RelentlesslyOptimistic

Logo Fail!

A relatively new site, YourLogoMakesMeBarf.com is just what it sounds like:

 

Yes, that does appear to be a drawing of some private parts in the tree there.

The musical note, and the yellow thing that the "eagle" is carrying the turtle with? Yeah, I don't know either. Note that it's even trademarked, so no one would dare to steal it.

Wouldn't you think that the Wisconsin Tourism Federation folks would have learned by now that they should never use their initials online?

Thanks Kathleen!

Great lawn chair

Grow your own lawn furniture, but make sure you have it exactly where you want it, because moving it will be difficult! Just add soil and water.

The Grass armchair is self assembled, each pack contains 14 corrugated cardboard frames and 100g pack of grass seeds.

£65.00, about $114 from purves & purves. Via Make.

Vespa scooter will [not] be hybrid diesel!

This is great! Vespa will introduce a hybrid scooter that uses diesel fuel, opening the possibility of burning biodiesel. It will have a much faster top speed and cost only about $1300 more than the regular model.

Via Retro Thing, which has many more details.

Update: Oops. It turns out this was an April Fool's joke, but as the commenter below says, there are two non-diesel hybrid models coming out soon.

Perfect bike rack

From Dangerblog comes this INOUT Designers bike rack. Perfect for those places that don't have room on the sidewalk for a bike rack.

Social Campaigns

Houtlust is a blog that chronicles advertisements for causes. Below is one of several  from makepovertyhistory.org.

Internet Explorer format troubles

I only recently thought to look at this site in Internet Explorer. Is it just me, or is everyone else getting only half the heading, and ugly bullets on every line and link in both sidebars?

Regardless of what browser you use, please let me know if you see a problem. And email me if you'd like to learn how to switch to Firefox.

Thinking and Paper

A thread at "Ask Edward Tufte" led to this quote from a review by Malcolm Gladwell of "The Myth of the Paperless Office" originally published in the New Yorker :

"The messy desk is not necessarily a sign of disorganization. It may be a sign of complexity: those who deal with many unresolved ideas simultaneously cannot sort and file the papers on their desks, because they haven't yet sorted and filed the ideas in their head. Kidd writes that many of the people she talked to use the papers on their desks as contextual cues to "recover a complex set of threads without difficulty and delay"

Anyone who knows me understands why I like that. Still, I often describe my work as "surfing the chaos," so the complexity and uncertainty certainly fit with the quote. I wonder (hopefully) if my problem with traditional organizing models haven't worked for me because they were heirarchical rather than spatial? I'll have to think about that one, and see if I can find or devise a more spatially-based organizing system. Anyone have suggestions?

Bulbous Modernism

I hate the "bulbous modernism" that seems to be appearing everywhere. foe romeo excerpts a part of an essay which links it to a developing culture of infantilism. Whether or not that's true, if this trend continues, will we begin to see the ideal of feminine beauty begin to change from gaunt and pixie-esque to more Rubenesque?

"I enjoyed this study of cartoon characters when it was first being linked, but now, reading Marina Warner's Bloated essay from Signs & Wonders, I come to see just how subversive it is:"

"The visual lexicon of American identity has changed emphasis; bigness still defines it, but a bigness grown pillowy and flaccid and fluffy and fat like baby flesh - the aesthetic of the animated cartoon character writ large over aspects of the culture far beyond the world of entertainment where it began. The new aesthetic seems to me part of a generalised cult of childishness, fake infantilism...

Disney squishiness has filled out the streamlining of the automobile: no more sharp edges, no crests or spikes or tails. Even computer mice have turned bulbous."

Via foe romeo: Subversive skeletal systems

Big Box Conversions

How Communities Are Re-Using the Big Box

"Big Box" stores, like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, etc., are centrally located, with easy automobile access, and lots of parking. Communities are experimenting with ways to use closed stores, and artist Julia Christensen has compiled a presentation on the creative uses, everything from schools and churches to a Spam Museum.

 Via Treehugger

Shoe Blogging: It's A Shoe AND A Gadget!

Adjustable Shoe

Wei-Chieh Tu’s height-adjustable shoes for women can be raised through a 38° angle and locked to meet the shifting pedestrian needs of long-suffering feet. Wear 0°-38° as a flat shoe during your morning commute and switch back when necessary.

Via Sensory Impact