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

Poster Boy

Collecting has never held much appeal for me, mainly because it's not often that I stay interested in something long enough to want to collect it. However, aside from guitars, which are out of my reach for financial reasons, there is one item that I've recently decided is worth investing in. My love of music and my love of design and typography are two fairly constant things in my life, and there is a place where those disciplines meet: the rock poster.

Now, just so we're clear, I'm not talking about your classic glossy group shot posters you pick up in the back of Sam Goody for $5.99 and throw up on your dorm room wall with StickyTack. These are limited-edition, hand-printed designs. Back in the 50's and 60's, it was fairly common for bands and venues to produce a different poster for each show, often to advertise a festival or package tour with a variety of artists. To some extent, this practice fell out of fashion in the 70's and 80's as punk turned more towards flyers and rock bands went the Sam Goody route to fill their poster needs. But in the 90's, as design became a larger part of the American landscape and new houses and agencies sprang up all over the country hungry for work, the single show poster returned. Some of the biggest proponents of this trend were the Seattle bands, most noticeably Pearl Jam, who hired firms around the country, including Ames Bros, who produced the posters pictured above. (I own a copy of the one with the pig-faced guy in plaid pants towards the lower right.)

Rock posters hold a strong appeal for me because there are very few limits placed on the designers, leading to some incredibly creative work. Designers will often draw from retro pop culture, and robots and monsters are common themes. Plus, the letterpress and screenprinting gives the finished product a raw, hand-crafted feel that's very appealing to me. I'll often turn to posters when I'm looking for inspiration in my own design, or just when I need to remind myself why I do what I do. Apparently, I'm not the only one. UnBeige recently posted about rock posters, which was prompted by reading this post from Crit. It seems my love of the poster is not unique.

Currently, my collection looks like this: besides my Ames/Pearl Jam poster, I also own a set of 4 Nickel Creek posters I got from their website, and a Hank Williams poster and a Johnny Cash poster both created by Hatch Show Print in Nashville, the granddaddy of the letterpress rock poster.

Since I am a "collector", I always keep my eye on a few places to see what's available. As the trend speads to more and more bands, many of them will sell posters from past tours on their website (as Dave Matthews Band is doing right now). This is not a bad way to pick up pieces inexpensively, but I prefer to go directly to some of the smaller studios who produce the posters. One of my current favorites is The Small Stakes, a small one-man shop who creates some fantastic posters for a bunch of bands I happen to like. Unfortunately, he produces pretty limited numbers, and his stuff tends to sell out pretty quickly. I also check out other artists whenever I find them. For instance, tonight I discovered Tara McPherson and El Jefe Design, the studio owned by the author of the Crit blog post I linked to above.

Some of the more famous designs have become pretty scarce. Luckily, there are still ways to see most of them. GigPosters.com is a fantastic resource, although it also makes for dangerous late-night surfing. I tend to hide my credit card before I visit. There's also no shortage of coffee-table book collections and historical looks at the industry. For current stuff, try:
Art of Modern Rock: The Poster Explosion (I own this one. It's a great round-up of the current resurgence of the rock poster.)
Swag: Rock Posters of the 90's

And to dive into the history, I'd start with these:
Hatch Show Print: The History of a Great American Poster Shop
The Art of the Fillmore
The Art of Rock: Posters from Presley to Punk

Finally, no collection would be complete without a way to preserve it. I order 2" black wood frames and plexiglass fronts from Frames By Mail to protect my posters. Frames By Mail will custom-cut to fit whatever size you need (this comes in handy since most rock posters are not made to fit standard-size frames), and it's usually cheaper by half than going to a framing store. Plus, I've never waited longer than 3 days for an order.

I'm making no claims to be an expert, but as a whole, I think the current crop of rock posters are pretty damn cool, and are something that I might even like to create myself someday. And if that's not worth collecting, I don't know what is.

If you like dark humor, I'd highly recommend checking out Thank You for Smoking. Doug and I watched it the other night, and it had us both laughing. Great performances from a sharp cast, but Aaron Eckhart impressed me the most.

READ
The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman

WATCH
Thank You For Smoking

The Way of the Master

Martin Scorsese's strongest films—Goodfellas, Casino, Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Mean Streets—followed a simple formula: cast Robert DeNiro, then surround him with talent. Scorsese has made some great movies that fall outside that vein (and didn't star DeNiro), but I always come back to those core movies as my favorites, which is probably why I enjoyed The Departed so much. As DeNiro has aged out of many leading roles, Scorsese has discovered a new leading man: Leonardo DiCaprio. The Departed is Leo's third collaboration with Scorsese (after Gangs of New York and The Aviator), and the formula still holds, just in this case with different pieces. DiCaprio is joined here by a stellar cast, beginning with Matt Damon, who does an excellent job playing DiCaprio's foil/mirror image. Also turning in strong showings are Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, and Jack Nicholson in a scenery-chewing performance as an Irish crime boss.

