I recently helped Kateoplis put together a new theme for her site and not one day after putting in the final touches I encounter Tumblr Themr; an application designed to help you develop Tumblr themes offline. The instructions seem pretty clear as to how it works but it's a bit of a bummer that the Custom Fields don't work in the application - as that's one of the aspects of creating a Theme that make it more applicable to a wider audience. Regardless, this is likely just a first release and I look forward to seeing future versions make their way into the wild.
There was a decent amount of hub-bub with the release of IE9 but I am, obviously, more curious about the legit release of Firefox 4. Supposedly there are all kinds of performance enhancements and, I can only hope, that means it has become less of a resource hog. For reasons unknown even to myself I've always been a fan of Firefox - it's extensibility can often be its downfall but from a developers standpoint it is the best browser to have around. From an everyday usage viewpoint, lets hope that this new release makes it a no brainer.
Making sense of political unrest is no easy task. Fortunately, when it comes to something as tumultuous as the Middle East there are plenty of smart people willing to sort it all into something comprehensible. This Middle East Protest Timeline from the Guardian UK is a great way to catch up on all the major events going on from Algeria to Yemen. Even if you're not interested in knowing what's going on, the design of the information is worth taking a peek. I don't love the mechanism to browse "forward" on the timeline but I appreciate that each notch in the timeline isn't just a blurb of information - it's a link to learn even more on the situation. Educational and inspiring.
Ceasar is a handy animation tool to help you setup your CSS animations with different kinds of easing. Granted, having full adoption of said effect is still a ways off for those that don't upgrade very often but it degrades gracefully, so go for it. via Will.
52 Framework is another entry out in the world to help quickly develop HTML5, CSS3, forward thinking Javascript sites. The demo is pretty nice. I've not personally embraced any framework, so it's mostly just good to know what's out there.
You know a design firm would be a fun place to work when the application is an engaging piece of work all on its own. Such is the case with this Two Paper Dolls application - a sendup to letterpress calling out to any developer that wants to make beautiful websites. The 1 color / 2 color toggle on the left is a nice touch and, honestly, I like that they throw down the gauntlet a little bit to applicants to build something new to impress them. Being a good developer and having an eye for design are not separate roles; they should be intertwined.
Find a few minutes today to watch the short film The Ghosts by Eddie O'Keefe. The overall story of the small town girl - bored by suburbia - falling in love with the Greaser-esque dude and angering her preppy ex-boyfriend and father is engaging enough but the little details are what keep you glued in. The music is spot on, the lighting and special effects are just on the cusp of cheesy but never shabby (like a rear projected driving scene - it works all too well). The crackly sound design and the typography are primo examples of lots of love being put into this one.. and it really shows.
Once you're done watching the film, head over to their site and check out a bunch of behind the scenes images and an inspiring music mix.
Wreck and Salvage tipped me off to this repository of 50 Unexplainable Black and White Photos and I'm smitten! I think the explanation for them all is pretty simple - people are goofy and have enjoyed taking silly pictures for as long as they've had the ability to do so. There are too many quality images to point out specific greatness, so just go browse them all.
Take a few minutes to watch The History of Twitter courtesy of Funny or Die. As with most FoD pieces there's a bit of vulgarity so be prepared for that but, on the whole, it's just silly / stupid enough to be enjoyable. Stick around for the end joke... it got me good.
The concept behind the freshly launched Everyday app is extremely simple - take a picture of yourself every day. The introductory video is pretty amusing and just a little bit bizarre; well worth a watch even if you've no interest in the app. While I've no personal interest in creating a repository of images of myself (i've done itbefore) I think the app appeals to peoples most narcissistic sensibilities.. which means the likelihood of it being a popular app is incredibly high.
The other day my friend Justintweeted that he was rather excited about a new app called Soundtracking. From what I could understand it was a way to "Check In" somewhere but supplied additional info about the music that was accompanying wherever you were. I was intrigued. However, based on what I'm seeing on the app's official site it seems to just be a bunch of people using the app to post songs they like. I don't get it. It's just a snippet of the song as well so you don't really get much out of it. Can someone clear up for me what it is that I'm missing about this?
It's entirely possible that it's just a useless app (for me) but I trust Justin too much to make that assumption too quickly.
