Why Is Art So Damned Expensive?: “If I can’t sell something, I just double the price.”
On the Impracticality of a Cheeseburger: “A cheeseburger cannot exist outside of a highly developed, post-agrarian society.”
The 12 All-Time Ugliest Christmas Sweaters: “Awww. What could be cuter than fluffy white kittens playing with a ball of ribbon and an open Christmas box? How about anything.”
I was going to set up a model train to go around the Christmas tree this year, but after watching this video, I thought, What’s the point?
Just finished Philip Roth’s Nemesis—a short novel about a polio outbreak in Newark, New Jersey over the summer of 1944.
For a good two-thirds of the book it reads almost like a potboiler, complete with cornball dialogue and stock characters straight out of a Hollywood black-and-white. There’s a growing sense of dread, though, and when what you think is going to happen actually does happen, the novel takes a surprising turn—and before you know it, you’re in the middle of a philosophical throw-down between determinism and free will.
Highly recommended.
Churches have always been associated with amazing architecture. But leave it to some clever designers to push the boundaries between space and place. The public art project Reading between the Lines redefines the idea of transparency.
From page 2 of a 37-page Request for Qualifications (RFQ) we received earlier this year:
Unnecessarily elaborate responses, beyond that sufficient to present a complete and effective response, are not desired and may be construed as an indication of a firm’s lack of cost consciousness. Unless specifically requested in the RFQ, elaborate art work, corporate brochures, lengthy narratives, expensive paper, specialized binding, and other extraneous presentation materials are neither necessary nor desired.
In other words, do not attempt to distinguish your firm’s capabilities. Keep it innocuous and uninspiring. Order, structure, and conformity are required. What a great way to hire a creative firm.
Thanks, but no thanks.
It would appear that the phrase “turkey baster” can now be employed as a euphemism.
Randall Munroe’s xkcd—”a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language”—has as its entry today a ginormous chart about money. Though it admittedly doesn’t sound all that exciting, trust me: do not, under any circumstances, take a look at it if you need to be productive today. Here’s a permanent link for later.
It’s been a while since we’ve talked about music. No, wait—don’t go away. Today we’ll just listen. Promise.
From Brian Eno’s recent collaboration with poet Rick Holland, Drums Between the Bells, this is “Sounds Alien”:
[audio:https://helveticka.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/11-sounds-alien.mp3|titles=11 sounds alien]
A collection of 12 commissioned posters by leading UK artists celebrating the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games were unveiled earlier this month. Dezeen has the details, including pretentious artist statements (but I repeat myself) with phrases like “transcribing physical scenarios into verbal descriptions” and “narrative environments through sculptural assemblage and collage.”
“The Walking Dead” is the best show on television right now. On this there can be no debate.
Where there is room for discussion, however, is concerning the overpowering stench of rotting zombie-flesh. Is it harmful? Should we be worried?
Thankfully, it appears we have an answer.
In my office I have a very special memento. It’s a framed original 1943 World War II propaganda poster signed by the artist himself: Bernard Perlin. I had the pleasure of meeting Bernard in 1995, just after we had designed a major exhibit—Behind the Red, White & Blue: Posters, Propaganda and Pride—at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture (known then as Cheney Cowles Museum).
This particular poster is among the most famous ones created during WWII. It was reproduced to billboard size and hung from the ceiling of Union Station in Washington, DC. As travelers marched to their trains, they could gaze up and see Perlin’s soldiers marching to battle.
Today, we remember all of the those—past and present—who fought for our liberty.
Courtesy of McSweeney’s, “Seven Bar Jokes Involving Grammar and Punctuation”:
You’re welcome.
With the death—and subsequent beatification—of Steve Jobs, the launch of the iPhone 4S, and titillating rumors of what’s yet to come from Cupertino, it’s sometimes easy to forget about that other guy. Sure, Microsoft’s still very much a player, as CK reminds us below. But what about Bill Gates?
Turns out he’s been busy changing the world. Again.
On a recent trip to Seattle, I visited the University Village Apple store. And I noticed that Microsoft now has a retail store just across from it.
A side-by-side comparison shows that Microsoft’s storefront design and logo usage (sans company name) is intentionally similar. The interiors are familiar as well, with large tables displaying hardware. And Microsoft tries its very best to achieve a “less is more” brand appearance.
Visiting the two stores, one after the other, makes it easy to compare company brands (Jobs vs. Gates; Apple vs. PC; great design vs., well…okay design). It makes perfect sense to have a retail experience for both companies. But one can’t help but be reminded that Microsoft came to the retail party so much later that when it arrived, it seemed to be wearing the same outfit.