Seth Godin on legacy issues

I love this article by Seth Godin on legacy issues. Especially this: “Either you’re focused on maintaining the legacy features or you’re focused on figuring out how to replace them.”

What systems are you holding to that are no longer needed? What could you accomplish if you diverted that time elsewhere?

UPGRADE series promo

It doesn’t always have to be fancy to be effective. This promo was conceptualized in about a day and shot with an iPhone 4. Grading and motion graphics enhanced with After Effects.

video games in real life

I never get tired of compositions like these. Video games in real life situations.

G.I. Joe names

My kids have been playing with my childhood G.I. Joes for several years now. Just the other day I held this guy up an my daughter replies “Oh, that’s suspenders-Man.”

Really? I totally would have gone with “Antenna-head.” Maybe she sees so few suspenders these days that that’s what sticks out. (of course, I don’t know how many antennas she sees protruding from people’s heads).

Maybe this has to do with the generation gap.

Homemade Salsa (and assorted tech)

This weekend’s projects include:

1) Jailbreak iPhone and get Netflix app working
2) Order new dishwasher as our Maytag one was recalled
3) Make salsa from scratch

I was able to accomplish them all. If any of the above interest you let me direct you to lifehacker for the netflix hack (and www.jailbreakme.com for an easy way to jailbreak). Then head over to the Maytag recall site to see if your washer is a candidate.

Finally, I made up the salsa recipe from scratch. Here’s a rough approximation of my recipe.

3-4 cups of small tomatoes (I used grape tomatoes, but roma or cherry will probably work)
1/2 onion
4 cloves garlic, peeled and cut into several pieces
juice from 1 lemon
sea salt & pepper (to taste)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor, combine until your heart’s content.

The results? Mmmm.

Free coffee

Did you know that if you bring in an empty bag of Starbuck’s coffee to one of their shops they’ll exchange it for a tall cup of Joe? Too bad for me the closest Starbuck’s is 20 miles away. But I now have a nice collection of bags accumulating in the car.

Thermo + cooler

When I graduated college and went to work full time my Dad got me a Stanley thermos just like the one he’s carried for years. The design is nearly identical to his, unchanged over the years. Today I came across this iteration on the set. Nice.

Transformers 3

A few more on the set of Transformers 3.

The Real American Hero Rubber Band Rescue Effort

The Real American Hero Rubber Band Rescue Effort is officially over. After scouring the piles of GI Joe parts (I gave G my collection about a year ago, turns out a toy based on a rubber band isn’t geared for long term use) I found 11 repair candidates.

The success rate was just under 50%.

What I didn’t factor in was the perils of water damage on the tiny screw that holds the chest together. And once that screw’s rusted out, well, that’s about all you can do.

I have a few that were plain missing the screw (like Dr Mindbender) so I’ll be harvesting parts from some of the other guys who were missing something more significant.

In the end, G gets 5 repaired soldiers, though I’m bummed that one of those is Raptor, the lamest of all GI Joes (next to maybe Chuckles or Big Boa).

** UPDATE: We located some more parts and rescued a few more characters tonight. Among those; a Cobra diver, Bar-B-Q (in his yellow and orange glory), and Major Bludd (who always reminded me if Cpt Hook)

A collection

Further proof that a large grouping of just about anything can become a collection. I give you…
100 different bowling screens.

redirect:avclub

In the new year I’m rethinking what to do with avclub. Don’t fret, I’ll keep it running. But over the past several years it’s evolved. Doesn’t every blog? Maybe that’s because blogs are personal and driven by the whims of their author. And authors change over time. Regardless, I’ve noticed over the past several months (or even the past full year) a lot of what the avclub has become is a regurgitation of information I find notable or inspirational. Some of that will continue. But I may begin to trade recycled content (and the frequency) for some more thought through ideas. This may mean I post less, but with more planning.

