Weekly faves.

DJ Dangermouse mixes Jay-Z's vocals from The Black Album with beats culled from the Beatles' White Album and creates The Grey Album. It's such a vast improvement over The Black Album you wonder why Jay-Z didn't hire Dangermouse in the first place. And I'll never hear the Beatles in the same way. Brilliant. I started listening to Sinatra because I was working on a book on the subject. Come Fly With Me marks his first outing with arranger Billy May, and together they take a swinging trip around the world. I've always loved Sam Cooke. The Rhythm and the Blues collects a number of early 60's sides and remasters them. Cooke has never sounded better. The sound is crisp, the vocals clear. A-mei is a Taiwanese singer. I saw her in concert on Christmas Day, and picked up her album to prepare myself. Some great Chinese pop music, though she still hasn't quite ascended the heights of her hit single a few years back.             Singles this week I've been returning to include Tori Amos's "Taxi Ride," Pizzicato Five's "Baby Love Child," and Frank Sinatra's "Come Fly With Me."

Continuing Series . . .

A while ago, I designed template for a series of books put out under the auspices of NYU. Here's the latest:    

Historic Tale Construction Kit

Now you can weave a tapestry of your deeds. I think even in multiple pages. Once I have more time I'll see what tale I can tell. (courtesy #!/usr/bin/girl)

The Lost World Game

The BBC has this neat 3-D adventure game. I didn't get very far but it looks nice.

Musicplasma

Looking for music recommendations? Plug in a name into Musicplasma and follow the yellow brick road. Well, the pastel links.

Recent first passes

I worked on two covers this past weekend. One is a book on Frank Sinatra's persona and how it relates to Italian Americans, and the other is an evaluation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. I've also spent the better part of the past two days listening to Frank Sinatra's Come Fly With Me album to get in the mood. Thoughts?    

Ugly dolls

The Times had an article about this set of plush toys. Here's the actual site for you to learn more about them. If anyone's looking to get me one, I like orange. :-)

Remember the Pingu?

Here's round two. This one's a lot harder for me. I can't quite see what's going on. So far my best score is 75.7. You can play it here.

Classic 80s games

Looking to play Frogger or Moon Patrol (I used to love Moon Patrol, though I played it on my Apple IIe rather than the Atari 2600)? You can right now. Just click here.

Resisting Ethics

A few months ago, I designed a cover for Resisting Ethics, left. The editors didn't like it and so I went through a couple of rounds and came up with the design on the right. They approved it and the mechanical just about went to press. I got a call yesterday and was told that the author somehow managed to see the initial design somewhere and loved it. They asked if I still had it somewhere so that we could go back to it. I do and we will.    

Spin/Spun

I'm heading off to Connecticut today and probably won't have time to update this blog before next week so I thought I'd post today. The Stars' Comeback EP is a cute bit of indie pop, incorporating electronic beats on one track, string arrangements on another. One song even makes me think of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, as much for the lyrics as the simple piano and bass that supports the song. Romantica is the latest Luna album. I had stopped listening to them after Penthouse but caught this one playing at the Grey Dog Cafe. I couldn't place it at first, and had to ask the waitress. Then it all clicked. Somehow, after seven albums, they've managed to come out with a new album that reworks their sound to very good effect. One song, interestingly, has a very "Radio Song" intro to it... I've been listening to a lot of classical music this week to calm my nerves (it's been a bit frustrating this week) and so I've been listening to Mitsuko Uchida's renditions of Mozart's solo piano work. It's a hefty box of music to get through, but it was just what the doctor ordered. And the new Norah Jones. I thought her first album was really boring. The new one delves a little more into roots music, and I find that it's much more grounded. Plus the production and engineering on it are great. I love the way the bass sounds on the first song. It's still doesn't keep my interest all the way through, but it's a marked improvement over the last.     As far as singles are concerned, there's only been one that I keep returning to again and again. And that's Norma Fraser's "The First Cut is the Deepest" from the Studio One Soul compillation that came out a while back. I heard that song for the first time in a Brooklyn cafe cum record store (I can't for the life of me remember the name at the moment) and then had to buy the record. I've since worn out that one groove.

