Current Configuration

  • Happy Halloween

    A jack-o-lantern of Totoro's face, sitting on a table covered with implements for carving. Blackbird leans on the table behind the pumpkin.

    One of Blackbird’s favorites adorns her jack-o-lantern this year.

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  • Tea for All

    As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.

    -H.L. Mencken

    You reap what you sow, Tea Partiers.

  • Freedom Isn’t Free, People

    The NY Times tells it like it is with this beautifully functional visual map of the Obama Administration’s 2011 budget proposal.

    Be sure to click “Hide Mandatory Spending” to see just how little of the budget is up for discussion this year.

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  • Blackbird: 2 Years

    “Froggy, Daddy. See froggy?” (froggy is a lawn sculpture in the neighborhood)

    “Um, I’m not sure, sweetie. Where is the froggy?”

    “Might be down the street?”

    That, in a nutshell, is how things have changed since one year ago. Blackbird is no longer a little mystery. She’s a little girl. She has opinions, preferences, thoughts, and observations. All of which she can communicate. And act on.

    Let’s look back over the last year.

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  • Magic Highway USA

    This is just fantastic. It is at once prescient, naive, thoughtful, and simplistic:

    Via Daring Fireball

  • Blackbird at the Park

    Blackbird, wearing a red coat, walks along a mosaic wall of animals in the jungle, and touches it with her right hand.

  • Dear YouTube Commenters,

    YouTube’s comments section is not an appropriate venue for your world view. YouTube comments are worse than bumper stickers, in terms of intelligence and depth. Also, if your user name is “DonutNinja” or “No2NWO”, you should probably not bother at all. If it’s not clear to you why this is, then perhaps it’s time to uncap your meds or ask your mother.

    And finally, if you defy all counter-arguments by saying, “You’re just a government shill/a psyops agent/part of the conspiracy/a fictional identity/deluded by the government’s propaganda,” then you are weaving your own reality according to whim, rather than evidence. And do you know what that makes you? Part of the problem.

    …I really need to stop reading YouTube comments.

  • I Remember…

    May those that love us, love us.

    And those that don’t love us,
    May God turn their hearts.

    And if He doesn’t turn their hearts,
    May He turn their ankles
    So we will know them by their limping.

    –Irish Blessing

    May we all remember the lessons we’ve learned since, not just the pain we suffered then.

  • Why You Care That Ikea Adopted Verdana

    Ikea, after decades, has changed its corporate typeface. Its Futura look-alike, Ikea Sans, has been replaced by Verdana. If you shop at Ikea, start watching them, because changes like this one are often an indication of lost direction.

    Samples of Futura and Verdana in the Ikea colors.

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  • gogreengo remixes – Listen at Apothecary 9/10

    Joseph Hallman, gogreengo, re[gogreengo]mix Megan Cauley, Peter (PONY) Celment, DJ Carl Michaels/Jamie Johnson, Kono Michi (Michi Wiancko), Paul Pinto

    I recently finished up work on the album cover you see above. Composer Joe Hallman’s gogreengo has been remixed by Megan Cauley, Peter (PONY) Celment, DJ Carl Michaels/Jamie Johnson, Kono Michi (Michi Wiancko), and Paul Pinto. gogreengo is a hard album to pin down, and tends to be pretty abstract and probably isn’t for everyone, but it’s worth a listen.

    Joe gathered some talented musicians to remix his work, and you can hear their stuff and meet them over phenomenal drinks at APO bar + lounge (it’s Apothecary, for those wondering). Make your way there around 5 on the 10th of September and join the fun.

    I haven’t heard it all, but in doing my design research, I became fond of Kono Michi‘s music. Her vocals and violin work are quite interesting.

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