I didn't remember about this until late last night, so I was sad I didn't post it sooner to remind everyone.

FUTURAMA IS BACK ON COMEDY CENTRAL!

The new season premiered last night with 2 great episodes. I enjoyed the little joke in the beginning about getting cancelled etc. I aso thought the episodes were top notch and that it didn't really miss a beat being gone all of these years.

So if you want to check it out and get Back to the Future with Fry, Leela, Bender and the gang, it is on Comedy Central Thursdays @ 10

* The photo is the Kidrobot Futurama figures that I have on my desk. My collection is getting quite large.

We have been having some pretty crazy storms around here lately. The tornado sirens have went off at least 3 times in the last week and I lost power for 8 hours on Friday (of course right as my family who was staying the weekend walked in the door).

Last night was one of the most intense storms I have seen in awhile. Truly what you would call rolling thunder. It was almost one constant rumbling sound. While that happened lightning streaked across every direction of the sky, constantly, for about an hour. I wish I could have photographed it but my balcony is in a very bad spot for that.

I did enjoy watching it. It was slightly cloudy so sometimes it would just be the entire sky turning white as the clouds diffused the energy, then a streak would come down and touch the ground as another snaked through the sky.

Why does all this matter? One, because lightning is pretty cool and that's not my photograph above, but it is pretty great. Second, because I went to post last night and the storm knocked my internet and cable out, better then the power I guess.

I wanted to throw in a non-photograph lighting piece of art too. As always I am a sucker for letterpress, and the above card from Etsy is pretty great too (check out the rest of their stuff, great patterns, love it!).

[photo from Flickr and card from Etsy ]

No, I don't think I am going to post on the new iPhone because most likely you guys have already heard/read about it and don't need my ramblings on it.

Would you hang the above graphic on your wall? Maybe blow it up to nice size and hang it above your couch. When people asked about you could make up an insightful story and how it represents some random thing. Or you could tell them the truth, that you used IOGraph to track your computer mouse's movement for the day.

Yes, that is what it is! The software will track your mouse's movement and create a graphical representation of it. The circle represent the points at where your mouse was at rest.

I am definitely going to try this out because of a few reasons. 1. That is pretty cool. 2. I would like to see what my patterns look like (if you check out their Flickr page you can see someone's photoshop session and what we do over and over again, like go to the layers palette). 3. I am curious at the files it outputs and if it would really be able to blow it up to a giant size (raster vs vector) From the look at a photo on a Flickr Page it looks entirely possible.

[via Unplggd]

Thank you Pac Man for countless hours of wasted time.

Today if you head over to Google you can check out the Google logo done up in honor of Pac Man's 30th Birthday. But then the classic music starts playing, and that's not all...

YES! It is a working version of Pac Man you can play. Thanks Gooogle!

Usually when it is getting close to new iPhone time there are leaked photos of the possible new models. These are usually fuzzy photos that you can barely tell that is it a phone. Sometimes they are real and most of the time they are fake.

However, it is pretty hard to fake this. This phone was found in a bar in Redwood City. It was inside a special case to make it look like an iPhone 3GS. They can't get it to boot correctly but they did take it apart and it has Apple hardware inside of it.

Basically somebody is in big trouble for losing this...

check out the rest over at gizmodo. If I had found it, I would hope for a pretty big reward, as well as free apple stuff for life...

This is an awesome pearler bead project (you remember pearler beads right? the little plastic cylinders you made into pictures then ironed them to melt them together?)

I saw this and it just made me smile. It is an action sequence of Mega Man. The best part, the creator superglued it to a wall in their dorm hallway. Apparently it is still standing, and that is so cool.

The other part I love about this is because they tried to take part of a hideous dorm and spice it up a little bit. Why would anyone peel it down, would they actually want to look at that horrible wall instead? It also makes me think about tv shows and moves how they portray dorms. I know mine looked more like this. It was a cinderblock L shape. Not the extravagent and spacious rooms portrayed in the media.

