September 03, 2010
Posted at 01:52 PM
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THIS ONE IS FOR MY DAD: The "Emblems By Number" super post over at CarType. Man. So good. Load up the link in another window, then press play on the sound clip below, and scroll along with Dad's commentary. Here's the good word from the old man: A new dimension of "Full Spectrum Polish Audio." Technology, people. Right there in yer ears, next to all that hair and wax. Real "Multi Media," if you know what we mean? (Thank you, Chip Truex. Awesome name, my man. Good shit.) - - - - WE'VE GOT A BONE TO PICK WITH WISCONSIN: And will be "coming to terms" with that state soon enough. But we've got no beef with Wisconsin's ghosts. Here's some incredible images from long, long ago from the Wisconsin History archives. Such a different time, but then again, maybe not. Check out this guy. As American as apple pie. (Sent in by Michael Seidel. Thanks, Wisconsin!) - - - - JAY FLOYD, YOU PROB'LY ALREADY SAW THIS: I'm tired of Jay Floyd's big mouth. He's cut off for awhile. And like he cares. Too busy whipping around racetracks on expensive motor bikes with expensive tires. Well Jay, check out this House Industries typographic case study on the "Kentucky Kid." Raddest type on the track. Hands down. In my world, the "Kentucky Kid" is Dale. Looks like you've got some competition, buddy. Sorry. - - - - DON'T LIKE WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT: Rebrand it! Matt Chase takes on the United States Postal Service. Ambitious. Maybe a little too cute for my liking, but, I like the range and thought behind it. This stuff takes time and it's awesome to see it walked through the whole project this well. Learn something from this one. (Sent in by Sam Rigby, and we thank him for sharing.) - - - - DETROIT IS A CITY IN THE MIDWEST: Don't rule it out, man. There is life there. Shit's going on in Detroit. Here's a doc coming out to remind you of that. (Thanks, Mitch!) - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Son Volt - Straightaways
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NIGHTWRECKER WARNING: Sure, you were all set for a nice night in...on the couch with the better half, watching some serial drama program, cozied up, all warm and happy, and during a commercial break, you grab the laptop, click around some, and find yer way here wondering, "What the fuck's up with the DDC?" Here's what's up—a link that will derail whatever night you promised away. Beer drinkers be warned! We've been here many times, but it's been while: Breweriana.com. This is where I started: "Flat Tops-Non-OI" What the hell does "Non-OI" even mean? Who cares? Get lost in there. 525 examples. Some of the best typography of all time. Then there was this one: The labels section at Breweriana.com. Night blown. Anyway, you'll get clicking around in there looking at shit like this and this, and before you know it, The Housewives Of Somewhere Fucked will be over, the mate will be huffy and hell, maybe the dog will be barking. Just everything all wrong. Just cuz of one click into the old days of beer swilling. (He who goes by "Kyle Steed" sent this in, so if you want to blame someone, blame him. I am.) - - - - YEAH, BE MAD: Only one link today, and a whopper at that, due to our sorta normal state of "being busier than you." Feel good you've got the time to read these words. We don't.
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September? Yeah, September. Thanks, summer. Yer days are waning. Looking forward to the cooler temps. Still in Michigan chained to the desk, wrapping up the final couple bits and pieces of the Union and Coal websites. Cage matches. Couple more days of sun-up to sundown wildness, and we have to push off for the West. Feels sad to write that. Thankful as hell I got to spend as much time at the parental compound as I did this August. Lots of looking at a monitor, that's for sure. You strike when the iron is hot. No excuses. - - - - DOWN THE HATCH: Beer cans used to be something special. Not anymore though, but we all knew that. Here's a nice reminder from Sinuhe Xavier that "beer cans used to be pretty damn incredible." I mean, imagine a sixer of these bad bad boys. Shit used to look like this. Now, we've got this. Shameful at best. I don't really like beer. The occasional ice-cold Pacifico or Corona, maybe. And so much of that comes down to holding some shit-ass Bud LIght can in yer hand. Just makes me that much more disgusted to be swillin' brew out of a swill can. Anyway, I'll stop. - - - - HERE'S ANOTHER FROM THE SAME BUILDING VIN IS IN: JD Hooge was in Wisconsin and documented a visit to Unionville. Incredible stuff. Good eye, JD! I want a pole barn someday. Mark those words. And another thing, I'll be doing a little of my own "documenting of Wisconsin" soon enough. We're pushing off for that big West soon enough... - - - - A REALLY, REALLY NICE PIECE OF ART HERE: Portland's very own Mark Warren-Jacques' print titled, "In the summer, I'm dreaming of you." This one comes with a lifetime of "good vibes." Added value. Pick one up before they are gone! - - - - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU: This one goes out to the Wiffle Ball! Packaging like it oughta be. It's a Wiffle Ball, you know? Just leave it like it was. Done. Thank you. - - - -
- - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan - Hawk
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Buried here. No time for linkage. Wait, we got one. A little something that Vin sent us last week that really blew our mind: War-Era Food Posters. There is much to learn from Lester Beall. One of my favorites! Thanks, buddy. You are golden. Miss you.
