The 47th Precinct

I have 2 new boyfriends

2007-06-20T18:37:00.000-04:00

and they are named "flight of the conchords."
and they are so very witty and wonderful.
and so worth the $14 per month I pay to HBO.

Watch the entire first episode online for the next week and fall in love like I did.

Best of...

2007-05-18T21:50:00.000-04:00

I think I love that there is a best of YouTube cats video (plus, it involves bjork)... such as this:

Just what one needs to see at the end of a long week.

Edward Hopper

2007-05-11T23:56:00.000-04:00

Last weekend the MFA opened its Hopper Exhibition. I have to be honest, I was never really excited about Hopper's work before I had the chance to work on the online portions of the exhibition. Now I really appreciate it.

He does such an amazing job of implying so much in a painting. You really get the feeling that there's a story just beneath the surface, that these are real people or places. I can't help but wonder what happened before or what's about to happen.

The lights, shadows, composition and colors are all wonderful. You should really go check out the show. Ann and I got a sneak peak before it opened but Nikole and I are going to see it this weekend in all it's restrained glory.

By the way... check out the Hopper microsite that Ann and I worked on. Unfortunately we had to take a few things off due to rights and licensing but we'll be adding a few more things soon.

MFA Hopper Microsite

WHAM!

2007-05-09T18:37:00.000-04:00

Just to get in the mood for summer, and because I am strangely attracted to the overall 80's feel of these, I would like to reintroduce you to WHAM!

club tropicana! matching girl outfits, suntans, shower scenes...

wake me up before you go go! CHOOSE LIFE is a message of quotidien optimism as opposed to political message...

PSST! Pass It On…

2007-05-08T12:04:00.000-04:00

A collaborative motion graphics experiment.

"The mission of PSST is to produce original short films through the collaboration of different teams of designers, directors, and animators. Each film is comprised of three sections produced by three different teams. This process is the whole idea behind PSST! – a technique derived from the Dadaist game of Exquisite Corpse and the children’s game Telephone and applied to the arts of motion graphics, animation and film-making."

Poster Contest!

2007-05-01T22:02:00.000-04:00

Post your submissions here for us to see! Entries due May 10!

Bjork poster contest, read all about it!

"To kick off the release of her forthcoming album, Volta, she’s inviting eager graphic designers (and non-designers) to submit a concert poster for a May show in northern California. The winner will be flown in for the show and put up in a hotel to enjoy the celebrity that comes from having 2,000 limited-edition broadsides printed for distribution to the masses."

(( thanks to kelly! who found this on the readymade blog! ))

Quick!

2007-04-21T14:09:00.000-04:00

Quick... have a look! at the Quick, a project that I posted a while back when we did a demo/one story version. Now Jason (along with some talented help from andy + sean + colin and the hunt&gather crew) has released issue 1! Included is an interview with one of my new favorite bands, Asobi Seksu, as well as many other items for good reading.

Here is a little bit about the Quick:

"The Quick is an online bi-monthly that focuses on music as the source and/or result of epiphany, transcendence, revelation, etc. of a spiritual or even more general variety. In other words, it’s for folks who find the world to be a wonderful and (perhaps divinely) mysterious place and find music to be a great reflection of that, or folks who find music to be the one thing tripping up their otherwise firm grip on their assumptions about the world around them. The Quick, as opposed to the dead, the life in something, the blood flow…

Like I said, a work in progress, but I think you get the idea. Pursuers of faith, music, art in general… all are on a path of discovery, and the Quick is the celebration of those moments of discovery."

Ni Hao.

2007-04-21T03:40:00.000-04:00

I hope this works- blogger is all in Chinese for me....
Anyway, this is a wild amazing place. I am having a fantastic time- please check out my daily photo uploads at flicker

Xiexie,
Beth

grindhouse

2007-04-19T21:31:00.000-04:00

although I hid under my jacket for the first half of the first movie, I have to say IT WAS GREAT! A good gory genre zombie movie, and then a great car chase (despite common criticism, I think I preferred the second — good surprises, well balanced machismo - particularly for tarantino). Nice scratchy effects on the site, too...

And, it introduced me to a new queen bee: Zoe Bell. Although I want to do adventurous things and ice climb and jump off of little hills of snow, I don't think I will ever be brave (ahem, rash?) enough to have my next career as a stunt woman.

the Gonz!