The Departed is based on a Hong Kong film called Mou gaan dou (Infernal Affairs), but Scorsese very quickly makes this movie his own, changing the setting to Boston and introducing the rough dialogue, violence, and classic rock soundtrack which are so identified with his best work. The story follows two Massachusetts State Police officers (DiCaprio and Damon), one who has gone undercover to infiltrate the Irish mafia, and the other who is a mole inside the police for the mafia. The movie reveals the identity of the two moles from the very beginning, yet Scorsese keeps the plot twisting and turning enough to keep the audience surprised and on the edge of their seats. It's not perfect: there are nods to the original film that feel out of place, and a few missteps (including some choppy cuts and a oddly-placed Spanish guitar behind several key scenes), but overall, it's an incredibly enjoyable and powerful movie. It's been a long time since I've walked out of a theater feeling like I got my money's worth, but The Departed left me satisfied that my money was well-spent. I definitely would not recommend this movie if you're squeamish about violence, but if you're a fan of any of Scorsese's "gang" movies, this one ranks right up there with his best.

WATCH
The Departed
Shopgirl

Victim of Technology

I started to read this interesting column from Wired about how our "tech-enabled activity" is making human beings lose our ability to interact and make personal connections, and how more and more, we're cramming too much into each day. But then I got distracted by recharging my iPod, answering a few texts, emails and phone calls, accessing my work email and calendar from home, downloading some new music, and watching football highlights... all at the same time. Wired says 43 hours of tech activity in a 24-hour day is too much? I say, that's weak.

LISTEN
Post-War, M. Ward
Chronicle Vol. 1, Creedence Clearwater Revival
Thelonious Monk & Sonny Rollins

READ
Settling Accounts: The Grapple, Harry Turtledove

WATCH
Lost: The Complete Second Season

Crocodile Tears

By now, I'm sure the entire world knows that Steve Irwin, more popularly known as "The Crocodile Hunter", was killed by a stingray while diving off the coast of Australia. I've been a fan of Irwin's infectious energy, childlike wonder, and of course, the Aussie accent, since I first saw his show a few years back, so this news hit me hard. So much so that I haven't been able to watch any of the video memorials yet, like these from Animal Planet and CNN's coverage of the memorial service at Irwin's zoo.

The nature of his death has sparked a lot of conversation and controversy about his life's work. Irwin was very passionate about animal conservation, but lots of critics have appeared since his death to question his approach: Was he setting a bad example by interfering with nature to make good TV; did the good he did in his conservation efforts outweigh his methods; and wasn't this accident just a long-overdue failure in the latest of many attempts to cheat death? My friend Jenny comes down on the side of those who feel Irwin did more harm than good (mostly because, as a mom, she's still mad at him for the whole "dangling his baby son in front of a large crocodile" debacle), and she uses this quote from Jean-Michel Cousteau (son of Jacques) as backup.

But, he added, Irwin would "interfere with nature, jump on animals, grab them, hold them, and have this very, very spectacular, dramatic way of presenting things. Of course, it goes very well on television. It sells, it appeals to a lot people, but I think it's very misleading. You don't touch nature, you just look at it. And that's why I'm still alive. I've been diving over 61 years — a lot many more years that he's been alive — and I don't mess with nature."

I'm not going to apologize for the baby thing, because I think that was idiotic. Everyone has moments of bad judgment in their lives, but there's a big difference between putting yourself in harm's way and endangering a 1-month-old infant. On the other hand, this is the same man who traveled around the world just to pick up the 10 most poisonous snakes by their tails. Rational judgment may not have been his strong suit. However, for Monsieur Cousteau, I'll say this: there are two kinds of people in life — watchers and doers. Sure, the watchers will live a longer life, but the doers' lives are WAY more exciting. Anybody think France will hold a day of mourning with internationally televised memorials including heads of state and celebrities when Cousteau passes away? Somehow, I doubt it.

Regardless of how history will remember him, Steve Irwin left me a lasting legacy. I'll never be able to walk through a zoo or see another croc on TV without wanting to shout, "Crikey, have a go at the size of this one! What a beauty!" in an Australian accent. Just one more reason for the kids to think I'm crazy. Thanks, Steve. Rest in peace.

