Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Our local newspaper reports that Dr. Seuss’ lawyers are demanding our city halt plans to use any part of How the Grinch Stole Christmas in our city’s holiday celebration this year, which included a spot for kids called LouWhoVille, with real life characters from the book.
“It appears these lawyers’ hearts are two sizes too small,” Mayor Jerry Abramson said in a news release.
[…]
“The three words that best describe this legal action are as follows, and I quote, ‘Stink, Stank, Stunk!’ ” said Jim Wood, president and chief executive officer of the convention bureau.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Among things I interact with on a daily basis are: a blue compass; a stamp with a bird on it; a purple duck; a round thing with a flame on it; a jar of ink with a pen next to it; a desktop flip-calendar; a silhouette of a ninja kicking the air; a picture of a sunset behind a palm tree; a yellow and blue-ish purple truck; a green leaf; a series of colored squares with different letters on them; etc.
These are all computer icons for different software applications I use on my Mac. Each of these things mean something to me, and maybe some of them for you, too. What’s interesting to think about is how easy it is for us to put trust in these images.
For example, I approach the purple duck trusting that he will tell me if anyone else is online that I might want to talk to, and he will also tell others that I am online.
The ninja takes me to a place where I have been collecting things. All sorts of things. Quotes. Archives of websites. Serial numbers. Codes and passwords. PDFs.
And so forth …
Friday, November 21, 2008
Since there’s been so much interest lately to find a definitive answer to whether graphic design is or isn’t art, I thought I’d share this text I just came across. It comes from Bryan Magee’s The Story of Philosophy, in the introduction (or, invitation to philosophy).
The creative artist, like the philosopher, is fully committed to a truth-seeking activity, trying to see below the surface of things and acquire a deeper understanding of human experience; however, he publishes, or publicly presents, his insights in a different form from the philosopher, a form that relies on direct perception and intuition rather than on rational argument.
And:
It is essential to realize that philosophy, science, and art are not at odds with one another. They have much more in common than appears at first sight. In fact, as we shall see in this book, it was out of philosophy that science was born. It is the same world that philosophy, science, and art are all exploring. All three confront the mystery of the world’s existence and our existence as human beings, and try to achieve a
…
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Thanks to Maximus for sending this to me. It appears that I have completely misunderstood the value of the Social Internets. This NYTimes.com article explains everything:
Good news for worried parents: All those hours their teenagers spend socializing on the Internet are not a bad thing, according to a new study by the MacArthur Foundation.
“It may look as though kids are wasting a lot of time hanging out with new media, whether it’s on MySpace or sending instant messages,” said Mizuko Ito, lead researcher on the study, “Living and Learning With New Media.” “But their participation is giving them the technological skills and literacy they need to succeed in the contemporary world. They’re learning how to get along with others, how to manage a public identity, how to create a home page.”
Yes. These things are very important. I like these success stories in particular:
In a situation familiar to many parents, the study describes two 17-year-olds, dating for more than a year, who wake up and log on to their computers between taking showers and doing their hair, talk on their cellphones as they travel to school, exchange text messages through the school day, then get together
…
Thursday, November 20, 2008
This is amazing! Via Broken Sidewalk.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
I wrote to a friend who recently quit using Facebook to see how it was going. He wrote back saying, “Compared to the time I wasted on it, and its useless function as a mode for communication, there has been no drawback. The only thing that kept me there as long as I was, was addiction. I have more time to read, more time to keep in touch with real friends, more time to visit the coffee shop, more time to say prayers and enjoy breakfast, more time to think and ponder and enjoy the weather. I have been vindicated!”
I admire people who are able to do all those things and still manage to use the Facebook and read Twitters. I cannot. Have not. One by one I am letting go and learning to do without. Today I join my friend and quit Facebook.
I suspect I’ll still use it vicariously through my wife, though. Why am I quitting? For reasons I have listed before, and for largely the same reasons my friend listed above.
Khoi Vinh wrote recently about the necessity (the …
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
A little more than a couple weeks ago I published a bit of criticism against the Louisville Graphic Design Association (LGDA). I hadn’t intended it merely for the sake of criticism, but more for opening up some questions, stirring conversation and critical-thinking about the work that designers are doing here in Louisville.
However it may have sounded, I was honestly looking and hoping for something more in our city than what their website offers at present (yet still looking to them to fill the void). It’s too easy to get caught up in the latest style trends and slap it on everything we do; or else become so complacent that we don’t care to really think through the work we’re producing.
Today I received a lengthy reply from the president of the LGDA, Brandon Bass. With his permission, here it is in its entirety:
Hey Ricky,
Despite being a few weeks since your blog about LGDA was initially posted, I felt it was important to respond to your criticisms after a friend (and LGDA member) forwarded me the link
…
Monday, November 10, 2008
For what it’s worth, I think this is terrible. I am unconvinced by anyone who can so plainly say that graphic design is or is not art. It’s not a yes or no question. It’s something that necessitates dialogue. Can graphic design be art? Is graphic design different than art? What constitutes art? What are the differences between graphic design and art? What similarities do they share? Fine art? Applied art?
UPDATE: See What art is.
Monday, November 10, 2008
This is about photographers and their using Flickr, and something to perhaps counter my recent negativity toward the social web.
I have witnessed some photographers avoid using Flickr because they were afraid that someone might steal their images. They were too caught up in the idea of needing to protect their work from misuse. They held fast to an idea that someone out there wanted to cheat them of something that is owed them or is rightfully theirs. They chose instead to show only a few of their works hidden behind a low resolution Flash slideshow, trying their best to control the viewing context and environment with just the right music playing in the background. And of these same who reluctantly used Flickr anyway, they chose to limit the viewing of their images to small resolutions.
This is a huge mistake. Some of the best and most successful (successful in terms of wide recognition) photographers that I have witnessed in our present Age of Flickr are the ones who put their images on there and allow high resolution viewing without watermarks and copyrights burned directly on the image. They give all they have to their viewers. They trust people. They trust them to see …
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Love of web
In a recent meeting I was asked what I love about the web. My mind went blank. Or, rather, I could only think of what I didn’t like about the web. So, I began with “Hmm,” a pause, and “well, I can tell you what a I hate about the web.”
This consisted of recounting how computers and the internet so often pull me away from other real life pursuits (we can put aside for now the discussion of my self-discipline deficiency). I sit in front of my computer more than an open book; more than on my bike in front of an open road.
So much reliance has been given the social web and mobile devices for instant communication that a hand-written letter — something I think most people would surely cherish — has quite nearly been rendered obsolete. “But,” I continued, “there’s so much to love about the web, too. It can bring people together where it was otherwise not possible.” I hate it and I love it.
Love of work
In my handful of years involved with the designing and building of websites, I have been learning that love of work, as defined by perpetual, unending joy and curiosity, is not …