2007-04-19T14:26:00.000-04:00

Mister Mark Gonzales, the greatest skateboarder ever, ever, doing a performance piece at Staditches Museum Abteiberg in Monchengladbach, Germany in 1998 or so. Featured in a video for the new Jason Shwartzman (yes, the actor) song, which is actually a pretty good song too!

multimedia menagerie

2007-04-15T22:30:00.000-04:00

who has heard of ubu?

why haven't I? until this month's dwell, that is. so far I have found:

1. british knickers pattern from ossie clark (thanks to a full archive of ASPEN magazine, the magazine in the box, with numbered objects making up each issue; hence, entirely inspiring for the magazine that I would like to create)

2. audio clip of marcel duchamp "The Creative Act"

3. banksy's paris hilton stunt

amazing!

last minute submission...

2007-04-14T11:58:00.000-04:00

there is a new, last minute submission for the rosso bianco movie contest... someone forgot about the deadline, so plans for post-production, and asking treehorn to compose a soundtrack... those will just have to wait for the sequel.

but, it needs some votes!
http://www.rossobianco.com/movie/61

frazier & wing

2007-04-13T13:47:00.000-04:00

my friend adriane lee bird (best name in the business) showed me her friend's new work... and since we all are in need of a beautiful mobile...

or a lovely pillow...

visit the site : frazier & wing

boomshine

2007-04-13T13:39:00.000-04:00

although mitch and steven might tease me about my immature game affections, I found this game highly addictive (and satisfyingly patient)... how it works: click on one of the dots (you only get one click per screen, and there is no time limit), it will expand, and then capture and expand any dots that wander into its circumference. pretty, polkadots, venn diagrams — I love it!

boomshine

Independent Art + Design

2007-04-12T11:51:00.000-04:00

I came across the greatest site for you all to check out. ELSEWARES. I think the idea is really, really great. I was actually thinking of putting together a site with all of my friends amazing products. Think about it, we have Ann's ... everything, Steven's art, Beth's collars + baby hats, I have several friends who make great jewelry, I have some odds and ends, and John's t-shirts. WaLa! That right there would be one kick ass online store.

Anyways...take a look at the site. They have some great stuff!

Apple TV Commercial

2007-04-12T11:04:00.000-04:00

The other day I saw Apple's new spot for Apple TV and I was really impressed by it and at first I didn't really know why. It just felt right, everything was very comfortable and fluid.

I had to go online and check it out again. After playing it back in slow motion it started to be come clear. Apple had cast me in the spot and shot it in my house. Or at least the house I'd love to have. The bookshelves are overstuffed with books, yet everything is very orderly. All my designer furniture is there along with the cute molded plywood scooter for my son on the white shag rug that I've been meaning to buy. There's a beautiful yard outside with wonderful greens and a thoughtful wood bench and so on.

It's all perfect. But it goes beyond just the contents of the scene. The way it's shot is very smooth. The lighting, the choreography, transitions all of it.

I'm a big Apple fan, but I'm by no means one to blindly praise them. I think what impressed me most about this spot was how deceivingly simple it is.

Check it out.

ONE!

2007-04-08T16:04:00.000-04:00

it is official! the 47th precinct is one year old!

in celebration, I would like to mention ten points from a great little book I just finished. The book is "The Laws of Simplicity" by John Maeda, an easy little read of 100 pages, but happily thought provoking and stimulating towards (simply stated) SIMPLICITY!

REDUCE the simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction
ORGANIZE organization makes a system of many appear fewer
TIME savings in time feel like simplicity
LEARN knowledge makes everything simpler
DIFFERENCES simplicity and complexity need each other
CONTEXT what lies in the periphery of simplicity is definitely not peripheral
EMOTION more emotions are better than less
TRUST in simplicity we trust
THE ONE simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful

Most poignantly for me: Technology and Life only become complex if you let it be so.

{UPDATE: I decided to nix the borrowed sidebar images and to type these out... easier to read and easier to share! learn more about each chapter by reading more at the site itself or buying the book or borrowing mine!}

no one belongs here

2007-04-05T19:20:00.000-04:00

miranda july, how I love everything you do...

a book in two covers: you can coordinate your outfit to your cover color of choice.

Ann Day!

