Another part of my childhood just slipped away. The man forever known to every suburban 10-year-old wannabe martial artist—like me—as “Black Belt Jones” succumbed to cancer over the weekend. He had everything: the ‘fro, the sideburns, the swagger. And I tried to mimic them all.
in·tern verb – to restrict to or confine within prescribed limits; imprison, detain, hold in custody
in·tern noun - a person who works as an apprentice or trainee in an occupation or profession to gain practical experience, apprentice, student, learner
I’m still deciding whether I’m an intern, or am interned.
All kidding aside, I’m extremely thankful for this opportunity. With all I have done to get this internship, I am definitely not regretting any step taken. I will be composing weekly updates here every Monday to share what I’ve been up to.
Last week I met some pretty inspirational people: Three great guys from Mojo, a new full service cinema, still photography, and audio post production company; Craig Sweat from J. Craig Sweat Photography; and previous co-owner John Mraz. I started on a business card, tagged along for a client meeting, was spoiled with treats and interesting music choices (Shirlee), and experiencing what the design world is all about.
Next up: A dramatic yet tasteful black-and-white face shot to match the team here.
Until next week!
Carl Bennett understands the importance of a good logo. “We have yet to find a system that can replace a hot brand on a cow,” the director of the Louisiana Livestock Brand Commission told USA Today. “There’s nothing in modern society that’s more sure.”
I think Bennett may be on to something:
image courtesy of 1reservoir.com
Somewhere along Highway 261.
My son and I went on a pilgrimage to Walla Walla yesterday to pay our respects to Jim McGuinn at Hot Poop. Among other finds (Brian Eno’s latest and the new Steven Wilson remastering of King Crimson’s Larks’ Tongues in Aspic), we came away with some live Jerry Garcia from 1990, Bob Weir’s Ace (1972), and—from Jim’s personal archives—a recording of the May 13, 1977 Dead concert at Auditorium Theatre in Chicago. All told, a day to be Grateful for.
Just 25 miles from downtown Spokane: Kepple Lake, Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge. Shot yesterday with an iPhone 4S—not because I’m a hipster or anything, but because I left the real camera at home.
This coming Sunday would have been George Russell’s 90th birthday. Russell, who died in 2009, is rather breathlessly described at allboutjazz.com as “…a hugely influential, innovative figure in the evolution of modern jazz, the music’s only major theorist, one of its most profound composers, and a trail blazer whose ideas have transformed and inspired some of the greatest musicians of our time.”
To be sure, Russell’s 1953 book The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization, by opening the door to modal jazz, is at least partially responsible for Kind of Blue—one of the greatest albums of all time in any genre. Yet his compositions are invariably linked with the third stream movement, a fusion of jazz and classical music that somehow managed to alienate purists on both sides.
For what it’s worth, though, I like Russell’s approach. As a composer, the guy never stopped “testing himself and the universe of sound,” according to critic Nat Hentoff. So if jazz needs a theorist, I’m glad it’s George Russell.
Anyway, here’s “Souls” from Russell’s 1971 album Trip to Prillarguri—essentially a groovier (and much shorter) take on his 1968 composition “Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved by Nature.”
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…
Pretty smart ad campaign from The History Channel.
165 million tons of earth slid half a mile downhill—and no one was injured.
Of course the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation claims this is nothing more than a hairless squirrel. But I know a chupacabra when I see one.
A friend sent me this video this morning, saying that it “banished all despair for the day.” Clearly, she’s the queen of understatement.
Behold: The Coolest Flags in Human History (at least according to someone at io9.com). Shown is the state flag of Northern Territory, Australia, adopted in 1978.
I received an e-newsletter today in which the plural of pizza is spelled pizza’s. For reals.
Yeah, yeah—these things happen. But they really shouldn’t. One of the simplest rules in all of English is that, for the most part, anyway*, all it takes to form a plural is the addition of an s. One cat, two cats; one book, two books; one viola, two violas.
It’s that last example that throws people, though. For some reason, if the word ends in a vowel—like, say, pizza—out of nowhere comes the apostrophe.
Don’t. Just…don’t. All you need is s.
*The animal kingdom provides some of the more notable exceptions: mice, geese, sheep, hippopotami, et al.
I’ve got to hand it to Melanie Hoff: she knows how to pursue an internship. I’m just not sure if she should be our design intern or whether she should just go ahead and take over our new business development efforts. Either way, welcome aboard, Melanie!
And let this be a lesson to all you young, aspiring designers. Some of us are still a little old-fashioned. We like seeing students show up for an interview in appropriate dress; we appreciate the occasional hand-made thank-you card; we welcome a brief follow-up phone call; and yes, we enjoy creative—albeit somewhat excessive—self-promotion.
In other words, a little perseverance can go a long way.
It may be “the new Latin,” but American English still has its discontents. Not to mention at least four different ways of pronouncing “crayon.” Still, it’s good to see we’re winning. Maybe now we can finally settle this.
Nikolai Cherny is not only an expert researcher (his handiwork is behind the success of our SPOMa exhibit); he’s also a swell guy. Mr. Cherny, on a recent trip to New York, was obliged to pay his respects at Martinez Cigars—thanks in part to this blog post from last September. When he returned with a gift for yours truly, well…it nearly brought a tear to my eye. After all, “a woman is only a woman, but a good Cigar is a Smoke.” Thanks Nikolai!
Every few months, Stefan Kordluk would go to the same location and film for just a few seconds. The result is a beautiful time-lapse video made all the more remarkable when you consider his method:
“I took some still images of the exact same framing and then I printed them out so I would have references everytime I went back. I also took a pictures of where my tripod legs stood and also printed them out so I would have references for that as well. Then I fine tuned the positioning and scaling in after effects.”
Best when viewed in full-screen mode.
I’ve long suspected that pretty much every person I know has a mental disorder. Now I have proof.
Seriously, though, “excessive caffeine intake” is “two to three cups of brewed coffee”? Most days, I’ve downed five before 9 a.m.—and followed that up with a cup of tea in the afternoon. And yes, if I try to go without, I get hammered with debilitating headaches. That’s sort of what happens when you’ve been taking the same drug every day for more than 20 years. Which is why I don’t stop.
But…mental illness? Really?!?