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Yesterday, foraging through the gift shop at a Lake Huron lighthouse we toured, I came across this little polar bear, buried in a "Freighter Flags of the Lake Huron" poster. Best thing I saw all day, over there in Eastern Michigan. Spent the day chasing my tail on projects. Many, many things are coming to a head!
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We woke up in Bay City and headed up along the coast all the way up to Alpena. Then we headed due west to Gaylord, and over to Traverse City. Up, then over.
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Sunset over Saginaw Bay, from the thumb side.
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The talk went great! The best part of the deal was having family and friends come downtown to join us. Mom, Dad, Sarah, Unca Mike, Auntie Lisa, Unca Terry, Aunt Mary, Unca Terry, Uncle Bob, Uncle Tom, Auntie Barbara, TC buddies Eric Campbell and Bry Aleshire, MCAD Alumni P.J. Chmiel and Andrew Maniotes. Thank you, guys. Meant a lot to have you there. Thank you. Dad warmed up the crowd with six jokes. He had 'em rolling. You know, that was a good pile of Detroit out there in that audience and I had to loosen them up a bit. I called in my secret weapon and he slayed 'em. So fun. I did my talk, rambling at times, getting choked up regarding that little G-Unit at times, spinning yarns about "what I do" and "how I do it." Showed a ton of work. Told some tall tales. Got through my fully-stocked PDF, barely. It's just kinda weird being up there in front of everyone. Lots of heads eyeballin' you! Had some good laughs and even a couple moment of painfully solicited, and unsolicited applause. Thank you, Detroit! And of course, thank you to: Reilly Brennan for rolling the dice on me, AIGA Detroit and Team Detroit for bringing me all that way, 1515 Broadway for the use of their facilities, Nick Parish for coming in from New York City and to all the folks who to came to my pre-game chat at Team Detroit in Dearborn. Thank you, Motown! Had a blast down there.
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Alright, Detroit, today's the day. That goes for you too, Ypsilanti. And Ann Arbor. Even Flint. Get downtown tonight, to 1515 Broadway and watch me fumble through a presentation on my so-called "career." The deal is called, "Tale Tales From A Large Man" and it's brought to you by the good people of AIGA Detroit and Team Detroit. One night only. Meet people. Drink some wine. Sit down. Look at things. Have a laugh. Small ideas. Vectors. Tall tales. Moving pictures. Truth. Fiction. Disorienting PDF. All in full color views. Oh yeah: Bring some loot. We've got a van full of much-needed DDC Merch we'll be offering at cut-rate prices. Priced to move. You need this. Okay, that's all I got. We're driving over to Dearborn now to hang out at Team Detroit. I like the sound of this place. If I can swing it, I want to go drive past my Gramma Josie's house on Joy Road and Artesian. I spent many a week in August there, doing things like: Skateboarding on the sidewalk, waiting for dad to get home from work and sweating. Shit got hot in the summer in Detroit. I remember dad basting us with cold wash clothes in her front room, all splayed out and suffering. Detroit memories. Detroit blood. See you tonight, Motor City!!!
