college papers and one's choice of typeface

Papers written with Georgia and Times New Roman (serifs) got As while those with Trebuchet (sans serif) got Bs.





"Times seems to be the norm, so it really doesn’t set off any subconcious triggers. Georgia is enough like Times to retain its academic feel, and is different enough to be something of a relief for the grader. Trebuchet seems to set off a negative trigger, maybe just based on the fact that it’s not as easy to read in print, maybe on the fact that it looks like something off a blog rather than an academic journal. Who knows." - read the entire post here.

via Kottke

this is genius

Only available in brown for the maximum anti-theft protection.

Best Party Evah

I may be a little late posting this, but this is too awesome to pass up.

16 year old Aussie throws a rager, racks up 20K in damages to his parents house, and deems it the “best party ever.” Can you say brass balls? (via Urban Outfitters blog)



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T-shirt is available here. Special pre-sale price of $14.99.

The future of Apple is in 1960s Braun

"Some people will probably call these examples a "rip-off" but, in a world where industrial design and art is constantly being recycled into new work, I just see Apple's products as a great evolution to classic concepts. Now, as I look at Rams' work I can't help but to wonder: which of these old Braun designs will Apple revive next? Is there a MacBook Air—the rumored ultra-slim wire-free portable that seems to be the favorite bet for tomorrow's keynote—in there?"

A beautiful piece by gizmodo compiling a gallery of Braun designs and how they seem to have influenced the Apple aesthetics.

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This link here is in portuguese but features more detailed and larger images.

"I can see my whole childhood in this chest of drawers"

Title: Decades
Year: 2007

"Chest of drawers made out of discarded drawers, found and rescued at flea markets. A mix of different styles from earlier decades, with woods and knobs of various kinds, in a single piece of furniture. The old drawers are enhanced by the new frame in white lacquered MDF."

by Wis Design

Presentation. Presentation. Presentation.

"When you have a poster that does what a poster does — communicates effectively and precisely in its intended environment, or in any environment for that matter — then why do you have to dilute and confuse this power with the addition of superfluous elements like your hands and the contents of your entire studio.(...) One designer has a great piece work, with a great idea that benefits from being shown held. It looks, and is, great. Someone sees it and decides regardless that they will show their work in the same manner even though it is meaningless and so-on and so-forth and a style is born. But, for me, doing something just because it might look good and because it is in vogue is no excuse."

Some food for thought by Craig Oldham

La-la-la-la-la-la-la...

Steve Jobs Macworld 2008 Keynote Highlights


How sexy is that MacBook Air, huh? And how great is the new ad with Yael Naim's song. La-la-la-la-la-la-la... (she makes Britney's "Toxic" sound good!)

we feel fine and universe

This is one of the most interesting things I have seen in a while.

"Every few minutes, the system searches the world's newly posted blog entries for occurrences of the phrases "I feel" and "I am feeling". When it finds such a phrase, it records the full sentence, up to the period, and identifies the "feeling" expressed in that sentence. Because blogs are structured in largely standard ways, the age, gender, and geographical location of the author can often be extracted and saved along with the sentence, as can the local weather conditions at the time the sentence was written."



"Brooklyn-based artist Jonathan Harris' work celebrates the world's diversity even as it illustrates the universal concerns of its occupants. His computer programs scour the Internet for unfiltered content, which his beautiful interfaces then organize to create coherence from the chaos.

His projects are both intensely personal (the "We Feel Fine" project, made with Sep Kanvar, which scans the world's blogs to collect snapshots of the writers' feelings) and entirely global (the new "Universe," which turns current events into constellations of words). But their effect is the same -- to show off a world that resonates with shared emotions, concerns, problems, triumphs and troubles."

Corrina, Corrina

This is one of my favorite movies of all times. I could watch it over and over again, and never get tired of how beautiful it is.





Music: Thurston Harris - "Little Bitty Pretty One"


One of my favorite parts is the one where Corrina and Molly are dancing around the pool singing "Pennies From Heaven". So cute it hurts. Sometimes I wish I was born way back then...


The soundtrack is lovely.

1. We Will Find A Way - Oletta Adams & Brenda Russell
2. Corrina, Corrina - Ted Hawkins
3. Little Bitty Pretty One - Thurston Harris
4. They Can't Take That Away From Me - Sarah Vaughan
5. You Go To My Head - Louis Armstrong/Oscar Peterson
6. What A Difference A Day Made (Makes) - Dinah Washington
7. I Only Have Eyes For You - Niki Haris/Peter Cox
8. Corrine, Corrina - Big Joe Turner
9. It Don't Mean A Thing If It Don't Have That Swing - Duke Ellington/Ivie Anderson
10. Over The Rainbow - Jevetta Steele
11. 'Reet Petite - Jackie Wilson
12. Pennies From Heaven - Billie Holliday
13. Finger Poppin' Time - Hank Ballard & he Midnighters
14. Home Movies (Original Score) - Thomas Newman
15. This Little Light Of Mine - The Steeles

Right Brain vs Left Brain Creativity Test

"Being creative or artistic doesn’t mean you know how to draw or play an instrument. Being creative is a way of thinking, a way of viewing the world. Creative people use the RIGHT side of their brains more than the LEFT. Take the test and find out if your brain is RIGHT for a creative career."