The Fresh Air Cure

Here's why I'm liking Denver: After moving into a new apartment with my brother two weeks ago, I've spent most of my time outside of work unpacking and rearranging, but I'm not complaining. Being in a place with my own stuff again feels so good. We got hooked up with digital cable this week, so on Friday night we ended up watching the entire third season of Entourage on HBO On Demand. Even after three seasons, that's still a quality show, and probably my current favorite. After vegging on the couch all night on friday, we needed to get out, so last night Doug and I checked out Andrew Bird's show at the Bluebird Theater. I didn't think his set had quite the same energy as his performance at Bonnaroo, but he was still entertaining. And today, for a little exercise, we hopped in the car with a few friends and drove to Eldorado Canyon near Boulder, where we did a 3+ mile hike on a trail that rose nearly 1,000 feet. Not only was it good exercise on a gorgeous day, but it made me feel pretty good about Denver and all the options I have for my free time. If I want to be lazy and watch a bunch of TV, I can always do that. If I want to go see live music, the option's there. And if I want to get out and do something outdoorsy, obviously no shortage of places to do that too, all within easy reach. And after a few weeks of moving boxes, rearranging furniture, and finding spots for all my magazines, a little fresh air was just the thing I needed.

IMAGES
The Illusionist
Entourage: The Complete Second Season
Entourage: The Complete Third Season

WORDS
A People's History of the American Revolution, Ray Raphael

SOUNDS
Andrew Bird/Dosh/Cass McCombs, The Bluebird Theater

Fat Tuesday

The news will come as a shock to no one, but according to a study released today, Americans are getting fatter. 31 states showed an increase in adult obesity over the past year, and in 13 of those states, at least 25% of adults are considered obese. The sad thing is, as the study shows, the increases are for all the obvious reasons—lack of exercise and poor diet, the same things that have been causing increases in fat Americans for decades. But as always, the same obstacles are in place to prevent people from changing their habits. For low-income families, the cheapest food is usually the least healthy. What's someone on minimum wage gonna choose to feed their family of four, groceries from Whole Foods or $15 of burgers at McDonald's? And in our suburban world, walking places either isn't feasible, or else people just don't even consider it because they'd rather take their new Escalade out for that 3 block drive to the grocery store. It's alternately disheartening and disgusting. The study also recommends some tougher measures the government can take to combat this epidemic, but I really don't think putting more labels on cans of food is gonna cut it. At this point, it's cultural. As long as Americans identify ourselves by what fast food we eat, what soda we buy by the case, and how much of our favorite beer we pound down, we're going to keep getting fat. So, to all you fat fatty fat pants out there... here's Mike's tip for the day: Even though it's called "Diet" Coke, that doesn't make it healthy. Just slightly less bad for you than regular Coke.

One aspect of the study did make me feel good, as Colorado is the thinnest state (no surprise there, either), although it still has a still seemingly high figure of 16.9% adult obesity. As for me, I feel like I've been doing my part to help achieve that skinny ranking. Since my little heart-to-heart with the doctor two weeks ago, I've worked out 11 times, and hopped on the scale yesterday to discover I've lost 10 pounds since I moved out here (I would assume most of that came off in the last two weeks—cutting out beer probably had a big effect), and am now nearly back to what I weighed in college. I've gotta say, obvious results like that make this working out thing kind of addicting... and it gets more so every time I have to tighten my belt.

IMAGES
Lost: The Complete First Season

WORDS
A Feast for Crows, George R.R. Martin

Why Should the Fire Die?

Nothing like starting off the week with some crappy news. I opened my email this morning to this message from one of my favorite bands, Nickel Creek:

Dearest Listener,

After seven years of extensive touring in support of three records (seventeen years as a band), we've decided to take a break of indefinite length at the end of 2007 to preserve the environment we've sought so hard to create and to pursue other interests. It has been a pleasure to write, record, and perform for you through the years and we'd like to heartily thank you for your invaluable contribution to our musical lives.

Yours,

Nickel Creek
(Sean, Sara, and Chris)

Doesn't sound too promising, does it? I've been lucky enough to see these guys four times over the past six years, (most recently at Bonnaroo) and every time, they put on a fantastic show. In between Nickel Creek albums, both Chris Thile and Sean Watkins have released numerous solo albums and performed with a variety of different artists, but the band definitely had something special when they played together. I'll keep listening to whatever their new projects are (like Chris' new album), and I hope they continue to be successful, but here's hoping their break doesn't last too long. Hopefully I'll get a chance to see them again before the end of '07, and I also hope that after that time, Sara Watkins will find have plenty of opportunities to continue singing. Meanwhile, I'm keeping their music alive by listening to my entire collection of Nickel Creek, side projects, and solo albums (which, according to my iTunes, should be good for about seven hours).

UPDATE: After a bit of Googling, I found an article on Billboard.com that sheds more light on the situation, and Rexblog goes even further into the "hiatus". Billboard has more info on upcoming projects, including the happy news (for me, anyway) that Sara has a solo album due out in the next six months.