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August 25, 2010
Posted at 11:41 AM
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DAYWRECKER WARNING: Okay, people. This one is dangerous. This link involves some very serious math, numbers and calculations. All hand-held, too. Be careful digging into this one: Vintage Technology's absolutely mindblowing "Calculator Gallery." I think I've been here before, but can't remember. My mind's a little frazzled these last couple days. And goddammit if Derek Schille didn't dig this one up. Okay, we need to bestow some kind of stripes to this guy. I can't take it anymore. How about this: "DDC Link Contributor No. 001: Derek Schille of St. Paul, Minnesota." There you go. Thanks, man. You are golden. Cryptic notes to friends out west: Bedortha, take note. Hega, this here is the feel. - - - - LET THIS LINK PUNCH YOU RIGHT SQUARE IN THE FUCKING FACE: I don't even know why I said that, but I clicked this one, saw the "340 items" line at the bottom of the page, and felt like I got slugged. Wham. 340 clicks to take away from 340 clicks "on the clock" doing things I should be doing. Okay, here it is: "The Vintage Education Pool!" (A hat tip to Reilly Brennan for this one. We'll discuss this, and other pertinent things tomorrow!) - - - - LOS ANGELES, WHY YOU GOTTA MESS WITH US?: Awesome old stuff at giant prices. Get in, take a look, then get out. Try not to get shooed out of the place by some snarky employee. This is a bittersweet link for me. It's hard not to get excited looking at all that cool shit, but, just knowing how far out of the reach for regular fucks like "the rest of us" riles me up something fierce. This smells like the kind of place celebrity assistants shop for their forgettable employers. You know, to spice up some grillion dollar Hollywood Hills McMansion. Or not. Sorry. I get loose-lipped when I'm up against $3000 items that you can find at an estate sale for $42.50. Etc. Sorry, Venice. Fun store. (Northern California's Bill Zindel sends this link in, far, far away from the City of Angels.) - - - - BOUGHT THIS ONE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON, SIMPLY FOR THE COVER ART: The Sword's newest long player, Warp Riders. Incredible cover, seductively reminiscent of those hazy, bong-ripped '70s Sci-Fi Heavy Metal magazine Frazetta mags and posters. So good. Check it out nice and big here. The designer is a fella named Dan McPharlin. Some pretty boss work in there, so check him out. Yeah, uh, this guy. Wow. - - - - TOMORROW, DETROIT: Another chapter from our reality-defying "Tall Tales From A Large Man speaking gig series! Yeah, "reality-defying." These things still don't quite make sense to me. You want me to get up on a stage and tell you about what I do? Seriously? Yeah, seriously. And the good people of AIGA Detroit and Team Detroit are behind us, and we thank them for it. As these words go to print, know this: The van is packed and Leigh and I are like, a couple mouse clicks away from "heading down to the town we were born in." We're coming home, in a sense. Take us in, Detroit! ONE MORE TIME: 1515 Broadway, Detroit, Mich. at 7 in the P.M. tomorrow night. Like, official and stuff. - - - - TRAVERSE CITY HAS A RIPPIN' RECORD STORE: Sound It Out Records on Union Street. Get in there and buy a monster pile of vinyl. Now. Do it. Thank you, Sound It Out! - - - - ON THE HEADPHONES: 01. The Sword - Warp Riders
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WE MAKE LOGOS, FOR ALL KINDS OF THINGS: And we updated our "Work" section with another Identity page. You know, proof that at some point, the rubber meets the road. Or, the vector meets the paper. Or something like that. You get my drift. Here it is again, in case you missed it a couple sentences ago: Identity Page No. 01 of the Draplin Design Co. Work section. - - - - BOUGHT TWO SETS: One for me. One for Dad. Cool shit. Spotted over on the very dangerous Svpply.com. My wallet starts to throb when I'm on that site. Just lethal. And what the fuck, Hillerns? You trying to bankrupt us? Everything you post on there falls into the category of "you need this, now." Warn us, or something. - - - - SOME HUMOR FOR YOU: Funny food packages. Loads of laughs. Some levity, after you spend whatever you had saved for rent on Svpply shit. - - - - ROCK ADS USED TO BE PRETTY BOSS: A trip through old Billboard magazines. Pretty awesome. Dig around in there. (Sent in by Aaron Hilst. Thanks!) - - - - LET THIS INSPIRE YOU, DETROIT: At least I know Nick Parish is coming to my talk. All the goddamned way from New York City! (An up-an-coming hamlet on the Eastern Seaboard.) Other Michigan-based luminaries who've signed on: P.J. Chmiel, Andy Maniotes, Unca Mike, Unca Kevin, Unca Terry, Aunt Mary, Auntie Barbara, Uncle Tom Who Squeezes Feet and Reilly Brennan's Beautiful Bride. You too could be on that list. Get it together. If you are reading these words, and are within a 1,750 mile radius of Detroit, well, frankly, there's just no excuse. We'll see you there. - - - -
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OLD BYTES: Here's a cool set called, "30 Old PC Ads That Will Blow Your Processor." Consider our processor "blown." Our family didn't have a computer growing up. Dad made stuff out of wood. Mom made baskets. I had Legos and Stars Wars guys and stuff like that. Friends had video games and computers. It was always a treat to spend the night somewhere and have techy stuff to play with. So this collection, all these years later, feels futuristic and like, odd. Just sayin'. - - - - BE CAREFUL IN THERE: An impressive "Commodore Computer Advertising" gallery. A dangerous link. One that could send you off into the dark depths of the "Not Getting A Fucking Thing Done" universe. Remember to "Save." - - - - BEEN WATCHING LOTS OF THIS: Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman. I love this shit. It's a big universe and I like to freak myself out exploring the cosmos. - - - - HERE'S ONE YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS: Karen Horton's incredible collection of stamps. Here's our favorites: 01. Colombia postage stamp: OEA (This link was sent in by Derek Schille of St. Paul, Minnesota, who's got a hell of an eye. Thanks, buddy.) - - - - THIS THURSDAY, DETROIT: I'll be down there, telling my little story. The event is called "Tall Tales From A Large Man" and is brought to you by AIGA Detroit and Team Detroit. Wow. Kind of official, you know? I'll be showing work, sharing some harrowing accounts, hocking DDC merch and making friends. If you are withing a 1,000 mile radius, well, I expect you to be there. I am backtracing all readership and will be making a list. Free door gifts, too. Possible usage of large words/delivery of small ideas. Wine. Downtown Detroit as the setting. Draplin blood. Steele blood. Be there. - - - - FIELD NOTES FOR OUR YOUNGER CITIZENS: "Field Notes Neon Ice Pops Pack." "Back to school" action. My dad used to laugh at us when we'd talk about going back to school. A mean, cackling laugh just rubbing salt into our wounds. Real nice. These colors should soften the blow, young rascals. - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Little Wings - Light Green Leaves
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You think you got it hard? Try dealing with that thing above. There you go. Where there is darkness, there is light. Here's my mom getting ready for a night out, just to get us back on the right track. - - - - UPDATE: Dad just pulled me aside, gave me some pain, then said: Dad: "You hear about the Polish kamikaze pilot?"
