Friday Finds 2.18.11

Jaime: Radical Cartography

This fascinating website gathers unconventional examples of map-making and information-gathering, including maps comparing the mass transit systems of North America, depictions of 'friends in space and time,' and this map of Chicago, which provides a revealing understanding of the city's ethnic and racial distribution. Its designer Bill Rankin observes: "cartography without boundaries can also make simplistic policy or urban design more difficult—in a good way."

Diana: Deportistas Flipbook

Flipbooks are so nostalgic and fun, which is why I was so excited to come across this film of a few flipbooks by Tumbona Ediciones set to swing music. Enjoy!

Jordan: Hand-Drawn Maps of London

I left my heart in London many years ago, and love this concept of hand-drawn maps of the city, each of which focuses on an area or element near and dear to the artist/s. A nice personal take on the epic labyrinth that is England's capital. via @londonist

Amy: Concerts A Emporter

My goal this week was to get through all of the Concerts A Emporter, or Take Away Shows created by the Blogotheque folks. Nothing better in rainy weather than to watch some of my favorite musicians play live in unlikely places. A bit from la Blogotheque: "Every week, we invite an artist or a band to play in the streets, in a bar, a park, or even in a flat or in an elevator, and we film the whole session. Of course, what makes the beauty of it is all the little incidents, hesitations, and crazy stuff happening unexpectingly. Besides, we do not edit the videos so they look perfectly flawless, instead we keep the raw sound of the surroundings. Our goal is to try and capture instants, film the music just like it happens, without preparation, without tricks. Spontaneity is the keyword."

Miyoko: Fast Company's list of The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies

This week Fast Company posted its list The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies as well as Top Ten by Industry lists. Among those honored in the design category were many names familiar to the Dwell reader: Yves Behar's Fuseproject, Tim Brown's design firm ideo, Michael Van Valkenburgh and his design team, Dror Benshetrit Studio Dror, and the iconic graphic design firm Pentagram. Our favorites on the top-50 list: architecture firm Snohetta, solar-panel company SolarCity, and overall awesome Stamen Design.

Aaron: Who is Arcade Fire

There are a more than a few Arcade Fire fans around the Dwell offices, and the design table has been known to play their tunes from time to time. They won a Grammy on Sunday for best album and apparently this angered quite a few folk on Twitter ranging from Dog the Bounty Hunter to VuittonDon86. Cataloging the collective ire and befuddlement was the new Tumblr Who is Arcade Fire. The site is funny for about 45 seconds, but it's a pretty awesome document of the 30 minute meme-cycle that dominates certain corners of the Internet.

Michele: Dog Party

Everyone around here knows I love the cuddly canines. Even though vacationing in Italy, our fearless editor-in-chief took a pause to send me this parade of dog photos taken behind the scenes at this week's Westminster Dog Show by New York Times shutterbug Fred Conrad. These shots are spectacular. Check out Lance the Newfoundland sprawled like a giant ermine-spotted sea lion.

Meigan: NYC Snow Blizzard Time Lapse video by K. Taro Hashimura

I thought I would share this as an homage to our East Coast readers who have pulled through a tough winter. As I will be in NYC this weekend, this beautiful video will play in my mind as the snow falls on Sunday.

Alexis: Dwell in IFC's Portlandia.

If you haven't yet tuned-in to Portlandia, the new show on IFC by Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, you should! Its pretty hilarious and out-there, making light of the hipster generation, which let's face it, is ripe for the taking. Here's one of my favorite shorts, and Dwell makes an appearance! "So, did you read....!?!"

Amanda: Las Palmas Baby

Hilarious. This baby, adorned with a fanny pack and ensconced in a "bar" in "Las Palmas", downs way too many cocktails and steals sausages from her fellow patron's plates. Perfectly captures the idea of the loutish American, on holiday and super boozed up. via Dooce

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