I feel like it's been too long since I gave you the proper heads up on new Jeremy Okai Davis mix offerings. So, to correct this, please allow me to direct you to his latest.. Drawing a Blank. There's always a healthy mixture of indie rock, hip-hop and various other genres blended together on his compilations and this one is no different. Once you've nabbed that be sure that you've got his Ebony and Ivory and So This Is The New Year goods as well.. just to make sure your set is complete.

Take some time today to read through the first 35 pages of Ratfist - a new comic from Doug Tennapel, the artist best known for creating Earthworm Jim. It's fast paced, has great style, is legitimately amusing and hits on loads of comic book archetypes without being boring. All and all, a worthwhile read.

via Adam.

In celebration of the life and music of George Harrison the tribute performance Concert for George will be streaming in its entirety all day today right here. I've never caught seen it before and, from looking at the set list, it's going to be great.

It may not seem entirely newsworthy but VHX have updated their "Coming Soon" splash and it contains two noteworthy items. First and foremost, they're revealing their gameplan - VHX is about collecting, sharing and watching video - from anywhere. Secondly, they included a little screenshot of yewknee.com in their stack of browsers! I'm flattered.

It's a bit odd but I spent a good deal of time on this splash screen just watching the bizarre video cuts from behind it. Engaging! Go sign up for the forthcoming beta if you haven't already.

Austin / Columbus lo-fi do-gooder mutual benefit has released another set of six songs entitled i saw the sea. All created as a tribute to the ocean and his now land locked state of mind. If you're on the lookout for an album to play while you sit and stare out into the infinity; this is a great candidate.. fitting given the subject matter. Her Majesty of Sound is a site dedicated to showcasing shows in the Charlotte, NC area. They've just released their first podcast showcasing local talent. It's similar to what I do over at We Own This Town but, obviously, highlighting bands from a different region. It is a mentality and a cause I can totally get behind. Download it here or stream it here. Studio mate Matt Lehman has had his mix Sunny Days added to the ever growing pile of goodies over at Designers MX. Go give it a listen if you're pining for fewer snowy / rainy days.

Been playing with the HeyTell app recently and found it to be an enjoyable experience. Basically, it's a way to instantly leave a voicemail for someone on your trusted friends list and vice versa. Technically it's called Push to Talk over Cellular (PoC) but it fortunately stores the short message for easy playback later instead of having to hear it that instant. On the insight of Jason I snatched up Tiny Wings - a simple side scrolling inertia game where you aid a small bird in escaping the cover of darkness. The style is great and the gameplay is simple - just the right levels for an iPhone game of my liking.

There's not much to add to Things Real People Don't Say About Your App as it's all right there on the face. Granted, it's a batch of jokes really aimed at the nerdy developer in-crowd but as an appreciator of that, I'm really enjoying it.

Filmmaker Gary Hustwit is responsible for the great documentaries Helvetica and Objectified; both Grade A pieces of work I suggest partaking in if you haven't already. He's been working on a new film, Urbanized that tackles the subject of urban design. However, it seems that in order to keep the project independent (and actually finish it) Mr. Hustwit is in need of some crowd-sourced funding - enter Kickstarter. His desired goal of 85k seems incredibly high but when it comes to filmmaking that is peanuts! If you've got the change to spare I suggest considering at least throwing $35 his way to get yourself some pleasant rewards and, more importantly, help make the movie a reality.

Got the heads up from Greg on this great State Motto Project in which a different illustrator from each of our 50 states visualizes a state motto. There's no lack of talent involved in the project - A. Micah Smith, Will Bryant, Mark Weaver, Matt Lehman are among the familiar (and enjoyed) names. However, the contributions from Matt Stevens, Dan Cassaro, Josh Brill and everyone else are not to be missed either!

Courtney just clued me in to the existence of Greplin - a service touting itself as "the search bar for your life." The short of it is that it connects to a bunch of different API's - Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, Google Docs, Evernote, Dropbox, etc - and allows you to live search all of them simultaneously. This is, obviously, a phenomenal tool to have around and they've actually done a great job of implementing it. Your search can index can only get so big before you'd need to upgrade and start paying them a monthly fee but, for the meantime, it's well worth trying out.

