Look how run-down this old blog is. When was the last time someone dusted around here? Or cut the grass? Is that an old moldy sandwich over there? gross.

Well, it’s been a while. Life sure does get right in the way, doesn’t it?

I say all that to say my apologies and also say that there are some cool things in store for this old thing. I’ve got some cool ideas for some online projects that I think will be really cool. I’m going to start writing again soon–some about design, some more illustration thursdays and how-tos, and a new project that I think will be super cool that will hopefully create something a little more valuable.

So, I’m not sure of a timeline; I’m looking to do some revisions and updating and get this old thing running about by the fall.

In the meantime, everyone how hasn’t turned on a TV in the last 6 months or likes how they feel while laughing should check out the Old Spice Guy Re: videos. Great way to spend an afternoon!

Untill then, CHEERS!

PS: I recently got a Twitter account because the universe always wins.

So, as an avid fan of his books, I just finished Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman, the man’s recent essay collection.  The collection is very good, providing something a little more than previous works with essays that reflect on our need for recognition rather than just simply how our love lives are ruined by John Cusack.  Don’t take this the wrong way-I love the previous essays very much.  But the new seem to show a side of a perhaps seasoned author, develing into subjects such as the Unabomber and This American Life in a way that makes me think his books have grown just like I have reading them the last 4 or 5 years.

Granted, there is an entire essay, lengthy as it is, devoted to football.  Klosterman’s awareness of his fan base is included in this essay, which is both funny and thoughtful.  He discusses the rise and fall of Garth Brooks in a way that makes me almost cherish the times as a child when I was forced to listen to “Friends in Low Places.”   Simply by interviewing a master of interviews, Ira Glass, Klosterman makes me feel smarter and more intellectual, which I am reluctant to admit, and perhaps proves some of his points about culture discussed in the same essay.

Though it doesn’t really have the same humorous tone as Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, Eating the Dinosaur reminded me a lot of Killing Yourself to Live.  It contained a certain vibe of self-discovery that usually only comes from the ability to be self-aware amongst this pop culture we feed upon.  When I read Sex, Drugs…, I laughed and related to the analysis of trival things that I loved.  In Killing Yourself…, I saw things about myself mirrored in his road trip, even if it was only 85% truth.  And about this book, I felt the same.

PS:  Here’s a really cool (but old) interview with Chuck Klosterman over at The Sound of Young America.  It also features an interview with Dave Foley, one of the original Kids in the Hall and one of my favorite actors, for reasons not quite understandable to even myself.  It’s great–give it a listen.

Look what turned up in my Inbox today:  this super awesome typographical tee from Threadless.  With a great heavy font and a sweet message, this shirt is great and $18.

Wow.  Just wow. Monsieur COK is a short French film illustrating the struggle between capitalism and communism, labor and money, automation and human labor.  Visually stunning and groteschly real, this is a fantastic yet somewhat scary look at the industry that drives our lives, wars, and world.  Watch it online.

Fantastic!

(Found via NotCot.org)

This is amazing:  Odosketch is a super great online sketching app that allows, well, you to sketch using a variety of brushes and colors.  The brushes act sort of like pastel crayons and allow for some really awesome things.  They also have a gallery of creations from other people, some of which are really, really awesome.  And the best part is that you can watch them draw the sketch out on the screen.

Definitely check it out! Cheers!

What a super cool tool:  Baseline is a web development kit that emphasizes, well, using the baseline to create clear and well-designed layouts.  It’s free and gives you a ton of CSS and templates all ready to go, including forms and design on a strict grid.  This super awesome idea was put together by ProjectUrbain, i.e. Stéphane Curzi, who is french? or at least keeps their site in French.  ANYWAYS, check this one out for sure.

Found via swissmiss, of course.

Hey, let’s go to the movies…

This looks awesome! Like the Helvetica of advertising. I took an advertising class in college and have a friend who works in the field. It just seems too hyper-maniacal when it comes to the creative demand of the field, but I think it really would be thrilling, maybe for a little while.

So let’s all go see Art & Copy. Tops? OK!

Take a look at who recently redesigned their site and the changes look amazing: BrandNew the blog that discusses idenity and well, branding, has put together quite the fancy redesign, moving everything to the center rather than the left, and incorporating some pretty awesome textures.

If you’ve never been to BrandNew, you haven’t lived.  They bring you up-to-date info on what’s going on in the world of logos and is apart of the Under Consideration family, which is also awesome.

Tim & Eric, Great Job! on this one guys.  Keep up the awesome work!

We all knew that one day, two of the greatest things in film making–stop motion animation and Wes Anderson–would come together, and the result would be so awesome that the universe of awesome would explode into a million awesome pieces, like stars of greatness, like that scene in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy when they blow up earth, but better because now, Earth survives. 

And likewise, we will not panic, but also, freak out because Fantastic Mr. Fox is the dream’s things are made of and looks amazing:

I heard about this a while ago, peed my pants, and then totally forgot, because at the time, 2009 seems so far away. I was too busy being excited about Sweeny Todd and finally finding a copy of The Life Aquatic Criterion Edition on DVD at Half Price Books.

But now, this trailer, with a fox dressed like Richie Tenebaum and a soundtrack that I’m sure features David Bowie, I couldn’t be more excited.

Double Cheers!

This is amazing. There are just some things in life that make me so jealous and excited, all at the same time. Video by Mike Kus.

Found over at Photolab