Sub Standards

I hadn't realized that Gedeon from the IconFactory had been blogging for a few months. In addition to the excellent pop culture commentary that I love, he's also started reviewing submarine sandwiches in the Greensboro area. He's been looking for a worthy local replacement for Dibella's Old Fashioned Subs out of Rochester, NY (and oh, how I know this pain). True to his roots as a designer and write he's created an awesome set of photo-illustrated reviews supported by slick information graphics. Very inspiring and yummy :-)

Which reminds me, I need to get down to Worcester, MA one of these days and revisit the old Boynton Pizza near WPI to see if it still holds up.

Leave Faith Hill The Heck Alone!

I came across this article about the airbrushing of Faith Hill for Redbook Magazine. Professionally, I find photo touch-up very interesting, but apparently I have drawn a line when it comes to messin' with Faith Hill, who sang this song The Secret of Life that I really like. I don't know exactly why I'm so irked, but it just seems wrong. Via Smart People I Know.

Virtual Reality and Circa Mashups

A reader recently contacted me via Flickr to say hello, and checking out his blog I was very intrigued by the combination of virtual reality, social media, and hot videos of levenger products doing things that are, shall we say, not listed in the main catalog. Oh, it's completely tame; the combination of social media and productivity tools is just too interesting for me not to pass along.

» Ryan Rasmussen's Collaborative Ideation.

Two Storytelling Links for One

Note to self: visit jwynia's site more often. Not only is he always writing about empowered-geeky projects that I find interesting, but he also maintains a finely-curated collection of links. This Ira Glass on Storytelling post, for example, with video links to Ira Glass himself talking about his story process. The advice that Glass passes along about the talent gap---that depressing condition when one's fine taste exceeding one's craft---is priceless for creatives who are hitting that proverbial wall. /me raises hand.

People Talk

Kathy Sierra and Chris Locke, two of the last people you'd think would be talking to each other after last week's events, have issued a coordinated statement and have apparently appeared on CNN this morning. What's positive about this is that they're talking to each other, and are jointly stepping into their roles to mediate the Internet-wide issues that have been triggered. I am very inspired by their example.

Upgraded to WordPress 2.1.x

Did an impromptu upgrade, hopefully things still work.

Magic

Via Creating Passionate Users comes this wonderful link on the role of magic in creativity. One of my earliest game design eureka moments was that showmanship and performance by proxy were two things one needed to master if you were to have any chance of creating anything interesting...because for everyday magic to work, you really need to believe. If you don't, then no one else will.

Office Distractions

Carolyn sent me the most awesome link of the day: See Jane Work, an online retailer that specializes in groovy colorful personal organizational gear. It seems to be targeted largely at women, but if you like your organizational gear to have a lighter funner vibe, this is the site for you. As I confessed to Carolyn, this is a site I would marry :-)

Neat Illustrator CS2 Calendar Tutorial

I was browsing Corrie Haffly's blog; she'd written me about some interesting things she was doing with personal paper organization. There's this VERY COOL tutorial, with ample screen shots, showing how to make a calendar template in Illustrator CS2, with dynamic data-driven text input. I didn't even know you could do that in Illustrator. Awesome! Check it out!

The Gauntlet of Productivity Gets Arou

Reporter Samantha Henig called me a few days before SXSW to ask me about the Gauntlet of Productivity, and inquired if I actually wore it. I admitted that I had only dared wear it once, and we got into a fun discussion about productivity and paper tools. My friend Senia just pointed out to me that Samantha's article mentions it briefly in this Newsweek Online article. No pictures, though, which might be a good thing :-)