Scrooged

I'm getting really sick of Christmas. Not the actual holiday itself, but all this bullshit capitalistic buildup to it. I mean, stores were already playing Christmas music the first week of November. I hate to break it to these places who've had their decorations up for weeks now, but the only affect they're having on me is making me want to buy my presents online and avoid the stores altogether. But I guess as long as I spend my money like a good little consumer, it doesn't really matter, does it? The whole thing is depressing, not least because Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. Usually, the early hoopla doesn't get to me, but this year, it seems unavoidable, and it's forced me to realize that when you have to listen to two months of hype for a single day, that day is pretty much guaranteed to be anticlimactic. Commercialism is sucking all the magic out of this holiday. Charlie Brown, I feel your pain. So in protest, I'll be celebrating Buy Nothing Day this Friday. Because seriously, does anyone really need to be running out to the stores at 6 a.m. to save $10 on a fucking toaster?

At least someone remembers that it's still Thanksgiving. The New Yorker hired illustrator Chris Ware to create four different Thanksgiving covers (the one above is titled "Conversation"). In a few simple images, Ware is able to deal with some of the mixed emotions that the holidays bring out in Americans, like the double-edged sword of spending time with your family and the fact that there's really no such thing as the Norman Rockwell idealized version of Thanksgiving anymore (really, it's kind of hard to believe that there ever was). There's something about the melancholy mood of these illustrations that I really enjoy, and I love Ware's style. I'm curious to check out some of his books, like Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth or his collection The Acme Novelty Library. As a online bonus, the New Yorker also included Ware's Leftovers, a haunting stream-of-conciousness graphic piece about a brother who died in World War II.

READ
Making Digital Type Look Good, Bob Gordon

Eye Candy

I haven't figured out yet whether this is incredibly cool or incredibly nerdy (especially since the two things are often the same in my mind). Jim at Krazydad created the image above by arranging old science fiction magazine and novel covers chronologically and by hue. Here's his explanation of the piece. The best part is, it only took him a day to do. Thanks to Wired for the link.

Speaking of nerdy, here's my design nerd kicking in. After posting about my love of posters, I've been spending more l time looking at different designs on the web, and I discovered that AIGA Atlanta and Neenah Paper have commissioned some of the biggest names in design to each create a poster for a different punctuation mark. The posters will be auctioned off, with the money going to benefit a guy named Scott Hamilton, a designer in the ATL who suffered a stroke, losing the ability to do most of the things we take for granted, like walk, read, write, use his hands and verbalize his thoughts. Pretty frightening, especially since he was only 42. So not only were these pieces created for a good cause, but the majority of these are inspired works. My favorites? Michael Beirut's "Semi-Colin", Chip Kidd's "My-Hyphenated-Life", and Stefan Sagmeister and Matthias Ernstberger's take on the apostrophe, "Happiness is a warm bang bang, shoot, shoot". I guess being a smart-ass can translate into creativity sometimes. Plus, looking at this work has inspired me to take on a freelance project to design a poster of my own. More on that when I can show you a finished piece.

In other news, I've decided to stop fighting nature and grow a mustache. Of course, I'm sure I'll change my mind tomorrow morning and shave it off before work. But for one weekend, I joined the ranks of such facial-hair celebs as Burt Reynolds, Tom Selleck, Edward James Olmos, and Jason Lee. OK, I'm kidding. I just didn't shave this weekend. Seriously, though, I would totally grow a mustache if Mustaches for Kids would start a Denver chapter.

And finally, since I mentioned Edward James Olmos, I have to talk about my new favorite show, Battlestar Galactica. I finally finished the first two seasons on DVD and I'm now working my way through the current season on my DVR. Yes, it's based on that über-cheesy show from the 70's. But other than the basic premise and the names of the characters, the two shows don't have a whole lot in common. The new one is superbly acted with a pretty impressive cast, and everything about it is based on real science (for instance, no lasers—the guns shoot bullets). But what I like best about this new version is, at its core, it's a drama that just happens to be set in space. Within the framework of the remnants of humanity on the run from the Cylons, the show has dealt with topics like abortion, genocide, terrorism and suicide bombings, imprisoning "enemy combatants", the politics of war, and other hot-button political issues. Not gonna much of get that from Star Trek.

WATCH
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Battlestar Galactica Season 2.5: Disc Two
Battlestar Battlestar Galactica Season 2.5: Disc Three
Rock the Bells

READ
World War Z, Max Brooks
Four Plays by George Bernard Shaw

LISTEN
The Best of What's Around, Vol. 1, Dave Matthews Band
The Crane Wife, The Decemberists
And the Glass Handed Kites, Mew
Colorblind, Robert Randolph & the Family Band
Deadringer, RJD2
Chrome Children, Stones Throw artists

Look! Up in the Sky!

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's my hastily thrown-together Halloween costume! Not bad for 5 minutes of digging in my closet. I got dressed up this year because I went to the Robert Randolph and Gomez show at the Fillmore Auditorium on Halloween night. Aside from me getting my Clark Kent on, there were some great costumes at the show, but the best was a guy who dressed up as Bender from Futurama. He even used real metal for the body. Aside from the Halloween-related tomfoolery (or maybe because of it), the show was fantastic. This was my second time seeing both bands, and both confirmed my first impression: they put on a pretty sick show. Gomez was highly entertaining (also way drunk and in crazy costumes), covering a lot of ground from their five albums. I still don't really know any of Robert Randolph's songs, but that didn't prevent me from enjoying myself immensely as he and The Family Band proceeded to tear the house down, playing in excess of 2-1/2 hours and including a wild cover of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" in the encore. From top to bottom, the group are some pretty talented musicians, and at one point they jammed a song out for 35 minutes. Normally, I'd be bored out of my skull if a typical jam band noodled a song out that long, but given the combination of a few drinks, an excited audience, and the energy level of a band that was very happy to be onstage enjoying themselves, I barely noticed. All in all, it was a great night, made even better by the fact that by the time the show ended, it was my birthday.

My parents were in town for a visit this weekend, and we checked out the new wing of the Denver Art Museum today. Good stuff in the exhibits, but the main attraction is the building itself, designed by Daniel Libeskind. Housing your collection in an interesting building definitely adds to the experience, and it's nice to see in a city like Denver. In this country, you don't get much architecture like that outside of LA and NYC.

We also went out for quite a few meals, and it led me to the conclusion that this city really loves its breakfast/brunch spots. There are a ton of good ones, and they all seem to serve a mean breakfast burrito. Not really a bad thing... except maybe for my waistline.

WATCH
The Prestige
Two for the Money
Hellboy: Sword of Storms
Battlestar Galactica: Season 2.5, Disc One

READ
The Subtle Knife, Philip Pullman
The Amber Spyglass, Philip Pullman

LISTEN
Bloom, Eric Johnson
Alligator, The National
The Other Side of Kindness, Collin Herring
All Things Must Pass, George Harrison
Sunrise Over Sea, John Butler Trio
Fear of Pop, Fear of Pop
Going Somewhere, Colin Hay
Z, My Morning Jacket
Greendale, Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Live in Colorado, The Samples

LIVE
Robert Randolph & the Family Band/Gomez, Fillmore Auditorium