The entry is for a contest over on The Happy Seamstress, so go check out it, and the other entires and vote for your favorite.

[via sprite stitch to find out about the contest]

This has been in my "to post" list for quite awhile and by the awesome feature of how Safari fills in your address bar and my need to go to Office Depot, I once again came across The Office of the Tooth Fairy.

When I was a kid and we lost a tooth we put it in a film canister, the black with the gray top, and that went under our pillow. When we woke up the money would be in the canister for us and the tooth would be mysteriously gone. I still remember when I had to clean the tooth up after it came out because it came out while eating a Carmellow bar and it was covered in chocolate and caramel. Great memories (although teeth do freak me out a bit in general) and I will always remember that film canister.

Memories like that are great but on the other hand I can't get over the shear beauty of these "official" letterpress Office of the Tooth Fairy certificates. I drooled over them the first time and once again I am. They thought of everything, the bag for the tooth, extremely detailed record keeping, the deposit envelope (although I might make one out of a film canister, heck my kids won't even know what film is...). I know I am sucker for letterpress in general, but these are fantastic. I have always been tempted to order, and now they have extra sheets so you can keep track of multiple children easily. Which was kind of the reason I held back. To buy for multiple children at $16 a set, was a little pricey, especially when I don't have kids yet. Now with the extra sheets, I can pick up one kit, a few extra record sheets and keep them for the future (plus one just to keep for myself).

You can order online or find a store near you. I just saw that there was one sort of nearby, but since the extra sheets are new, i'll probably order online and save the hassle. $16 for the first set, extra sheets are $6 each or they have packages of 5 and 10. Shipping is reasonable too at $1.50. Go get it!

P.S. Could they have picked better colors! Love the brown and blue. I have been trying to get some clients to use this combo forever.

I was listening to the news as I made dinner tonight and there was a really cool story on it. It was about how there was a study going on at The Cleveland Clinic about how biking can actually help Parkinson's Disease. There was a video of a man having trouble controlling his hand, he then was able to get on a bike, rode it around a parking lot, and afterwards had a steady hand. He even said that he could feel the effects weeks later not having a lot of tremors.

That to me is amazing. So amazing. Hopefully the studies go further with it and they find a way to cure/prevent/decrease it.

[bike t-shirt on etsy]

Today I have had the beach on the mind. It was a long chain of events that got it on my mind but then I remembered this awesome post on swissmiss, and about a really cool new tool called the Willysphere. I wanted to post it back then, but it wasn't available anywhere, so you'd get all excited about it (like I did) then have no way to get them.

Well they are finally available in the US!

The Willyshpere is a sand shaping tool invented by a guy from the Netherlands. The creator won second place in a "Best Idea in the Netherlands" contest for the product. Basically you move them in a circular motion on well packed sand or snow, and the slight curve in the tool will create different size spheres. Check out the video to see it in action, and just how insane of a project you can make out of it.

You can get them here, for $14.95 (regular $20) for a set of 4 of them with free shipping. You'll be able to make 20, 30, 40 and 50cm diameter spheres. So not as big as he said in the video, up to 1m, but still a pretty good size and more manageable for the everyday user. I am ordering a set for sure, and can't wait for the warm weather to get here and try them out (I need something else to do when there isn't enough wind for my kite, and plus, these are beyond cool). I am really happy they made it a reasonable price too since it is such a simple product, this way everybody can pick up a set and play on the beach all day. Pick up a set for yourself, friends, family, kids, anyone who would love making shapes in the sand all day.

So this is something I have been wanting to post about for awhile, but it kept slipping my mind. But, yeah, this is totally on my wishlist. Although my wife is not the biggest fan, so it may take longer then planned.

This is the amazing Donkey Kong wall graphic from Blik. What is Blik you might ask (ironically that is their web address too, whatisblik.com)? They make vinyl wall graphics and are probably the leading company doing this. The graphics are fantastic. They have officially licensed graphics from Nintendo, Eames, Threadless, other artists, and tons of other great ones.

