little thoughts

+Sep.10

2008-09-11T04:35:54Z

Today has been a watershed of understanding in why I have such a damn hard time writing online these days. From my ever-inspiring friend Diana Kimball knocking out the fully crystalized prose versions of the amorphous ideas sloshing around in my noggin’, to my other good friend nickd running an ax straight down the issue in his inaugural hand-spun post just like in the good ol’ days. I’m too caught up in software! I spend all this time in templating languages that prevent me from ever getting around to creating! Horse shit!

In the immediately memorable words of my other dear friend Swifty, “fuck the long tail, I want the mouth to bite me.”

+Aug.31

2008-08-31T18:25:12Z

I caught word of this printed essay by Bringhurst over at I Love Typography the other day and pretty much instantly bought the crap out of it. It’s a short essay, only 69 pages, but it’s a cohesive look at the nature of language, writing and the ways in which they convey and suggest meaning. The printing is out of this world, the cover itself is a soft texture with letterforms pressed in that invite you to trace them with your finger and feel the palpable characteristics of their parent languages. The coyly curved Q, the classical firmness of the Б, the geometry of the ᐄ, the eloquent statesmanship of the Υ.

+Aug.24

2008-08-24T15:22:01Z

Your daily Wikipedia-found “huh!” moment:

Tholins are large, complicated polymers of hydrocarbons and their other organic molecule buddies. While not found on Earth, they are found in the outer solar system and even in the atmospheric composition of a planet 220 lightyears away. Not per se evidence of life but a major bundle of muddy goop that extremophile life could find useful. Formed from irradiated gases, this stuff dynamically forms and turns into clumps of grossness that very well could be the first foodstuffs for cellular organisms.

Class dismissed!

+Aug.22

2008-08-22T14:48:44Z

For all the hoopla surrounding McCain’s 4, 7, 8, umpteen houses, you have to take a step back and think about the big picture behind this hair splitting. Certainly ol’ John’s handling of the question was dumb as rocks, but the useless question being bandied around is “which multi-millionaire politician has the more posh life?” And you know… this just doesn’t even matter. What does matter are their plans for breathing life back into our mortally wounded economy and you’re not going to find that out in how many houses they own (though this will help).

+Aug.21

2008-08-21T13:58:18Z

Every once in a while a surrealist bomb is published by an other straight-laced group. Today the Guardian delivers with Medium Lobster’s look at US vice president candidates. Now, say what you will about lobsters capable of transcending space and time, but I feel that even though this is Medium Lobster’s first and only article, his critical examination of the likes of Biden, Pawlenty, Galactus, Eater of Worlds, Dick Cheney and more is very astute and hard hitting.

For a less arthropodian take, NPR’s analysis is wise. Me? Just give me Richardson for hirsute awesomeness and Giuliani for schadenfreude-based glee.

+Aug.19

2008-08-20T04:52:15Z

Condoleezza Rice: “The behavior of Russia in this most recent crisis is isolating Russia, when you start invading small neighbors, bombing civilian infrastructure, going into villages and wreaking havoc and wanton destruction of this infrastructure. That’s what isolates Russia.”

Makes you wonder if they really truly don’t get the irony of statements like this.

+Aug. 8

2008-08-09T03:14:03Z

Could the 2008 Olympic opening ceremony have been anything more of a beautiful spectacle? What struck me is how much it looked like images of huge celebrations in futuristic sci-fi movies. Like a scene out of some surely-due graphics-heavy Star Wars sequel Lucas has cooking up. But seriously, the technical mastery, imagination, synchronization, everything that teamed up to pull off this opening coup de maître is utterly staggering.

Too bad that insufferable turd Costas wouldn’t shut his face.

+Aug. 7

2008-08-08T02:50:21Z

Look, guys, when they’re all “hey, let’s make a movie about Cthulhu” I need to be told! This is what needs to happen! (Oh, and do check out the video trailer opening animation, very nice stuff going on at apple.com these days). And on the same day as the Cthulhu fonts made the rounds up here on Planet Blogothon? Good fhtagn to you!

+Aug. 5

2008-08-05T16:52:57Z

By far the best thing I’ve seen all week is this Flickr account of Arabic calligraphy written with light. Brilliant, beautiful and the technical mastery required is staggering. Very interesting article on Arabic calligraphy here.

Honorable mention in best of the week: NYTimes info-graphic on Olympic medals over the years.

+Aug. 4

2008-08-05T01:09:46Z

It’s caught my eye in recent weeks that newspapers (¶ 1) and 24 hour news networks can’t help but note today’s “neck-and-neck race for the White House”. Tired sports clichés aside, it just ain’t true. Sure the popular vote may be close, but there’s a small issue with that: the popular vote doesn’t count. What matters are electoral college votes and they tell a slightly different, yet more important, story. Neck-and-not-hardly.

Polls are just polls, but it’s important to have background and trustworthy sources.

+Jul.29

2008-07-30T04:00:35Z

Tonight at my parents’, seeing my brother and family before they head home, the slides from the ’70s came out. The lives of those closest to me, in a time I can at best imagine. The seemingly episodic quality of life is an absolute trip. To see my father at an age younger than me holding my toddler brother. Them with the grandfather who died before I was born, himself then the age of this very same brother today. To them it’s all real, livable memory full of texture and aroma and the way that photographed laugh sounded. Myself, I have only the stories and notions of the details, but of course I have my own life with all of its diffused details which may one day engross my very own progeny.

+Jul.28

2008-07-28T21:27:48Z

Speaking of movies, three maniacally important notes:

Gary “Helvetica The Movie” Hustwit has got another obvious winner in the pipeline and it’s Objectified, a documentary on modern industrial design. Jonathan Ive, Dieter Rams, site by Jason Santa Maria? Sold!
The trailer for “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” has leaked in two parts and my fuck does it look fantastic. Then again, X-Men III didn’t look half bad either.
Oliver Stone’s “W.”! Honestly! Infinite schadenfreude right here.

+Jul.27

2008-07-28T03:41:02Z

Several things for your multimedia pleasure:

The trailer for Oliver Stone’s “W.” is out and what a fun end-of-October we’re going to have.
The Javelins’ new album, Heavy Meadows, is out now and if sharp indie rock (now with jangle!) is your thing, have a listen.
I will never get over the surprise of being able to see a nondescript picture and being able to instantly place it.

+Jul.24

2008-07-25T03:42:53Z

In 7^th grade I carefully considered every new pen or pencil I bought on whether it would be included--and at what position--in the highly coveted right pocket collection. That was quite a while ago and priorities have shifted perhaps just a little tiny bit but it's all still variations on the theme for me. The stuff we cram in our pockets, the daily trinkets of necessity, is a topic that's always interested me knowingly or not. I've splayed, having finally remember after prompting.

+Jul.22

2008-07-23T03:51:44Z

Another year, another Pitchfork and despite crap weather it turned out to be the best yet. The secret to these outdoor festival things is shoot for comfort. Leave a day early and a day late, eat heartily beforehand, bring water, bring advil, wear sunscreen, know your own schedule and leave time for the all important sitting. So great to be so blissfully tired in Chicago at night.

More: Pretty much the best photographic collection of this weekend imaginable.