July 28, 2010
Posted at 04:39 PM
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IF YOU ARE READING THIS, BE WARNED: By clicking this link, yer stock price is about to go down a couple points. We warned you: The graphic arts portfolio of Curtis Jenkins. I know ours did. Free fall. I got a nice email form Mr. Jinkins himself this afternoon, and then, after perusing his site, I watched my stock go into the shitter. Still plummeting. This guy has some serious chops. Impressive stuff across the boards. Dale is beside himself. Holy hell. Please add the DDC to your list of "enemies." Just cuz that seems tougher than being in yer "friends" section. It's an image thing, you know? Thank you for understanding. I can't get over this piece of type he made. Feels "just right." Good work, Jinkins! Don't move to Portland, you bum!!! - - - - THE LOGO UP ABOVE: I found that in some old guy's junk drawer over the weekend. It just might be my favorite rescued logo of the summer. For whatever reason. We're down to the wire here, hammering on all sorts of stuff...from coffee to tv stuff to elephants to mining equipment to choice cuts of meat and even a gorilla. Seriously. Readying the DDC Mobile Command Unit for tomorrow's run back to that Midwest. - - - - FROM WISCONSIN, BUT WITH "THE HAND" ON THEIR MIND: Nate Garn comes in real "Great Lakes Style" with this incredible slap of pressed/painted metal: "The '76 Michigan license plates could hold their own." We've got Michigan on the mind. Pushing off tomorrow! - - - - WE'RE REVVING OUR ENGINES FOR TOMORROW MORNING: Here's a collection from the Coop Estate getting dirty with some pages from a "Ed "Big Daddy" Roth 1964 Monster Catalog." (Brought to my halfwit attention by Jamie Muehlhausen, whom I may never meet in the flesh.) - - - - WHAT AMERICA LOOKED LIKED: ...70 years ago. Not all that different from today, in some respects. People, living. The color in these shots haunts, you know? On another note, these shots just drive home the fact that in so-called "Modern Life" today, quite frankly, we've got shit pretty easy. Be thankful. I sure as hell am. (Thank you, Paul Delaurier!) - - - -
- - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Lifter Puller - Fiestas + Fiascos
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THE RACE IS ON: We're feverishly trying to get the hell out of Dodge! Dale and I took the van in this morning for a "warranty tune-up." Maybe the rig's last. We're 30k miles, and the bumper-to-bumper shit runs out at 36k. After this trip back to that Midwest, we'll be well over the 36k mark. So, we're getting things looked over by Ford specialists one more time, and then we're outta here. Mom , Gary and I are pushing off on Thursday morning, heading for Michigan. Haven't locked down a route just yet. Might just flip some coins. Heads we go I-90, tails we go I-80. Something like that. Pretty excited to get out there into our America. It's a big place. - - - - ONE SERIOUSLY BITCHIN' "F" UP ABOVE: Hillerns comes in real hot over the weekend and makes life better with the "Foremost" logo you are seeing above. We dig! Thanks, buddy! Dinner, this decade, I swear. - - - - WELL, THIS LOOKS LIKE IT'S GONNA SUCK: Winnebago Man! Yeah right! This one is going to RULE. Hell yes. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. (Dale sent this one in, and, if I might be so frank, I'd like to run him over with a winnebago.) - - - - A QUICK ONE FROM WASHINGTON STATE: No. 10990 of Hickok building machines. This, friends, is how machines used to tell you who they were. Incredible. It can be like that again. (Thanks, Norm!) - - - - SUDDENLY FEELING HUNGRY: Meet the Mast Brothers, who, just might, make the best chocolate ever. "The food of Gods." Wow. Couple of Minnesota boys. Very beardy. Like they stepped out of a time machine from, hell, 1890 or something. That's what Brooklyn looks like these days, eh? I'm behind on such matters. I just love the idea of these guys taking chocolate by the balls and doing it their own way. "The spirit of craft." Bravo. Good spirit there. Learn something from it. You can do that with anything, really. Design, fonts, bags, bikes or chocolate. When I want some chocolate, I have Dale grab me a Mr. Goodbar from Sheridan's market. Simple adventures. (Sent in by Rob Bajohr! Appreciated. Ahoy.) - - - -
- - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Fugazi - In On The Kill Taker (Loud.)