What to rent?

Always wondering what video you should rent? This site makes recommendations based on your personality profile.

Norah Jones

Norah Jones released her new album today, which is getting a fair amount of attention. I thought her first album was kind of boring, and was surprised it recieved the attention it did. I'm liking the new one more. It has more of a country feel to it that I like. And I really like the way the bass is miked on the first song. All Things Considered conducted an interview with her where she said she was moving in that direction. And she mentions Gillian Welch as someone she liked. I do like Gillian Welch. Her Hell Among the Yearlings was receiving a good amount of play a few days ago in my apartment. And the Dolly Parton cameo rocks.

A sad day for courier

On Feb. 1 the State Department decided that official written materials should be set in Times New Roman as opposed to Courier New, saying it is easier to read. The NYTimes documented the typographic shift in this Week in Review piece. Interestingly, the article chooses the retain the aside "This article is written in Times New Roman," which is true in the paper, but my browser renders the site in Verdana.

The Weekly Top Four(-ty)

This week it's a bit of an eclectic mix. Last weekend was so cold I found myself listening to reggae to warm up. The Trojan Box Set: Tighten Up was the perfect answer. Three discs of the stuff served up warm, the bass thumpin'. Squarepusher's Ultravisitor starts off beautiful, melding melodic synths with beats that jump in and out, building his songs slowly into long meditations. Somewhere in the middle it gets a little too busy and noisy, but then mellows out for the end. There's an odd mix of the midieval that seems to pop out now and again. Movietone's Blossom Filled Streets is a folky bit of dream pop that floats by on Kate White's voice. And Latyrx's The Album is the underground hip hop album that marries DJ Shadow and Cheif Xcel with Lateef and Lyrics Born. The title song, with the dual channel raps, is a neat bit of production.     Top singles include Enrique Igelsias's "Don't Turn Off the Lights" and "Escape," The Flaming Lips' "Flight Test," Squarepusher's "Iambic 9 Poetry," and the Notwist's "Consequence."

States Within States part deux

Apparently the editor was married to the concept of having the second part of the title within the "a". The title had to be pretty big to accomodate the "within states" part, so here's what I ended up with: You can find the original more elegant design below.

Mona Lisa smile?

Here's kind of a funny little site that subjects the Mona Lisa to a few other emotional exhibitions.

Mr. Picassohead

Channel your inner Picasso and see what portraits you can create here. Two of my examples below:  

Money makes the world go 'round

So how much does the average New Yorker make? A dog walker makes 50k a year. Meanwhile, Wolverine makes that in a week singing and dancing. Maybe it's time to think about changing careers. See how you stack up by reading this article. (courtesy gothamist)

Super Bowl Ads

Only watch the game for the ads? You don't have to anymore. Here's a link to ifilm, which lays them all out. Think of all the time saved!

Good Men Good Women

Just saw this movie, which balances the story of an actress preparing for the role of Chiang Bi-Yu, a Taiwanese revolutionary active in the anti-Japanese resistance in the 1940s China, and a Communist party member in 1950s Taiwan, with that of Bi-Yu herself. The film operates on three levels, as the actress is also confronted with her own past as a man who has stolen her diary faxes her pages daily. These pages telll of her tumultous past with a Taiwanese gangster. Hou Hsiao-Hsien slowly weaves these disparate threads slowly into his film, offering no explanation and forcing the viewer to piece the stories together. The character of the actress, and the character for which she prepares to play, are juxtaposed, as the actress sees herself in the recent past, and herself in the role of her character in the more distant past of Taiwan's history. A fascinating film, Good Men Good Women, while slow, rewards patient viewing, and is worth seeing again from the beginning after the final frame to see how the stories influence each other, building towards the final few frames.

My World

My World allows you to create a customized map of the world indicating the countries you have visited. I've been to 22 countries, counting for only 9% of the world. As the song says, "There's such a lot of world to see . . . " You can do the same for states in the USA. Here I did a little better. I've made it to 32 or 62% of the country: Looks like it's time to plan some more trips . . .

