This isn’t really in any order, except almost reverse alphabetical. Samples of most of these bands can be found at either Amazon or Allmusic.com. For extra snobby reviews, please see Pitchfork.
Tender Forever - The Soft and The Hardcore (K) For fans of: Mirah, Stereo Total, The Blow
Sleater-Kinney - The Woods (Sub Pop) Album […]

In all the holiday chaos the dog somehow managed to scarf down a hershey’s kiss. I know this because I had to cut a large blob of poop out of her butt fur; attached was a small flag which read “Almonds.”
I will be glad when everything is back to normal, and I […]

I have bird flu. I am going to die a horrible, painful, excruciating death unless merciful Nyquil knocks me out first. Perhaps bird flu is a stretch, and by horrible, painful, excruciating death, I may mean watching Law & Order reruns from my couch all day. Either way, I will not be […]

Real Christmas trees drip sap. To my dog, Rowan, I’m sorry I told everyone you peed on the tree. You have to admit, you’ve got a poor track record.
You cannot open a beer bottle with your filing cabinet, no matter how hard you try.
Working with an office full of people who […]

With 11 days until Christmas, I have bought exactly zero presents. I’m not a bad person, I just don’t like hurling myself into the hordes of mall santas, double-wide strollers, and Sbarro devouring teenagers. Before my illustrious career as web design rockstar (edit: corporate drone) I lived in the dark-ages: I worked retail […]

2002 found Sleater-Kinney in a difficult position. Would they be able to live up to the hype of being Rolling Stone’s “Most Important Band in Rock and Roll”, and more importantly, after scads of arena shows, would they stay true to their roots in doing so? Pearl Jam tours are a long […]

Even Captain Obvious, the mouth breathing, popcorn chomping 11 year old seated beside me couldn’t ruin Narnia, exclaiming such jems as “They’re young again!” and “She’s really bad!” I wasn’t expecting much, so I was pleasantly surprised by believable computer generated characters, no Jar Jars here. I was also pleased by the casting […]

Great, another thing for them to muck up.

Happy Chrismashanukwanzakah? That’s Virgin Mobile’s new holiday campaign. Ehh, catchy. If you call 1-888-ELF-POOP you can choose the appropriate (or inappropriate) holiday mascot to help you pick out a phone. I wonder which phone Hindu Santa would choose for me?

I’m seeing an increasing number of blogs out there that focus on “design,” when what they really mean is industrial design, or in most cases knick knack design. Just because something received consideration from a designer, or appears slightly modern/retro/shabby chic doesn’t mean it’s been done well.
Take for example the following images […]

With Adobe dumping the Macromedia brand altogether soon, I’m left wondering the future of two of my favorite Macromedia products; Fireworks, and Dreamweaver. Adobe’s already explained they have immediate plans to merge the Flash Player and Adobe Reader (see Designorati for my more complete article about the acquisition) but haven’t formally announced plans to […]

There’s not a whole lot I can say about this site that isn’t obvious. They’ve got one of the best favicons I’ve seen, great use of white space, contact information prominently displayed, and everything you need readily accessible above the fold. The color is handled carefully, as are the subtle reflective effects that on […]

A Target commercial, of all things, compelled me to revisit this album more than a year after its debut as the first proper Concretes LP. Slow down the beats in the catchy commercial and you have the first track of the album. Yeah you know the song, “Say Something New”, it’s supposed […]

Perhaps investing in headphones is a better idea than assuming everyone in the office would appreciate a broadcast of top 40 radio through crappy USB speakers? Though I’m so sure everyone shares your taste, I will gladly give you my headphones to not listen to Shaggy.

Do not hire Wanda Sykes to tell me over the phone that the shipping on my $149 bookcase is $167.
In the restaurant industry, it is advisable not to drown oneself in the scent of dead flowers so much as to make food unappealing to the clientele.
In the restaurant industry, it is […]

I had some extra money this week and I thought I’d finally pick up some much needed furniture items, before the in-laws are here for the holidays. I decided to drive up to Ikea to soothe my insatiable need for immediacy, and avoid their shoddy website. It occurred to me a two-hour drive […]

I’m proud to announce my first article as the newest team member of Designorati. The article is a continuation of my post about Microsoft ClearType. If you want to learn more about ClearType, or how to fine tune it, check it out.

If some bum shouted to you on the street “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other word would smell as sweet.” would it hold any weight? Probably not any more than the guy carrying the end is near sign. Luckily Shakespeare said it first almost 500 […]

Ugh.

Most Mac based designers will tell you about the disparity between Mac and Windows type rendering. I was suprised to find this afternoon (while browsing Maratz.com), that Windows actually offers a solution, ClearType!
ClearType is a software technology developed by Microsoft that improves the readability of text on existing LCDs (Liquid Crystal Displays), […]

Last week I posted about how Diesel’s website sucks. There wasn’t any contact information available on the page, so I rummaged around some of their other sites, and found a generic form on a Diesel children’s page. Diesel makes stuff for kids? Anyway, I explained I was having difficulty using their main […]

I’m not one for reality tv (besides The Apprentice) but did anyone see Trading Spouses last night?! It looked so nuts from the preview I just had to get it on the DVR. The show had possibly the most over the top person I’ve ever seen on television.

The past few weeks the web has been full of falling pixels, with reboots, redesigns, and realigns. So to jump on the bandwagon, here’s a sneak peek of my upcoming redesign.

Actually the design in place has always been a place holder. I put the whole site and blog together over a sleepless weekend, […]

If you haven’t heard, today is reboot day. I was a little disappointed, I’d expected to see a lot more sites. I also expected to see more original sites. A few of the rebooters might have taken emulation to the next step, blatant rip off. I even saw one snag Mint’s […]

is the greatest name I’ve ever seen printed on the side of a building.

Vonster.com is one of the best illustration sites I’ve seen. It’s treated in much the same way as Von’s illustrations, colorful, concise, and fun. The use of Flash is subtle and well executed.
The most important information is presented above the fold; the purpose of the site, information about the creator, and […]

Diesel makes the best shoes I’ve ever owned. I bought my second pair this weekend, because my white pair went grey the way white shoes are prone to. I’ve never put anything more comfortable on my feet, and they’re surprisingly durable. I put my old pair through all kinds of weather, and […]

What goes around comes around, but what if it never came around to begin with? I realize my blog has a bit of a negative spin to it. I guess I just feel more empassioned to vent rather than praise. However, I’ve never offered criticism where criticism wasn’t due. One might […]

What is it about cars that make people behave the way they do? I’m not just talking about the people who pick their noses or check their teeth for lipstick, I’m sort of talking about road rage. I don’t mean the kind of road rage where people pull guns out, I’m talking about […]

If you’ve experienced any trouble with my blog today, that’s because I somehow managed to break it. I was messing around with mint, and screwed something up apparently. All should be fixed now after a few reinstalls, so I do apologize if this has created any problems for anyone. I would like […]