Mar 3
Mind Vacations
If I hear one more commercial about investing in gold I think my head will explode. I know you don't look here for financial advice but I'm going to give you some anyway—here it is:
If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, buy the new This American Life App.
For three bucks you get on-demand, FREE access to every episode of this intelligent, funny, heartbreaking, beautiful, bizarre radio program, ever produced—literally hundreds of hours of listening. Is it possible you are not yet familiar with This American Life—wow, are you in for a treat.
Three dollars. What the heck are you going to do with gold anyway—eat it?
This American Life--the app...
Ira Glass, the show's longtime host, on Wikipedia...
Interested in the dynamics of producing this unique form of media? See Ira Glass's Manifesto...
The This Amercian Life web...
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Feb 26
Reference
Occasionally I contribute a review over at Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools--just a little something to add to his wonderful list of tools, machines, books, software, gadgets, websites, maps, and ideas housed there. I think of it as a kind of "Consumer Reports" for interesting stuff.
I've pointed you to it before but I wrote a review that they posted today--which gives me cause to point you to it again.
Me and my chair--okay, not a spellbinding subject...
Cool Tools is now being edited by Elon Schoenholz...
Spend the afternoon...
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Feb 3
Mind Vacations
I'm so engrossed with the design world that I often miss the mainstream stuff. From the look of it Rocketboom has quite a following. Each day its correspondents dig into a subject and report on it from unusual angles. Mostly humorous, often insightful, always interesting--Rocketboom.
Here, for example, is coverage of the Futura vs. Verdana IKEA Smackdown...
Another, a brief biography of Edgar Allan Poe...
Rocketboom also produces Know Your Meme...
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Oct 19
Mind Vacations
In the olden days we shot film positives (slides) or film negatives and printed the images on paper--why, all of a sudden, do I feel like Mathew Brady. If you've got some LPs or cassettes around, you likely have some slides and/or some black and white or color negatives--perhaps some stuff that you haven't looked at in years. The problem is, the old pictures aren't nearly so convenient to look at or share as the stuff we currently are able to churn out on our digital cameras.
ScanCafe.com doesn't fit the normal subject matter of these posts, but I thought it was a good enough find to merit a special mention (thanks to my friend Daniel Will-Harris for pointing me to them). In short, you bundle up your negatives or picture album and send it off to a place overseas where the folks at ScanCafe scan and spend a few minutes optimizing the images (don't panic, they claim the shipping is VERY safe--mine got there without a problem). Then, you review the scans online and choose (pay for) only the one's you want. The originals are then returned to you along with a disc containing the scans.
Reasonable prices, good quality, and it's fun to see all those forgotten places and faces.
The ScanCafe...
The founder's blog...
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Aug 31
Mind Vacations
I did.
I recently happened on this a guide to my town on Design Sponge and got to thinking about it. I live in a wonderful part of the United States, two hours south of Washington, D.C., an hour from the Atlantic Ocean, and an hour from the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Richmond, Virginia has a rich, interesting history, many nice neighborhoods in both the city and suburbs, great venues for entertainment, active design and technology communities, fine resturants, and so on. And I doubt that I have taken advantage of five percent of it.
This was a bit of a wakeup call. If you have a similar deficit, take a look at a web site that provides outsiders with a look at your part of the planet. You might be surprised about how blessed you are. (Thanks Design Sponge.)
A Richmond,Virginia guide from Design Sponge...
I live in a Richmond suburb: Glen Allen, Virginia...
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May 22
Mind Vacations
Well--would you settle for Fonts, a couple of entertaining film shorts? You can thank (or blame) my son Jeff for bringing these to our attention.
Font Conference...
Font Fight...
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Mar 6
Mind Vacations
That, in essence, is what I told a good friend today. He is looking to make a job change and I was posing the possibility that he offer up his substantial experience online. Not that he hand out his social security number, but just that he begins to cultivate new relationships by networking online--Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and such.
But that is not his thing, he explained. He is a private person and the idea of sharing information with the public does not sit well. My response was, "Well you'll just have to get over it."
