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Why is it that all bottles have a neck anyway? The Non Object design group decided to break the rule and design a vodka bottle with out a neck. The result is the Vertikal Vodka in a neckless bottle - with an afterlife as an elegant vase.

Now all they need to do is open a Teleflora-like Vertikal Flower Service and we’re good to go.

Detail of Mary Lou and Her Other Sister, 1992 Acrylic on Canvas

Fashion designer Prada is throwing open the doors on an art gala celebrating provocative pop artist John Wesley. A little more nuanced than your typical Lichtenstein, but just as compelling.

Back when surfing was just beginning to catch fire in southern California and elsewhere, there was an intrepid band of film producers from this region (themselves legendary surfers, like Greg Noll) who were contributing to the sport’s popularity by making a series of films that documented the first big wave riders and their assault on Oahu’s fabled North Shore.

Complimenting this furious output of homegrown moviemaking was a series of film posters that more than anything else serve as a time capsule to the early days of  surfing and the artistic sensibilities that surrounded our culture at that time.

The posters in many instances have a common type usage and format similar to the popular film posters of graphic designer Saul Bass but begin to play off in wildly imaginitive tangents, each one a small document to the heady days of the burgeoning surf scene.

The films themselves had their world premieres in locales such as the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and Van Nuys High School. The venues may not seem that impressive in comparison to their Hollywood counterparts, but these locations, these movies and these incredible posters all played a seminal role in influencing generations of young surfers and skaters – such as the legendary Z Boys of Dogtown – creating a youth culture phenomenon that continues to this day.

How many times has a client balked at a project price or the deliverables associated with a project and wanted to negotiate? You presented good solid pricing that represented the scope of the job well, and they just didn’t accept it. Do you stand firm or lower the price to get the work? It is always a challenge when dealing with clients who always haggle. Sometimes you just shake your head and wonder if they act that way in real life situations.

Neal’s Yard Remedies was one of the first beauty products firms in the UK to focus on natural ingredients - has it stayed true to its roots?

The natural and organic beauty firm came under fire from bloggers this week for the reversal of its decision to engage with the public in an online debate, after agreeing to participate in a regular series sponsored by The Guardian Newspaper.

Follow the resulting PR train wreck…a lesson in how brands have to adjust to new ways of interacting with the public in today’s media environment.

It’s that important. Go. Read. Share.

Trompe l’oeil (trick of the eye) artist John Pugh is a native Californian whose deceptive murals decorate walls from Honalulu to Hayward, CA.

Pugh has brought the structure of an architect, the intellectual vision of a scholar, the humor of a comedian, and the narrative ability of a master storyteller to his craft. His murals cleverly fool the viewer into seeing a modern facade’s broken wall revealing Greek columns or a bull grazing in front of an unfinished mural. But his art also captures the imagination and engages the mind. “Once captivated by the deception,” he says, “the viewer is lured into crossing an artistic threshold and is seduced into exploring the concept of the piece.”

If only New York had his talents for the subway cars of the seventies…

On February 9, Dow Chemical registered the website URL www.BanAminopyralid.com. This is a bit questionable since the company actually produces a product called aminopyralid. The domain sits dormant without content and is merely a placeholder - for now.  For UK gardeners last year, and for US gardeners this year, aminopyralid - a hormonal herbicide used to kill weeds in hay and straw fields - has become a nightmare.

Here’s the deal: in the tightly-knit coven of commercial-chemical and -seed producers (often one and the same), agricultural extension services, and growers/producers, the work of the farm gets done via something called a “producer program.”  A “program” consists of soil amendments, herbicides, pesticides and seed stock genetically modified to flourish in this chemical bath. You plant the right seed, you spray the right chemicals and everything comes up roses.

But unintended consequences have a strange way of showing up where you least expect them. In the case with aminopyralid, when hay and straw produced using the chemical was sold to local horse and cattle farms, the chemical was passed along in the produce. Horses and cows eat the hay and sleep on the straw, creating a manure-and-straw-bedding mixture that is then composted, left to cook for a year or so and then sold to compost packagers and vegetable gardeners.

Then something strange happens. The local extension service (find yours here) begins to get calls about twisted tomato vines with curly leaves, wilting eggplant and droopy potato plants. Strawberry producers loose a season’s crop. Suburban gardeners report wilting zinnias. And then you suddenly realize – the herbicide that was in the manure has now contaminated the soil, and may continue to contaminate the soil for years to come, which is just one of many worries, as no one completely understands the full effects of the pesticide.

