July 2010
88 posts
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“Just stop thinking, worrying, looking over your shoulder, wondering, doubting,...”
– —Sol Lewitt, quoted in The Accidental Masterpiece by Michael Kimmelman.
Stop it and just DO. That’s about the best advice you can get.
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“If the work is good, what does it matter? I’m doing it because I love it. Why...”
– —James Franco responding to critics who say he is spreading himself too thin between his acting career and the four graduate programs he’s enrolled in. That’s right, four graduate programs. At the same time.
If you read one thing today, please let it be this excellent profile on Mr....
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WatchA new trailer has been released for the upcoming documentary Coast Modern, a film that explores mid-century architecture and design. I was really excited after the first trailer released but this new one has completely put me over the edge. Taking a slightly different approach, the new trailer features no speaking or interview clips; it’s simply a collection of silent clips set to a subtle...
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“This is why we should all follow strangers on Twitter. We naturally lead...”
– From a fascinating article on following strangers on Twitter.
I noticed something like this last week at a concert I was at. I’ve been to quite a few shows since I’ve been in Nashville but it wasn’t until this most recent one that I realized every musician I’ve seen has been...
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Urbanized: A Documentary Film by Gary Hustwit →
Gary Hustwit, the filmmaker behind two of my favorite documentaries, Helvetica and Objectified, is closing his film trilogy on design with Urbanized:
The third documentary in this trilogy is about the design of cities. Urbanized looks at the issues and strategies behind urban design, featuring some of the world’s foremost architects, planners, policymakers, builders, and thinkers. Over half...
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When the Secular Becomes Sacred
From a recent article in Relevant Magazine on how the music of Mumford & Sons* (among others) can produce unexpected moments of worship:
It sometimes seems as though the notion of “Christian” music has become so pigeon-holed and cookie cutter, there isn’t much room left for worship music outside of what seeps its way through the church walls. Songs that doubt are conveniently left out of the...
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Dealing with online and real-life conversations →
I have mixed feelings about this article on phone etiquette and the death of the individual:
Our proximate legacy is the etiquette of the Enlightenment, in which the individual is the ultimate, indivisible unit of civilization, and is treated as such. For example, being with somebody means focusing attention on that person. You respect the discrete nature of the individual by being discreet about...
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On Starting
The interesting thing is that you can start mowing anywhere. The lawn will get done no matter where you start mowing. And that seemed like an important discovery. Because so often I think when I’m writing a poem that I need to start in some specific spot. Where I begin becomes so important that I never begin.
Nicholas Baker’s novel The Anthologist has been an absolute joy to read. The book...
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‘Apple is rewiring our brains for touch’ →
Minimal Mac has a brilliant prediction for the future of computing based on Apple’s release of the new Magic Trackpad:
So, this begs the question, “Why not just make a giant desk sized iPad type iMac now?” Here is the answer: It is a minor adjustment to behavior and learning to make such moves with a brand new device, because the general public will see it as “new device, new input”. It is...
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A Real Web Design Application →
Jason Santa Maria makes a proposal for a real web design application:
It could have accurate rendering and previews for the way page elements would look, but with some of the WYSIWYG tools desktop design apps have. We wouldn’t just approximate pixels in a flat comp, our CSS would be baked in to the layouts we draw and create on the page. And as Webkit grows, so to could this new app, always taking...
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WatchCan someone please tell me why I’ve never heard The Morning Benders before? This a performance the band did for Yours Truly, an interesting company produces unique live music videos. Both the song and this performance of is are absolutely gorgeous and a perfect late summer night tune.
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“They would have to sing better songs for me to learn to have faith in their...”
– Friedrich Nietzsche on “Christian” art.
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“Are you ever surprised by how certain you can be about your position on a topic...”
– Dave Pell on The Web’s Five Most Endangered Words
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Design is History →
Design is History is a great resource of the history of graphic design from early communication to the 2000s. It’s not comprehensive by any means but definitely highlights the major players who have shaped the field over the years. Think of it as SparkNotes for Meggs’ History of Graphic Design. Whether you are familiar with design history and want a refresher or are interested in...
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“And the work is: Only Collect; that is to say, collect everything,...”
– —From Rachel Leow’s article on being a good historian.
Every [good] designer I know keeps an inspiration file—photos, images, illustrations, designs, etc—full of things they come across on a daily basis so when those moments of creative block hit, a quick flip through the file will spark some...
