AW YEAH



I very neat lil' video, actually made as a response to a video that isn't quite as cool.


AMAZING INSIGHT INTO THE FASCINATING CONDITION OF AUTISM


WIRED has a truly amazing article regarding Autism. The article actually features insight from a girl with autism, analyzing a video of herself. This is amazing, especially due to how it contradicts much of what doctors have previously speculated about this incredibly mysterious and intriguing mental condition. Autism has been something I have been fascinated with from a young age, having family members and close friends with varying levels of this condition I am thrilled to have more insight on the topic and am also (just slightly) pleased by the final recognition of autism as not so much a disorder but a difference, something I've always felt was the case.

EVEN THE AUSTRALIAN YABBIES ARE BRILLIANT MINDS.



Memory. A beautiful, fascinating and entirely foreign concept. Here is a fascinating little article about facial recognition amongst Yabbies. Thats right, crustaceans that recognize one another (usually this results in a fight, how human can these creatures get?).


WHEN NARCISSISM REALLY PAYS OFF.



Of course I am guilty of the occasional google of my own name. Doing this usually garners very little of interest. This above photo however, is perhaps, the one exception. This is a blog from a girl I went to high school with, if it is the lady I am thinking of, she was a grade younger than me, and apparently a pretty avid blogger. This very old post has a quick off-handed remark with my full name, I know its totally egotistical, but this just makes me beam.

KEN MEIER VIA SPACE COLLECTIVE


The picture above is the work of Ken Meir a designer whose work I came across on the infantly interesting and far more worthy of a blog post (but not as easy to find a nice image to represent it) SpaceCollective. I highly recommend looking at both of these sites, and really do check out the gallery of SpaceCollective.

31

•Tigermilk
•go go go
•Truly times with my dearest Dylan
•Printers rule, free paper rules
•Excessive pro-bono work drools
•Chinatown rules
•I've had the extreme idea of deleting every song (except maybe like 5) from my computer I HAVE NO ROOM AND THAT DROOLS!


WHAT IF:

I, like many youngsters, was a notorious pest on car rides (and every other time as well). One of my favorite ways to bother my company was to ask "what if" questions. I love them, they are portals to daydreams and fantasies and searches for meaning. I still love them, and am going to start asking more of them. Ulrike Steven & Gareth Morris like them as well. I have not been this excited about a find on the Internet for a quite a while, I hope it isn't too good to be true! But of course not. This, my dear friends is WHAT IF. They are some form of urban architect, community builder, thinking minds. They are great. They are thinking locally and acting globally and they are full of "what ifs" do look into their brilliance.


TINY HOUSE BLOG


This house pictured above is a mere 384 square feet, it is beautiful, with a low environmental impact and the ability to move! Tiny House Blog has a nice collection of pre-fab homes in quite an array of styles. They also show how quickly they can be assembled. How glorious would it be to purchase one of these, and get two friends and tour the world with your sweet house. Living somewhere is truly experience that somewhere, and OH how delightful this adventure would be!

1000 JOURNALS


The 1000 Journals Project is another thrilling discovery. It is apparently old news however, (there is already a follow up project called 1001 Journals) The idea is simple, there are (now more than) 1000 journals floating around the world, it is a giant collaborative project, the journals can be tracked on the website and you can look at the pages of some of the journals too. I love this, simple global collaboration. Beautiful.

I GOT SOME COOL THINGS AT AXMAN


New Scissors! A Gulper Eel! Colorful Fridge Magnets! NOT! & A Hot Glue Gun!


Oh, and of course, a a hologram of lady liberty


Kindra, you can't tell me you don't like this sweet bag maker sealer. LOOK AT THOSE ILLUSTRATIONS! I have plans for you my old friend, yes I do.

30

This has been a whirlwind of a week.
•Dre Day
•Impromptu trips to River Falls
•DRAWING DRAWING DRAWING
•Art Shantys
•Haircutz
•Animated shorts
•Axman
•Billz
•Mum's 6 Month Checkup couldn't have been better!
•Mind racing at 20,000 knots
•Drunk old man, less than impressed
•Poland's "#1 beer" is bad
•Gooddrawers
•This belated post is going on hold while I go get some Jasmine.


WHERE DO I BEGIN?



I swear this has nothing to do with recent banner talk in my classes (Sorry Erik), but I am just completely perplexed by this banner. Who made this? What is it for? Why the hell would you click it? Why am I blogging about this?

DREDAY



There was a time when Dr. Dre was about 70% of what I listened to. I have always loved and respected this legend. A favorite story involving the D.O.C.

