Kodachrome Nights

January 21, 2007

gapingvoid cartoons and the Rise of the Creative Class: a long rant

Notes from last Sunday: (this Sunday's update coming soon)

So on the heels of a pretty crazy night (think: St. Johns Meeting Place >> SJMP Bar >> CBC out in Brainerd >> some other bar I've never hear of >> Electric Cowboy) navigating the cultural spectrum that is Chattanooga, along with a couple pretty heated arguments with my friends and housemate, I've been reading Richard Florida's book, The Rise of the Creative Class, and I just ended up reading this creativity manifesto on gapingvoid.com.

Yesterday I started the day off by putting around the house and reading, then I went running in a wilderness area (seven miles- I'm very proud of myself because my motivation has been lacking all winter).

After the run, three of my good friends and I went out to St. John's, where I saw one of my favorite artists in town, talked with a business associate who shall go un-named about how obnoxious designers can be (another rant for another time, but really, guys, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but try to meet payroll sometime and see how easy it is to compromise art for commerce), met the principal of a local interactive agency who's also from North Carolina, ran into another design guy who I had seen at a party the night before at my filmmaker friend's house, etc...

Sounds like fun, right? Well, the friends I was with were not interested. We went to St. John's to do something different that what we always do, to see new people that we don't always see- which I think we did. But these guys were not mature enough to actually enjoy it, and it devolved into a night of east Brainerd redneck fun. Now these guys are not particularly rednecks; they're actually fairly well off and pretty much typical of the people I grew up with in Raleigh- the polo-wearing boat shoe set that my other friends enjoy poking fun at me about. But doesn't that make it worse? Doing something ironically that would have sucked even if we were doing it in all earnestness? I have to say I knew what I was getting into, but I went because a) I didn't have anything else to do and b) I knew it would be an interesting cultural experience, which it was, in a sense.

But really, man wasn't made to go from Duck Confit + arugula, to jello shooters in one night. It's just too much, and on the heels of all the big questions I've been asking about whether Chattanooga is really a place I can live long term or not, it kind of pushed me over the edge.

So I was miserable, and ranting about it, fairly incoherently I might add.

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June 01, 2006

Arc'Teryx Acrux 40 Pack

Acrux 40 Backpack by Arc'Teryx

Hey there everyone. I've been busy and not online for a while, and here's why: I recently launched an affiliate program with RockCreek.com, and this is a test of the technology behind that.

This link takes you to the new Arc'Teryx Acrux 40 Backpack. This beautiful pack offers the ultimate in stream-lined simplicity. Features such as rear bungee, AC2 Fusion Point™ anchored side compression straps and flush mounted stretch woven back panel are all laminated on using AC2 technology.

Here's a dynamic coupon script that automatically updates with current coupons from the site:

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September 27, 2005

All Bad Taste United Under One Banner

I try to keep my posts here positive, but this is too ridiculous not to ridicule. AdAge reported this morning that Wal-Mart is looking at purchasing Tommy Hilfiger to give it some "fashion cred" in an attempt to ape Target's design-oriented approach to selling cheap shit to the masses.

It's kind of sad to think that a fashion label once hawked by Bowie and Iman (my close personal friends if you know me well enough to know what I mean by that) will one day be sold next to $3 cut-off Nascar t-shirts. Not that I have any affection for Hilfiger, it's just somewhat depressing to see another fashion label go down the tubes. The Chavs have Burberry, so why not Tommy for America's masses? Who's next, Polo? I'll give them three years before they're sold in McDonalds.

WAL-MART EYES TOMMY HILFIGER ACQUISITION

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September 18, 2005

Design Object, Vol. 1: James Desk

This is the first of a series of "design object" posts. I found this desk and love it's idealism. Eight paper slots create a nice rythmic pattern when filled evenly with white paper, as pictured, yet would almost certainly never look like that in daily use. I'm still on the hunt for a plantation desk for composing quick notes and organizing mail, etc. This could be it if the height were adjusted. And if it weren't $5400. Worth a look, though.

James.jpg (JPEG Image, 792x613 pixels) - Scaled (99%)

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