This may be the dumbest thing in the history of dumb things. It’s an app that promises to help you “find gender favouring, polarising, race related, religion inconsiderate, or other unequal phrasing” in your writing. No, seriously.

Just for fun, I plugged in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”—and guess what? Dr. King’s missive contains no fewer than 123 microaggressions. Number 81 is my favorite: “Lord may be insensitive, use Official, Owner, Expert, Superior, Chief, Ruler instead.” How in the world did the good reverend manage to pray without the benefit of this powerful tool?

I just hope to God (sorry!) Chief it’s a hoax.

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

From the diary of A. C. Benson, September 8, 1904:

“A verger took a party round [York Minster], and talked so pleasantly and gently; I did not listen to much he said, but just crept about in the holy gloom, and felt the awe of the huge solemn place, so filled with tradition and splendour, creep into my mind. That feeling is worth ten thousand cicerones telling you what everything is. I don’t want to know; indeed, I want not to know; it is enough that I am deeply moved. A foolish antiquarian was with the party, asking silly questions and contradicting everything. Such a goose, and so proud of being learned! The wealth and air of use pleased me. Yet the spirit which built it is all gone, I think. Religion—by which I mean services and dogmas—what is it? I sometimes think it is like tobacco, chewed by hungry men to stay the famished stomach. And perhaps the real food for which we starve is death.”

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

Jim Knipfel over at Den of Geek! takes a look at “The High Strangeness of the Original Walking Tall Trilogy”—and it’s every bit as bizarre as it sounds. Without giving anything away, here’s how he sums it all up:

“So in short the Walking Tall films become a franchise about not Buford Pusser so much, but the Walking Tall trilogy itself. I’m hard pressed to think of another film franchise quite this self-referential,  in which the creation and building of the franchise becomes part of the story. The closest I can think of is Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, but at least there it made perfect sense.”

Guess I know what I’m watching this weekend.

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

Is this a thing? I mean, that’s cool and all—we certainly won’t judge. Back in the 70s and 80s, though, attracting men with scented hair was a whole lot easier:

Wait a sec. Maybe the sign originally read “Let us put some pizzazz into your hair.” That makes a little more sense, I suppose.

pizzazz n. Informal 1. Dazzling style; flamboyance; flair. 2. Vigorous spirit; energy or excitement. [Origin unkown.]

There was a windstorm on Saturday—the day I took the photo—which may have randomly blown a couple of Zs off the sign. Or perhaps some neighborhood miscreants are having a little fun at Georgie Girls’ expense.

On the other hand, Wikipedia tells us that Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific shampoo had a “strong floral scent,” which further raises the question as to what sort of 1970s man, raised on John Wayne movies and still stinging from his morning splash of Hai Karate, would find the fragrance of flowers “terrific.”

After all, given a choice between that and a woman whose untamed mane smelled of pepperoni and anchovies, well…I think the answer is pretty obvious.

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

In the southwestern corner of Montana, far from even the distant sounds of civilization, lies the little town of Bannack. (Really, it’s in the middle of nowhere. You have to want to go. But since it’s “riddled with paranormal activity,” I’ll understand if you choose to stay home.)

Bannack is a particularly well-preserved ghost town. Most of the buildings are open for exploration, the state park-provided interpretive map is actually helpful, and there are well-maintained trails to the gallows—where Henry Plummer was hanged in 1864—as well as to the older of two cemeteries.

Speaking of which, there’s no better illustration of the explosive growth of western mining towns than a tour of the local boot hill. William Bell’s crude sandstone marker (left) was placed the year Bannack was founded and, given the town’s remote location, was probably the best anyone could have hoped for. But by the time young Horace Herr died in 1879—just a little over 16 years later—ornately carved marble tombstones (right) had become the norm.

Bonus: Big Hole National Battlefield is just an hour’s drive northwest of Bannack. It’s part of Nez Perce National Historical Park, which comprises 38 sites over a four-state area. The story of what happened here in 1877 isn’t for the faint of heart, but the park service has done an admirable job in its effort to “honor all who were there.”

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

With our third City of Greeley, Colorado campaign up and running and the 2016 campaign currently underway, I’m reminded of the creative collaboration many of our projects require. Pictured above is Jeremy Jacob, partner in the Denver/Greeley-based production company Clear Summit Productions. His business partner, Erik Stenbakken, not only assists with the campaign’s television spots, he’s also our lead still photographer by way of Stenbakken Media, his own Greeley-based independent studio. Back in Spokane, the TV spots are produced, edited, and sound designed by Cary Seward and Adam Harum of ILF Media; motion graphics are provided by Mike Bold of Digital Itch. And most important, John Pantaleo leads a great client team with mile-high expectations.

posted by: CK Anderson  |  category: on location the design life  |  comments(1)

Wanna feel dumb? Take a gander at this 1912 high-school entrance exam, courtesy of the Bullitt County History Museum.

Now, it’s been a while since I was in eighth grade—though not nearly as long as it’s been since CK was wooing the ladies of Jenkins Middle School—but let’s be honest: I would’ve failed this test. Back in those days, a guy with an eighth-grade education could just enter the work force. But girls? You weren’t so lucky…

https://youtu.be/mgrQ2udilEg

Thankfully, we live in more enlightened times.

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

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the world’s first act of nuclear warfare.

Depending on one’s politics, the detonation of Little Boy some 2,000 feet over Hiroshima, Japan was either a necessary evil or just plain evil. Let’s not get into that right now. Let’s instead remember the victims.

The August 31, 1946 issue of the New Yorker devoted its entire editorial space to a terrifying account of the blast and its aftermath by John Hersey. It’s well worth a read, and available in its entirety here. And if you’ve never listened to Krzysztof Penderecki’s Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima, composed in 1960, now might be a good time to do so.

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