what i'm digging

time for another random sampling of the things i'm currently digging.

music:

nada surf, lucky. one of my favorite bands finally releases their much-awaited album. play the first track, See These Bones and tell me it's not the best intro to a song you've heard in a good long while.


jack johnson, sleep through the static. this green advocate put his money and music where his mouth is by creating a "green" studio. his label and its artists are following suit. traditionally mellow surf tunes.

guitar, tokyo. i found this artist via pandora. i love traditional japanese music, especially koto and shamisan instrumentals. guitar blends this with some german techno. seriously. it works.

stuff:

magnetic curtains. until i realize my dream of living in a warehouse nestled against the Rockies, i'm not sure i have a real need for these, but they look functional for offices or other large spaces in need of division. what a no brainer. (via designverb)


green collar jobs. i'd be more inclined to consider "green collar jobs" as those more in innovation than maintenance, but i do like where this is going and it's obviously one more way "green" is blending into the mainstream.


the kansas democratic caucus. my friend celeste has a good recap of the evening here. you're looking at the Obama line. as reflected in the results, there really wasn't a Clinton line to speak of.


kc multisport spin class. photo via little miss runner pants. this has proved to be well worth its cost of participation. had to miss Tuesday's class due to my participation in the political process, but i'll be back in the saddle tonight.

Doing the little things differently...and why I'm weird.

I've been sort of obsessed lately. Obsessed with finding different ways to do, represent, create or describe things. Finding not only a new, but relevant path is why clients pay marketers. Whether a designer labors over developing a color palette that sets the client's brand apart at first glance or a PR practitioner delivering new angles and information, the marketing profession lives and dies by the different.

Sure, it's overwhelming at times...the pressure to discover is large and demanded. This is an exciting time for ideas because technology allows almost any pipe dream to be realized. This morning I was on one of my favorite sites for inspiration - Lifehacker - and found the following tools to create messages using letters formed by buildings across the globe or bits of signage/graffiti/art:

Google's GeoGreeting




Spell with Flickr



These are fun to play with, but also represent a launchpad for opportunities to communicate differently. We live in an exciting time. Could my father have imagined sending a greeting pieced together entirely out of satellite images? Did my grandmother think pictures of signs, taken across the globe, could be compiled to form patchwork words? No. How weird would these now-simple opportunities seem to generations past?

The hard part isn't the realization of dreams...it's having the ability to dream.

Speaking of weird...my friend Jenne "tagged" me today, challenging me to answer the following:

List 5 things weird about yourself or your pets.

Well that's pretty darn easy. Here goes.
1) I do not like the Beatles...as in, I'll leave the room if the mop-tops are playing.
2) I love airplane turbulence. Sometimes I laugh when it happens. Also seems like airplane liqour - beer to wine, whatever - tastes better than terrestrial libations. Weird sub-point: for much of my young life I thought Ginger Ale was only served on airplanes.
3) I get sort of freaked out about the ocean. I'm not scared of the ocean. I think the ocean has some sort of role to play in our ecosystem, but I don't want anything to do with it. I especially do not want to be on a cruise ship.
4) I don't drink tap water.
5) I hate chewing gum: seeing people chew it, seeing it chewed, the packaging, chewing it myself, etc. I only chew gum in dire situations, such as just walking out of a Thai restaurant and seeing a beautiful woman with a sign that reads: "Will totally make out with someone named Andy."

My personal hell looks something like this: piped-in Beatles music, force feeding of DoubleMint, while stuck on a boat in the ocean.

Listening to - The Jayhawks, Rainy Day Music