Survival Tips for the Middle Ages
August 4, 2008 | Categories: Blogs

I found this random item posted on Kottke the other day and proceeded to read the shit out of it. It brings up a great ‘what if?’ scenario where you try and figure out how you would survive if you were “unexpectedly transported to a random location in Europe (say for instance current France/Benelux/Germany) in the year 1000 AD (plus or minus 200 years). I assume that such transportation would leave me with what I am wearing, what I know, and nothing else.” What he did was get 97 comments from people and how they would survive, and they’re all pretty damn interesting. Some of my favorites are as follows:

If - no, let’s be real here - WHEN you are suddenly and unexpectedly time-travelled to the early days of the Black Death, make straight for Nuremberg. It’s one of a handful of cities that didn’t get bubonic plague. I read it on a list somewhere, one time.

- First, I’d find a small town — one where the word-of-mouth of my arrival would be brief and wouldn’t lead to rioting or something. It would be especially good to initially meet a group of kids or teenagers, because they’d be the less likely to harm or kill you. See E.T. for details.

- I’d calmly and serenely smile, presenting the locals with my iPhone as a gift to help build trust. I think the key would be to get a group of townspeople to believe that you’re not crazy or intending to hurt them. Let these townspeople do the work of introducing you to (or shielding you from) people from other towns. I’d act as much as possible like God, using any pieces of technology I had with me to coerce the locals into my holiness.

- I would end up being treated as a witch or as a whore.

The skirt I’m wearing is short (showing my …(gasp)… KNEES) and made of rather flimsy, garish cotton (whore). And although I have nice skin and beautiful teeth (whore), my hair is short and I wear glasses (witch). My hands are soft and I’ve obviously lived a life of comfort (whore). I would have to lie about my age and find a way to explain my abdominal scars (witch). I would also have to lie about being able to read, write and figure (witch).

I’d like to think that I could survive such an ordeal, but I’d probably be messed up straight away. I think the idea of pretending to be mute is a good one, but how would you know what anyone is saying? I think resources would also be really hard to find, especially clean water, which you have no way to boil or sanitize. It’s definitely a fun read, people REALLY got into the conversation which makes it that much more interesting.

Bobby

Creative Scrape
July 13, 2008 | Categories: Blogs / Design / Internet

When I started this blog I knew I wanted it to have big and exciting images, as a lot of design blogs I had been reading at the time used smaller images, making it less exciting to me. So it was interesting when I started to get some regular hits from a new site called Creative Scrape, which uses a “hand-picked number of RSS feeds and Flickr sets in order to deliver a random smattering of beautiful, ugly, and inspiring things.”

The site was created by Amy Hoy and Thomas Fuchs and acts sort of like an automated FFFFOUND, albeit with a much smaller concentration of sources. As far as I can tell the feed sources are from Kitsune Noir, Design Notes, Rojo Magazine, Behance, I Love Typography, and then a bunch of folks from Flickr. It might be narcissistic, but it’s really cool to see these images as purely images, with no words to describe them or a blog to give them a greater context. Definitely pop over and check out what they’re up to, and if you really like it, download the screensaver they created as well!

Bobby

h(y)r collective magazine
July 2, 2008 | Categories: Blogs / Clothing / Internet

A few weeks ago I got an email from a guy named Ryan telling me about this new online magazine he started called h(y)r collective. Basically it covers a lot of up and coming menswear, sneakers, bike related things, hell, anything these guys are passionate about. Now honestly, I wasn’t so hot on this second issue, it just didn’t do it for me. But then I got another email telling me that they ALREADY released their third issue, which totally shocked me.

So I checked it out, and WOW. They basically made this drastic jump from okay to awesome. This issue features 5 interviews with people like Jesar Gabino, designer for United Front and co-owner of Nomad, as well as in depth look at purveyors of fine leather objects, Tanner Goods. They also interviewed these guys who run a label called Our Legacy which I hadn’t heard of before. The interview is strong and I really loved the photos that were attached to it as well. There’s also two more features, music reviews, product reviews, a photo shoot and two blogs to sort through.

These guys definitely have a passion and it truly shows. Definitely keep an eye out on these h(y)r kids, they’re gonna be big.

Bobby

FRANK | FOOD
June 23, 2008 | Categories: Blogs / Food & Drinks

Happy Monday everyone! I was totally surprised to see that you all enjoyed my last food post so much, so I thought I’d sort of follow it up with something else that I’ve been enjoying in a similar vein, a little blog called FRANK | FOOD. For the record, Frank is one of my very best friends. But he’s also the best damn cook I know.

Because of his amazing skills in the kitchen and good taste in food in general, I decided to help make him a blog where he could write about and show off all the delicious things he creates, as well as any other delicious foods and drinks he comes across. Frank hosts a pretty regular dinner every Sunday night at his house, and I’m thankfully invited quite often, and all I can say is the man is a genius. Reading his blog I get totally inspired and excited, as it features photos of all his creations and finds as well as recipes for some of the larger meals. He also updates it regularly, usually every day or two, so you can check in often to see what he’s cooking up!

I hope you enjoy seeing what Frank is creating as I much as I enjoy eating it!