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I'm still pretty bummed I missed this year's World's Longest Yard Sale. A low point of the summer. But a number of friends did hit it up, and here's another one: "Masato Nakada slays the World's Longest." That's what yer seeing up above. One of Masato's scores, cleaned up a smidge. Dig those lines! Good work, man. Hope you had a good time out there! - - - - UPDATE: It's Saturday here in Northern Michigan and I am working all day. Just the facts.
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Last weekend, after a long, hard day of judging Minnesota design and advertising (debatable) I headed back to my room to freshen up a bit. Turned on the tube and there was some kind of Dew Tour skate jam thing going on. Paul Rodriguez was wrapping up his winning runs, and on his shirt, I recognized a little something on his chest that we had something to do with. See that "PR" interlocking deal there? That's a logo we made for Nike SB last summer under the direction of Damion Triplet and Michael Leon. Just incredible to see it out there, finally. Very proud of this one. The Nike development cycle is something to marvel at. It's a pretty lengthy window, and you make the stuff and then it takes awhile to get out into the world. It's a pretty intense process, seeing how they curate, execute and unfold the whole program. Impressive. Check out the P-Rod site, and check the range of how they unleash this stuff. Videos, apparel and kicks. Just lethal. We always down to contribute to skateboarding. Spent 1986-1997 doing my little part. I miss it. Here's another one we did under the direction of Damion and Michael a couple summers back also, that we keep seeing all over the states: The tongue type for the Stefan Janoski's signature kicks. Awesome. For daily use! - - - - THIS GUY GETS IS RIGHT: There's a currency redesign project going on out there, and Dowling Duncan gets it right! Imagine loot being boiled to something that clear and sensible? Every time I've been lucky enough to go to Europe, I get that pile of loot from wherever and don't want to spend it. But then again, with the Euro, it's all pretty standardized. Still nice, though. Good work on this one. Learn something. I'd love to see President Obama on our currency. Still thankful as hell he's on top, doing so much good. For a change. I believe. (Thank you Sam Rigby and Chris Hanis. Appreciated.) - - - - DAYWRECKER WARNING: This one has that odd "I want to live to be 237 years old" appeal. You know, just so you can learn how to do stuff like this. We'd reckon it'd take that long. Holy shit. Okay, enough talk. Get a load of this one: "Dalton Ghetti creates amazing art on the tips of used pencils." The screw? You gotta be kidding me. Best thing these tired eyes have seen in a long, long time. (Thanks, Eli, you beast. Great stuff.) - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Paul Westerberg - Grandpaboy EP
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Having a hard time shaking off Minneapolis. Keep coming across links from up there. - - - -
- - - - THE GREATEST BAND OF THOSE 80s: An interview with a little band from Minneapolis called The Replacements. - - - - ONE OF THE BEST NAME IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE: Hamburger Help Me. Incredible. Ryno recommends this one. Hmmm. I can think of precisely one addition to this one. - - - - UP IN BRAINERD: Babe got a makeover. - - - - WE'RE NOT WORTHY: I met a couple of wide-eyed nice kids from Minnesota's The House Boardshop, and they went home and wrote about it. I mean, shit, pretty much the "most-glowing" assortment of words on us, ever. Kinda blown away. We're not that nice, but hell, run with it for the moment. Thanks, guys! Great to meet you. Move West! - - - ONE WEEK OUT: This one is in Detroit, which is roughly 600 miles from Minnesota. Next Thursday I'll be at 1515 Broadway downtown, telling my little story. A tale about graphic design, making a living, going for broke, thinking things up, rolling the dice, survival, independence, loving where you live, having respect for the guys who came before you, looking at things and other juicy subjects. Basically, I'm going to cover EVERYTHING. All the warts and moles. This one is called "Tall Tales From A Large Man" and we're lucky enough to have Detroit AIGA and Team Detroit behind us making it happen. And it looks like Contagious North America is on board too. That's awesome. Let's pack 'em in, and then see how fast I can drive 'em out. Reilly, you Boblo beast, this one is coming up fast! - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Seawhores - Opus Magnanimous
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Keep thinking about this arrow I saw at Bonnie's on University, just before Ryno dropped me off at the airport.