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Here's some of the treasures spotted at a handful of estate sales this weekend. Just a little primer for August, and any junk possibilities therein. Gonna be all over that Midwest, so I gotta be on the ball. Estate sales, garage sales, junk stores, whatever. Maybe even a couple days on the World's Longest Yard Sale, if I can swing it. Get dirty with us. Here goes: Junkin' Report, July 2010. - - - - OLD GREATNESS AT FAIR PRICE: Taylor P delivered an HTML suckerpunch on the 23rd, sending us this incredible link here: Three Potato Four Sign Shop. Usually, when you see a collection like this, the prices are through the roof. That's not the case here. The stuff is priced to move, which is incredible, and still doesn't seem real. Some of it is the real McCoy, and other things are done by a local sign painter they collaborate with. We're down with both. Thank you. Incredible collection! A-B-O-U-T!!! (Thank you to Taylor P for sending this one in. Much appreciated.) - - - - SMOOTH MOVES: Check out these incredible '80s Porsche ads over at the incomparable ISO50. - - - - I WAS TOO OLD FOR THEM AT THE TIME: But I remember thinking, "These are pretty cool." I just wonder how many "Madballs to the face" took out good American kids over the years? Prob'ly a staggering number. I know this much regardin "getting hit in the face with toys" situations: I got hit in the eye with a hard-edged Ms. Piggy rubber figurine, and won't forget that one anytime soon. Her sharp little pig ear connected with the yolk of my eye. I think it was my little sister Sarah who chucked it from across our toy room. Hard to say. - - - - LEIGH FOUND THIS ONE: Mr. Bill Callahan and musical constituents on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert. - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Centro-Matic - Distance and Clime
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Went couch shopping today with Mom, Leigh, Leah and little Oliver. Real hard-ass shit, you know? Just, uh, embarrassing to be in their with all those housewives, so "busy" spending the family loot on things to make their lives perfect. I just want something comfortable to plop down after a "long, hard day" of sitting on my big, white Midwestern butt navigating digital this and that. More embarrassment.
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We went junkin' this morning, as a bit of a primer, you know, for August and any opportunities that lay in between "out here" and "back home." It was nice to be out there, even as the Portland sun beat down on us. Fuck it was hot. What, 94 degrees or something? Real nice. My sweat was sweating.
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MY DAD TAUGHT ME TO USE THIS SHIT ON EVERYTHING: WD-40 gets it right and offers "retro packaging" at fine retail establishments across the land. Take a walk down WD-40's memory lane, well-lubed of course. Hey WD-40: Scrap the contemporary cans and go back to the old one. Imagine what garage shelves looked like 50 years ago! Just, "No bullshit." There you go. And hey, if you were ever wondering just what the fuck WD-40 stood for, well, now you know. So good. (A well-oiled thank you to Jason Kress and Blake Adams for gracing our inbox with this development.) - - - - WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT OF "LUBE": Other contemporary automotive lubrication solutions. Just for the logos. - - - - JAPAN, A LAND OF MYSTERY: Along the lines of questions like this: "How do they do pull off simplicity so well?" Well, here's one of those site where we are equal parts blown away, and equal parts confused. Inspired, and puzzled. Be patient. It take awhile to load, but is WELL worth it. Here goes: The mighty Mucu makes awesome paper products and accessories. In a land far, far away. Find the ballpoint pen, look it over, then punch yerself in the face, cuz who knows how those guys pulled that one off. Man. Really good. And here's a janky Yen conversion portal, if you want to crunch some numbers. (Thank you, Mr. Cruz!) - - - - QUITE A MOUTHFUL: So my so-called "business partner" David Hisashi Nakamoto (another mouthful) is going to be in a museum show. His old Reno band "Freakazoid Robot 2000" just might be having a couple of their old 7-inches in the upcoming "The Wrong Side of Reno -Three Decades of Punk and Hardcore Music in the Biggest Little City." Phew, one more mouthful. I've been on the "wrong side of Reno," alright. Tough town! Congrats, Dave. Cool news. - - - - AN OLD ONE, FROM TEXAS: "Genuine Texas Beauty Specials." Think about the last time you filled out an online form or whatever, then think about filling out that coupon and putting it into an envelope with secured funds and mailing it off, etc. So hopeful. Then, get sad, cuz we've lost so much magic. (Thanks, Scott!) - - - -
- - - - STILL ON THE PLAYER: It's been on "repeat" alllll morning. 01. Guided By Voices - Alien Lane
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YEAH, JUST ONE LINK TODAY: But don't fret, this link packs a big punch! TypArchive's vast collection of "North American Hand-Painted Signage." Get in there and get dirty, people! The kind of link that makes you want to hit the road, taking piss ant little roads and highways the whole way home. The image above is from the site, and was "screengrabbed" and then "hastily uploaded" into a "severely antiquated content management system" and "like we know any better." If we broke some big copyright rule or whatever, well, we're apologizing ahead of time. Here goes: "Sorry. It was on the web and we got all fired up." There you go. Nice site, too. They have all points of the globe covered: TypArchive. (Portland's Scott Leverenz saves the day, and we thank him for it.) - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Guided BY Voices - Alien Lanes
