what devo color are you?

Want to take a quick cyber walk on the weird side? Check out Club Devo. I'm a fan of anything that incorporates color/word/sound associations, and in such a fun, ridiculous way. After 17 questions I found out I am blue. And I guess I really don't like orange cars... or men with orange cars.

Thanks for Shaun (@f_letter)for the Twitter tip!

game night!

I'm so thrilled about my recent partnership with Austin record label Artifact Workshop and musician Neiliyo. I made the poster and graphics for the "album" (see below). Tomorrow is the CD release party at Club DeVille and it should not disappoint. Between AW's atypical (and creative packaging) and flair for creating an interactive experience, and Neiliyo's non-stop explosion of pastel energy will be a night to remember.



The CD's tracks will be available through a time-sensitive link which is printed on one-of-a-kind slap bracelets (which I have blurred in the above photos). SLAP BRACELETS! I never dreamed that anything I made would appear on such a tacky (in a good way) relic of youth, but I am elated. Seriously. The theme for the evening is "Game Night", which ties into the album, and a variety of games will be happening throughout the evening. Hopscotch, telephone, musical chairs, spin the bottle are the featured attractions, but I believe board games will be available as well. For more details check out Artifact Workshop's site or the Facebook Event page. Last but not least, to get you in the mood AE is also offering a free download of one of the songs, Hopscotch. Check it out here.

Hope to see a big turn out. If you want to say hi I will probably be the jackass trying to remember how to play hopscotch and failing miserably.

tommy forbes

Tommy Forbes has some really amazing portraits on his Flickr stream. There is a warmth and intimacy that comes across, but also healthy dose of humor in many of the images. And the colors in the top photograph... outstanding.

pretty pretty polaroid

Look at this cool new Polaroid camera. That's right... NEW. The PIC-1000 doesn't have a price tag yet, and something tells me I'll need to drool over it from afar... but oh I would love to get my mitts on one. I think I'm addicted to aesthetics, or form over function. Or how about pretty things.

[ Link via Gizmondo ]

need to want less: communication

... but way less fun.

new in the shop!

This recent photo is now a 16x24 print and is available for purchase in my shop. To see an alternate view of this image click here.

now going down smoother

From what I've read around the 'ole internets some folks aren't a fan of the direction that New Belgium has taken with their series of redesigned labels. When I saw Ranger in the store the other day, I however honed in on it. Yes, they have sort of abandoned the more traditional packaging of yore but I think this minimalist approach is just as effective. Bonus, the beer is pretty yummy too. Or maybe that should be the other way around...

By the by, their reasoning for the change in their words:

Introducing our Beer Ranger inspired, greatly desired Ranger IPA. While IPA is not a Belgian style, and our brewmaster prides himself on not brewing to style but to the imagination and salivation, we agreed that a deliciously hoppy offering was in order. To introduce this departure in style, we decided to take the opportunity to depart from our current packaging themes as well. It also provided the perfect opportunity for us to re-introduce some of our treasured Belgian beauties.

For the full series check out New Belgium's site.

shady url

Here's something to help you pass 5 seconds. If you have a url and don't feel like the link packs enough punch you can now make it a little more threatening with Shadyurl.com. Anyone want to visit http://5z8.info/blackmarket_k7c9v_worm.exe? Scared? That's what I thought.

happy socks = happy feet

I rarely go without socks... I have a naked feet issue, maybe because they are almost always cold. In fact I envy those carefree souls (soles?... ugh, I know), especially in the summertime, and I'm the weird one swimming with socks. Ok, I'm not that bad. But I do love my socks and gravitate towards styles that children would most likely love too. My tastes are that nauseatingly cute and now that my dog Boo has eaten most of my "good" socks I may need to get a few pairs of these from Happy Socks.

[ Link via The Post Family ]

zoe strauss

As a Recovering Lazyholic that likes to take pictures I am naturally drawn to this image by Zoe Strauss. Paradise.

[ image via Thisphotothat ]

dangerous styling

I think that gun in your pocket would be happy to comb me. Just be careful with that thing.
Gun comb via 25togo

wishful ringing

I'm not sure why, but I really like this sapphire ring by Colleen Baran. It's not my birthstone however I can get behind the mythology that "sapphire's are said to bring out the best within you and help make your dreams come true". Couldn't hurt. And if I were to ever get married I think this would make a nice ring. Not very conventional I suppose, and maybe a bit boring but I like it.

kirill kuletski

Kirill Kuletski does some wonderful things with his compositions and subject choices.

as liz lemon would say...

I want to go to there.

[ House in Iceland via Cup of Joe ]

do you like seeing green?

I have mentioned before my love of the site Words & Eggs, but Lesley keeps busy with another project (one of many)... My Green Screen. Here there is a wonderful collection of design, ephemera, and typography... all primarily in shades of green. This ongoing collection lives up to its envious reputation.

[ image link ]

beer log

The other day I was researching some printing options over on Pinball Publishing's website thinking that I'd like to make my own Scout Book. Here I noticed some already created options in the Scout shop. It seems that I have an accidental theme going today so I figured what better time to post this beer log from BS Brewing (can I mention again that this was the name of my fictitious/never launched brand of homebrew... dang).

Dave Selden and BS Brewing used the Scout Book to create this awesome Beer Journal, complete with a custom interior that begs for you to record your adventures in tasting fine brewed beverages.

Beer aficionados often refer to particular tastes of brews using words like “Toffee,” “Sulphury,” and “Floral.” BS Brewing developed a flavor wheel for you to easily track the tastes of each and every brew you try. Such innovation!

You can buy it here.

cool coasters

Just like a book cover can sometimes be misleading when its art makes more of a statement than the content, so too can a vintage coaster. Cool graphics, iffy beer. Some of these I would even frame. I feel a new collection coming on...

