October 2005 Archives
I'm an unabashed fan of Griffin Technologies' Macintosh accessories. I love my RadioShark (which lets me record radio programs on my Mac in the same way I use TiVo to record TV shows) and my iCurve (which elevates my notebook computer).
I just got a new gadget from Griffin -- the RocketFM. This tiny device is an FM transmitter that connects to any USB-equipped computer (Mac or Windows), and transmits the output to any FM radio in range. You can transmit over any FM frequency. (The USB connection also powers the device, thank goodness.)
I unsnapped the plastic housing and unbent the antenna (as shown in the photo here), to increase the range (which is advertised as 10 to 30 feet). With the antenna sticking out, the range is at least 50 feet, and it goes through walls.
The RocketFM is hooked up to my eMac in the laundry room. Now I can play iTunes on our living room stereo. At $25, it's an excellent, cheap, solution to integrating your computer with your stereo system. Link
(click thumbnail for enlargement) One of the best things about old comic books are the ads in them. Most of them were designed to fool children into forking over money for deceptively-advertised products, or else trick them into becoming unpaid door-to-door salesmen for seeds or newspapers. (Has anyone ever seen a copy of Grit, "America's favorite newspaper?" Not me.)
Hey Skinny!: Great Advertisements from the Golden Age of Comic Books, brought back a flood of memories. My favorite ad is the one promising a monkey so tiny that it could fit into a teacup. The monkey was your reward for handing out 29 "get acquainted coupons" for a photo retouching service. It would be great to have a poster of this!
Other ads include: baldness cures, zit popping gizmos, glowing skulls, girdles, BB guns, fake diamond wedding rings (for cheapskate groooms), art instruction by mail, spaceman guns and helmets, wrist mounted sundials, fireworks, chewing gum to lose weight, a kit to turn lamps into Christmas trees, real gas masks, magic kits, irresistible aphrodisiac perfumes, a guide for getting into the movies, telescopes, a musical instrument called the Gahoon, a glowing necktie that says "Will you kiss me in the dark baby?," inflatable dinosaurs, Hitler stamps, and pills to stop bed wetting. Link
I mentioned this book earlier on Boing Boing, and have finally sat down to read it. Ian Urbina's Life's Little Annoyances contains several dozen very short chapters about they ways in which people deal with common situations that are stressful, frustrating, or annoying.
For example, a biology and computer science professor from the University of Oklahoma named Jonathan Wren hates it when cashiers ask him for his name and address when he buys something in a store. Just to torment them, he tells them his name is "Ghossein Dhatsghabyfaird-Johnson." When the cashier asks how it is spelled he tells them, "With a hyphen." When they ask for his address, he says "Washburn, Wisconsin, 14701 Noertheast Wachatanoobee Parkway, Complex 3, Building 0, Apartment 1382b."
When David Hord won't be left alone by an overeager salesperson at a store, he orders thousands of dollars in stuff (computers, TVs, etc) and then when the salesman brings all the stuff to the counter and rings it up, Hord produces his "special" MasterCard, which expired in 1998. It never fails to befuddle the salesman. Link
If you use your notebook as your daily computer, you need to elevate it on your desk, or risk ruining your neck and shoulders. I used to prop my PowerBook on a stack of thick art books, mainly because the laptop stands I found for sale were so ugly I didn't want them in my office.
The iCurve laptop computer stand, made by Griffin Technology, is a beautiful clear plastic stand with no-slip rubber grips. When you put your computer on it, the stand disappears, making it seem like your computer is floating. Link
Krazy Kid's Food! Vintage Food Graphics is a 200 page picture book of well-designed and illustrated food products from my early childhood.
Never mind that they contained buckets of cancerous red food dye, globs of artery-destroying trans-fatty acids, and enough sugar to cause your pancreas to explode like a bald tire on the freeway, packaged kids' food products of the 1960s were a lot of fun. In those days marketers knew that any kind of edible material, from breakfast cereal to chocolate syrup, would fly off the shelves as long as the container had a picture of a robot, pirate, astronaut, or child in the throes of sucrose-induced ecstasy.
Today, I wouldn't dare eat this junk, nor would I allow my kids to eat it. But the art on the packages is calorie free and is more fun to consume than the food inside ever was. It's another book I turn to again and again when I need graphical inspiration. Link
I didn't think I'd like this book as much as I do. All Wrapped Up: Groovy Gift Wrap Of The 1960's has hundreds of whimsical gift wrap patterns featuring animals, holiday themes, kids, and abstract patterns. As an artist's reference, I have pored over this thing for hours, marveling at the skill of the un-named illustrators who created these gist wrap patterns.
By its very nature, giftwrap is meant to be torn to shreds and thrown away. Thank goodness some people had the sense to save these artistic treasures. Link
My three favorite comic book artists of all time are Jack Kirby, Robert Crumb, and Carl Barks.
Barks was the writer and illustrator of countless Donald Duck comic books. He also created one of my favorite fictional characters ever, Scrooge McDuck. All of his stories are adventures that take Scrooge, Donald, and his nephews around the world -- and the settings of exotic locales are a joy to behold.