Pepsi iTunes ad

Little Rabbit forwarded me this link to the Pepsi superbowl ad. The type isn't so great unfortunately, nor the editing either. It almost looks like it's a rough cut. Also, I kinda wish they used the original version of the song, but oh well. I wish a lot of things.

In heavy rotation

Henry asked me a week or two ago what I was listening to. That week it was an odd assortment of Chinese pop music. But thinking back on that I thought it might be fun to post every Friday the albums that are in heavy rotation, based on the play count in itunes, or some data fascimile thereof.         This week, I've rediscovered New Order's Power, Corruption, and Lies, and discovered Francoise Hardy's The Yeh-Yeh Girl from Paris. The former is a classic of synth pop, establishing New Order's sound as separate from Joy Division. The latter is a clean slice of 60s French pop. Rounding out the top four are Missy Elliott's This is Not A Test and Jay Chou's Fantasy. Missy's moves on from Under Construction by mining a more modern, stripped back sound. Again, it's all about her crazy lyrics and Timbaland's inspired beatmaking. While the entire album doesn't stand up, the production carries the day. Jay Chou is a Taiwanese pop star known for writing his own music and playing his own instruments, blending rock and hip hop into the traditional Asian pop scene. Top singles this week include "Age of Consent" by New Order, "Anywhere But Here" by Hilary Duff, "Crossroads" by Cream, "Pure" by the Lightning Seeds, and "Tecumsah Valley" by Steve Earle.

The WD-1 DJ-Trainer

It's more a keyboard than a DJ, but at least you can mix your own grooves to work to. Funk up your workplace with this.

Little Rabbit's Brooklyn View

Little Rabbit just got a slide scanner and he's finally gotten around to putting up some of his images online. Check out his Brooklyn view.

Whatever happened to the Camaro

In Better Off Dead? Someone tracked it down and bought it. You can read about it (and other famous Camaros) here.

Under the Sand

I just saw this on DVD and here's a mini review. To read more, click here. A middle aged couple drive to southwestern France on vacation. One morning they decide to go to the beach. The husband tells his wife that he's going to go swimming. When the wife wakes from her nap her husband has disappeared. From an opening that references L'Avventura (Antonioni, 1960), Ozon sidesteps the existential rumination of that film, instead focusing on the psyche of his main character. The spectre of her husband haunts her as she attempts to cope with his absence and understand what his absence signifies about their past. Charlotte Rampling's fascinating portrayal of the wife who knows her husband is gone but refuses to wholly give up hope drives the film, and Antoine Heberle and Jeanne Lapoirie's cinematography charts her journey, from bright color, to more and more desaturated tones as the film progresses. A beautiful portrait, carefully observed, and finely nuanced.

Indiana Jones type game

Here's an ok flash game kind of like Pitfall. Walk through the caverns. Kill the zombies. There must be a point but I didn't get to it.

Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music

Confused by all the categories and subcategories of electronic music (not to mention the music the informs and is informed by it)? This site breaks it down with a personal touch and looping clips. I must say I love jungle breakcore. Grooving through this site makes me want to go dancing!

States Within States

This is the fourth book I was hoping to finish this weekend. The Sunpower catalogue didn't count. It was just a favor for a friend. And it got rejected. :-) The grey will print in silver metallic. I love metallic inks.

Hektor

The future of "tagging". The graffiti robot. (Courtesy gizmodo)

Fun Films

Milk and cookies boasts a collection of short videos. My favorites thus far are the Funky Dance Medly and the Gay Boyfriend music video, and the French Horney Man

The O.G. Mac fonts

How did the original Mac fonts get their names? Susan Kare breaks it down. In the words of Steve Jobs: "Well, cities are OK, but not little cities that nobody's ever heard of. They ought to be world class cities!" There are a lot of other stories about the early days of the Mac on that site as well. (courtesy Kottke).

Church sign generator

I shudder to think what Cel might do with this and post on his site. But here it is. The Church sign generator.

