Archive for March, 2009

Linda Aldredge is a graphic designer and the creative mind behind LuLu Organics. Also, SHE LIVES IN A FACKING TREE FORT. This is so amazing I can’t even put it into words, the pictures will have to fill in the blanks. Judging by the interior shots I’m pretty sure I would have a hard time coping with the rather spartan accommodations. But, of course, living in a treehouse would probably more than make up for any lack of modern accouterments. The best part is that the whole thing cost like $12,000 or something and runs entirely on solar. I really love the modern design of the exterior; it looks like it belongs right where it is. The house — situated in upstate New York — was designed by Kursten Bracchi and built by her and some friends. The images above are from an InHabitat article about the house which delves a bit deeper into the whys and hows of the whole situation. There’s also an in-depth look at the build process at DominoMag.

Seeing stuff like this makes me realize I’m going to wake up one day when I’m 60 and realize I never really did anything all that adventurous in my life. Maybe on that day I will decide to go into the forest and build a tree house, but I seriously doubt it and I also doubt that solar panels could provide the 200 jigawatts required to power my studio, even in 2037. Of course, all of this is likely moot as by that time we will have been enslaved by some sort of robot overlords and/or the Illuminati or whatever. But not Linda Aldredge, she’ll still be kicking it in the woods all off-the-grid style with her solar panels and iPod like that old couple in Children of Men. What? Anyways, point is, it would be cool to live in a treehouse.

Read Between the Leading is a design podcast started by SCAD students Aaron Heth and Matt McInerney. They release just about one show per week and discuss a diverse range of design topics; everything from the Tropicana fiasco to a new name for the @ symbol. They usually have one guest per show, and they’ve already had Mark Simonson, Antonio from AisleOne, and the Grain Edit team on so far. You can listen on their website or subscribe in iTunes.

I never listen to the radio, and have never been able to incorporate podcasts into my routine, but I’ve been trying to keep up with RBTL. I love geeking out over design, and I don’t find many opportunities to do so outside of school. I also continue to be fascinated by differences between design programs across the country, and it’s great to hear the perspectives of students from schools like SCAD. Aaron and Matt do a good job compiling relevant and interesting issues to talk about; their passion for design is definitely contagious. They are still working out some kinks, but I could see the show really blowing up as they hit their stride. Anyone else had a chance to listen? I’d be interested to hear what you all think of the show.

You may see Alex/HeadUp once in a while commenting on the blog, he put together a wonderful ambient mix from various albums from the Moodgadget catalog. His Quiet Storm like narration complements the ambient electronic like a missing NPR show, it’s definitely a nice collection of songs to play in the background while you work or sleep, hope you enjoy it.

1 Entsounds – The Winding Sun (Arc Edit) – Growth EP
2 Praveen – Tour Around This House – Expanse At Low Levels
3 Shigeto – May – New Crossings
4 Calmer – Open Source – Past Is Present
5 A Setting Sun – Views From The Real World – No New Enemies Vol. 1
6 Viul – Wound Cotton Wound (Exerpt) – Summer’s Wet Work is Done
7 Tstewart – What’s This Color? – No New Enemies Vol. 1
8 A Setting Sun & Shigeto – Polaroid Romance – Table For Two
9 Kyle Bobby Dunn – Mobiles (There is No End) (Exerpt) – Fervency
10 Tokyo Bloodworm – Found Memories of Nature – The Rorschach Suite
11 Entsounds – Dormancy – The Growth EP

DOWNLOAD IT HERE

Moodcast – Ambient Edition

I miss Polaroid! I’ve been stockpiling some old film, but I’m always afraid to use it and run out for good. It looks like the Instant Back attachment for the Diana+ Lomo camera might serve as an able replacement. The Instant Back attaches to the Diana+ and provides you with instant (90sec) print outs, just like Polaroid. It looks like it will do until the Impossible Project begins manufacturing their new film for the old cameras.