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July 21, 2010
Posted at 05:37 PM
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There's just no time for linkage today. Can't find it. Buried way deep in so many awesome projects, fighting hard to come up for air. Check out that sweet rocket booster above, though? Pretty boss. Here's where it came from: "NASA FACTS: United States Launch Vehicles - For Peaceful Exploration of Space"
WAIT, SHIT, WE GOT ONE FOR YOU: Greasefreak.com. Like the site says, "Images of Chicago-style food, edible and not." Sounds fair enough. Get in there, you rats! - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Josh Rouse & Kurt Wagner - Chester
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JUST LIKE WE EXPECTED: Great coverage of Brimfield's summer offering from the good people of A Continuous Lean. So awesome. I had an INCREDIBLE time there, and am enjoying my treasures hourly. Here's a little something I got at Brimfield, for two bucks. Two bucks. That my way of carrying extra Field Notes, in the bag or on the road. I'm starting to get that itch to go junking. Dammit. - - - - WE'VE GOT COMPETITION: In big city New York, of all places! Shit, those fools don't have any game. (Thanks, Jesse!) - - - - THIS ONE IS FOR LEIGH: A little Daryl and John, if you know what I'm sayin'. From the ever-awesome Trademark-Trademark enterprise on that East Coast. - - - - ALWAYS BLOWN AWAY BY THIS GUY: Josh Keyes, over on Grain Edit. - - - - ALWAYS ON THE BALL, WE ARE: Upgraded all the machines to 10.6.3 today, just to get everything up to snuff. Went smoothly, and of course, I'm all freaked out something got fucked up along the way. Shop rig, home rig, laptop...all current and with it. Fingers crossed. Thing is, I've got a couple copies of Adobe CS5 on the way, so, kinda pumped to load them up and start learning the new stuff. There you go, a "software update" for ya. - - - - LEIGH PICKED IT OUT: A State of Mind, about two young North Korean ballet dancers, and their training for the state-run Mass Games. Real creepy stuff. Just...the whole country...strangled (is that the right word?) by such a delusional ideology and xenophobia. The whole thing...all the "dear leader" worship...just seems to fake. So forced. Unsustainable. I wonder if the place will collapse? Scary stuff. - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Bill Frisell - Nashville
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DETROIT'S FINEST: It's always good to go back and check out those old MC5 photos. Got Detroit on the mind, starting up a poster for that speaking gig next month. My mind goes right to that MC5. My mom tells me stories of seeing them, and the Stooges, and Mitch Ryder, and a very young Bob Seger. My mom. Let this one fire you up some. Or fuck, this one: Actual Department of Defense Surveillance Footage of the Revolutionary MC5. I'm talking about unity, brothers and sisters! - - - - NO BARCODE TO BE FOUND ANYWHERE: "Graphi Deluxe" on No Barcode. Hell yeah. Look at that box, then think about what you'd find on the shelves today. Let the blood boil. Mine does. Good snag, man! - - - - STARTING HIM WHEN HE'S YOUNG: Sometimes we wear pants. Sometimes we wear sweatpants. Sometimes, we sit here in our boxers. Lots of scenarios. Here's my nephew Oliver, in his very first pair of sweat pants. I even snipped the gathered bottoms off, just like Uncle Aaron does. Sweatpants. Ball room. Free and easy. Real gross. - - - - WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT THIS, RIGHT?" That Mayflower logo, and wouldn't you know it, they go and change it. In a bad away. Imagine that. Fuuuuuck. - - - - WISH I WOULDA THOUGHT OF THAT: "Dipsticks (The Humans)" 2008 by Nick van Woert. Really interesting works of art by Mr. van Woert. Dig around in there. We dig! - - - -
Wish I was there to help out: "Field Trip: Monona County Fair (Part 3)" and "Field Trip: Monona County Fair (Part 4)." Holding it down on the Iowa/Nebraska border! - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Calexico - Scraping (Live)
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We watched Jackie Brown tonight, and man, I wish all movies were that enjoyable. Hey Hollywood, listen to Mr. Tarantino.
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Cleaning out the garage I came across an old bag of lime. And when you think about where it came from, or what it was used for, well, yer mind just sorta goes to a bad place. The type on the bag sure was nice, though. There you go.
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UP ABOVE: That's an image that Dean Ricca-Smith spotted in Mallorca, Spain, of all places. Really feeling it. Thanks, man! Basically, that one beat out the other image I had readied. So good. Spaniards, man. It's gonna be a busy weekend. Man. - - - - MULTIBALL(S): Nashville's James Evans come in real hot with The Internet Pinball Machine Database. We've been here before, but it's been a while. Work on that "click and scroll" technique, you know, getting past all the nerdy technical jargon down to the photos. These guys have got you covered. Pretty impressive. Thanks, James. - - - - THIS ONE'S FOR NOAH ROSEN: For no other reason than, I do what I want on here. Here goes: "Flavor profile." No link to be found here. Just putting it out there to my chef buddy. On a related note, Jay Floyd can suck it. - - - - BEEN AWHILE SINCE I MESSED AROUND WITH THESE: A little Flickr set I made a couple years back called, "Eight "First Day of Issue" Envelopes." Go to a stamp