Interesting article on graphic design crowdsourcing over at Daily Download—though it doesn’t speak well for the critical thinking skills of small business owners.

Out of 1,500 surveyed, 80 percent said that design was “moderately” or “very important” to their success, while 67 percent said that graphic design will become increasingly important over the next five years.

So far, so good. Until you ask them to, you know, pay for design: 57 percent of respondents would spend “up to $500” on a new logo.

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: the design life  |  make a comment

The social network with the highest percentage of older users? Linkedin, naturally. What’s a little surprising is who’s in second: Facebook. Back in March, nearly a quarter of Facebook’s audience was between the ages of 50 and 64. And growth in new U.S. users is actually slowing.

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Science proves what we’ve known all along—that old people really do smell. Related: mathematicians have solved the Guinness sinking bubbles conundrum.

It’s raining sheep! Hallelujah! / It’s raining sheep! Ameeeeennnnn!

Good news: aliens probably don’t want to eat us after all.

And…

There’s gotta be a joke in here somewhere: a man goes to the hospital for a kidney stone and finds out he’s a woman.

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: random thoughts  |  make a comment

The missus and I spent Memorial Day exploring Northrup Canyon, home to all manner of birds, wildflowers, and—oh yeah!—rattlesnakes. If I had known that we were to encounter no fewer than three of ’em, the largest of which let it be known that he’d have no problem whatsoever eating my face*, I might have suggested we stay home and barbecue.

Anyway, on the way back to Spokane we noticed this little piece of abandoned Americana:

It sits on a dusty pie-shaped piece of land where state Route 155 and U.S. Highway 2 meet outside of Coulee City, about a mile or so from Banks Lake.

*He was totally fine with Mrs. B nearly stepping on his back. Lean in to take his picture, though, and he’s all, “Back the @#$% up!”—or, as ophiologists benignly call it, “assuming the defensive posture.”

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: random thoughts  |  make a comment

An alert reader sent us this story about the Lyndon B. Johnson School of…well, perhaps you’d better read it yourself.

Some sage words toward the end, though:

“…it’s interesting how much fuss the omission of one letter can lead to. No one was killed, no one lost their job and any concerned parties can rest assured that they will have a corrected commencement program to reflect upon in the future. But it’s not going to stop the critics of the world from expressing their outrage at the fallibility of others.”

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: the writing life  |  make a comment

Forget the tendentious claim that the Beatles belong in the Western music canon alongside Beethoven and Brahms, Paul Krugman seems blissfully unaware that classical music is being made right now.

In fact, just a cursory glance at the music on my iPhone—and I’m hardly an authority in this area—reveals at least a couple dozen living, working composers: Arvo Pärt, Benjamin Pesetsky, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Elliot Carter*, both John Adams and John Luther Adams, Karel Husa, Krzysztof Penderecki, Magnus Lindberg, Osvaldo Golijov, Meredith Monk, Gerald Levinson, Elizabeth Maconchy, Tarik O’Regan, Per Nørgård, Valentin Silvestrov, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Tigran Mansurian, Gavin Bryars, Frederic Rzewski, et al.

And it’s not just freakishly dissonant stuff, either. Case in point: Meredith Monk’s “maybe 1,” a charming little bagatelle for eight pianos from her 2007 album impermanence.

Mr. Krugman will probably argue that it’s no “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” but still.

*Alive as of the time of this writing. He’s 103, though, so…

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The inestimable Derek Helt was kind enough to share with me the Lutheran Insulter, which wasted no time whatsoever in pointing out that I “…can say nothing but that it boomerangs on your own head and hits you so that you not only are blackened but are made to stagger as a drunkard.”

That’s from Martin Luther’s Against the Heavenly Prophets (1525), in case you were wondering.

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It’s true—both CK and I spent some time in northern Colorado this week: primarily Greeley, but also Denver and Fort Collins. And while we could show you pictures of the best of what the Centennial State has to offer (mountains, beer, and hippies, in that order), we prefer to share what appears to be Steve Wozniak riding a green iguana. Happy Friday.

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: random thoughts  |  make a comment