15 October 09

Distractions

Distractions

Ed Chamberlin brings you the latest books, art and cool stuff

4 HOT PICKS

The revolutionary instrument
Eigenharp

There are two reasons to play guitar: a) to make beautiful music, and b) more commonly, to look cool. Thing is, what’s cool about playing something that everyone else plays? Enter the Eigenharp. In the making for eight years, it’s the most expressive electronic instrument ever created. With 132 keys on its neck, each one touch-sensitive to less than a micron, it’s all devices rolled into one. There are programmable live drums, a mouthpiece for wind instruments, searing guitars and myriad squelchy noises. Not only is this the most fun, dynamic, characterful and revolutionary instrument you will ever use, but you’ll look damn good playing it, too!

EIGENHARP ALPHA, €4,425, EIGENHARP PICO (22 KEYS), €390, WWW.EIGENLABS.COM

The quirky artwork
DNA 11

Who wants boring old family portraits on the wall when you can go all CSI with a picture of your own DNA? DNA 11 creates just such visualisations, which are surprisingly stylish and modern-arty looking. By randomly selecting sequences from your genome, they represent you in the form of spaced blocks, and will even enlarge your fingerprints to immense sizes. Just don’t commit any crimes after that!

FROM €152, WWW.DNA11.COM

The gamers’ friend
Razer Naga

How many buttons do you have on your mouse? Two?! What self-respecting person has only two buttons on their mouse? Come on, get with the programme – today’s computer user needs at least 17 mouse buttons. The Razer Naga is specifically aimed at online gamers and ergonomically designed for extended use. There’s also a programmable 1–12 number pad on the side, so you can shave precious split seconds off your reaction times by not having to reach for the keyboard while playing. For the World of Warcraft player in your life.

€80, EU.RAZERZONE.COM

The coffee-table book
Earthbound: a Rough Guide to the World in Pictures

Everyone buys a guidebook at one time or another, and while people will consult different chapters for their itineraries, the bit everyone turns to are the picture pages – offering a tantalising flavour of the country in question. Here, Rough Guides collects some of its most evocative images from the last 25 years in a beautiful and wanderlust-inspiring tome.

OUT NOW, €22