SHOWOFFS!

Dammit. This is some good stuff.
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email blast DIY tips

Within the last year, our company has really gotten into the email marketing game, and having a print background, I have found myself learning as I go. I just ran across this fantastic article and had to share it with everyone (as well as bookmark it for myself for later). There are some great tips here.

Click here to read the article

For the HTML uninitiated, the article might be a bit over your head. Sorry about that. Instead, enjoy some rebellious kitty cats. Where have they been all my life?

Post Mortem

I've been a fan of Wilco since I picked up their double LP being there many many years ago. Throughout his career, Jeff Tweedy has been through a revolving door line up of bandmates who were welcomed in with open arms and asked to exit with a vengeance. According to recent interviews, his current line up is the best he has worked with, but the output of that line up, while worthy, is nowhere near as dynamic as past iterations of the group.

In my opinion, Wilco's best years are probably behind them. "Being there", "Summerteeth", and "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" are among the best releases by any band during their era. At the heart of that fact is the twisted relationship between Tweedy and former bandmate Jay Bennett. It was clear that the dynamic between the two pushed them both past their comfort zones and into the realm of making really great music together. Since the two parted ways, Wilco never has matched the quality output of their years together. They are still good, but much of the fire that made them great is gone.

Last night I learned of the death of Mr. Bennett. Read about it here.

I understand the animosity that characterized the relationship between Tweedy and Bennett's relationship in it's later years. It took nearly 48 hours for Tweedy to put some sort of comment up on the site about the matter. You can read his message here.

For what it's worth, thanks Jay. I for one will miss what you brought to my music experience.

can yew spel?

As a burgeoning writer/wannabe I am constantly looking up the proper spelling of words that I don't use very often. dictionary.com is a tireless resource for me as I type. I found this addictive little game there and thought I would share it with the rest of the world. The best grade I can get is a B.

I guess I'll just have to keep tring.

Follow up to earlier post

This post is regarding the post from a couple of days ago.

Sometimes when I start writing a blog post, I really don't know what point I'm going to wind up making. The posts take on a life of their own, and as a result, it's sometimes surprising to hear what people take away from what I write.

When I started this particular post, I just wanted to point out how hypocritical political parties seem to act when things are or - alternately - aren't going their way. Instead it ended up bringing out some strong beliefs I have in our democratic system.

What ended up being read into this post was how much I believe in our current president. The apathy I eventually felt at the end of Bush's presidency contrasts strongly with how I feel about having someone smart and receptive in the same position. I think that this change of pace is at the heart of why Obama is so popular right now. In desperate times people need to believe in something. Obama is a bright beaming change of pace after 8 years of bullheadedness. America willfully changed it's course, and we are collectively surprised that our system can work when we need it to. It's no wonder our hopes ride on this man's success. We love a good underdog story.

My opinion of Obama isn't that he is a savior, or even that he has all the right answers. His success is our nation's success. So I'm obligated to bet on him for now. Just as I was obligated to give bush a fair shake 9 years ago. If we get down the road 8 years from now and decide that Obama was a total failure, then that can only mean that our nation has sunk even further. Of course I'm rooting for him.

Congratulations Eric!

Finishing law school is no small feat. Way to go bro... you earned it:

Sore Losers

I can't help but see some strong parallels between the attitude of passionate Democrats after Bush won either of his elections and the way that some Republicans are acting now. When Bush was first elected, it seemed that many on the left side of the aisle were ready to crucify the guy right out of the gate. Likewise, Republicans have their naysayers with Obama in the White House just hoping he will fail.

The immediate reaction to many Democrats right now is "Sit down, shut up and give the new guy a chance". Not me.

While I clearly disagree with much of what is being said by the ridiculous likes of Misters Cheney and Limbaugh, I'm glad they are saying it.

In the years since 9/11, the word patriotism has been redefined on both sides of the aisle. In the months directly following the attacks, anyone not flying a red white and blue flag wasn't a true patriot. The evil-doers had struck and it was blasphemy not to want to strike back – an eye for an eye. After a year or two, when we were being soaked by the media to continue making the world pay for that eye by invading Iraq, the naysayers were labeled as "unpatriotic".