2007-04-05T12:30:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday, my darling!

unfortunately... it seems that the art.com magic drawing program isn't quite working right anymore, so the movie of the drawing is broken...

This drawing was of course inspired by this amazing movie.

we feel fine

2007-04-04T14:57:00.000-04:00

WEFEELFINE.ORG

unbelievable.
The data is generated from peoples blog entries (trolled by search engine) that have the word "feel" in in them.

Kodak Assvertising

2007-04-02T17:52:00.000-04:00

We've posted other kinds of creative advertisement placements but I think this is the one I'd like to see more of.

Click for a larger version

Kodak assvertising during a photo convention in Kiev, Ukraine.

(found on I believe in adv)

HMX Stuff!

2007-04-02T14:22:00.000-04:00

Guitar Hero 2 360 Ad

New ad for GH2 360, which comes out soon! The animation is really awesome.

Also, we announced our new game today ROCK BAND! It's going to be huge!

Short Film

2007-03-28T18:01:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine passed this video on to me. My favorite is the first 2 minutes. Check it out.

http://films.thelot.com/films/33348

(sorry I am not all that computer savvy that I know how to post a video. When John gets home I will have him show me)

Enjoy!

shorts make me happy

2007-03-28T12:52:00.000-04:00

these from favorite furniture folks from Chicago, BluDot!

and more are popping out all over the woodwork...

of course, they might have been there all along and now I am just newly excited about them. my 30th birthday present to myself is some video editing software... any suggestions on what I should get?

what do you call yourself?

2007-03-28T12:41:00.001-04:00

As I am a very happy camper, having just been sent to my very first company sponsored professional event, and I am newly super enthusiastic about being a designer again, I have been thinking lately about what I call myself...

the options are:
1. designer
2. creative consultant (that has been my preferred freelance line)
3. multimedia designer
4. graphic designer (for family, etc.)
5. art director (which means very different things in different places)

I like the generalness and ambiguity of 1., plus the fact that it doesn't restrict itself to a. the computer, b. commercial purposes, c. a specific discipline. I do tend to say "graphic designer" to my family, because web designer is now synonomous with pop-up ads, and people seem to get "graphic designer" in a way that "web designer" or "multimedia designer" leaves them flummoxed.

I am happy to know that the AIGA is struggling with a similar issue. As they switch their official name to "the Professional Association for Design" (while keeping the AIGA logo), I have to think that "Design" in this case seems too ambiguous, and perhaps misleading... Many illustrators/artists wouldn't tag themselves as designers, while their discipline does clearly fall into the realm of "Graphic Arts".

Maybe we need to go back to arenas of expertise. Can I call myself a "creative"? Should I buy "happyandcreativeeveryday.com"? Can my title be something to aspire to as opposed to being an exact descriptor to what I "do"?

Ball Buster

2007-03-28T11:46:00.000-04:00

This was in a DJ Shadow song I think... I thought it was made up but apparently it's for real.

poynor at the ICA

2007-03-20T22:52:00.000-04:00

Poynor, a witty contributor to Print magazine, Design Observer, Emigre magazine, and author of many bright things including No More Rules, is speaking at the ICA.

AIGA members get special discounts... Want to get me a ticket John?

I'm off to Barcelona...

2007-03-20T22:42:00.000-04:00

These folks (who Beth introduced me to) as well as Camper = I will move to Barcelona

I think they might be a bigger band than Bang Camero, but I am sure they put on just as hopping of a show... I'm from Barcelona

simple

2007-03-19T17:26:00.000-04:00

I came across a few sites today that I wanted to share. I am sure all you artsy fartsy people have seem them, but in case you haven't take a sec to peek.

It's a cute little site. Very simple. Check it out. oneword

THINKblog

2007-03-19T12:56:00.000-04:00

some heavy duty "marketing" reading. The devil may be in the details, by the soul is in the strategy....
THINKblog

happy and optimistic

2007-03-19T12:43:00.000-04:00

Neuroscience proves that Ann is a smartypants!

Creating Passionate Users Blog

I guess we "made it"

2007-03-15T16:51:00.000-04:00

Run to your local mall to pick up some Guitar Hero 2 shirts that somebody, somewhere designed for some reason. Don't worry, they're available both in slim fit, and 2XL sizes.