Bobby

Ghosts of Winter Print by Evan Hecox
June 9, 2008 | Categories: Art / Blogs / Illustration / Internet

If you read the blog regularly you know I have an extreme fondness for Evan Hecox’s work, so seeing that he’s released a brand new print is always cause for a post. This newest print is titled Ghosts of Winter, Berlin and features an almost bleak scene, the colors not quite as vibrant as say his last series which was set in Mexico. I’m pretty sure that this is the point though, Berlin is far and away a much different place from Mexico so it shouldn’t have the same tone. I think it’s entirely beautiful and filled with all the classic Hecox elements like power lines, buildings and bicycles.

The print came in editions of 200, came being the operative word, as the print is sadly already sold out. The best idea is to check back in with Arkitip frequently, they’re actually pretty good about doing reprints of his Evan’s work. You can also read Evan’s blog on Arkitip, or subscribe to the RSS feed as well, keep a leg up on the competition!

Update: So I was totally wrong up there, the print comes out on June 21st and there are still editions available. It was late, so sue me! I was also told they don’t do reprints either, so be sure to pre-order this little guy!

Bobby

Our Mountain: A Traveling Art Exhibit featuring Steven Harrington
June 4, 2008 | Categories: Art / Blogs / Design / Illustration

Kitsune Noir favorite and good buddy of mine Steven Harrington, along with his partner in crime Justin Kreitmeyer, is having a brand new touring show entitled Our Mountain, and it’s shaping up to be amazing! This epic show starts out in Paris at the Lazy Dog with all sorts of new work as well as a GIANT teepee and a bunch of smaller teepee friends. He’s also releasing a new 160 page book featuring a ton of his recent work and sketches (over lunch he made sure to make it a point that it wasn’t a best of, he’s got way more awesome-ness in him). After the Lazy Dog the show moves from France to Italy, Spain, Germany, and then finally a big show here in LA, which I’m not sure I can talk about, haha…

You can see the guys progress on their blog over on the official Our Mountain blog, and there’s a good interview with Steven over on High Snobiety as well. Have fun in Europe Steven!

Darcel
June 4, 2008 | Categories: Blogs / Design / Illustration

About a week ago I got an enthusiastic email from a fellow named Craig Redman, telling me about this little project he started called Darcel. Reading through his email I get to his signature and I see that Craig is a member of the crew over at Rinzen, so whatever he’s wanting me to see, I was sure it was going to be mega-awesome.

As Craig put it, Darcel is a dude with a less than optimistic outlook on life. Full of partying, drinking, and the finer things of life, the comic is an really simply drawn and vibrantly colored explosion. I thought it was funny that people are always throwing up, and Craig said that a lot of people really like that too! Darcel has lackluster visits to Philadelphia (it’s just a cracked bell), the International Contemporary Furniture Fair was boring, though I think he did get a kick out of his APC sneakers. Definitely go visit his site, full of small, clever moments.

Bobby

Going On by Gnarls Barkely
June 2, 2008 | Categories: Blogs / Music Video / Photography

I saw this a couple weeks ago but I thought I’d post it because it makes for a good later night post. This the new Gnarls Barkley video for the song, Going On, definitely one of the best tracks off the new album. What I think is so cool about this video is that it was totally inspired by Clayton Cubitt’s Lagos Calling series, which he notes in his blog. But Clayton is so rad about the situation that he calls it a “lovely happenstance”, something I think very few people would do.

I think the imagery definitely works for the song and the video, and even though it could be called a rip off, a topic I am definitely not fond of, I think they do the idea a great deal of justice. The desaturated colors with the bold yellow fonts, the fast-paced dancing in the street… I’m totally into it. Well, except for the end, that effect in the door frame looks ridiculous, haha…

Bobby

Today Is the Day
May 14, 2008 | Categories: Blogs / Design / Music / Photography


Today Is the Day by Yo La Tengo

For some reason I woke up this morning with a hankering to hear a certain Yo La Tengo song, but I couldn’t remember which one it was. I finally remembered that the song was Today Is the Day, a song that was off of their album Summer Sun. But they released a Today Is the Day EP as well, and instead of putting the original version on there, they put this amazing sped up version that destroys the original. Seriously, if you don’t want your ass kicked by Yo La Tengo right now, don’t listen to this.

On a sidenote, I made that cover above because I couldn’t find a large image of the original. The background and letters are made up of images from Michael Surtees’ New York City Colour Study project. Basically he takes a picture of the sky over Manhattan every morning around 7 am every day, documenting how different the sky can look day to day. I figured since the album was titled Today Is the Day it was kind of fitting. Also, Yo La Tengo is from Hoboken, New Jersey which pretty much shares the same sky as Manhattan, so it works for me. Probably not the most creative of the covers I’ve made, but it’s very conceptual, something I don’t do often.

Also be sure to check out Michael’s blog DesignNotes, it’s a good read.

Bobby

God Went Surfing With The Devil
April 24, 2008 | Categories: Blogs / Life / Photography

Every now and then I’ll run across things that make me realize just how awesome and special our lives are. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does all aIl I can think is how I want to soak in those feelings. Reading God Went Surfing With The Devil, a blog by Alex Klein and Bryan Derballa, makes me feel this way.

Alex and Bryan are a couple of surfers making their way through the Middle East, taking photos and describing their time over there. What really hit me about this blog is the beautiful and striking images coupled with the well written descriptions of their day. Sometimes you read it and laugh, other days it’s extremely depressing, sometimes frightening. But their optimistic attitudes shine through some of the scarier events. Their adventure is like a real life City of God, but being blogged instead of filmed.

They’ve only been there 16 days, so there isn’t a ton of stuff to look through, but I’ll definitely be checking this daily from now on.

Found through Fecal Face

Bobby