OK so I made the mistake of starting to play Angry Birds and then when I found out Christina was a whole screen ahead of me it was game on. I just got done with level one tonight (here is proof) with a score of 3,056,430 and 113/189 and I’m now onto level two. If you haven’t played Angry Birds yet consider yourself lucky and stay away from it because it is the most addicting thing I think I have ever played. Below is a video of the game play in case you haven’t seen or heard about it already.
You essentially have a bunch of birds with different abilities and you shoot them with a slingshot at pigs who try and avoid you within different structures you have to knock down (or you can of course hit the pigs directly). Once you kill all of the pigs with the birds you are given you advance to the next screen. To give you an idea of how much work it is to complete a level, there are three 21 game screens which means I had to beat 63 games in order to get past level one (of four). Last I checked the game was $1.99 in the iTunes Store which is well worth the hours, and hours, and hours of “enjoyment”.
They are also supposed to make a cartoon from Angry Birds which has a preview release below.
Stanley Hainsworth has been creative director at Nike, Lego, and Starbucks—all brands that have become iconic through good design. He just finished designing the new Gatorade bottle, too. Hainsworth clearly has a remarkable eye for style, but he insists that the key to creating a brand that attracts fans, that people love, is telling the company’s story.
Hainsworth says that companies like Apple have a persona. “You could describe what Apple is as a person, because of the personality they’ve created,” he explains. “So when we work with tech startups, the first thing we have to figure out is their story—what sets them apart in the marketplace.”
Now at the helm of Tether, his own design studio and retail space in Seattle, Hainsworth keeps looking for new challenges. “When I left Starbucks, people thought I’d want to work someplace really hip, like Diesel or Apple. I told them I wanted to work with Microsoft and Wal-Mart—two great American brands that have never told their story well. They both have incredible stories, if you think about the startups that they were at the time—it’s unbelievable. Bill Gates, what he went through, and his story: it’s never been told well. They’ve never used it to their advantage. They’ve become a product company with no soul.”
“Great companies read your soul,” says Hainsworth. “They give you something you didn’t even know that you needed.”
My favorite quote: “It is not a luxury, it is really a business tool”. Yeah I could get used to it but man would I ever miss the lines, the security checks, and the middle seat.
The Slip Quit: Let’s face it. We all have bad days at work. Now with the right equipment, a little righteous anger, and some well-timed wit, you can say “ADIOS” with panache. One of the funniest things I’ve seen all week.
On our way back from visiting Portland we stopped at the Sutherlin, OR McDonald’s for a potty break. Tyler and I conquered every playground on our way back. You haven’t lived (or broken the playground rules) until you’re 6′ 2″ and crawl through the playplace. By the way, I would recommend more parents crawl through them because they are absolutely disgusting but it didn’t slow us down too much. After I went down the slide after Tyler I proclaimed “my life is now complete”. I don’t remember stuff like this when I was his age. Come to think of it, I don’t remember much about being three. Bring on the motorized toddler monster truck!
An interesting post and guest comments by Kevin Rose on whether Apple’s IT will change the way we interact with television and our friends/family. Google TV is going to be battling it out with Apple and where has Microsoft been the last 5 years?