My Other Favorite Blog

2007-03-13T23:43:00.000-04:00

My best friend (and wife) Nikole Torres has started a blog focused on uncovering cool/well designed things for parents and their kids.

She's only been doing it for about a week but she seriously has blogging fever and already has a bunch of great things on there. Including a diaper bag from our very own Ann Karash and the cutest little hat by Beth Carron.

www.nikolet.com

Ambient Lover's Cups

2007-03-12T21:10:00.000-04:00

Check out these cool cups our friends at MIT are working on.

LED's on the matching cup light up when either person is drinking.

Did you ever wonder where your Levis come from

2007-03-12T09:52:00.000-04:00

Did you ever wonder what a 20 hour shift at a factory feels like? Well apparently you need clothes pins on your eyelids to stay awake - China Blues is playing at the MFA this wednesday at 8:30. I am intruged an ready to be horrified. Anyone care to join me?

Helvetica : the movie

2007-03-11T19:04:00.000-04:00

update!!

April 11
MassArt Eventworks, Boston MA, USA
Student exhibit, Q&A with director and designers.

who wants to go? I might get tickets this week!

happy panda day

2007-03-11T13:52:00.000-04:00

and because I forgot to mention it on "mitch is awesome" day... happy belated!

our birthday beth!

2007-03-11T10:06:00.000-04:00

RED/WHITE

2007-03-10T20:41:00.000-05:00

the first draft...

with plans for post-production...

steven and I caught the few moments of sunshine this morning, and did some red/white theme filming on the way home from breakfast. the basic idea here is red/white in the everyday, general city themes, little glimpses of color, and I hope that the tricks I can learn with post-production software will help me pop out a little more vibrancy.

anabelle

2007-03-09T22:31:00.001-05:00

just in case you missed her...

{ update }

aaahhh ... what's the deal with this?

2007-03-09T17:32:00.000-05:00

what's more annoying than when you are really excited to see something and you come across a bogus sign like this?

come on Chiquita's, it's already 03/07. what is the deal with that?

i have been trying to send some clients your way, and i have nothing to show them. how do you expect me to pimp my bitches?

kisses!

the first fragrance for technosexuals

2007-03-08T21:00:00.000-05:00

introducting CK in2u : or how not to market to the blogging generation

from today's NYT Style section:

"Last year, [Calvin Klein, the company] went so far as to trademark “technosexual,” anticipating it could become a buzzword for marketing to millennials, the roughly 80 million Americans born from 1982 to 1995. A typical line from the press materials for CK in2u goes like this: “She likes how he blogs, her texts turn him on. It’s intense. For right now.” [yes, the last sentence might be my favorite part]

read the article

there is a website project that goes along with this campaign, and I am curious to see what they do with it (social networking, group participation, and they have started a shorts contest for film students...)

Oscar shorts at the ICA

2007-03-08T20:28:00.000-05:00

Since the Oscar-nominated Shorts usually disappear into the ether (and as Boston gets few, if any festivals, except the Black Maria at the MFA), I was pretty excited to see that the ICA will be showing a shorts program this (and next) weekend...

Read more about them (thanks to the Daily Nebraskan!) here

{UPDATE}
I was pretty excited about the "remind me" feature with the ICA events listings... turns out, they don't work so well... Here is my reminder email below: there isn't even a mention of the event, the time, and the only indication of what it could be is from the reply address!

Guinness: A Short Film Called Hands

2007-03-06T14:14:00.000-05:00

Guinness Hands

Very cool stop motion video ad for Guinness and a cute site too with a fun "build your own" section.

Pillow Fort

2007-03-04T22:59:00.000-05:00

Mehmet Irdel and Seth Jablon, both of R/GA fame, have teamed up to form a design company with an emphasis on creatively rewarding projects, specifically record covers, logos and posters.

I'm sure these boys will be doing some very cool work.

The Pillow Fort site is still being developed but for now you can check out the Pillow Fort MySpace page to fill that hole in your heart.

Vintage Looking Soap Labels

2007-03-04T22:40:00.000-05:00

Nikole made some great homemade soaps this past Christmas and I made some labels to go along with them. Unfortunately the labels never made it onto the soaps but that has less to with my laziness and more to do with the fact that they didn't need any help form me.

Nikole–maybe you can post some photos if you have them.

