January 5, 2023

A diagram of flow

That sweet spot in the middle. / via Rachel

twitter.com

Diagram of flow showing the channel between anxiety and boredom

January 4, 2023

Simon Collison’s 2022 in music

I'm still sifting through year end lists to find new things to read, play and listen to. Colly’s collection is presented so darn good.

colly.com

Top albums of 2022 collected by Simon Collison

January 3, 2023

The Smile Tiny Desk Concert

Thom Yorke in 2023 looks like a Thom Yorke sent from the future to warn present-day Thom Yorke about machines subjugating humanity in an oncoming dystopia. - @Steven_Hyden

npr.org

The Smile perform at NPR's tiny desk concert

Tina’s 2023 Intentions

SwissMiss had a birthday, and she kicked it off with intent and goals and fortitude. Also of note, her call to find ways to celebrate her 50th: The responses are gold.

swiss-miss.com

January 2, 2023

Nicholas Britell: Knowing the score

Kevin Fanning’s post about making variations of the Andor theme reminded me of this segment on CBS Sunday Morning about the composer behind Succession, Andor and a slew of other music for shows and movies.

youtu.be

Snapshot of composer Nicholas Britell

December 31, 2022

Some Wonderful Things From 2022

One of the highlights of the year was seeing Jason Kottke return to regular posting after sabbatical. He wraps up some of the good things from the year. Also, sabbaticals should be way more common.

kottke.org

Atlantic Ocean and rocky shore

100 things that made Austin Kleon’s 2022

I dig how Austin blends experiences and moments in his year end list. Mental note: Start a list like that for 2023.

austinkleon.com

A collage by Austin Kleon that represents his favorite things of 2022

The Cross Cut’s favorite movies of 2022

Filing this away as there are both overlaps with my favorites and lots of flicks to add to the list. / via Yewknee

thecrosscut.substack.com

A still from the movie After Yang

A Year of Culture

Dan Sinker has a new blog (yay). His last post for this year collects things he’s read, watched, heard, and experienced that made the year better.

dansinker.com

Little Devil book cover

December 29, 2022

A series of Garden Offices

Been daydreaming of a dedicated space for making things outside of the house. CJ Chilvers’ collection of small workspaces and cabins is inspiring.

cjchilvers.com

A workspace cabin in snowy woods

December 19, 2022

Argentina wins the World Cup

Gastón Abril Rotger captures scenes of celebration on the streets of Buenos Aires.

gastonabril.com.ar

Celebrations for the 2022 World Up in the streets of Argentina

December 16, 2022

LOOP

Paul Cocksedge’s installation in the UK tips a hat to the metal-working and textile history of the building and area. It’s quite lovely. / via Dezeen

paulcocksedgestudio.com

Long swaths of metal loop from a ceiling in a large indoor space

Excerpts from an interview with Lynda Barry

Brandon Schaefer shares some great snippets that inspire reading the full NYTimes interview.

seekandspeak.com

A portrait of Lynda Barry by Mamadi Doumbouya

December 13, 2022

She, un cuento de J&B

It's an ad. And it's _really_ touching. Translated description: ”There can always be room at the table for acceptance, respect and, above all, celebration.”

youtu.be

J&B advert

December 12, 2022

I want to go to Sweden and have some fries

And a burger. Delighted by this identity by Kurppa Hosk. Also, I want to play Wipeout again. / via Brand New

kurppahosk.com

Visual identity representing color and type in 3d landscape with characters of cheese, fries, onions, ketchup and mustard

December 9, 2022

Santa Is a Psychedelic Mushroom

Smitten with the story and production of this piece by Mathew Salton with additional animation by James Bascara.

swiss-miss.com

Colorful illustration of a reindeer head on a bright yellow background

December 8, 2022

How to be a writer on a marketing team without sounding like a jerk

”How would you tell your best friend about it?” and oodles of other good nuggets from Matt Haughey.

a.wholelottanothing.org

How to be a writer on a marketing team without sounding like a jerk

December 7, 2022

Austin Kleon on the passing of Tom Phillips

Admission: I didn't know of Tom Phillips until he was gone. More from The Art Newspaper and Slipped Disc

austinkleon.com

An older fella works at a desk filled with instruments for making art

The origin of TV dinners

I watched this video on TV while eating (a homemade) dinner. I fondly remember the cherry pie compartment from my youth.

laughingsquid.com

TV dinner with turkey and gravy, peas, French fries and baked apples

December 6, 2022

A community isn’t a garden, it’s a bar.

