The day of reckoning has arrived in the Valley. Online content pirating, increased competition, a flooded market, the economic crisis, and a series of federal obscenity indictments have completely transformed the business of making adult movies. Consumers are no longer interested in paying for what they can get online for free. Across the board, those I spoke to reported profits have fallen by an estimated 30 to 50 percent.

a design competition dedicated to re-envisioning the suburbs.

With the current housing crisis, the sub-prime mortgage meltdown, and rising energy costs, the future of suburbia looks bleak. Suburban communities in central California, Arizona and Florida are desolate and decaying, with for sale and foreclosure signs dotting many lawns.

Smarter Cities, a project of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a non-profit 501(c)(3), is a multimedia web initiative whose mission is to foster a little friendly competition (see Annual Cities Research and Rankings below) as well as provide a forum for exploring the progress American cities are making in environmental stewardship and sustainable growth.

Ming Tang’s beautiful origami-inspired Folded Bamboo Houses are intended to be used as temporary shelters in the aftermath of an earthquake. Brilliant in their simplicity, the geometric shelters are constructed from renewable materials and can be folded into a variety of structurally sound shapes. Their elegant design was recently honored as a notable mention in this year’s Re:Construct competition sponsored by San Francisco’s Urban Re:Vision

cityLAB, an urban think tank at UCLA’s Department of Architecture and Urban Design, announces a call for entries to “WPA 2.0: Working Public Architecture.” WPA 2.0 is an open competition that seeks innovative, implementable proposals to place infrastructure at the heart of rebuilding our cities during this next era of metropolitan recovery.

I find this extremely fascinating. In a way, the Japanese are looking at these products like pieces of abstract art. On the other hand, if you understand English and especially it’s cultural connotations, there is a good chance that these will look funny to you. In today’s visually over-saturated world, various brands compete in trying to produce striking graphics to influence the consumers. But free trade and competition in today’s global economy has made many of the products essentially the same in content. So in some cases, the only difference with those products is the packaging, or the form.

Rotterdam-based architects MVRDV recently won the Gwanggyo City Centre Competition with their design of this incredible new city just south of Seoul, South Korea. Envisioned as a verdant acropolis of organic ‘hill’ structures, the proposed complex is a fully self-sufficient city for up to 77,000 inhabitants.

Recent work by DAK (Deniz Merdanogullari, Aparna Kapur and Kunal Sen) thats includes 'Intervelometer' made at the 52 hour Trick 17 stop motion animation competition (winning Best Picture) as well as other experimental techniques.

Recent graduates of the Emily Carr Institute in Vancouver BC, DAK is a collaboration with 2 animators and a photographer, focusing on mostly 'in-camera non-CGI' experimental techniques.