Echo conference

I don’t have long, got to head back to the Echo Conference. But for those of you watching at home (or via the #echo09 twitter hash tag) it’s been very informative and inspiring. By far my favorite moment so far was the keynote of Phil Vischer, creator of Veggie Tales and Jelly Telly. I took great notes; maybe I’ll condense them for you later.

I did want to include some personal visuals, stuff you won’t see on their site, that I’ve particularly enjoyed.

It all started with this gentle reminder of technologies’ past.
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I love the warmth of Watermark Church’s beautiful facility.
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… And the fact they gave me Starbucks. And let me take it inside the auditorium.
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Here’s a little pre-show electronic doodling going on before the first keynote.
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…And the suppertime BBQ frenzy. I’ll say this, those Echo folk sure know how to feed us well.
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I’ll leave you with this thought from John Dyer’s breakout on Using Technology without letting Technology use you: The use of technology will change you, or shape you. You get to decide if that shaping is for your betterment.

The League of Moveable Type

The League of Moveable Type has a few nice, free typography offerings. I particularly like Chunk but I won’t lie, the first thing I though was “Rocky Road?”

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“Warning! Vehicle Transforms Into Robot” Stickers

We should stick these stickers just about everywhere.

Amon Tobin, visually wonderful

I love this pieces, especially when it gets drum and bass heavy about halfway through. Nicely treated 3D elements that fit into the environment tightly.

Visual Music – Amon Tobin music video from 12FRAMES on Vimeo.

Rollip, online polaroid generator

Enjoy a brief whim of easy nostalgia with Rollip, and online converter of digital images into a Polaroid version of itself. I pulled my images from the 2009 Production Pig Roast. I think the Polaroid effect adds to the Southern charm of roasting a 200 lb. pig.

Before:
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After, version 1:
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After, version 2:
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There are a handful of different looks to try.

Theme… hmm

My current theme crapped out strangely this morning. The look you see before you is strictly a placeholder until I have the time to troubleshoot what happened. Carry on, carry on.

Yes and no.

A food edition Yes and no. I think Joe would appreciate the yes.

Monome, edison

This is a great monome groove you all should see and enjoy. Reading the Vimeo post the device in the middle is made from 16 arcade buttons… which makes this all the more awesome.

Moby interview

From last week’s Moby post Adam’s comment lead me to this CNN video interview with Moby. Yep, love him even more.

BryanRollins.com paper craft

I haven’t shared a good paper craft project with you in quite some time.

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Eclipse

So apparently there is an eclipse happening tomorrow in China, Japan, and India. Want to be a part of the experience, here’s a site dedicated to the event.

Digital Bible Journal

I frequently rave about Evernote. Amidst the plethora of computer based applications out there it’s one of my favorite services that exists. It’s billed as an “anti social application,” or something like that. In a world of Google Docs and Twitter where everything is meant to be public Evernote is structured to be internal. It’s a place for all of your information, easily accessible, easily searchable.

Here’s how I use it for my quiet time journal. I use this from my iPhone, a paper Bible, from my laptop, or from another computer.

Benefits of this workflow:
- Access to your journal (both input and output) everywhere
- Search. Ever think “what was that verse I read on anger?” Now you can find it.
- Backup. Because it’s stored at Evernote, you won’t misplace your journal.

Typically I use YouVersion.com as my Bible. I occasionally use a hard copy Bible (especially if I’m journaling from my iPhone).

In Evernote, I create a notebook called “Journal.” Each month, I create a new note called “July 2009 notes,” changing according to the date. This way I have a grouping of notes by month.

For each day, I create the entry like this:
“date” – “scripture for the day” (ie. 7/17 – Psalm 73). This way I have the date referenced, and regardless which Bible I pick up I have my place marked. This gives me flexibility in my routine.

How you notate is up to you. I keep all my notes in plain text (no Bold, italics, etc.). I do this primarily because the iPhone only lets you append info to the end of a note with that has formatting (you can’t edit into the middle of the note). I typically quote scriptures, and include verses referenced like (3) or (v4-10) so I can figure out what I was referring to later on, then add the thoughts that God shows me in and around the scripture clippings.

I’ve been using this technique since fall of last year and have really stuck to it. For me I’ve always struggled with paper based journaling. Doing it this way allows me to stay with a workflow I’m already using with everything elsee. Sidenote: I also use this “Journal” notebook for any sermon notes or conference notes I take. That way this information is all in the same location and easily retrievable.

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Brooklyn Fare’s Packaging and Graphic Design

I really love the branding of Brooklyn Fare’s Packaging. It’s clean, the type feels modern, but most importantly I love the copy they’ve written. This is my favorite:

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Little Red Riding Hood via infographics

Very well done, spotless execution.

Groschel and Maxwell parodies

Love this. We did our own version of it a few weeks back, but this was the inspiration and definitely worth a watch.

Hobby Lobby thoughts

On date night this past week Meg and I went to spend some quality time at Hobby Lobby. Truth be told, Meg was purchasing lamps, I was causing trouble and running a muck in the store. Armed with my newly acquired iPhone 3GS camera I saw a couple of things. I had a few thoughts. And now I’ll share them publicly.

Is this Kimmie Gibbler?
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His and Her bathroom embossing stamps?
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We call this “Vampire Aisle.”
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Yo, yo. It’s foam, bro.
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So, which century exactly defines modern? “modern as compared to the middle ages.”
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That’s all I have right now. Maybe next time Meg will want to return. I’ll be ready.

mrcury monome

I found this little monome jam over on the vimeo.com/monome channel and really loved it. It’s very complete and cohesive, and the Oasis sample is perfect. It starts to pick up at around 1:55 and really grows again around 3:09.

Moby’s growing on me

Last week I picked up Moby’s newest, Wait For Me. After a cursory listen I quickly dismissed it and moved on to louder, more attractive music. But after reading this Remix magazine interview I decided to give it another chance and it’s growing on me.

It is contemplative, quiet, and well suited for headphone listening at the gym on a slow day. (Moby suggests “It’s for someone lying in bed Sunday morning at 9 o’clock when it’s raining outside,” but alas I have two small children and work at a church… there will be no lying in bed on a Sunday for me and rarely the chance to sleep in until 9). No, for me headphone land at the gym is solitude. Still, the more I listen the more I appreciate his 50s era over saturated sound, the raw organic tones mixed with lush synths and delicate vocal samplings. It’s no dance party but it’s enjoyable in it’s own way.

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Drum chair

Now this is a recycled chair that I can really get into. Gardner agrees it’s awesome, and I think he’s ready to start locating oil drums now.

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Reese hitch day

Friday, Dad and I took on a project that’s been looming over us, incomplete, for just under three years. How do I know how long it’s been? Because Meg was still pregnant with Rainey when we started.

Today we finished. We installed a Reese hitch on my Jeep. To say it was a tedious task is a huge understatement. This must be the seemingly easiest, but actually most difficult, task I’ve ever taken on. Amazingly difficult.

But it’s done. Fini. And documented via video and photo. Yeah!

Video segment here.