My scores (click to see larger image - this is actually very interesting and – I think – pretty damn accurate)



via Ruben Miller

did you know this?

This is new: Sexually active gay men are no longer allowed to donate organs in Canada.

But this is not new: "Any man who has had sex with another man, even once, since 1977 is permanently banned from donating blood for life—even if he’s in a monogamous relationship and practices safe sex." (in Canada)

Here is one of the reasons why I will live in NYC one day.

via Harpy

Can you see her?

- Can you see, her?
- Who, John?
- Lucy! In the sky. With diamonds.


Great, huh? There's more here, here, and here. And here too.

LP portraits on Flickr

Those are some of my favorites from a group on Flickr called LP Portraits. I wish my old LPs were nearby. I want to do it!!

via Aesthetic Outburst

Dear bad mood,

You have been horrible those past two days.
Because of you, I wish I could turn into stone anybody who addresses me, or even look slightly in my direction.

I fucking hate you. Go away soon.

Sincerely,

Me

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Dear Lexapro,

You know I love you, but you have done more for me in the past. I might be worng, but I feel like you're just not doing as much for me now as you've done before. You have been stronger, and you've had my back in worse times.

Would you please just kick in already? I need an extra push.

Love,

Me

my latest purchase

"A rich mix of old school letterpress, silkscreen, foil stamping, fine papers and handpainted accents" by Ilee Papergoods, based in Seattle. Available on Etsy for $20.

a quick tutorial

I would add the scarf to that How to Look Like a Designer list - winter version.

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Made me think of this:

This cartoon via Crit.

Dana Gilmore

I've know about Dana Gilmore's work for about 4 years now, but this is the first time I actually looked for it on Youtube, and BAM! - there it was, my favorite - Wife Woman Friend Part II. Part III is great too.

unrealistic expectations

via fffound

You suck at Photoshop #1

via Mike Monteiro can't blog

my vik muniz story, circa 2003

While posting the previous post I found Vik Muniz's video on TED. It's a must-watch. He is one of the most personable artist I've ever seen. Definitely one of my favorites. His work is fascinating and his storytelling makes it all even more engaging.

I had the opportunity to see his lecture at the opening of an exhibit at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, I think in 2003. Somebody I knew introduced me to him, because you know, we're Brazilian and all, then automatically people think "THEY MUST MEET". So I remembered I had in my car - a jeep back then - an album cover that Vik had created for the Tribalistas. It was a piece made out of chocolate, photographed for the cover. So I ran to my car, got the CD jacket and had Vik Muniz sign it for me. He kindly did and I went on my merry way.

That same night, someone broke into my jeep and stole ALL MY CDs, including the cover he had signed. The end.

the work of Bela Borsodi

"Austrian Bela Borsodi does still life photography in a very special way. Instead of just showing us products for fashion magazines, he plays with our perception, giving each one a personality. He glues together art and fashion photography; being part of the commercial entertainment and questioning it at the same time."

The way he manipulates objects and takes them out of context reminds me a lot of Vik Muniz's work. I love that none of it is done on Photoshop. He assembles everything manually. Check out his portfolio here.

"Foot Fetish"

"Animation Suspended"

This is my favorite series - "While you were out":

pet peeve

People here call Kanye West "Ke-nny" West.

And Beyoncé is "Bee-yon-say". Like BeyonSAY.

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I was watching "What Not To Wear" with Portuguese subtitles and Stacy London was talking about how some guy's pants were all torn out, with a bunch of tears - pronounced |te(ə)r| or (târ). They translated it as "tears", as in that clear salty liquid secreted by the lacrimal glands in our eyes.

WHY LORD, WHY??!!

(and God forbid I try to correct anybody! I have better luck trying to nail my eyelids to the wall!)

this is random

One of my favorite things about being back in Brazil is getting used to "new" visual stimuli that had always been part of my history but somehow was replaced by a much more "sterile" aesthetics when I moved to the US. I can definitely see now how our environment shapes what we create, the colors we work with, our typography, our compositions, and as much as we might try to be conscious about those choices as designers, our spacial stimuli always contaminates our work.

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Looking at typography in Brazil still bothers me. I still don't like how often I see ugly and extremely overused typefaces on designed things, from packaging to restaurant menus. I do love the use of colors and illustration in a lot of the material being produced here.

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I might be going to Buenos Aires, Argentina in a couple of weeks. I want it to be mostly a photography trip, and I am excited to bring back with me the rich imagery from there. Living in the Midwest for so long will do that to you. You'll get all excited about anything.