So why am I talking about this now? Well I've decided to try to post some I've made every week and I strongly encourage everyone else to to the same, whether it be a doodle, poem, flash script, typography, whatever just something creative you've done.

Let me know what you think.

By the way... we recently surpassed 200 posts!

the first 47th short...

2007-03-03T21:08:00.000-05:00

Francis Ford Coppola is holding a contest: create a movie in a minute or less that represents the idea of "Wine for Everyday Life." Although my own favorite is the pink sparkling wine, I have a general idea on the "rosso" and "bianco" theme... and I am a sucker for the inspiration of a contest!

Anyone else interested?

Stranger Than Fiction Visual Effects

2007-03-03T16:05:00.000-05:00

I recently watched "Stranger Than Fiction" (site by Big Spaceship) which was a pretty good movie, but what left a more lasting impression on me were the visual effects.

Diagrams where overlaid and worked into the pictures to illustrate what was happening in the story. The main character works for the IRS and has a very efficient technical mind and lives his life the same way. Although I don't think the visuals where essential to the storytelling they did help to enhance it and for me they where a great visual treat that I've been talking about for days.

The work was done by MK12, one of my favorite motion graphics studios and I can't stress enough how flawlessly they executed it. From the typography and design to the animation and camera matching (including great depth of field and masking effects).

Check out the clips of the intro and end credits below, or better yet, rent the movie.

Stranger Than Fiction Intro

Stranger Than Fiction Credits

Treehorn Tonight!

2007-03-01T12:44:00.000-05:00

Billboard Liberation Front

2007-02-28T14:46:00.000-05:00

Their mission statement begins as a quote from my twelfth favorite in the film noir genre, the Naked City... "There are a million stories in the Big City, and as many reasons to want to hack a billboard." And yes, they have a guidebook.

Billboard Liberation Front

The Foundation for a Better Life

2007-02-28T13:19:00.000-05:00

(( another lengthy, non-design specific post... while I wait for the call of lost luggage.. ))

I see a flurry of these every year when I visit family in Ohio, and was recently reminded of them as I saw them every 20 miles along the highway in Utah:

So I finally remembered to look up the Foundation for a Better Life. The website itself has some interesting ways for you to explore their billboards and ad spots, as well as share your own stories and send these messages around. The consistent thread that I see in the billboards is an expression of values and an encouragement of accountability and performance — a hopeful idea, regardless of the fact that the project is privately funded by a single donor who prefers to remain anonymous (and who has been identified with a bit of searching as a billionaire Denver businessman, ranked by Forbes as #31 in the US, with some conservative leanings).

I like some of the billboards (although I am less impressed by a billboard representing Shrek as I am by one of Lincoln), I like optimistic messages, and I like lessons of personal competencies. Should I like the campaign less because I don't know where the message is coming from, if there is a hidden agenda or purpose? It will certainly sour on me when I see a conservative pundit raise a campaign image from his soapbox and shout "Pass it on!" Hopefully, these are understated enough to not be used as a slogan — maybe that is essentially what is un-evil about them, the messages so simply apply to a general feeling as opposed to specifically targetting any one issue, character, person, etc.

The Foundation for a Better Life also has a sister organization: The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation. I haven't read through their site and mission, but they better not be trumping my ideas/motivations behind the forthcoming happyandoptimistic.org!

JetBlue: is it a personal approach?

2007-02-22T19:07:00.000-05:00

I have been really interested in this whole hubub surrounding the JetBlue collapse of operations (during last week's storms) and subsequent attempts to create dialog with customers and put a face to the corporation. On the one hand, it sounds like this company was terribly unlucky (small and lean in operations, many flights were held up simply because flight crews couldn't get to departure airports); on the other, I guess I wouldn't be surprised if they turned the "corporation" cold shoulder on the whole matter.

Then I heard the CEO on Talk of the Nation last Friday. In an apologetic and empathetic statement, he was able to cut through my barrier of "ahh... let's put the personable CEO on the radio to smooth this over." He even responded to a berated customer calling into the show, and in the end, the customer reversed his statement and said "I am really impressed with your outreach after this customer service catastrophe..."

And tonight, I found an email in my inbox outling their "Customer's Bill of Rights" and a link to a YouTube video which looks satisfyingly unpolished and personal, with plenty of unscripted hand gestures.