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Art in the Age →
So I’ve seen Art in the Age linked around here and there for a few years now and even almost bought a t-shirt from them a couple years ago but somehow seemed to miss that they are in Philadelphia! From their website:
Our story begins in Philadelphia, a city of Brotherly Love, do-it-yourself initiatives, and collectives of inspired artmakers. Since 2006, Art In The Age of Mechanical...
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How Conan Got Screwed →
Todd Levin was one of the writer’s on Conan’s Tonight Show and details the end days of the show. I wanted to pull out a passage to quote but the entire piece was so good, I couldn’t pick just one. It’s a completely fascinating read and worth setting some time aside to read it in its entirety.
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Do Typefaces Really Matter? →
A fantastic article from BBC on typefaces, from their importance in design to some people’s obsession with them:
Selecting a font is like getting dressed, Ms Strawson says. Just as one chooses an outfit according to the occasion, one decides on a font according to the kind of message you are seeking to convey.
And this part seemed especially relevant:
These people remind me of wine snobs -...
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ABC News iPad App →
This app looks amazing. When I get an iPad, this will be one of the first apps I download.
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“If this disaster exits the public consciousess without there being a 1:1 ratio...”
– —John Mayer on the larger ramifications of the BP oil spill.
It’s easy to blow off social commentary from musicians and celebrities, but this is an interesting thought worth considering.
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“Picking a font from a drop-down tool bar is not “typography”.”
– The Sorry State of Advertising Education.
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The iPad is already bigger than the iPod →
Business Insider:
In the June quarter, the iPad business generated $2.2 billion of revenue for Apple.
That’s more than Apple’s iPod business generated last quarter — $1.5 billion. (Though the cheaper iPod obviously had larger unit sales.) And it’s almost half as big as Apple’s 26-year-old Mac business, which put in its best quarter ever at $4.4 billion.
...
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The Top Idea in Your Mind →
Paul Graham on thinking about ideas:
I think most people have one top idea in their mind at any given time. That’s the idea their thoughts will drift toward when they’re allowed to drift freely. And this idea will thus tend to get all the benefit of that type of thinking, while others are starved of it. Which means it’s a disaster to let the wrong idea become the top one in your...
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“I have developed a kind of different style over the years. I hate trying to...”
– The internet has been linking around quite a bit to this GQ interview with Bill Murray, but it’s totally worth it. From Ghostbusters to Obama to Seinfeld, it’s always entertaining to hear what Murray has to say. I mean seriously, can you believe he’s never seen Seinfeld?
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“Art is subversive. It pushes boundaries. The moment we label a subject off...”
– Dani Shapiro has an interesting op-ed piece over on The New York Times about art, boundaries, and how far is too far when involving subjects in your art. She argues against the release of Larry River’s controversial film Growing and thought I fully agree with her, it raises some interesting...
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The Return of Today Jarrett Made
It was supposed to be a break.
After the break-up of his band, his girlfriend leaving him, and battling mononucleosis, Justin Vernon moved into a remote cabin in Wisconsin by himself to get away from it all. His days were spent chopping wood and tending to the land. But ever so slowly, that creative urge trickled back to Vernon and days spent chopping wood quickly turned to hours of recording new...
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Inside the iPhone Network Meltdown →
A great article from Wired on the Apple and AT&T relationship:
Almost as soon as the first iPhone was introduced in 2007, the carrier realized it might run short of bandwidth. Within just a few months, the first wave of iPhone customers was already sucking down about 15 times more data than the average smartphone customer and 50 percent more than AT&T had itself projected. In a bid to...
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On Designing Platforms, DIY Culture, and... →
Alice Rawsthorn for The New York Times:
“As a designer, I was told for years that people didn’t want to know about the design process, all they wanted was the end-result, but there’s been a change.” Mr. Béhar said. “People are so sophisticated about what they want and what they need, that they’re no longer happy to be passive recipients of designers’ work. They want to customize the things they...
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“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The...”
– Happy Birthday, Nelson Mandela.
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“Although I have a regular work schedule, I take time to go for long walks on the...”
– —Albert Einstein
This was parsed from an excellent little article on solitude and creativity. I think it’s important to find a balance between being busy, being with others, and out consuming culture and then finding time to isolate yourself, find quiet, and be alone because it’s in...
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Happy Friday! I thought we’d mix up musical...