Of course, after Scott’s post below, a purchase of any other type of camera besides the 5D seems pointless. I have to start saving now!

via Core77

So I stumbled onto the deleteyourself blog the other day (same guy who runs Photololz) and in turn found his Flickr. There were some nice shots up there but what really struck me in particular was the vivid clarity and tone of the photos. So I took a look at the EXIF data and sure enough, they were all shot with a Canon 5D MKII. As you may well know, I have been trying to decide whether to stick with Nikon for my next camera or make the leap to Canon. I think that decision is becoming much clearer now; after seeing what Tim Navis did with the EOS 30D and now this, Canon is way out in front for me. Of course, he’s also using the $1500 Canon EF 16-35mm, but I suppose a camera like the 5D deserves only the best. At any rate, these shots drive home how good the 5D is at transforming otherwise mundane scenes into exquisitely detailed compositions of incredible depth and tonal range.

On a side note, that second pic looks like it was taken right around the same place I took this one, flying into Phuket Airport. I effected the hell out of mine, so it’s hard to compare the two, but I assure you that even in it’s raw form, mine was never anywhere near this detailed and dynamic. I’m not sure how much post processing he is doing with these, I’d love to know how much Photoshop had to do with the end results. Whatever the case may be, Photoshop can’t just synthesize out of thin air the kind of clarity and depth found in these shots; I would bet there’s just some simple color balancing going on. I’m also really liking the vignetting in a lot of these, can anyone out there with a similar rig testify as to whether that is a natural artifact of that particular lens or something he did in post?

A new Grizzly Bear track was leaked this week for their upcoming LP that is dropping in May, its no Deep Sea Diver or On a Neck, On a Spit but what is.

Bola – Glink could be one of the most impressive builds into pure enjoyment of IDM that hasn’t been used in a film, at 2:53 I dare anyone try to write anything higher quality sounding.

Grabbed this Tom Tyler track from a Idjut Boys mix that i’ll be posting more from, sounds to me like if Beck was commissioned to work on a track with Air in 2001-2002.

What is there not to say about Panda Bear’s Person Pitch LP? the style of song writing on this record couldn’t be more interesting to me. I still don’t get how he got to this sound, seems like experimenting with effect pedals we’re a big part of the creation.

Grizzly Bear – Cheerleader

Bola – Glink

Tom Tyler – Daylight Robbed Her

Panda Bear – I’m Not

Michelle McCormick recently posted Dave Cuzner’s Grain Edit on her Inspiration Resource blog. If you’ve been to Grain Edit before, you’ll know what a great collection of classic design artifacts Dave has. Above are just a few small glimpses into that collection. Dave is a vintage bookseller out of Oakland, CA who I first met at an ADAC event in Sacramento. He had a booth there and I was pretty blown away by the books he brought out. I later met him again here in San Francisco where he showed me part of an amazing Czech stamp collection which he is working on. All very inspirational stuff indeed! Link

Sébastien Hayez was kind enough to send me this Graphis Flickr set where you’ll find a lot of nice shots of various Graphis books. Link

Jakub posted some stills from the upcoming Where The Wild Things Are movie a while back and now we have a very nice movie poster to go with them. This thing is looking better and better with each new development.

I’d like to suggest more shows and tours to check out via the blog since most of you are probably too busy to check the local venues weekly. Scott and I have been posting about Benoit probably more than any other musician on here. Below are dates for his first official tour w/ Windy & Carl besides a handful of shows in the past few years. I’ll try and get some words from him about the shows and his setup soon.

Apr 23 2009 8:00P WhipperSnapper Gallery
Toronto, Ontario

Apr 24 2009 8:00P The Shop
Ithaca, New York

Apr 25 2009 8:00P Lunt Basement
Haverford, Pennsylvania

Apr 26 2009 9:00P Sundazed
New Haven, Connecticut

Apr 27 2009 8:00P Oxfam Cafe, Tufts Univ.
Medford, Massachusetts

Apr 28 2009 7:00P Le Poisson Rouge
New York, New York

Apr 30 2009 8:00P TBA
Richmond, Virginia

May 1 2009 9:00P Bebe Theater
Asheville, North Carolina

May 2 2009 8:00P 529
Atlanta, Georgia

May 3 2009 8:00P Bullhorn
Lexington, Kentucky

Benoît Pioulard – Ash In The Sky