Is this real or scheme? The empathetic dialog with the customer? Let's use YouTube video to look like real people relating to our customers on a fair playing field? Or is this part of the viral/kindred spirits trend of marketing/messages, trying to make personal approaches to customers in order to better find out what their needs are and thus, serve them better? The approach appeals to me on a personal level — but, of course, it means that I will be all the more disappointed if it doesn't result in some kind of overall organizational change.

(how does that translate into my experience as a seldom flier? well... I don't know... more personal notes in my inbox? YouTube video updates?)

Modern Day Rag Dolls

2007-02-21T10:46:00.000-05:00

http://www.craftsburykids.com/

too good to be true

2007-02-20T18:19:00.000-05:00

be amazed by the power of good copywriting.

How to slice a mango?

2007-02-20T09:37:00.000-05:00

This is how I do it! but in reverse.

BANG!

2007-02-19T16:27:00.000-05:00

the boys are so dirty and rocking they could be a commercial for Axe bodyspray.

push push lady lightning

Little Lemon Meringue Pies

2007-02-19T16:14:00.000-05:00

Look what I made! Little Lemon Meringue pies.

I'll make a few adjustments to the next batch but all in all I'm very happy with how they came out.

Happy Chinese New Year

2007-02-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

Pulp Fiction Book Covers

2007-02-16T09:58:00.000-05:00

I love what Thomas Allen has done with these pulp fiction book covers.

See the rest of them at the Foley Gallery

Sexy Avenue

2007-02-15T14:10:00.000-05:00

That's a funny looking heart.

The Danish Road Safety Council

2007-02-15T14:08:00.000-05:00

Pretty amazing ad from the Danish Safety Council

The Amazing Folding Chair!

2007-02-15T11:48:00.000-05:00

By the way...Happy Heart Day!

2007-02-14T20:09:00.000-05:00

Kisses and hugs to you all.

Design Spotter

2007-02-14T19:58:00.000-05:00

http://www.designspotter.com/

I came across a great site for all of you artists. They have some great pieces. Enjoy!

this american life

2007-02-12T12:47:00.000-05:00

in boston Feb 27th...$250 and you can almost touch the Ira.
Boston Opera House Ticketing

the motel

2007-02-12T10:34:00.000-05:00

by the creators of "you and me and everyone we know"...
a small, quiet, honest movie...great stuff.
peep the trailer

beasts!

2007-02-09T10:09:00.000-05:00

tiny showcase is releasing a set of ten beasts! a selection from fantagraphics Beasts!, a book of mythological creatures illustrated by about a hundred of the most acclaimed artists and cartoonists from the most avant-garde gambits of the art world. The collection, created and edited by Jacob Covey, was inspired by creatures that were thought at one time to actually exist.

Here's what the collection box looks like:

The tiny showcase selection will be released in limited edition, letterpress format (although I have been talking too much to Mr. Babcock to qualify this as real letterpress), one by one... or you can buy the whole set for $300 at any time (that is, before they are gone).

Dynamite Surfing?

2007-02-09T09:22:00.000-05:00

Is this for real?

Jordan XX2

2007-02-08T21:43:00.000-05:00

The site for Jordan XX2 (with fullscreen turned on) is seriously one of the best sites I've ~~seen~~ experienced in a long time.

Spend some time with it. Pan around the different scenes, play some videos, listen to the audio clips... it all makes for a very slick seamless experience.

Very cool.

Jenny Lewis Sex Scene

2007-02-08T18:35:00.001-05:00

WARNING! EXTREMELY HOT!

You're Looking at AIGA's Newest Member

2007-02-08T16:03:00.000-05:00

Well... I guess you're not looking at me but you're reading about me. Hill Holiday got all the interactive peeps memberships to AIGA.

I'm not exactly sure what it's good for but I'm looking forward to getting more connected to the Boston design scene or something like that.

And just so that this isn't a completely useless post, here's a link to the coolest large image archive ever!

AIGA Design Archives

New Uniforms

2007-02-07T12:54:00.000-05:00

The US Army just re-designed their uniforms. No more polished black boots!

New York Times

Walmart's Online Video Store

2007-02-07T09:33:00.000-05:00

Walmart's new video download site doesn't look too hot in Firefox. Take a look:

http://www.walmart.com/videodownloads

for the ladies!