Outkast and Peanuts

What do you get when you combine Outkast and Snoopy and the gang (as opposed to Snoop Doggy Dogg)? Something akin to this video. My favorite has always been the guy dancing in the yellow shirt. Heeeeeeyyyy yyaaaa!

IKEA walkthrough

This IKEA walkthrough has been getting some play. It's still funny, and I love game walkthroughs (because I am terrible at solving all the problems in a computer game). It also seems somewhat apt because I mentioned that Hamlet game a few days ago. I need to start mapping if I want to get anywhere with Hamlet.

Ontheissues.org

I've blogged this before, but felt it might not be a bad time to blog this again, especially in light of the returns I'm getting from the President match site. You can find another quiz that's a little more vigorous (and therefore perhaps more accurate) at www.ontheissues.org/Quiz.htm. Each issue has a link to more information as well to help you make an informed choice. Using this quiz, my matches are as follows: 65% carol mosley brown; 65% john kerry; 58% sharpton; 58% graham; 58% dean; 53% edwards; 50% nader; 50% gephard; 48% kucinich; 48% clark; 38% leiberman; 20% bush; 10% cheney.

Gus Van Sant

Ed.S just pointed me to this interview in the Guardian.

Trends in Corporate I.D.

Here's an article from Graphic Design USA on 15 trends in corporate i.d. design. Looks like I managed to miss them all in the i.d. that I did recently (below). The one on the left is by Cato Purnell Partners for Neil Henson Fashion Bytes.

President Match

Here's an interesting site that will match you to your presidential candidate. Based on your answer to a number of questions it'll rate the candidates in the order that you would like them based on your response to the issues. You can find it at www.presidentmatch.com. My results were interesting. I match 100% with Kucinich then 96% with Sharpton and 95% with Kerry. Then neck and neck it's Dean at 88% and Clark at 87%. With Bush I score a 7%. :-/ Looks like I should look more closely at Kerry.

Beyond Afghanistan

I have one left after this, but I'm running out of steam. And I might be working the minimalist angle a little too much this weekend.

Wicked Parts

I've spent the past few weeks working up an identity system for a friend of a friend of mine. She's starting a theatre company called Wicked Parts. I did the logotype and logo a week or two ago and we've just finalized the business card:

Palgrave titles

I'm trying to design four covers this weekend, in between various New Year's parties and brunches and dinners and whatnot. These two I did last night. I'm not quite sure about them yet. With the one on the left I'm attempting to suggest a certain look that I remember from an earlier time, but I'm fuzzy on what that actually is. And the right is all about simplicity:    

Sunpower

Sophia im'd me this evening to ask for my help in redesigning the cover for the Sunpower 2004 winter/spring catalog. She had been working on the interior pages for the past few days and was feeling burnt out. And she wanted to go out and party. How could I say no? I'm not sure what her family will think of the design, but I thought I'd post it here for yuks:

Color Wheel

Here's a cool online color wheel. Once you choose a color it'll give you three hex values. The actual color, a web-smart alternative, and an unsafe alternative.

Can you type?

Can You Type? is a site that invites you to submit a portrait of yourself. In type. Find out more about it, or submit your portrait by clicking here. I've included my submission below (which I just sent so it's not updated on their site yet):

Georgia

Georgia is the only serif typeface I use on the web now. If only because it has non-lining figs. You can read more about the development of the typeface here. I was surprised to learn it was designed by Matthew Carter, designer of Galliard.

Aretha Franklin

Aretha's got a new album out. NPR profiled her this morning. She's without a doubt one of my favorite singers. On a trip to Washington D.C. a few years ago, I had the good fortune to hear her live. The concert was somewhat short, but honestly, I wish it had gone on forever. She's thinking of scaling back the number of concerts she's giving each. But in her sixties, she has no plans to retire. The queen of soul indeed.

New Year's flash card

Here's a fun flash animation. I'm not sure if the oranges are referring to a particular story or anything? Once again, happy new year! (Man can I milk mileage out of this!