Recently banned in the UK for its devastating impact on vegetable and flower gardeners (Dow UK has its own reactionary website, this one called www.ManureMatters.co.uk), the true impact of aminopyralid is only just now being felt in the US. While there were some reports of impact last year, they are becoming more frequent this year, in reaction to the application of aged compost by farmers. We appear to be running a year behind the UK in our cycle, but the spring of 2009 will be remembered by many local farmers and market gardeners as the “Spring of Aminopyralid” as they witness the unintended consequences that follow its use.

So when Dow registered www.BanAminopyralid.com, they were undoubtedly anticipating competition for the domain. Or perhaps they were simply being good corporate citizens, preempting the public outcry. What next? As this is America, the likelihood of a class action lawsuit is probably greater than the likelihood of a ban on the chemical. In the meantime, beware of putting any compost on your garden, whether from a plastic bag or from a local farmer in the back of a truck. Buy local, but buyer beware, Dow Chemical’s slogan, “bringing good things to life,” is not necessarily referring to the life of your produce.

Psyop has a large variety of work for a large variety of clients, but I really enjoy their propaganda section. They still retain some of the old methods of animation -hand sketched storyboards - as well as adding new elements to the equation, such as photography.

Their site has a wonderfully organic, guerrilla feel to it, and in world where people are bombarded with more information and messaging from more media outlets than ever, Psyop (like any decent counterinsurgency) seeks to “win the hearts and minds” of the public through creative content that people willingly seek and enjoy.

Having recently passed the Google Adwords Professional exam to become a Qualified Individual in the Google Advertising Professionals program, I thought it would be constructive to sit down and create a short list of items I found helpful while preparing for and taking the exam. Obviously, being a multiple choice test, the usual test-taking tips apply (use process of elimination, go with your first impression, etc.), but here are a few ideas that you may or may not want to use in your Google Adwords exam preparation.

1) Use the Adwords Learning Center lessons and quizzes

Though it seems obvious, I cannot stress enough how helpful the Adwords Learning Center lessons and quizzes can be. I prefer the text lessons, though others may be partial to the video lessons. Also, I noticed that the exam frequently borrowed and reworded questions from the sample quizzes, making the practice quizzes a valuable asset as well. Either way, taking advantage of the learning center when studying for the exam can be tremendously helpful and should not be ignored.

2) Take a practice exam

There are plenty of practice exams floating around the web - do yourself a favor and track one down. The best thing you can do before taking the exam (other than studying, of course) is to get a feel for the wording and pressure of the 100+ question test. Taking a (free) practice exam gives you an idea of what to expect before actually sitting down to take the real exam.

3) Make smart use of your browser tabs

Google allows users to keep other windows and tabs open while taking the exam - use this to your advantage. Is there a specific section that you’re worried about? Open up a tab and visit the Adwords Learning Center lesson on that topic just in case you need to refer back to it during the test. Keeping the learning center and Google Adwords help page open during the test provides some optional support during the exam (though don’t spend too much time looking up answers - there is a 90-minute time limit).

4) Create a “cheat sheet”

While much of the exam is based on Adwords practices and techniques, there are a few questions on the exam that are strictly memorization. If you’re worried that you might forget the answers to these types of questions, make a “cheat sheet” comprised of a few particularly obscure subjects. Not everyone is blessed with the world’s best memory, so keeping a short list handy can help relieve the stress of having to remember that mobile ads contain 2 lines of ad text with a maximum of 12-18 characters on each line.

5) Know the Adwords interface

Finally, my primary piece of advice is to make yourself as familiar as possible with the Adwords interface. Several questions on the exam use this form: “If you wanted to perform/view X, you would visit the Y page in your Google Adwords account.” These questions can be tricky, so familiarizing yourself with the Adwords layout and sections is a big part of making a passing grade.

These are just a few techniques I picked up while studying for the exam, so if you have any other helpful suggestions be sure to let me know. Though the exam is difficult and sometimes confusing, it’s far from impossible. Several hours of studying combined with a firm grasp of the Adwords program should be more than enough to help you get through the exam with a passing 75%. And remember, if at first you don’t succeed, you can always take the exam a second (or third) time.