So soon after the fresh wounds of 9/11, it was hard to get people out of that mind set, and we indeed invaded Iraq, for better or worse.

As good intentions in Iraq turned slowly towards fiasco, those who spoke up in the first place had more ground to stand on and started declaring that voicing their opposing sentiment was "patriotic."

I happen to be in that camp.

Exercising freedoms of speech, and getting politically active is what citizens of many countries only wish they could do. Taking full advantage of those freedoms is absolutely patriotic in my mind.

In fact, I think it's why our system works (when it does). If those naysayers hadn't spoken up over the last several years, would we have elected Mr. Obama? And now that he is elected, I'm fully glad that the same type of naysaying is there to keep Mr. Obama in check as well. Competition keeps you sharp, and this is no time for a president to be soft.

Mr. Bush responded to his naysayers by being bullheaded and forging forwards despite the protests. Republicans today are paying dearly for that tactic. But I certainly wouldn't deny them the chance to speak up and make their voices heard now.

As outrageous as I may find Misters Cheney and Limbaugh, I think it's good someone is saying the things they are saying. If for no other reason than when the dust is settled and the history books declare the policies of Obama successful or not, there are easy characters to point to and say, 'hey, someone got it wrong'.

People are smarter than the media gives them credit for. The 80% of people who disapproved of Cheney in his last months will probably see right through his BS. He's only making things worse for far-right-Republicans. This will only ease the Democrats ability to take care of business and will also make the next generation of Republican leaders grow up. This can't be anything but good. I want the Republican party to be strong. It will force the Democrats to stay strong as well. In the end, our country only benefits.

The portion of the general public that fully agrees with Cheney and Limbaugh probably have a point that needs to be made too. If I were them however, I would look for a different spokesman.

Quimby Mouse and Ira Glass get married

In case you have been out of the NPR loop, "This American Life", a favorite program of mine did a live event in Chicago that was broadcast to several theaters across America and also in Canada. I really wanted to go see it, but a friend of mine gave me a heads up that the tickets were $25. That seemed really high.

Part of the draw for that event was a live performance by Joss Whedon, (whom my wife thinks is a God,) of a song from his internet series "Dr. Horrible's Sing along Blog" starring Neil Patrick Harris. This short series, made directly for the internet is a musical and well worth checking out. As it was such a success, the internet sensation was later released on DVD. To keep things truely interesting, the obligatory commentary on the DVD was also a musical, complete with it's very own compositions and performances. This was the song performed live on "This American Life". You can hear the whole performance on the "This American Life" website.

For the theatrical version of the episode, there was also an exclusive animated short created by one of my favorite comic book artists, Chris Ware. If you missed out on the opportunity to watch this one of a kind gem, I have kindly embedded it below. Enjoy!

Quimby The Mouse from This American Life on Vimeo.

These muppets RAWK

Click here.

Two more great design links

My wife mentioned the other day that I was spending too much time posting Graphic Design stuff to the blog. She likes the dog stories. I like those too, but for the moment, I'm not ready to put a box around the content of this forum. If the subject matter has been gravitating toward design, that's only appropriate. I've been much more focused on that lately. Ultimately, this blog is a reflection of what I'm thinking and what inspires me. I only hope that something here inspires you too.

I also realize that there are far more readers of this blog than I ever know about. Most of you probably skim and move on. Occasionally, I will see a comment. I really appreciate that. It let's me know you were here, and gives me drive to keep moving. I honestly thought no one would take the time to read my last post, but low and behold, a comment showed up on my facebook account cheering me on. Sweet.

So, we will get back to doggy stories soon. For now, I have a couple of fantastic links for the Graphic Designer peeps out there.


The first is an outstanding portfolio out of Argentina. There is a ton of great work to absorb here and I have already spent quite a bit of time pouring over it myself. The studios name from what I can tell is NN'SS. Not sure what that means, but here is the link: Click Here


The second is a nice collection of logo designs, many of which I have seen in other places, but here they are pulled together quite nicely. Here's the link for that: Click Here