So I have been craving the Kong one. It is made with reStik, which is the kind of vinyl you can take down and put back up. How awesome is that? It is $65 for a set, but if you can reuse it, it's worth it. Unfortunately, the image at the top is most likely made with multiple sets. They recently redid their website, and I miss 2 great features it had. 1. It used to have more photos from people who have bought them, there was a great donkey kong one on a light grey wall wrapped around a corner (they have it as the icon if you search "kong" you'll see it) Found it! 2. It had a little graphic that showed what you could do with one kit, then two, then three, to show you how elaborate you could make it. Essential for this type of kit where you really need to see what you could do with one if you are on a budget, obviously not making the show stopper above.

What is with the Mega Man picture you ask? Yeah that's right, Mega Man coming soon, killer. If I had a perfect world, I would have my own studio, old school Mario in one room, Kong in another, Mega Man in another. I doubt I would get any work done though, since I would just sit there and play my NES on the biggest TV I could while blasting the Double Dragon theme song.

Ok, back to a point. If you have checked them out in the past, go again, because they are adding amazing things. If you haven't been before, go now, and see how you can spice up your place (these are key for rentals since they are removable). I would really like to see how the reStik works, how many times you can reapply it etc. One day, my wall WILL be Donkey Kong, one day. The wall behind me is begging for it right now...

Two nights ago I was able to attend the ADDYs for my company and it turned out to be a fantastic evening. I don't want to toot my own horn too much, but we did amazing. I came home with 7 awards for us including a Judge's Choice and the Best in Show (with a sprinkling of some golds and silvers in there too).

A lot of our clients have been giving a lot of freedom lately and it has really been paying off. Since I work mostly for law firms, most of them are set in their stodgy ways and in the end it shows. However, the few choice clients that who let us go off an do what we love, end off better in the end. The work for the client that won both the gold and the Best in Show is an ad campaign that is far from what you would see for most law firms. Clever copywriting, great photographs, use of white space, these isn't the norm in the industry*.

So in the end, sorry for the goofy shot of me. This was my final seventh time up, and I was running out of little things to say at the mic and I am way overdue for a haircut. Plus, thanks to my wife for taking shots of the event and getting a couple of me not looking like an idiot.

*I try to keep from posting images and stuff from work, since I don't know exactly how that works, but if you want to see some of the winning work or my work in general just drop me a message.

When I saw the Collect bookcase from Normann Copenhagen I was instantly drawn to it. The fantastic color, the woodgrain showing through, how smooth it looked. It just made me want to touch it.

It looks like it could be at home in a cabin, in an office, in a sitting room, kid's room, anywhere. Although I would like to see how it looks like filled with books or whatever else you would put in it. It is such a beautiful object right now, I hope it wouldn't detract from it.

Once again, this is why I need a studio space and/or workshop. I want to run out there grab some plywood (although this is made with green pine) and make one. One day...

It is 55" x 55" and 2,700 Euro ($3700 USD, another reason why I would like to go make one)

[via Design*Sponge]

Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A

(Insert joke about unlocking her secret world or her hidden treasures here)

Great dress created by Liz Tan for a Halloween costume. I don't see why it is limited to Halloween though, looks like proper attire for any day.

I really need to get my wife one of these for one I go as Mario. Yes, Peach is a more obvious costume choice, but this is just awesome!

[via Unplggd ]

The always popular and always amazing Feltron Annual Report is back. Nicholas records pretty much every aspect of his life and then at the end of the year produces a visually stunning annual report cataloging the previous year. Each AR is slightly different and always great.

This year is is letterpressed on French Durotone paper, and I bet it looks fantastic in person.

Available for Pre Order right now, and will be limited to 2000 copies.

I am still obsessed with playing the new mario game for the Wii. It's taking up a lot of my time which is why posts may seem a little slow.

So, since these are the scenarios that are playing in my head every night while I sleep, why not decorate your entire room with them...