The LA Times has a great article on Getting at the truth of 'Exit Through the Gift Shop' in which they investigate the background of Thierry Guetta - aka Mr. Brainwash. Surprisingly, the somewhat questionable past of making loads of money off of running a clothing store actually checks out according to public records. While it's nice to have that cleared up I'm still curious if the actual works of art that Brainwash showcased as his own came from his own mind or if they were actually Banksy's creations done in the most mocking manner he's capable of. Regardless of that I think Guetta hits it on the nose when he says this of Banksy, "In the end, I became his biggest work of art."

No argument there.

While something like a Pure CSS Slideshow seems like the kind of thing that would only appeal to developer nerds I think it's a fair assessment that the web is moving in this direction on the whole. So, anyone who spends any amount of time browsing should be keen on seeing this sort of thing bubble up from being pure experimentation to practical implementation. It's a bit of a wild frontier out there right now but the results are looking great.

I swore I had mentioned Picons before but apparently I have not. So allow me to correct that oversight. Picons are royalty-free vector icons for use in any number of ways. They are simple and clean like Helveticons but have just a bit more personality to them. I'm a big fan of their style and very happy to see that they've announced a new batch of bundles showcasing their work. Well worth the purchase if you're in the need for icons.

Designers MX is a recently launched site devoted to compiling mixes curated by a various designers comprised of music that inspires. I was asked to submit a mix and ended putting together this compilation I'm calling Concentrate. The intention was to provide music that could easily be worked to - likely as background music for whatever project was at hand. I think it turned out well.

So, go check out DesignersMX and the offerings they've made available.. I am sure there are numerous gems throughout.

Recently, the Nashville edition of Neighborhoodr launched. I'd heard of the service before - a Tumblr backed series of blogs powered by user submissions and curated by trusted editors with a focus on a specific neighborhood or region. The idea is solid; sort of a digital corkboard for activities in the city but with a gatekeeper to keep it from being overrun with crap. The downside is that without quality user submissions there isn't much to see. The Nashville version is really just a photo blog thus far but I'll just have to keep checking back to see if / when it improves.

Neighborhoodr also launched in a number of other cities recently so be sure to check to see if there's one emerging in your general zone as well.

This is a bit of a two parter. First of all, watch this great animated piece from Chris Ware / This American Life that I'm just somehow seeing now. It tells the tale of a schoolroom experience involving fake cameras and a loss of humanity through documentation. It's a morality tale told by first-graders but it's a good one.

Secondly, read this response to the animation from Joseph Gordon Levitt - who has a different take on the use of cameras and the connection to humanity. He argues that cameras engage the operator with the world, not disconnect them.

In my opinion, our lives are little more than the stories we tell ourselves and each other. I’m quite certain that the massive increase in people walking around with cameras these days is far more than a passing trend. It’s a sign of progress towards a connected and engaged society.

While I completely agree that the camera thing is no passing trend, I can't help but think about concerts and people holding up their Flip cameras to record a performance instead of just experiencing the show for that fleeting moment. Going back and reviewing the experience will only remind you of the time you taped some band, not when you saw them. I fail to see how it connects people in the moment.. which, to me, is the important part of the whole deal.

Thoughts?

It's been awhile since I visited the illustrated works of Jack Hudson but after seeing "Soldier and the Nest" (via justbeingdoing) I knew it was time to revisit. I really enjoy the most recent pieces like "The Great Hoard" and "Pipe Dream" but his 2010 Scout Adventure Story exhibition is not to be missed either. In other words, dive in.

Some time ago I posted about Nonsek - the t-shirt remix destination. If you don't recall, they offer a number of pre-made design elements that you "remix" into a random design. You can lock or block particular elements but you can't specifically place anything - it lands where it lands and you like it or not. They recently partnered with Adult Swim to create a Remix Line containing elements from Squidbillies, Venture Bros, ATHF, Robot Chicken and Metalocalypse. Summer is right around the corner.. maybe you need to start fleshing out your t-shirt collection again?

I've yet to dive into the full photostream but if this image is any indication of the kind of gems shared by Andrew Craig Harlow I'm in for a treat.

via Drudgeons.

I'm loving this "Disassembly" series from Todd McLellan (filed under: New Work). The concept is a very simplistic one - take a piece of technology completely apart and photograph an incredibly neat layout of all the comprising parts. The time-lapse video of it being put together is quite nice but the results are the best part.

via BLDG WLF.