Damn Entropy

It seems that no matter how hard you try to put things up neatly, Christmas lights are always affected by non-invasive entropy. You never have to touch it, but it will become more disordered no matter what.

At least the final result is always pretty...

Acrobatic Rabbits

If anyone is looking for a gift for me, I've got just the thing. It's a sterling silver inkwell by Tiffany with acrobatic rabbits on it.

Look a Little Closer

Old and new technology clash to make this photo: A Nokia N9 used to peer down an early 20th century microscope to the text on a slide.

Endangered Alphabets

The Endangered Alphabets Project is a really interesting project where one artist is working to bring attention to the fact that not only are there are only 100 written alphabets for the over 6000 spoken languages that exist today, but that as many as half of these spoken languages will be extinct by the end of this century.

His painstaking work to carve these written languages into wood is a testament to their artistry and beauty.

Mini Robot Vacuum

I for one would like to welcome my little robot overlord. I'd like to welcome him to clean up my desk for me.

Mini Robot Vacuum | Mini Robot Shaped Crumb Vacuum

Occupy Blog Space

OK, so this really isn't related to much of anything, but then again, what on this blog is related to anything else in the blog?

These were taken in Zuccotti Park where the Occupy Wall Street protest is going on. It was interesting to see what some people want to call "democracy in action" but what really looks more like a bunch of grumpy people gathering in one spot to attempt to be heard. Sadly they all have such a broad range of "demands" and agendas that the only thing many of them have in common is a self-perceived solidarity against society. Many couldn't even properly explain their stance or the signs they were holding.

I never did find pens 1 - 4

A view from the eating area of Steve's Pizza across the street.

I'll take my warm bed over tents in a public city park
any day of the week, no matter what my stance is.

Can you truly call yourself a protester
when you arrive and depart via taxi?

Drawers

What I wouldn't do for some extra storage... Well, probably not shell out the money for this antique, even though it's got at least four times more drawers than the picture implies.

Old School Grocery Shopping

Living in suburbia, all the grocery stores are about the same; clean, uncluttered, and lacking in a whole lot of color. Which is why it was a literal treat to walk through this old United Supermarket in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. It was not only small and crammed full of things (except the one item needed) but it's a visual overload with the checkered tiles!

Anamorphic Typography

I was always impressed with the cover art for The Blueprint 3 by Jay-Z and how the three dimensional art took on a flat two dimensional look thanks to some creative paint. Now I see an article on this at Typography Served and I'm once again just blown away. I'm rather impressed by the use of space and "print" to create a rather flat image with a lot of depth.

Get a Buzz

So many jokes, so little time.
I'll just let the vibrator's box speak for itself...

Compressed - The Movies

With a blog name like this one, it was only natural to do a little modified re-post after coming across a video by Kim Pimmel on the today and tomorrow blog. 

The following are videos using macro-photography, soap bubbles, and ferrous toner particles.

Compressed 01 from Kim Pimmel on Vimeo.

Compressed 02 from Kim Pimmel on Vimeo.

The Two-Pronged Approach

I'll be charging forward with this, even though I don't feel very grounded in this two-pronged approach.

Skulls

Little yellow skulls lined up in rows.

What they are waiting for nobody knows.

The little yellow skulls, they all fell down.

Did they give you a smile, or just a mean frown?

Happy Buddha

Buddha is happy.

Buddha is laughing.

Buddha thinks that you should too.

Super Cars

Three super cars out at the valet stand where the exotics get parked. A Ferrari, Maserati, and a Smart Car. At least the Smart is a Brabus edition...

Ikea's Lights

Ikea always has interesting displays for their light bulbs. This time around it's four rows hung with incremental lengths as it gets closer to the wall. Personally, I think it could be a very cool effect for a bar somewhere. The wall of packaged bulbs behind it almost turns into a piece of art due to it's size and repetition.

Barrel Chairs

Straight out of the 1950's: a matching set of whiskey barrel chairs with harlequin patterned upholstery. There's only minor damage to the original upholstery; nothing a quick stitch couldn't fix. If only I had a man-cave in a basement...

Shadow Chair

A nice play of light and shadow of a chair and table at a Target-based Starbucks.

Don't Do Ugly

When dealing with design, there is one rule that is always important to remember: DON'T DO UGLY!

Even the Albertson's bakery department has a reminder.

Picture Me Rollin'

Knitted Hubcaps

Now you can have the flyest ride in the retirement community with these knitted lace hubcap covers. 