show or stamp shop and load up. Dig that detail, man! - - - - DETAILS ARE COMING IN: The DDC in Detroit! As part of our "tall tales from a large man" ongoing live series where we actually leave the shop and go out into the public and interact with people. Really. Reilly Brennan is really sticking his neck out for us, and put together a speaking event in my birthplace! August 26th! You know the deal: Telling my half-ass story, showing some work, telling some tall tales, peddling merch and making friends. More details, and a poster, coming wayyyy soon. - - - - I WENT TO ART SCHOOL WITH A GIRL FROM BULGARIA: She told me that "Everyone has a house in Bulgaria. I don't understand your country." Yeah, it's weird, when you think about it. This is what I thought about when I checked in with the mighty Grain Edit and saw this little entry titled, "World Festival of Youth and Students Bulgaria 1968" and stopped thinking about housing issues and shifted over to those incredible designs. - - - - LATE LAST NIGHT: My Bodyguard, on the Netflix instantaneous nightkiller apparatus. One of my all-time favorites. Oh man, the part where Moody's bodyguard Mike trashes Linderman's motorcyle in the park...man, you just want to climb through the screen and go for broke on that guy, you know?! I felt that fire when I was nine, just like I did last night. Just pure rage. I've only felt it a couple times in my life enough to "let it all hang out" on someone. One time was with next store neighor buddy Andy Montgomery, and he wound up with a couple black eyes. The other time was with a very-lippy Jeff Shooks, and his big head of feathered hair. Just as we were coming to blows, Mom pulled up and broke it up. You, son, woulda got the shitty end of the stick on that one. I was just that close to unleashing all I had in me. The kind of shit I think about while watching that movie. - - - -
Wish like hell I could be there, fellas. Killing me. I could get one of those headsets like the guy across the way has who's selling knife sets! Just a thought. - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. The Hold Steady - Almost Killed Me
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Summer's Hump Day, already? This day came too fast. Each summer, if we're on the ball, we get to July 15th and we call it the "hump day" of summer, and start racing towards that fall season. It's always a milestone. But around these parts, summer didn't really start up until a couple weeks back or something. Weird. So today's hump day, and it's all downhill to September 1st. Or, when "shit starts cooling off." We've never really been fans of summer, so, as far as we're concerned, it can be Fall all year long, with a brutal winter. Maybe I should move to Barrow, Alaska, or some iceberg way up north? I'm a dick. Here's last summer's Humpday graphic. Hell, check out 2007's Google Maps-inspired deal listening list. Halfway between Spring and Fall. In "Death Heat" county. Must've been a hot summer. I'd just as soon forget. Anyway, enjoy the summer days, people. It's going fast. Too fast. - - - - INCREDIBLE PHOTOGRAPHY: The work of Branislav Kropilak. How's that for a name? Chew on that one for a bit. Specifically, dig into his "Depots" collection. Really, really interesting for some reason. The kind of stuff you look at, but never really look at. Thank you, Branislav. Another lesson learned. - - - - THE THING SHOWED UP: Our new Panasonic GF1! And aside from the lackluster typography all over the thing, I am in awe! I'll get used to the bony type. On the way down to the shop this morning, Las Vegas buddy Collin Martin and I hit up the Hollywood Camera Store. Very, very recommended people. This one's a time machine. Old stuff mainly, of every sort. Just....perfect. The old proprietor took incredible care of us, finding me an old leather strap for my new rig, telling of his adventures in the Philippines fighting in The Big One. "Now you know how old I am. Ha!" he says. Tales how the Germans broke through the blockade and were dumping off gear to the Japanese, the whole time, holding his prized Zeiss. The same camera that his shit-ass granddaughter has been lobbying him to sell off on eBay. Don't do it, man! Please go visit the guy. Shake his hand. Buy something. Let him show you his latest pile of black & white prints. "Film is coming back into style. Just look at that." he says. We sure do hope so. Once again, that's the Hollywood Camera Store on Sandy and 40th. "We been here 57 years." said the old proprietor. Incredible. I floated out of there. - - - - KING OF THE BREEDS: California's Cory Lorenzen comes in real long and smooth with this bit of news: "A waterfall of dachshunds." I just hope all those hounds found a good home. - - - -
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- - - - COLLIN'S PICKS ON THE PLAYER: 01. Nirvana - Bleach
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Somedays, I just sit here and hammer on shit nonstop. No links. No web. Just tunes and determination. Today is one of those days, and, with a bunch of phone calls all over the nation. Our lines are burning up. So, we don't have any links today. Don't hate us. Come back tomorrow. But man, get a load of that logo up above. That sucker alone is enough to get me through to tomorrow. Without a doubt. - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Red Fang - s/t
