Okay, mock away, but as a punk kid in the early 80's I discovered Metallica and I have stuck with them ever since. Yes, through the 'Black' album and 'Enter Sandman' and 'Load' and 'Reload'. Their hardcore metal cred may be tarnished but I still love James Hetfield's growl and their musicianship is unmatched as far as I'm concerned. They never turned into Spinal Tap like most metal bands seem to, eventually, a parody of themselves. They also know when their brand needs sprucing up which makes them media savvy and good businessmen as well rockers.
On Wednesday night I was fortunate enough to be asked to introduce Stefan Sagmeister at TypeCon in Buffalo, NY. I have to admit I was nervous introducing a man who’s left a strong impression on myself and design in general. Rather than spending time trying to write a pseudo-CV of his (many) accomplishments, I thought I’d address the general sense I had of the man and, specifically, the quandary that makes him both appealing and fear-inducing. I think the result was what I had hoped it would be. After meeting him, I was surprised at how easy-going and genuinely good he seemed to be. Everything we asked of him was met with a laid back “Sure.” It was a real treat.
A snippet from the introduction:
“We feel that Stefan’s work truly embodies the meaning behind the idea of creativity — his work constantly changes within varying contexts, his processes adds greater depth to the final piece and whatever the outcome he challenges and moves us along the way.”
“Inspired and opinionated, Stefan is often as critical of himself as he is of the icons that surround us. Perhaps it’s this open self-analysis and willingness to comment on the world that makes him appear both approachable and unreachable at the same moment. However he may be viewed, Stefan shares his thoughts and processes through his work, speaking engagements and his books and we are truly richer for it.”
I’m so glad I didn’t chicken out.
Image copyright © 2008 Grant Hutchinson
Good friends and non-profit En Foco are presenting a series of artistic and professional development workshops in NYC. The first session entitled "Successful Strategies for Professional Photographers" is scheduled to run this Saturday, June 28th, at Calumet Photographic.
For details and registration visit the En Foco website.
Photo Credit: Lauri Lyons, Flag International series
Well the lads and lasses here have been working away on making the Veer Ideas section even more usable. Here’s a quick list of some of the highlights.
Notifications:
Well, this one really just makes sense :) Now you’ll see when someone has commented on or tagged your posts, portfolios, profile, and worlds, and when someone has added you as a contact. You can also set up e-mail notifications if you like. You can access notifications on your member page and a link will appear next to your name at the top-right of every page. As an interesting side-note, you can see who is following you using the “See who has added you as a contact link” at the top of the contacts page.
Drafts:
Now you can create posts and portfolios in draft mode which lets you publish everything when you’re actually ready.
Centralized Worlds:
All of those fantastic worlds are now viewable from the “See all worlds” link on the World of Possibilities 2 page, and from members pages under “Activities”. The Fat has been cleaned up and is now reserved for design-related posts.
Simplified Links & Bits:
Go nuts and use free form text and html to add interesting information about yourself. No more fields to fill out...
For the Geeks:
Lots of Ruby performance improvements. Booyah!
We hope you like the latest additions to the site and, as always, just drop us a line or leave a comment here if you have suggestions for additions or changes.
In December of 2007, friend and all-around fine fellow Drew McIntosh of The Sundial accompanied the band 7 and 7 is on a seven-show tour of Cuba.
Probably the most notable fact is that embarking on this tour makes 7 and 7 is the very first foreign rock band to ever tour Cuba. Definitely an unforgettable experience, some advance looks into the footage include some sweaty rock in a makeshift venue, and a deadly cover of Instant Karma for a John Lennon festival in Cienfuegos.
I've been toiling away on some personal projects recently this is where I sit after tonight. Getting pretty close.
YO LA TENGO
So this is a 2 color screenprint with cyan and what i'm HOPING to be a glow in the dark ink. We'll see how everything pans out.
DETAIL:
HOUSEWARMING
Well it’s out. It’s been a long, hard slog and the work is far from done but I'm so happy to have it out. Since September of last year my team’s been working away at revamping the ideas section of Veer.com. We previously worked on features from all the other parts of Veer.com - from design to usability to functionality. This time we took a little detour - deviating from the previously mandated .Net environment to a new Ruby on Rails platform. Booyah.
We’ve included all the usual suspects - portfolios, profiles, interconnected-goodness and of course the Skinny - but what I’m really excited about is the focus on content with new sections like The Fat - and on continuing to explore the ideas that inspire us. Inspiration is all around us and sometimes we just need a moment to let it happen. I’m hoping the new ideas section will be a moment that allows creatives the room to feel inspired.
Friend and talented illustrator Raymond Biesinger is undertaking the daunting task of mapping out the chronology of the Edmonton music scene. The research is in-depth with many contributors dating bands all the way back to 1955.
It's definitely an interesting project, in concept and execution. I can't wait to see this thing printed and on exhibit.
New software from German company Celemony allows you to separate notes from polyphonic chords in post production. Basically, dissecting and rearranging melodies after they've been recorded live.
So much for actual musicianship. This should be interesting. [via Exclaim]
