – door leaf with built-in small door, doorframe and handle set (one for the small, one for the big door) – are available separately.
The minjjoo children’s door makes the little ones feel big. Via the small door children have access to their own room and their personal world…
This door can even be be painted upon. They have a waterproof white chalkboard-coating that can be drawn on or written on with chalks or water soluble markers which can easily be wiped off again with a wet cloth.
Suited for kids older than one and a half years, it's available in two sizes, each in versions opening either to the right or to the left.
You can order either only the door leaf or the leaf including frame and handles.
The door can simply be attached to an existing doorframe. You can also order a corresponding doorframe along with the door.
For installation of the door frame additional materials are required, which they do not provide. If in doubt, you should enquire with a professional.
above: Santa as he cruised over Perth, Australia a few hours ago
If you have children, they are undoubtedly anxiously awaiting the arrival of Jolly Ol' Saint Nick this evening. Chances are, they are not snuggled in their beds with visions of Sugar Plums dancing in their heads. Heck, they don't even know what Sugar plums are.
It's more likely that they are using every excuse in the book to stay up late (I'm thirsty, I have to pee, I wanna see Santa....) and try to catch a glimpse of the bearded gift courier, you can assure them that He's on his way with the NORAD Santa Tracker.
Regale them with wonderful updates and info, like how many gifts have been delivered, how many snacks Santa has consumed so far in real time and his latest stop.
In case the kids wanna know exactly how Norad tracks Santa, here's the official answer: How NORAD tracks Santa: NORAD uses four high-tech systems to track Santa – radar, satellites, Santa Cams and fighter jets.
Tracking Santa starts with the NORAD radar system called the North Warning System. This powerful radar system consists of 47 installations strung across the northern border of North America. On Christmas Eve, NORAD monitors the radar systems continuously for indications that Santa Claus has left the North Pole.
The moment that radar indicates Santa has lifted off, we use our second detection system. Satellites positioned in geo-synchronous orbit at 22,300 miles from the Earth’s surface are equipped with infrared sensors, which enable them to detect heat. Amazingly, Rudolph's bright red nose gives off an infrared signature, which allow our satellites to detect Rudolph and Santa. US and Canada flags
The third tracking system is the Santa Cam network. We began using it in 1998, which is the year we put our Santa Tracking program on the internet. Santa Cams are ultra-cool, high-tech, high-speed digital cameras that are pre-positioned at many locations around the world. NORAD only uses these cameras once a year on Christmas Eve. The cameras capture images and videos of Santa and his reindeer as they make their journey around the world.
The fourth system is made up of fighter jets. Canadian NORAD fighter pilots flying the CF-18 intercept and welcome Santa to North America. In the United States, American NORAD fighter pilots in either the F-15 or the F-16 get the thrill of flying alongside Santa and his famous reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and, of course, Rudolph.
And a video to share with the kiddles:
You can see him via satellite, or map or terrain... zoom in on some Santa Cams, use Google earth to follow him and more.
Kids can even check in and see what's happening in Santa's Village:
Although, not much to see now, since the bulk of the elves hard work has been done.
You can even see how many snacks Santa has consumed so far in real time!
Santa Snacks Santa takes breaks during his Christmas Eve trip around the world – especially for snacks left by children. Do you put a snack out for Santa? Kids all over the world do. Some even leave carrots for Santa's reindeer. (Carrots are their favorite food.)
Check to see how many cookies Santa eats during his journey. No wonder he’s jolly and round! Leaving cookies for Santa is a tradition for many families. Imagine eating that many cookies in one night (burp)!
How many cookies has Santa eaten so far at the time of this post?: 41143 Now see how many here!
HOT UPDATES from the North Pole: Mrs. Claus has informed NORAD that Santa’s “Naughty or Nice” list includes a record 1.9 billion children under the age of 15 this year. This list grows continually, as children are born at the rate of approximately 340,000 per day. Check the world’s current population at http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/popclockworld.html
NORAD has received confirmation that the special navigation panel aboard Santa’s sleigh is functioning as planned. The elf staff provided no further comment or details.
North Pole officials confirmed that the Santa Cams NORAD uses on Christmas Eve are in fact able to detect and photograph objects as large as 100 lollipops long and 55 lollipops wide.
Elf Soen Firr, chief Santa suit engineer, confirmed that Santa’s red suit has been weatherproofed and tested to ensure Santa will stay warm and dry in any type of weather. No further details of the suit’s material or capabilities were released.
Today, NORTH Pole staff have advised NORAD that it is the final day to send Santa an email because Santa and the elves will begin loading the sleigh later today. This is such a huge task that they will not have time to check emails!
NORAD has confirmed that Santa and his fully-loaded, reindeer-powered sleigh took off from the North Pole and soared into the arctic sky at 6:00 a.m. EST (5:00 a.m. CST, 4:00 a.m. MST, 3:00 a.m. PST). NORAD radar is tracking Rudolph’s bright red nose, and satellite imagery is providing minute-by-minute coverage of Santa’s location.
