Let’s face it: Internet videos are part of our everyday lives, but even I need a break from funny YouTube cat clips. Online video magazine telegraph21 introduces you to two non-fiction films per week (on Mondays and Thursdays). The site posts trailers, interviews with the filmmakers, and more. Browse the archive the next time you’re looking for an online distraction. Below is one of their short documentary winners, The Time Machine. [via FlavorPill]

I’ve had plenty of fond memories involving Tang, so I was very pleased to see that a design studio created an entirely new look for it. The people over at Streng replaced the cup with a modern-looking box and added a scoop for convenience. The classic Tang I grew to know and love is no longer available, but if it was still on grocery store shelves, I think it would definitely benefit from this new packaging. This is just proof that some redesigns are not that bad at all.  (via Whitezine)

Today is Blog Action Day 2010, a collective effort by bloggers all over the world to address a major world issue and push for positive change. In the United States, water is taken for granted. We can drink from most taps and only in certain regions are people asked to curtail their usage. However, for a billion others, that isn’t the case. There isn’t proper plumbing, water is carried back to villages and water-borne illnesses are rampant. Clean, safe drinking water is scarce.

Photo by Water.org

Awareness is fine, but action is divine. My suggestion is that everyone show an appreciation for water by finding one or two ways to conserve their personal usage. There’s a ton of options including shorter showers, tightening up plumbing fixtures and kicking bottled water habits. Calculate how much you save over a few months and donate your savings to charities like Water.org, Water Charity or UNICEF’s Tap Project where organizers are working in developing countries. You don’t have to devote your life to an issue to make a difference. Small contributions add up when enough people are involved.

Ready to take action? Here are a couple of resources you can use:
25 Ways To Conserve Water In The Home And Yard – Water conservation ideas
How To Clean Up Our Water – Some ideas to minimize water pollution
Annie Leonard Tackles Our Bottled Water Addiction – The Problem With Bottled Water

Attention bike-lovers living in the Southern California area (or those expected to visit between now and December 31): Re:Cycle has officially opened to the public. This museum exhibit at UC Riverside’s campus includes installations by 30 artists that show how bicycles have restructured the urban environment, with oddities like knitted bike activist sweaters (This lane is my lane/This lane is your lane) and cars that have been converted into our two-wheeled friends, not to mention other goodies like short films. If you’re in the area, be sure to check out the Re:Cycle events going on too. As bicycle designer Grant Petersen once said, “Think of bicycles as rideable art that can just about save the world.”

Nice packaging and cats are where my soul collides, and this design concept by Eric Hart combines the two in a very appropriate way. The food packaging for Snookums, a fictional cat food brand, is created to match the do-what-I-want attitude of the average house cat and it looks good, too. Regardless of the fact that they think of computer keyboards and your tax papers as sitting areas, cats deserve the best (including good design).

You’d think the GAP logo disaster would have taught brands a thing or two about logo design. Apparently, the Washington Nationals brand managers were out to lunch (perhaps at Walgreens?) when coming up with their team’s new logo. [via BKS]

One character flaw I’ve always struggled with is being overly defensive of my work and ideas. It’s not something I’m going to apologize for because it’s who I am and only human nature, but it is a behavior I can keep in check for my own benefit. Passion and confidence are great, but not when they become an obstacle.

See, sometimes when we believe in an idea so hard or have invested so much in a project, any criticism comes across as blasphemy. How fucking dare someone trash me when they haven’t done anything? They have no idea what they’re talking about! I know that’s been my reaction plenty of times, even if I kept the words to myself. But the problem from a creative standpoint, besides not being open-minded enough to make improvements is that being angry and defensive uses up your creative energy and resources. All that time spent defending your work and trying to knock down your perceived enemies takes away from time spent bettering yourself or being more prolific. At the very least, it’s taxing because you’ll need to calm down and refocus.

In fact, in creative work you might be better off committing a cardinal sin of team sports – a whole lot of offense and limited defense. Because unlike the playing field there aren’t that many enemies and you just might be the biggest one. You are better off producing more than letting hubris interfere because you’ll always be accomplishing more than your loudest critics.

That’s not to say you should ignore all criticism. Like I mentioned in a previous piece, constructive criticism is awesome and something you should be grateful to receive. But take criticisms as suggestions. If you’re honest with yourself you’ll know when you should consider a change and when something is absolute horseshit that defeats the purpose of what you’re trying to do. I’m just saying don’t let the noise bother you so much because it’ll ruin the focus and energy you need to be creative. I know I haven’t reached the point where I’m ready to throw away good opportunities. Have you?

Need more reminders? View the entire How To Be Creative series here.