The link below is the embodiment of my point. Thru-you is a groundbreaking collection of songs mixed together by a Tel Aviv musician named Ophir "Kutiman" Kutiel using pieces and parts of YouTube clips. What is so striking to me is that the people who play the music clearly had no way of knowing that this outcome was even possible.
Like my friend, they did not understand that their contribution could net them something far greater than what they planned.
The front door...
My favorite cut: 03. I M NEW....
I'm guessing a surge of traffic has crashed this (Kutiel's site), but that would be the preferred way to view these pieces....
In the Ideabook Design Store: Templates for InDesign, QuarkXpress, or PageMaker...
Sep 29
Mind Vacations
A (supposedly) True story.
A woman walks into an ice cream shop, steps up to the counter and orders a cone. After paying, she swings around and finds herself face to face with Paul Newman. He says hello and she nods, unable to speak.
Moments later, as she makes her way down the street, she realizes she doesn't have her ice cream cone. She returns to the shop and as she opens the door she again meets Newman who asks, "Are you looking for your ice cream cone?" "Yes," she concedes. He smiles and motions, "You put it in your purse with your change."
(Snopes.com calls it doubtful. Oh well.)
A few more of my favorites...
Mar 31
Mind Vacations
Since the inception of the box, scheduling has played a significant role in the success or failure of television programming. If you are hungry for something to watch, you click around until you find something you want to watch or settle for watching something that is “on.”
Here comes the future. Fancast.com is a venture by behemoth Comcast that offers, at this writing, over 200 television series. Each episode of which can be viewed whenever you choose to view it. I guess this is good news—with no limits on when you watch, the quality of what you are willing to spend time watching should be raised. Maybe. I'm guessing there will still be people who will watch Doogie Howser, M.D. on purpose.
Now, an OFFICIAL DISCLAIMER: don't blame Chuck Green if you get canned for watching reruns at your desk—I warn you, there are fifty episodes of the Twilight Zone on this thing.
The current fancast.com menu...
Vintage Twilight Zone...
This is also happening on hulu.com...
In the Ideabook Design Store: Before & After: Graphics For Business...
Oct 15
Mind Vacations
Hats off to Jesse Vig for noticing that some buildings looked like letters of the alphabet when viewed from above. He goes on to explain, "This is the point where I should have just said 'hmmm, good observation' and gone on with my life. But I didn't and that's why this website is here."
My customized greeting...
Do it yourself...
Jan 17
Mind Vacations
Your workspace says a lot about who you are—especially creative types. This blog offers a look at the studios of illustrators, designer, and fine artists—fascinating stuff.
www.on-my-desk.blogspot.com
Oct 20
Mind Vacations
StoryCorps is a project that records little snippets of people's lives and experiences—fascinating stuff.
http://storycorps.net/
Sep 27
Mind Vacations
These click games and animations by Czech Republic designer Jakub Dvorsky are well worth a look. You didn't want to get anything done today anyway.
http://www.samorost2.net/samorost1/
http://www.samorost2.net/
http://questfortherest.com/h
http://samorost2.net/plantage/
Jun 28
Mind Vacations
I like to listen to talk when I am doing the grunt-work side of what I do. Sound Portraits is a worthy way to use your ears, brain, and heart. It is dedicated to telling stories that “bring neglected American voices to a national audience.”
http://www.soundportraits.org
Jun 14
Mind Vacations
How does a graphic designer become an overnight Web legend? Try insanity.
http://www.zefrank.com/
And an article about how it happened
http://www.zefrank.com/smallpress/timeoutspread.jpg
Mar 6
Mind Vacations
Need something else to listen to while you work? The BBC has one of everything for everyone.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/
Feb 17
Mind Vacations
For me, the design process requires concentration and quiet. Once I've got an idea though, I enjoy listening to talk while I work. If you appreciate a good story, I guarantee you'll enjoy This American Life. Each week they choose a theme and invite different writers and performers to contribute. If TAL is new to you, I recommend Episode 241 from 7/11 as a fun place to start.
This American Life...
Jan 11
Mind Vacations
Need a dose of perspective? This should do it. For Earth at Night.
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020810.html
For The View from Everest.
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020723.html
For a Solar Eruption
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030223.html