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OWN EVERY ELEMENT ON THE PAGE: Here's a good lesson, people: There's no excuse for a half-ass layout. Print, web or whatever. You gotta own every piece of it. Hillerns comes in wayyyy hot with a rather impressive site called Grain and Gram. From the writing to the photography to the layout to the icons to the logo....every little piece is considered. And folks, that's how shit should be done. Aspire to this kind of graphical greatness. I do. The Grain and Gram enterprise is out of Orlando, we're guessing. That's a town in Florida. Check out this guy with the pipe. One nice layout. Wow. And yeah, you prob'ly heard about this months ago, yet again, proving how behind the ball we are. - - - - SETTLED IT: That Panasonic Lumix GF1. It'll be here tomorrow. Put the order in Friday afternoon. Pretty excited. Leigh's gonna take my G10, so it'll be in good hands. Thank you to everyone who offered up tips and tricks. Much appreciated. Hope I don't drop the thing. - - - - FOUND ON COUDAL.COM: The Periodic Table of Swearing. United Kingdom edition, those arses! - - - - THIS ONE COMES IN FROM A GUY NAMED "DAVE CASKEY": 12 WPA Food Posters. Lot of milk advocacy in there. I just might go get a gallon of milk and drink the thing right now. Maybe let it get room temperature, then get to fortifying my teeth and bones. (Thanks, Dave!) OUR RULE: Milk on cereal, and that's about it. - - - - THIS COULD HAPPEN TO YOU: Truck Driver Chokes On Pork Rinds, Ends In Ditch. Don't laugh, you snarky fucks. Next time, Hoss, wash those rinds down with some milk. - - - - MAY BEEZLEBUB HIMSELF SHIP THESE TO YOU: High On Fire's Relapse catalog is back in print, and on fire. I bought the whole mess. Wicked shit. - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Paul Westerberg - Folker
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MUCH RESPECT TO CLEVELAND: A moment of silence for Mr. Pekar. I remember seeing him on Letterman, giving the guy a run for his money. I was pretty young. It was kind of scary. And awesome. This one's for Harvey Pekar. - - - - HIRE ME, FELLAS: New Bohemia Sign Co. out of San Francisco, Calif. Now we're talking. Hell yes. The kind of joint that gives a cynical yahoo like myself some hope, along the lines of: They're gonna take it back to where this stuff should be. More power to 'em. Hire me. (This link was sent it by Jason McShane Miller, mid-growler, from some stall in downtown Minneapolis. Thanks, buddy.) - - - - THAT IS PRETTY DAMN COOL: Real mail, people. Funny and sad how it's something that's refreshing, eh? The mighty Invisible Creature and their new S.A.S.E. project. Feeling that action. Hell yeah. Oh yeah, for all you peckerwoods scratching yer heads right now, that means, "Self Addressed Stamped Envelope." You should try it sometime. It'll give you something to watch for in that mailbox back at the house, other than insurance statement and foreclosure notices. - - - - FOR THOSE WHO JOCKEY VANS: Just like it says: VanJockey.com! I got all hot for this link, and then, couldn't find any links past the first page. Hey, that's cool, right. That main image is enough to fill my tank, if you know what I'm sayin'. (Thanks, Wisconsin Mitch!) - - - - YEAH, YER STOCK JUST WENT DOWN: Kansas City, Missouri's Vahalla Studios. Graphic arts, printing and general radness. I love Kansas City. Especially those West Bottoms. Here's a link from four years ago, and one of our adventures there. Proof, fuckers! I gotta get back there. Damn. - - - - STREAMING FROM A SATELLITE OR SOMETHING: Netflix, you big sonofabitch, we thank you. Last night, in the depths of how to spend our late, late hours, we stumbled on to this one and were captivated for a couple hours: Crossing the Line, the story of Comrade Joe. Wild shit. Recommended. - - - -
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Cleaning out the basement this morning, I came across an old "box of Minneapolis." Mainly t-shirts, school projects and shit from my time back in those Twin Cities. Just as I was going into my second winter there, I made a blast of t-shirts in Alaska to coincide with my yearly train t-shirt onslaught. That's what's going on above. Some threads for the winter, representing the 612. I still miss Minneapolis. Winter of 1998-1999. If you see a pile of these shirts at the local Goodwill, well, you know where they came from. Time to donate these threads back to the cosmos.
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We didn't do dick today. I mean, nothing. Lots of house time. Cleaning and Netflix and dumbness, you know? Anyhoo, Norm from Washington state sent in a couple gems and yer one of them up above. Just incredible. Thank you, buddy. Have a good weekend, you rats.
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THIS ONE HAS IT ALL: Grace, timing, youth, style and guts. And some dumb little kid, with full drawers, we'd bet. Just a little good, clean fun to get Friday started. - - - -
- - - - WHO'S THIS GUY WORK FOR?: This link about a guy using his Panasonic GF1 in the Himalayas and banging it against rocks and sherpas and shit is pretty convincing. Nice layout, too. Thanks to all the good fuckers who sent some info in about camera stuff. I really appreciate it. Very, very helpful in my pixel quest. Especially Embry. Thanks, buddy. As I was getting home last night, Welsh chimed in, "They are on sale at Samy's." Which, was crazy tempting. Damn. One of my sticking points—exposing a facet of my insipid superficial side—is my hangup on the typography on the thing. Just bony-ass logo after bony-ass logo. I mean, really. Look at it. The "G" on the GF1 in the upper right hand corner of the body will be scraped off instantly. Pried off. Sandblasted. Smoked out. Something. And that gold L thing in the lower right corner. Gone as soon as I get it. Hey Panasonic: Learn something from Leica. Clean and timeless go a long way. A looooong way. Way close to making the big purchase. I checked with my team of crackpot financial advisors and