Katie Armstrong

This past summer I bore witness to the birth of Tipper Whore - a band that started as a drunken April Fools Day idea but managed to survive beyond that in full fledged undertaking. I've had the pleasure of seeing them live a number of times and am proud to announce their debut 7" on yk records. The vinyl is a gorgeous clear blue with brilliant artwork designed by Matt Hearn. The music is the perfect reminder that rock music should be fun, danceable and, ideally, full of sexual innuendo.

I'm a huge fan of everything these guys are doing and I'm very proud to be part of their introduction to the world. Go get it.

If you happen to live in the Norfolk, VA area please take some time to visit the Handsome Biscuit, one of the latest dining endeavors from David Hausmann - whom you may remember from Relative Theory Records or The Boot or elsewhere. He's good people, go taste his biscuit (not a euphemism).

Nat Brown was, once, the founder of the original xBox so it's safe to say that he's as familiar with the project as anyone could be. He recently posted a rather scathing rant on the Stupid, Stupid xBox and how they're missing huge opportunities by not opening their doors to indie developers. It's actually rather shocking to read such harsh (but true) insights from someone that actually knows the workings of the company and the project. This isn't just rambling Internet rants, this is a completely informed chastising:

Microsoft is living in a naive dream-world. I have heard people still there arguing that the transition of the brand from hardcore gamers to casual users and tv-uses was an intentional and crafted success. It was not. It was an accident of circumstance that Microsoft is neither leveraging nor in control of.

And that's one of the nicer insights! Read the whole thing.

I think it's safe to present I Love You Like A Fat Lady Loves Apples without any additional commentary because, frankly, there's nothing I could possibly add.

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Us

It was bound to happen eventually - the Internet is now revolutionizing snail mail. Outbox is a new service that picks up your mail, scans it and lets you manage it like email. You can request specific items still be delivered to your door but, otherwise, you're done with checking the mailbox. I don't know if I view physical mail as enough of a hassle to spend $5/month to get it on my iPad but I am willing to bet some people do feel that way. Maybe you're one of them? Check out the great intro video to get familiar with exactly what they're offering.

The concept behind Louder is pretty interesting - crowd funded campaigns to pay for billboards in high profile areas. At its core I think it's intended for actual activism - like Pro Immigration Messages in places that may not always be so pro immigration. Like most of the Internet you're always going to have some goofs in the system but, on the whole, I think there's a very solid basic idea at work - empowering people in a marketplace they can't usually compete in. I'd love to see billboards be used for the people whenever possible.

The WeeWow is an amusing little device that turns your iPhone into a Talkbox. You know, like this. Well, it would do that if it existed but it's just a prototype right now. The folks at Ridiculo.us are trying to change that. It's an absurd project but that doesn't mean it's not worthwhile. At the very least, watch the Kickstarter video - it's quite amusing itself.

For the past few weeks I've been trying out Sunrise, a daily email that arrives with a quick summary of the forthcoming days events. It pulls from you Facebook and Google Calendar to let you know about birthdays, holidays and other various events. The best part, if you're on a shared calendar it will show you what other members of your team have planned for the day. It's a super simple way to stay clued in for the day with very little effort. Kinda loving it.

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Philip Brontsema

I'm a sucker for just about any content on In Focus so The 2013 Sony World Photography Awards is right up my alley. It's huge images from around the world narrowed down to a shortlist of potential Best Ofs. The forty images presented in the collection are all incredibly spellbinding - each with an equally compelling story behind them. Winners of the competition will be announced in March and April but, seriously, why parse it down even more? They're all crazy good.

Did you see that welcome illustration from Tad Carpenter? Is there any better incentive to dive into a portfolio than an intricately designed piece of work like that? I love the textures, the variety, the overall cuteness and the obvious craft that has gone into everything. Check this World of Whimsy to get some insight into his process but, really, just dive in.

Got a bunch of old Happy Meal and similarly cheap toys lying around? Why not illustrate them into more epic configurations? That's exactly what's happening at KaraToys and it's quite enjoyable. This Ronald McDonald is nearing epic, godlike status and this guy just needs his own show stat.

Like most good things, via Chad.

These 3D Clouds are generated entirely with CSS (and a bit of Javascript)? The How To is somewhat easy to understand. Be sure to see it in progress for a bit of arty awesomeness and don't sleep on that "Michael Bay" button. Always click the Michael Bay button.

via Chad

you will listen, and enjoy, now.

brand new song. enjoying.