Sonnenzimmer recently released a great collaborative piece with Billy Baumann and Anne Benjamin entitled Chart Progression. Conceptually, it is an interpretation of Coltrane's "Giant Steps" and serves as an illustration to the artist himself - done through a loose collaborative style he would appreciate. On paper, it's a phenomenal looking art print that can be folded into a book form.
The work of Zach Fonville is a bit different than most I've encountered in the past. He focuses on providing ambient light effects for use in presentations but, for most of us, they could work for a load of other situations. Take a look at this to get the general idea and then dive into the rest of it.. I'm loving the calm, ambient nature of it all.
I'm departing Austin this morning and heading straight back into work so not a ton of prep time for the ole blog. I've never received an angry email that I should blog more, yet, I feel the need to apologize for not providing content. Long story short, here's a few things:
ISPs defend plans for two-tier Internet - it's good to know that the Net Neutrality debate isn't only occurring in the states but it's unsettling to hear that it's not really gaining any traction anywhere else either. Sounds like the UK is having the same woes and headed straight to the same destination - a non-neutral playing field.
14 Amazing Camouflaged Animals - If a time ever comes when you're not impressed / engaged / fascinated by slideshows of this nature you should take a step back and wonder when you became so jaded.
Disappointing Gay Best Friend - there's a short series of these quick jokes that work quite well. Mostly because the gay best friend nails the exhaustion angle perfectly.
Don't argue with an Ibex - if ever there were a grand archive of Internet Classics, I would hope this would make it into the vault. Yes, we've all seen it by now but its entertainment value hasn't diminished even slightly.
We're Aight - I'm embarrassed for all involved but mostly for Ja Rule.
World's Greatest Extra - Jesse Heiman is everywhere.. and, oddly enough, older than I am. He looks 12! I guess its his agelessness that lands him so many roles.
The Way of Bliss - this is an hour long rant praising the ways of drunkenness to salvation. I don't expect anyone to make it through the whole hour but the best part is that anywhere you jump to in the video something amusing is happening - just due to the blasted out nature of the host. via Paul.
A few choice stories I encountered earlier in the week that are likely very old news now since the Internet moves at constant hyperspeed.
Flare App - Mac app that works sort of like Instagram but for your desktop.. drop photos in, apply a filter, send it off. It sounds like a fun idea but I've not had a chance to actually try it yet.
Larry King may join The Daily Show - this may just be wild rumor but I kind of hope it's true and he ends up being the next Andy Rooney, but intentionally funny.
Earlier in the week Jon Bon Jovi was quoted in an interview with the Sunday Times' saying:
Kids today have missed the whole experience of putting the headphones on, turning it up to 10, holding the jacket, closing their eyes and getting lost in an album; and the beauty of taking your allowance money and making a decision based on the jacket, not knowing what the record sounded like, and looking at a couple of still pictures and imagining it.
...
Steve Jobs is personally responsible for killing the music business. I hate to sound like an old man now, but I am, and you mark my words, in a generation from now people are going to say: 'What happened?
The first part is hard to argue with. Enjoying a solid album from start to finish is an experience that everyone should enjoy. The second part, however, many people have found to be a bit over the top. Jeremy Horowitz even went as far as to write an open letter calmly explaining all the ways that the tech industry has helped the music industry, not hurt it. It's a great read and I suggest you take it in at your earliest convenience.
I'm off to SXSW and likely won't be posting a ton in the next few days. I'll do my best to squeeze in some Friday videos but, hopefully, I'll be mostly offline and enjoying the company of manymanygreatfriends (too many to link really).
I assume I will be updating the ole Twitter and Tumblr at various times throughout my departure.. so consider taking a peek at that every so often.
I'd love to say that my hectic work schedule, or my focus on posting to the blog or any number of other excuses is the reason it's taken me so long to put together another edition of the We Own This Town podcast but, frankly, it's just laziness. This fourty-second installment acts as more of a summary of the blog posts that I've putting up on the site but if you haven't been reading along, it's all new to you. There's a load of great new music emerging from Nashville and I think this edition does a good job of showing off the range of styles.. so, go enjoy.
A Brief History of Title Design is just what it sounds like - a quick run through a bevy of movie title design throughout the age of cinema. I think I prefer some of the simpler treatments from the early days as limitations often leads to the best creativity but the more contemporary examples they use are undeniable. So, on the whole, it's two and a half minutes of superb design. Inspiring and lovely.