got the green light. (I can't remember who sent it to me, but I know this: 01. You are of the highest caliber human 02. I hope you live until 140.) - - - - NAKAMOTO GOT ME A TICKET, SO I GUESS I'M GOING: Wow! Matador's 21st Anniversary Vegas bash. At the Palms, man. The week prior, Hoobastank is playing, and the week after it, Tommy Lee's Dude Brigade. But the weekend we're going to, well, that's the indie rock shit we grew up on. Hell yes. Dave even got the VIP tickets, whatever that means. Blues Explosion! - - - - ATTENTION BOSS FANS: Check out this Thunder Road-inspired poster titled "Springstreets" from the ramrods of Young Jerks. You need one of these. Tell 'em: "Draplin senthca." Way awesome. Got an idea? Make it. Sell a bunch. Live life. Easy, right? Hell yeah. Still love that name. Young Jerks Hey bus driver, keep the change! - - - - FINALLY GOT AROUND TO UPDATING THE DAMN THING: The goddamned thing we're talking about is our ever-growing DDC Merch "Proud Customer" Gallery. Cute little buggers, pro shredders, art directors and tons of other ruffians surviving the world in much-needed DDC Merch. You need some of this stuff. Get in there and get wild with it. Find something to make summer shine that much more! Something for everyone. - - - - SCENES FROM THE BIG WEST: Neil Dacosta shoots some horse wranglers. More good stuff out of Neir. Thanks, man. Keep it up! - - - - ORDERS STILL FLYING IN: Holy shit. Thanks to all you animals who bought a "DDC Pocket Torso Cover" this week! It was a wild week and we're feeling wild as hell. The next five orders over 20 bucks get a free "mystery gift." Gamble on us. Get 'em in! Start here: The Draplin Design Design Co. Dry Goods Merch Dept. - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak
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SOMETIMES, WE GET HIRED TO MAKE GRAPHICS FOR BIG MAGAZINES: Here's some proof, people! In the new issue of Wired, a magazine about the "frontiers of technology" from San Francisco. I made a little badge for their product test section, and then a little icon set for a medical kit they made. Here's the set of icons. Real proud of this stuff. Thanks, Wired! - - - - 50 THINGS YOU NEED TO SEE: 50 Cigar Bands. Get in there. Smoke up, Johnny. Nice little presentation! (Thank you to Colin Whyte, on the other side of the country.) - - - - NEED THIS, BAD: All my big-timer photographer buddies are recommending the Panasonic Lumix GF1 as my next "around the neck" camera. You know, for traveling, shooting old logos, "party shots" at meathead dance clubs, etc. My G10 has taken a good beating. We're up somewhere around 7000 shots or something. It's hard to move on from Canon, honestly. I've been by their side since 2000 and that first S100 digi Elph. Man, I loved that thing. Still got it somewhere, too. Since then, every year to year-an-a-half, I upgrade to the new hot shit. Couple years back, I jumped out of the Elph models up to that G10. The tougher body and meaty controls was the main thing. Something that didn't feel so, uh, delicate and breakable, right? If you guys have any thoughts on the subject, do me a Kodak and send them in. Thanks! - - - - TOOL ACADEMY: Our latest acquisition, motherfuckers: Craftsman 192 pc. Mechanics Tool Set with Trifold Case. Now I can work on Big S or the van, doing more harm than good. - - - - BARNWOOD BLUES: Another one of those links that makes me go, "Fuck, I hope I live to 150 years old, just so I can have a barn someday, to work in, and make stuff in, and wait out a storm in, after I spend my whole pitiful life chasing vector dollars, only to realize I have squandered my strength away to mouseclicks." Something like that. Oh yeah, the link: 10Engines talks about Eric Sloane's "Age of Barns" book. I'd like to live on property with a barn someday. With the biggest fucking Bicentennial star on the front of it. Just think about that. Wow. - - - -
- - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Guided By Voices - Earthquake Glue
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Big ships on the mind. Sea vessels. I'm doing a patch for Coal that is inspired by seafaring shit, so, you know, we're feeling kinda windswept and salty. - - - - WHAT YER SEEING ABOVE: An incredible Mayflower boat spotted by the good people of Art Is Commerce, from their Flickr set. Blown away by that one. Good, thick lines to live by. Learn something from that one, man! - - - - IF I EVER GET A BOAT, I CAN'T WAIT TO PAINT A NAME ON IT: Here's a place to start thinking up my boat name. The "Unique Boat Names" Flickr pool. Splash around in there some, you scallywags. There's gotta be a better link to boat type. C'mon you rats, cough it up. - - - - A COUPLE YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS: Shan Thompson of Denver, Colorado send in a couple snapshots of some old Johnson outboard motors: 01. Johnson outboard motor No. 01 So good. I don't even want to know what the contemporary ones look like, so, I'm just gonna go back to making graphics, and forget about it. Thanks, Shan! - - - - KING OF THE BREEDS, AND THE HIGH SEAS: You just never know what yer gonna see next. Here's a scuba-diving dachshund. What a world. Gary never really took to the bathtub, so, we'll rule this one out. (Thank you, Mick!) - - - - WE JUST MIGHT SHIP THESE "BY SEA": Tempt us. Those DDC Pocket Torso Covers are flying off the shelves! Thank you to everyone who grabbed one on Friday, and over the weekend, and yesterday, and this morning...and...hell...just a couple minutes ago. - - - - NETFLIX SAVED US AGAIN: Well, at least me. Leigh wasn't feeling it. Watched Dragonslayer the last couple nights. Took me back to a time when I was young and wide-eyed, glued to HBO. - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Breeders - Pod