Jessica and I were returning to her house one late in the evening on a balmy River Falls Summer eve. As I turned off of Main St I checked to see if I recognized any of the cars parked in the Copper Kettle's lot. This restaurant provided gainful employment for several of my friends therefor it was not uncommon to spot their vehicles parked outside. I was accelerating up the slight incline in my parents SAAB station wagon when I noticed Ron. Ron was driving his fathers late Mercedes station wagon and as it had been a while since I'd seen my friend I paused to chat with him. We rolled down our windows to hear both cars pumping Dre's Chronic 2001. We chuckled about this and made some small talk. At some point Ron suggested "we both roll down main street in our parents European station wagons blaring "The Next Episode". As we slowly creeped down main street, windows dropped, our cars singing in unison the random bar hopper would cast us a confused look and we reveled in it. Our journey ended across town at a stoplight in front of a busy bar. There we lingered letting the song ride out to the final "smoke weed everyday". Our cars were in single file, objects of entertainment and confusion to the drunks and bouncers meandering along, enjoying the River Falls nightlife. These are the sort of simple pleasures I can count on every time I fire up some Dre. Thanks Doc.


SHANTYTOWN



A lovely picture of a lovely Dylan, atop the only shanty (that I saw) that actually involved fishing.



Snap Shot Shanty

A LIL SAMPLE



This is one of 7 drawings I did for Jocelyn's upcoming show.


STORYTIME



I've often said that there are few things I love more than sharing stories. I believe it to be the reason I am able to remain close to my friends from home despite our lives heading in very different directions. So when I see these sorts of projects I just get very excited, and idea I can really get behind. Ah, the beauty of oral history (not just the book)

For the Moon

Old. Funny. English. From rathergood. By the way, I am fascinated by all of the postings here. Good eye. Sharing is caring.

27

•Killer meeting with Midway Megan
•Late night Beers with Sammy
•The Graduate... sweet.
•Day 3
•Bonnie & Clyde... meh.
•HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNAH!
•Work time with Z.P.
•First time in the Hennepin Kowalskis at any time other than 2 or 3 in the morning

NEW SPECIES!



There aren't many things I love more than the discovery of new creatures. This is a colossal discovery, 6 NEW SPECIES! Found in the Antarctic by breaking through an ice cap, this broad range of creatures (including OCTOPUS, CRUSTACEAN, FISH AND SEA SPIDERS!) are presumed to be completely new to science... IS THERE ANYTHING MORE THRILLING?!

GRAVITY POWERED LAMP



Oh how neat! A lamp that is rumored to last 200 years, without being plugged in, utilizing the ever-present energy of gravity! Simply raise a weight each day in the lamp, and as it slowly descends it powers this LED lamp. Virginia tech student Clay Moulton invented this and has won some awards for this sustainable lamp, as well he should.

ROBIN HOWIE IS CONVERSING WITH THE CITY



Robin Howie is an artist based in the UK. this work is relevant to what we are working on in my Global Context of Design Class with Erik Brandt. Robin also has done some interesting campaigns regarding the color of the little green man on the crosswalk signs, another topic discussed in the Global Context of Design class.

26

•Gad I love live theater
•And you know what else I love, my friends, thanks guys, I love you.

QUESTION

MUST A PERSON:
TRANSCEND GENERATIONS, BE TIMELESS IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED A "GENIUS" (PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR DEFINITION OF GENIUS)

............-or................

BE RELEVANT TO THEIR TIME AND PLACE, ENOUGH TO HAVE AN IMPACT. ESSENTIALLY, THEIR RELEVANCE IS PART OF THEIR "GENIUS"

HAPPY LITTLE VEGEMITE



JUST CLICK HERE AND CRANK YOUR VOLUME IF YOU ARE NOT ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH THIS GEM (IF YOU ARE FAMILIAR I DON'T NEED TO TELL YOU TO CLICK, YOU'RE PROBABLY ALREADY THERE)





GAP MINDER



Anthony Esquivel is doing his GD3 project on this, which, my friends, is AMAZING! I highly recommend watching the TED conference demonstration.

Beached Ocean Liner



David Nightingale is a photographer? I think this is one of the most stunning photographs I have seen in a very long time. And not to pull this card again, but I can't speak much for the rest of his work, but you be the judge of that. What I can speak for is my strange love for this image... but I shan't.

SLAVS AND TATARS


To continue in this stream of shamelessness in this post. This is direct, hot out the eudora inbox from mr. EMMET BYRNE himself. Thanks? Sorry? Thanks!

Here it is, in his very own words:

I think you might like this, if you haven't seen it already: http://www.slavsandtatars.com/
Make sure to download the PDF.

& yes, really do make sure to download the PDF.

EVEN DYLAN AND AIMEE COULD ENJOY THESE

Right Guys?!



So how sickly sweet are these? Well they are designer fish tank sweet. They require added CO2, grow lights, and tons of dedication.


SKETCHERDOODLES

been doodlin' sumb dumb drringsketches... please try to enjoy these poor photographs of them.

25

PUNCH CARD COLLECTION



The above image is from a collection of punch cards compiled by Douglas W. Jones at the University of Iowa.