Tea Set Detail

Here is a detail of the bird motif on a 1930's porcelain breakfast tea set. There is only one bird per side, allowing it to be the focus of the motif, and stylized branches add to the deco feel of the piece. Simple red (now more orange over time) and green accents help to make the design stand out, but do not detract from it.

Liberty and Tranquility

As life continues its hectic pace, sometimes you just have to slow down and take a moment to reflect. This picture shot from Battery Park looking out towards the Statue of Liberty is a reminder of that. 

Better still is that it's 16:9 format makes it ideal for a widescreen computer background to continue to remind you to slow down.

Pile of Silver

I'm thinking that this pile of silver plate holloware might make a cool background or texture for something.

Vintage Bead Work

A detail of the stitching and bead work on a vintage 1940's purse. Only one piece fell off in the past 70 years, and that was because it was only glued it on instead of stitched on like all the beads. It's stunning to see, and in amazing shape for it's age.

Small Town Graffiti

These two gems of street philosophy were found in an alley just East of the main square in McKinney, Texas. 

You Are Here

A wall tag located on the fence outside of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York reminds the reader of their place in the world.

The image is also perfect for a widescreen desktop background.

Feeling Discombobulated?

After a long day at work I need to come home to my own recombobulation area.

Thank you General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee for having such a great sense of humor at your security checkpoint.

The Dread Pirate Roberts

It appears that the Dread Pirate Roberts has truly gone into franchising. This time it's a snow cone stand...

Pabst Blue Ribbon

Love it or hate it, Pabst Blue Ribbon beer is an icon of the American culture. From the opening scene of Laverne and Shirley in the bottling factory (filmed in the building on the left in the first picture) to Dennis Hopper's reference between Heineken and Pabst Blue Ribbon in the 1986 movie Blue Velvet (I'll let you, the reader, look that one up) it's everywhere you go, especially if you're willing to look for it.

The buildings have fortunately been saved and are one by one being converted into new, usable, office and living space. It's nice to see that in a disposable world, some pieces of our history and culture are being saved, even if it is just on the surface.

The main Pabst sign.

Stained glass on an interior door.

The Captain.

The opening of the wings at the Milwaukee Museum of Art. The sound is horrid thanks to everyone around trying to talk over the wind, but even there in person the wings are silent. It's rather awe-inspiring to watch something so massive open without a sound.

More Quadracci Pavilion

The repetition of design makes the Quadracci Pavilion in Milwaukee fascinating to walk through and photograph. The use of a 16:9 HD ratio as opposed to the normal 4:3 helps to capture this repetition and how  it changes throughout the day.

Om Nom Nom Nom

The Quadracci Pavilion gets ready to munch on another visitor.

Wingspread in Panoramic View

Wingspread was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for Herbert Fisk Johnson, of SC Johnson, in Racine, Wisconsin. It's one of his later designs and is based off of a pinwheel layout. Thanks to Wright's long and sometimes rambling Prairie designs, it was another perfect opportunity to play with the panoramic software.

Outside view. Main entrance in center.

The software added a fun wave to Wingspread. Frank Lloyd Wright would have never added such a wave to a design which is situated on top of flat ground.

Interior view from just inside the main entrance.

The hearth is the heart of the home. Wingspread really emphasizes this with its central mantle in the living area. Not seen in the back is the fireplace on the second story which is intended to burn eight foot long logs in a vertical position. History says that the vertical fireplace was used only once since there's nothing more disconcerting than having eight foot tall burning logs fall into the room when the bottoms burn out.

The Mantle and Chimney.

Light from the surrounding windows in the roof play off the mantle's brick throughout the day. The massive height of the mantle not only helps to ground the room, but is an excellent opportunity to use the panoramic software to go vertical instead of  horizontal.

Panoramic Milwaukee

I've become spoiled by technology. Instead of having to take multiple pictures and then sit at home and try and stitch them all together in Photoshop I can just pull up an app on my phone and let it do all the work for me. There's an added benefit (or fault depending on what you're photographing) of the inadvertent curvature to the images which in some cases gives the whole panorama a slight fish-eye effect.

Add in the interesting architectural combination of the War Memorial Center designed by Eero Saarinen and the Quadracci Pavilion by Santiago Calatrava in Milwaukee. Sprinkle it with a nice cloud formation coming in off Lake Michigan and you get a very nice shot indeed.

This shot really is worth opening up for the full size.