I nodded all along the cases that Derek Powazek presents and concludes. “Online communities are bars and we should admit that and start building the diverse, engaging, and safe gathering places we deserve.”

powazek.com

A crowded bar

December 2, 2022

NPR’s Books We Love 2022

So pretty indeed. Love the cumulative sort feature to boot. / via Ben Werdmuller

apps.npr.org

Book covers from 2022

November 30, 2022

Design System Advent Calendar

I trust whatever insight Dan Mall shares about Design Systems will be actionable and extremely valuable. (I also dig this format as it seems like it won’t be overwhelming!)

danmall.com

Design System Advent Calendar with sample emails mocked up in a mobile phone

Kazam Magazine

Speaking the Eames Institute, they have a (virtual) magazine to share stories about people, projects, and ideas that are shaping a better tomorrow. I kinda wish it was a real magazine, had an RSS feed or both!

eamesinstitute.org

Hands screen print an abstract print with orange and blue rectangles

Jim Stoten’s sketchbook

Jim once thought about his sketchbook as an enjoyable way to waste time. I’m glad the Eames Institute sponsored this video which was an enjoyable way to get inspired. More goodness on Jim’s website.

jim-stoten.com

Photo illustration of Jim Stoten with drawings of horses and fruits and abstract shapes

November 26, 2022

ooh!directory

A fantastic growing directory of personal blogs organized by Phil Gyford. / as seen all over the feeds

ooh.directory

Categories of blogs

November 25, 2022

Why Japan’s internet looks very different

This video by Sabrina Cruz is dense and mind-blowing from multiple angles. (I've been working on Japanese websites of late.) As Andy Baio notes, the addendum is well worth a visit.

youtube.com

Cloud of website designs organized by style

The work of Dan Zucco

Read this article about delight in product design and enjoyed the illustrations by Dan Zucco. He’s got a class on Domestika that looks quite good.

instagram.com

3D geometric shapes form a colorful pattern

November 22, 2022

Why keep blogging?

The sentiments here apply to so many different practices. Austin’s thoughts from 2 years ago hold up well. Nice to revisit, thanks to Michael Rill

austinkleon.com

A stack of journals next to a typewriter

Harry Bertoia’s Sonambient sculptures

Went down a rabbit hole watching and listening to this. / via Drew Daniel

youtu.be

Metal rods that vibrate and makes sounds

James Turrell at the Catskill Art Space

This installation seems very much like his work in Naoshima, Japan (a favorite of all time). Bucket listing to go here. Bonus: Great photos by Noah Kalina in the article.

nytimes.com

Dim room with glowing blue rectangle

November 21, 2022

Juicy Marbles

Plant-based, marbleized meats and a _very_ hip website. Pricey, but whoa, advances in food technology! / via Uncrate

juicymarbles.com

Juicy Marbles

Kristy Sellars on America’s Got Talent

She's billed as a pole dancer, but it's more than that. And her performance transcends the annoying way this television show is edited.

youtu.be

A woman on stage at the beginning of a pole dance

Just say no to logo

An appeal for a better design vocabulary from a favorite professor from OSU, Paul Nini. Get to know the difference between a logo, brandmark and then some. / Thanks DJ!

educators.aiga.org

Parts of a logo include logotype, brandmark and signature.

November 18, 2022

52 Clutter Free Gifts

Kathryn texted this list and I found Becoming Minimalist have expanded it to 99 ideas. But I like the easily digestible image version for starters.

reddit.com

A list of 52 clutter free gifts that include experiences, consumables, classes, memberships and gifting your time

November 17, 2022

The Library of Congress: Dietmar Winkler

Reminding myself of the trove that is the Library of Congress site, thanks to Antonio of AisleOne.

loc.gov

Screen grab of Library of Congress website with search results for Dietmar Winkler

November 15, 2022

Yuni Yoshida’s promo for エルピス

Those aren't glitches, those are stacks of books, pads of paper and writing instruments. Think that's neat? Enjoy lots more of their work.

instagram.com

Poster for television program with three characters framed by what appears to be digital glitches but are physical items

November 2, 2022

More AI, this time, step by step instructions

On how to train and develop prompts for impressive outputs of illustrated portraits of a person. Sidenote: Matt Haughey has been doubling down on posting short and longform content on his blog. So. Good.

a.wholelottanothing.org

AI illustration of Matt Haughey

From real to animated AR

Yup, more with the AI stuff. This particular thread by Sergei Galkin details the steps to transfer a physical toy to the digital world in very short order.

twitter.com

Creating an animated digital character from a physical toy

Invasive Diffusion

Andy Baio goes deep on the state of images generated from AI along with the ethical (and legal) debates. An excellent long read.

waxy.org

Portraits of Andy Baio generated in popular illustration styles

The Soundburger is back

We celebrated this portable record player back in the day. And now it's back and with Bluetooth to boot! / via Tom

audio-technica.com

A very portable record player

The Creative Switch

Ralph Hammer suggests changing your mood space to create options. Couldn’t hurt eh?