2007-02-03T15:43:00.000-05:00

the new Target GO International collection is Proenza Schouler! and it is in stores now...

I bought a long-sleeved striped tshirt for $16.99. It is long. I love it.

free eames lounges!

2007-02-02T12:48:00.000-05:00

almost free... well, and actually just $200 off... but, you can win a 2modern gift certificate or other prizes if you enter this competition:

sendomatic's st. patrick's day card competition

Circus Museum

2007-02-02T10:45:00.000-05:00

A collection of super-creepy European circus posters. Amazing!

circusmuseum.nl

Blogger Update

2007-02-01T19:37:00.000-05:00

I moved the blog from a regular blogger account to a google blogger account. Next time you log in it'll ask you to convert your account.

~~Although... I'm also working on moving it over to wordpress... I'll keep everyone posted.~~

Looks like the wordpress move won't be happening right away... there's no easy way to import data from the new version of blogger to wordpress.

special treats for my sweet...

2007-01-31T21:33:00.000-05:00

youTube magic on guitar and drums... plus animated gifs galore at 53 o's

Too Cute!

2007-01-30T17:30:00.000-05:00

I am not the kind of mom that shows pics of her kids, and I don't expect other people to think they are cute...but I must admit...HE'S NOT UGLY!

Free Icon Sets

2007-01-26T14:00:00.000-05:00

Am eating lunch and browsing a happy find: Smashing Magazine, already known for the list of the best quality free fonts... I just landed on the list (I love lists) of the best free icons and symbols on the web...

Want icon ideas, or the best quality free icon sets?
Look here

Logo Trends 2007

2007-01-26T13:44:00.000-05:00

I hearby outlaw 3d puffies. But I like punctuation.

Logo Design Trends 2007

take ten minutes...

2007-01-19T14:54:00.000-05:00

and make one of these:

Readymech

thanks to Serif for my quality ten minutes of fun!

photoshop brushes

2007-01-19T09:53:00.000-05:00

this looks like a huge library of photoshop brushes... including sexy boxes! what might that be?

PS Brushes

your name on toast

2007-01-17T23:05:00.000-05:00

you too can have your name on toast! the next million dollar homepage? a possible reference for a toast caddy? buy branded toast and do some good in the world? I just like it...

new finds...

2007-01-17T22:47:00.000-05:00

I have three new finds to share, all under a color association theme

1. baby myles: baby myles is tiny and pink as a button

2. flikr browser: you can search by "green" or any other color or topic and get instant ideas... lovely!

3. color selector: this seems like the pro model of the old color tool that I would sometimes use for new palette ideas...

Al Gore is confusing my dog

2007-01-12T18:03:00.000-05:00

Global warming sounds to scary.

Global climate change is a 'Bushism'

So I call it 'Al Gore'.
We saw an Inconvenient Truth.

Whatever it is, it sure is plesant, but it is confusing the bajeezus out of my dog.
She loved the warm days, but as soon as it got cold, she was freaked out. Too freaked out to pee. She wouldn't pee on Wednesday morning. She was so uncomfortable in the sudden cold. She was too focused on going back into the house to get warm to pee.
Ridiculous.

And she's shedding like it's the middle of summer.

And just seemed out of sorts.

And she is a domesticated dog! I can only imagine the confusing that the polar bears are feeling - running out of food, their homes are melting...

Oh the guilt! It's enough to get me back on my bike (even though I an STILL in physical therapy from last year's accident).

70 degrees in January + my confused dog + sad polar bears = time to do something
Maybe?

I wish those energy saving lightbulbs weren't so ugly

WARNING!!!

2007-01-11T16:48:00.000-05:00

There's a new Blogger version available now that has a bunch of new features. I'm going to switch over my other blogs, and it may, or may not switch over this one as well. I really have no idea if it'll fuck up publishing settings, or what. Anyway, I believe everyone will at least have to get a Google ID. You have been warned!

cower in fear

2007-01-03T14:30:00.000-05:00

BISHOCK has a new home.

my other favorite lady named ann

2006-12-26T20:20:00.000-05:00

i'm suffering from a serious crush on ms.ann faith nicholls.
somebody tell scott he owes me a late xmas present.

H&G takes it to the limit!

2006-12-22T14:01:00.000-05:00

www.huntandgather.com

yippy skippy and all that.

