February 2009 Archives

1. Trip Advisor's 2009 10 Top Dirtiest Hotels… could be a lifesaver…
2. Sage… need we say more?… [@ thekitchn]
3. A debate gone bad… [@lenndevours]
4. The Vanderbilt's will always win…
5. Ooohhh wait… Black Cod (yum)…[@bitten]
6. We can think of a few people to send these cakes to… [@passive-aggressivenotes]
7. An interesting take on Evil…[@sethgodinsblog]
8. Maybe if Schnabel looked at the world without gold tinted glasses, he'd see that mankind is not collateral for his art collection…. priorities?…
9. A rebranding scandal in the UK… fun fun fun… [@noiseydecentgraphics]
10. AND… Bluedog… the pig lost this staring contest….

During an instant message discussion with a friend last week she said… "I have to get a job"…"I've reached the end of the internet". I laughed and agreed that what was once considered a luxury — spending time surfing the world wide webular has indeed lost it's charm.

Her remark, however, has left me pondering…It used to be that  — sitting in a cubicle, once gainfully employed, completing a few hours of REAL work was a painful challenge — what with the temptations of the interweb staring you in the face. Just dying to procrastinate…. perfecting the nose laugh to hide the hilarity of a forwarded joke. I remember it well — situating my space so that the back of my screen faced the doorway. Granted, this was several years ago (pre-overwhelming responsibilities) but with not much to do these days work-wise… no money for online shopping… most of my friends found safely on Facebook… and what does it matter if I'm not online – my email is on my cell phone.. as is my instant messenger… twitter… facebook… google reader.

So, although I find myself reading online much more than ever… and post thoughts such as these on this blogggedy blog… I think it's time to declare that the internet love affair has, in fact, come to a dead end. A culdesac (if you will) – a boomerang — shooting us right back out where we started… only this time, we want to work.

1. The Top 10 Facebook Privacy tactics…
2. Arrrggghhhh!!!! Very scary usage of Matryoshka!!!… [ohdeeoh]
3. Imagine looking out your window and seeing THIS every morning…[kottke]
4. Even Martha's dogs are crafty…
5. It's cold, windy as hell, and most businesses are closed—but HECK – come on out to the Hamptons!…
6. Not completely useless… [make]
7. KERN = hours of fun (for designers only)…[wemadethis]
8. Sunbathing on train tracks… Still not a good idea – story revisited, thanks NPR…
9. Ugh – copyright theft, a designer's nightmare…
10. AND… mystery solved — the REAL Peggy Sue.

There is no such thing as a squirrel-proof bird feeder. Don't even try — just throw the seed on the ground.

(click to enlarge the thievery)

It's been a while…

1. This is why you're fat…
2. I think I'd just stay in this Subway tunnel… for days…
3. Ooohhhh flowcharts, what do you think Mr. Tufte?….
4. Plenty is the new Bounty…
5. Those crazy Ebbsfleets [@ We Made This]…
6. The skinny on Valentine's Day—Pagans – very loving Pagans, that is…
7. Some light reading recommendations… if your coo coo for coa coa puffs (like us)…
8. Making cheese at home (sounds smelly)… [@ Serious Eats]…
9. Fleeing Oz… just like that [@ Jaunted]
10. AND… Wine in NY grocery stores… we have mixed emotions. [@ lenndevours]

I just stumbled upon this story and had to take a look (just had to Dammit!).

Accused Husband Takes Stand in Bagel Shop Murder Trial

The headline is juicy.

Anyhow, it seems that the husband wants us all to know that he didn't mean it… it was a mistake, an accident… you know… drug induced alcoholic rage haze… But let me get to what really disturbs me about this whole incident… about half way into it there it is…. "Robert Anderson,
67, told jurors that when his wife of 20 years, Ann Anderson, 39,
arrived to open the darkened shop early on May 25, 2007, he followed
her inside."

He's 67 – she was 39 at the time of her … untimely demise. They were married for 20 years.

Now, you never imagine your marriage ending– much less in such a violent and gruesome fashion… but when she was 19 and he was 47 did they think that things were going to end on a high note?

This past Sunday NY Times "Preoccupations" focused on a Graphic Artist skilled in the old-school testament of design. He talks vividly about the pre-MAC old days of long nights, story boards and T-squares. Although I appreciate the quarkiness (a deliberate pun!) of his "how it was and now how it is" sarcasm, I think it's important to note that a great deal of "today's" designers still throw back to traditional means of pencils, exactos and 0.5 tips.

My policy has always been to start with a blank page – not screen… pen in hand….. It wasn't just a few months ago that Patrick, die-hard Senior Graphic Designer extrodinare, sliced the dickens out of himself in a mock-up challenge. Personally, I can't feel a majority of my fingertips due to such similar incidents. All in the name of perfection that can't be accomplished via keyboard.

So, while this ode-to the way it was makes it seem like attention to detail has been thrown out the window due to technology and the occasional "I know In-Design, so I'm a Designer" attitude… we just want to lay it out there that tradition stands strong with the professionals that know what it takes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/jobs/08pre.html

It's been on constant replay in my mind since Saturday… "I can see clearly now, the rain has gone…"

Is it possible for financial ponziests, giant economic crises, lying baseball players and women that try to have 30 kids at once all to be put on the back burner when the sun comes out?… "I can see all obstacles in my way…"

I have always been a true believer that bad things happen in 3s…. I mean really bad — life changers. Good things happen on a consistent basis, but we get bogged down by the 3 bads and fail to notice the goods….

We know the bads all to well as of late and it's getting old.

My son started walking just over a week ago… we gave him his first haircut yesterday — I think he can say "cop car" or is it "cat cat"… he can definitely say "quack"…. "Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind…"

What if everything suddenly improves? …. "It's gonna be a bright, bright, sun-shiny day….. "

Come on Johnny Nash.