December 17, 2006
Check Out
Noah K's Flickr Self-Portrait with Celebs series.
Posted by timothompson at 05:01 PM
November 21, 2006
Cultural Phenomena I Just Found Out About This Wiik
- Wii
- Happy Feet
(This is what suffices for a post nowadays.)
Posted by timothompson at 11:26 PM
July 27, 2006
Copy and Paste Culture
From a fireside chat at Signal vs. Noise by designers Richard Bird, Jim Coudal, and Carlos Segura (and yes, I copy and pasted this convo):
Carlos: the period we are in now is one of reservation
Carlos: especially in type
Jim: the beginning of the "ironic" voice
Jim: agreed carlos
Carlos: "helvetica" is in, and has been for some time
Carlos: we can’t wait to copy each other
Carlos: i think that sometimes our colleges define how good you are based on how good a copy you can make
Jason: Really interesting point, Carlos.
Jim: reworking old styles
Jim: instead of making new ones
Carlos: right
Jim: eventually we’ll be nostalgic for yesterday
Jim: or this morning
Matt: sounds very similar to music these days where remixing, mashups, sampling, etc. are growing in popularity.
Jim: interesting point
Jim: searching for authenticity
Carlos: right
Jim: things seem so temporary
Jim: we try to emulate stuff from the past that "mattered"
Jason: We’ve seen this from time to time with our products. Someone was so excited that they copied Tada List.
Jason: But what’s exciting about a copy? That’s saying "I don’t have anything new to offer."
Carlos: the US car industry is a great example
Carlos: trying to re-live the good old days
Jim: its everywhere guys
Jim: cars, music, movies, music
Matt: they all influence each other too obvs
Jim: its like paying an old song in a commercial
Jim: push button for emotion
Matt: heh, when i hear "lust for life" on a carnival cruise commercial or janis joplin selling mercedes benz, it makes me crazy. wtf?
Jim: ‘(we sound like a bunch of old grampas)
Jim: grrrr fucking kids’
Posted by timothompson at 06:29 PM
June 14, 2006
Ze Frank on the Pursuit of Cool
Classic: “Being cool is about not participating in traditionally enjoyable experiences and creating the illusion that happiness can be found in alternative less enjoyable experiences. The degree to which other people around you try to emulate your alternative life style and fail, determines how cool you are. You're only as cool as people wish they were.”
Posted by timothompson at 12:27 PM
March 10, 2006
Guess the 5 States
Okay, there are 5 states where fully one-third of all same sex couples in that state are raising a child in their home.
Guess which states?
I asked this in bookstores, and the audience guesses were: "California? Massachusetts? Vermont? New York?"
Nope. There are more gays and lesbians (proportionately) in those states, but they don't raise children as much.
Okay, this shocked me the first time I read it. The 5 states are ...
Mississippi ... Louisiana ... South Carolina ... South Dakota ... and Alaska.
The reddest of the red states!
Posted by timothompson at 04:03 PM
November 16, 2005
Roger Ebert Explains How He Advised Oprah
At about this time, Oprah and I went out on a date. Well, actually two dates, but the one that made history began when we went to the movies. Afterward, we went to the Hamburger Hamlet for dinner, my treat.
"I don't know what to do," she told me. "The ABC stations want to syndicate my show. So does King World. The problem with syndication is that if your show isn't successful, you're off the air in three months. The ABC stations own themselves, so they can keep you on. Which way do you think I should go?"
I took a napkin and a ballpoint pen, and made some simple calculations.
Line 1: How much I made in a year for doing a syndicated television show.
Line 2: Times 2, because Siskel made the same.
Line 3: Times 2, because Oprah would be on for an hour, instead of half an hour.
Line 4: Times 5, because she would be on five days a week.
Line 5: Times 2, because her ratings would be at least twice as big as "Siskel & Ebert."
I pushed the napkin across the table. Oprah studied it for 10 seconds.
"Rog, I'm going with King World," she said.
Posted by timothompson at 03:51 PM
November 15, 2005
Muppet Fan Halloween Parade 2005
Danny from Tough Pigs rolls out his fourth Muppet Halloween cavalcade (I guess last year's post linked by Boing Boing explains the ubiquity of Beaker costumes this year?).
Posted by timothompson at 02:10 AM
November 09, 2005
Die, Hipster, Die
Someone in Philadelphia doesn't like the cool kids (thanks, Lee!).