This room would have been killer as a kid. Oddly enough (as with most kids) I probably would have "outgrew" it at one point, but of course now, I would kill for it again.

This is beyond amazing.

This video really says a lot about designers:

1. We have too much time on our hands
2. We don't just love typography we are IN love with typography
3. Designers still like beards
4. Maybe we don't have so much free time, but we would rather do this kind of stuff than sleep.

So watch it and love it.

"Gill Sans the G is whack when it's in lower case. Avant Garde you me me hard, like Helvetica you've been played."

That last part is so true, one of the main reasons I don't like to use Gill Sans

Lada Gaga HD Poker Face video if you somehow have no idea what the reference is here (because you have been on some kind of island with no internet).

Thanks for finding this Tina

[via swissmiss]

Do you ever have an experience with a client that just leaves you without words. Something they did or said is just beyond comprehension? Something that leaves you thinking "Holy Sh*t I can't believe they just said/did that!"

That is where Clients from Hell comes in. They describe themselves as A collection of anonymously contributed client horror stories from designers." However, I think that translates if you have anything to do with the design world, your schedule just got booked for the afternoon.

I've included a few of my favorites just from the first page, go check it out and read to your heart's content.

Can you move that logo up 1/63 of an inch?

-------------------------------------------

The art director had flown from the UK to Florida to take a shot of a beautiful old Ford Mustang. Back in the UK, the account manager says the client is unhappy with all the palm tree fronds.

Account Manager: “Couldn’t we just photoshop some of them out?”

Art Director: “Well, it’s not quite as easy as that, because if you look at the shot, there are reflections of the palm fronds in the car’s glistening bodywork. They’ll be harder to remove.”

Account Manager: [Slightly bewildered] ”Yes, but if you remove the actual palm fronds, then the reflection of them will disappear too.”

-------------------------------------------

I received a call from a prospective client yesterday. I knew it was going to be a long conversation when the first word out of her mouth were, “I’m not going to lie, I’m bipolar, but I’m taking medication so I should be able to get through this phone call.”

So after reading all of these. the real question is... Do you ever have the opposite experience? That something so incredibly good happens you can't believe it. Sadly, I think it is weighted Pretty heavily in the opposite direction.

Are you looking for that ornament that has a little extra style? A little tired of Santa holding a Coke, snowmen doing various things, or the Grinch stealing christmas in a miniature scale? Well Look no more. Dress up your tree with some acrylic game controller ornaments . Available in 6 colors in a set of 7 for $25.

I can only think of to things to improve it. I would offer a few more options. Possibly an all wiimote set (they would look like icicles hanging on the tree...) or maybe some single serving options  since the NES controller is amazing.

Second, although the acrylic looks good, and had a direct connection to all of the plastics the real controllers are made out of... I want to see it in wood. Maybe out of a nice plywood or bamboo. This would give it kind of a more elegant look and instead of having brightly colored plastic on the tree you could have nice, warm, wood tones. I would be more driven to purchase it in wood and think it would look phenomenal on the tree.

It's that time of year again. The Holidays? No, well yes, but that's not that point. Time for the Apartment Therapy Holiday Giveaways !

They have tons of great stuff to giveaway from each of their sites: AT, The Kitchen, Ohdeedoh, Unplgd, and Re-nest. Each giveaway starts on a specific day and is only up for a set amount of time. So get over there each day to check what is going on and enter to win.

I have been meaning to get this posted for awhile, but I have been way too lazy.

This great print of a Yeti might look a little familiar to you. It was sent to me from Gregory who made the great alphabet print from before. We'd been chatting back and forth about print making and a set of 3 of these showed up in my mail. One as a xylene transfer (like the alphabet poster) and 2 block prints. This was his first try at cutting lino and I think it came out really good.

Now I just gotta figure out where to put it. It looks good right there on my desk, but it wouldn't survive there for long.

Check out his etsy store as well, looks like he has been working on his lino more and has some cards up as well.

Thanks Gregory!