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.

simple cinema

It seems that minimalist renditions of popular films, books, and tv shows are cropping up everywhere. I don't know if it's a trend, but as a lover of that aesthetic I'm not complaining. How is there not genius in conveying so much, using the least bells and whistles possible.

Shoot the Glass (responsible for the above image) has an envy worthy collection of film posters that shouldn't be missed. The folks over at Minimalist Approach (a site that also makes my heart go pitter-patter) are to thank for the original post.

goodbye j.d. salinger (1919-2010)

As everyone has probably heard by now writer J.D. Salinger has just passed away. Like many others I hold The Catcher in the Rye on a pedestal as it served as a unique and identifiable friend during my adolescent unglory years, and I am so thankful for that gift.

One of my favorite blogs, Words and Eggs, has a great post featuring several versions of the classic novel's cover.