How Bizarre

2006-12-21T23:07:00.000-05:00

The Bazaar Bizarre was a great time last Saturday. Thousands of people attended.

And quite a success for mittenmitten this year.

Much of our inventory was gone by 3pm!!!

Unfortunatly I have no good pictures to post. My husband brought the camera at 4 but by then our table was almost empty.

Also, check out the the Bazaar Bizarre & Etsy upcoming Upcycling contest. It is a contest based on the lovely concept of Upcycling. Check out the current entries. I haven't decided what I want to create for the contest yet.

Adobe Photoshop CS3 Public Beta Preview

2006-12-15T11:59:00.000-05:00

Adobe has released a preview version of Photoshop CS3.
Download it here:

Check out the Sneak Peak Video Podcast here:

You can read about some new features here:
photoshopuser.com/cs3/sk_features.html

They include:
1. The new user interface
2. Huge improvements to Camera Raw
3. The Quick Select tool
4. Mo Better Curves
5. Printing Done Right
6. Black-and-White Conversion Control
7. Auto Align and Auto Blend
8. New and Improved Bridge
9. Smart Filter (I've been waiting a while for this one!)
10. Improved Cloning and Healing

[UPDATE]

There's also a very good (more through than the others) free CS3 tour from Lynda.com
movielibrary.lynda.com/html/modPage.asp?ID=327

Micheal you'll be especially interested in the section on Photomerge.

games for friday!

2006-12-08T00:01:00.000-05:00

have you seen linerider?

or Sketch Fighter?

it is Steven's Birthday!!

2006-12-01T13:36:00.000-05:00

everyone give him a hug! it is my favorite day of the year!

My first post...

2006-12-01T01:29:00.000-05:00

click here to check it out

Hi guys & girls,

This is a quick project I did a couple months ago for a client. Just thought I'd share...

Thanks to John T for walking me through my first blog post. :)

-C

Special Effects in Aronofsky's "The Fountain"

2006-11-30T00:02:00.000-05:00

I haven't had a chance to see "The Fountain" yet but I've been reading up on the special effects for the movie. All of which where created without CGI. The space scenes where created in a petri dish.

Here's the trailer.

Judging by the mixed reviews the movie is getting I can't tell if it'll be good or not but it seems like the visual experience alone might be worth the price of admission.

The site for the movie (which is great) manages to create a rich environment. I really like that it seems to be boundless.

Here's an excerpt from Wired about the effects:

Then Aronofsky's team discovered the work of Peter Parks, a marine biologist and photographer who lives in a 400-year-old cowshed west of London. Parks and his son run a home f/x shop based on a device they call the microzoom optical bench. Bristling with digital and film cameras, lenses, and Victorian prisms, their contraption can magnify a microliter of water up to 500,000 times or fill an Imax screen with the period at the end of this sentence. Into water they sprinkle yeast, dyes, solvents, and baby oil, along with other ingredients they decline to divulge. The secret of Parks' technique is an odd law of fluid dynamics: The less fluid you have, the more it behaves like a solid. The upshot is that Parks can make a dash of curry powder cascading toward the lens look like an onslaught of flaming meteorites. "When these images are projected on a big screen, you feel like you're looking at infinity," he says. "That's because the same forces at work in the water – gravitational effects, settlement, refractive indices – are happening in outer space."

You can read the full article in the November issue of wired or online

Happy Monday!

2006-11-19T21:28:00.000-05:00

Please enjoy the silliest, happiest song.

The Hot Ladies of Wears + Wares

2006-11-15T09:37:00.000-05:00

Check out the article Donna Goodison from the Boston Herald wrote about Wares + Wares. The Herald jumped at the chance to get an early interview before these girls go national.

Co-founder, Ann Karash is quoted as saying "It's needed because there isn't a regular marketplace for independent designers in the Boston area".

You can view a scan of the article here or you can read the online version here.

John Day!

2006-11-13T00:19:00.000-05:00

November 13 might be one of my favorite days of the year! Why? Because it is John Torres's birthday, and he is one of my favorite people of all time!

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHN!

Wears + Wares this Saturday! (11/11)

2006-11-10T00:37:00.000-05:00

I'm going for Mitten Mitten, the limited edition print from sad, sad, story, and treats.

Check out the full vendor list.