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It's late and Leigh's snoozing on the couch while I wrap the day's riff raff up. I just downloaded all the images from the GF1 and iPhone from the Minneapolis mission. Ryno and I hit up Cheapo in St. Paul and I grabbed a couple Minneapolis local cuts. Shit like the Seawhores and Gay Witch Abortion. I know, I know, good clean fun. - - - - WHEN HITTING RECORD STORES: I always hit the "Patriotic" section. Incredible illustrations and logos and type, just slathered in red, white and blue. Bicentennial celebrations, technological tributes, weird poetry, etc. Prob'ly all unlistenable, but hell, such a nice pile of stuff to look at. One I picked up was "Eddie Albert recites the Constitution." Big fun. Here's a trio of images for ya: 01. "North vs. South"
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Got up, did a little more work, got picked up by Ryno and Hans and headed up to Burlesque for high-level negotiations with Mike and Joe for a really-close-to-being-announced deal coming this fall in Minneapolis. Can't say much more. Way excited. Stay tuned. We hit up the Co Exhibitions gallery to check out Mike Gaughan-curated "Smell the Glove" art show. All kinds of wild shit. Up above is Ryno's piece. We bestow the hardly-coveted "Best of Show" award upon, and like anyone cares. Good work, buddy. Best one there. The "jizz sock under glass" was a close second. "Art." Wild style, people. On the way over to airport we enjoyed a very Midwestern pro-Union diner breakfast at Bonnie's, then Ryno dropped me off at the airport, and I flew back to Traverse City. Had an incredible weekend. Thank you, Twin Cities! BEST PART OF THE DAY: Inkin' a deal with Co Exhibitions! More on this later.
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Woke up and worked on some stuff, then Ryno picked me up and we cruised around the city, bullshitting, checking out stuff, record shopping, whatever. The same kind of shit we do wherever we meet up. Just a couple of fucks, cruising around the city with the windows down, enjoying the cool air. A nice day. All over town. Over to St. Paul. Up north some. Down Lake street. By the lakes. All over the place. I miss that town. BEST PART OF THE DAY: Meeting Louie Anderson outside the hotel, waiting for Ryno to pick me up. "God bless you, Aaron, God bless you."is what he had to say after a little small talk. Thanks, Louie. We'll take all the help we can get. Midwestern royalty, if there ever was such a thing.
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Got up early and got the judging going. Lots of stuff to check out! Eight hours later, my brain was kinda swimmy. I pride myself on being able to pour over lots and lots of shit, multitasking on this and that, but hell, all those entries wore me out. Tired eyes. After wrapping up our judging, we all met up for a Twins game in the big new stadium. Nice place. Open air, looking up at that big skyline a couple blocks away. The Twins won over the Oakland A's. 3-2. all jock shit aside, there's just something awesome about a crowd roaring for their local team. Baseball, man. Go Twins! Then I caught a cab down to the CC Club and met up with one Jason McShane Miller. We went to college together at MCAD. He's does graphic arts for Target and rocks f. We bullshitted up a range of subjects: Replacements lore, work, travel, touring, rock music, fonts, Portland, Minneapolis, dogs, Gary, drunky Brian's poetry slam to the right of me, school days and everything else. You bet. Great to meet Josh and Flora too. Good, solid citizens. Ryno never met up with us, and he was rightly scorned for doing so. Fucker. BEST PART OF THE DAY: Catching up with Jason! Fuck yeah, man. Top-notch.
