as good as it gets.

i fucking love maryland. it's been a while since i've been back for a visit...so perhaps i had forgotten that. i got a healthy dose this weekend. full of riding, scenery, tasty beer and food, good company, and ton's of laughter. by far the most epic and photo-documented element was sunday's ride. i think my pictures tell it better than my words can.


spoke cards, liquor, and organization courtesy of james.










via single speed outlaw

i miss a lot.

i miss a lot things. i don't dwell on the past if i can help it, because really life is about what's here and what's now. sometimes too much so. an article in the times today reminds me of a whole bundle of things i miss, that i fit neatly into a box called when i was in korea. i had a great and miserable time there, that i wouldn't trade for anything.



via NYT

the street food was delicious, cheap, and at times kind of unbelievable. available whenever i wanted it, and often the finishing touch on a fun night out. the corn-dogs-covered-in-some-kinda-something were one of the really foreign yet not traditionally korean options. when you ordered one, the proprietor would give it an extra dip in the boiling oil...to freshen it up i'd guess, even though they already were plenty fried.

i don't get it.

cards. i just don't get it. what makes a purchased printed sentiment so special that it's all but required for holidays, anniversaries, birthdays, and the like? and what says three or four bucks makes it your sappy sentiment? i hate cards--more in the in the sense that giving them is somehow obligatory, than a hate for bleached pressed wood pulp.

go on and like them all you want, i won't think any less of you. Just promise you won't be disappointed when i don't get you one.

cards i can get behind...sorta

the color of fascism.

color of the year. this year. two thousand eight. as chosen by pantone.

i used to think pantone was a pretty cool for standardizing color processes.  not that they do it for free, but having a standard to reference helps out tremendously. this misstep, this "color of the year" doesn't help anyone. this is an arrogant and assuming declaration, and should not be mistaken for a service, free or otherwise.

all i can think is, seriously? the fashion world is absurdly idiosyncratic and and seems to be rather unforgiving of the same quality in other industries. perhaps that's what makes it so inaccessible. i'm not in the loop enough to know if pantone is a big deal in the fashion world, at least as color applies to actual goods...but i don't much care. i don't need anyone to tell me what looks good, not in such absolute terms anyway. i'm pretty sure my irritation will fuel no functionally productive reaction, so i'll do what i can to put it behind me, but pantone just got put on my proverbial naughty list . are colors really that different now that it's 2008? and what's next, an HSV palette to further reign in and dictate what is and isn't cool this year? fuck you color-fascists.





cathy horyn's thoughts