Hamlet, the text adventure

I've never been that good at these. Even when I know the plot. Here's an interesting twist on the genre using one of the more famous plots in English literature.

Happy 4701!

(From the card I finally got around to designing this year).

Dean gets funky

It's amazing how damaging this sound byte apparently was for Dean. For a little levity, and a whole lotta funk check this out. Gives James Brown a run for his money. (courtesty gawker). Oh and here's a techno version. What do you suppose those sirens are warnings of?

Sophie

I just found out that Sophia has a bunch of her covers on the web. My favorites are probably the one pictured to the right as well as Hung My Head and Cry and Beetle Mania. On the subject of Mallory:

An expert mountaineer, Mallory led three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the 1920s. On the third, in 1924, Mallory and climbing partner Andrew Irvine made an attempt at the summit but disappeared in heavy weather, never to return. It seemed certain they had perished on the mountain, but whether they reached the summit before they died was unknown. (Sir Edmund Hillary became the first man to officially reach the summit in 1953.) A 1999 expedition found Mallory's frozen body 27,000 feet up Everest's north face. The body was remarkably well preserved, but offered no evidence that Mallory had made it to the summit before his death.

Info from who2. And as far as Everest is concerned, Into Thin Air is a great account of a disastrous attempt at the summit.

Smack the Pingu

So far my furthest is 587.1. Try your luck here.

Wired Vaporware awards

Wired has posted its Vaporware awards. The lifetime achievement goes to Duke Nukem Forever:

A Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Duke Nukem Forever on the suggestion of reader Jeff White, who wrote, "First proposed in 1801 (or something close to that), Duke Nukem Forever has now come to define the term 'vaporware.' I wouldn't be surprised if dictionaries actually began printing it: 'vaporware: n. See Duke Nukem Forever.'" Reader Fabricio Rosas Tariki had a similar take, suggesting Duke Nukem Forever should be considered hors-concours. "After all," he wrote, "what could possibly compete against a game that is six years in the making, is called by the own company's president 'turtleware,' and has a release date that reads, 'when it's done'?" Reader Kyle Cuzzort said, "I pre-ordered this game a long time ago. So long, in fact, that I'm thinking of getting the receipt framed so it will be ready when I have kids and the game comes out."

Courtesy gizmodo.

The website mix

Here's a fun site. Enter two website addresses and it'll crossfade them.

True Blarney

Kirsten and her infatuation with all things Irish. In the Boston Globe magazine. I believe it's her first published piece? Go Kirsten!

Favorite Jack Nicholson film

For me it has to be Five Easy Pieces, which I just saw again having bought the dvd. It's a strange movie, with very disparate parts. It doesn't seem like it should hang together, but somehow it all becomes intricately linked. I won't tell you anything about it, and you shouldn't read anything about it before you see it. I was completely surprised and sideswiped by the film. It's brilliant. And for you 80's fanatics, keep a lookout for Toni Basil's cameo (of "Mickey" fame).

More personal?

I've been playing with the idea of making this blog more personal. I'm not sure how it'll go. But I just ran into Celvyn (who was getting another gingerbread latte—it's where all his x-box money goes) and he was complaining I don't update this blog enough. It's all I can do to post a new entry each day on my photoblog!

Donkey Konga

With both this and Dance Dance revolution, maybe I *should* get a gaming system. Though I'm sure my downstairs neighbor wouldn't be so happy. Check out the advert.

Looking for an mp3 radio stream

without commercial interruption? Listener supported somaFM might be your ticket.

Christmas telescope

I know it's a little late, but remember the telescope game? They have Christmas levels.

The IRC Bible

As it were. here. And on the same subject, the brick testament.

NPR's Creator at Carnegie

NPR has recently started a new series of concerts recorded at Carnegie Hall's Zankiel Hall. The online preview contains performances by Randy Newman, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Youssou N'Dour, the Kronos Quartet, Bill Frisell and John Adams. You can check it out here. The premiere broadcast features John Adams.