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Flew over to Minneapolis yesterday afternoon, with a quick, flustered layover at Chicago O'Hare. Like anything goes well there, you know? Fuck. Such a crapshoot. Got into the city and Jeff whisked me downtown to meet up with the judging crew at Sea Change. Sea food, you know, for people with five hours and a couple hundred bucks to burn. Not my gig, but I choked down my Halibut without comment. That night I walked over and met Ryno at the King Thai and I, listening to his ex-lady Sara spin records. Good stuff. Then I cruised back and crashed out. You should see this room. I have no business being here. So nice. You oughta see me in that robe! So gross. We had our first day of judging today. So much stuff to check out. Just blasting through tons and tons of Twin Cities work. Kind of disorienting! HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Bullshitting with Paul and Graham at supper about all the cool shit they work on. Namely: Method, MTV, Mini Cooper and Dos Equis.
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WE MAKE LOGOS: And sometimes, we get to make stuff for our favorite companies! I worked on a project this spring for Incase, and it's starting to show up online and at events. Go to their website and look in the lower left corner: That little "Let's Be Friends" logo was a recent project of ours, under the direction of Incase's Moses Aipa and Arlie Carstens. Very, very proud of this one. Here's the Incase "Let's Be Friends" social media page. Not only did I get to do work for an enterprise who's products I use every day, but I got to work with my longtime buddy Arlie. Pretty boss twofer right there. I've been a fan of Incase's product, packaging, voice, restraint and overall precision for a long, long time. Proud as hell to contribute to it. - - - - HEADING OVER TO MINNEAPOLIS: That's a city in Minnesota, famous for cold temperatures and a ratty band called "The Replacements." Look them up. Best shit of the '80s. I'm headed over to this town this afternoon. On official business. I'm a judge for the Ad Fed Minnesota Dog & Pony Show 2010. Still don't know how I made that accomplished list, so I hope they don't go too deep into my half-ass list of credentials. I pledge to do my best, for the good people of the Minnesota advertising community. You've got my word on that one. Serious business. Ryno, ready the fort. - - - - FROM WISCONSIN, IN BETWEEN MICHIGAN AND MINNESOTA: The Turf is unearthed! Hell yes. I went one time as a kid. 1990. With my buddy Kevin McIntosh. We drove down and everything. The place was daunting. I didn't know what to do on those transitions. We carved the clover bowl a couple times, but mainly stuck to the smaller nuggets. A good time. Still got my ID card somewhere. Last I heard, forever ago, it was filled in and a nudie bar was built over it. Or something like that. (Thank you, Jason Resch. He brings a good dose of Wisconsin to Portland, and we're glad to know him.) - - - - PAST MINNESOTA, OUT IN COLORADO: This one's gonna be a good one: AIGA Colorado's "Bordo Bello Skateboard Art Fundraiser." I got invited to participate, but had to respectfully decline due to "too much other shit going on." And the more I check it out, the worse I feel about my less-than-stellar participation. Sorry, Colorado! I'm up to my neck in activity back here. Good luck! If you are reading this and find yourself living in Colorado, you better go. - - - -
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OUR FOURTH AND FINAL: Jess wrapped up our "Bonus Scraps" episode from our little World's Longest Yard Sale movie thing late last night. It's up and for yer viewing pleasure right now. Just some cutting room floor scraps we just couldn't let go to waste. Good, clean fun. More Evan and more Dale. Just what you need. Gigantic hunks of shit. All of us. Revel in it. We had an incredible fucking time out there. So thankful to have been able to go 2008's and 2009's romps. Blew it for 2010. I'm not gonna miss 2011's. - - - - SCARY THINGS IN OUR LINE OF WORK: There's a weird click going on in my Mac Pro Tower. A scary-ass click. I did diagnostics on my drives last night. My main drive with all the data on it checked out fine. My secondary drive for my Time Machine backup did a weird stalling thing in the verifying of the desk. So maybe that click was coming from the secondary hard drive, a haunting preface to "imminent hard drive failure?" So I got up early and got on the horn with Apple to figure out a plan. They sent me in to the local Apple joint in Traverse City and the guy switched out my 1tb secondary drive for a 2tb drive. And just for the hell of it, we put another 1tb drive in too. So, if I got back and the clicking was gone, then that meant my secondary Time Machine drive was on it's way out. Problem solved, right? Well, that isn't the case. I got back, initialized the two new drives and wouldn't you know it, shit's still clicking like a heartbeart. All my shit's backed up twice on externals, so we can breathe easy. Any email or work is taking place on my laptop for the time being. I'm gonna take the rig back into town tomorrow morning to see if the local guys can get to the bottom of it. Gonna let the AppleCare handle this one. Why am I telling you this? Because it's just another chapter in the "backing up paradox" we all face. It's so easy to do, but so many of us don't have it together. I got my shit together about five years back with internal raid systems, and weekly external backup. Copies and copies and copies. Just in case. Back it up then back it up then back it up. That's our policy for these bytes. Anyhoo, I'm freaked out my main drive is on a one lane highway to hard drive hell. We'll see.