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And as you can see from these beautiful photos I stole from Mariana Massarani, you'll understand what I am talking about when I say that Brazil so far has been an overdose for my senses.




Make sure you check out her Flickr.

they left this morning. I miss them already.

beautiful color stripes

from Kris's Color Stripes

sign of our times

His dad is my uncle.
My mother's bother.
Her godson.

He is my cousin.
My mother's nephew.
My godson.

finally!

I don't know the official details yet, but Jordin was born about 20 minutes ago with bright yellow skin, hazel eyes and freakishly long arms. Both baby and mom are doing well, after a long day of labor.

This is all so surreal and marvelous. It's like having my first niece.

I love you Jordin. Welcome to this crazy world of ours.

***************

UPDATE: Look at her!!! All 7 pounds and 1 ounce of pure cuteness.

I will never love you more

I'm loving this song. You can hear it here (it's the second song).



I will never love you more than the drummer of Flaming Lips
I will never love you more than Woody Allan movies
I will never love you more than the White album of the Beatles
I will never love you more than God only knows

I will never love you more than DVDs night with my girlfriend
And we talk about stupid things like feelings and men
I will never love you more than my boyfriend when I was 14
Even if he's now an asshole, I will never love you more

And you say, you love me more than everything
And compared to me everything is nothing...

I will never love you more than meeting Paul McCartney
And we asked him to play a song on my Ukulele
I will never love you more than Scandinavian Tour
Which was more than paradise we shall remember it to

I will never love you more than dancing to Phil Spektor
I will never love you more than my Casiotone keyboard
I will never love you more than Daniel Johnston himself
For me he's more than God, I will never love you more

And you say, you love me more than everything

And compared to me everything is nothing

Ohh this is sweet, I just wonder what it means

You say you love me more, than all the girls you have before
Even more than music, even more than yourself
Even more than everything, but it's just a lie
So I will never love you more, than anything

I will never love you more than singing in the shower
I will never love you more than my Mac computer
I will never love you more than having a daughter
I will never love you more than peanut butter

I will never love you more than kisses all day
I will never love you more than cuddles all night
I will never love you more than kissing girls lips when they're really pretty

I will never love you more

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Thanks, Sarah for the edit!

i'm feeling nostalgic...

so here are some of my favorite pictures.

i hate young people - christmas edition

Remember these?

the kind that makes you want to cry

Ron Mueck - Click here for more home videos

Sculptures by Ron Mueck

my type of fun - Human Tetris

exactly how I feel

"If i could throw a parade for lexapro and how it saved my life, i totally would."

Comment left on this post from Dooce

creepy bastard

If you've ever lived in Indianapolis, this won't be any news to you. The northwest side of town, also known as the Lafayette Square Mall area, is a growing mecca for cheap stripper clothing, titty bars, ghetto nightclubs and NBA players shoot-outs.

That's where it all happens. A place that is all about triflingness, loudness and lack of very basic common sense. And, dear friends, those things comes in all shapes and colors. One of the most "trifling" members of that Lafayette Square area (where, by the way, I lived for about 2 years) is Don from the gun shop. Don embodies everything I absolutely despise in the average middle American, the Republican with a vomit-inducing sense of humor Caucasian man.

Thanks to the wonderful internet, I came across an Indianapolis classic - the Don's Guns commercial. The bastard is the king of this kind of cheap, nasty advertisement targeting poor, young men from the area. He even had his "Back to School Sale" a couple of years ago, and believe me, I wish I was kidding.

So as I found this video, I knew I had to share it with whoever reads this blog. Please note - in the picture above, the lettering under the big sign, reads "I DON'T WANT TO MAKE MONEY. I JUST LOVE TO SELL GUNS! HA! HA! HA!"



If you can, give the old dick a call or send him an email telling him how dangerously pathetic he is. I know I will.

to my sister

A Dri eh minha melhor irma. Ela eh linda. Dri te amo. Cuticula.

that probably says something about me

Here are some interesting keywords users were looking for when they found my blog:

- tight bitch
- couch ate my phone
- koalas don't do shit
- i wanted 12 lemons
- best compliments for a girl
- i don't need no ipod
- is dummass a bad word
- where brazilian women legally fuck animal
- job super power

UPDATE:
- how much to brazilian transsexual hooker cost

Go figure.

this time last year

A lot has changed, clearly not just for me.

Puppy loves snow. His nose turns pink before the first big storm, and I used to have to beg him to come back home every time I let him out. He would dive his little face into that sea of white, while I stood inside under a pile of blankets. Weekends were the best. I miss snowy Saturdays when I could sleep in and didn't have to drag myself to my car and get rid all the snow sitting on top of it. I don't miss that part. I never got used to having to do that in the morning, I fucking hated that ritual. But other than that, I really miss it all.

alarm dance 2

Remember this one here?

I found a new one!