1. Coltera 2. MTippingAtelier 3. straubted 4. Breweriana Collector's Store

need to want less: beer

Cons -- calories, dumbness, liver sadness; Pros -- bottle caps, bottle caps, bottle caps

overcoming creative block

There is a great post on ISO50 discussing with 25 artists how they overcome a creative block. Bottom line, it varies from person to person. What to truly gain from the article is a comfort in knowing it happens to everyone. My strategy generally involves not trying (or making fun of my lameness). Genius right. I however do not have any sort of career that is dependent on my creative juices, as much as I wish I did. That would be a fun challenge.

Link via Swiss Miss.

book club

One night my friends and I somehow got on the topic of reading books and how fun it would be to start a book club. My own rationale was maybe it would inspire me to finally revisit the written word and test my imagination, two things that sorely needed a kick-start.

I chose the first novel, which was Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon. I don't want to get into dissecting it here and now, because guess what... we have yet to have our meeting and I don't want to spoil anything. Someday... I have not given up hope. For some reason though I can not let an opportunity for a project pass me by and I managed to turn our club into a selfish venture, taking it upon myself to not only name our group but also make everyone bookmarks. Neither idea has really been acknowledged, which is ok; I often am more enthusiastic about my creative adventures than I should be.

I deemed us "Pulp Friction (Cool books for heated discussions)". And no, the book The Complete Book of Absolutely Perfect Housekeeping" (shown above) doesn't really qualify as a "cool book", I just like the cover.

Whatever ends up happening with our group I'm just proud that I remembered how to read and finished a whole book. I can't knock motivators for making things either. Now let's see if I have it in me to tackle another piece of pulp. Any recommendations?

in the shop

Someday I will get prints made of other images, but for now I give you yet another copy of the "Call Your Folks" photo, this time with the addition of a border. It can be purchased here.

reverse engineer

Remember a few weeks ago when I said that "Tumblr as a whole makes me tired, especially as an extra project"? Ha, ha, ha, ha. I can't stop myself it seems.

Around Christmas time I went to see Mortified, live readings by everyday folks, divulging excerpts from their childhood journals/diaries (the definition differs depending on your sex/age I have to believe). It was, well, Mortifying to say the least. As an observer I cringed, so I can't even imagine the giant golden orbs (insert appropriate anatomy) it took to get up in front of a bunch of strangers. As each took to the stage I couldn't help but recall my own writings from long ago. I probably have amassed about 20 or so diaries, from 1984-2004. The early to mid 90's were an especially fruitful time (I was 15-18... surprise).

I gave up writing in journals years ago; I can't remember specifically why. I want to say mainly because I felt like they only exacerbated problematic thoughts rather than worked them out. I got tired of myself and once I quit, life seemed better. If I was really honest with myself I would have to admit that I traded that sort of therapy for alternative medicine (hello, this blog for example). ANYWAY, I hadn't looked over all of my journals in forever; they are crammed negligently in various boxes and drawers. After attending Mortified I felt inspired to do a little light reading. If I recalled correctly there was some real tragic crap to pour over.

This is part 1 of where I'm heading here... Now part 2. Also around the holidays a healthy dose of boredom and nostalgia struck (admittedly not a hard match to strike) while I was at my parent's house. Cue the photo albums. I am no memory lane virgin, but somehow I saw each picture in a new light, as if amused and heart-warmed for the first time, also fascinated by my family tree and how we all came to be. I wondered what my ancestors were like, their pocket of life together... what my parents went through growing up, and what they were like as a couple before I came along... and all the little things that occurred to make me the person I am today. Was it all the macaroni and cheese I ate? The A-Team? Kind, funny, and supportive parents? Bizarre extended family that randomly spoke of sheep?

In general I have been suffering from a massive case of "I love my family" lately so the next logical step, if you are me of course, was to somehow turn my look back into a project, combining my love for vintage photos and family with self-depreciation. I have to say that this is obviously more for myself, self-serving and maybe even a bit ego-centric. I would be lying if I denied parallels to existing sites like My Parents Were Awesome and the previously mentioned Mortified (and a million others), however I'm sure it is far less interesting unless you happen to be a member of my family. With that warning I give you Reverse Engineer, a simple site which includes photos of my family along with random quotes from my old journals. And this will be easy to update since I don't have to rely on finding new things! I hope if anything you find it to be mildly entertaining. And parents... hey, surprise, pictures of you guys will be floating around the internet now! Don't be mad... love you!

selleck waterfall sandwich

Some days I really love the internet. The world was missing Tom Selleck/waterfall/sandwich collages. I'm now a little more complete. Or at least a little more amused. It's hard to choose a favorite. Check out more on Selleckwaterfallsandwich and the original link over on Neatorama.

my father's archive

When I found a post about My Father's Archive on Rachel Hulin's blog I was initially attacted to the utter ridiculousness of the knight photos, which you can see below. They have a WTF timelessness. Upon further reading I realized that this project by Ryan Nicholson is not just a humorous blast from the past but succeeds on other levels, serving not only as an archive of images of yore (advertising, artistic, and Americana) but also a loving tribute to his photographer father (a passion they share).

In his own words:

I grew up in a photographer's house. My bedroom was located directly over a darkroom. My father Larry Nicholson has worked as a commercial photographer in Kansas City, Missouri since the 1950's.

His career as a photographer has spanned over five decades and has included everything from still photography to video production. As a full time photographer myself I created this blog to showcase and honor the work of my father which has impacted the way that I see the world.

That series of images was assigned to my dad by a local advertising agency called Valentine Radford (which I believe is now VML) for their client Old Security Insurance.

Circus Elephants are another favorite, as well as Arches National Park and Pepsi. I'm so blown away by Larry Nicholson's body of work, and equally so by his son's devotion.