I’ve found my newest time-wasting obsession: Factoclock. “You learn something new every minute.”

Here’s a few of the things I learned at the moments that I learned them:

16:07 – James Joyce’s Ulysses chronicles the passage of Leopold Bloom through Dublin during an ordinary day, 16 June 1904. The 16th of June is now known as Bloomsday.

16:08 – J.K. Rowling makes about $8 every second.

16:12 – Twelve cows are called a flink.

16:15 – The word ‘uncopyrightable’ is the is the only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating any letter.

16:23 – Sir Isaac Newton was 23 when he discovered the law of gravity.

And the minutes that I didn’t make note of? A solid 50% of those facts were about English poets. In the half an hour that I checked it, no science or tech facts. Mostly history and pulp trivia. So, is this a useful waste of time? Not sure.

16:25 – The earliest recorded use of the word Australia in English was in 1625.

I’ve made a discovery! I was really confused why the clock was giving me so many historical facts from the 1600s, and then I realized that the time relates to the fact. Looking back on my list, I’m a little embarrassed that I didn’t notice this earlier. If you, the reader, put it together before I did and can prove it, I’ll buy you a catfish sandwich.

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

I’m just going to say it: There isn’t a guitar player alive who can touch Guthrie Govan. (And to be honest, I’m starting to wonder whether any of the dead ones can, either.)

Others have noticed, too.

Premier Guitar: “It’s hard not to bedazzled…as guitar god Guthrie Govan unleashes multi-octave, tapped arpeggios at warp speed atop head-spinning, ultra-precise, odd-meter grooves.”

Guitar World: “No mere notes-per-nanosecond noodler, Govan has musical tastes and a command of music history far more eclectic and adventurous than those of the average shred demon.”

All Out Guitar: “Combining an unparalleled technical ability with a mastery of almost all styles…he may just be the most complete guitarist out there.”

Now that I’ve properly prepared you, here’s Govan on “The Kentucky Meat Shower,” from The Aristocrats’ latest album, Tres Caballeros (featuring Bryan Beller on bass and Marco Minnemann on drums):

The Kentucky Meat Shower

Now that I have your attention, spend a little time here for even more awesomeness.

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

Today I attended a talk by Justin Ahrens, principal and creative director at Rule 29 out of Illinois. The topic of Justin’s talk was “Design for Good,” which makes sense based on the fact that his firm’s slogan is “We Believe in Making Creative Matter.” He showed us pictures of his work in Africa and with vets and with the under-privileged, and it was impressive. I mean, this guy has done some really great design work for some really great causes, but I found myself struggling to relate. I mean, does a good logo really matter in the context of such large issues? Justin seemed to think so, but I struggled to make the connection, until the very end. He finished the talk with a story about his elementary-school teacher, Mr. H. As a kid, Justin Ahrens was very awkward and introverted and only wanted to draw. Well, Mr. H. saw that he was struggling and invited him to draw his homework instead of write it. This invitation to express himself authentically allowed Justin to thrive and has been an inspiring force over the course of his life. And here is where I got it: this teacher was just doing his job, but when he was able to look past the rules and the way things had always been done, he was able to do some good work. The same is true of all professions, especially design. When we look past the stationery packages and the hexcodes and see the people and the issues, that’s when we can accomplish something great.

I am reminded of Garrison Keillor’s famed Writer’s Almanac sign off: Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

And I am also reminded of Bill S. Preston, Esq.’s famous words: Be excellent to each other.

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

I’ve noticed a lot of nouning lately. You know, taking a verb and turning it into a noun.

Regular readers know where I stand vis-à-vis the prescriptivist/descriptivist divide, so it should come as no surprise that I find this practice deplorable.

Now, I’m not talking about gerunds; I mean when people say things like “I got an invite to the party,” or “I looked through the photos and made some selects,” or “That’s a pretty big ask,” or “Dude. Epic fail.”

Descriptivists like to talk about language evolving to suit changing needs, but, in each of the above examples, a word already exists: invitation, selections, request, and failure, respectively. Clearly, there isn’t a need.

It must be more efficient to use the noun forms, then, right? Hardly. You’re removing a single syllable. Way to go.

So…what, then? Ignorance, I’m thinking. Or maybe it’s just an attempt to sound hip. Problem is, you end up sounding like you’re trying to sound hip.

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

“A certain bishop in the House of Lords rose to speak, and announced that he should divide what he had to say into twelve parts, when the Duke of Wharton interrupted him, and begged he might be indulged for a few minutes as he had a story to tell which he could only introduce at that moment. A drunken fellow was passing St Paul’s at night, and heard the clock slowly chiming twelve. He counted the strokes and when it had finished, looked towards the clock and said, ‘Damn you! Why couldn’t you give us all that at once?’ There was an end to the bishop’s speech.”

Charles Greville, Memoirs, 1820

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

Last Friday, 8,200 people filed into the old Cracker Company building for Terrain 8, the 8th annual one-day art extravaganza. Terrain started small 8 years ago and has grown into the largest showcase of emerging art in the Northwest. Yeah, larger than anything in Seattle or Portland, and people are pretty psyched. My Instagram feed is packed with #terrain8, #spokanedoesntsuck, and #weallbuildthis. Terrain might be an art event, but it’s more than that. It’s proof that Spokane is ready to step up and make this city something great.

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

I had such high hopes for 4 Design Lessons From The Pixar Team. I was all like, “Wow. I love Pixar! And I’m a designer. I could probably learn something useful from this article. Plus, only 4 bullet points? I can totally read that before anyone walks past my desk and wonders why I’m slacking off!”

So I clicked on it. I’ll let you lucky people in on the four bullet points right now so you don’t even have to click the link. Here, check it out, 4 design lessons from the Pixar team:

1. Do your research
2. Collaborate across teams
3. Keep it simple
4. Pay attention to the details

… … … If you’re feeling non-plussed, I’m with ya. I mean, I feel like every company touts that they have those four bullets on lock, but pretty much no one is as cool as Pixar. I was expecting a recipe for the Pixar secret sauce and instead all I got was a list of jargon. I guess that’s what I get for thinking a 639-word article would unlock the secrets of the universe.

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

Today, I bring to you one of the coolest things I saw all weekend (besides my two adorable cats snuggling together in one teeny, tiny basket… duh). MAGICAL CONCRETE! Yeah I said it. Magical. This concoction of super-porous concrete pavement is designed to absorb just over 1,000 gallons of water in 60 seconds and drain it into the soil below. Though it is not ready for colder climates, this wondrous invention could do some very impressive things in the way of water conservation.

posted by: Courtney Sowards  |  category: random thoughts  |  make a comment