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.

So a few weeks ago, I was at yet another library sale in town, and found an old VHS copy of “How to Succeed in Business…,“  a 60′s Broadway musical starring a one Robert Morse.  It follows the metoeric rise of a young man from the mailroom to the board room in a matter of days.  The play is humorous and crisp, with fantastic visuals and modern songs.  It also playfully describes and exploits the typical 60s business workplace, with all female secretaries, a president’s mistress, and all old men at the top.

The lead actor, Robert Morse, does an excellent job.  He’s funny and creates a very lovable character that you really wish would win in the end, despite the sort of sneaky nature in which he accomplishes his tasks.  He can sing, the dancing is pretty good, and he also playing the character originally on Broadway.

But where did this guy come from?  What has he been in since its release in 1968?  I’ve watched quite a few musicals and didn’t recognize this dude from anything, so I decided to investigate, and this what I found:

ROBERT MORSE PLAYS BERT COPPER ON MAD MEN

The same dude who plays in a contemporary 60s musical about the corporate rise of a regular dude in 60s NYC ends up playing an ad partner in a contemporary 00s drama about a 60s office in NYC.

Way to blow my mind, Universe.

There goes your afternoon:  My Parents Were Awesome is a great little Tumblr featuring submitted photos of parents when they were young and (most) without kids.   It’s a really strange but awesome display of fashion, time, and love of some of the people we love the most.

Found via Quipsologies

News in the design world is that Font Bureau, one of the largest type design companies in the country, are taking NBC to court for the unlicensed use of several of their popular fonts.  In a suit for ‘no less that $2 million,’ Font Bureau indicates that NBC used Bureau Grotesque, Interstate and Antenna on several computers throughout the company without paying for all the copies.

Shame on you, NBC!  You know just because you can copy it, doesn’t mean it’s legal.  And it’s awfully funny that a company that started its own online video streaming site in reaction to posting clips of SNL and Conan on YouTube would be so lax in their distribution on another company’s intellectual property.  You know better than to do that, especially when you hire tons of people to score the depths of YouTube for anything that had to do with one of your many TV programs, movies, or news broadcasts.

As a result, NBC has had to redesign much of their fall network promotional materials, which may have not really even be a bad idea.  Maybe all the promos for the Jay Leno Show will be misplaced, saving millions of people from having to continue to see his face.  Anywhere.  We can always hope!

Found via CityFile, where you can also read/see the legal paperwork from the case.

So brace yourselves:  The iconic Yale University Press logo designed by Paul Rand is going off the press and spines of the company’s 8,000 published books a year.  The 100+ year old publishing company (which just sort of recently actually became a part of the University officially I think) is changing its logo to establish a brand more consistant to the University.  This is a sad day.

Armin over at Brand New said it best:

Most of us are wired to react negatively to anything that rids the world of yet another Rand logo. Like many, I am an admirer of this logo and I’m sad to see it go. But it’s crystal clear that the world in which Rand created identities is not the same world they exist in now and most are reaching their expiry date… IBM being the exception. So, yes, it’s lamentable to see Rand’s work slowly dissolve in this über branded era where form doesn’t follow function but the bottom line.

I love that last line: “…it’s lamentable to see Rand’s work slowly dissolve in this über branded era where form doesn’t follow function but the bottom line.”

As it goes by the wayside with the UPS logo, we can still appreciate this identity gem on our bookshelves and in our hearts.

(Found via Brand New)

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)

Has it been hot where you are?  Did you get all your school clothes together and on sale?  Did someone new sit at your lunch table?  Well, I’m glad.  I love this time of year!

Well, anyways, this summer (well, more like August) as been, for a lack of better terms, freakin’ nuts.  But let’s read through this while looking at some cool summer pictures.  Tops?  ok!

I visited some awesome college friends in St. Louis, applied for a new job, interviewed, and GOT THE NEW JOB, went to Disney World for my birthday, went to a infographics conference, and started Photoshop class.  And to think it’s almost Labor Day!

And everyone knows what happens when a toon’s in trouble things get freakin’ nuts: posting stuff I love goes from semi-regular to none at all.  This is sad to me, but just how life goes.  And I’m not totally sure of the future of this blog for the next phase of my life.

Not that it’s going down with the ship or that this bird is flying the coop or some other cliche that could possibly explain what is happening.  I just am currently unsure of the frequency and freshness of posting for the next few months.  We’ll have to see, but we’re in this together, so everything will be ok.

See, I got this new job that I’m super stoked about, but we’ll have to see how much ‘free time’ I’ll be able to scrounge up.  I acutally have to supervise people and stuff.  So we’ll see.

Keith Lang over at UI&us I think is on to something: rounded rectangles and why we might love them more than we realize.  Looking at the history of Apple software/hardware and speaking with a professor of visual understanding, the rounded rectangle might be the best because it easier cogniatively on the eye.

Very interesting stuff!

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!

I don’t even want to set this one up it’s so good. You’ll want to watch it again.

Cheers!