Just finished watching through the end of Freaks and Geeks. I can safely say that it’s rocketed up my list of favourite TV shows, and I highly recommend it be checked out.
A brilliant slice of life high school dramedy-the show follows teenager Lindsay Weir and her little brother Sam.
The show’s starting point is Lindsay’s transition from her life as an academically proficient student, star mathlete, and proper young girl, with Millie as her like-minded best friend, to an Army-jacket-wearing teenager who hangs out with troubled slackers. Her relationships with her new friends, and the friction they cause with her parents and with her own self-image, form one central strand of the show; the other follows Sam and his group of geeky friends as they navigate a very different part of the social universe trying to fit in.
What works best about the show is its cast, which is perfect. Aside from the main cast including the likes of a young James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jason Segel, the supporting cast features cameos from Leslie Mann, Jason Schwartzman and Ben Stiller. Not surprising when it turns out Judd Appatow was the show’s executive producer.
What also works to great effect is the fact the show is a period piece, and remains very true to the early 80s, with a killer soundtrack.
Many (the internet) say it’s a crime it was cancelled after only one season of 18 episodes, but in some ways it’s great that what’s left is of such high quality, with a high rewatchability factor.
I could go on for a while, so I’ll hold back… basically… it’s worth your time.
The Phonofone III is an elegant iPhone amplifier that has no electronic parts…
This clever device amplifiesthe volume emited from an iPhone internal speaker roughly 4x (approx. 60 decibels).
For something that has no parts it’s a quite expensive device totalling at $195CAD not including vast shipping expense to Europe.
Take a look at more info here.
Design by Science and Sons.
Monster Brains blog has posted a collection of vintage Japanese monster movie posters, but originating from Poland and the Czech Republic.
See the rest of the post here.
Sean Thomas designed this poster homage to the Bob Dylan 1966 era, where he began introducing his new electric sound to his fans in a show of two halves (acoustic then electric).
The poster’s response is one of two halves, which when folded can be viewed in either it’s electric or acoustic form.
Simple, impractical, fun.
See more photos and the rest of his work here.
Yoshima Tsutsumi is the designer of the Anzas Dance Studio, Beijing, China.
The fog effect is created “by applying a gradient of dots on to the room’s mirrored surfaces… resulting in a dramatic altering of the room’s atmosphere”. It’s an amazing feel that practically makes the room feel a lot larger.
See more photos of the space here.
Coincidentally I saw Black Swan yesterday…
This incredible Bernard Ratzer “Plan of the City of New York” map in its 1770 state was discovered in the first half of last year. After much restoration work it can now be enjoyed here.
On a similar theme of the Guimaraes Jazz Festival, these posters, also designed by Atelier Martino&Jana, were created to advertise the event. With character illustrations by Neboisa Cvetkovic, and lettering by Ana Rita Goulao.
See the rest of the series here.
I bookmarked this a while ago with intention to put on here and then it got lost in the tab storm.
After posting the journal they created for last year’s festival, Atelier Marino & Jana were commissioned again to created 2010’s Guimarães Jazz 2010 Journal. Their outcome looks great to hold and flick through, with great solution to presenting a new content system, described below:
Here were three different information categories: the main text - an historic/speculative one; the artist’s biographies and concert dates; additional events. Like last year’s edition, we were asked to make the main text be accompanied by the artist’s biographies, so, as a solution, we’ve decided to take the idea of overlapping the texts as the main concept of the journal.
See the spreads here.
Recreate, work in creating furniture out of old vintage products that would otherwise go unused. The results are excellent, though I hate to think how much the items cost….
Click here to see more.
Royal Mail just released a series of stamps celebrating ‘The Genius of Gerry Anderson’, the mind behind popular marionette shows such as Thunderbirds, Captains Scarlett, and Stingray.
Two sets have been made, one focusing on the main characters behind each of the shows, and the other counts down each of the five Thunderbird craft.
See high res images of the whole set here.
Pixar have created quite a large campaign pushing for recognition in the Best Picture category of the upcoming Oscars.
Toy Story 3 stands as the best reviewed film of 2010, and the campaign highlights stills from the movie, linking images to previous films that have garnered rave reviews and also the Best Picture Oscar.
Some of the imagery I’m less keen on, and feels a bit rushed. However, what it manages to do brilliantly is present just how diverse the film is at times in terms of its set pieces and characters.
See the rest of the campagin here over at /Film.
Astronaut Design created this brilliant logo identity for ‘Antarctic Voice’, which I can only imagine is some form of ice caps awareness company.
A simplistic, excellent, and frustrating logo all at the same time, simply because I didn’t think of it first.
Take a look at the rest here.
Charles, Vasa, Minnesota 2002
Just came across Alec Soth’s photography project ‘Sleeping By The Mississippi’,taken whilst travelling up the famous river, documenting his encounters with both landscapes and people along the way. Fascinating.
There’s a book that was published in 2008 and is since out of print and available on amazon at vast prices.
Until we’re filthy rich, or more realistically it goes back into print, check out a selection of the images here.
D’Angelo – Voodoo
For someone particularly into neo-soul I’m surprised I hadn’t managed to pick up a copy of Voodoo until now. I’m really glad I did though as it seems to connect a lot of dots between other artists sitting in my iTunes, and is a seminal piece of work in itself.
D’Angelo’s approach to lyrics and voice work are almost second place to the music on this album. The beat dominates each track, and much more emphasis is placed on the melodies and harmonies of the vocal work over the lyrics themselves. What sounds slightly impractical actually creates a really distinctive album, that never feels overtired despite its length (almost clocking in at 80minutes), and reveals something else you didn’t notice before every time you listen to it again and again. It’s brilliant!
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