Posted by timothompson at 10:10 AM
October 13, 2005
Our Selfish Times
I've started reading Coming Apart by William O'Neill, a reissue of a book written in 1971 analyzing the '60s. The author wrote a revised introduction for this edition that seems to hit our current zeitgeist on the mark:
My remarks at the end of this book about the liberal failure of nerve have proven more prescient than I imagined they would be. New Deal-Great Society liberalism never recovered from Lyndon Johnson's failures and the success of Richard Nixon, Watergate notwithstanding. President Gerald Ford vetoed almost every significant Democratic bill. President Jimmy Carter, hardly a flaming liberal in any event, spent much of his term performing damage control. President Ronald Reagan made conservatism popular, and his policies continued under President George H. W Bush. Bill Clinton won his two terms by appropriating Republican issues, such as welfare reform, being tough on crime, producing budget surpluses, and the like. These benefited him but not the Democratic party, which lost both the House and Senate during his presidency. As I write, President George W. Bush is pushing an agenda even more radically right wing than that of Ronald Reagan. Meanwhile, Democrats are divided over racial and other issues that weaken the party and strengthen conservatives.
I wanted to call this book Good Riddance, and the galley proofs bore that title. But Ivan Dee and I finally agreed that it was a bit too dismal. In time we came to regret our decision. The greatest accomplishments of the decade, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Medicare and Medicaid, continue to bear fruit. But the pleasure principle, epitomized in the sixties by the odious mantra "Do your own thing," has flourished beyond belief, raising divorce and illegitimacy rates, lowering marriage rates, as also standards of taste and behavior. In polls the public claims to want more money spent on health, education, the environment, and other good things. But it votes for tax cuts and to hell with public services, most of which have deteriorated since the 1970s. In this respect selfishness is the principal bequest of the sixties.
Posted by timothompson at 02:28 PM
August 24, 2005
Spamity SPAM!
Gene Gable offers a visual history of everyone's favorite canned pork shoulder product.Posted by timothompson at 11:45 AM
August 18, 2005
You May Not Believe This
Viewing this image will most likely surprise or sicken you.Posted by timothompson at 01:01 PM
August 08, 2005
China is tired of our tendentious jive (turkeys)
What a quote from Kunstler [via]: "We're a country with no discipline, led by fake scoutmasters, moneygrubbing ministers, chiseling accountants, and oversexed schoolmarms. The new national motto: Something for Nothing. The new spiritual capital: Las Vegas."
As well as: "China is tired of our tendentious jive. Pretty soon they are going to want to try to kick our ass."
Posted by timothompson at 02:08 PM
July 12, 2005
Tattoo Villachaize
Tattoo Makes a Speech (More from Shavar here.)
Posted by timothompson at 01:13 PM
June 27, 2005
Where Are They Now?
Remember Flounder from Animal House? After shooting up in weight to 320 lbs., actor/director Stephen Furst now weighs 180 by sticking to a diet dominated by salads.Posted by timothompson at 12:45 PM
Jazz Fusion Scientology
Felt Up on Chick Corea: "Jazz fusion Scientology! AAAAAAAAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"Posted by timothompson at 10:21 AM
April 28, 2005
Austin's Rude Mechanicals Theater Troupe Adapt Get Your War On
Austin Chronicle: “Rude Mechanicals, the innovative theatre troupe who brought us stage versions of Greil Marcus' Lipstick Traces and James Kelman's How Late It Was, How Late, now turn their considerable adapting powers to Get Your War On, David Rees' riotous clip-art comic about the War on Terror®.”Posted by timothompson at 12:49 PM
January 12, 2005
Neckwear Violation on “Apprentice 3”
With the new season of Apprentice starting next week, I must mention the odd neckwear of upcoming candidate Danny Kastner. After Raj stole the show last season by wearing a bowtie (and has been succeeded this season by Bren), Danny has taken the traditional Windsor knot tie to a new level by placing it under his collar like a noose around his neck, making him look like a 70s gentleman dandy a la Rod Stewart or Keef (though this outfit is quite unlike Danny's normal business attire of a t-shirt saying “Neo-Nerd”). When your sartorial ideal is Daniel Day-Lewis, you are heading for trouble. Trump may have to cut this trend off at the pass, or soon we may be seeing next season's candidates rocking the cape action.
Posted by timothompson at 06:39 AM