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Kinda buried. Today's post is a wee one. - - - - THANK GOD FOR BILL ZINDEL: He comes in with some sweet links, and saves the goddamn day. Here's a nice, little collection of "Czech matchbox labels." Kinda makes you want to start smoking, then, hop in a time machine heading back to 1961 or whatever, just to enjoy the labels in those boxes. An idea to ponder. (Thanks, Bill!) Blow this one way up. Incredible, really. - - - - ONE MORE ZINDEL NUGGET: Check this out this kick-ass collage. Really, really nice. Wow. - - - - ACTUALLY WAS PRETTY GOOD: When You're Strange. A documentary about those Doors. It's cool to hate on the Doors, right Dale? I always liked them. My apologies. All that grainy archival footage of Morrison is intoxicating. Maybe he was a turd. Maybe he was a visionary? After all, he was a Lizard King. Don't know what I'm talking about. What I got from the doc was how innocent things were back then, and how, on one side of the world you can be blowing up in Los Angeles, and the other side of the world, something completely different, and indifferent. Today, the same shit pops up then pops up everywhere, like, instantly. Yawn. We dug this documentary. Take that, Dale. - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. The Doors - L.A. Woman
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July 05, 2010
Posted at 09:09 PM
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This is what I made on my day off: A work table for the garage and driveway. After way too many times using my trash cans or recycling bin to work on the weedwacker or cut down cardboard for the recycling, the time was right to make an ample utility desk unit. And man, I built the thing like a brick shithouse! So overdone. Lag bolts, screws, etc. 3/4" plywood top. Shelf down below to hold whatever the hell I need holding. Just something I can drag out into the driveway to hold, hell, I don't know, uh...rags and shit while cleaning the car. Or for fixing things. Or for tinkering on things. Whatever the deal. I built it. My own two hands, and some help from Leigh. (Thanks, girl.) How about that, Dad?
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Spent the night in a megamart parking lot last night, freezing. Dropped down to 37˚. Lots of fun. Got up, had a nice breakfast at the West Side then shot down to Crater Lake. The place is beautiful. That's our review. Go see it. That's our challenge to you. There you go. We spent three hours there, then drove back to Portland. Big day out. A nice break from all this riff raff.
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July 02, 2010
Posted at 11:49 AM
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NOW SHIPPING: The DDC-036 "Chest Pocket Torso Cover!" These beasts have been sitting quietly for some time. And today, we're offering them up to you, the reader of this "brog." We've been inundated with requests and queries along the lines of "c'mon, make some new shirts, man" and "when's some new stuff coming?" and that got us thinking. We've always got shit on deck, but this time, we thought we'd step things up a notch! This time around, we're offering a specially-designed torso pocket that houses yer latest Field Notes memo book and a pen or pencil, or maybe a wad of cash, or an iPhone apparatus? Or all of the above? Yeah, all of the above. This is how we roll, and we thought we'd make the same kind of torso cover for our friends and readers. And, as you can see above, each shirt ordered comes with one Field Notes memo book, and one DDC "Adventures in Plastic" clic pen. Equipped, right out of the goddamn box. Like we'd have it any other way! Oh yeah, these will be shipping out the first thing Tuesday morning. Our word on that one! The time is now, people! These are going to go fast, so get it going! Click here, and make this July one to remember. - - - - SOME DETAILS TO ENTICE YOU: 01. Thick-ass ink on durable fibers. Click here and a pocket on yer chest! - - - - A LOOK INSIDE THE PRINTING PROCESS OF THESE BASTARDS: This run was printed in a basement in the Midwest! By the good people of Custom Color Screen Printing, Minneapolis, Minn. Thanks, guys. Much appreciated. Nice doing business with you. - - - - THE BACK OF THIS SHIRT WAS INSPIRED BY THIS LINK: "Look for the Union Label: A Celebration of Union Logos and Emblems." Just about the best link we've ever been lucky to click on. A Daywrecker. A Weekwrecker. - - - - AS ALWAYS: Thanks to every single one of you who have bought a piece of DDC merch in the past. It's been fun as hell shipping stuff out each week to points all over the globe. We do our best to keep the prices as low as we can, you know, covering the shipping costs in the states and Canada. No big whup. Thank you. Means the world to me to be able to do this stuff. It just takes one email from some scrub writing in saying, "Check me out kicking the shit out of this junk shop or wilderness area in my so-and-so DDC torso cover!" Or whatever the case. Makes me real proud. Thanks, guys. - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Cool Hand Luke - Cool Hand Luke Soundtrack