I’ve never been a big fan of blogs with lots and lots of words. Maybe it’s my short attention span, or the fact that I peruse around 150 sites a day (and in those volumes you have to become a scanner). Regardless, I’d like to tell more of a story; and utilize video, image, and hand-drawn scribble. Let me show you what’s inspiring me, or maybe (and more interestingly) show you the results of my inspiration. So let’s see where this goes.

C9s

My beautiful wife writes a great post today about our family’s switch from tiny white lights to beautiful, bold, dangerous C9s on the Christmas tree. Get the story here.

[photopress:4150035865_02e9c3e9e6.jpg,thumb,pp_image]

Don’t Get Married Until…

This weekend marked the beginning of a new series, Don’t Get Married Until… For the visual package and opener Perry’s sole request was that it should an element of hip-hop. Listening to the 90s station the other day I heard some Heavy D and I instantly knew it was the right choice. The goal in this piece is to set up the series with “if you’re ______, then you’re not ready to get married.” Here’s the resulting opener.

Tomorrow I’ll post of the preproduction details (and a special preliminary video), sketches, and talk a little about the process.

Dirt Conference

In November Joshua and I will be trekking to Little Rock to be a part of Dirt Conference. It really dig the vibe of what they’re trying to do; empowering churches and artists to use the gifts they have and not complain about their limitations.

I’ll be a part of 4 labs covering team chemistry, motion graphics, how to communicate with your senior pastor (disclosure: I’m spoiled by my senior pastor, Perry. Evidence here), and team organization (count how many times I say “whiteboard” and “Evernote“).

Stuff White People Like #129

One of my favorite satire blogs of the past two years is Stuff White People Like. It’s insightful, cleverly written, and downright fun; especially as evidenced in this recent post on why white people like Banksy. If you’re a design snob you’ll get it and appreciate it.

“…art does not work the same way as Indie Music when it comes to the need to like the obscure.”

Make the Most of Office Coffee

Fortunately I work at the best place on earth and they invest in quality coffee for us caffeine addicts, but if you’re not so fortunate you can survive the office cup of coffee. This article has some great tips on how to brew decent coffee from the stock office setup.

I could have used this years ago when I was an engineering intern. I frequently referred to our office brew as “barbecue water,” as it’s color and strangely hickory undertone (could that be plastic residue) favored a watered down sauce.

Ron’s Evernote Tips

Evernote users (and if you’re not, just search “evernote” at the avclub and let me convince you), let me direct you to Ron’s Evernote Tips, a veritable plethora of uses for Evernote you probably haven’t thought of yet… but Ron has.

Dirt Conference remix contest

The following is an official posting. The Dirt Conference is holding a video remix contest with some pretty sweet prizes. Read the official post here.

– OFFICIAL COPY BELOW –
Just to refresh your memory, the contest will be run as follows:

1. We will give away a pair of tickets to whoever makes the best dirt mashup video of their own.
2. They can download raw video footage of each person we interviewed.
3. That includes Dino Rizzo, Greg Surratt, John Seibling, Kellen Coldiron, Daniel Gonzales, Kristen Becnel, Randy Bezet, Joe Champion, Stovall Weems and a whole lot more.
4. Post their own video on vimeo and their blog…and also give us a link and we’ll judge all the videos and give away tickets the last week of September.
5. They can use whatever effects or music they want.

The contest starts today and will end on October 1.

The files for the contest can be found here:

(Sample footage (4.7 MB))

Remix Kit (140.9 MB)

Bashnia Tatlina Tower Bawher

I don’t know the history behind this piece, but I understand it to be Russian. I love the fact that it’s just… so… unique. It’s not 3D. There’s no techno music. It almost feels hand made. But somehow it has a frantic pace that conveys so much emotion. And a beautiful color palette that evokes nostalgia. This might be my favorite mograph piece of the week.

Street art with masking tape

Now this looks like a good way to have some feels-kinda-dangerous-but-really-is-benign fun, making street art with masking tape.

[photopress:buff_diss_alley_fishing.jpg,thumb,pp_image]