The Director's Label

So I got the first set of dvd's I ordered in the mail. The most exciting is a three dvd set sold under The Director's Label, which "hilight the work of filmmakers who have helped re-define music videos and filmmaking over the last decade." I originally bought it for the work of Chris Cunningham (who did the robot video for Bjork's "All is Full of Love" and Squarepusher's "Come on My Selector") but am totally blown away by Michel Gondry's work. The next best thing is that I finally got to see Spike Jonze's short How they got there. I remember reading about this years ago in the New York Times arts section and wanting to see it, but not knowing where I could find it. It's actually online now as part of the site promoting these dvds. You can find it here. The Palm Pictures site has information on each of the dvds individually: Michel Gondry, Chris Cunningham, and Spike Jonze.

The decline of fashion photography.

With the pictures to prove it. (via conscientious)

Jay Chau

My fascination with Chinese music hasn't abated. Now I'm stuck listening to Jay Chau, who's apparently notable because he writes his own songs. I've also recently again become interested in Grace Chang, who I was introduced to through Tsai Ming Liang's The Hole. I finally managed to find out her Chinese name thanks to someone who commented on one of my other blogs. Unfortuantely, yesasia doesn't seem to have any of her albums for download so I'll have to head to Chinatown soon. And on the subject of music, here's a site that will mp3 all of your cds for you.

Manual

Lately I've been listening to a lot of Chinese pop music. There's two reasons. One is the fact that on Christmas day I saw A-Mei (the tickets were a gift to my parents), and the other is the news of Anita Mui's death. That said, I don't have that many Anita Mui albums, and since she sings mostly in Cantonese, I can't really get the drift of the lyrics. Though my Mandarin isn't good enough to get all the nuances of the songs A-Mei sings either . . . When I'm not listening to Chinese music, I seem to be drawn to Manual. They're on the Morr Music label, which Rachel introduced me to while at Hearst. You can read marginally more about them here.

The Company

Robert Altman's sketch of Chicago's Joffrey Ballet offers a well-filmed attempt at a portrait of a dance company. The film works best when it offers slices without introduction, when characters drift in and out and things happen to them without comment. The flaws become evident when structure is imposed upon the film in the form of Campbell's character's story, such as it is, which follows a fairly obvious arc. Also among the more unfortunate choices is that of the dances included. While what is there is shot well, the dances aren't always that interesting (especially the "climactic" dance towards which the second half of the film builds). Re-edited, it could have been an interesting fly-on-the wall look at the ins and outs of a ballet company. As it is, it seems to be unwilling to challenge the audience with a series of vignettes, instead offering Campbell as a sympathetic character to follow throughout the proceedings. And that's too bad. For while Macdowell is great, Campbell is not, and Franco is mere windowdressing. Still, I enjoyed it (I'm a sucker for films that give a behind the scenes look at something). You can read other ideosyncratic reviews here.

Are you a blogaholic?

Take this test and find out. And yes, I'm blogging it because I answered yes on the last question. I scored a 60, incidentally. "You are a dedicated weblogger. You post frequently because you enjoy weblogging a lot, yet you still manage to have a social life. You're the best kind of weblogger. Way to go!"

Paradox of Peace

The latest cover that I've sent Palgrave. You can see the actual picture on my photoblog.

James Rosenquist

Last week I barely touched the computer. Instead I read back issues of The New Yorker and the New York Times magazine cover to cover. One issue of the New Yorker had a review of the James Rosenquist retrospective at the New York Guggenheim where he likened his stature in the pop art movement to that of Warhol and Lichenstein. Sadly, I was almost completely unfamiliar with Rosenquist's work and so I set to school myself. The show is, as pop art tends to be, very graphic, and it was a great introduction and overview of his work. The museum was packed on friday, too. I didn't realize so many people had the day off.

GI Joe PSA

Remember G.I. Joe? Remember how at the end of every episode they'd have a PSA? I don't. But here's a site by someone who did, remixing the existing footage and adding his/her own spin on things. This is courtesy of Celvyn, incidentally, who I recently learned has his own weblog.