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August 10, 2010
Posted at 12:56 PM
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: "Select Scenes from the World's Longest Yard Sale." Three episodes in full color. Shot, edited and directed by our buddy Jess Gibson. From our 2008 foray down the 127 corridor. Just for the hell of it. Our little web site said something like this: "Follow four assholes along Highway 127's "World's Longest Yard Sale" from Defiance, Ohio all the way down to Gadsden, Alabama." Featuring Evan Rose, Dale Allen Dixon and me. We made Jess take his movie camera. He dragged it along for four days, and we thank him for it. You know, just junkin' for four days. Sun-up (sorta) to sun-down (really). Good times, hot deals, twang, weird looks, threats, treasures, money exchanged, etc. We even built a little one=pager website for it: wlysmovie.com FILMED, EDITED AND DIRECTED BY: Jess Gibson. We'd like to thank the good people of Highway 127, and the states the World's Longest Yard Sale runs through: Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. We'd even like to thank some of the cutthroat antique enterprises that descend upon Highway 127. If we didn't like yer prices, we'd just snap photos of the shit. Take that. Already scheming up a 2011 mission. Might even involve girls. Hard to say. - - - - WLYS 2010: Micha Macfarland went this year, and shot some of the treasures he saw. And from yesterday's post, the snapshots of Kyle Kastranec. Feeling jealous as hell about these shots. Good job, fellas. Wish I could of been out there this year. Damn. - - - - WLYS 2009: Our coverage of the 2009 World's Longest Yard Sale. - - - - WLYS 2008: As well as our coverage of the 2008 World's Longest Yard Sale. - - - - ON THE PLAYER, ON THE WORLD'S LONGEST YARD SALE: 01. "The Boneyard" on Sirius Radio.
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STILL CAN'T BELIEVE WE MISSED IT THIS YEARS: That goddamned World's Longest Yard Sale. We did it in 2008 and 2009, and this year, well, shit just fell apart. You know, "cosmic canine" stuff and generally being "way too busy." So we missed it this year, and it hurts. Fuck. But Columbus, Ohio's Kyle Kastranec didn't. And here's some proof from his mission: "World's Longest Yard Sale 2010." Good work, man. Just what we needed. Get in there and get those hands dirty with some Highway 127. There's always next year. Jess, Dale and Evan: We really dropped the ball this time around. - - - - BUT JUST YOU WAIT: We've got a little something to launch tomorrow, if we can pull it off. In regards to that World's Longest Yard Sale. Just you wait. Check back tomorrow for the whole deal. - - - - DAYWRECKER WARNING: The Vignelli Archives. Don't say we didn't warn you. I've got a couple of Vignelli Associates books. There were these "utopia" clothes or something they designed in the '80s. Just, funny as hell. Real loose and cotton-ish and goofy as all get out. But not like their design. Idealistic design. We dig it. - - - - THERE WE ARE, ALL OFFICIAL: I'm heading to Minneapolis this weekend to be a judge for the Minnesota Ad Federation's "The Dog & Pony Show 2010." Pretty excited to get my Hennepin Avenue on. Been too long. Man, I love Minneapolis. - - - - HELL YEAH, KLEIDERMAN: Forktown Food Tours gets interviewed by ReadyMade magazine: "HDYGTFAJ: Jessica Kleiderman of Forktown Food Tours" Congrats! Sign us up! When we get back, we're gonna be real hungry. Just warning you, Jessica. (Tipped of by our buddy Embry Rucker on this one. Thanks, man!) - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. The sound of Dad sanding something in his basement workshop.
