Phil Hansen: Embrace the shake

Hansen challenged himself to create art using unconventional materials (dandelion puffs, matches, live worms, hamburger grease) and canvases (a stack of Starbucks cups, his torso, bananas). The resulting time-lapse videos of his creative processes are his meta-art, showing that art is action, not just results. 

Through an integrated view of what sparks creativity, Hansen has devoted himself to teaching others the approaches to creativity that have changed both his outlook and his artistic endeavors. 

Hansen has just started a new project via Kickstarter, inviting people to share their stories of overcoming limitations with him. 

Anyone who calls him at  651-321-4996  and tells him their story will become a part of the work, the creation of which is watchable on a live feed.

Where are the millionaires!

Where is the wealth concentrated in the world! According to a new report from WealthInsight, Tokyo is beating out New York and London. 

The Economist notes that the city, which boasts 460,700 individuals with net assets of $1m or more (excluding their primary residences), is home to over a fifth of Japan's millionaires. However, when it comes to real money London tops the list with 4,224 multi-millionaires.  

But the real surprise is Frankfurt which has the highest millionaires per capita (with 75 out of every 1000 people having at least a seven figure net worth).

Source: The Economist

Cosmetic surgery boom in crisis-stricken Greece and Italy

While the Greek economy remains under the proverbial knife of the Troika, it appears the wealthy are unconcerned by the plight of their fellow countrymen. 

Der Spiegel reports that not only does Greece have the second highest rate of cosmetic surgery per capita in the world but thanks to a slumping economy, surgeons have cut prices by up to 40% while rich Greeks are never as before rushing to improve their looks.

Via Der Spiegel,

The economic crisis has forced thousands in Greece to rely on volunteers for even basic health care services.

Meanwhile, wealthier Greeks are having more facelifts and breast implants than anywhere in the world.

...

Every year, the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) performs a survey of the number of plastic surgery procedures performed worldwide. When the numbers are compared to a country's population, the results are surprising for Greece. In 2011, 142,394 procedures were performed in the country, with its population of about 11 million. That means that, on average, one in 79 Greeks has had procedures such as liposuction, eyelid corrections and Botox injections performed on them. Worldwide, the Greeks rank only second to the South Koreans in terms of the number of cosmetic procedures performed per 1,000 inhabitants (see graphic). In Germany, with a population of about 81 million, there were 415,448 procedures in 2011, or one in about 200.

2011 was the year of the economic crisis, and yet Greece rose even higher in the international ranking. Looking good still seems to be important to the Greeks.