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BEAVER ON THE MIND: Last night Leigh and I, drunk on Netflix options, picked a little 30-minute documentary about beavers. Here's the link: Beavers: IMAX. Cute little munchers. You ever heard a beaver squeak? Pretty goddamn cute. Anyhoo, while we were watching the show I had the laptop on the lap, and got to making a logo for the little guys. That's what you are seeing above. When the doc was done, that's where we were at graphically. Chew on that. - - - - SOME CLARIFICATION, FROM THOSE NETHERLANDS: Jur Anepool sets the record straight on yesterday's featured image. First off, it's "Maars" not "Marrs." My mistake, among too many to list. Corrected, Netherlands. Anyhoo, they make beautiful office partition environments for beautiful people. "Maars systeemwanden - flexibele intereurbouw" The only partitions we have on the DDC factory floor is the occasional Gary puddle, or pile of boxes. There you go. - - - - WE'LL LET CALIFORNIA SLIDE THIS ONE TIME: A couple of rather wicked "f" and "r" characters. Dig it. - - - - SAVE YER PENNIES: We got something that's launching tomorrow, that you need for yer life. Tomorrow, readers. Way excited. - - - - JUST INCREDIBLE: Four guys in Oklahoma make an album in one of the guys' house that is on the market, taking a while to sell. This is just the preview. The full length is out and about, so watch for it on tour with the band. - - - - WHEN ANDY CRUZ WRITES IN, WE FOCUS IN: Here's what he had to say: "Man, take a look at these incredible shots of vintage hand painted signs by photog Jay Sauceda." We're backing that. Hell yes! In fact, this is exactly the kind of link I need to see right now. Know why? Cuz I am planning an August-wide mission where I get the fuck outta of Oregon and head back to that Midwest. The whole month. With fun shit like "time with mom and dad" and "a speaking gig in Detroit (!!!)" and "a junkin' mission of some sort" in there. Take our word for it. August is ours. I plan on sweating the whole time. - - - - BEEN ENJOYING THESE: Those fun Chiquita banana stickers! And they are having a contest where you can design something up in your head, then put it on a banana! So good. I mean, the coolest part of this is, they don't have to do it, but they do, and man, bananas are that much more fun. Thanks, Chiquita. I'm gonna enter! Thinking on it, starting right now. (Thank you, Cottini!) Oh yeah, here's the part where some faceless dick writes me about how Chiquita rapes the forest or gives the banana world a bad name and how dare I like their bananas or whatever. I thought I'd beat you to the punch, Mr. I Read Yer Blog Everyday But Only Pipe Up When I Need To Put Blog Writer Into Whatever Righteous Place Is In Fashion The Last Couple But I'll Still Read Yer Blog Everyday guy. Go suck a banana. - - - - JUNE'S ALREADY BEHIND US: "Pride of Portland" Shelby Menzel would like to remind you to "ENJOY YOUR SUMMER." Good tidings from a happy little elf. - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Swell - 41
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UP ABOVE: Another treasure from Murray's Archive. No idea what Maars is. - - - - SOME NICE LOGO ACTION HERE: The work of Joseph Blalock. Digging this bird here for "Raising Texas." Nice work, man! - - - - FULLY BACKING THESE: Those Lacie Rugged Hard Disks. These things are saving my ass on the road, and at home. Wrapped in orange stuff. Tough. Back it up, then back it up, then, just to be sure, back that shit up. There you go. - - - - KING OF THE BREEDS, AT A BIG PRICE: A Danish Modern Long Dog "piece" for yer collection. They're calling it a "Kay Bojesen Danish Modern Jointed Teak Dachshund Pind." Phew, what a fuckin' mouthful. Too rich for our blood. We're settling with a couple screengrabs. Good bidding, dog breath. (Kale Gray sent this one in.) - - - -
- - - - BEEN ENTERTAINED BY THIS ONE, ALL MORNING: Fun On Stage With Bob Weston IV of Shellac: Part 1. - - - - I'M IN NEED OF A COUPLE LESSONS: Especially from Mr. Trainer. Another reason to throw it all away out here, and move back to those Twin Cities. - - - - ON THE PLAYER: 01. Mastodon - Blood Mountain
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Took the train up to Seattle yesterday morning. Three good hours of unfettered concentration. No one messing with you, you know? Funny how that's refreshing? An weird. Plus, on a scenic level, the route up is way prettier than that from I-5. You hug rivers and go through forests and stuff. We dig. We recommend popping for the "business class" seats. Little more room and you feel a little smarter than all those chumps in coach. Right? Maybe. Getting some good punches in on many Coal and Union fronts up here. Web, advertising and product. Plus, much-needed face time with the specialists who make these companies possible. Boss amp, Foss! I'm catching a southbound train in a couple hours here out of Seattle. Pretty pumped for 200 minutes of quality alone time. Just me, the window and Washington whipping by. - - - - JUST LIKE IT SAYS, READERS: A nice collection of "Dry Cleaning Tags." There's a little dry cleaner joint on Sandy where 67th meets it. I take the quilts down there every couple months for a cleaning. It always feels oddly special, like, I'm splurging for something exquisite. But all it takes is for some suit to show up with his pile of work week oxfords, looking like he could die from boredom at any moment. Enjoy life, man. You are getting yer shit dry-cleaned. It's a special process. Plus, you get those sweet tags. - - - - REALLY DIGGING THESE: Cool collages spotted on FFFFFFFFFFFFFound. You prob'ly saw them a month ago, right? I move a little slower. Hmmm. This one, too. Wow. - - - - SOME STERN WORDS FOR MR. RENNER: Just David Cox tears apart Renner's Futura Bold "C." He's on to something, but man, I don't mess with Futura Bold too much. That wasn't an easy font to make. Go easy on the Renner. - - - -
- - - - SOMETHING JP SENT ME: Cross-browser kerning-pairs & ligatures. Good typography cuts in line at the "same ol' same ol' web standards" show. We're backing that.
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