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Here's another Gary Tribute by none other than our Portland pal Kate Bingaman-Burt. Thanks, lady. Feeling better about that hound. This means a lot. |
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Here's a little Gary Tribute by our Portland buddy Frank Chimero. Incredible. Big ol' tears spilling down the cheeks posting this one. A good cry for my little buddy. Thank you, Frank. |
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Gary Longfellow Draplin, Dec. 28th, 2004 - August 4th, 2010 - - - - A SAD ANNOUNCEMENT: Leigh and I gave Gary back to the universe Wednesday morning here in Traverse City. That's the best way to put it, really. A long time coming since his spinal chord rupture last September, it just felt right to do it back home. We gave it a good fight these last 11 months. Things just weren't the same anymore. His injury was just too much of a game changer. He's buried in the doggie cemetery on my parent's property in a box Dad made for him. I carved his name into the little lid. Wrapped him up in his favorite blanket with a tennis ball and the only stuffed animal he didn't completely rip to shit. He had a good run. Gary was 5-1/2 years old. Think about the little man and smile. Think about that bark of his. Good lord. Thank you to everyone who left a nice note on Facebook or wrote in. I sent a little notice to all his buddies yesterday and thank all of you for writing back. - - - - A LITTLE GARY GALLERY:
- - - - OUR OFFICIAL "GARY" MOVING PICTURE: Ewan made a little tribute movie for the G-Unit. Here it is: - - - - OUR GARY LIST: 01. His breath smelled like earthworms or trash. Or both. - - - - ONE LAST LINE: We'll miss you, buddy. |
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August 05, 2010
Posted at 06:24 PM
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The good people of AIGA Detroit and Team Detroit present: "Aaron James Draplin - Tall Tale From A Large Man." We're gonna tell our whole story. All the warts and moles. Visuals, too. To reinforce our loose words. A night of truth regarding matters of freedom, independence, graphic arts, the open road, making a living, survival, love, hate, Futura Bold, doing it our way, orange things, wiener dogs, proof of what we do, tall tales, big words, small ideas, matters of national security, parents, family and friends. If you live within 3,000 miles of this event, well, frankly, there's no excuse for not showing up. If you are reading these words: You better be there. We're backtracing the visitors to this post, and will be a making a list. - - - - LET US ENTICE YOU: - Free door prize to each brave soul who shows up. - - - - BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER: This is the big one, Detroit. I was born in Redford, so we share the same blood. - - - - SORTA BROUGHT TO YOU IN PART BY: Sparky Anderson, Billy Sims, The Record Stores of Royal Oak Back In The Day, Vernors, Mark Fidyrich, Southland Mall, MC5, Mule, Dirtbombs, Stooges, Great Lakes Steel, Dodge Division, Dearborn, Wixom, Southfield, Milford, Westland, Hamtramck, Polish Kitchen, Joe Louis’ Fist, St. Andrew’s Hall, Latin Quarter, Hungry Howie’s, Sky’s Burgers, Greenfield Village, Henry Ford Museum, Murray’s Auto Parts, Big Lots, Gramma Josie’s Pierogis, Gramma Leo’s “Fast-n-Hard” Burgers, Bastard Customs Officials, Jarzembowski Funeral Home, Sears Outlet on Plymouth Road and Evergreen, Farrel’s Ice Cream House, Bet n’ Jessie’s All-You-Can-Eat Fish Night on Grand River, Bogey Lake Country Club, Daughters of Isabella, Cody High School, Ladywood High School, New Grace Hospital 1973, John Trudell, Mr. Magill, Stout and Grand River, Artesian Street, Tel Twelve Mall, Tiger Stadium, George’s Coney Island, Goddamned Little Sisters, Motown, Unca Kevin, Unca Terry, Unca Mike, Unca Pat, Uncle Bob, Auntie Chris, Aunt Mary, Auntie Barbara, Uncle Tom Who Used To Squeeze The Shit Out of My Feet, Detroit Institute of Meatcutting, Tally Hall, Sander’s Hot Fudge and Lunches at J.L. Hudson Forever Ago With My Mom. - - - - RISKING IT ALL: Special goddamn thanks to Reilly Brennan for rolling the dice on us!
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SOME PROOF, READERS: People hire us to make stuff! I was lucky enough to make a couple shirts for the good people of Panic, Inc. They're from Portland, and their Transmit FTP uploader has saved my ass time and time again, for years. Seriously. I use that stuff hourly. Cabel and Mike came into the shop and put me up to the challenge: "Design us a t-shirt for our upcoming Transmit 4 release." So I made them two designs, and that's what you'll see here. Couldn't be more proud to help out a company I've looked up to for so long. In fact, after years of flat out piracy, I popped for my very first copy of Transmit some years back. And one time when I was a little stuck, I called them and Mike Merrill picked up. He helped me find my way through the woods, and we became buds. Service, people. Incredible. I've been a fan of their attention to detail in that software for a long, long time. Little things, that you sorta notice, then reallllllly notice when you dig into it. Very appreciated. I mean, I use these machines to run my half-ass life, and man, Panic makes that experience that much better. Incredible products. Incredible people. Upload something today, and do it with Transmit. Highly recommended by the Draplin Design Co. - - - -
THIS ONE IS OFFICIAL: Detroit, Detroit, I'm coming down there to tell you my story. As part of our "Tall Tales From A Large Man" speaking thing. Me, up on a stage. Things to look at. Me telling you about what I do. Full report tomorrow. August 26th. - - - - TAKE SOME NOTES, YOU PUKES: "Top 10 Things To Look For In A Thrift Store." Minneapolis' Justin Peddycoart knows hows to junk. - - - - KING OF THE BREEDS: Everyone, please think about Gary today. Thank you. - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Monahans - January - July monthly MP3 offerings
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