Barks is a master of human nature, emotions, and relationships, and his comics hold up 60 years after they were first published.
I read Barks' comics to my daughter at least once a week. We both love them.
Link
First published in 1949, Earth Abides is the story of what might happen if 99.99% of the world's population is wiped out by a plague. I'm not saying, it's what *would* happen, but the scenario laid out is very plausible, yet full of surprises. George R. Stewart's thoughtful novel feels very fresh -- none of his ideas about humankind's new beginning seems dated or incorrect.
Ish, the protagonist in the story, brings together a ragtag group of survivors and attempts to reboot civilization, but runs into plenty of problems. How for example, do you deal with the fact that car tires will oxidize and become useless after 20 years? Who will make new tires?
Believable and exciting. Link
Rock critic Neil Strauss thought he had problems attracting girls, so he decided to learn the ropes from professional pick up artists. He went to experts like Ross Jeffries, who goes around the country giving Speed Seduction seminars ("The ultimate training, perfect for total confidence and success with the hot, sexy, beautiful women you've always wanted") and found out that the techniques actually work.
Strauss discovered that he really could pick up beautiful women using the methods he learned up from the pros (they often involve hypnosis-style banter and neurolinguistic programming techniques.)
Strauss then begins to examine the professional pick up artists themselves, by moving in with them in a house in West Hollywood. These artists are like a secret society, complete with their own impenetrable jargon (there's a great glossary in the back of the book). Link
Tony Horowitz is the author of Confederates in the Attic, a widely praised book about Civil War re-creationists. I have zero interest in the Civil War, but his following book, Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before, piqued my interest, because I love reading about the South Pacific.
To write his book, Horowitz traveled to the same places Captain Cook explored in the 18th century: Tahiti, New Zealand, Alaska, South America, Russia. etc. Horowitz weaves together Cook's life story (born poor, which was very rare for a captain) with his own adventures visiting the places Cook explored. The writing style is human and colorful, the seemingly mundane details he chooses to relate add warmth to an already fascinating tale.
Amazon is selling the hardcover edition for the bargain price of $6. Link
When I first got my espresso machine, I was having a hard time making tasty, rich, creamy shots of espresso. I complained about it on Boing Boing, and I got a bunch of email suggestions from espresso junkies. Almost every one of them told me that it is impossible to make good espresso using a blade grinder.
"You must use a burr grinder," they all said. Burr grinders crush the coffee beans between conical gears, while blade grinders lacerate the beans. Burr grinded coffee grounds have a consistent size and shape, while blade grinded grounds vary greatly in size and shape.
I resisted getting a burr grinder for a while, because I just didn't buy the logic. Besides, burr grinders are more expensive than blade grinders. The Rancilio costs $200, whish was way too much for me. But someone told me that the Capresso Infinity Burr Grinder for $89, was fine, so I took the plunge and bought it.
It really does make better espresso. Much, much better espresso. Before I got it, the coffee just gushed out of the portafilter and it was sour and weak. With the burr griunder, the coffee dribbles out of the portafilter and it is very creamy and rich. I shold have listened the espresso junkies sooner! Link
Richard Zacks' An Underground Education (subtitle: The Unauthorized and Outrageous Supplement to Everything You Thought You Knew About Art, Sex, Business, Crime, Science, Medicine, and Other Fields of Human) is a grab bag of historical facts and anecdotes that read like a News of the Weird from decades and centuries past. They read like urban legends you've never of heard of, but are in fact, true.
For instance, Lord Byron kept envelopes of his many girlfriends' pubic hair trimmings. When Madame Curie was accused of adultery, her friend Albert Einstein help her beat the charges by pointing out that "She is not attractive enough to become dangerous for anyone." And the powerful merchant banker family, the Medicis "kept a fully stocked dwarf house mansion as a sort of human dollhouse."
Some of the anecdotes are a few pages long; most range between a half page and one page -- they all are examples of the wonderfully weird world we live in. Prepare to have your mind blown. Link
I switched web hosting, and everything got screwed up. Have no fear, MP will be back on Monday!
The Rancilio Silvia expresso machine costs $500, but considering I drink at least two double espressos per day, this thing will pay for itself in a year. It took me a month to learn how to pull a rich, creamy espresso, but now that I've got the hang of it, I think I do a better job than the barristas at Peet's and Starbucks.
This is one gorgeous, solidly-built machine. I spent a lot of time looking around the espresso geeks' websites, and most seem to agree that this is the one to get. I couldn't be happier with it.
Link
My morning espresso-making ritual is the highlight of my day, and these beautiful, tiny (2 ounce) espresso glasses make the moment even brighter. Mouth blown from laboratory quality borosilicate to form a double wall of glass with a pocket of air trapped inside, the glasses keep the espresso piping hot and my fingers cool.
The visual effect of my daily double-shot of espresso "floating" in the vessel pleases me to no end. Link