ralphammer.com

A gray scribble swirls around a figure in a cloud of uncertainty

October 28, 2022

An open source pride symbol

Microsoft creates a blend of pride flags and though it breaks the rules of traditional flags that rely on simplicity, I'm kinda digging it. Available on Github and Figma for use and remixing. / via dezeen

medium.com

New pride flag that mixes together lots of other pride flags in vortex of stripes

October 27, 2022

Performant Mental Health

Five-part series designed to ignite greater awareness of mental health issues at home and at work by Suzanne Moll and Eddie Brouse, edited by Cameron Moll

cameronmoll.com

Icon of head with check engine light icon

October 24, 2022

Cincinnati’s first chili parlor

Dann Woellert explores the history of this local dish on its 100th anniversary.

dannwoellertthefoodetymologist.wordpress.com

Photograph of an Empress Chili Parlour in downtown Cincinnati

October 23, 2022

Music Mini Player

A replica of the classic iTunes MiniPlayer to control Apple Music on modern macOS. Functioning nostalgia! / hat tip to Riccardo

marioaguzman.github.io

Retro Mac music controller app that looks like the initial OSX interface style

Jeff Goldblum quotes George Bernard Shaw

If you prefer not to watch video in a tweet, here’s the quote in text.

twitter.com

Jeff Goldblum holds up a finger as he recites a quote as a guest on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert

October 21, 2022

Lotte Chair by Sarah Hossli

Simple design to help folks get in and out of the chair. / via Dezeen

sarahhossli.ch

A woman sits happily in a chair with high sturdy arms that aid in transitioning from seated to standing

October 19, 2022

Generosity is our currency

An inside look at Creative Mornings, with oodles of excellent photos to flush out the story. Speaking of which, featured image by Tory Williams.

intheworks.helpscout.com

A group of folks hold up signs of encouragement

October 18, 2022

I worry about the things I love…

"and the ways of doing and being that I love, becoming old-fashioned or whatever. But there’s two sides to everything. The crazier the world gets, the more there’s people looking for ways to make it not so crazy. I’ve put my foot in the camp of the people who are trying to make the world less crazy" - John Porcellino / via Brandon Schaefer

npr.org

Drawing of a man in distress with glasses and a five o'clock shadow

October 17, 2022

It’s none of your business.

"You’ve created something – a drawing, a layout, a video, a piece of code, or a blog post – and after you’re more or less done, you pause and you look at it. And you don’t like it." Mattias Ott bridges this thinking with wisdom from Lynda Barry

matthiasott.com

Lynda Barry sits at her desk to draw.

October 13, 2022

Do it poorly

Motivation in the thread.

twitter.com

Two post-its on top of a computer monitor that read "HALF-ASS IT" and "DO IT POORLY"

October 11, 2022

Nothing great is made alone

Wonderful work from Collins sharing the Figma story. Bonus? Reading the "+ Project Information" backstory to get a sense of the journey.

wearecollins.com

Nothing great is made alone

October 7, 2022

js13kGames 2022 winners

I've played four of these games that fall under 13kB or less of JavaScript (that's small) and each one was quite enjoyable! / via sidebar

github.blog

A bit mapped video game with characters variegating a 2d landscape

Explaining how Stable Diffusion works

I've a better understanding of AI image generation thanks to Jay Alammar.

jalammar.github.io

Diagram showing input and output of stable diffusion AI image generation from text. In this instance, "paradise cosmic beach" is the input with an illustration approximating such is the output

Kyoto EP

Simon Collison’s Site Nonsite journey continues with a second EP. Two songs streaming now. More records should have release notes for each track like Simon has provided (scroll down).

sitenonsite.bandcamp.com

Cover for the EP titled "Kyoto" by Site Nonsite featuring a green duotone image in the background and a color photograph of a person holding a bright umbrella facing away from the camera

Robtober 22

If you're looking for horror movies to get psyched up for Halloween, Rob has a list. Check them out, his life depends on it.

v6.robweychert.com

Robtober 2022 graphic with ransom note typography and blood splatters

October 6, 2022

The Doodle House

Mr. Doodle's project over the last few years is quite impressive. Dedication and consistency FTW.

pikemall.tech

A man in a white suit covered in thick black lines of doodles stands on the steps of a white house interior, also covered in thick black lines of doodles

October 5, 2022

Siegfried & Joy

I laughed, out loud... and then watched this video more times than I wanted to count. Their 'gram is chock full of more laughs. / thanks Ben

instagram.com

Two magicians in fabulous fake tiger fur coats and sunglasses hold up a gold piece of fabric for a magic trick

October 4, 2022

PodMod

I have the sudden urge to modify an old iPod with an SD card.

seansharp.org

hand holding a modified iPod with clear case

October 3, 2022

Meet the Artist: Noah Kalina

I've long admired Noah's work (and newsletter) but never listened to his podcast. (I'm visual, not auditory.) But it was nice to see/hear him talk about photography in this Samsung Frame thingy.

youtu.be

a man holds a camera in the woods