April 2008
46 posts
IF On Eater →
My company’s newborn blog was picked up on Eater, for my colleague Kat’s somewhat hilarious ‘Switch postcard experience. Awesome.
The Sounds of Your Mid-20s... →
Stephanie Meyer
Evidently Stephanie Meyer’s YA Vampire novels are something of a phenomenon (complete with fanfiction, a highly anticipated book release, and a movie in the works). Time just did a profile. She’s Mormon, and her books are apparently chock full of sex-free sexiness. According to Time: “What makes Meyer’s books so distinctive is that they’re about the erotics of...
Flyp →
Talking Points: Violent Video Games
If you’re a 12 year old kid and your dad gets you Grand Theft Auto IV, the problem isn’t that you have a violent video game, the problem is that you have an irresponsible parent.
Required Reading: World Made by Hand →
Professional crank and possibly prescient peak-oil evangelist James Howard Kunstler writes a fictional novel set in a world after the oil economy collapses. Like all things J. H. Kunstler, it could either be really amazing or plain silly. I did love The Geography of Nowhere, though.
The Future of War
“Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the party’s leader, in February said that Hizbullah had evolved into an “unparalleled new school” that is part guerrilla force and part conventional army. A European diplomat in Beirut, who has been watching Hizbullah’s preparations, likened attacking the organization to “punching a sponge” – it absorbs the...
Alex Gross: Mysteries And Manners →
Please see this before it closes
Tom Gorman Wants A Word →
My friend Tom just started a blog. It’s worth reading for a variety of reasons, but most importantly because Tom is something of an armchair expert on international geopolitics (he wrote what I hear is a fantastic paper on the privatization of the US Military). Also, he loves Iran. Now if he’d just post more. And get his template layout in order. Anyway, stop by if you have a chance.
The Style Press Mixtape #2 →
Talking Points: The Marketing Industry
The marketing industry has been remarkably effective at turning the public’s dislike of it into an asset. The ugly shadow of Big Marketing has allowed for the growth of a thousand tiny hip consultancies, all laying claim to the same quirky outsider credibility that they promise their clients.
Famine
Interesting columnn from the WSJ about the potential need for Americans to start stockpiling food, as food-price inflation is rising faster than the value of your money. I will be buying some pasta, rice and canned goods this weekend because I am a sucker for end-times alarmism. But the article does raise a larger point worth considering: as the commodities (foodstuffs obviously, but also oil and...
McDonald's New Look
Really, McDonalds? McDonald’s Gets A Fashion Makeover
Talking Points: Musical Genres
The remarkable thing about music today is not the variety of sound but the obviousness of influences. With nearly every historical sound easily available for the borrowing, it’s become contemporary to reference genres rather than create them: divorcing musical styles from the lifestyles that spawned them.
PopRally presents Graffiti Research Lab: The... →
Little Fury →
Met with these charming designers yesterday. In addition to taking their name from a Breeders song, they’re also responsible for the fairly awesome design of Help Remedies and these notebooks. Also, the entire Rembrandt rebrand
Judith Supine solo show in Bushwick →
Tretorn Wellie Wagon
From Coolhunting.com: “For the next three weekends, squeezed between NYC’s omnipresent hot dog and gyro stands, you’ll find one vendor hawking a very different product. In collaboration with Scandinavian clothing and design store [hus], Tretorn will sell their wellies, sneakers, accessories and apparel from a custom built ‘Wellie Wagon’” You know, because...
Loaded Questions Muxtape →
it’s what all the cool kids are doing
Overnewsed But Uninformed
OVERNEWSED BUT UNINFORMED || STEFAN BRÄUTIGAM
'Hard Times' by Matt Mason & Nicholas Felton →
A beautifully designed summary of our digital lives.
Collision I made this. The mix is shit, but the...
Volume
volume
Virgin America
I know I’m a little late to the party with this but, clearly Virgin America has done a remarkably good job of extending their highly designed brand to every part of their travel experience. Problem is: the experience is so well-crafted that the only thing that looks out of place is the clientele. You know, chubby americans with waffle-soled running-shoes and kids in tow. Is it possible for...
Talking Points: Green
The “Green” label might as well be the “Low Fat” of the late aughts: a dangerous fad that addresses a symptom and avoids the root cause entirely. Untimately our society will be forced to consume less; unfortunately our current preoccupation is consuming more of less.
111 Minna Gallery →
Talking Points: The Clintons
If the scrutiny of this election cycle tells us anything, it’s that the Clintons are every bit the calculating dynasty the Bushes proved to be.
Required Reading: Blubberland →
Girls: Hellhole Rat-Race You should clearly play...
Content made EZ
Came across this site today (http://animoto.com/) that got me to thinking. I’ve seen a couple of services similar to it (www.vuvox.com) popping up recently. Much like templates on tumblr, blogger and wordpress, they all essentially professionalize your photos, music, raw content, etc., without requiring you to know anything about design, programming or motion graphics. To blatantly...
Punk's not dead; it's just been priced out
John Varvatos now owns CBGBs. If you shop there, you are officially an old person. A New Lease | Storefront | Kempt
12 New Solar America Cities →
The Gobelins, as woven by a computer
”Margret Eicher has revamped the old tradition of the gobelins tapestry (which dates back to the 15th century but keeps receiving some attention from contemporary artists) except that instead of hand-embroidered tapestries, sewed by skilled craftsmen/craftswomen, the tapestries are refined industrial products, woven by a computer.” The Gobelins, as woven by a computer - we make money...
Do Higher Prices Mean Better Food Choices?
“Unlike my friend Michael Pollan in the Times article, I have doubts about whether the current rise in commodity food prices will cause a shift to sustainable alternatives. The argument presupposes that price is the main factor keeping people away from better food choices. I think the bigger factor is education and availability. You will not buy the product if you don’t perceive it...
radicalcartography →
Assy McGee and Scion (ads that aren't ads)
”Now, if you watch it, you might question the wisdom of Scion putting its brand in this situation. Assy McGee is basically a walking naked rear end, with a cowboy hat and a gun. He/it makes exactly the sounds you would expect a walking rear end to make. Also a guy gets his shot off. Pretty crass stuff, etc. And while I would like to get through this item without using the phrase “butt of a...