THIS IS A SWEET MURAL



Below is how long it is:



You HAVE TO SEE the mural in its entirety, here is where you can do that, this is the work of the BLU check 'em out!

Prrrretty Clever



Yes, these sorts of cheeky little visual games are fun for everyone. This Flickr user named Musely has a lengthy explaination of this project here.

24 or I AM SO SORRY

23

•More Bulldog
•More Beer Culture
•More More More



Not sure exactly how to feel about this, undoubtedly controversial, but exceedingly interesting none the less.





I was super thrilled to find this beautiful collection of drawings done by children, interpreting photographs. I dedicate this portion to Rob.




Bryan Bird is a Cardstacker. Do you know any cardstackers?

ALICE RIVLIN ON THE NEXT PRESIDENT'S REAL ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

FOUND ON THIS WEBSITE

ALICE SAYS:

"Well, tonight`s commentator says that President Bush is heading in the
wrong direction with his plans to cut taxes to spur the economy.

Here`s Alice Rivlin, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and former
Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve.

ALICE RIVLIN, COMMENTARY: The biggest problem with President Bush`s budget
is not what he proposes for next year, it is what we will face in 10 years
if his proposals are enacted. The actual deficit for next year will likely
be closer to $400 billion than the $300 billion he estimates, but that
doesn't`t scare me. We need deficits for a couple of years to get the
economy moving again.

The President`s domestic spending proposals are stingy, but innovative.
Offering states more control over Headstart, Medicaid and some housing
programs is probably a good idea, although the timing is terrible. What
the states need most urgently is not more responsibilities, but a slug of
money from the federal government to help them deal with their own budget
deficits without raising taxes or decimating programs for low income
people.

The President`s huge tax cuts go mostly to high income people, but that`s
not their main problem. We cannot afford any permanent tax cut right now.
We are gearing up for war. We have 41 million people without health
insurance. We have a huge generation about to claim Social Security and
Medicare. We have a mounting federal debt that requires paying more
interest.

Cutting taxes is crazy. This is a reckless budget that will lead to
agonizing choices and higher taxes in the future. Let`s hope Congress will
prove more realistic and responsible than the President.

I`m Alice Rivlin."

From The February 11th Nightly Business Report

22

Now that pets seem to be done dying and the weather is forcing me inside. It is time to return to the blog, here is whats been occupying my time in the last few days:

•Soooooooooper expensive
•Soooooooooper late nights
•Revealing beer in manipulations of the English language
•My list of my future goes on, and its my pleasure
•A mix involving High-School favorites was made... ha!
•Draween
•Intensity and more mind racing: What if you could take a class by tuning into a classroom via ichat or skype, and emailed the S.B. pdfs and had stuff printed for class.... Basically this is amounting to me sending emails to teachers next year asking if I can just take their class that way, and stay in Australia.... Indeed, chances really do seem slim.
•Class has been very strange, strange dynamic, strange dialogue, strange strange.
•God I love bluegrass, beer, and my dear, dear friends.
•I really want to watch: Star Wars, Style Wars, some Thrillers or The Thing
•Up till 4
•Up at 7
•Mankato Design Conference.... inquire for real thoughts.
•Collab. work with me ASC and later with DCL.



Will you get me this as a present please. I was fawning over these sorts of things in conversation with dear friend Gail Chase who then found this gorgeous set. I can't foresee this becoming mine anytime soon, so if you are feeling like making a tax deductible donation to my math fund, please make checks payable to: Colin Trechter




When I was in 7th Grade, my best friend in the whole wide world was Dylan Brenna. For the few of you who have met him, or have heard of him, you will know him as the, undisputed, worst case of the make believe ADHD.
As a 12 year old skateboarder, there was nothing I loved (or did) more than skateboarding from 11am until 1am every day for three months straight, we were perpetually drenched in sweat, listening to 2001 Dude Ranch, or this gem of a song, and for all intense and purposes inseparable. The above clip is especially dear to me. I will keep this brief as my ramblings have already exceeded the guidelines of this blog. But as a young adolescent I was fairly hard up for cash (my paper rout didn't pay what it should have (to be honest, it paid double...)) so when Dylan and I would page through our ccs catalogue
looking for skate vids, we would inevitably look for the video with the longest run time, for the least $CRILLA$. This video happend to be The Reason which, at a whopping $9.99 had a run time of over an hour. This is one of the first videos to open my eyes to the so called Indy Rock. I still love this song, and this video, and both have garnered their fare share of nostalgia worthy moments, but to really understand it all, you'd have to be in my basement/ in mid July/ smelling like sweat & firecrackers/ watching this movie/ in a white tank top/ eating a turkey sandwich/ and twitching to be able to skate like these dudes.










More Skateboard/optical illusion themed stuff, some Illustrations from Huskworks how hilariously perfect this fits into this post.




This is a soooooooooper blog. Above is a book, consisting of reappropriated excerpts, from the 1960's Saturn Moon Project. Read All about it.

Tune in soon for more.