i am helvetica.

funny and well executed. makes me wish i could have fun with web design, instead of just totally sucking at it.

what's your type?

via core77

vertigo

i'm pretty geeky about bikes. recovering, but geeky none the less. it's ok, i'm not embarrassed to say it. NAHBS, as it's abbreviated (north american handmade bike show), was held in portland last weekend. i don't need much of an excuse to scour the internet for pictures of bike related anything, a trade show is more than enough--nevermind a trade show that's focused on more unique, more well-made, more beautiful bikes. so scour i did...only it wasn't the same...less oohs, less ahhs. not that i was disappointed, just focused. i was intent on finding any and all coverage to be had on Vertigo Cycles. 

about a year ago a friend of mine decided it was the right time to make a dream come true. his dream of making titanium bikes, for a living. knowing it wouldn't be easy, make him rich, or leave him with all that much free time...he did it anyway. i can't think of another person i know more apt to make bikes, and make them well. it makes me feel so. 

proud is probably the word i'm looking for. proud and maybe also envious. i'm proud of how far Sean has come in year of building frames, and envious that i'm not welding frames in my garage.

have a good long look.

you can't help but take notice.

different people always stand out a bit...and the missing-an-arm kind of different is hard to miss. i saw a guy at the gym tonight who was different in exactly this way. i was struck by how it affected his climbing style. the prosthetic, which started just below his elbow, was at once a hand that never gets tired and an awkward stilt like distance to be overcome when closeness is called for. i wanted ask him about it. i wanted to know if, all things considered, had it helped or hurt his climbing. i wanted to, but i didn't. for a few reasons. i didn't want this point of physical differentiation to be my in. i didn't want it to become a focus, when i know that like everyone one else, that's not the beginning and end of his story. i didn't want to make things uncomfortable, when he and i and everyone around seemed so at ease with this difference. after all, i didn't know the guy, and isn't it crass to expect he'd like to discuss his armlessness with me?

then he turned around. he turned around and i got a good look at him. i do know him. sort of. wait, no i don't.

this guy turned out to be Aron Ralston. y'know the guy that got pinched by a fallen boulder in a slot canyon in utah? you know, the guy that cut his own arm off with a pocket knife when he realized there was no other path to survival? yeah, that Aron Ralston.

as it turns out i should have asked him. surely anyone with the balls to cut off their own arm, with a less than ideal tool no less would've had no problem telling me fuck myself if he didn't want to talk about it. perhaps i need to give people a bit more credit.

you should do this.

the new york times, aiga, and winterhouse are promoting a documentary, if you will, of polling places. all of them. yours even.

not being a registered member of any political party puts a stinky sock in the mouth of my participation, but you should do this. it's cool. i like open-source or community style projects in general, but if photography is involved--all the better.




happy voting, and try not to get distracted by the bingo.

via NYT

fucking. classic.

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

not feeling it.

this has been, by far, one of the least christmas-y feeling christmas seasons for me. not sure why exactly--nothing is all that different from years past. and maybe that's it. nothing new. normally i resist holiday cheer a bit, but eventually get into the gifting part, and i try and give some really good stuff to some really good people, who hopefully also think it's really good stuff that they got. i like giving gifts. i like giving people things that they will like. this year i've been especially uninspired. maybe tomorrow will be different.

i hope you enjoy this. it's a clever nod to the classic it's a wonderful life, only for the for the hopelessly internet dependent...it's a little flash-pop-up-style-story-book, and it almost makes me feel cheery.